International Rectifier commences commercial shipments of gallium nitride on silicon devices

El Segundo, CA —(Business Wire)—May 9, 2012–International Rectifier Corporation (NYSE:IRF) today announced that it has qualified and shipped product built on its revolutionary Gallium Nitride (GaN)-based power device technology platform for a home theater system manufactured by a leading consumer electronics company.
“Commencing commercial shipments based on our leading-edge GaN-based technology platform and IP portfolio extends IR’s leadership in power semiconductor devices and heralds a new era for power conversion, in line with our core mission to help our customers save energy,” stated IR’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Oleg Khaykin. “We fully anticipate the potential impact of GaN-based technology on the power conversion market to be at least as large as the introduction of the power HEXFET by IR over 30 years ago.”

This achievement underlines International Rectifier’s strategic advantage in the power management market, providing a capital-efficient manufacturing model that enables customers with improvements in key application-specific figures of merit (FOM) of up to a factor of ten compared to state-of-the-art silicon-based technology. This latest milestone demonstrates International Rectifier’s ongoing commitment to providing its customers with leading-edge power management technology.
“GaN has the potential to be infused into every business unit and product line within IR over the long-term. We are excited about GaN, and see it as one of the major drivers for our long-term revenue growth, and market share expansion. I would like to thank all of the individuals involved and congratulate them for this tremendous accomplishment,” Mr. Khaykin concluded.
The pioneering GaN-based power device technology platform is the result of ten years of research and development by IR based on the company's proprietary GaN-on-silicon epitaxial technology. The high throughput, 150mm GaN-on-Si epitaxy, together with subsequent device fabrication processes which are fully compatible with IR’s current cost effective silicon manufacturing facilities, offers customers a world-class, commercially viable manufacturing platform for GaN-based power devices.
About International Rectifier
International Rectifier Corporation (NYSE:IRF) is a world leader in power management technology. IR’s analog, digital, and mixed signal ICs, and other advanced power management products, enable high performance computing and save energy in a wide variety of business and consumer applications. Leading manufacturers of computers, energy efficient appliances, lighting, automobiles, satellites, aircraft, and defense systems rely on IR’s power management solutions to power their next generation products. For more information, go to www.irf.com.