Fox Group's nitride-based UV LEDs are based on a proprietary, patented process known as Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy (HVPE). LEDs are made by growing multiple layers of crystals using a deposition process known as epitaxy. Most red, yellow, amber, and green LEDs are produced by vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE), a conventional, low-cost manufacturing process that has been used for decades. However due to an adverse reaction of certain elements needed to produce GaN epitaxial wafers, researchers were unable to produce blue, true-green, or UV LEDs via the traditional VPE process despite intensive efforts. It was only in the early 1990s that a complex and expensive process called metal-organic chemical vapor deposition ("MOCVD"), developed process to make GaN epitaxial wafers that emitted blue light. At present, most blue, true-green, and UV LEDs - except for Fox Group's - are made using the MOCVD process or adaptations of it. Compared with MOCVD, Fox Group's HVPE process uses far less ammonia, and (despite "hydride" in its name) uses no hydrogen. HVPE uses pure metals as starting materials for the metal constituents and dopants, rather than metal-organic precursor gases, which are approximately 10 times more expensive, per gram of metal. Also HVPE has an inherently faster growth rate of the LED's layers, leading to further efficiencies. Fox Group's HVPE machines operate at atmospheric pressure - another advantage over MOCVD reactors, which requires vacuum pumps and seals. Fox Group's HVPE technology was developed by world-renowned scientists. Fox Group has further advanced the technology, from the R&D stage to a fully-automated, reproducible manufacturing process. |
