Veeco Instruments Inc. announced today that CEA-Leti, a research lab based in Grenoble, France, has selected Veeco’s TurboDisc K465i Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) system for its program with Aledia, its nanowire-LED partner.

Aledia is a start-up company spun out of the CEA-Leti labs in 2011 and based at the CEA site. It counts among its three founders two former CEA researchers, Xavier Hugon and Philippe Gilet. Aledia’s goal is to manufacture 3D nanowire-based LEDs for solid-state lighting applications on thin silicon wafer substrates, of 8 inches or greater in diameter, at a cost significantly below that of conventional planar LEDs. Nanowires are thin crystalline structures that, when electrically charged, can emit a broader spectrum of light than conventional LEDs, and can be grown on industry-standard silicon substrates. Aledia’s nanowire technology was originally developed at CEA-Leti, and Aledia and CEA-Leti continue to develop nanowire technology in close cooperation.

“We are confident that Veeco’s MOCVD system is the right equipment to help make this technology successful,” said Fabrice Geiger, head of CEA-Leti’s Silicon Technology Division.

According to Giorgio Anania, Aledia’s President and Chief Executive Officer, “The TurboDisc reactor will be an important element of our strategy to take this potentially game-changing technology towards the commercialization phase. In partnership with CEA-Leti, we selected Veeco because our analysis indicated that at this time their MOCVD systems showed the best financial returns for 8 inch wafer production on the market.”