In an investor briefing, executives at the company were pleased to tout the progress the company was making with its 8-inch gallium arsenide (GaAs) wafer development. The company believes the product will be the cornerstone of microLED adoption across a range of consumer devices but doesn’t expect a ramp up until some time in 2024.
AXT is a material science company that develops and manufactures high-performance compound and single element semiconductor substrate wafers comprising indium phosphide (InP), gallium arsenide (GaAs) and germanium (Ge). The company’s substrate wafers are used when a typical silicon substrate wafer cannot meet the performance requirements of a semiconductor or optoelectronic device. Other end markets include 5G infrastructure, data center connectivity (silicon photonics), passive optical networks, microLED, lasers, sensors, power amplifiers for wireless devices and satellite solar cells. AXT’s worldwide headquarters are in Fremont, California where the company maintains sales, administration and customer service functions. AXT has its Asia headquarters in Beijing, China and manufacturing facilities in three separate locations in China. In addition, as part of its supply chain strategy, the company has partial ownership in ten companies in China producing raw materials for its manufacturing process.
AXT’s first shipments of its 8-inch GaAs wafers went out to customers for testing in 2021 but the process of commercialization for display customers is still some ways off, maybe later than hoped. However, the company is bullish on the prospects for its microLED business, very bullish, and believes that the GaAs substrate industry may be completely reshaped by microLED’s growth. AXT’s substrates, which are silicon doped, n-type substrates, demonstrate low etch pit densities (EPD) and low levels of slip lines. The 8-inch wafers are the largest the company supplies, and the company says it is shipping hundreds to customers who are doing their production line pilot tests today.
As such, AXT doesn’t expect any production ramp up until 2024, late 2024 at that, with volume production not expected any earlier than 2025. AXT benefits from both being a supplier of wafers and the raw materials for GaAs substrate development.
