AIXTRON AG is pleased to announce the sale of an MOCVD system to Symetrix Corporation for the research and development of ferroelectrics such as SBT, used in non-volatile FeRAMs (Ferroelectric Random Access Memory).

Symetrix, based in Colorado Springs in the US, is specialized in the development of ferroelectric technologies and has a number of patented technologies in this area. This is their first purchase of an MOCVD system designed for the mass production of ferroelectric thin films.

Under the contract, Symetrix will purchase a specially designed MOCVD reactor system from AIXTRON. Based on AIXTRON´s proven Planetary Reactor^® concept, the reactor will have a capacity of 1 x 8" wafer with a retrofit for up to 300 mm available. The AIXTRON system will be based in the company´s Application Laboratory in Colorado Springs.

Due to the piezoelectric, pyroelectric, electro-optic and ferroelectric properties of ferroelectric thin films, these materials are highly suitable for a variety of applications such as IR detectors, microactuators and optical waveguides. By far the most important application within this field, however, is expected to be the integration in non-volatile memory devices for FeRAMs, embedded RAM and IC cards. In this area, ferroelectric thin films offer a number of major advantages over conventional non-volatile memory such as EEPROMs. The programming speed of FeRAMs is about 5000 times greater than that of EEPROMs, with 100 times less electrical power consumption and 1 million times greater endurance (write and read cycles). The market potential for this mass production application is therefore enormous.

AIXTRON is involved in several projects focussing on ferroelectric applications. These include a cooperation agreement with Prof. Waser´s group at the Research Center in Jülich. AIXTRON also offers a wide range of CVD and epitaxial systems for MOCVD, VPE and LPE from R&D- oriented systems up to large-scale Planetary Reactor^® production systems for up to 20 x 4" wafers. The company has installed over 240 systems worldwide, provides an extensive service and support network for maintenance and upgrading and is represented in 18 countries. Among AIXTRON's list of industrial clients are names such as Alcatel, AT&T, EPI, ATMI/Epitronics, Hewlett-Packard, Honeywell, IBM, ITT, Kopin, Lucent, Motorola, NEC, Philips, Rockwell, Samsung, Siemens, Thomson and numerous Japanese corporations. AIXTRON systems have also been installed in many of the world's most renowned research institutes including NASA-JPL-CALTEC, Sandia Nat. Lab., Fraunhofer Institute, CNET and CNRS. AIXTRON is very active in advancing MOCVD technology through collaborations and joint R&D projects with major partners worldwide.