EpiGaN nv of Hasselt, near Antwerp, Belgium, which supplies commercial-grade 150mm- and 200mm-diameter gallium nitride on silicon (GaN-on-Si) epitaxial wafers for 600V high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) power semiconductors, has been shortlisted along with 10 European firms participating in European Union (EU)-funded projects such as Horizon 2020 to compete for the EU Innovation Radar Prize 2016 in the category 'Industrial and Enabling Tech'. Public voting for the winner closes on 31 August. The 16 finalists chosen will present their achievements at the ICT Proposers Day in Bratislava, Slovakia on 26 September.
Incorporated in 2010, EpiGaN was founded by chief executive officer Dr Marianne Germain, chief technology officer Dr Joff Derluyn and chief operating officer Dr Stefan Degroote as a spin-off of nanoelectronics research center Imec of Leuven, Belgium. The founders jointly developed GaN-on-Si technology at Imec, part of which has been licensed to EpiGaN.
In 2011, EpiGaN was joined by start-up investment firms Robert Bosch Venture Capital, Capricorn CleanTech Fund and LRM to enable the installation of its wafer production facility. In June, Beijing/Brussels-based Euro-Asia private equity fund A Capital joined the initial investors to fund expansion of EpiGaN's sales and support base to Asian markets. EpiGaN is now undertaking volume production and wafer characterization at its Research Campus Hasselt in the Eindhoven-Leuven-Aachen high-tech triangle. In January, the firm signed a global representation agreement for its 150mm and 200mm GaN-on-Si power semiconductor product solutions with silicon substrate maker SunEdison Semiconductor of St. Peters, MO, USA.
EpiGaN offers GaN-on-Si and GaN-on-SiC material solutions aimed at the next generation of efficient power electronics, RF power and sensor devices and systems. Allowing drastic savings in energy loss as well as more compact and lighter power conversion systems such as power supplies, GaN technology is also in demand for its superior performance in wireless communications.
The Innovation Radar was established recently as a data-driven initiative by the EU Commission to identify high-potential European digital innovations and the key drivers behind them participating in its Seventh Framework Program (FP7), Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP), and Horizon 2020 projects. The EU Innovation Radar supports and guides digital innovators in assessing and highlighting their innovation and economic potential in the global market. EpiGaN says that it has been nominated because of its development of large-diameter GaN-on-Si epiwafers that enable a new generation of power electronics with much higher conversion efficiencies.
EpiGaN says that it is developing and manufacturing AlGaN/GaN structures on 200mm silicon substrates at the 600V node to enable its customers to position themselves in rapidly growing market segments, addressing the power switching market, including power supplies, solar inverters, power supplies for data centers and, in future, electric vehicles.
