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Editorial: Setting the Agenda
... We're crafting the agenda for the annual Compound Semi industry Outlook conference, and that process can be revealing. The meet's set for Dec 16 and 17, 2003 in Dallas, Texas USA, with two pre-conference workshops on Monday, Dec. 15. If, indeed, the compound semi industry is finally "off life...
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August 18, 2003...As confirmed at our Blue
2003 meet in Dallas this June, the established HB-LED leaders who settled
their patent issues with one another would now start looking at the next tier
suppliers regarding possible patent infringement, especially those based in
Asia. Starting this next round of suits, Nichia went after an unnamed infringer
in Korea, and won, and now Lumileds is targeting Epistar. In a complaint filed
in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California,
Lumileds Lighting U.S., LLC. has asserted patent infringement claims against
Epistar Corporation of Taiwan. In the complaint, Lumileds accuses Epistar's
AlGaInP LED products of "willfully infringing Lumileds' United States Patent
No. 5,008,718
titled: Light-emitting diode with an electrically conductive window .
Lumileds' complaint seeks both enhanced monetary damages for past infringement
and an injunction against future importation or sale of the infringing products
in the United States. Lumileds has informed CompoundSemi News that, although
Epistar had asserted counterclaims against Lumileds for various alleged torts,
the Court has granted Lumileds' motion for judgment on the pleadings with respect
to these counterclaims. In this same case, Lumileds had earlier alleged infringement
by Citizen Electronics Co., Ltd. and its subsidiary, Cecol, Inc., based upon
their importation and sale of Epistar's AlGaInP LED products. The Citizen claims
have now been settled and only the claim against Epistar is still in the case.
"Lumileds holds more than 100 patents in the area of high-brightness LEDs
and continues to pioneer the development of solid-state lighting technology.
We will continue to develop and offer to our customers the world's best in technology
and products for solid state lighting applications, while at the same time continuing
to vigorously guard the intellectual property enabling these advances. This
includes enforcement of our rights in court when necessary," said Mike Holt,
Lumileds' Lumileds' CEO. Infineon and UEC Form Fiberoptic Component Joint VentureAugust 18, 2003...Infineon Technologies AG of German and United Epitaxy Corp. (UEC) of Taiwan,
have inked an agreement to form a joint venture for the manufacturing and development
of fiberoptic components. The JV, which will be 56% owned by Infineon and 44%
UEC-owned, will be established in UEC's Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park
facility in Taiwan in the October timeframe. Cleanroom and major equipment installation
is expected to be completed within the fourth quarter of this year, with trial
production slated for the first quarter of 2004 and mass production for the
fourth quarter of 2004. The JV partners have determined that the total investment
over the next five years, including business start-up, manufacturing site, equipment,
and other infrastructures, amounts to approximately $12 million, which the partners
will contribute according to their sharehold ratios. Estimates are that, when
operating at full capacity, the facility will run up to 100 wafer starts per
week and employ approximately 120 people. The new company, which hasn't been
officially named as yet, intends to integrate the combined fiberoptic technology
of the two parent companies to achieve manufacturing and development synergies.
Under the terms of the agreement, both companies will license their respective
technology to the joint venture. In return, the new company will manufacture,
in particular, "optochips" for both Infineon and UEC and both parent
companies will assemble these "optochips" into high-end systems and
components for the market of high-speed data transmission products. Company
news release. Bob Lynch in FLX as New CEOAugust 18, 2003...FLX Micro of Solon, Ohio USA is taking on a new CEO this week, Bob Lynch,
a 22 year semiconductor industry veteran who served as CEO of Nitronex prior
to the move to the Ohio microsystems firm. Prior to Nitronex, Lynch was with
Digital Microwave and Cree, Inc. At Cree he served as VP of Operations at the
time Cree moved from startup phase to a high growth company. During his tenure
with Nitronex, he brought the GaN-based RF power transistor company from inception
to raising $45M in initial capital and growing the company to a team of 85 professionals.
"It is exciting to be a part of the FLX Team," stated Lynch. "The
Company has an enviable platform technology portfolio of leading-edge silicon
carbide processes and products, matched by a dedicated team of talented employees,
both of which serve as a solid foundation for FLX's future growth. FLX has done
a great job at creating traction with an impressive group of customers. Our
focus will be on execution and meeting their requirements by developing products
based on our innovative technology." FLX Micro is an especially interesting
company in that it provides innovative microsystems technology solutions based
on its extensive expertise in advanced materials and process technologies for
MEMS, and it also specializes in providing state-of-the-art process technologies
for SiC and low-cost MEMS prototyping through MUSiCâ, one of the first multi-user
micromachining process that utilizes SiC structural layers.Company news release. Nolan Enterprises Awarded White HB-LED Lamp PatentAugust 18, 2003...A small Texas concern calling itself Nolan Enterprises, and run by Cherie'
and Steven Nolan and their partner Donald Hebert, has been awarded their first
of two key USA patents related to the use of white LEDs. The patent is US
Patent 6,599,000 titled: "Interior lamp for producing white light using
bright white LED's." The abstract reads: "A low voltage LED interior
lamp for residential and commercial lighting, includes a plurality of high lumen
bright white LED lights incorporated within the lamps, a light color diffusion
panel and a household current to low voltage DC converter providing power to
the lamp to convert the AC current to low voltage DC current, reducing power
required to provide illumination for the resident or commercial application
without requiring replacement of the LED lights." The entire
patent is an interesting read. Steve Nolan and Donald Herbert, are inventors.
It's what they do. Cherie' Nolan, who is serving as marketing manager for the
concern, is a breath of fresh air in a field normally bogged down by legalese
and cumbersome customs. She has a knack for cutting through all that sort of
thing. What are the partners going to do with their newly claimed turf? For
starters, they're simply letting the HB-LED community, and especially the blue
spectrum LED sector, know what they've scored. Should you want to discuss
Nolan's IP offerings, you can reach Cherie' in Beaumont, Texas by email at cnolan@gt.rr.com
or call her landline: +1 409 899 9214. As she noted... "If you think
this first patent is interesting... and of obvious interest to the blue spectrum
LED community... wait until you see the next one!" Nolan Enterprise
has been notified that their next related patent has already been officially
awarded, and will be posted on the USPTO site in the next few days.
Stay tuned... Mantis Deposition Debuts as MBE Source SupplierAugust 18, 2003...There's a new company in the field of MBE and it's called Mantis Deposition.
Located in Oxfordshire, England UK, Mantis intends to offer the compound semi
industry a complete range of UHV deposition sources for MBE equipment users.
Mantis is under the leadership of Dr. Lars Allers, Director, and has USA sales
support offices already established on both the East and west Coasts. The Mantis
manufacturing facility in Oxfordshire is dedicated to the manufacture of high-quality
deposition components for cutting-edge applications and product offerings include;
nanocluster deposition sources and systems, RF atom and RF ion sources, e-beam
evaporators, k-cells and thermal gas crackers. Included in their initial product
list are k-cells, e-beam evaporators, thermal gas crackers and the smaller ion
and atom sources that are especially well suited to small scale research studies
in MBE, surface science or PVD. For production, the Mantis 175mm diameter RF
atom source or 130mm diameter RF ion source can process substrates up to 8"
and beyond and their UHV deposition systems are designed to be extremely versatile
with many retrofittable options to meet the demands of future requirements.
Company news release. Holmes Group to License Color Kinetics' LED Line for Home ProductsAugust 18, 2003...Leading edge systems integrator of intelligent HB-LED products, Color Kinetics,
has announced that a company called The Holmes Group will license CK's new consumer
products line. The Holmes Group, Inc., is a multi-brand, global manufacturer
of consumer products (including the infamous "Crock Pot" Slow Cooker).
Through the agreement, The Holmes Group will license Color Kinetics' Chromacore
technology and expertise to develop a unique line of LED-based illumination
products for residential use. "With its widely recognized brands and innovative
products, we're pleased to list The Holmes Group among the companies whose offerings
will apply Color Kinetics' intelligent LED illumination technology as a valuable
differentiator," said Bill Sims, President and COO, Color Kinetics. "This
agreement marks a natural collaboration between respective leaders in home environment
products and intelligent LED technology, and we're extremely pleased to leverage
Color Kinetics' expertise and intellectual property for this exciting addition
to our family of products," said Bob Livergood, President, Lighting Division,
The Holmes Group. Chromacore is a pioneering technology that applies
microprocessor-controlled, multicolored, high-brightness LEDs to generate rich,
saturated colors and dynamic effects without the cost and efficiency constraints
of conventional lighting methods. By integrating this technology with a new
line of consumer products, The Holmes Group will offer the features of colorful
accent lighting and programmable lighting effects. In addition, the new products
will have the benefits of ultra-long source life, low energy consumption, little
heat, and no moving parts, noise, or UV emission. Company
news release. In-Stat/MDR Issues Wireless Market NumbersAugust 12, 2003...Get out your scorecards and see if the following match up to what you think
is going to happen in the wireless sector. According to market research firm,
In-Stat/MDR of Scottsdale, Arizona USA,
the next five years will see a dramatic slowing of worldwide cellular subscriber
growth. In their words... "However, despite the fact that there has been
a lot of fuss about the 'catastrophic slowdown' in subscriber growth, there
will be more than 931 million new subscribers over the next 5 years. By 2007,
the total worldwide wireless population will exceed two billion subscribers."
The Reed/Elsevier firm has just issued a report titled The report, Event
Horizon: Two Billion Mobile Subscribers by 2007 (2003 Subscriber Forecast
#IN0301117GW) and the
news release shared helpful details... and includes a handy Mobile Subscriber
Forecast barchart you may find useful for internal presentations. The report
finds that China continues to lead in overall subscriber growth, but the new
percentage growth leaders are found in Southern Asia and Southeast Asia. “It
is rather remarkable that the fastest numerically growing country, China, is
trailing Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East in Compound Annual Growth
Rate,” underscored Ken Hyers, In-Stat/MDR Sr. Analyst. Again, highlights
are in the news
release but even more details are in the full report, which is available
for sale for $3,995. Just call Rick Vogelei at 480-609-4533/email: rvogelei@reedbusiness.com
for more information. 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
For more information and to reserve promotion space contact
Info7 -at - compoundsemi.com
or call +1 (512) 257-9888 |
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The
McDonald Report
Commentary & Perspective...
Setting the AgendaAugust 18, 2003...We're crafting the agenda for the annual Compound Semi industry Outlook conference,
and that process can be revealing. The meet's set for Dec 16 and 17, 2003 in
Dallas, Texas USA, with two pre-conference workshops on Monday, Dec. 15. If,
indeed, the compound semi industry is finally "off life support,"
then what's next? Convincing the systems integrators that what we have is what
they need? Or convincing ourselves that there are profitable markets for what
we know how to produce? What everyone wants is an accurate crystal ball. Since
those still seem to be hard to come by, we look for consensus.
We know there's light at the end of the tunnel. The HB-LED sector has
proved that. As we learned at Blue 2003 in June, that sector's on the growth
track, and that's why this year's Outlook for 2004 in December will focus on
the other leading compound semi industry segments. What the compound semi industry
contributes to the overall world of semiconductors is that it does what silicon
can not do, or doesn't know how to do. It's always been that way,
but sometimes what the integrator is wanting to do (or how much of it
needs to be on one chip) becomes a little fuzzy. That's why it's sometimes hard
to know who and what those proverbial moving targets really are. Sometimes it's
us... sometimes it's vanilla silicon.
The annual "passing of the buck" seems to appropriately begin
at the doorsteps of the market research and financial analysts. That's a good
place to start, because those folks are chartered to be objective and inclusive,
to clearly define their individual focus (and specialty), and attach credible
numbers or ratings that one can count on... or better yet, bank on.
Once sorted and valued, it's up to the compound semi industry suppliers
and manufacturers to either reinforce or refute those prognostications, segment
by segment. When they've all come to reasonable consensus, who better to look
to than the actual system integrators for their input, guidance, and hopefully,
validation. Here are some basic questions that we'll be using to frame those
presentations.
Have the markets changed since The Bubble burst? If so, how?
Is the percentage of compound semi component content changing in the "most
likely to succeed" end systems? If so, how? And what are the specific needs
and projected volumes?
Where are the potential bottlenecks? Can the supply meet the need? Can the need
meet the supply?
What has to be done to re-ignite the markets?
How's that for starters? Give us a call and let's talk about The
Outlook for 2004 and who you typically turn to for sound answers. We're
listening (and reading... since email works too). Here's how to contact those
on the front lines, putting your thoughts into words, setting the agenda, and
being sure we have the very best minds and messengers in the business on the
podium in December, in Dallas.
Tom Griffiths, President/CEO CompoundSemi Online +1 512 261 9653 tomg@compoundsemi.com
Jo Ann McDonald, Editor-in-Chief, CompoundSemi News +1 325 463 5345 jo@compoundsemi.com
Power is OverratedAugust 18, 2003...New Yorkers in the USA saw the stars over their city for the first time last
week. Reality set in when the fear, then awe, then almost party-like atmosphere
subsided and it was time to hit the sack. Alas... no air conditioners to cushion
their hot August night. But Hey, they could still look up and see the stars.
Even the moon.
"I'd give the stars and the moon for..."(as the old saying goes)...
For What? Air conditioning? City people, especially, all the world over,
are getting too dependent on conventional electricity. We eco-types have been
noting this since the 60s, of course, but maybe the occasional "Major Power
Grid Blackout" is the proverbial two by four (2"x4") "upside
the head" needed to remind us all of that growing dependency.
Here in Texas, we know about sizzling August heat, although ironically,
the night of the East Coast USA blackout, we were enjoying a welcome cold front.
70s that night and only 82 degrees F during the day. Just a normal evening Deep
in the Heart of Texas. That naturally got me to thinking, once again, about
energy efficiency.
The compound semi industry helps bring more energy efficient solutions to
life. All sorts of life, all over the world. Advanced solar cells, solid
state lighting, lower voltage systems, more sensitive and smarter sensors, and
components that can naturally "take the heat." Look at Lumileds, Osram,
and GELcore, who are among the most notables in the HB-LED field right now and actively
supplying the components and sub-systems needed to massively switch conventional lighting into
energy efficient solid state solutions. Then look at the innovators like Joel
Dry at OptoLum with his key thermal management
patent for packaging blue spectrum LEDs, and on the scene just this week,
Nolan Enterprises (see today's news) with their newly awarded white LED interior
lamp patent. These are the companies and people supplying what's needed
to massively switch conventional lighting into energy efficient solid state
solutions.
Look too at the US government's DoE Building Technologies Program which is hosting
a two-day workshop in Washington, DC (USA) on solid state lighting to introduce a
new, government-industry, collaborative program aimed at saving energy by supporting
the research and development of solid state lighting. The workshop, for potential
USA contractors only, will communicate the structure, purpose and timeline of
the first few years of this multi-year program. (See: www.netl.doe.gov/ssl/workshop/
and note in the agenda
(pdf), that both LEDs and OLEDs are the solid state focus of this meet).
New Yorkers would likely red about the DoE initiative and lament that "It's
about time!"
Yes, it's about time. Keep up the great work everyone. And if you get
discouraged, check to see if you're running your own ACs too long and too strong.
Maybe your own lights are on too high and for too long? Are you more likely to
turn on the heat rather than just open a window for that breath of fresh air?
Turn off the TV, take a stroll outside. Look at the stars and the moon. Talk
to each other. Make things better, with less use of power.
If you have questions about the
solid state lighting and compound semiconductor industries or have news
or views to share, I'm Jo Ann McDonald, Editor of LIGHTimes and CompoundSemi News.
Feel free to contact me directly, anytime. 
My direct tel at the ranch is
+1-325-463-5345
From time to time Jo Ann may comment on companies in which she holds a
modest investment - be sure to read
her disclosure at some point in time... |
