 |
|
||
|
||||||||||||||||
Anadigics Gets Orders for Wimax Power AmplifiersApril 14, 2005...Anadigics received orders for their Indium Gallium Phosphide (InGaP) heterojunction bipolar transistor AB power amplifier (PA). The PA boasts interoperability for WiMAX applications worldwide. Anadigics' 4.5 mm by 4.5 mm AWM6430 WiMAX PA module has an integrated step attenuator and output power detector, which minimizes the number of external components, PCB space requirements, and development costs for new designs. According to the company the PA module provides excellent linearity with an error vector magnitude (EVM) of less than 2.5% at 24 dBm. The module offers fully matched RF ports and can operate from either a single 5V or 6V power supply. Anadigics' WiMAX PA is fully compatible with IEEE 802.16-2004 and ETSI EN301-021 standards and complies with the European Union's Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive.
Keithley Instruments Introduces Fully-Automated Testing System for Testing Reliability and Lifetime of SemiconductorsApril 12, 2005...Keithley Instruments has demonstrated a fully-automated system to test semiconductor reliability and lifetime. According to the company, the S510 provides a turnkey solution for modeling of the advanced ULSI CMOS processes down to 65nm nodes and beyond. The S510 boasts reduced time required to do the modeling thereby decreasing the time-to-market for projects in technology development and process qualification. It can test multiple devices on a wafer simultaneously with a fully-automatic or semi-automatic probe station. According to the company, it can also handle high channel count parallel negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) and time dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) testing, unlike its competitors. In addition, it can work in conjunction with a fully automated production prober. The S510 runs on the KTE automation test executive software. The interactive component of KTE (KTEI) allows real-time graphing and interactive test modules. The S510 can be configured to perform device characterization, thereby avoiding the need for a separate system. This system adds to the wide-range of Keithley's fully automated electronic testing systems. TIR Introduces Lexel to Replace Conventional 75W Light SourcesApril 13, 2005...At the Lightfair International in New York, TIR of Burnaby, British Columbia Canada unveiled their new Lexel lamp which reportedly can produce light output approximately equivalent to a 75W bulb. Content continues for LIGHTimes SecondPage members... Researchers Reach New Milestone on the Road to Terahertz Transistor
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
Commentary & Perspective...
Perspective on TriQuint's Sale of InP Opto Business to CyOpticsApril 14, 2005...The rumors were correct. TriQuint has just announced the sale of their InP-based optoelectronics units in Breinigsville, Pennsylvania in the USA to CyOptics of Lehigh Valley (Allentown), Pennsylvania for approximately $38 million, plus taking a minority share in CyOptics. Approximately 150 people in Pennsylvania and Mexico are involved in the transfer, most of whom will be picked up by CyOptics, which currently is headquartered relatively near Breinigsville. Step one of the divestiture of the Pennsylvania facility was in March of this
year when TriQuint entered into an agreement to sell its nearly 850,000 square
feet optoelectronics facility and surrounding property in Breinigsville to Anthem
Partners, LLC, an affiliate of MRA Group of Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania.
MRA intends to transform the existing facility into one of the Mid-Atlantic
region’s most advanced technology centers, featuring a combination of technology
research and development, bio-medical engineering, high tech manufacturing,
and a related education advancement and conference center. CyOptics will lease
approximately 90,000 square feet of space in this facility for its operations
once it has completed its purchase of the business from TriQuint, which is expected
to close by the end of April 2005. The sale to Anthem is expected to close by
the end of May 2005. TriQuint originally purchased the Breinigsville operation from Agere in October of 2002 for $40 million in cash (ref our Oct. 23, 2002 headline news and editorial coverage. Those who have been in this business awhile will remember that the Agere opto operation was originally quite strong, but by the time Agere decided to finally sell it off, it included about 80 development engineers, 20 marketing people, and 50 process engineers, plus 150 assembly & test manufacturing and engineering people in the Mexico facility. Considering Agere had basically driven their opto business into the ground, TriQuint made a valiant effort to hold everyone together and build the business back up. Alas... there's still simply not enough InP opto business out there, and still too many players chasing a limited market. The telecom bust remains a sad sector, with few likely to survive. With the purchase by CyOptics of the TriQuint InP opto operation, CyOptics now stands a decent chance of being one of the survivors. The sale is good news to TriQuint fans. Consolidation is a way of life these
days, so this news was expected. What it means primarily to the compound semi
industry, is that TriQuint is doing what other wise companies are doing, and
getting back to their core strength, leaving the InP opto gamble to those who
can concentrate on just that. TriQuint's core strength is what it's always been...
According to TriQuint's President and CEO, Ralph Quinsey, "We now intend
to turn our full attention to our growing businesses in the wireless handset,
base station, defense and wireless broadband access markets building on our
portfolio of successful semiconductor and filter products.” Ralph told analysts in a late Thursday afternoon conference call regarding the sale (an online replay of which is available), that the InP based and MOCVD platform-rich Breinigsville plant was originally expected to yield in the neighborhood of $50-60 million per year in revenue when they took over the business from Agere. That's before they found out how badly Agere had run the business down. It only produced revenue in the $30 million per year range. TriQuint's people have done their best to build it back up. Privatizing the business and teaming it with CyOptics, which has hung in the InP game admirably, gives Breinigsville it's best shot for continued survival. "Only a few right sized nimble players will survive," Ralph predicted. TriQuint won't be completely out of the opto game either. It will continue to support it's traditional GaAs opto drivers and TIA business from TriQuint Texas in Richardson, Texas, deemed a relatively small operation. This move is a sign of the times. The globalization of many businesses is one factor. CyOptics was born and raised out of Bell Labs and is closely tied to Israel. Whereas the USA continues to suffer in the telecom sector, action in other countries, especially Asia and the Middle East, is doing much better. And CyOptics has focused solely on InP since its inception. The company's device manufacturing capability includes InP wafer fab, re-growth, and characterization. They have a 7,000 sq. ft. wafer/chip fab in Yokneam Illit, Israel. In addition to what they'll inherit at Breinigsville, they also have a 30,000 sq. ft. automated assembly and test facility in nearby Allentown Pennsylvania in the USA... and CyOptics is fully ISO9001:2000 certified. The technical founders of CyOptics recently showed the good sense to hire themselves a good boss. Their new President/CEO is Ed J. Coringrato (ref Mgt Team). The other sign of the times is another factor. For the next three years, for sure, as long as the current USA administration stays on the warpath, the defense business is one of the only sectors doing really well. And TriQuint's people are old pros when it comes to defense applications. TriQuint Texas began as a TI/Raytheon team on the famed MIMIC program, and it's in the leadership position once again with the recent award as one of three primes to score the long awaited DARPA GaN contracts. (Ref. our March 14th headline news and editorial) which will put TriQuint on a lot of people's roadmaps for GaN foundry work. So I see this as an excellent move on many fronts. TriQuint is moving on and will be helping pioneer one of my favorite compounds, GaN. And given the current economic and political climate, worldwide, the privatizing of Breinigsville and putting it back in the hands of the type people who originally created it, Bell Labs and Lucent descendants, is a step in the right direction for InP. Now... if the communications sector would just start to pick up a bit...!!! If you have news or
views to share about the compound semiconductor, LED or solid
state lighting industries |
||||||||||||||||
