Current Research Projects

GraFunkL - Graphene as a functional layer in UVC LEDs 

The project European Space GaN (ESGAN) aims to develop a 200 V enhancement mode GaN transistor for use in power management circuits for space applications. The advantages of Gallium Nitride (GaN) material such as reduced mass, increased efficiency and the potential of radiation hardness are well known, and the project intends to exploit these in the development of the technology. Devices will be designed, produced, tested for radiation effects, thermal effects, structural effects and reliability performance and will be demonstrated in an application to verify the desired performance. The target is to proceed with a space evaluation leading to a space qualification of the produced devices.

Additional objective is establishing an European supply chain to remove dependency from other countries and geographical regions. To achieve the goals of the project a consortium has been established in which the members cover each of the stages of the supply chain. The consortium is composed of the following companies:

- AIXTRON, responsible for the MOCVD technologies and processes to grow advanced layers for GaN transistors

- SEMI ZABALA, responsible for design, test and packaging of GaN transistors and integrated circuits

- X-FAB, a semiconductor foundry company offering processing services for GaN transistors

- AIRBUS DEFENCE & SPACE, one of Europe´s leading companies for design and manufacturing of satellite equipment and systems.

Between them these companies cover the supply chain end-to-end from materials, design, processing, packaging and test to the end users.

EUROPEAN SPACE GAN | ESGAN | Project | Fact sheet | HORIZON | CORDIS | European Commission

The deposition of functional layers on wafers is a central step in the production of semiconductor components. The processing of the components and the extraction of the characteristic data represent the next essential step in the process chain. In this project, an ontology is to be created for the wafer to the device area, which maps the process chain in this area, with a focus on epitaxy and subsequent process technology. Since the development is intended for an industrial environment, "Privacy Preserving Machine Learning" is also to be tested to ensure the confidentiality of the data collected and evaluated. The algorithms are developed on the GaN/Si system, as there is a large amount of data available here and many physical basics are better known. Here, digitization will be used for further (automatic) optimization of production processes in epitaxy, among other things with the help of the consideration of data from the production of components ("Digital Feedback Loop"). In addition to the vertical transistors as target devices, high-voltage diode structures are used as highly sensitive measurement structures.

This means that progress in semiconductor growth can be researched using the digital twin and documented and fed back in an application-oriented manner. The developed models will be used to test the more innovative and less advanced material system Ga₂O₃.

AIXTRON's role in the project

AIXTRON investigates and develops the digital and machine technologies for the next generation of MOCVD systems, initially with a focus on epitaxy for layered structures with large band gaps for semiconductor devices.

AIXTRON's contribution to the project

AIXTRON is always striving to advance the current state of the art in MOCVD reactor technology and its application. Improved MOCVD systems will be able to meet the global demand for transistors and devices for universal electrification. This, in turn, will help reduce the global CO₂ footprint and drive the development of autonomous mobility.

Funded by the

The Move2THz project’s goal is to demonstrate an European value chain and a more energy efficient technological platform for (sub-)THz applications. It will address today’s Indium Phosphide (InP) shortcomings and aims to support the development of an European ecosystem. Ultimate goal is to obtain a commercially and industry viable platform for use in various mass-market applications utilizing the higher frequency spectrum of 1 THz and beyond.

Furthermore, the project aims to strengthen the European innovation and value chain for indium phosphide (InP)-based electronics. This is in preparation for future scaling of the technology to produce high-frequency devices in larger quantities. To this end, the partners in the European network are planning research and development work for wafer production, epitaxy processes and design tools for transistors and circuits.

The project consortium consists of 27 European partners and has a budget of 40.7 Mio. €.

AIXTRON leads the development of epitaxy system and processes for high-quality electronic InP layers on wafers with a diameter of up to 300 mm. Due to its physical material properties, InP has great potential for applications in high-frequency electronics, for example for radar sensors or mobile wireless communication technology. The developments planned in the project will help to significantly reduce the costs for the future production of InP components and modules and thus increase the application potential.

https://www.move2thz.eu/

https://www.elektronikforschung.de/projekte/move2thz

The 2D pilot line project, 2D-PL, has the ambition to further strengthen the European ecosystem in the development of the relevant integration modules for offering prototyping services in the field of photonics and electronics, working on the maturation of the technology, and providing essential information aiding industrial uptake. The project expands on the findings of the 2D-Experimental Pilot line project (2D-EPL).

The main objective of the pilot line is to further mature 2D material (2DM) fabrication in an industrially relevant fabrication facility (FAB) environment to secure the 2D pilot line access. The service offerings include the preparation of relevant process design kits (PDKs) and multi-project wafer (MPW) run offerings, which are an essential part of the project's outreach plan. The large application space for 2DM and the broad differentiation for material property requirements make the development of such a pilot line very challenging. Therefore, within the scope of the 2D-PL project, the focus for module maturation is tailored towards the photonic and electronic devices and circuits.

The project consortium consists of 16 European partners and has a budget of 33.2 Mio. €.

AIXTRON SE served as the leader of WP1 in the 2D-EPL. We designed, manufactured and demonstrated process readiness of a new 300 mm MOCVD system for the growth of 2DM. In the new 2D-PL AIXTRON SE continues work on stabilizing and automating the process. Additionally, we are striving to meet the initial requirements for high-volume manufacturing (HVM).

https://graphene-flagship.eu/industrialisation/pilot-line/

www.graphene-flagship.eu

The 2D pilot line project, 2D-PL, has the ambition to further strengthen the European ecosystem in the development of the relevant integration modules for offering prototyping services in the field of photonics and electronics, working on the maturation of the technology, and providing essential information aiding industrial uptake. The project expands on the findings of the 2D-Experimental Pilot line project (2D-EPL).

The main objective of the pilot line is to further mature 2D material (2DM) fabrication in an industrially relevant fabrication facility (FAB) environment to secure the 2D pilot line access. The service offerings include the preparation of relevant process design kits (PDKs) and multi-project wafer (MPW) run offerings, which are an essential part of the project's outreach plan. The large application space for 2DM and the broad differentiation for material property requirements make the development of such a pilot line very challenging. Therefore, within the scope of the 2D-PL project, the focus for module maturation is tailored towards the photonic and electronic devices and circuits.

The project consortium consists of 16 European partners and has a budget of 33.2 Mio. €.

AIXTRON SE served as the leader of WP1 in the 2D-EPL. We designed, manufactured and demonstrated process readiness of a new 300 mm MOCVD system for the growth of 2DM. In the new 2D-PL AIXTRON SE continues work on stabilizing and automating the process. Additionally, we are striving to meet the initial requirements for high-volume manufacturing (HVM).

Silicon carbide (SiC)-based power electronics use electrical energy much more efficiently than the silicon-based semiconductors that are primarily used today. Depending on the application, energy savings of up to 30% are expected.

The aim of the project is to provide European semiconductor manufacturers with a more reliable and energy-efficient epitaxy technology for SiC wafers in the future.

With a budget of €28.4 million, the “SiC” project consortium aims to significantly advance the current SiC epitaxy technology over the three-year project period. Power semiconductors manufactured using this energy-efficient deposition technology offer clear advantages, for example, in the transition to renewable energies, for electric mobility and in industrial applications.

AIXTRON SE will continue to drive forward the increase in resource efficiency in the production of layer structures made of SiC compound semiconductors, both scientifically and technologically. In addition, the amount of production waste generated is to be reduced. To this end, novel software-supported simulation and design methods for material- and energy-efficient manufacturing methods and components are being developed and researched.

Digitalization and the development of new technologies are constantly advancing and permeating more and more aspects of our society and economy. It's hard to deny that this is also fundamentally changing the way we work. Companies in the field of industrial production in particular face major challenges here.  At the same time, this development also holds enormous potential.

With the AKzentE4.0 project, a central point of contact for the topic of digital technology and artificial intelligence (AI) in the world of work is being created in the Aachen region. AKzentE4.0 bundles regional know-how from business and science and forms an ergonomic competence center. The AKzentE4.0 project is funded with around 12 million euros and deals with the introduction and implementation of digitization concepts and innovative technology in the Aachen region.

AIXTRON SE supports the consortium with its extensive experience in the field of digitized production of MOCVD systems.  Projects for the data-supported automation of processes in the production process and service functions are developed and tested.

https://www.akzente40.de/

ALL2GaN will strengthen the European Power Electronics Industry by offering an EU-born smart GaN Integration Toolbox as a base for applications with significantly increased material- and energy efficiency, thus meeting the global energy needs while keeping the CO2 footprint to the minimum.

The highly ambitious KDT project All2GaN consists of 45 partners from 12 European countries that collaborate in a Pan-European innovation network with the focus on performance and reliability of GaN power and RF technologies to meet a substantial higher utilization level covering the full supply chain from substrates to application systems and end users.

AIXTRON’s Role in the project

AIXTRON is driving key equipment and epitaxial growth topics for low- and high-voltage power switches as well as for RF amplifiers and MMICs. AIXTRON will contribute to several work packages with other leading manufacturers in the semiconductor value chain.

Key contribution

AIXTRON is always striving to advance the current state-of-the art in MOCVD reactor technology and its application. In the All2GaN project, AIXTRON will contribute with its key expertise in large-scale diameter MOCVD systems that will be optimized with new approaches towards higher throughput. This will help to enable a faster adoption of GaN devices in the power switching and RF communication markets that will help to speed up the reduction of the global carbon footprint.

https://www.all2gan.eu/

AIXTRON SE wins tender for the BMBF Future Cluster Initiative (Clusters4Future). From a total of 117 competition entries submitted, 7 final future clusters have been selected for funding. One of these winners is nanodiag BW, a Cluster of Excellence from Baden-Württemberg, in which AIXTRON SE is allowed to participate because of its unique selling point of CVD growth of 2D materials on large-area substrates. Nanodiag BW stands for nanopore technology for the molecular diagnostics of the future.

The Clusters4Future action "nanodiag BW" uses nanopore technologies to detect epigenetic factors influencing diseases and brings the resulting diagnostic and therapeutic solutions into application.

Together with the partners of this cutting-edge research cluster, AIXTRON SE is developing industrial-scale solid-state nanopores for applications in medical technology that can be used as membranes. AIXTRON SE will continue to explore the CVD growth of 2D materials and their characterization to develop new CVD technologies for new fields of application in medical technology.

Nanodiag BW is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as part of the Clusters4Future initiative.

www.nanodiag.de

Photonics and optoelectronics are key technologies for digitalization. The design of corresponding semiconductor devices as well as the modeling of epitaxial processes can still benefit significantly from artificial intelligence (AI) methods in the context of Industry 4.0. Digitization and automation as well as the Internet of Things require constant energy and data flows. Energy and data streams are to be transmitted simultaneously via fiber optics. The emerging technology of photonic power transfer, also known as power-by-light, enables power and data transfer to be combined simultaneously in a single optical link. By using optical telecommunication wavelengths around 1550 nm, the potential applications of such power-by-light systems can be extended to remote locations and enable sufficient remote power delivery. AI-assisted approaches to photonic power converter (PPC) design and fabrication are critical for further cross-industry application of photonic power and data transmission.

The German-Canadian joint project "Artificial Intelligence Enhanced Design and Manufacturing of Infrared Photonic Power Converters for Power and Telecom", subproject of AIXTRON SE "Smart MOCVD Process" "AIIR-Power" aims at the development of AI techniques for the optimization of optoelectronic device designs and their epitaxial manufacturing, as well as their application for the realization of PPCs for telecom wavelengths around 1550 nm. The main objectives of the consortium include:

1. AI design approach: development and implementation of machine learning methods to reduce dimensionality in optoelectronic device design using PPCs as an example.
2. Smart epitaxy process: develop and implement AI-assisted modeling of the epitaxy process and investigate reinforcement learning algorithms for real-time control systems to improve material quality and cost effectiveness and prepare for Industry 4.0.
3. Demonstration of AI-enhanced PPC devices: Design and fabrication of new multiple PPC devices for telecom wavelengths around 1550 nm with increased output voltage.

Collaboration partners include AIXTRON SE, Broadcom, National Research Council Canada, Optiwave, University of Ottawa and Fraunhofer ISE.

AIXTRON SE is working on improving numerical MOCVD process simulation. In the process, a fundamental understanding of AI-enhanced software tools is being created. The approaches should enable the investigation of AI-enhanced device, or system, improvements. This will ultimately enable the development of strategies to reduce the cost of production processes.

This project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in Germany.

The BMBF joint project NEUROTEC aims at realizing technology for novel neuromorphic electronic hardware and the appropriate software. An essential key component is the memristive cell based on different physical memory mechanisms. It stores information in electrical resistance and retains its digital or even analog memory value even when de-energized. In addition to the fundamental research in the work packages, the technology is to be demonstrated in the project as a process chain, producing a series of demonstrator circuits. The cooperating equipment manufacturers and companies in the field of measurement technology will be adapted to the novel concepts, materials and hardware components of neuromorphic electronics. This is being done with the expectation that there will be a growing global market for neuromorphic electronics in 5-10 years. These companies are all located in the Rhineland area. Thus, the NEUROTEC project contributes to the structural change in the field of digitalization and strengthening of high technology. The further specification and applications of the AI chips will be further researched in the NeuroSys future cluster. The common vision of both projects is to create an economic ecosystem in the field of neuromorphic AI hardware and software in the Aachen-Jülich region.

NEUROTEC II aims to drive fundamental research and development and supporting technology on this neuro-inspired approach to AI and to initiate translation into the increasingly digital economy. NEUROTEC II aims to apply memristive cells to a wide range of possible neuromorphic computing concepts.

In the AIXTRON SE subproject, the MOCVD technology for the deposition of the necessary layer structures is fundamentally investigated and developed. To optimize the technology, suitable layer structures will be fabricated and investigated. This will be followed by the exchange of layers with the other project partners to manufacture and improve devices. The feedback of the findings from the other groups serves to improve the technology.

https://www.neurotec.org/de

ARTICLE: NUCLEATION AND COALESCENCE OF TUNGSTEN DISULFIDE LAYERS GROWN BY METALORGANIC CHEMICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION

The future cluster NeuroSys sees its task in developing its own technological vision of artificial intelligence in Germany to remain at the forefront in terms of economy, safety and ethics. To this end, the players want to create a competitive scientific and economic ecosystem in the greater Aachen area. The goal of NeuroSys is to establish the Aachen region as the world's leading location for research, development, and innovation in neuromorphic artificial intelligence (AI) hardware. For this purpose, all competencies and infrastructures needed for the development of future European AI hardware will be bundled in the region. The long-term vision is Europe's technological independence in this ethically and economically sensitive area.

AI as software already dominates areas such as computer vision and speech processing. However, innovative new hardware concepts are needed to efficiently realize applications such as autonomous driving, personalized healthcare, smart cities, the Internet of Things, and Economy 4.0. Conventional computer hardware is increasingly running up against inherent limits in energy efficiency for AI applications. NeuroSys overcomes these limits by developing neuro-inspired hardware to enable a leap in energy efficiency.

A broad range of expertise comes together in the NeuroSys future cluster: Physics, materials science, neuroscience, engineering, and computer science cover the technical issues; together with economics, they create innovations, while experts from ethics and sociology bridge the gap to society and politics. RWTH Aachen University, as the nucleus, works closely with Forschungszentrum Jülich, a member of the Helmholtz Association, and an institute of the Johannes Rau Research Association, AMO gGmbH. Further companies are to supplement the cluster in the future.

In the 1st implementation phase, 5 projects were approved. In the sub-project NeuroSys: Memristor Crossbar Architectures (project A), AIXTRON SE is further developing MOCVD system technology for the production and optimization of devices made of 2D materials. In the process, layer structures are characterized and made available to the project partners for further investigations and development of devices.

Clusters4Future.de: Zukunftscluster NeuroSys

ARTICLE NUCLEATION AND COALESCENCE OF TUNGSTEN DISULFIDE LAYERS GROWN BY METALORGANIC CHEMICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION

Overall objective of the project:

AIXTRON's primary goal is to increase the production viability of our technology for applications in power electronics, photovoltaics, nano-photonics and sensor technology. The technology targets the energy and eMobility markets. Improvements in technology and effectiveness are needed to meet the international demands of a versatile, highly flexible key technology with frequently changing customer requirements, processes, products and material systems. This is to be achieved through In-dustry 4.0 approaches i.e. with networked and automated machine concepts, intelligent software, analyses at the edge of the detection limits and precise process control. Highly specialized solution approaches are required for the various applications and material systems due to the different physical properties. Electronic power converters and CPV technology serve as demonstrators. The solution approaches are critically tested and evaluated in a realistic production environment.

Project partners:

AIXTRON SE

AZUR Space Solar Power GmbH

LayTec AG

IMA - RWTH Aachen

Institut für Mikroelektronik Stuttgart (IMS CHIPS)

The joint project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi).

The future cluster NeuroSys is working on its own technological vision for artificial intelligence in Germany, with the aim of remaining at the forefront of business, security and ethics. The aim of NeuroSys is to establish a competitive, scientific and economic ecosystem in the Aachen region.  To this end, all competences and infrastructures required for the development of future European AI hardware will be bundled in the region. The long-term vision is to achieve technological independence for Europe in this ethically and economically sensitive area.

A broad spectrum of expertise comes together in the NeuroSys future cluster: Physics, materials science and neuroscience, engineering and computer science cover the technical issues. Innovative products are being developed in collaboration with economists. Experts from the fields of ethics and sociology take care of integration into society and politics. As the nucleus, RWTH Aachen University works closely with the Jülich Research Centre, a member of the Helmholtz Association, and an institute of the Johannes Rau Research Association, AMO GmbH. Other companies are expected to join the cluster in the future.

Research into adaptive and energy-efficient neuromorphic AI chips will enable intelligent and resource-saving on-site data processing and thus create an essential prerequisite for future working methods, smart city concepts and the Internet of Things. At the same time, decisive contributions will be made from autonomous driving to learning systems and personalised medicine.

In the 2nd implementation phase in sub-project A ‘AI application-specific technology maturation of memristive components’, the focus of the work is specifically on the further technological development of memristors based on two-dimensional (2D) materials and valence change-based (VCM) metal oxide memristors for neuromorphic computing.  AIXTRON is working on the optimisation of MOCVD system technology for the growth of 2D heterostructures. Layer structures are deposited on 200 and 300 mm substrate sizes, characterised and made available to the project partners for further investigations and the development of components.

Clusters4Future.de: Zukunftscluster NeuroSys