Engineered Gallium Nitride Substrates

CBL Co. proposes to develop a commercial scale lattice matched GaN substrate process using existing research technology. Currently, there is no commercially available lattice matched substrate for GaN or related III-V nitrides, although all researchers agree the availability of these substrate is critical. The development and optimization of high power electronics and optoelectronics based on GaN will require a dramatic reduction in the epitaxial material defect density, and this dramatic reduction will be achieved through the use of a lattice matched substrate. To form a lattice matched native substrate, 100 to 200 um thick GaN will be deposited on a sacrificial substrate to form an unstrained, lattice matched pseudo-substrate of GaN. This work has been achieved in several laboratories and has been used to produce some of the best epitaxial GaN. However, the GaN pseudo-substrates have rough surfaces, nonuniform thickness and are small in size. Using phase I support, CBL proposes to improve uniformity, surface flatness, and piece size. CBL Co. has developed proprietary techniques to increase the GaN substrate size by reducing or eliminating substrate cracking upon cooling. GaN substrates are critical to a fully developed high power electronics and optoelectronics technology, and CBL has the ability to provide these substrates to military and commercial end users.