SBIR-STTR Award

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will investigate the feasibility of growth of high quality, low cost bulk gallium nitride substrates by the high pressure ammonothermal method. The proposed approach utilizes a novel apparatus which is scalable to process volumes of hundreds of liters at modest cost.If successful this project will dramatically reduce the cost of GaN substrates for use in optoelectronics and energy conversion devices.

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project aims to develop a scalable, compact and rapid ammonothermal method to grow high-quality, low-cost bulk gallium nitride (GaN) substrates. A novel apparatus that is scalable to large volumes at modest cost will be utilized to achieve high-pressure, high-temperature conditions and grow single-crystal GaN. This project is expected to demonstrate the synthesis of ultrapure raw material and the growth of high-quality bulk GaN crystals with excellent crystallinity, improved transparency, a diameter of at least 1 inch and a process capable of rapid scale-up to larger sizes. The broader/commercial impact of this project will be the potential to offer high-quality and significantly lower cost GaN substrates, which may enable their applications in next generation displays including light-emitting diodes (LEDs), green and blue laser diodes etc. Bulk GaN substrates, currently in use for 405 nm laser diodes only and grown by a vapor-phase technique, are projected to be a $405 million market in 2010. The availability of low-cost and high-quality bulk GaN substrates is anticipated to improve efficiency and reduce cost of GaN-based LEDs, which will enable a large reduction in electrical power consumption