Riber

First MBE 8000 machine delivered to IntelliEPI

Press release – April 6, 2021 – 8am

First MBE 8000 machine delivered to IntelliEPI

RIBER, a global market leader for molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) equipment serving the semiconductor industry, is announcing the delivery of the first MBE 8000 system, the world’s largest MBE machine, to IntelliEPI, a longstanding RIBER client. This delivery is part of a sales agreement for the equipment to be used for epi wafer manufacturing for ultra-high performance vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) applications.

Because VCSEL-based devices emit via the substrate surface, they can be fabricated into devices with high-density arrays of emitters. These components are gradually replacing traditional lasers as the benchmark technology for a growing range of applications - e.g., 3D detection (facial recognition on smartphones) or movement control - across diverse sectors, from consumer electronics to healthcare, automotive and telecoms.

Compared with other technologies, RIBER’s MBE technology offers a range of benefits. This ability to create very abrupt interfaces combined with very precise dosage control results in improved quality of deposited semiconductor films, enhanced conductivity properties and stronger performance for lasers.  In order to address the need for a larger production throughput MBE platform for high performance epi wafer manufacturing with excellent wafer uniformity, RIBER has developed the new MBE 8000 production system.

The fully automated MBE 8000 utilizes an ultra-high vacuum deposition technique.  This machine is a multi-wafer reactor with the capacity to grow up to eight 150 mm wafers simultaneously and offers the possibility of transitioning to 200 mm wafers. The machine makes it possible to produce VCSELs and other device structures with precise control down to atomic monolayer precision and with film thickness uniformity well below 1% level, creating an unrivalled output.

For IntelliEPI, the MBE 8000 system will further strengthen its epitaxy capabilities. Alongside its existing fleet of three MBE 49s, eight MBE 6000s, two MBE 7000s, one V90 and one VG100, this new MBE 8000 production platform will enable IntelliEPI to take on the expected increase in demand for its growing VCSEL and other markets, particularly for 6” gallium arsenide (GaAs) products with flawless quality to better satisfy its clients.