At 200 kg, the "Super Boule" Represents the Next Generation of Sapphire Growth Technology and Sapphire Products
FRANKLIN PARK, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr. 13, 2009--
Rubicon Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:RBCN), a leading provider of sapphire
substrates and products to the LED, RFIC, Semiconductor, and Optical
industries, today announced it has successfully grown what the company
believes is the world’s largest sapphire crystal. The super boule weighs
in at 200 kg (441 lbs.) and will enable Rubicon to offer high quality
large-size optical windows and next generation wafer products with
dimensions over 12 inches.
Currently, Rubicon grows bulk sapphire crystals up to 85kg in production
volumes and provides large diameter sapphire wafers up to 8 inch
diameters and optical windows up to 10 inch dimensions. Key
differentiators are Rubicon’s ability to provide large size windows and
wafers in c-plane orientation as well as all other orientations and to
provide robust, high quality optical parts in thicknesses that meet any
customer requirements. Rubicon’s proprietary ES2 crystal growth
technology and sapphire processing capabilities can continue to be
scaled to produce even larger-size sapphire products in the future.
“We have once again demonstrated our capabilities as a leader in
sapphire growth technology for large-size sapphire by successfully
growing this unprecedented sapphire crystal,” said Raja Parvez, CEO of
Rubicon Technology. “This growth capability now opens the door for
Rubicon to provide customers with even larger size, very high-quality,
sapphire products. The “super boule” growth process will soon be
operationalized into production volumes which will enable new
applications for sapphire windows and wafers.”
Sapphire is an ideal material for optical uses due to its excellent
transmission in UV and IR wavelengths, and rugged durability under even
the harshest of conditions. Sapphire substrates are also used in very
high volume production for high brightness LEDs and for high performance
radio frequency integrated circuits. Key products for large area
sapphire include military applications such as windows for unmanned air
vehicles, targeting pods, submarine windows and transparent armor. Other
applications include aerospace windows, pressure vessel windows,
semiconductor process equipment parts and sensor windows for fire
safety, oil exploration and chemical processing.
About Rubicon Technology, Inc.
Rubicon Technology, Inc. is an advanced electronic materials provider
that is engaged in developing, manufacturing and selling monocrystalline
sapphire and other crystalline products for light-emitting diodes
(LEDs), radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), blue laser diodes,
optoelectronics and other optical applications. The Company applies its
proprietary crystal growth technology to produce very high-quality
sapphire in a form that allows for volume production of various sizes
and orientations of substrates and windows. Rubicon is a
vertically-integrated manufacturer with capabilities in crystal growth,
high precision core drilling, wafer slicing, surface lapping,
large-diameter polishing and wafer cleaning processes, which the Company
employs to convert the bulk crystal into products with the quality and
precision specified by its customers. The Company is actively developing
larger diameter products to support next-generation LED, RFIC and
optical window applications.
Further information is available at http://www.rubicon-es2.com.
Source: Rubicon Technology, Inc.
Rubicon Technology, Inc.
William Weissman
Chief
Financial Officer
847-457-3610
