Japan Slated to Create High Court to Specialize in Advanced Technology IP Dealings

June 22, 2003...According to a June 19 Nikkei Online article of a recap of Nihon Keizai Shimbun's coverage, the Japanese government may set up a high court that would specialize in law suits related to "patent and other property rights." The target date for such a court would be 2005. The notion is being championed by the a council of the government of Japan chartered with the "development of intellectual property, calling itself the Strategic Council on Intellectual Property. According to the article, the council will call for the creation of what will be Japan's "ninth high court" slated to occur in July. This would be formed by spinning off a division of the Tokyo High Court and will represent the "first major change to Japan's judicial structure since the Takamatsu High Court was created in 1945 as the eighth high court." 16 judges would preside over the new court versus the current 12 that preside over the Takamatasu High Court and 11 at the Sapporo High Court. This new judicial level would be specifically chartered to standardize judgments on lawsuits related to intellectual property rights by bringing together judges well versed in advanced technology and patent law.

Mindspeed Declares American Independence June 27th

June 20, 2003...The USA's Independence Day celebration is July 4th, but Mindspeed Technologies, Newport Beach, California USA, is set to declare it's independence a bit before the 4th of July. Mindspeed will spread its wings and fledge from Conexant Systems on June 27, 2003. In the tax-free spin-off, Conexant shareowners will receive one share of Mindspeed common stock for every three shares of Conexant common stock owned as of the close of business, June 20. The newly independent Mindspeed’s shares are slated to be listed on the American Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "MND" while Conexant’s shares will continue to trade on the Nasdaq National Market under the ticker symbol "CNXT." According to Raouf Halim, Mindspeed’s CFO, “We believe that Mindspeed revenues for the current quarter will come in at the high end of our expectations. In addition, customer orders for the coming quarter have been building more strongly than they have in recent quarters. We are looking forward to becoming a solidly capitalized, independent public company at the end of June.” Company news release.

Agere Ranks Number One In Wired Communications

June 20, 2003...For those of you keeping an eye on the wired communications marketplace, as the telecom companies slowly come out of "hunker" mode, taking a quick lead is Agere Systems of Allentown, Pennsylvania USA. Agere has just been ranked the number one provider of semiconductors for equipment used in the world’s voice and data communications networks, according to a report carried out by electronics market research firm, iSuppli, which estimates that Agere held the largest share of the market for semiconductors sold into wired communications applications in 2002. The report also added that Agere ranked first in the supply of semiconductors to both the SONET/SDH framers and mappers and ATM segments. Sohail Khan, executive VP of Agere's Infrastructure Systems Group, offers his explanation for the good news: “We are gaining share with network equipment providers by delivering multiservice solutions that reduce their costs and bring new features to market rapidly. Our customers know that with Agere, they not only get leading technology, but also unparalleled support and our long-term commitment to continued innovation in this market." Company news release.

Riber Expands Compact Sales Globally

June 20, 2003...Three Compact 21 MBE Systems have been commissioned from Riber Paris, France, by academic research laboratories specializing in micro and optoelectronics process development in Taiwan, Mexico and France. The National Cheng Kung University in Tainan Taiwan, will be using its first such machine to investigate GaN-based materials for microwave and photonic devices, while the Solid State Section of the Physics Department of CINVESTAV in Mexico City has purchased a Compact 21 S for growing nitrides. Finally, the Materials and Nanotechnology Department of the "Institut National des Sciences Appliqués" in Rennes, France, is using its third such system to pursue fundamental studies on quantum nanostructures on InP substrates. Company news release.

Japan's Posts Ministry Creating Synergy Behind Higher Speed Wireless LAN

June 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. Article link

Sensors Wins $3.7M DoD InGaAs Contract for Clever Combo Camera

June 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.

Skyworks Debuts Fully Integrated 802.11b/g wireless LAN front-end module

June 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.

TriQuint Introduces 4 Watt Single Packaged MMIC Solution

June 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.

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