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September 9, 2005...JDS Uniphase has signed an agreement to acquire Agility Communications, Inc.,
a provider of tunable lasers and transponders. JDSU says the acquisition will
help give it a broad, end-to-end optical network portfolio. Agility communications
is a privately held company with about 90 employees in Santa Barbara, California.
The deal is expected to close in the fiscal quarter ending December 2005. The
terms of the agreement were not disclosed. JDSU says that unlike alternative architectures,
Agility offers the only proven architecture capable of full tunable laser integration
with a modulator using a highly scalable semiconductor wafer process. According
to the company, the platform also offers switching speeds of less than 10 milliseconds,
and is less sensitive to shock and vibration than other solutions, thus enabling
deployment of robust, highly reconfigurable, and scalable optical networks.
"We believe the shift to tunables is inevitable and that the transition
will be rapid," said Mike Ricci, vice president of JDS Uniphase's
Component and Modules Group. "Agility's single chip monolithic platform
is capable of addressing the entire market and is not limited to a single form
factor. Agility's proven architecture, coupled with JDS Uniphase's scalable
manufacturing capability, paves the way for high volume, tunable, pluggable
solutions." Company News Release
In other company news, JDSU added Multicast Analysis capabilities to its DTS
digital video services test and measurement solution.
In a related bit of news, Australia Broadcasting Corporation has upgraded its
digital signal analysis and measurement tool to the JDSU’s DTS-200. The
JDSU DTS-200 adds several features the previous test solution the DTS-100 including
MPEG analysis for bandwidth efficiency and more advanced audio analysis tools.
Another company, Harmonic, a provider of broadband optical network and digital
video systems, has also chosen to upgrade not the DTS-200 and DTS-330. The DTS-330
is reportedly the company’s “one box” solution offering several
different combinations of MPEG (digital video broadcast, or DVB, and advanced
television systems committee, or ATSC) transport stream generation, capture,
creation, and analysis. The DTS multicast analysis feature will be on display
at International Broadcasting Convention 2005, September 8-14, Amsterdam, Netherlands,
RAI Convention Center, Hall 8, Booth 8.314. Cree to Open Asia-Pacific Subsidiary Headquarters in Hong Kong
LIGHTimes StaffSeptember 8, 2005...Cree Asia-Pacific Limited, a subsidiary of Cree Inc. of Durham, North Carolina
USA, will open its new headquarters in the Hong Kong Science Technology Park on
September 12, 2005. Cree Asia-Pacific was formed to increase customer and technical
support in the region while also serving as Cree’s product innovation center
for the region. The company says it will host a dedication ceremony to introduce
its new Asian customers and prospective customers to the new staff and facility. Content continues for LIGHTimes SecondPage members... Intematix Partners With ProLight
LIGHTimes StaffSeptember 8, 2005...Intematix of Fremont, California USA, has for the second time this week licensed its non-infringing phosphor
technology with a company in Taiwan. ProLight Opto Technology Corporation decided
to take advantage of Intematix’ customized and optimized phosphors. Intematix
will work with the company as it continues to innovate in solid state lighting. Content continues for LIGHTimes SecondPage members... Sensors Unlimited Sold Again
CompoundSemi News StaffSeptember 7, 2005...Goodrich Corporation, a fortune 500 aerospace and defence company, located in
Charlotte, North Carolina USA, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire
Sensors Unlimited Inc. for $60 million in cash. The transaction is expected to
close in the fourth quarter of 2005 and is subject to approval of U.S. regulatory
agencies. 2005 sales revenues for the business are expected to reach $19 million.
Sensors Unlimited is a pioneer in Short Wave Infrared (SWIR) technology and a
leader in indium gallium arsenide imaging technology for extremely low light conditions.
The company focuses on industrial, analytic, and scientific near infrared spectroscopy,
machine vision and process control, and SWIR imaging and surveillance. Their products'
applications range from covert surveillance, night vision, and health and safety
protocols to historical art inspection
Sensors Unlimited was founded by Dr. Gregory Olsen as a research and development
company in 1991. In October of 2000, at the height of the tech boom, Dr. Olsen
sold the company to Finisar Corporation for an estimated $700 million based on the $35 per share stock
price at the time. (Ref: article) Management later bought back the company from Finisar Corporation
for $ 6.1 million in 2002. (Ref: article) Then once again the company has been sold. This time
the sale went to Goodrich Corporation, for $60 million. The business, housed
in a 39,000-square-foot facility in Princeton, New Jersey with more than 50
employees in manufacturing and engineering roles, will become part of Goodrich's
existing Optical and Space Systems division.
According to Marshall Larsen, chairman, president and chief executive officer
of Goodrich, "This is a strategically important acquisition for our
surveillance and reconnaissance business. We continue to build on our growing
presence in the defense and homeland security markets. Short wave infrared sensors
and near infrared imaging systems, created with indium gallium arsenide technology,
will significantly strengthen our position in the high-growth markets for surveillance
and reconnaissance systems as well as homeland security applications.”
Mr. Larson added, “Our DB-110 airborne reconnaissance system,
a Goodrich technology currently flying with the U.K.'s Royal Air Force, which
will also be flying with Poland's Ministry of National Defense, is capable of
leveraging the addition of short wave infrared technology. Our laser perimeter
awareness systems that support emerging homeland security needs may also incorporate
short wave infrared technology to enhance their capabilities; thereby expanding
the already broad portfolio of solutions we can offer to the marketplace." Company News Release Shakeup Expected in ALD Equipment Business
CompoundSemi News StaffSeptember 6, 2005...Atomic layer disposition equipment makers will likely be purged in the over
populated market with only a handful of customers, an EE Times article says.
Consolidation is a likely possibility with more vendors than customers in the
market, according to Henk de Waard, business unit manager for transistor and
capacitor products for ASM International N.V.’s U.S. subsidiary, ASM America
Inc. of Phoenix, Arizona. “ALD is still in the early stages,”
de Waard said in an interview with EE Times. “I think the shakeout
will continue.” The ALD equipment market has yet to find its niche
with the process many consider to have low throughput and high costs as compared to other
disposition technologies.
ALD equipment produces ultra-thin films, one atomic layer at a time, and unlike
other disposition technology, it offers control of thickness and uniformity
of the layers. According to research by David Cameron at the Advanced Surface
Technology Research Laboaratory (ASTRAL) (Ref: Atomic
Layer Disposition in IC Manufacturing), the advantages of ALD include having:
absolute conformality, the ability to create abrupt interlayer transitions,
and the ability to precisely control growth. The EE Times article says that
the technology is used in DRAM capacitor, storage media, and related applications
but it still is not used in any part of mainstream chip production. Other possible
but underused applications include gatestacks, and interconnects, or wiring within
integrated circuits.
EE times points (Ref: EE
Times)out that in Korea, the ALD equipment business has been consolidated
into a small group of elite vendors including: Aixtron/Genus, Applied Materials,
Aviza, ASM International, IPS, Kokusai, Novellus, and Tokyo Electron Ltd. (TEL).
VLSI research of Santa Clara, California projects that the ALD market in 2009
will be about 6.5 times what it estimates for the 2005 market. Aixtron to Benefit From LCD Backlighting Market
LIGHTimes StaffSeptember 6, 2005...Aixtron AG of Aachen, Germany says that it will benefit from the growing LCD TV
market. Aixtron AG pointed out that the market for LCD TV is expected to grow
rapidly over the next few years, and therefore the disposition of GaN and GaAs
based compound semiconductor structures will be required. Aixtron, a provider
of compound semiconductor epitaxy equipment will benefit from this market trend. Content continues for LIGHTimes SecondPage members... Consolidation Not Over at JDSU
CompoundSemi News StaffSeptember 5, 2005...JDS Uniphase Corporation (JDSU) of San Jose, California USA, in its Q4 fiscal
2005 results posted a year-over-year revenue increase of 3% up to $712.2 million.
JDSU CEO, Kevin Kennedy said that this was the first year-over-year improvement
in posted revenue since 2001. The company still posted a loss totaling $145.7
million for the fiscal year. This posted loss includes a $62.7 million impairment
charge. JDSU reported strong sales in the long-haul and metro-network markets.
“Reconfigurable optical add/drop type electrical multiplexers
[ROTEMs] and some of the higher end sub systems have been the high growth
rates for us,” Kennedy said.
JDSU acquired laser maker, Lightwave Electronics, test and measurements solutions
provider, Acterna, and Photonic Power Systems Inc. over the fiscal year. Acterna
provided the biggest increase in headcount with an addition of about 1800 employees.
The company concluded a year of much consolidation and restructuring. During
the fiscal year the company sold its Fuzhou, China, manufacturing facility to
Fabrinet. In addition, the JDSU transferred both its Ewing and Mountain Lakes,
New Jersey manufacturing facilities to Fabrinet, a key manufacturing partner.
The company also reduced manufacturing in Santa Rosa, California, associated
with the phasing out of certain display products including high-volume consumer
light engines and coated micro display windows.
Mr. Kennedy said, “Clearly we are trying to continue to minimize the
amount of North American Manufacturing and in North American have only those things
that make sense.” He added that the company will continue to move manufacturing
out of North America to Asia and that, “We probably have one more year
of significant manufacturing footprint consolidation.” The company
plans to reduce its headcount by 550 in its continued consolidation and restructuring
in the coming fiscal year. In addition the company will stop manufacturing products
at its Santa Rosa, California facility. This will further reduce the head count
by about 130 workers. Kennedy mentioned that the company may look to Thailand and
Singapore as places for manufacturing. (Ref: Fourth
Quarter Fiscal Results ) Accent Releases p-GaN Carrier Concentration Profiling Process
CompoundSemi News StaffSeptember 1, 2005...Accent Optical Technologies, a private company located in Bend, Oregon USA,
has released a new etch process for Electrochemical CV carrier concentration
profiling of p-doped Gallium Nitride (GaN). According to the company, achieving
a high concentration of holes, also known as positive carriers in p-type GaN
is a critical step in producing HB LEDs or UV lasers for next generation DVD
players. While Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) can measure the chemical
concentration of the dopant, it does not measure the electrically active carrier
concentration. Unlike
conventional metrology methods, Accent says their electrochemical vapor (ECV)
profiling directly measures the electrically active carrier concentration, which
has a direct impact on key performance parameters including forward voltage
and contact resistance. Content continues for LIGHTimes SecondPage members... Alfalight Releases 25W Pump Module for Fiber LasersAugust 31, 2005...Alfalight has released a 25 W pump module for fiber laser and amplifier configurations.
The Combined Power Module II (CPM-II) reportedly has precision wavelength control
through integrated temperature stabilization. The device is ideal at pumping lasers
at 976nm. Ron Bechtold, vice president of sales and marketing for Alfalight commented,
“This pump source simplifies the development of high-performance fiber
lasers and amplifiers by incorporating wavelength control, advanced protection
circuitry, higher output power and high reliability. As a result, users can
focus on the other aspects of their fiber laser system design and not the pump
performance.” Company
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