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November 18, 2009...First Solar, a maker of CdTe thin-film solar modules based in Tempe, Arizona USA, has signed a Cooperation Framework Agreement with the Chinese government which outlines details of a 2GW solar power plant project. The agreement reportedly spells out the local support of the project and confirms the June 1, 2010 expected construction start date for the 30MW Phase I portion of the project.
The Cooperation Framework Agreement was signed during the China-US presidential summit.First Solar President Bruce Sohn and Mayor Yun Guangzhong of the Ordos City Government signed the Cooperation Framework Agreement in the presence of Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang, Vice Minister Liu Qi of the National Energy Administration, and U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. First Solar and Ordos also agreed to establish two committees to ensure the successful execution of the project and to develop a new energy industry in Ordos.
The 2GW First Solar project is to be built in multiple phases, beginning with the 30MW Phase 1. Phases 2, 3 and 4 are to be 100MW, 870MW, and 1,000MW, respectively. Phases 2 and 3 are to be completed by 2014 and Phase 4 is to be completed by 2019. The project is part of a planned 11.95GW New Energy Industry Demonstration Zone in Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, which is expected to combine solar, wind, hydroelectric and biomass power sources to provide a steady supply of renewable energy to the region that includes the Chinese capital.
First Solar News Release Vishay Wins Two EDN China Innovation Awards
CompoundSemi News StaffNovember 18, 2009...Vishay Intertechnology reports that it has won two 2009 EDN China Innovation Awards. One was for the recently introduced Power Metal Strip resistors and the other was for the company's TrenchFET power MOSFETs. In the Passive Component, Connector and Sensor category, Vishay was honored with a Leading Product award for a new high-temperature 1-W surface-mount Power Metal Strip resistor that is the industry's first current-sensing resistor in the 2010 case size to operate over a temperature range of -65 °C to +275 °C.
The WSLT2010...18 resistor offers a low 10-milliohms to 500-milliohms resistance value range, a tight tolerance down to +/-0.5 %, and low TCR values down to +/-75°ppm/°C. Target applications for the WSLT2010...18 include automotive engine and transmission controls, audio electronics, climate controls, and anti-lock brakes, as well as industrial oil/gas well drilling, including down hole test/measurement equipment.
In the Power Device and Module category, Vishay won a Leading Product award for its TrenchFET Gen III power MOSFET technology, which the company says enables efficient use of power in dc-to-dc conversion, battery management, and load switching circuits in computers, servers, telecom, power supplies, handheld electronics, and industrial applications.
The EDN China Innovation Awards were presented as part of the EDN China Innovation Conference at the Shenzhen Seaview O'City Hotel in Shenzhen, China. Vishay Intertechnology News Release French Research Centre Purchases Oxford Instruments Plasmalab System
CompoundSemi News StaffNovember 18, 2009...Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology reports that it has won a contract
to supply the French research centre, STnano in Strasbourg, with a Plasmalab System80 Plus ICP system.
STnano is the new Strasbourg nanofabrication facility, established jointly by IPCMS (a CNRS lab) and University of Strasbourg (UdS). Researchers at the facility have expertise in the design of nanostructures through top-down methods, and the study of their magnetic properties.
Oxford Instruments’ Plasmalab System80Plus a plasma etching and deposition processing system. STnano has purchased the inductively coupled plasma (ICP) configuration of the system, to process multiple materials including Silicon etch.
OIPT’s Plasmalab System80Plus is also available configured for etching and deposition (ICP-PECVD), reactive ion etching (RIE), plasma etching (PE) or plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD).
Dr. Hicham Majjad, Nanofabrication Manager at STnano, says that research centre chose an Oxford Instruments tool as it fitted their research requirements. “As a leading French research centre we demanded the highest specification system we could find to fit the specifications for the work we are undertaking. The Plasmalab80 Plus open load design allows for fast loading and unloading, ideal for prototyping and low volume production environments such as ours."
He added, "The system has been bought as part of the STnano's programme to equip our cleanroom with state of the art instrumentation for nano and micro scale fabrication in the fields of molecular electronic, spintronic, and polymers.” Oxford Instruments News Release SemiLEDs to Open Production Facility in Foshan, Guangdong Province, China
LIGHTimes News StaffNovember 17, 2009...SemiLEDs Corporation, an LED chip maker based in Boise, Idaho USA, has announced plans to establish a new LED wafer and LED chip production facility in Foshan, China. SemiLEDs is a major LED chip supplier to many packaging companies in China focusing on Solid State Lighting such as street lights, commercial and residential lighting.
The brand new, facility will produce LED wafers and high power LED chips using SemiLEDs patented vertical LED on metal technology. The company's patented and proprietary LED chip design has a vertical LED structure with a copper alloy base which the company says offers unparalleled advantages in thermal management and optical efficacy. Company News Release,
Content continues for LIGHTimes SecondPage members... iSuppli Predicts Thin-Film Technology’s Share of Solar Panel Market to Double by 2013
CompoundSemi News StaffNovember 16, 2009...Thin-film film solar cells are rapidly growing in market share, according to research firm iSuppi. iSuppli expects that thin-film will grow to account for 31 percent of the global solar panel market in terms of watts by 2013, up from 14 percent in 2008. In 2010 the average price for thin film solar panel is expected to be $1.40 compared to $2.00 expected for crystalline cells. Thin-film has the drawback of requiring 15 to 40 percent more space in terms of wattage produced, the company indicated
“The market viability of thin-film has been solidly established by First Solar Inc. as it rockets to become the world’s top solar panel maker this year, with more than a gigawatt of production,” said Greg Sheppard, chief research officer for iSuppli. “At the same time, the company has driven its cost of production to less than 90 cents per watt, keeping its costs at approximately half the level of crystalline module producers.”
iSuppi notes that most solar panels are made of crystalline wafers with 180 to 230 microns of polysilicon. However, thin-film panels are most often made by depositing multiple layers of other materials a few micrometers in thickness on a substrate usually using chemical vapor deposition. iSuppli indicated that companies that produce various CVD systems (from which most thin-film cells types are produced) or turnkey production lines for thin-film cells will benefit from its forecasted market share increase of thin-film.
Company News Release RFMD Announces First Gallium Nitride Product Qualified for Mass Production
CompoundSemi News StaffNovember 16, 2009...RFMD, a major player in the gallium arsenide market, has announced that its first gallium nitride product has reached full product qualification, a process in which the company releases a product for mass production.
The company indicated that it has shipped RF3931 to Multiple High Power Amplifier (HPA) Manufacturers
Bob Bruggeworth, president and CEO of RFMD, commented, "We fully expect RFMD's GaN process technology will play a central role in our corporate mission to extend and leverage our leadership in RF components and compound semiconductor technologies into multiple industries. The unique physical properties of RFMD's GaN technology deliver performance that is unattainable by current competing technologies. Also, RFMD's GaN technology is manufactured in the same high-volume manufacturing facility as our industry-leading GaAs products, providing RFMD a measurable competitive advantage. Accordingly, we believe our GaN technology will become a disruptive technology across a broad range of commercial and defense markets."
Company News Release
Time Magazine Names Dow Powerhouse Solar Shingle Named Among Best Inventions of 2009
CompoundSemi News StaffNovember 16, 2009...Time Magazine has named Dow's Solar Shingle, one of "The 50 Best Inventions of 2009". Dow Chemical Company of Midland Michigan recently introduced a roofing shingle integrated with flexible thin-film copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) photovoltaic solar cell in a single package. The solar shingle can reportedly be easily integrated with standard asphalt shingle materials. Dow boasts that the shingles greatly reduce the installation costs of solar because they can be installed at the same time as traditional roofing shingles without special skills.
"This groundbreaking technology will make affordable renewable energy a reality now and for future generations. Dow is proud to be recognized by TIME magazine - a strong testimonial to the power of our chemistry and science to deliver sustainable solutions," Jane Palmieri, Managing Director of Dow Solar Solutions stated.
"The collaboration with Caltech is projected to keep affordability and accessibility at the forefront of Dow's solar photovoltaic product lines and is another example of how Dow's leadership and innovation will further unlock the power of the sun for the masses," David Parrillo, Senior R&D Director for Dow Solar Solutions commented.
The Dow Powerhouse Solar Shingle systems are expected to be available in limited quantities by mid-2010, and they are projected to be more widely available in 2011.
Dow Chemical News Release Strategy Analytics Says Power Amplifier Market on Track for $2.8 Billion at 4 Billion Units
CompoundSemi News StaffNovember 11, 2009...Strategy Analytics (SA) predicts that the market for power amplifiers (PAs) in cellphones and related mobile devices will grow to $2.8 billion over the next five years. The prediction is part of the report entitled, “Cellular PA Forecast 2009 - 2014.”
SA indicates that demand for cellular PAs declined in the first half of ’09 with a slowdown in handset shipments. SA forecasts however that cellular will continue to spread beyond conventional handsets into notebook and netbook computers, and machine-to-machine systems such as automatic meter readers. Also, the number of bands used by the typical cellular terminal will continue to increase. Combined, SA says that these trends promise continued growth in shipments of cellular terminals and PAs, even as the conventional cellphone market matures and growth slows.
“We estimate that the PA market will reach almost 4 billion units per year in 2014, even as dual-mode PAs begin to reduce the power amplifier count per cellular terminal,” said Chris Taylor, Director of the RF & Wireless Components market research service.
Asif Anwar, Director of the Gallium Arsenide and Compound Semiconductor market research service, added, “Shipments of CMOS PAs will increase over the next five years, but GaAs-based PA modules will continue to dominate the market as cellular moves beyond W-CDMA to LTE.”
Company News Release Sumika Expands Capacity of Epitaxial Deposition ServicesNovember 11, 2009...Sumika Electronic Material reports that it is expanding production capacity to meet the demand for its compound semiconductor epitaxial deposition services. The company says it is installing an additional Aixtron 2600 G3 epi reactor to its foundry operation in Phoenix to meet the rising demand.
"Our capacity expansion is in response to the steadily increasing demand we're seeing for our GaAs (gallium arsenide) epi wafer services from producers of HBT (heterojunction bipolar transistors) devices and other microelectronics requiring compound semiconductor materials," said Ken Campman, general manager of Sumika Electronic Materials' epi operations. "These customers are ramping up their orders for epi wafers that meet their needs for repeatability and stability, especially in terms of gain performance - a key requirement in processing advanced HBT devices."
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