Axcelis Announces Joint Development Program with GE Aerospace For the Development of High Voltage Superjunction Power Devices

BEVERLY, Mass., Aug. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACLS), a leading supplier of enabling ion implantation solutions for the semiconductor industry, announced a Joint Development Program (JDP) with GE Aerospace focused on the development of production-worthy 6.5 to 10kV superjunction power devices. Processes will be developed on Axcelis' Purion XEmax^™ high energy implanter, which provides the industry's highest beam currents over the broadest energy range — up to 15MeV.

This JDP supports the 'Advanced High Voltage Silicon Carbide Switches' project led by GE Aerospace as part of the Commercial Leap Ahead for Wide Bandgap Semiconductors (CLAWS) Hub, which is headed by North Carolina State University. This project will aim to improve the performance of power switches used in important emerging applications.

Silicon Carbide (SiC) wide bandgap semiconductors deliver higher voltages, operating temperatures and frequencies compared to traditional Silicon (Si) devices. These semiconductor devices are enabling for many applications in the aerospace and defense sector through reduced power consumption and smaller packaging of critical systems. On the commercial side, high voltage wide bandgap semiconductors are expected to play an important role in emerging critical technologies like artificial intelligence, quantum computing, autonomous vehicles and a more resilient power grid.

President and CEO Russell Low commented, "We are proud to collaborate with GE Aerospace in this endeavor, which has the potential to accelerate superjunction technology adoption. Axcelis is committed to providing equipment and process expertise that enables our customers' superjunction device roadmaps."

Axcelis' Purion XEmax provides maximum flexibility in energy ranges to optimize the profile in depth and concentration, enables a more cost-effective approach by reducing the number of application steps, and excels in channeling over 7µm of aluminum implanted depth.

GE Aerospace, through its Research Center in Niskayuna, NY, has built up a world-leading IP portfolio in SiC technologies over more than three decades and sells SiC- based electric power products today through its Electrical Power business to support the avionics and electrical systems aboard commercial aircraft and ground vehicles. More recently, GE Aerospace researchers have been focusing SiC developments to enable future flight operations in more extreme operating environments such as with hypersonic vehicles and space travel, and to support developments with electric propulsion.

Dr. Ljubisa Stevanovic, chief engineer at GE Aerospace Research, stated: "High voltage SiC power devices are an important enabler for a wide array of critical emerging applications and future endeavors, including hypersonic travel, electric propulsion, and space exploration. We are excited to partner with Axcelis on this project, due to their expertise in ion implantation for Silicon Carbide power devices, and their market leading portfolio of Purion high energy ion implanters."

About Axcelis:

Axcelis (Nasdaq: ACLS), headquartered in Beverly, Mass., has been providing innovative, high-productivity solutions for the semiconductor industry for over 45 years. Axcelis is dedicated to developing enabling process applications through the design, manufacture and complete life cycle support of ion implantation systems, one of the most critical and enabling steps in the IC manufacturing process. Learn more about Axcelis at www.axcelis.com.

Safe Harbor Statement
Statements made in this press release that are not of known historical fact are forward-looking statements and are subject to the safe harbor provisions created by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements, which include our plans with respect to a Joint Development Program, are based on management's current expectations and should be viewed with caution. They are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, including the risks and uncertainties that are described in the documents filed or furnished by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including specifically the risk factors described in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024. The Company undertakes no obligation to update the information or statements made in this press release.

CONTACTS:

Press/Media Relations Contact: 
Maureen Hart
Senior Director, Corporate & Marketing Communications
Telephone: (978) 787-4266
Email: Maureen.Hart@axcelis.com

Axcelis Investor Relations Contact:
David Ryzhik
Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Strategy
Telephone: (978) 787-2352
Email: David.Ryzhik@axcelis.com

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SOURCE Axcelis Technologies, Inc.