Previously, the company produced of 2-inch GaN substrates for blue-violet lasers, which Sumitomo notes enabled production of the first Blu-ray DVD players. Sumitomo Electric previously began large scale production of 2-inch GaN substrates designed for use in white LEDs. It has also been developing larger diameter GaN substrates.

The front face of the newly developed 6-inch GaN substrates is a polarized c-plane. Sumitomo Electric reportedly has ongoing development efforts to bring the material into large scale production, and the company expects that these materials will find widespread use for both white LEDs and power devices.