About Kyma
Kyma is a green 3P (People, Profits, Planet) high technology company based in the Research Triangle Area of North Carolina.
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Our mission is to create high performance crystalline materials that enable more energy efficient lighting and electric power management everywhere. |
Kyma's core competencies are centered on thin film and bulk crystal growth processes and crystal fabrication and characterization processes. Kyma’s intellectual property portfolio is growing and includes exclusively licensed technology developed by Kyma’s founders in the Materials Science and Engineering Department of North Carolina State University.
Kyma’s Template Products consist of thin crystalline layers of gallium nitride (GaN), aluminum nitride (AlN), and aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN), which are deposited on readily available substrates such as sapphire, silicon, and silicon carbide. Kyma’s Template Products enable 25-50% shorter epitaxy cycle times and higher quality epitaxial device layers with better structural quality and higher thermal conductivity. Kyma's customers report improvements in the cost, yield, and performance of their devices. Kyma is also developing GaN, AlN, and AlGaN Bulk Substrates for even greater cost and performance benefits.
About our Name
Kyma (κύμα) is a Greek word meaning "wave." It describes the characteristics of a wide range of natural phenomena, from ocean waves to sound waves. Scientists and engineers know that particles and quasi-particles such as electrons, holes, phonons, and polaritons exhibit wave-like behavior in crystalline semiconductors and that their wave-like properties may be affected by crystalline defects. Additionally, photons generated by GaN based LEDs and laser diodes have wave-like behavior both within and outside of the crystal. Kyma's template and bulk nitride semiconductor materials enable higher quality device layers, which in turn supports improved wave-like behavior of carriers (electrons and holes) being transported during device operation, which translates to better performance and reliability for a broad range of devices and applications.
Markets and Applications
The market for nitride semiconductor devices was $12B in 2010 and is expected to reach $90B over the long term, including $60B in visible lighting applications and $30B in power electronics applications.
The application space for nitride semiconductor devices is rapidly growing and includes solid state lighting, electric power switching, wireless base stations, optical storage, projection displays, ultraviolet water and air purification, and chemical and bioagent optical sensing.