The Action's in Dallas This Week @ NFOECSeptember 16, 2002...NFOEC is underway all this week in Dallas,
Texas in the Big Sky Country smack dab in the southwest center of the USA. If
the lineup of presenters and exhibitors, and the number of press onsite is any
indication, it looks like this week officially launches the official start of
the Fall Show Season... and (hopefully) the official recovery of the broadband
communications industry. Have a good show, everyone, and a great season with
renewed spirits... and orders! For those unable to attend in person,
we highly advise you visit virtually because NFOEC has a great website
which makes virtual attendance easy. The address is easy to find. It's simply,
"nfoec.com." Filtronic Starts GaAs Ramp for M/A-COM's Major "Non-European" CustomerSeptember 16, 2002...One month after announcing a consolidation of GaAs manufacturing from Filtronic's
Silicon Valley facility in California USA to their headquarters facility in
Newton Aycliffe in the UK, Filtronic plc appears to be bouncing back, fortified
by a pact they signed last fall with M/A-COM. Filtronic announced that they
have received those initial production orders from M/A-COM which are specifically
for RF switches for cellular handsets for what the two have designated as "a
major non-European OEM." The order is scheduled for manufacture over
the next three months with further follow-on orders expected. According to Filtronic,
the number of volume opportunities identified by the company in late July has
doubled from four to eight, and they specified that "levels of production
to meet demand from M/A-COM for very high volume OEM requirements are expected
to grow substantially over the next 12 months." According to Filtronic,
of the eight specific opportunities their strategic partner, M/A-COM, has identified,
four are with non-telecommunication major OEMs and the orders are for the volume
manufacture of switch product for Wireless Local Area Networks ('WLAN', 802.11a,
b and g), and rollout is expected to start early in the first quarter of calendar
year 2003. More details about Filtronic's 6 inch process and expected market
opportunities are included in their company news
release. Bookham & Cierra Photonics Enter Into Teaming ArrangementSeptember 16, 2002...Two of the compound semi industry's optical component suppliers, Bookham Technology
plc and Cierra Photonics, announced last week at ECOC 2002 that they have formed
a two-part technology and commercial partnership to "bring the benefits
of high integration-based functionality to WDM products, such as optical add/drop
multiplexers (OADMs)." The partnership arrangement, which is slated to
initially run for two years, allows both companies to jointly exploit the strengths
of their respective and complementary optical-integration technologies to develop
products and tailored solutions. From Bookham's side, they're contributing their
ASOC design and manufacturing technology for fabricating integrated optical
circuits on a silicon substrate, as well as their range of integrated GaAs and
InP tunable lasers and modulators. Cierra Photonics brings to the partnership
their range of thin-film filters, based on the company's waferscale integration
Advanced Energetic Deposition (AED) technology. As part of the arrangement,
Bookham will be the exclusive distributor of Cierra Photonics' complete range
of optical channel filters in Europe, which the partners feel will complement
Bookham's established ASOC technology based product lines. The partnership sees
the integration of Bookham's ASOC EVOA and of Cierra's solla-Q as a unique and
highly valuable combination for multiple applications including many OADM applications.
"The world WDM market has evolved in the last year and is moving towards
a much smaller number of suppliers who can offer a wider range of products and
product capabilities to systems vendors. Combining the strengths of Bookham's
and Cierra's integrated technologies will enable our partnership to address
even more effectively the growing opportunity for OADM applications in the metro
and access markets,'' said Steve Turley, Chief Commercial Officer for Bookham
Technology.Company news release.
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Sirenza Completes Acquisition of Xemod & Sets Sites on ChinaSeptember 16, 2002...Sirenza , which last week completed its
acquisition of fabless LDMOS tech leader, Xemod Incorporated, for $4.5
million in cash, (ref
release) today announced that it has established a new customer support
office in Shenzhen, in the People's Republic of China. "This new office will
provide critical real-time applications engineering support to key OEM accounts
throughout China," said Norm Hilgendorf, Sirenza's VP of Sales and Marketing.
"We will provide support for our China customers' design engineering, manufacturing
and operations from our new base of operations in China. Direct communications
with our customers throughout this major communications equipment market will
be greatly enhanced." The new PRC offices are located at the Pavilion Hotel
Business Building, Room 2308, 4002 Huaqiang Road North, Fu Tian District, Shenzhen,
China. Telephone: +86-755-82074046. E-mail: China-apps@sirenza.com.
More details are included in Sirenza's
news release. TRW's Velocium Debuts 60 Gig Transceiver ChipsetSeptember 16, 2002...Velocium, which TRW now promotes as their "telecommunication components
business" (whereas we regard them as "InP and GaAs pioneer innovators"),
today introduced a new chipset operating in the 55 to 64 GHz frequency range.
The chipset is targeted at implementers looking for a full-band transceiver
for high- capacity, short-haul wireless communications. The compact chip set
(17 sq. mm total die area) supports various modulation schemes and can be used
in simplex, half duplex, or full duplex mode. “There is tremendous interest
in utilizing the 55-64 GHz portion of the RF spectrum because of its wide bandwidth
propagation characteristics that allow high-density short-range links, and short
wavelengths enabling very compact antenna structures,” said Frank Kropschot,
Velocium’s COO. “The key to bringing 60 GHz-based products to the marketplace
is a low-cost, repeatable means of producing the transceiver electronics. For
that, we rely on TRW’s proven high-volume, high-reliability GaAs pHEMT process.”
The parts are in stock in high volume, and pricing is $150 USD per chipset in
quantities of 100,000 units. More details are included in Velocium's news
release. Mimix Broadband Launches High Linearity GaAs pHEMT MMIC Power AmpsSeptember 16, 2002...Mimix Broadband of Houston, Texas USA has launched a line of GaAs MMIC power
amps in a surface mount leadless chip carrier compatible with high volume surface
mount technology (SMT) process. This particular Mimix SMT packaged two-stage
amplifier is optimized for linear operation with a third order intercept point
(IP3) of +36 dBm and a small signal gain of 18 dB. Using 0.15 micron gate length
GaAs pHEMT device model technology, this chip covers the 17 to 24 GHz frequency
band and has been specifically designed to provide excellent linearity for applications
utilizing modulation levels up to 64QAM. The device also includes an on-chip
temperature compensated, output power detector and provides excellent input/output
return loss. Mimix sweetens the package with 100% on-wafer RF, DC and output
power testing. "The XP1000P1 SMT packaged power amplifier has a broadband
response that closely matches die performance with good thermal conductivity
providing a reliable surface mount power amplifier," stated David Richardson,
Director of Engineering of Mimix Broadband, Inc. "The SMT package permits
assembly using standard SMT processes with no specialized die attach or wire
bonding required, which leads to more rugged assembly for testing and tuning."
Engineering samples are available in limited quantities from stock and production
quantities are available within 8 weeks after order processing.Company news release. Microsemi Introduces Advanced InGaP/GaAs HBT Power AmpSeptember 16, 2002...Microsemi's Integrated Product operations has introduced what it believes to
be the most efficient two-stage broadband power amplifier for wireless local
area network (WLAN) systems on the market today. Called the LX5503E, it's a
new InGaP on GaAs two-stage HBT amplifier that targets 4.8-5.85GHz, medium-gain
requirements found in the wireless LAN NIC cards and access points of IEEE 802.11a/b/g,
HiperLAN2 and U-NII (FCC Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure) applications.
In addition to supporting traditional 5.15 to 5.85GHz unlicensed frequency bands,
the LX5503E amplifier extends its range to 4.8GHz, accommodating the recently
proposed band allocation in Japan. "We developed this amplifier to address
the low-power consumption needs for client card applications in the laptop computer
market," said Paul Bibeau, Microsemi marketing VP. "Wireless LAN chipsets
continue to be a bright spot for semiconductors," said James J. Peterson,
Microsemi president and CEO. More details and industry prognostications are
included in the Microsemi news
release. GCS Partners with PlextekSeptember 11, 2002...Compound semi industry foundry, Global Communication Semiconductors, Inc. (GCS)
of Torrance, California USA has announced a partnership with a company named
Plextek Ltd. of the UK that specializes in the design of compound semi-based
ICs for the communications field. The alliance is billed as a new model for
what the partners view as the "disintegration" of the traditional
Integrated Device Manufacturer (IDM). From the UK side, Plextek has chosen GCS
as a "foundry partner" to offer their customers designs based on GCS' InGaP
and InP HBT processes, and from the USA side, GCS has chosen Plextek as a UK
design resource to assist customers that need IC design services. "In this
dynamic economic climate we continue to see the disintegration of the traditional
IDM (Integrated Device Manufacturer) which has given birth to businesses that
specialize and reduce the total costs to bring ICs to market" remarked Owen
Wu, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of GCS. "With the availability of
state-of-the-art III-V compound semiconductor foundry services provided by GCS,
coupled with Plextek's design consultancy expertise, 'fabless' companies can
move quickly and cost effectively to address the expanding wireless and high-speed
telecommunications markets." GCS and Plextek will offer complementary services
to those customers requiring assistance in either design and/or fabrication
of III-V compound semiconductor IC's. The two companies will have their websites
linked and assist customers in engaging the other's services.Company news release JDSU Offers Product Lines to Help Stressed EyesSeptember 11, 2002...JDS Uniphase of Ottawa, Canada and San Jose, California USA has announced three
new electro-optic test instruments that offer what the company feels are an
economical solution for stressed eye testing as specified in IEEE 10 Gigabit
Ethernet Standard 802.3ae. The measurement comprises controlling the extinction
ratio (ER), the electrical bandwidth for ISI, AM interference, and timing jitter
for receiver conformance testing. This low cost test solution for the new standard
integrates includes three products: The OPTX10A Stressed Eye Generator, which
is a versatile 1310 nm or 1550 nm reference transmitter supporting data rates
of 10.71 Gb/s to 155 Mb/s; the OPTX10A which features an adjustable extinction
ratio from 10 dB to 3 dB, selectable electrical signal paths (internal pass
through and standard 4-poll Bessel Thomson, and external filter), and sinusoidal
amplitude interference input; and the OPG10A Optical Pattern Generator and OED10A
Optical Error Detector which are optical bit error rate testers (BERTs) that
feature especially good sensitivity and overload performance. JDS Uniphase will
be displaying these new products at upcoming broadband industry shows, including
NFOEC next week in Dallas, Texas. Company news
release Anadigics pHEMT GaAs MMICs Headed for Medium Power Wireless HandsetsSeptember 11, 2002...Wireless component supplier and stalwart compound semi industry pioneer, Anadigics
Inc. of Warren, New Jersey USA has launched a new high linearity, multipurpose
RF switch designed for medium power applications in wireless handsets. The component
was developed using Anadigics' pHEMT (pseudomorphic electron mobility transistor)
manufacturing capabilities and is called the AWS5518. It operates with low current
on its control lines to ensure a longer battery-life for wireless devices, is
a Single Pole Double Throw (SPDT) GaAs MMIC, and combines high isolation with
a low insertion loss of 0.4dB, and a high linearity of 48dBm, to deliver especially
low distortion and low power consumption. "According to Dr. Bami Bastani, President
and CEO of Anadigics, "This latest addition underlines our mission to
provide manufacturers with an armory of enabling solutions to drive forward
future handset designs, further strengthening our position as the market's leading
RF supplier." Adding to that, Dr. Ali Khatibzadeh, VP of Wireless Products
noted, "The combination of Anadigics' six-inch GaAs technology and pHEMT
capabilities enables us to lead the market by developing RF switches that meet
the high performance requirements of next generation handsets. The AWS5518 provides
handset manufacturers with a low-cost, reduced-size, high performance RF switch
that is perfectly suited to medium power wireless applications." The devices
are priced at only $0.45 in quantities of 10,000 units and samples of the device
are now available. The devices are manufactured at the Company's state-of-the-art
facility in New Jersey and are 100 percent RF tested before shipping. Company news
release
Vitesse Rolls out More 10 Gig Transponder ProductsSeptember 11, 2002...Another mainstay compound semi industry pioneer, Vitesse Semiconductor of Camarillo,
California USA, has moved even further into the silicon-rich broadband arena
by announcing more products in its 10 Gb/s LR-2 long reach transponder product
family. The latest are called the VIT5208 and VIT5150 which support the ability
to tune transponders at 50 GHz channel spacing; utilize C- and L-band series
of wavelengths; and reach longer distances without amplification or regeneration.
The VIT5208 provides eight-channel tunability at 50 GHz channel spacing and
the VIT5150 enables 10 Gb/s SONET and 10 GbE networks to span more than 100
km. The VIT5208 and VIT5150 combine new functionality with the industry-recognized
features of Vitesse's entire family of transponders. These features include
operating at a low power consumption of 9W (typical), the smallest form factor
in their class (3.25" x 4.0" x 0.48"), and are geared for long reach applications
(from 80 km to beyond 100 km). All Vitesse transponders meet C- and L-band ITU
grid wavelengths and ensure standards compliance by incorporating all of the
features required by the 300-pin MSA and Serial Optical Internetworking Forum
(OIF-SFI4-01.0) specification. Company news
release Our news features are reported
by the CompoundSemi News staff writers.
For submissions or content suggestions, you can contact us using
editor -at - compoundsemi.com
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