Cree Provides Additional Information Regarding LitigationJune 16, 2003...Cree, Inc., of Durham, North Carolina USA, in response to inquiries regarding
litigation that was filed on Friday the 13th by co-founder and former Cree senior
manager Eric Hunter, has provided additional information regarding background
pertaining to the complaint against the company and Cree's Chairman Neal Hunter.
"Over the last few years, Eric Hunter has brought general and vague allegations
of wrongdoing to the attention of Cree. These allegations were referred to independent
directors of Cree who, after investigating the matter, found no wrongdoing on
the part of Cree or its officers," stated the update. Chuck Swoboda, Chief
Executive Officer of the Company stated, "It is a sad day for Cree and the
Hunter family. As a result of the unfortunate filing of this complaint, Cree
has received calls inquiring whether it is under SEC investigation. Cree has
no knowledge of an SEC investigation of it at this time. Both myself and our
Chief Financial Officer have certified under Sarbanes-Oxley our SEC reports
on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. This complaint, which we have posted on our website,
contains vague allegations which appear to cover essentially the same matters
Eric Hunter has raised in the past. The complaint and the damages sought make
no sense to us and we intend vigorously to defend the claims against us."
Cree also announced that it will be asking a committee of independent directors
to investigate any allegations of wrongdoing and to supervise the handling of
the litigation. Cree previously announced that, based upon a preliminary review,
the company believes the allegations are without merit and arise in part from
personal and family matters. We refer interested readers to the Cree
website press release section for more information and subsequent updates
should they be made public. Japan's Posts Ministry Creating Synergy Behind Higher Speed Wireless LANJune 16, 2003...Japan's Communications Research Laboratory, a unit of the powerful Posts and
Telecommunications Ministry, recently let it be known via Nihon Keizai Shimbun
that it is developing a next generation wireless LAN project that will include
data transmission speeds estimated at five times the current fiberoptic communications.
The cooperative that is being put together includes about 20 private companies,
including three Japanese powerhouses famed for their R&D in compound semi
technology: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Fujitsu Ltd. and NEC Corp. The goal
of the program is to come up with a global standard for next-generation wireless
LAN communications and to commercialize the technology in two years. According
to the Japan news source, the Posts Ministry is considering deregulating rules
governing frequency bands and us targeting the end of 2003 as a timeframe to
come up with a set of deregulatory measures to prevent, among other things,
jamming in communications between the next-generation wireless LAN and cellular
phones, weather radar systems and other communication conduits. In addition,
the partners in the project will propose to the U.S. Institute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers the standardization of wireless LAN communications
based on the ultra-high-speed communications technologies eyed in the project.
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Scott Anderson Named Motorola SPS Pres/CEOJune 16, 2003...As of July 1, the new President/CEO of Motorola Inc.'s Semiconductor Products
Sector (SPC) will be Scott Anderson, replacing Fred Shlapak who will be transitioning
to retirement. Anderson came up through the Motorola ranks beginning in 1978
as a microprocessor product engineer. "Scott's combination of industry
acumen, business savvy, leadership skills, global view, Asian experience, technical
ability and track record of returning businesses to profitability throughout
his career made him the clear choice," said Christopher B. Galvin, Motorola's
chairman and chief executive officer. Anderson now heads Motorola's Transportation
and Standard Products Group (TSPG), the world's leading chip supplier to the
automotive industry and a major provider of standard semiconductors to multiple
markets. This business represented nearly half of SPS' sales of $5 billion in
2002. Anderson's successor will be Paul Grimme, currently corporate vice president
and general manager of TSPG's 8/16-bit Product Division. Company
news release. Aixtron Recruits Phil Yin as New USA General ManagerJune 16, 2003...Aixtron AG of Aachen, Germany has announced the recruitment of Phil Yin, Ph.D.
as the company's new General Manager of their USA arm, Aixtron Inc. which is
based in Chicago, Illinois. Phil Yin brings to the position experience in both
the silicon and compound semiconductor markets, having assumed various positions
as President and Vice President / Director of Sales and Marketing as well as
Engineering at ATMI, Monsanto, IBM and Mitsubishi Silicon America (MSA). Steve
Perry, Executive Vice President, COO of Aixtron's Global Service Operations
commented, "We are delighted that Phil has chosen to join Aixtron. The appointment
of Phil underlines Aixtron's commitment to both markets, the Semiconductor and
the Compound Semiconductor industry. We are confident that Phil will enable
further successful business development and continued growth for our company
within the US market through his valuable technical and industry experience."
Company
news release. Siemens Selects Infineon's S-GOLD For Next Gen HandsetsJune 16, 2003...Siemens Information and Communication Mobile of Munich, Germany has selected
Infineon`s S-GOLD product family for their next generation of multimedia oriented
GPRS and EDGE handsets. Infineon’s chipset platforms for GPRS and EDGE handsets
are based on S-GOLDlite and S-GOLD. For those tracking where the wireless sector
is headed in the area of handset applications, both of the Infineon platforms
enable designers of multimedia handsets to develop highly optimized feature
phones ranging from entertainment-oriented consumer devices with Java-enabled
gaming platforms, location and navigation features, MP3 HiFi music and polyphonic
ring melodies up to business phones with video streaming, email, touch-screens
and various connectivity options. And for those looking for the numbers to fortify
a rebound of the wireless market, in its latest market study report “Worldwide
Semiconductor Market Forecast for Cellular and PCS Mobile,” Gartner Dataquest
predicts that approximately 435 million mobile phones will be sold worldwide
in 2003, and that 26% of them will be GPRS handsets. In 2004, more than 470
million handsets, thereof 37% GPRS, are expected to be sold according to the
market analyst. “By utilizing the S-GOLD family for our next generation products
we are in the position to provide a wide range of products from cost optimized
GPRS devices with S-GOLDlite up to high-end EDGE phones with S-GOLD,” said
Rick Dingle, Sr. VP R&D Platforms at Siemens Mobile. “ Company
news release. Sensors Wins $3.7M DoD InGaAs Contract for Clever Combo CameraJune 16, 2003...Sensors Unlimited Inc., of Princeton, New Jersey USA has received a U.S. Air
Force contract for the first phase of a 33-month program to develop a high frame
rate, high bandwidth, low noise, focal plane array and camera for active tracking,
wave front sensing, laser ranging, imaging, and scoring. Sensors Unlimited's
proposal was unique in that all of these objectives will be accomplished with
a single focal plane array and camera. The Department of Defense Missile Defense
Agency is providing the funding under a contract managed by the Air Force. "For
the first time, staring and ranging imaging will be possible with a single camera,"
said Dr. Marshall Cohen, president, Sensors Unlimited. "This pioneering,
dual mode sensor/camera that we have proposed is made possible by Sensors Unlimited's
patented technology that allows low noise, high sensitivity PIN photodiodes
and high speed, high gain avalanche photodiodes to be fabricated within each
pixel of the focal plane array. Despite sharing space within the pixel, each
photodiode exhibits full optical fill factor." The Phase 1 contract is a
six-month period during which Sensors Unlimited will demonstrate its technical
approaches for the Advanced Detector. If fully executed through Phase 3 of the
program, the Sensors Unlimited contract will total $3.7M and will culminate
in the delivery of two advanced cameras to the Air Force. Company
news release. GCS Releases Agilent Design Kit for InGaP HBT Process for Wireless LAN DevicesJune 16, 2003...Compound semi industry foundry, Global Communication Semiconductors, Inc. (GCS)
of Torrance, California USA has announced the release of an InGaP HBT design
kit to support Agilent Technologies' Advanced Design Systems (ADS) EDA software.
The design kit, developed for GCS's InGaP HBT P2 process, is in response to
the strong demand for WLAN (802.11) PA applications. The InGaP HBT P2 design
kit was developed in collaboration between GCS and Agilent Technologies and
it provides a complete set of schematics, simulation models, and layout artwork
for both active and passive elements. "Our P2 process was developed specifically
for WLAN power amplifiers. A foundry design kit is offered as an extension to
our foundry services," commented Dr. Owen Wu, Founder & Chief Strategic
Officer of GCS. "In the competitive WLAN landscape, time-to-market translates
into market share. The idea here is to help our customers achieve first pass
design success with minimal design iteration for 802.11 a, b & g applications.
In addition to the P2 process, GCS also offers several other qualified InGaP
HBT processes (P1 for WCDMA PA, P5 for GSM PA, P6 for infrastructure gain blocks,
and D1 for high-speed digital circuits). GCS will continue to roll out the design
kits for these processes throughout the remainder of 2003". Company
news release. Skyworks Debuts Fully Integrated 802.11b/g wireless LAN front-end moduleJune 16, 2003...Remember this number: "802.11b/g" because we're likely to hear a
great deal more about it in the months ahead, and Skyworks Solutions, Inc. is
getting a head start in the standard setting department by introducing what
they say is the industry's first fully integrated 802.11b/g wireless LAN front-end
module. According to market research firm In-Stat/MDR, wireless LAN chipsets
more than doubled to more than 20 million units in 2002 and In-Stat expects
that number to grow to more than 94 million units by 2007. "Skyworks' new
wireless LAN front-end module will be extremely attractive to companies without
RF experience," said Allen Nogee, principal analyst with In-Stat/MDR. "The
ability to drop in the RF front-end will enable quicker time-to-market for wireless
LAN developers, and ultimately reduce costs and accelerate 802.11 adoption."
Skyworks is a leading name in this wireless LAN space and regarded by many as
one of the primary "moving targets" for others to hit. Gregory Waters,
Skyworks' VP of Cellular Infrastructure and Wireless Data stated, "Initial
samples have already achieved the acclaim of a number of top-tier customers
and we expect to see new wireless LAN devices integrating our new module on
shelves by the end of the year." The new module was created using a combination
of Skywork's HBT power amp process, its pHEMT transistor switch process and
LTCC filter process technologies. It delivers an output power of 21 dBm for
802.11b or 16 dBm for 802.11g applications, with 29 dB of gain at a bias of
3.3 volts. The SKY65201 module is available now and is priced at $2.25 in volumes
of 1 million. Company
news release. Cree Offers 3 Inch SiC MMIC Foundry ServicesJune 16, 2003...Cree, Inc. of Durham, North Carolina USA has announced that it plans to offer
silicon carbide (SiC) monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) foundry
service to U.S. customers based on its second generation, 3-inch SiC MESFET
production process. Initial foundry and engineering support services will include
custom design solutions using Cree's internal MMIC design staff, which will
be followed by the support of external customer designs using standard device
models and layout rules by the end of calendar 2003. The advanced MMIC process
will enable the incorporation of integral resistors, capacitors, and through-substrate
vias on a single RF integrated circuit (IC) reducing the parts count required
for high power amplifiers. Typical applications for these circuits include high
power, wide bandwidth amplifiers for radar, electronic warfare, cellular infrastructure,
and homeland defense. "We have received significant interest in Cree providing
this type of foundry service, and are pleased to begin offering it to U.S. based
companies for domestic use," stated Jim Milligan, Cree's Manager of Wide
Bandgap Microwave Products. "In addition to providing unmatched RF performance,
this advanced service will allow external customers the ability to design into
our SiC MMIC process using their own proprietary circuit designs and architectures.
Cree is the only company to commercially offer the higher power, wider bandwidth
capability of SiC compared to silicon or gallium arsenide (GaAs) in a MMIC format."
Cree's 3-inch SiC MMIC capability has matured rapidly over the last ten months,
in part, due to $26 million in defense contracts awarded last July from the
Office of Naval Research (ONR) and Air Force Research Laboratories (AFRL) for
SiC MMIC process development. The contracts are jointly funded by the U.S. Navy,
the Missile Defense Agency, and the Department of Defense's Title III program.
"The Department of Defense (DoD) support given to this technology has been
invaluable, and we are gratified to now be able to offer this high performance
foundry service to support DoD requirements, as well as for commercial needs,"
stated John Palmour, Cree's Executive Vice President, Advanced Devices. Company
news release. TriQuint Introduces 4 Watt Single Packaged MMIC SolutionJune 16, 2003...While others are only now catching up with the notion of multichip modules
(MCMs) TriQuint Semiconductor Inc. of Hillsboro, Oregon USA is already launching
a new high power (4 W) packaged transmit amplifier for satellite ground terminal
and millimeter wave digital radio applications that allows a single packaged
solution that will allow subsystem integrators to replace multichip modules,
thereby decreasing product complexity, cost and weight. “The TGA4905 provides
our customers with benchmark power performance available from a single MMIC
in a low-cost package. This performance, combined with aggressive volume pricing,
will enable the widespread deployment of enterprise and consumer products. The
availability of the TGA4905 eliminates the need for costly multichip module
assemblies to achieve the transmit output power required for system operation,”
said Larry Mowatt, Director of the Satellite Communications Business Unit. He
points out that, through the use of advanced 0.25-micron gate length power pHEMT
GaAs production process technology, TriQuint High Power Amplifier (HPA) devices
consistently provide the smallest available physical size and the lowest cost
per watt of output power in the millimeter wave frequency range. The technology
behind the TGA4905 has evolved through years of TriQuint research and development
and custom product designs in the high performance millimeter wave IC market.
Each TGA4905 is 100% RF tested to ensure performance compliance. The functionality
is also available in chip form as the TGA4505-EPU. Production pricing for 50,000
piece quantities is $91 each and delivery is available from stock to 12 weeks
for higher volume orders. Company
news release. NG's Velocium Providing Process Design KitsJune 16, 2003...Northrop Grumman Corporation's Velocium Products arm is now providing commercial
users convenient access to its advanced semiconductor technology via their Velocium
process design kits (PDKs) that support Northrop Grumman’s gallium arsenide
(GaAs) 0.1 and 0.15-micron pHEMT and 1-micron HBT foundry processes. The new
PDKs offer access to Northrop Grumman foundry processes to integrated circuit
designers using Applied Wave Research’s (AWR) Microwave Office circuit simulation
and layout environment. The kits provide automatic layout with design-rule check,
pop-up help tips, and scalable models for pHEMT cells and passive components
fabricated with the advanced wafer processes at Northrop Grumman Space Technology.
A menu-driven cell library is incorporated with transistor models covering a
wide range of device sizes. “A great deal of device characterization and
device modeling experience has been employed to create and verify the provided
model sets,” said Mike Smith, general manager of foundry sales, Velocium
Products. “Integrating these models into a highly efficient, end-to-end simulation
and layout design solution, increases value for our customers by reducing design
time and lowering the probability of error.” AWR is a leading supplier of
high-frequency electronic design automation (EDA) solutions for the design of
microwave and millimeter-wave electronics. “We are excited to assist in commercializing
Northrop Grumman Space Technology’s foundry technology. Customers will benefit
from the streamlined MMIC design process provided through the combination of
the Velocium PDKs and Microwave Office 2003,” said James Spoto, AWR president
and chief executive officer. The Velocium PDKs and associated library components
are optimized for a variety of applications ranging from commercial broadband
telecommunications to high-reliability millimeter-wave transceivers. They are
available free of charge to Northrop Grumman Space Technology foundry and AWR
Microwave Office design suite users and can be downloaded via the Internet by
contacting Velocium Products. For more information contact Mike Smith, general
manager of foundry sales, Velocium Products, at 310.812.6997 or via email michael.p.smith@ngc.com. Bookham Announces Commercial 6" MMIC Wafer FoundryJune 16, 2003...Bookham Technology plc is launching at IMS 2003 the first European-based commercial
processes to use 6-inch-wafer technology. Initial production will start in late
2003. The new 6-inch-wafer technology will give a significant reduction in MMIC
costs compared to those of the standard 3 & 4 -inch-wafer processes by increasing
per-wafer device volumes by up to a factor of four. This results in higher yields
per wafer, lower lead and cycle times and greater device repeatability. Cost
reduction is now a hugely important driver in many areas of the MMIC business,
especially for military applications. “Facilities will be available on the
MESFET process at the end of the year followed in the first quarter of 2004
by the pHEMT process. Currently, we have produced wafers for both MESFET and
pHEMT, and they are running through qualification and characterisation,”
says Ray Taylor, Business Manager, RF MMICS & Foundry Products, at Bookham Technology.
“The move to 6-inch wafers is a major step that will affect the cost base
of all of our products in future, as well as the foundry services we offer.”
Company news
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