【Member News】GaFuture Semiconductor Successfully Achieves High-Quality Wafer-Scale Heteroepitaxy of 2-Inch α-Ga₂O₃ on Sapphire

      Recently, GaFuture Semiconductor Technology (Jinjiang) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "GaFuture Semiconductor") has made new progress in the development of α-gallium oxide (α-Ga₂O₃) epitaxial materials, successfully achieving wafer-scale epitaxial growth of 2-inch α-Ga₂O₃ on sapphire substrates. The company has made phased progress in key parameters, including crystal quality, epitaxial film thickness, and thickness uniformity.

      According to a third-party test report, GaFuture Semiconductor's 2-inch sapphire-based α-Ga₂O₃ heteroepitaxial wafer exhibits no detectable secondary phases. The epitaxial film thickness is approximately 3 μm, with thickness non-uniformity of less than 3%. Five-point measurements of the X-ray rocking curve (XRC) for the symmetric α-Ga₂O₃ (0006) reflection yielded a minimum full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 26.85 arcsec and an average of approximately 35.26 arcsec. The FWHM of the rocking curve for the asymmetric (10-14) reflection was 1,483.95 arcsec. These results indicate that GaFuture Semiconductor's α-Ga₂O₃ heteroepitaxial products have reached an internationally advanced level.

      Furthermore, to address the thermal management requirements of gallium oxide power devices, GaFuture Semiconductor has collaborated with universities, including Xidian University and Xi'an University of Technology, to investigate the growth of β-Ga₂O₃ thin films on silicon carbide (SiC), aluminum nitride (AlN), and diamond substrates. Given the intrinsically low thermal conductivity of gallium oxide, the research explores thin-film growth conditions and material properties on highly thermally conductive substrates, providing a reference for subsequent studies of heat transfer at the film–substrate interface.

      Preliminary characterization results show that, for a 20 mm × 20 mm SiC-based β-Ga₂O₃ epitaxial sample, the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the ω-scan rocking curve can be as low as 400 arcsec. For a 2-inch wafer-scale sample, the X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern exhibits the (−201), (−402), and (−603) diffraction peaks, with an ω-scan rocking curve FWHM of approximately 0.95°. Under the investigated process conditions, β-Ga₂O₃ thin films grown on AlN substrates achieved a minimum ω-scan rocking curve FWHM of 1.60° and a minimum surface roughness of 1.72 nm. For films grown on diamond substrates, the minimum ω-scan rocking curve FWHM was 1.64°.

      These preliminary advances in the growth and characterization of gallium oxide epitaxial films on highly thermally conductive substrates provide a foundation for further optimization of growth processes, investigation of material properties, and exploration of potential device applications.

      GaFuture Semiconductor continues to advance the performance optimization of gallium oxide heteroepitaxial materials, building process expertise in crystal quality and film thickness control to support the continued iteration and upgrading of its products.