Previous Page | Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out | Front Cover | Search Issue | Next PageABE FMaGS___________Previous Page | Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out | Front Cover | Search Issue | Next PageABE FMaGS
Previous Page | Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out | Front Cover | Search Issue | Next PageABE FMaGSLED chips | EPITAXIAL GROWTHBluGlass opens pilot plant todemonstrate LED growth processAustralia’s Environment Minister says that BluGlass' technology fi ts well with the country’sintention to move towards energy-effi cient lighting, reports TIM WHITAKER.BluGlass, an Australian company thathas developed low-cost manufacturingtechnology for growing GaNbasedmaterial for LEDs, has opened its newheadquarters and demonstration plant atSilverwater, Sydney. The facility was openedby Peter Garrett, Australia’s Federal Ministerfor the Environment, Heritage and the Arts.The new pilot LED demonstration plant featuresBluGlass’ first commercial-scale semiconductorgrowth system that is fitted withthe company’s home-grownremote plasma chemical vapordeposition (RPCVD) technology.RPCVD can be used togrow the multilayer semiconductorstructures that are thestarting point for the fabricationof GaN-based LEDs. Currently,commercial productionof LEDs uses the metal-organicchemical vapor deposition(MOCVD) process to depositmaterial onto sapphire or siliconcarbide substrates.BluGlass plans to use itsnew plant to demonstrate “significantcost benefits” of theRPCVD process to LED devicemanufacturers, with the aimof winning substantial equipment supply contracts,licensing deals and royalty income.In his speech, Garrett said that LEDs will “playan increasingly important role in the future oflighting worldwide, including in our homes. TheBluGlass process is an Australian innovation,and advances in this area will make significantinroads in reducing the costs of LEDs.”Garrett said that one of the key barriersrestricting the uptake of LEDs has been their cost.“And up-front cost is an important issue when itTIM WHITAKER is Editor of LEDs Magazine.BluGlass’ pilot manufacturing reactor in operation.comes to deploying energy-efficient technologies,”he said. “The federal government is committed totaking energy efficiency mainstream.”On June 5 this year, which was World EnvironmentDay, Garrett announced that theplanned phase-out of inefficient lighting inAustralia will be brought forward to November2008, when the importation of inefficientincandescent bulbs will be restricted.“Our focus right now is on encouraging Australiansto switch to existing efficient alternatives,like compact fluorescent lamps, but it’salso on fostering innovation, and that’s why thework of companies like BluGlass has the potentialto become part of taking energy efficiencymainstream,” said Garrett.“This means there is going to be a hugedemand for efficient lighting here and aroundthe world in the near future. Australian innovationas represented by BluGlass is wellplaced to help in meeting this de mand —helping to both drive our economic growthand our efforts to reduce the levels of greenhousegas emissions.”An important global roleBluGlass was created from research at Sydney’sMacquarie University. In 2007 the AustralianGovernment awarded BluGlass a $5 milliongrant to advance its innovative technology.Also in 2007, BluGlass reported what it claimedto be the world’s first blue light emission fromthe uniform deposition of gallium nitride on a6-inch diameter coated glass wafer.“Our new demonstration reactor is designedto show the world that BluGlass has a commerciallyviable and attractive technology,”said BluGlass’ chairman MikeTaverner. “We expect that amongmany applications, this groundbreakingAustralian developmentwill have an important globalrole in improving the efficiencywith which we use energy in lighting,with flow-on benefits to theenvironment.”BluGlass recently appointedGiles Bourne as CEO after a periodas interim CEO. “With the launchof our new plant, we will invite toplevel corporations from Asia, the USand Europe to come and see exactlywhat we can do,” said Bourne. “Wehave delivered on all of our promisesto investors about commercializingour technology, and we are now liftingour sales push in the global market.”BluGlass says it is already in advanced discussionswith universities for orders for itspilot-scale reactors, a smaller version of itscommercial technology that also incorporatesits RPCVD technology. The company’s plan isthat customers, including commercial enterprisesand universities, can buy pilot reactorsto conduct their own testing. The hope is thatthis should speed the uptake of BluGlass’ patentedtechnology.MORE DETAILS: www.bluglass.com.auLEDsmagazine.com SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2008 23Previous Page | Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out | Front Cover | Search Issue | Next PageABE FMaGS