- 20 September 2006 -

Order for three AIXTRON MOCVD systems supports big expansion at ARIMA Optoelectronics Corporation

AIXTRON AG says that ARIMA Optoelectronics Corporation has recently ordered three more of the latest AIX 2600G3 series AIXTRON Planetary Reactor® systems. The 49x2-in wafer capacity AIX 2600G3 systems will be used for the mass production of AlGaInP LEDs and will be installed at Arima’s state of the art facilities in Dashi and Houko, Taiwan.

Dr. P. J. Wang, President of Arima Optoelectronics comments: "As a long time partner with AIXTRON we are very familiar with the outstanding performance of AIXTRON’s MOCVD tools for AlGaInP and GaN. It was therefore a straightforward and logical decision to place orders for more AIXTRON systems as part of our ongoing strategic expansion. We continue to be very satisfied with the reliability of these reactors and the high throughput, excellent uniformity and low cost of ownership.

"We have already expanded our capacity for AlGaInP-based LEDs and related products at the Hsinchu plant which we acquired through our merger with Kingmax Optoelectronics. The plan is to increase the volume to 40 million units per quarters by next year. We also intend to begin shipping HB blue LEDs this year as well as increasing laser diode production to 7 million per quarter. These plans require installation of extra epitaxial growth capacity in order to meet our target of 100 million units per month by the end of this year”.

Dr. Bernd Schulte, Executive Vice President and COO of AIXTRON adds: "This new multiple order builds on our strong position in the Taiwanese market. The latest generation AIXTRON AlGaInP MOCVD tools meet the needs and timescale for Arima’s impressive plans to increase capacity and productivity while offering flexibility for process refinement."

Arima Optoelectronics Corporation was established in September 1998 as a subsidiary of the Arima Group with facilities in Taiwan and an R&D centre in the UK. Since then, Arima Optoelectronics has become a world-leading manufacturer of high brightness LED wafers for blue and green to yellow and red LEDs. Arima already has multiple AIXTRON Planetary Reactor® systems enabling high volume mass production of LEDs and related chip products.

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