Monocrystal Inc of Stavropol, Russia, which manufactures large-diameter synthetic sapphire substrates and cores for LED, optical product and RFIC applications, has shipped its 150-millionth two-inch equivalent (TIE) product.
Since its incorporation in 1999, Monocrystal has transformed from a niche sapphire market player into a high-volume manufacturer, supplying to more than 130 sapphire customers worldwide.
Historically, more than 60% out of 150 million TIE have been large-diameter wafers and ingots for LED. “We are now seeing an increasing demand for our 6-inch wafers, since major LED manufacturers prefer our product due to its impeccable performance during nitride growth,” says CEO Oleg Kachalov. “Monocrystal’s low-stress wafers demonstrate low thermal bow in the epitaxial process. As a result, our customers get tighter wavelength uniformity and increase their binning yields by 2-3%, which is significant for high volume production. 6-inch wafers are yet to become the driver of efficiency improvement, while Monocrystal’s customers are already enjoying the benefits of stable yields and lower costs,” he adds.
“The LED industry has made significant progress over the past few years but still there are future opportunities,” says Ludmila Zubova, VP marketing. “For instance, microLEDs seem to be a feasible and promising technology. Monocrystal has already delivered ultra-clean wafers for this application,” she adds. “We have several initiatives running to support customers engaged in microLED development.”
