Technologies / Compound Semiconductor Etch Compound Semiconductors A Compound Semiconductor is a semiconductor composed of elements from two or more different groups of the periodic table. For example III-V semiconductors are composed of elements from group 13 (B, Al, Ga, In) and from group 15 (N, P, As, Sb, Bi). The range of possible formulae is quite broad because these elements can form binary (two elements, e.g. GaAs), ternary (three elements, e.g. GaAs) and quaternary (four elements, e.g. AlInGaP). Compound semiconductors are critical to the success of many technologies that have opened new markets. Some of the most common compound semiconductor devices are based on GaAs substrates for such applications as high speed digital electronics, high frequency analog electronics, lasers, light emitting diodes, and power transistors. Other commonly used compound semiconductor materials are InP used in optical communications systems, and GaN used in power devices, high-brightness LEDs, and lasers for reading HD-DVD/Blu-Ray discs. Increasingly as these technologies mature, the market has seen high-growth rates as the applications for using compound semiconductors in opto-electronic and wireless systems shift from advanced defence/aerospace applications to higher volume consumer products. STS offers a range of fully characterised etch processes for such materials using inductively coupled plasma (ICP) technology. |
