AXT Inc

AXT is a global materials science company that develops and produces high-performance compound and single element semiconductor substrates, also known as wafers. The company's substrate wafers are used when standard silicon substrate wafers cannot meet the performance requirements of a semiconductor or optoelectronic device. While silicon is the dominant material for semiconductor chips, AXT's alternative or specialty materials are used when silicon would cause chips to overheat or perform too slowly, or for optoelectronic applications like LED lighting and chip-based lasers that require specific waveform frequencies not achievable with silicon. AXT researches, develops, and produces these specialty material wafers, but does not design or manufacture the chips themselves. AXT has two product lines: specialty material substrates and raw materials integral to these substrates. Its compound substrates combine indium with phosphorous (indium phosphide: InP) or gallium with arsenic (gallium arsenide: GaAs). Its single element substrates are made from germanium (Ge). InP is a high-performance semiconductor wafer substrate utilized in broadband and fiber optic applications, 5G infrastructure, and data center connectivity, where InP devices enable high-speed optical data transmission. InP substrates are also currently used in certain consumer products, including proximity sensors and other sensors in mobile devices. Semi-insulating GaAs substrates are used to create various high-speed microwave components, such as power amplifier chips found in cell phones, satellite communications, and broadcast television applications. Two of AXT's consolidated subsidiaries produce and sell certain raw materials, some of which are used in AXT's substrate manufacturing process and some of which are sold to other companies.