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February 28, 2005...Molecular Imprints Inc. (MII) of Austin, Texas USA (with offices in Stockholm, Sweden, and Tokyo, Japan), will take the opportunity of the opening of SPIE's Microlithography conference in San Jose, California USA, Monday to debut their newest imprint lithography system called, the Imperio 250. This new system uses their proprietary Step and Flash Imprint Lithography (S-FIL) technology. According to the according to the company
news release, the Imperio 250 boasts sub-50nm half-pitch resolution, sub -10 nm alignment, and integrated magnification control. This is their first model to include fully automated wafer handling for wafers up to 300mm. Their S-FIL technology is what sets their system apart. Most manufacturers fabricate using optical lithography. According to MII, optical lithography is limited in resolution because the deep UV light that is needed has long wavelengths. MII’s S-FIL technology uses room temperature micro-molding rather than deep UV light to transfer patterns. The S-FIL technology claims nearly 5X the resolution, and reportedly can create structures close to one-fifth the size of optical lithography. Other claimed benefits of the technology faster fabrication (especially faster than molecular beam epitaxy), decreased complexity, and lower cost.
As it was explained to this reporter by Michael Falcon, their business development manager, on my visit to MII's headquarters in Austin, the technology is somewhat analogous to the way some have historically placed wax on letters to seal them, and then while still a moldable liquid, one would place an object or seal to imprint into the wax. Then the wax would dry and harden. Unlike a wax imprint, the S-FIL technology can fabricate structures with much greater precision, on a much smaller scale, and without requiring heat. According to a brochure, in the S-FIL process, first, a low viscosity and patented imprint fluid is dispensed. Then the template is lowered and the patterns within the template fill with fluid. After that, UV light polymerizes and solidifies the fluid. Finally, the template is essentially separated from the substrate, leaving a replica of the template pattern. “We could pattern these structures at throughputs that they need,” Mr. Falcon said. “This technology is a good fit to make compound semiconductor transistors. One of the market segments we see ourselves pursuing are the HB-LED and solid state lighting structures.”
Optillion Looks for BuyerFebruary 28, 2005...After filing for bankruptcy on February 11th, Optillion, a Swedish optical transceiver maker that has fallen victim to an overcrowded market, is now looking for a buyer according to a recent story in the UK's Compound Semiconductor magazine. Optillion developed 10-Gbit/s modules for 80 km distances. Its transceivers conformed to the Xenpak multisource agreement (MSA) for pluggable optics. The company also joined the group supporting the smaller X2 MSA specification. The 80 km Xenpak was a component that few companies used, and according to a recent LightReading story the smaller sized pluggable optics created a challenge for designers. While once employing over a hundred, their count dwindled in the tech crash and the current surplus market to around 70. As it stated in the Compound Semiconductor Magazine article, Couldert Brothers LLP is now representing Optillion, and is looking for a buyer. During the tech boom of 2000, Optillion raised about $53 million in series B funding. Some of the former investors have included: Crescendo Ventures, ITACT, Cisco Systems and Investor Growth Capital. As Mans Dahlqvist stated in the article, “We have a couple of companies who are interested, but no bid has been received yet,” Dahlqvist added that some companies expressed an interest in employing the laid-off Optillion workers.
Stanley's High Power LED Production Gearing Up for Auto Headlamp Market
LIGHTimes StaffFebruary 25, 2005...Stanley Electric Company Ltd.
of Japan has long been a respected packager of LEDs and a major player in integrating
LEDs into lighting products for the automotive field. Stanley
has steadily migrated up the value chain from packaging conventional and HB-LEDs
by pioneering AlGaAs center high mounted stop lamps (CHMSLs) for the Nissan
280 Z, and in 2004 officially
announcing their RGB and white LED lines. Considering that track record and their continued strength in automotive
lighting products, it shouldn't come as any surprise that Stanley appears to
be positioning itself to jump in the driver's seat as a major player in high
power white LED-based automobile headlamps. As reported in a Nikkei Net
article, by 2007, Stanley plans to be producing enough white LED headlights to
outfit 5,000 vehicles a month. Content continues for LIGHTimes SecondPage members... 10 Gig Sector Boosted with New Members Joining LX4 Trade GroupFebruary 24, 2005...Five new members have joined the LX4 Trade Group that was formed last October by Emcore Corporation of Somerset, New Jersey USA as a means of strengthening broad multi-vendor support for the 10 Gigabit Ethernet sector. The new member include: BeamExpress Inc. of Neuchâtel, Switzerland; Mitsubishi Electric Inc. of Tokyo, Japan; Mysticom Semiconductor of Netanya, Israel; O-Net Communications Ltd. of Shenzhen, China; and 4Wave Inc of Sterling, Virginia USA. Each of the new members participate in the LG4-TG by supplying 10GBASE-LX4 modules or key subcomponents. The LX4-TG's mission is to advance interoperability and the LX4 standard which has the ability to transmit 10 Gigabit Ethernet data over installed multimode and single-mode fiber infrastructure. Each of the members’ 10GBase-LX4 modules is compliant to the transmission format specified within the IEEE 802.3ae standard for 10GbE that was ratified in June 2004. The modules offer 10GbE connectivity over 10km of single-mode optical fiber, or 10GbE connectivity over 300m of installed multimode optical fiber. For more information about each of the companies and quotes from company leaders, see the news release. Sirenza Achieves ISO Environmental Certification
CompoundSemi News StaffFebruary 24, 2005...Only those companies who have gone through the ISO certification process themselves know how meaningful it is to complete the rigorous tasks required to obtain this distinction, and Sirenza Microdevices' Bloomfield, Colorado USA headquarters plant has done it. The company has announced the receipt of ISO 14001:2004 certification. Sirenza is a designer and supplier of high-performance radio frequency (RF) components. Their environmental management system (EMS) has passed the Quality Management Institute’s (QMI) third-party audit and has therefore achieved ISO certification. Chuck Bland, chief operating officer, said, “This certification confirms Sirenza's commitment to minimize our impact on the environment from the facilities, products and services that we provide.” Congratulations to everyone in Broomfield for obtaining this hard won distinction. The environment is proud of you, and we are too. Bookham Debuts MSA Compliant SFP Module at OFCFebruary 24, 2005...Bookham, Inc. of San Jose, California USA will be exhibiting their new MSA standard-compliant optical module at the upcoming OFC/NFOEC show in Anaheim, California. Designed to conform to the standard of the emerging DWDM SFP MSA document, Bookham says the new module, still in the sampling stages, will be among the first production parts to fully conform to the standard. Bookham points out that the module has the advantages of SFP pluggable technology to 100 GHz spaced Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) applications. The module has 120 km reach and operates at bit rates of up to 2.7Gb/s. Bookham says that the module makes wavelength management simple while offering new configurations, a fiber exhaust solution, and adds DWDM support to existing SFP cards. In addition, the module is Compliant with MSA IGP28111, has low power consumption, is cost-effective, and field pluggable. The SFP device uses a compact transmitter optical sub-assembly (TOSA), which is a packaged version of the Bookham buried-heterostructure DM laser. With DWDM systems, operators can plug in DWDM SFP transceivers (instead of installing extra line cards), to add bandwidth as needed without having to go to the customer premises. LuminentOIC, and Finisar have also introduced DWDM SFP transceivers.
"Industry samples of DWDM SFP modules have been available for close to one year now but none of these samples have been able to fully meet the required performance," Robert Baker, VP of Product Marketing at Bookham, said. "The availability of the Bookham DWDM SFP will change that and we are confident we will be one of the first with a fully performing, qualified production part.” Mr. Baker added that Bookham will continue producing their high-performance 50 GHz spacing pluggable DWDM module -- the MQ25. The IGP28111, the first in a new range of SFP and XFP DWDM pluggable modules, is now shipping as final alpha samples. According to the recent company news release, “Beta samples are scheduled for April and full production release with all C-band wavelengths will be available in the third quarter of this year.”
Other news releases about DWDM SFP transceivers:
Finisar news release
LuminentOIC news release Swedish SiC Material Startup Gearing Up
CompoundSemi News StaffFebruary 23, 2005...A company new to our pages is SiC materials startup, Norstel
AB of Linköping, Sweden. A spinout of the famed Linköping University,
Norstel recently scored a significant venture funding boost through Eqvitec
Partners, Northzone Ventures, and Creandum, which will go to increasing the
capability of their patented SiC production process, called HTCVD. According
to FVCA, a Swedish news source, the total funding of Norstel now stands
at over 20 million euros with the Swedish government covering over 6 million
euros during the next three years through the Swedish Energy Agency and VINNOVA.
Fortified by a lucrative "bread and butter" contract to provide starting
SiC material to be used in the making of moissanite jewels, Norstel is expanding
capacity to an industry scale in Norrköping, Sweden where their new manufacturing
plant is currently under construction. Full production is slated to start in
2006.
Norstel's ties with Linköping University represent 10 years of work developing
the core HTCVD manufacturing process where a team included ABB and the Finnish
silicon wafer manufacturing company Okmetic, under a Swedish national SiC program,
with financing from the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research and various
European projects. (Ref: Feb.
15 news release). Longtime SiC R&D catalyst, Professor Erik Janzén,
who has been in charge of the project at Linköping University, said that
their new HTCVD method could lead to a paradigm shift in the areas of electronics
and energy. “High-quality silicon carbide will now become firmly established
as a raw material for electronics, and a whole range of applications and processes
in our society, and has the potential of becoming much more energy efficient,”
said Professor Janzén. The moissanite-related contract details were also
announced
Feb. 15th. The contract is with Charles & Colvard (C&C), the exclusive
maker of moissanite
jewels. C&C, located nearby Cree Inc. in North Carolina USA, was originally
a quasi-spinoff of Cree and this contract positions Norstel as a second source
supplier to C&C, supplementing Cree's ongoing first source supply. The first
phase of the C&C contract involves their purchase of $4.1 million worth
of Norstel product over three years.
Osram Opto Semiconductor Develops LED with Height of 0.775mmFebruary 22, 2005...Osram Opto Semiconductors has developed what they claim to be the smallest LED with a reflector. Measuring a mere 2 mm in diameter and .775 mm in height, the LED called PointLED, can be sunk completely into a circuit board and is suitable for zero height mounting, and surface mounting technology(SMT). Osram says that its PointLED, which has a brightness of 800 mcd and a beam angle of 120 degrees, can be used in many different applications including automotive and handset devices. Osram adds that the PointLED can be used in flash systems for camera-phones.
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