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Startup Story

New Up Innovation Offers New MOVCD Solutions

Established in June 2018, ITRI startup New Up Innovation consists of a group of epitaxy experts specialized in the development of key components in MOCVD epitaxy equipment such as showerheads and the software CyperEpi for process parameters optimization. These solutions are expected to create industrial upgrading opportunities for many small and medium enterprises.

Brian Fu (center), General Manager of New Up Innovation, and his colleagues.

Brian Fu (center), General Manager of New Up Innovation, and his colleagues.

Why is the company dedicated to this technical field? New Up Innovation’s General Manager Brian Fu, who had previously worked at ITRI for more than a decade, commented that MOCVD is the most important and complex process in LED and III-V semiconductor industries, and MOCVD showerheads are a crucial component that involves cutting-edge technologies such as precision manufacturing of fluid and gas flow. “These are exactly the strengths of Taiwanese manufacturers. So why not give it a go?” Fu explained.

With many years of R&D experience, Fu and his team created a showerhead module that can fit into existing MOCVD equipment and effectively enhance epitaxy quality. This new module provides a unique spraying method which sprays both inside and outside of the tubes in concentric circles. The more uniform distribution of gas forms a denser deposit, resulting in a better brightness and spectrum effect in end products.

New Up Innovation has also had much success in software development for showerheads. In the past, manufacturers relied on trial and error to adjust production parameters for temperature, pressure, flow volume, and spin speed; yet this method consumes a significant amount of material, labor and time. Now, with the company’s CyberEpi software, operators can actually observe fluid and gas flow changes in the MOCVD cavity and pinpoint optimal process parameters. “It’s just like making a black box transparent,” said Fu. This cutting-edge technology won an R&D 100 Award in 2017 as it greatly improves process accuracy and reduces development time from weeks to hours.

Having integrated software and hardware modules, New Up Innovation’s solution is ten times cheaper than those provided by foreign suppliers. It is an economical choice for manufacturers because they can upgrade existing machinery without the need to rebuild a new production line. “Our technology is very beneficial to the future development of Micro LED and Mini LED in Taiwan. We should seize this opportunity and let Taiwan shine again in the global LED industry!” said Fu.

Besides MOCVD components and software, New Up Innovation also developed UVC LED sterilization modules for consumer products.

Besides MOCVD components and software, New Up Innovation also developed UVC LED sterilization modules for consumer products.

To prove New Up Innovation’s capabilities and encourage more epitaxy equipment suppliers to use the new modules, Fu set up a small fab in ITRI to manufacture high-quality UVC LED and Mini LED chips. New Up Innovation even made their first UVC LED consumer product–the UVC LED mobile sterilization module, which can kill 99.9% of bacteria and has high market potential in medical and home use. The company also developed a specialized app that can compare the bacteria count before and after use.

Since its inception, New Up Innovation has been continuously optimizing process system software, leveraging AI and big data technologies, and conducting material research. All of these efforts have achieved better quality epitaxy results while offering an alternative to manufacturers who could only rely on foreign equipment in the past. The company is now applying for a location in Hsinchu Science Park to set up its own fab and will continue to collaborate with ITRI in terms of technology R&D.

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