Nitride Solutions – producing material in Wichita for the world

Wichita-based Nitride Solutions is a manufacturer of materials used in electronics.  Sounds simple, but it’s much more complex. Founder Jeremy Jones explained that Nitride Solutions essentially grows crystals, in specially designed reactors at very high temperatures (4000 °F) to produce a material called aluminum nitride.  The resulting material is used for applications in electronics, refrigeration,…

Wichita-based Nitride Solutions is a manufacturer of materials used in electronics.  Sounds simple, but it’s much more complex.

Founder Jeremy Jones explained that Nitride Solutions essentially grows crystals, in specially designed reactors at very high temperatures (4000 °F) to produce a material called aluminum nitride.  The resulting material is used for applications in electronics, refrigeration, and high voltage switches (used on train tracks, for example).  The properties of the material make it ideal for use in ultraviolet and high-power devices, most of which are made in Asia.

Jones has worked in the advanced materials manufacturing industry for over 35 years, providing his expertise in roles at companies such as Polaroid, Motorola, Koch Industries and others.

Jason Schmitt, founder and CSO of Nitride Solutions has deep experience in silicon carbide and aluminum nitride crystal growth, characterization, fabrication, and device processing.  He graduated with Honors from the Warsaw University of Technology in Poland and then started Kansas Semiconductor, the predecessor to Nitride Solutions.

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Dr. Peng Lu, Founder and Director of Nitride Solutions is experienced in bulk crystal growth of aluminum nitride.  He received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering under Dr. James Edgar from Kansas State University.

Nitride Solutions rounds out its management team with Dr. Cris Ugolini, Director of Products and Customer Support. He received his Ph. D in physics from Kansas State University and is an expert in LED fabrication.

“Just as it takes time to produce materials in a lab, our company has grown through time and with the support of our Wichita community and our investors,” said Jones. “It took us two years to raise $2 million through a network of investors across the Midwest including the Midwest Venture Alliance, the Mid-America Angels and the Nebraska Angels.  We have raised over $15 million through angel investors since that time, including a large chemical company in Korea that invested us in 2016, and one in Taiwan in 2018.”

Jones also attributes much of Nitride Solution’s success to the wealth of expertise surrounding the company in Wichita.

The region boasts three major universities, including K State, that provide a stellar workforce from which to draw for scientific and engineering talent. Nitride Solution’s production processes are highly specialized and proprietary, and Wichita has been the perfect location for the company to train a well-prepared workforce in the advanced materials manufacturing trade.

“It’s very gratifying to do what no one has ever been able to do – production of materials has historically been in the form of powders for high-temp cookware,” said Jones. “No one else has ever been able to make it in crystal form for electronic devices. The materials we have developed double the light output of UV LEDs and remove heat from high-power chips 30 times faster, thereby enabling devices to perform far more efficiently and use less energy.”

Visit http://nitridesolutions.com/ to learn more about this company.

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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