Aixtron AG and Ovonyx Partner to Develop Deposition Technology for Advanced Phase-Change MemoryJanuary 21, 2009...Aixtron, an MOCVD equipment maker based in Aachen, Germany, reports signing a cooperative agreement with Ovonyx. The agreement is to qualify atomic vapor deposition (AVD) process technology to further advance and scale phase change memory products. Aixtron points out that manufacturers of Flash and DRAM memory are encountering production capacity challenges as chip geometries shrink.
Aixtron says that phase change memory (PCM) is widely considered a practical alternative for future commercial, high-volume semiconductor memory. Ovonyx and its largest shareholder, Energy Conversion Devices, invented and pioneered the development of phase change memory technology. Aixtron says that PCM provides a high performance, dense, array-addressed semiconductor memory technology that is competitive with Flash and DRAM in terms of price. Aixtron In addition to Flash and DRAM, Ovonyx says that its PCM technology can be used to replace embedded applications such as microcontrollers and reconfigurable MOS logic.
Tyler Lowrey, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ovonyx said, “We look forward to working with Aixtron to develop conformal deposition processes that will further enhance the commercialization of PCM products by worldwide chipmakers.”
Dr. Bernd Schulte, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Aixtron AG. said, “We believe that, working with Ovonyx, we can accelerate commercialization of AVD phase change material deposition into high volume production and offer chip manufacturers higher productivity and low cost of ownership solution.” Aixtron News Release Mitsubishi Electric Develops 110 mW Output 638nm Laser Diode for Projectors
CompoundSemi News StaffJanuary 21, 2009...Mitsubishi Electric Corporation of Tokyo has developed a 638-nanometer wavelength laser diode with output power of 110 milliwatts in single lateral-mode operation. According to the company, the device will be used in palm-size mobile color projectors and other display systems. The company boasts that the laser diode, the ML520G54, also achieves the world’s highest wall plug efficiency of 28 percent. Sample shipment will begin on February 1, 2009.
The company says that the market is seeking to further extend the use of laser diodes to display equipment.
Personal entertainment players, mobile phones and other mobile equipment, are garnering attention as possible laser diode applications. These would require a small, high-output and highly efficient laser diodes as a light source, while employing micro mirror devices to scan the laser beams. While portability has been achieved in the industry, the company says that only its laser diodes have enough output power and brightness to satisfy mobile color projector manufacturers. The company notes that the device’s compact 5.6-millimeter “TO CAN housing” package makes it suitable for integration in mobile color projectors, laser display apparatus, industrial instrumentation, and biomedical fields. Company News Release
Vishay Releases TrenchFET(R) Power MOSFET in Micro Foot Package With Backside Insulation
CompoundSemi News StaffJanuary 21, 2009...Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. today released its TrenchFET power MOSFET in the company's Micro Foot package with backside insulation.
The company says that the Si8422DB is optimized for power amplifier, battery, and load switching in portable devices such as cell phones, PDAs, digital cameras, MP3 players, and smart phones. The 2-mil backside coating of the device reportedly insulates the top of the Micro Foot package to prevent electrical shorts from being created by temporary contact with moving parts in portable devices.
According to Vishay, this insulation allows the device to be used in applications with very thin height requirements in which other items may be directly above it, such as: shielding, buttons, or touch screens. The company contends that it allows traces to be better optimized by not having to be routed to areas on the PCB with less height restrictions.
The 20-V n-channel Si8422DB offers an 1.55-mm by 1.55-mm footprint with a 0.64-mm profile. The device has an on-resistance range from 0.043 ohms at 1.8-V VGS to 0.037 at 4.5-V VGS, with a maximum gate-source voltage of +/18 V.
Samples and production quantities of the new Si8422DB are available now, with lead times of 10 to 12 weeks for larger orders. Company News Release Fraunhofer ISE Achieves 41.1% Efficiency for Multi-junction Solar Cells
CompoundSemi News StaffJanuary 19, 2009...Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have again achieved a record efficiency. This time the researchers achieved 41.1 percent conversion efficiency for its solar concentrator cells. Its achieved this efficiency when the mult-junction solar concentrator cells received sunlight concentrated 454 times. The 5 mm? cell was made with GaInP/GaInAs/ Ge (gallium indium phosphide, gallium indium arsenide on a germanium substrate).
The researchers use metamorphic growth and a special technique to overcome a lattice mismatch between gallium indium phosphide and gallium arsenide.
The cells are made out of thin Ga0.35In0.65P and Ga0.83In0.17As layers on GaAs or Ge substrates. The researchers point out that unlike conventional solar cells, the semiconductors in these cells do not have the same lattice constant (distance between the atoms in a crystalline structure). The researchers at Fraunhofer ISE have succeeded in overcoming this obstacle. They reportedly managed to localize the defects in a region of the solar cell that is not electrically active. As a result, the active regions of the solar cell remain relatively free of defects. The solar spectrum is divided into three equally large spectral regions on different material layers with each generating the same amount of current.
Fraunhofer ISE is reportedly working together with the company Azur Space in Heilbronn as well as Concentrix Solar GmbH in Freiburg to make this technology competitive as soon as possible.
Fraunhofer ISE News Release SMI Opens Application Lab for ZnO Deposition
CompoundSemi News StaffJanuary 19, 2009...Structure Materials Industries (SMI) of Piscataway, New Jersey USA, has opened its application lab facility for deposition of Zinc Oxide and its alloys. SMI notes that it has a decades-long history in development of Zinc Oxide and its alloys and has built considerable capabilities in its in-house applications lab, including 4 ZnO deposition tools, thermal and laser annealing stations, and other support services. According to the company, the tools are used predominantly in support of customer development needs and deposition tool purchasers.
SMI contends that that in GaN-based LEDs, especially UV LEDs, only ZnO alloys will effectively allow UV light out while maintaining conductivity. ZnO allows effective engineering of the index of refraction, the bandgap, band alignment, and so on. SMI says that ZnO conductors are applicable to CdTe and CIGS photovoltaics as well as conventional LEDs. Other applications of ZnO are in nanowire structures are have great potential as sensors and possibly even a new type of laser, and thin film transparent, and power transistors at relatively very low cost. In addition the company says that ZnO or its alloys - can be used as a phosphor layer in a device structure, such as a white light LED. SMI News Release Solyndra Opens European Headquarters
CompoundSemi News StaffJanuary 19, 2009...Solyndra Inc. based in Fremont, California USA, reports the opening of its European headquarters in Hlzkerchen, Germany. According to the company, the European headquarters opening was in response to high demand in Europe for the systems to be used on commercial rooftops.
Managing Director and Vice President for Europe, Middle East and Africa Sales of Solyndra GmbH, Clemens Jargon, will be responsible for overseeing the company's sales and service operations throughout European countries. Solyndra notes that it has active PV markets such as Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, and France. The company uses cylindrical thin film modules designed specifically for commercial rooftops.
“The commercial rooftops of Europe are an immense opportunity for the generation of solar electricity and are of growing importance with favorable incentive support in many countries,” said Solyndra CEO and founder Dr. Chris Gronet. “This move strengthens our ability to serve our customers in the region and allows us to play a greater role in the evolution of the European energy market towards a more sustainable future.”
Company News Release Cree Licenses GaN Substrate Technology to Mitsubishi Chemical
CompoundSemi News StaffJanuary 19, 2009...Cree of Durham, North Carolina USA has entered into an exclusive license agreement, subject to some exceptions, with Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC). Under the terms of the agreement, MCC has been given the right to manufacture and sell freestanding gallium nitride substrates. MCC was also given the right to enter into similarly scoped sublicenses, subject to certain conditions.
Cree will receive a combination of guaranteed payments and royalties on the sale of GaN substrates over the lifetime of the agreement. Other terms of the license agreement, including amount of upfront payment, were not disclosed.
"GaN substrates are important products in the optoelectronics business at MCC. By entering into this exclusive license agreement with Cree, MCC will expand the GaN substrate business for optical and electrical devices," Yasuji Kobashi, general manager of MCC's optoelectronics business stated. "MCC will be able to accelerate R&D and production for high-quality GaN substrates with different crystalline orientations." Cree News Release
HRL Becomes First Compound Semi Fab Member of Semiconductor Industry Association
CompoundSemi News StaffJanuary 15, 2009...HRL Laboratories, a compound semi foundry in Malibu, California USA, reports that it has become a charter member of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). SIA, the premier association representing the U.S. semiconductor industry, has more than 70 member companies, and reportedly accounts for nearly 90 percent of semiconductor production in the United States. HRL Laboratories is a corporate research and development laboratory owned by Boeing, and it is reportedly the only compound semi fabrication facility to participate as a charter member in SIA since its founding in 1977.
Since 1960, HRL has reportedly served the DoD, U.S. government agencies, and major contractors in providing microelectronics foundry services for military and aerospace applications.
Only 19 of the member companies including HRL are part of the Defense Microelectronics Activity program that took over the Trusted Access Foundry Program Office of the National Security Agency. The Defense Microelectronics Activity organization assesses and verifies the integrity of the facilities and processes used to design, produce, manufacture, and distribute critical national-security microelectronic components.
HRL says that it became a charter member in SIA to take part in meetings and voice its opinions on how the country’s Defense Microelectronics Activity affects the rest of the industry. It reportedly received its initial accreditation in 2007 as a Trusted Foundry for the Department of Defense from the Trusted Access Foundry Program Office of the National Security Agency. Then in 2008, HRL received its reaccreditation from the Defense Microelectronics Activity, which has since taken over the program.
HRL News Release Alfalight Releases 808 nm, 0.65 W Pump Diode Laser
CompoundSemi News StaffJanuary 15, 2009...Alfalight, a maker of high-powered diode lasers based in Madison, Wisconsin USA, has released a 0.65 W, 808 nm single-emitter pump diode laser. The company says that the device, packaged on a small form factor 3-mm Q-mount, extends the benefits its Wavelength Stabilization Technology (WST) to high-efficiency, temperature-stable DPSS micro-laser applications such as pico-projector and laser display systems. Alfalight's proprietary WST technology uses an integrated grating on the laser chip to provide a pump wavelength locked on the narrow absorption band of the micro-laser gain medium without the need for energy-inefficient temperature control circuitry. Alfalight claims that because the WST pump laser has an efficiency matching standard pump technology it is a superior pumping solution for the micro-laser market that can boosting power efficiency and stability for both existing and new micro-laser designs.
"By scaling down the emitter size of our highly successful, high-power WST diodes, Alfalight now provides a pivotal pumping solution that immediately impacts the expansive opportunity for micro-laser suppliers to the consumer projection and display market," said Ron Bechtold, vice president, Sales and Marketing. "Customers can now utilize Alfalight 808 nm wavelength-stabilized technology to improve performance, while extending both the operating temperature range and the battery life of micro-green lasers." Company News Release Our news features are reported
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