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Editorial: Conference Report on OFC/NFOEC by Lee Johnson
... Lee Johnson attended OFC in California early this month, which this year joined forces with NFOEC as the optical marketplace continues to dramatically 'consolidate.' Lee, who was formerly with both TriQuint and Emcore, is especially knowledgeable in the field and has recently relocated in Hilton Head, South Carolina. We...
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March 24, 2005...Intematix Inc. of Moraga California
USA, completed a royalty-bearing Agreement related to white LED technology with
Advanced Optoelectronic Technology (AOT),
a dominant manufacturer of blue spectrum LEDs, of Hsinchu, Taiwan. According
to the licensing agreement, AOT can manufacture white LEDs based on Intematix-patented
technology that utilizes a blue InGaN (indium gallium nitride) LED combined with
a suitable fluorescent converter. The agreement was reached shortly after Intematix
created a family of patent-backed Phosphors in a 14 month development effort
using their Bulk, Thin Film and Nano Discovery Engines.
The White Lightning Y450 (operating at 450 nm wavelength and below) and the
White Lightning Y460 (operating at 460 nm wavelength) reportedly deliver YAG-equivalent
performance and color for bright light applications such as: LCD and keypad
backlighting, camera flash, automotive lighting, and large area signage and
architectural lighting. The production ready, patented Phosphor family will
be made available beginning March 24th for high volume use for designers and
manufacturers of white LED products and solutions.
“The availability of Intematix Phosphors and their acceptance by leaders
such as Advanced Optoelectronic Technology Inc. will begin a market transformation
leading to truly cost effective High Brightness White LED production,” said
Ruediger Stroh, Intematix Chief Executive Officer. Intematix VP of Sales & Marketing,
Nik Bahram said, “Our Discovery Engines allow us to develop unique material
compositions that can then be rapidly customized for our customer’s unique manufacturing
processes, and Bills of Materials including a choice of chips at various wavelengths
and support for a variety of resins.” Dr. S. H. Chan, Chief Executive Officer
of AOT said, “We will provide non-infringing white-lighting solutions to
all of our customers, and we believe Intematix will be one of our key partners.”
According to Intematix, the WL-Y450 and the WL-Y460 are available in production
quantities now. Company
News Release
Prospects Brighten for IQE in 2005
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 24, 2005...IQE of St. Melons, United Kingdom, reportedly has good prospects for 2005 with some important bright spots in their year-end earnings report. 2004 wafer volumes increasing by 27.3% or 30,000 units to about 140,000 over 2003 volumes, and IQE won a major outsourcing contract worth approximately $25.000 million over the first two years for RF wireless applications. Production for the contract commenced in last few weeks of 2004. "The winning of a major outsource contract worth around $25.0 million over the first two years has enabled the Group to exit the year with its largest order book for over twenty four months and an exit revenue run rate which will deliver substantially improved revenues in 2005. I am confident the Group can achieve its key initial objective of ongoing monthly cash generation in the near future with the outlook for 2005 being positive,” said
Dr Drew Nelson, President and CEO.
2004 was a trying year for IQE. According to the company, the weak dollar, selling price reductions and a weak third quarter impacted sales and decreasing revenues by 18.2% to £15.344 million (2003: £18.753 million). Their annual sales were down 8.5 % to $27.907 million. Dr Drew Nelson, President and CEO explained that despite these results IQE finished the last few weeks of 2004 with a solid boost from increased RF product demand and a major contract. “After some setbacks in our main market sectors during quarter three, the last few weeks of 2004 saw a significant upturn in business with the commencement of a major outsource contract, increased demand for RF products driven by renewed growth in the mobile handset marketplace, and the completion of some significant qualifications.” Ahura Brings New Hand-Held Spectroscopy Product to Market
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 24, 2005...With a design and capabilities straight out of a Star Trek episode, Ahura corp. has again managed to bring to life products that were once only dreamed of with its new First Defender chemical identification system. The hand-held systems, which were brought to the market in the last two months after receiving $10 million in series B funding, can identify weapons of mass destruction (WMD), chemical weapons, explosives, toxic chemicals, white-powders, narcotics, contraband, and forensics. Boasting a weight of only 3 pounds, it can hold a library of thousands of chemical signatures to compare its results to in under 15 seconds. Unlike many other methods of spectroscopy, their technology based on a Raman laser and their patented “optical engine” technology, can analyze substances through glass and plastic without needing to open the containers. In addition, it reportedly does not consume any sample evidence.
The completely self-contained device with database, file sharing, and wireless capabilities has two modes of operation, direct “point and shoot” and integrated sample vial compartment analysis. The company touts its system as the “only light-weight, rugged instrument for in-the-field identification of unknown solids and liquids by first responders, soldiers, law enforcement and homeland security personnel.” Dr. Daryoosh Vakhshoori, Founder and CEO of Ahura said, “We are driven to develop cost effective products for first responders. We will continue to push the technological envelop on product performance while moving quickly to transition our designs into production for customers in government and industry.” Company News Release Interesting LED Technology Development Patent
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 24, 2005...We occasionally come accross stories about individuals
or companies with interesting patents that are looking to license their ideas
to manufacturers. Paddy Salam of London, England, the Technical Director of Unisplay
of Geneva, Switzerland, has a group of pre-prototype development patents that
our readers might find intriguing. According to Mr. Salam, the object of his patent
is to avoid the high cost of clustering and at the same time improve the electrical
efficiency of light-production by alleviating problems of light trapped or lost
in an LED chip. Mr. Salam said that there is theoretically no limit to the
size of the LED chip you could create with his design as long as the heat is dissipated.
The group of patents address high power monochrome GaN LEDs, high power monochrome
AlGaInP/AlGaAS LEDs, high power white LEDs, red/amber/cyan 2-chip traffic-lights,
and 2-chip RGB lamps. US patent #’s: 6,346,771;
6,663,120;
6,720,730; Contact Paddy Salam at Unisplay for more details and possible licensing arrangements: Unisplay S. A., 63 Lowther Road, London SW13 9NT, psalam@advanceled.com, Tel: 44 20 8741 3285.
JDS Uniphase to Acquire Lightwave Electronics
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 22, 2005...JDS Uniphase Corp., a dominant player in optical technology field agreed to acquire Lightwave Electronics Corporation, a leading provider of solid-state lasers for commercial markets. The all cash transaction agreement will be finalized pending some closing conditions. In the agreement, JDS Uniphase of San Jose, California USA will pay $65 million for Lightwave Electronics of Mountain View California. Lightwave Electronics, a company that has about 120 employees, makes solid-state lasers for materials processing, semiconductor fabrication, and biotech.
“This acquisition reinforces our commitment to the OEM laser business and is in line with our strategy to invest in profitable, growing markets,” said Hoss Christensen, vice president of JDS Uniphase’s Lasers, Optics and Display Product Group. “Lightwave brings outstanding technical capabilities, complementary product lines, and a track record of profitability and strong execution - they will be a great addition to the JDS Uniphase team.”
This news follows the recent OFC/NOFEC meeting where optical component makers showed evidence of continuing consolidation. In the over saturated optoelectronics market, the smaller players are dropping out or consolidating in order to survive. Read more about this trend and the OFC/NOFEC conference in the recent CompoundSemi editorial. Aviza and Trikon to Merge
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 22, 2005...Aviza Technology of Scotts Valley, California USA, a maker of thermal process and atomic layer disposition equipment, will merge with Trikon Technologies of Newport, Wales UK, a maker of plasma etching as well as III-V and silicon disposition systems, pending the approval of Trikon stockholders. The two companies had combined annual revenues of $160 million in 2004, and have sold over 3000 systems worldwide.
Aviza and Trikon will consolidate under a new holding company, Aviza Technology Inc. Aviza stockholders will own 60% of the new company. Former Trikon shareholders will own 40%. VantagePoint Venture Partners, Aviza’s largest shareholder will own approximately 50% of the new company.
According to Aviza, Jerry Cutini, president and chief executive officer of Aviza, and Patrick O’Connor, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Aviza, will continue in their positions at the new company. Dr. John Macneil, chief executive officer of Trikon, will become executive vice president and chief technology officer. The new board of directors will be comprised of seven members, three each from Aviza and Trikon and an outside director to be named. Robert Anderson, who currently serves on the board of directors for Trikon, will be the chairman of the board. “With this consolidation, we believe that Aviza will be well positioned to leverage the combined technology and business expertise and deliver continued innovation of leading-edge manufacturing tools and processes as the industry continues to push the limits of Moore’s Law.” said Jerry Cutini, president and CEO of Aviza Technology. 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
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The
McDonald Report
Commentary & Perspective...
Conference Report on OFC/NFOEC by Lee JohnsonMarch 21, 2005...Lee Johnson attended OFC in California early this month, which this year
joined forces with NFOEC as the optical marketplace continues to dramatically
'consolidate.' Lee, who was formerly with both TriQuint and Emcore, is especially
knowledgeable in the field and has recently relocated in Hilton Head, South
Carolina. We thank him for covering the meet for us, and if you'd like to contact
him directly, Lee's new email address is: ljohnso503@earthlink.net... JMcD
Network Investments Are Driving Demand for Optical Components
a Guest Editorial by Lee Johnson
During the combined Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition (OFC)
and National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference (NFOEC) in Anaheim, California
USA, the (appx.) 13,500 attendees (down from last year's 15,000) saw evidence of continuing industry consolidations and a stabilizing
revenue trend for optical communications products. The take away from this year's
conference, given the backdrop of new service offerings by the carriers, is
that network investments will open selected revenue opportunities for the optical
components industry. The opportunities are driven by the Telco and Cable MSO
"triple-play" service offerings, FTTX access network deployments by
Verizon, SBC, and BellSouth and the move to a converged 10G transport rate.
The OFC/NFOEC 2005 event marked the consolidation of the two primary technical
conferences serving the optical communications industry. OFC, which began in
1975 focused on the components and sub-systems. NFOEC was hosted by the then
newly formed Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs) in 1985, following the
deregulation of the telecom industry, with the primary focus on the network
and systems direction. Exhibitors this year numbered 650, up slightly from 640.
The official attendee count is not yet available, but the sense on the floor
was that the attendance was similar to that of the 2004 conference.
When looking for market direction in optical component and systems, fiber demand
can be used as a proxy for future demand. Corning reported a 30% growth in North
America optical fiber revenues for 2004, driven largely by the FTTX builds.
Additionally, the service provider wireline capex for 2004 and 2005 has finally
stabilized and optical component revenues are up 20% over 2004. However, the financial profitability of the optical component suppliers
is still lacking, due in large part to operating at capacities less than 20%.
The key market opportunities presented during the conference for optical components
and subsystems are driven by the carrier spending to enable "triple-play"
service offerings in the access network and the support the Internet Protocol
(IP) network evolution. The "triple-play" access products include
single-fiber transceivers with two and three wavelengths, components for both
IP and RF overlay video solutions and passive splitters. These transceivers
contain both active and passive optical components, and many exhibitors, anxiously
presented their unique component and subsystem solutions during the presentations
and exhibits.
The second key product opportunity highlighted by the conference speakers and
exhibitors is the 10Gb/s transceiver. Since at the 10Gb/s data rate, both SONET
and Ethernet protocols can be transported utilizing low cost transceivers, the
volumes will provide significant growth opportunities with common solutions
across most of the new network applications. While these opportunities are real
and starting to ramp, two of the top five optical component suppliers are currently
generating negative gross margins and are consuming cash at unsustainable rates.
Consolidation is evident at all levels of the communications food chain, starting
at the top, with SBC acquiring AT&T and Verizon and Qwest pursuing MCI.
It is expected that fewer large carriers will exercise their pricing power and
will soon force consolidation among the equipment OEMs. In summary, while there
are new revenue growth opportunities for FTTX and 10Gb/s transceivers, there
are also too many suppliers for the crowded optical component market.
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... |
