LED epitaxial wafer and chip maker Epistar has developed silicon substrate applications for integrating power drivers on single-chip devices, with volumes of such devices being 75% smaller than those of conventional models, and the company says it plans to start production by the end of 2015.
Using a GaN-on-silicon process, the utilization efficiency of silicon can be increased from 85% to 95%, equivalent to a 10% power saving, Epistar indicated.
As it is currently not technologically feasible to use silicon substrates to replace sapphire wafers for making LED epitaxial wafers, Epistar instead uses silicon substrates to make integrated power driver devices for use in LED lighting products, smartphones, notebooks and other types of consumer electronics, according to industry sources.
Despite the technological challenges of having silicon substrates replace sapphire wafers, Toshiba and Samsung Electronics have been working on developing silicon substrates, the sources said.
