General Partner description:

At the academic level, FORTH is strongly collaborating with University of Crete and provides training for undergraduate and postgraduate level young engineers. As such FORTH has an existing platform for the proliferation of novel technology to young researchers. Already there is a related Ph.D starting on flex GaN and we expect a 2nd one on the CNT LNA. Finally, the results will be disseminated through the Hellenic Semiconductor Association of which FORTH is a member. The results will be also disseminated to the Greek Academic environment through the Greek Micro& Nano scientific society. FORTH in collaboration with Thales is developing a pilot production line for GaN and RF MEMS based smart transceiver power modules based on a unique proprietary coplanar and monolithic technology. The final aim is to establish a sustainable corporate entity within the European (initially) landscape. Initial targeted market is the radar industry for avionics and marine applications with eventual opportunity window in the emerging markets of large size and growth rates, like those of the SATCOM, 5G and 6G. The semi-automated pilot line operates within a very strict ISO 9001:2015 quality environment.

Significant infrastructure and any major items of technical equipment:

FORTH – IESL has extensive fabrication facilities including:
Clean Rooms: 250 m2 of class-1000 for MBE and device fabrication.
Material Growth: MBE system (RIBER 32P) for nitrides with NH3 injector and N2 RF plasma sources, set-up for excimer Laser Assisted MBE (LAMBE) and MBE system with two coupled growth chambers
(VG 80H/80S) for III-arsenides and SiC-Si.
Device/IC Fabrication: wet chemistry sinks, photoresist spinners, dedicated programmable hot plates, UV and deep-UV mask aligners with backside alignment capability, FESEM Jeol 7000 with Raith nanolithography system, UHV multi target e-beam evaporator, RF and DC sputtering, 3 thermal evaporators, rapid thermal annealing, RIE and PECVD systems, sintering, bonding wafer thinning, wafer dicing and SCP dryer.
Material Characterization: AFM, XRD, SEM and optical-Nomarski microscopes, contactless sheet resistance probe, electrochemical C-V profiling, Mercury probe profiler, Hall effect at 300 K and 77 K,
μRaman, ATR, Ellipsometry, 14-300 K photoluminescence (PL), micro photoluminescence (μPL),
electroluminescence (EL), modulated optical spectroscopies (PR, ER, PT), photocurrent (PC) and photovoltage (PV).
Device testing: C-V, quasistatic I-V, EL spectra and efficiency, RF S-parameter, noise and power measurements up to 40 GHz, on-wafer RF probes, complete I-V & C-V characterization.