AXT, Inc.: Pioneers in their field

Source: Technology Digital

Date :9/3/2008 7:04:00 AM

With a new management team in place and a focused approach, this semiconductor materials supplier looks to the global market

Written by Sheridan Cross and Produced by Tyler Parrish

Since pioneering the commercialization of vertical gradient freeze (VGF) technology 20 years ago, AXT Inc of Fremont, CA has aspired to but one goal, as put forth in the vision statement on the company’s website: “To be the number one advanced semiconductor materials supplier of choice through superior quality, effective cost of ownership, and a customer-focused philosophy.”

Since the mid-2005 arrival of a new management team, headed by company Chairman and CEO Dr Phil Yin, it has moved well down that path. Under Dr Yin’s guidance, the company became profitable within a year and revenue for the second quarter of 2008 stands at US$19.9 million – a US$6.3 million increase when compared to the same time frame in 2007.

Dr Yin holds a B.S. in Physics from Villanova University and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Material Science from Brooklyn Polytechnic University. A member of the Electrochemical Society and the American Association for Crystal Growth, Dr Yin came to AXT after having served as General Manager of North America for AIXTRON Inc from 2003 to 05. He was the sole proprietor of Philip S. Yin Consulting, which dealt with semiconductor materials in areas such as epitaxial deposition and silicon wafers. Prior to that, he held positions with ATMI Epitaxial Services, Crysteco, Monsanto Electronics Materials and IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center.

Research reveals that the team assembled by Dr Yin possesses cumulative industry experience exceeding 120 years. According to the company website, AXT’s “proprietary VGF crystal growth process technology produces substrates with competitive sustainable advantages such as lower etch pit density (EPD) compared with conventional methods, lower stress, and the greatest mechanical strength, so that our customers experience less breakage and attain higher yields.”

The website explains that: “Although AT&T Bell Labs pioneered VGF technology in the early 1980s, the founders of AXT Inc were the first to independently commercialize the process and make its benefits available to the market. In brief, the process involves growing uniform crystals to a certain diameter, thinly slicing the crystal to very precise tolerances, edge rounding the form factors, polishing them into smooth wafers, then carefully packaging the wafers in a class 100/1000 room for shipping to customers.”

The company’s products include high-performance semiconductor substrates for major electronic and opto-electronic applications. Products include gallium arsenide (GaAs) substrates ranging from two- to six-inch diameters; indium phosphide (InP) substrates in two-, three-, and four-inch diameters; and single element germanium (Ge) substrates in two- and four-inch diameters.

Joint Ventures

The company produces its wafers at its Tongmei facility, a 190,000-square-foot manufacturing complex of eight buildings located in a suburb of Beijing. AXT maintains five joint ventures in China that provide products crucial to the substrate manufacturing industry.

The rationale for the joint ventures approach is explained thusly on the company Web site: “Through them, we manufacture and sell critical materials and parts ... This arrangement reduces our dependency on other suppliers of raw materials, plus it affords us price and volume stability unavailable to those purchasing on the open market. In addition, AXT is a majority owner in three of the key ventures, which affords us board-level control.”

The operations in China are: Beijing Ji Ya Semiconductor Co Ltd, Nanjing Jin Mei Gallium Co Ltd, Xilingol Tongli Germanium Co Ltd, Emeishan Jia Mei High Purity Materials Co Ltd, and Beijing Bo Yu Semiconductor Vessel Craftwork Technology. Additionally, AXT has operations in Japan, Taiwan, Korea, the UK and Switzerland.

Lean and committed

AXT is both ISO:9001 and ISO:9002 certified and employs Six Sigma management techniques. In house training programs as well as certification courses are available to all employees.

Since 2005, the company has followed a set of customer-first guidelines designed to promote proactive service. AXT strives to respond to sales quotes within 24 hours and to respond to customer requests for assistance within 72 hours. Customers are kept informed of shipment arrival times, offered products on a consignment basis, provided technology roadmap meetings designed to anticipate customer requirements and assigned an applications engineering group to support the sales organization. “To ensure the continued quality of our customer service, we are constantly introducing liaison and accountability standards internally between the production modules and externally between customers, sales staff, and production departments.”

Following manufacturing, all substrates are individually inspected for “flatness, bow and taper... surface saw marks, edge chips and cracks.” They are then packaged in a class 100 environment and shipped to customers in inert-atmosphere individually-sealed containers to secure the substrate quality at delivery. AXT provides a guarantee for each substrate purchased and will replace or rework substrates to customer satisfaction according to the purchase specifications. ¬