As compound semiconductor production volumes and expected yields increase, manufacturers are being faced with a whole new set of issues to solve. Until recently, processing and metrology equipment has largely been of the R&D type. The stress has been on versatility: equipment has had to produce and check the widest variety of samples, from nitride LED structures to quantum cascade lasers. This is the normal function of R&D, but the flexibility comes at the expense of device volumes - processing and metrology equipment can only turn out very low quantities. However, the signs are that compound semiconductor volumes will soon - finally- be ramping up to levels approaching those of some silicon fabrication lines. Compound semiconductor manufacturers face a unique set of challenges in taking production volumes to the next level; however, there are some lessons to be learned from the evolution of the silicon industry.
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