ARC Energy, Nashua, N.H., has announced the CHES 500 crystal growth furnace, designed to produce the world’s largest-ever sapphire boules with a mass of 660 lb and diameter of 500 mm. This new furnace will also have the lowest cost per unit for critical growth markets, yielding up to 6000 smartphone covers, up to 5600 mm of 4-inch LED wafers, or up to 2500 mm of 6-inch LED wafers per boule.
In 2009, ARC’s first-generation Ches furnaces yielded 75% crystal utilization by growing on the C-axis for the emerging LED solid-state lighting market. Ches technology focused on enabling lower-cost production of large diameter wafers. Advances included ease of installation, precision controls, automated re-start and power-off modes, and full safety interlocks for low operator costs.
Another market for sapphire is durable transparent material for mobile devices, such as smart phones and watches. CHES 500’s 660-lb/500-mm diameter boule is set to give the standard throughput with a yield of up to 6000 smartphone covers per run.
In addition, the new field-tested CHES HZ technology, which handles the process of melting sapphire above 2040°C and re-solidifying it, has reduced both consumable material and energy costs, and delivered the repeatable and reproducible performance required for large scale materials manufacturing.
ChES 500 will provide the lowest cost of ownership for sapphire boules on multiple axes (A, R, or C) for all applications including mobile, LED, optical, RFIC, and power electronics. The new Ches 500 crystal growth furnace, will be available starting Q2 2015.
www.arc-energy.com
