Korean LED manufacturer Seoul Optodevice Company and AlGaN device specialist Sensor Electronic Technology have joined forces in a bid to ramp the manufacture of ultraviolet-emitting semiconductors,. according to a report at Optics.org.

The manufacture of AlGaN-based ultraviolet LEDs is set for a volume ramp following a strategic partnership set up by the US firm Sensor Electronic Technology (SET) and Seoul Optodevice Company (SOC) in Korea. As part of the deal, which will see an increase in III-nitride epiwafer production at SET, the two firms have also taken an equity stake in each other.

"By partnering with SET we set in motion our strategic plan of becoming the largest manufacturer of deep-UV LEDs,"said Jae Jo Kim, executive VP at SOC. While SET has focused on innovative approaches to AlGaN epitaxy and the development of advanced semiconductor devices, SOC is a vertically-integrated volume manufacturer of blue, green and near-ultraviolet chips.

The Korean company, which is based in Ansan-city, Kyunggi-do, is a subsidiary of Seoul Semiconductor, the country's largest packager of visible LEDs. With a production capacity of three billion LEDs per year, the parent company was ranked ninth in the world by Strategies Unlimited in its 2005 review of the industry.

Remis Gaska, the president and CEO of SET, said of the deal: "[It] will allow us to combine technological superiority in the field of deep-UV LEDs with the high-volume manufacturing capabilities and global marketing and sales network of SOC."