High quality materials come from high-quality manufacturing and high-quality processes. Alithia is the first-ever, vertically integrated manufacturer of GaN on GaN power electronics. We control the entire process from substrate to chip. Alithia’s manufacturing methods are a result of the last 25 years of R&D by the GaN community, bringing the very best that GaN has to offer to the consumer markets.
The substrate is the foundation of the entire device. Just like building a house, the foundation sets the stage for the quality, cost, and performance of the device. Crystal quality is generally measured by the density of tiny defects called dislocations. These are features where the crystal did not form together correctly during creation of the crystal. These defects seriously affect device performance and lifetime. Alithia uses substrates with very low dislocation density.
The drift layer is responsible for withstanding the large electric fields generated by the high voltages applied to the entrance and exit of the device. The ability to withstand the voltage depends on the thickness, critical field, and purity of the material. Alithia has a proprietary method for creating drift layers with unmatched quality, performance, and cost.
Power devices manipulate thousands of volts and hundreds of amps, creating huge electric fields in tiny areas. If not managed properly, these forces can destroy critical features of the structure leading to catastrophic failure. Alithia uses a high-quality p-type layer to mitigate these electric fields. This layer and its features are uniquely designed for our devices in terms of crystalline quality and doping.
The final step in the value chain of a power device is to create the final shape, metal contacts, and passivation layers. Alithia’s team are experts in this area with years of experience in creating high-performing devices. Alithia has access to the proper methods and processes for both R&D and production levels.