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October 15, 2001...One of the compound semi industry's prime suppliers of epitaxy-based devices,
RF Micro Devices of Greensboro, North Carolina, USA has announced
it will acquire RF Nitro Communications, Inc. which is located in Charlotte,
North Carolina. RF Nitro is noted within the industry primarily for its leading
edge work in Gallium Nitride (GaN), a compound semi material of exceptional
promise, not only for its capability in producing blue spectrum LEDs and laser
diodes, but also as next generation electronic devices. While terms of the transaction
were not disclosed, it is anticipated that RFMD will position the new acquisition
as an aggressive contender in processes and products targeted for leading edge
wireless and fiberoptic transmission, the market in which RFMD excels. While
the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, it is expected to
be completed during RFMD's current fiscal quarter ending December 31, 2001.
It is anticipated that RF Nitro will operate under the name RF Micro Devices
Charlotte. Details of what processes RF Nitro brings to RFMD's offerings, and
statements by each of the principals involved are contained in the press
release as posted on CompounSemi Online. Tecstar and JX Crystals Push Solar Cell Efficiency to 35%... and BeyondOctober 11, 2001...Tecstar Inc. of City of Industry in California, USA and JX Crystals Inc. of
Issaquah, Washington USA have teamed to push the art of high efficiency solar
cells for space applications the next step. The program specifically addresses
high efficiency achieved by mechanically stacking cells and it is being
done under a BMDO SBIR Phase II project. The team's recent test reports confirm
(in satellite-speak) that Techstar's technology has successfully reached
a 33.4% cell efficiency at 15AMO. The GaInP/GaAs cell made by Tecstar is 27%,
and GaSb made by JX Crystal is 6.4%. "With the prismatic cover, the overall
cell efficiency will be over 35%," stated Dr. Charlie Chu, leader of the
project. "Given this latest data, Tecstar and JX Crystals anticipates our
next cell efficiency to reach over 40% within the next few months." Press
release InP Startup Inphi Corporation Emerges from Stealth ModeOctober 11, 2001...A new company based in Westlake Village, California USA calling itself Inphi
Corporation has joined the growing ranks of InP startups. The company was
founded in November 2000 and secured more than $12 million in seed funding in
December 2000 from two Tallwood Venture Capital and Mayfield Fund.
Loi Nguyen out of HRL Lab's extremely well-regarded InP high speed circuit
lab is the co-founder, President and CEO and
Gopal Raghavan, also out of HRL is co-founder and CTO. The company appears
to have a very strong management
team. In addition to their initial press
release, Inphi also announced that it has successfully developed and tested
InP based ICs "capable of network performance levels higher than 50 Gbps."
Their Initial 4:1 multiplexer and 1:4 demultiplexer prototypes feature the +50
Gbps performance, with a power consumption of less than 900 milliwatts. Press
release Matheson Tri-Gas & P+E Sign Hydrogen Purifier Supply AgreementOctober 10, 2001...Matheson Tri-Gas, Inc. (MTG) of Parsippany, New Jersey USA has just signed
a manufacturing and distribution agreement with Power + Energy (P+E) in which
MTG will manufacture and distribute P+E's PerfectH2 palladium diffusion
hydrogen purifiers, which deliver 99.9999999% (9-9s) hydrogen. This is especially
newsworthy because ultra-pure hydrogen is commonly used as a carrier gas for
expensive metal organics, and purity reliability is of utmost importance. PerfectH2
not only meets the compound semiconductor industry standardization for palladium
diffusion technology for delivering ultra-pure hydrogen as used to produce LEDs,
laser diodes, HBTs, VCSELs and pHEMTs, but also solves well-known reliability
issues caused by inherent flaws in existing palladium cell designs. The agreement
is part of MTG's new Compound Semiconductor Initiative. According to
Bill Kroll, Exec VP of MTG who masterminded the CS initiative, "The partnership
between Power + Energy and Matheson Tri-Gas will be the unrivaled ability to
offer the sale and distribution of PerfectH2, backed by proven technology currently
installed in multiple MOCVD fabs. The addition of this unique Pd-based purifier
technology to our already comprehensive line of semiconductor process gas and
equipment solutions, demonstrates further the commitment we have to the compound
semiconductor market specifically, and in general to the entire market for semiconductor
purifier needs." Press
release ONR's Compound Semi Roadmap Site Progressing WellOctober 11, 2001...The U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) has sponsored an exciting website addition
to the compound semi industry online resources called the National Compound
Semiconductor Roadmap website
which is being hosted by ONR contract firm, CSCI in Virginia. The URL to the
new CS Roadmap site is http://ncsr.csci-va.com.
CompoundSemi Online (www.ComoundSemi.com) is working closely with the site's
webmaster, Mike Tinston at CSCI and it is shaping up extremely well. The website
holds special promise in becoming a useful tool to the CS community at large
and is dedicated to three important shared goals of the entire community: 1.
Create a reference on compound semiconductors for the research and educational
communities. 2. Provide a collaborative environment for individuals to
share ideas and challenges in an informal environment. 3. Create a roadmap
of various material and device technologies and predict their transition and
implementation. Mike, formerly a Navy pilot himself, working under the direction
of ONR's Colin Wood and Max Yoder, is actively engaging all research centers
and government funding agencies to support the creation of the reference data
and technology challenges and to develop realistic milestones predicting the
maturity of material and device technologies. The ONR team is seeking participants
to log on to the website, register as users and browse the information available.
Visitors will get a feel for the information there and the challenges, and can
easily start participating by entering a challenge related to that person's
ongoing work, or start a dialog with the author of a current challenge. For
those having any questions about the effort, don't hesitate to call Michael
Tinston directly at 703-866-4000 or email him at mtinston@csci-va.com.
We here at CompoundSemi News and CompoundSemi Online are keenly interested in
community dialog and are doing all we can to assist ONR. We heartily encourage
you join us in signing on what we now refer to as The Roadmap which will
help us all accellerate into the fast lane. Isonics and Cermet Team in Isotopically Pure Zinc Oxide Program for Blue LasersOctober 11, 2001...Isonics Corporation of Golden, Colorado
USA, a company specializing in the development of isotopically engineered semiconductor
materials, is teaming with a small but very advanced leading edge compound semi
substrate company based in Atlanta, Geogoria USA that the CS industry knows
well, called Cermet, Inc. The two have
announced an important joint development program to evaluate isotopically
pure zinc-64 oxide as a substrate for manufacturing blue LEDs and blue laser
diodes for next generation optical storage and telecommunications. Cermet is
developing single crystal ZnO as a replacement for aluminum oxide and silicon
carbide substrates for the manufacture of gallium nitride opto-electronic devices.
The partners are interested in evaluating the possible improved thermal conductivity
of isotopically pure zinc oxide. Jeff Nause, President of Cermet, commented,
"Proper thermal management is critical for many gallium nitride devices currently
under development. If a meaningful improvement in thermal conductivity can be
obtained for zinc oxide, it could mean improved lifetimes and reliability for
gallium nitride devices." Dr. Stephven Burden, Isonics' VP of Semiconductor
Materials added, "This collaboration is one of a number we expect to have
established with technology leaders such as Cermet to evaluate the properties
of isotopically pure semiconductor materials," Isonics will supply the isotopically
pure zinc oxide powder that will be converted into single crystal wafers by
Cermet using their proprietary process. Isonics will also supply isotopically
pure zinc in the form of diethyl zinc for Cermet to fabricate various MOCVD
based devices. The program is expected to take about 12 to 18 months to one
year to complete. Press
release Signal Receives USA Defense "Friend or Foe" Contract for LogamplifiersOctober 11, 2001...The Olektron Division in Beverley,
Massachusetts USA of Signal Technology Corporation has received a follow-on
production contract for its state-of-the-art logamplifier product. The contract
award is from a major USA defense contractor, and is valued in excess of $800,000,
with production continuing through 2002. Signal's logamplifiers are considered
critical parts of the Identification Friend or Foe radar systems which
are at the heart of the electronic warfare and radar countermeasures capabilities
on board both the U.S. Navy's F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet fighter aircraft and the
U.S. Air Force's F-16 Falcon fighter aircraft. "Our success in winning
this important order is based on Signal's proven ability to team with the manufacturer
to meet demanding performance requirements and stringent delivery schedules,''
said John Cotumaccio, Olektron Division president. Press
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