|
Editorial: Honoring Innovation
... Rumbles of conflict over intellectual property (IP) rights are again being detected around international CS and SSL circles. And the rumbles aren't confined to the manufacturing of blue and white LEDs. They're reaching down the supply chain to epitaxy growth equipment and up the chain to core issues like...
Jump down to the full story
| |
Features:
|
|
October 13, 2005...A startup company in Austin, Texas USA, called Cubic Wafer, has developed what they consider
to be the answer to getting more on a single chip, and they are now working to
prove it. The company started out as Xanoptix in New Hampshire making a proprietary
optical transceiver. In the process of designing the optical transceiver the company
came upon a solution to putting more on a chip. When the opto-electronics market
crashed, the company was dissolved. The company founders decided to start a new
company in Austin dedicated to licensing the stacking technology they created.
Their answer to putting more on a single chip involves chip stacking with many
orders of magnitude more interconnects among chip layers than the more conventional
chip stacking that has been around for years. One of the company’s efforts
when they operated as Xanoptix produced a single chip optical transceiver with
72 channels that can operate at up to 250 Gb/s or the equivalent of 1,250 Ethernet
cards. According to Ed Healy the newly named CEO, their technology provides
a surprisingly robust, cost effective solution with far reaching implications
for many microprocessing applications.
Mr. Healy pointed out that the technology could be used to create entire microprocessing
systems on a single chip with all of the modules stacked together. The company
has developed what you might call a “nanostud” using gold, copper,
nickel, and other readily available materials. Thousands of the “nanostuds”
are bonded directly to the chip die, connecting the chip layers. Mr. Healy explained
that the exponential increase in the number of input/output connections possible
creates a corresponding increase in input/output speed among the stacked chip
layers where each layer is itself a chip. He described the difference in input
and output by comparing a 256 bit bus to a 256,000 bit bus. “Can you
imagine now having the ability to go and access memory on a bus that is 256,000
bits wide, ” he said. “The vision of the company is really
to introduce a completely new dynamic in the way of thinking about the designing
of systems.” Extended Version Agilent Announces Date of Semiconductor Products Group Divestiture CloseOctober 13, 2005...Agilent technologies Inc. of Palo Alto, California USA, annoounced that it expects
to close the sale of its Semiconductor Products Group (SPG) to Kohlberg Kravis
Roberts & Co. and Silver Lake Partners (KKR and Silver Lake) on or near Dec.
1, 2005. (Ref: LIGHTimes
coverage). The deal is subject to closing conditions, including customary
governmental and regulatory approvals. The $2.66 billion price tag and financing
arrangements remain the same. The target closing date was chosen to enable the
companies to provide a seamless transition for customers, suppliers and employees.
Company
News Release UK Researchers to Produce InP-based ImagersOctober 13, 2005...According to IOP’s Compound Semiconductor Magazine, a UK research team
hopes to develop portable terahertz devices based on indium phosphide (InP)
chips. The UK’s Engineering Engineering and Physical Sciences Research
Council (EPSRC) has reportedly funded the $2.1 million project which will be
done at the University of Essex. The crucial fabrication work of the InP components
will be completed at the Centre for Integrated Photonics (CIP). The University
of Bath, the National Physical Laboratory, and University College London are
also collaborating on the project. Acording to the article, the technology will
be utilized to create “battery-powered ‘torches’ and ‘cameras’
operating in the terahertz region of the spectrum, which sits between the infrared
and microwave bands.” Because many materials are transparent at terahertz
frequencies, the frequency band is used in medical imaging, security, chemical
analysis, and astronomy. The reasearchers hope to take advantage of the InP
technology to produce terahertz radiation from a more portable source than conventional
bulky imaging equipment which uses high energy laser pulses aimed at semiconductor
material to produce the needed terahertz radiation. The University of Essex
research team led by Ian Henning indicated that the portability of the radiation
source would allow a wider range of applications including: airport security,
looking for pollution, or it could even be used in a pharmacy or doctor’s
surgery to aide in diagnosis. The InP would be used in both the sensors of a
device similar to a camera that can pickup the terahertz wavelength, and LEDs
that put out terahertz radiation. Such a device could be battery operated and
hand-held. The camera-like device would have to be held on the opposite side
of the person or object being imaged. (Ref: IOP's
CompoundSemiconductor.net).
Ahura Brings in Industry Veteran to be Chairman and CEO
October 11, 2005...Ahura Corporation of Wilmington, Massachusetts, which has designed advanced
handheld chemical identification systems, has brought in industry veteran, Doug
Kahn to be chairman of the Board of Directors, and company CEO. Company founder,
Dr. Daryoosh Vakhshoori, was named President. According to the company, Doug
Kahn is an internationally recognized entrepreneur, who brings more than 25
years of executive management experience to Ahura and has an extensive track
record of leadership in high technology companies."Ahura has a powerful
product platform, strong initial market penetration and the vision to be a market
leader. Doug is an excellent addition to the team and will certainly help us
achieve our objectives for rapid growth and industry leadership,"
Dr. Vakhshoori said.
Prior to joining Ahura Corporation Mr. Kahn was reportedly CEO and President
of PanAmSat Corporation, an international provider of satellite-based communications
services. Prior to PanAmSat, he served as Chairman and CEO of Easel Corporation,
guiding this software company through three rounds of venture capital investment,
a successful IPO and ten years of growth. Kahn currently serves on the board
of Tetragenetics, Inc. and previously served as a director of ServiceSoft, Advanced
Visual Systems, The Massachusetts Software Council, and the Information Technology
Association of America (ITAA). Kahn holds an MBA from Stanford University and
a BS in operations research and industrial engineering from Cornell University.Ahura’s
handheld chemical identification systems have brought to life what was once
the realm of science fiction. The military and first responders are already
beginning to use the technology. Company
News Release International Rectifier Wins $6.241 Million From IXYS Patent Infringement CaseOctober 11, 2005...International Rectifier won $6.241 million from IXYS for infringing upon IR’s
4,959,699 patent. A Los Angeles, California USA, jury found that IXYS’
elongated octagonal MOSFETs and IGBTs infringed on the IR patent. The patent
entitled, “High power MOSFET with low on-resistance and high breakdown
voltage”, describes a high power MOSFET in which two laterally spaced
sources each supply current through respective channels in one surface of a
semiconductor chip. The two sources are controlled by a single gate. IR said
that further proceedings are required in the trial before final judgment can
be rendered. IR a dominant player in the power management market, also has analog
and mixed signal ICs, advanced circuit devices, integrated power systems, and
components that enable high performance computing and reduce energy waste in
motors. Company
News Release Blue Photonics Orders MOCVD Machine for Next Generation DVD Players and LEDsOctober 7, 2005...Blue Photonics, a Walnut, California USA, startup and producer of custom gallium
nitride (GaN) epitaxial wafers for LEDs, laser diodes, and transistors has reportedly
ordered Aixtron’s Thomas Swan Closed Coupled Showerhead (CCS) metal organic
chemical vapor disposition (MOCVD) machine. Blue Phontonics said it will use the
machines to produce electronic and opto-electronic products including high-power
transistors, blue laser diodes, high efficiency blue, green and white light emitting
diodes, and solar-blind photo-detectors, etc…Dr. J.C. Chen co-founder of
Blue Photonics pointed out that other applications for the advanced nitride materials
they will offer include next generation DVD players and future communication devices.
Dr. Chen said that the material uniformity in terms of thickness, doping, and
composition and the remarkable yields of the deposited device structures were
the main reasons for selecting the Thomas Swan, 19x2” nitride platform. Blue Photonics first announced their custom GaN epitaxial service at the end of August.
Aixtron
News Release Cyoptics Closes $27 Million Series F Round Funding
CompoundSemi News StaffOctober 6, 2005...CyOptics, Inc., a supplier of indium phosphide (InP) optical chips and laser
and detector components, has closed its $27 million series F funding round with a $3
million investment from Birchmere Ventures. JVP, Sprout Group, TowerBrook Capital
Partners, and Eurofund, collectively invested $16.5 million in the April closing.
The round also included $7.5 million in debt financing from Comerica Bank. The
company said that this funding round financed the May acquisition of TriQuint’s
optoelectronics division. (Ref: our
coverage).
"The integration of the optical business acquired from TriQuint has
gone extremely well," said Ed Coringrato, President and CEO of CyOptics,
Inc. "Our revenue is continuing to grow quarter over quarter as are
our product offers and customer base. We are very pleased to have Birchmere
Ventures join our investor group and look forward to working with them in continuing
to grow and diversify our business." Birchmere partner and new CyOptics
board member Sean Sebastian said, "We looked at dozens of optical companies
with exciting technology at the height of the telecom bubble, but shied away
from the sector because we couldn't reliably discern the likely winners. Now
with the nascent sector recovery under way and manufacturing consolidation,
we're confident CyOptics will continue to widen its established lead in the
market." Company
News Release CyOptics reportedly has a "nano-tech" capable robotic assembly process
that offers high uniformity and low cost. In addition to having chip fabrication
operations in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, the company has automated packaging
and testing operations in Matamoros, Mexico. Its production fab in Yokneam,
Israel is under agreement to be sold to Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. (Ref: article). Molecular Imprints Gets VP of MarketingOctober 6, 2005...Molecular Imprints, the Austin, Texas USA company with the proprietary Step-and-Flash-Imprint-Lithography
(S-FIL) process allowing extremely precise production of sub 50nm structures,
has added John Doering as the vice president of marketing. According to the company,
Mr. Doering most recently worked as global director of strategic marketing at
ASML, a manufacturer of photolithography systems. Before that, he was with SpeedFam-IPEC
where he led the product marketing and previously, the equipment engineering groups.
Prior to working for IPEC, Mr. Doering was a faculty member of the Poulter Laboratories
at SRI International. Doering holds a MS in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford
University and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California
at Berkeley.
“MII is an exciting company with a great team and outstanding technology.
I am excited by the opportunity to participate and contribute to future successes,”
Doering said. Norm Schumaker, MII’s President and CEO stated, “We
are very happy to have attracted a person of John’s caliber to join our
management team. John’s breadth of experience is important to us as we
build Molecular Imprints’ presence in the world of nanotechnology and
3D replication.” Company
News Release 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
For more information and to reserve promotion space contact
Info7 -at - compoundsemi.com
or call +1 (512) 257-9888 |
|
The
McDonald Report
Commentary & Perspective...
Honoring InnovationOctober 11, 2005...Rumbles of conflict over intellectual property (IP) rights
are again being detected around international CS and SSL circles. And the
rumbles aren't confined to the manufacturing of blue and white LEDs.
They're reaching down the supply chain to epitaxy growth
equipment and up the chain to core issues like thermal management of LED-based
systems. I truly believe that more and better progress would be made in our
industries if people simply went back to honoring innovation instead of imitating
it. The stories of CS and SSL industry progress would certainly be more interesting.
Our fields of individual endeavor have become so specialized and segmented
that many companies and labs have lost sight of how to look, objectively and
creatively, at the true Big Picture. The public relations aspect of effectively
publicizing your team's innovation should be the focus of your exploitation,
not your competition. Here's how it works:
You're in the business because you (as an individual, team or company) are
either an innovator-- or an imitator. Being honest about what you do is the
starting point. Imitating need not be regarded as a negative, unless you ignore
the fact that that's what you are, and what you do. I'm reminded of the old
adage: Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Nice words, but hardly
consoling to the person or team that's getting ripped off. Giving proper credit
to prior art... wherever, whenever, and however it occurred... is the backbone
of the CS and fledgling SSL industries.
When the core of your industry is material science, which most definitely
is the case with the compound semiconductors and SSL, very little is actually being
"invented" anymore. All one has to do is look closely at the underlying
science or technology that drives the pursuits to see the many shoulders throughout
the decades that exist to support current efforts. If you're at the top of the
heap, or are headed there, it's because there's a heap!
The evidence clearly resides in the scientific papers that describe true breakthroughs,
in the small print within a patent application, and if nowhere else, at the
university that gives the scientists and technologists their degrees. These
are what constitute our industries' international code of ethics. Proper credit
is always given to prior art, thereby awarding due credit to true innovation...
a fact nonscientific support people tend to forget.
For example: Paul Maruska created the first true blue LEDs out of GaN on sapphire
back in the 1960s. 30 years later, a team at Nichia, headed by Shuji Nakamura,
succeeded in making blue spectrum GaN on sapphire LEDs bright enough, with long
enough lifetimes, to make them commercially feasible (ref: 1/16/05
news "Setting the GaN LED Invention Record Straight which introduces
Paul's documented GaN
LED history lesson). As another example, UCSD professor, Peter Asbeck,
built a truly innovative HBT when he was with Rockwell Science Center in the
1980s (ref:
1/7/03 news and editorial for that history lesson). Aixtron's
Planetary and Emcore's TurboDisc
technologies developed in the mid-1980s are the basis of today's core multiwafer
MOCVD epitaxy growth equipment, OptoLum
gets credited with any clustered LEDs that have fins for thermal management,
etc., etc., etc. The list of true innovation in the CS and SSL industries is
long, strong, duly documented and protected, and rightfully growing every day.
It's up to you, the leaders of today's and tomorrow's technologies, to document
your achievements and contributions accurately. And therein lies the story for
publications need to tell.
Even if most of what you do is imitated, there's always a percentage that's
truly innovative. Packaging, customized integration, extraordinary customer
interface or creative marketing... those are the "hooks" to exploit.
I'd love to see more resources going to conference presentations, webmasters
and communications specialists than to fighting IP battles in the courts. (Lawyers:
do not send me hate mail. You know there are too many of you!
;-)
So delete phrases like "World's First" and "Invented Here"
from your communications vocabulary. We're simply not buying it. It won't sell.
Tell your story, but tell it accurately... and tell it on your website! Post
the names, bios and pictures of your innovators and keep their messages fresh
and up to date. Make it your story, and accessible to everyone. You'll
be surprised who picks it up.
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... |
