Anoex and Kyma Collaborate to Reduce Cost of Blue Lasers and LEDs

Aonex Technologies Inc. of Pasadena, Calif., a developer of substrates that reduce the production cost of devices such as blue LEDs and high-efficiency solar cells, will work with Kyma Technologies Inc. to develop materials to reduce the cost of gallium nitride (GaN)-based devices such as blue laser diodes and blue LEDs, it was announced today. Kyma, of Raleigh, N.C., was spun out of North Carolina State University in 1998 to develop GaN substrate materials for nitride semiconductor device applications. Anoex is a subsidiary of Arrowhead Research Corp., a nanotechnology company based in Pasadena. Blue laser diodes are used in HD-DVD and Blu-Ray DVD players; blue LEDs are used as back lights in cell phones and in other solid-state lighting applications. Because they are more energy efficient and last much longer, blue LEDs are expected to one day replace conventional incandescent and fluorescent lights. Under the agreement, Aonex will provide Kyma with access to its proprietary wafer technology, A-Sapph, which Kyma will use to produce large-area wafers used in manufacturing GaN devices. The large-area wafers could dramatically reduce the cost of GaN devices by helping to increase the number of chips per wafer and the number of wafers produced, the companies said.