Gallium nitride pioneer Exagan has raised €5.7million from a range of French organisations and will use the cash to produce high speed power switching devices on 200mm wafers. Exagan was spun out from French research body Leti and materials specialist Soitec in 2014.
"This significant first round of financing validates our efforts over the past five years with Leti and Soitec to commercialise GaN-on-silicon technology and supports our commitment to provide customers with qualified GaN devices in large volumes," said Frédéric Dupont, Exagan's CEO. "We are focused on offering our customers reliable, high-performance devices that are developed with industrial partners already sourcing technologies or products for the targeted markets."
The financing round follows Exagan's recent agreement with foundry X-FABto produce devices on 200mm wafers targeted at markets such as solar, automotive and IT electronics. It also has a strategic partnership with CEA-Leti, which is using Exagan's 650V G-FET platform to develop applications with its industrial partners.
Soitec CEO Paul Boudre noted: "Soitec is obviously excited about this successful round of financing. Its GaN-on-silicon technology, which leverages our materials expertise, opens interesting opportunities in promising markets such as electronics, automotive and energy.
Author
Graham Pitcher
Source: www.newelectronics.co.uk