Until recently, the LED market developed primarily for cellular phones and LCD back lights. Today the market is expanding to LED light bulbs. The LED market is expected to grow when LED bulbs become widely used.

SAMCO’s thin film technology is our core technology, and forms the basis of our CVD, dry etching, and dry cleaning systems for the optoelectronics and electronic component markets. We released MO-CVD system in May 2008. SAMCO’s systems play important roles in the LED manufacturing process. Now, we present our “One-Stop Solution” for the LED manufacturing process.

In the LED manufacturing process, SAMCO’s systems play a key role, such as MO-CVD for deposition of GaN layers on sapphire substrates. Etching systems such as the RIE-300iPC work on sapphire substrates and GaN layers. CVD systems deposit  passivation coatings on LED chips. Dry cleaning systems such as the PXA-100 and UV-300HC clean surfaces to improve electrode contact in the packaging process.

All you need for LED manufacturing is SAMCO’s “One-Stop Solution”, from epitaxial growth and etching of sapphire and GaN, through passivation coating. The RIE-330iPC dry etching system, which was released in November 2008, can process twenty-seven 2″ wafers. Its productivity is 30 – 40% higher than previous models and meets the production demands of the LED manufacturing market. It has a newly-developed SSTC (Symmetrical Shielded Tornado Coil), which rectifies many of the problems that can occur when working with larger substrate stages.

There are three ways to improve LED chip luminescence efficiency:
1) Increase inner quantum efficiency to improve luminescence layers and GaN crystals
2) Improve outer quantum efficiency by improving surface quality to increase light emission
3) Reduce current leak path by optimizing the etching process and annealing the LED

For example, in the PSS (Patterned Sapphire Substrate) process, outer efficiency can be enhanced by processing the surface of sapphire, and inner efficiency can be enhanced by having fewer failures when working with GaN crystals. We can determine the shape of the sapphire by controlling the process condition and can change the angles of its facets. In GaN etching, we can create an inverted mesa shape.

The LED manufacturing process requires systems for each process, and SAMCO provides equipment to meet every requirement. SAMCO contributes significantly to high luminescence LED manufacturing, as applied to lighting.