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January 27, 2010...ATK Space Systems of Goleta, California has awarded Emcore Corporation a contract to manufacture, test, and deliver solar panels for ATK's UltraFlex solar arrays. The UltraFlex solar arrays will power the Orion spacecraft, which Lockheed Martin is developing for NASA.
Emcore's contract runs through 2013 and is valued at $9 million to $11 million. The solar array system is used for only one mission. For this reason, Emcore is expected to continuously produce the solar panels for ATK's UltraFlex solar arrays through 2020 and beyond.
Emcore's latest ZTJ triple-junction solar cells will be designed into the solar panels delivered to ATK Space Systems. According to Emcore, the cells have a sunlight-to-electricity conversion efficiency of 30%, the highest performance space qualified multi-junction solar cells available. Production of the solar panels will take place at Emcore's manufacturing facilities located in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
NASA's Orion crew exploration vehicle (CEV) program will replacing the current Space Shuttle and serve as its next generation human space transport system. It will be capable of transferring astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS), the Moon and other destinations within the solar system. NASA expects to order multiple Orion Constellation vehicles over the next decade.
Dave Messner, Vice President and General Manager of ATK's Solar Array and Deployables site in Goleta, California stated, "The ATK UltraFlex™ solar array design will be providing 14kW of power per shipset with superior performance characteristics and mission enabling features..."
Emcore News Release
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Aixtron Expands to New R&D Facilities
CompoundSemi News StaffJanuary 27, 2010...Aixtron AG of Aachen, Germany announced an expansion to its new R&D campus at its premises in Herzogenrath-Kohlscheid in support of the company’s research and development strategy.
Aixtron says that the new facility will be able to host up to 350 engineers at the end of phase 1, significantly increasing the laboratory resources and prototype capabilities used to develop next generation complex material deposition manufacturing systems. The company plans to invest up to €40m over the next 2-3 years to fully develop these new modular facilities. The new facilities will reportedly utilize a renewable energy design.
Aixtron says it will continue to focus the main portion of its manufacturing of standard deposition equipment at its nearby production facilities in Herzogenrath, Kaiserstraße. Manufacturing of standard deposition equipment will also be supported by the engineering and assembly locations in Cambridge, UK, and Sunnyvale, US. Aixtron indicated that the facility will help to meet requirements of improved performance and will aid in reducing the cost of ownership of its systems for use in the LED general lighting market.
Company News Release Veeco Awarded $4M in R&D Matching Funds from DOE for SSL Manufacuturing
CompoundSemi News StaffJanuary 25, 2010...Veeco Instruments Inc.was awarded $4 million in R&D matching funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act by the U.S. Department of Energy for solid state lighting projects.
The company of Plainview, New York USA, produces metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) systems.
Veeco is among 8 companies to share in $23.5 million for research and development of manufacturing equipment, processes, or monitoring techniques used in the production of solid state lighting. The research and development efforts among the eight companies is focused on achieving significant cost reductions and enhanced quality of solid state lighting products.
(Ref: LIGHTimes Article).
Congressman Rush Holt, who represents New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District commented, “In a few years, LED lighting will be everywhere, and New Jersey should be in the forefront of creating the jobs that will make it happen”
Veeco’s proposal was aimed at driving down the cost of high brightness LEDs through the advancement of its metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technology.
Veeco says that the overall objective of its two year program is to develop high-volume MOCVD systems that provide a 4X reduction in the cost of epitaxial growth for LED devices, with the ultimate goal of a 10X reduction in LED costs. Veeco will partner with Sandia National Laboratories on this project.
According to John Peeler, Veeco’s CEO, "The funding will support the retention and creation of jobs in Veeco’s Plainview, N.Y. and Somerset, N.J. facilities."
Veeco News Release
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Arrow Electronics to Distribute Cree's Silicon Carbide-Based Power Products
CompoundSemi News StaffJanuary 25, 2010...Arrow Electronics has signed an agreement with Cree to distribute Cree's silicon carbide (SiC) power products. Among the Cree products available through Arrow will be the recently released Z-REC™ Series of 600-V Schottky diodes and the groundbreaking 1200-V Schottky diode line.
“Our customers are at the leading edge of green power designs,” said Robert Behn, vice president of supplier marketing for Arrow Electronics.
“Together, Cree and Arrow intend to accelerate the adoption of silicon carbide power semiconductors to create more efficient switching power supplies, alternative energy converters and motor drives,” said Bob Pollock, Cree senior vice president, sales.
Cree News Release
/documents/view/cldoc.php?id=118730#top Keithley Instruments’ Solar Cell Testing Survey Reveals Priorities and Best Practices in Test Methods of Solar Cells
CompoundSemi News StaffJanuary 25, 2010...Keithley Instruments has published a solar cell testing survey, which it says outlines the priorities and best practices in test methods of solar cells.
The Cleveland, Ohio USA-based company conducted a recent survey of solar cell/photovoltaic device researchers and manufacturers working in government, university-based, and corporate labs and manufacturing facilities. The survey indicates distinct differences in testing methods and priorities among respondents from Asia, North America, and Europe. Keithley Instruments, Inc. conducted the study during Summer 2009 using what it says was a by-invitation-only online survey that generated 564 responses. A white paper summarizing the results is available for downloading at no charge from Keithley's website at: http://www.keithley.com/data?asset=52794.
Across all geographies, the survey indicated the industry is focused on improving device efficiencies as the dominant development priority. “Reducing manufacturing cost” was the second most important among the respondents, as might be expected, although substantially less significant than the need to boost device and panel performance.
In Keithley's survey, a large majority of respondents worldwide identified their “key parameters” for measurement as short-circuit current (ISC), open-circuit voltage (VOC), maximum output power (PMAX) and, to a lesser extent, conversion efficiency. Respondents in North America and Europe showed consistent agreement on what constitutes their most important tests. Respondents from Asia, while agreeing with the same top four tests, showed much less preference for them as other tests were cited as key parameters nearly as often as the top four.
Keithley Instruments News Release First Solar and PNM Sign Contract for 22 Megawatts of Solar Power for New Mexico; First Solar Acquires Portion of Project Pipeline from EMG
CompoundSemi News StaffJanuary 20, 2010...PNM, New Mexico's largest electric utility, has signed a contract with First Solar to construct 22 megawatts (MW) AC of utility scale photovoltaic (PV) solar power plants in New Mexico. First Solar also recently announced the acquisition of a portion of Edison Mission Group's (EMG) solar project development pipeline. First Solar, based in Tempe, Arizona, says it will construct the facilities for PNM using its advanced PV panels at five separate sites within PNM's service territory. The sites will be chosen based on cost, availability and suitability of land; the quality of a site's solar potential; environmental and permitting considerations; and level of local support.
"We are proud to have a company with First Solar's internationally recognized expertise and reputation building these facilities to help us meet the growing energy needs of our customers," said Pat Vincent-Collawn, PNM president and CEO.
If approved by state regulators, the 22 MW AC of new solar capacity would be the first contracted under the terms of a previous agreement PNM reached two weeks ago with state environmental, renewable energy and governmental organizations. The plan is for First Solar to deliver 45 total MW of capacity by the end of 2011.
First Solar News Release.
First Solar indicated that EMG projects it acquired are largely on private land in California and the Southwest, range from 20 to 150MW, and are not yet contracted with utilities.
First Solar News Release Veeco Launches TurboDisc K465i GaN MOCVD System
CompoundSemi News StaffJanuary 20, 2010...Veeco has introduced the new TurboDisc K465i gallium nitride (GaN) Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) System for the production of high-brightness light- emitting diodes (HB LEDs). Veeco reports that its beta site customers rapidly qualified the K465i for volume production, and the Company has received orders for the system from multiple LED customers throughout the Asia Pacific region. According to the company the system is based on its production-proven K-Series platform and it combines high productivity with the capability to drive LED yields approaching 90 percent in a 5nm bin. Veeco says that the fully automated system requires only a short recovery period after maintenance and enables higher productivity and reduced cost of ownership compared to competitive tools.
According to Bill Miller, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, General Manager of Veeco’s MOCVD business, “With superior wavelength uniformity and excellent run-to-run repeatability, the K465i extends Veeco’s lead in capital efficiency – the number of good wafers per day for each capital dollar – for high volume LED manufacturers. We are extremely pleased that our beta site customers achieved world-class results in a very short period of time. Industry interest in the K465i is strong.”
John R. Peeler, Veeco’s Chief Executive Officer, added, “The K-Series is a robust, reliable, multi-generational MOCVD platform that is in production at more than 80% of the world’s key LED manufacturers.”
Company News Release Odersun's CIS Solar Modules Achieves IEC Certification
CompoundSemi News StaffJanuary 20, 2010...Ordersun of Berlin, Germany reports that its copper indium selenide (CIS) solar modules have
achieved the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61646 and 61730 certifications for its standard CIS-based solar modules on first submittal and will start volume production. The company says that the certifications demonstrate that its modules meet the IEC’s strict norms regarding function, quality and safety. These certificates of compliance were awarded by the German Engineering Association VDE for the company’s 1 by 1.70m framed glass-foil modules built of Odersun's CIS-on-copper-tape cells.
Having now passed this important milestone, Odersun starts the ramp-up of its 20MW manufacturing facilities in Fürstenwalde (Spree), Germany.
“With starting production we are able to deliver Odersun's aesthetically appealing CIS solar modules to our customer base this quarter.” explained Hein van der Zeeuw, CEO of Odersun, “This is an excellent foundation for us to further expand our product portfolio with customized solar modules for architectural building integration. For this, we are cooperating with various partners from the building industry.”
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