Opto Tech Cranks Up Blue LEDs, Cuts Back on OLEDsNovember 30, 2004...According to a Nov. 30th DigiTimes
post, Opto Tech Corporation of Taiwan has reported that it has begun volume shipment
its Nichia-branded LEDs, but that the Taiwan manufacturer of LEDs, image sensors
and system products plans to cut back their intended production of OLEDs, eliminating
240 OLED division employees. The reason given is "a loss in yields"
of OLED panels, and that the OLED market has "failed to meet expectations.
The company does plan to take orders as its yield rate improves, and they also
see no downturn in their other lines. Arima Ups the Taiwan Blue LED AnteNovember 30, 2004...Arima Optoelectronics of Taiwan is seeing an uplift in LED product orders which
includes blue spectrum antistatic LEDs and LEDs for automotive uses, according
to a DigiTimes
update. Arima is reported to "have recently succeeded in creating
a new process for making GaN blue LEDs," resulting in what they term a
being able to improve the antistatic capability "from 700 volts ESD (electrostatic
discharge) HBM (human-body model) to 2,000-4,000 volts" and that samples
of the antistatic LED chips have already been delivered to domestic and international
packaging firms. The reported intent is for Arima to also start providing its
automotive-use LEDs in 2005 to international car manufacturers naming Nissan
Motors' high-end TEANA model. TriQuint to Unplug Module Business to Concentrate on InP for Optoelectronics
Jo Ann McDoanld, EditorNovember 29, 2004...The business of SFP (small form pluggable) modules and their 10 gig counterparts,
XFP, which TriQuint Semiconductor of Hillsboro, Oregon USA rescued from Agere
after that segment collapsed, never really recovered, so TriQuint has sensibly
decided to do what it does best, and concentrate on its core competency in leading
edge compounds, which these days is all about InP. In today's
announcement of repositioning its optoelectronics business, TriQuint has
said it will sell that huge underutilized former Agere facility in Pennsylvania,
rent a bit of it back from the new owners for what TriQuint's new focus requires,
and cut loose the 110 employees in Pennsylvania who have been working the module
side, plus 90 others in Mexico who supported the packaging of those modules.
TriQuint, which has always put the welfare of its customers and employees first,
will continue to produce needed TOSA and ROSA components for sale to the surviving
module segment, but as TriQuint's amicable President/CEO Ralph Quinsey said
in the conference call today, "The (module) market has been brutal in
its pricing. The landscape is littered with walking wounded." So TriQuint
is back to doing what it does best which is the business of producing top of
the line InP based products, plus a few GaAs parts, for the optoelectronic communications
industry. "This is all about InP," Ralph told us by phone following
the conference call. (Ralph Quinsey is one of the few CEOs who answers his
own phone! As co-chair of our CS Outlook last year, he continues to generously
make himself readily available to the press and business peers).
The exiting of the module business will trim a much needed $18 million off
TriQuint's annual costs. "We regret the need to eliminate those job
slots but we sincerely appreciate the contributions of those fine employees
in Pennsylvania and Mexico," he told analysts in a call that will be
accessible by replay to the public for 7 days (by dialing 303-590-3000, passcode
11016249#). Severance and related payroll costs for the 200 employees who will
be let go have been estimated at approximately $4 million. TriQuint will hold
an auction in mid-December to dispose of some excess equipment in Pennsylvania,
but that module manufacturing equipment does not relate directly to the
standard compound semi component business. As Ralph underscored in the comprehensive
company
news release issued today before the call, "While we have discontinued
our direct investment into pluggable module development we will make our technology
available to interested module developers. This action is not anticipated to
impact our current production customers and positions us as an optoelectronics
supplier on a solid foundation for 2005."
TriQuint is considered a world class giant when it comes to producing GaAs
and InP based communication devices, especially edge emitting lasers, and their
foundry work is the best in class. They've been a leader, if not the leader,
in the compound semi component business since their inception as one of the
early GaAs foundries in the 1980s. They rode the wave toward modules during
the telecom heydays, but those days appear to be over for the foreseeable future.
Note that Tom Cordner, Executive VP/Office of the President of TriQuint is co-chair
of our annual CS Outlook conference next week in Dallas and will be available
to talk in depth with colleagues about TriQuint's repositioning.
Osaka Customs Accepts Nichia's Request for "Relief" from Taiwan LED ImportsNovember 29, 2004...On Nov. 24th, Nichia announced
that Japan's Osaka customs agency has accepted Nichia's request for an injunctive
relief to prohibit importation "of certain white LEDs products" namely
a type # designated as: 99-215UW C/TR8, which is has allegedly been imported
from Taiwan by E&E Japan Co., Ltd. for sale in Japan. Nichia filed the request
"alleging that the white LED products infringe on one of its design patents"
namely, number 1171193, which relates to side-view type LEDs used for, among
others things, light sources for LCD backlights. On the Nichia site, the company
has conveniently posted
a visual, graphic comparison between the patented design and the product (type
#: 99-215UWC/TR8). Also stated at the end of the announcement is Nichia's reiteration
of their IP stance. "Nichia has declared that Nichia will spare no effort
to protect its intellectual property rights and will continue to enforce the
same against any infringing companies worldwide." Osram Posts Details of Harvatek White LED Licensing DealNovember 29, 2004...As followup to our
Nov. 23 coverage on Osram's licensing of white LED technology to Harvatek
Corporation in Taipei, Taiwan, we point our readers to the newly posted Nov
18th Osram Opto news
release that fully describes the licensing arrangements. The contract between
the two is a royalty bearing license "to manufacture and sell white LEDs
with conversion technology, for which Osram holds patents." As we stated
in our initial coverage, the technology enables InGaN chips to be combined with
a suitable fluorescent converter. The arrangement with Harvatek follows previous
Osram LED-related contracts that have been signed with Nichia, Rohm, Everlight,
Lite-On, Vishay and Samsung. Included in the deal with Harvatek are three USA patents and
two European patents. Content continues for LIGHTimes SecondPage members... MII to Integrate with MIT's Technology and Scores "Best of Small Tech" AwardNovember 29, 2004...Molecular Imprint, Inc. (MII) of Austin, Texas USA which is the leading innovator
in inexpensive Step and Flash Imprint Lithography technology, has completed
an exclusive licensing agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT) to use MIT's moiré fringe alignment technology in MII’s nano
imprint lithography tools. MII anticipates using this technology as a primary
vehicle for high resolution alignment in advanced lithography applications.
MII’s CTO and co-founder, Dr. Sreenivasan, and his team have already demonstrated
7nm, 3sigma alignment with this technique, on an MII tool. The move is a cooperative
arrangement with Professor Hank Smith from the MIT who led the effort to develop
the university's technology and will be part of the ongoing development efforts.
“I believe this is a very strong collaborative agreement, coupled with
strong research and development efforts, to advance the state of Step and Flash
Imprint Lithography,” stated MII’s CEO Norm Schumaker. Company
news release
In additional news about MII, the Austin innovator was recently honored by
Small Times Magazine at the The third annual Best of Small Tech Awards which
chose MII as announced
as the Best Company as rated by Small Times' annual performance review of the
people, products and companies in micro and nanotechnology. After rigorous evaluation
by nearly 30 industry leaders and experts, Small Times editors present 31 winners
and runners-up who represent the best work and biggest successes in the categories
of product, company business leader, researcher, innovator, advocate and lifetime
achievement. Awards are based on accomplishments between Sept. 1, 2003 and Oct.
1, 2004.
OptoLum Ensures Stature in White LED Thermal Management with Second Key Patent
LIGHTimes StaffNovember 21, 2004...Special Report on Strides in Thermal Management of LEDs: We're
all getting more intelligent when it comes to using HB-LED technology, especially
as they're applied as true high end solid state light sources. One of the aspects
of intelligent LED applications in solid state lighting, which a powerful young
Phoenix, Arizona USA-based startup called OptoLum appears to now control, is
superior expertise regarding the thermal management of integrated LEDs into
light fixtures and lamps, even LED packages. OptoLum, a systems/sub systems
integrator of high end LEDs, such as Lumileds Luxeon line, holds the key "536
patent" on thermal management of white LED based light sources. OptoLum
has recently been awarded a follow-on USA patent, #6,815,724
that extends their core patent to now include intelligent control and monitoring
technology for LEDs utilizing heat sinks in both active and passive systems.
(Ref:
news release.) The 3 year old startup is already in production with
a growing and impressive list of OEM and VARs manufacturing for them custom,
thermally optimized, solid state lamps and light fixtures. In addition, OptoLum
is actively reaching out to colleagues and competitors through licensing of
their thermal management IP as a means of helping catapult the SSL industry
toward more rapid prominence through white LED implementation. Content continues for LIGHTimes SecondPage members... Our news features are reported
by the CompoundSemi News staff writers.
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