|
Editorial: Tis the Season (To Get Ready for THE Season)
... With the USA's Thanksgiving festivities behind us and the worldwide Winter Holidays before us as we wrap up 2005, now is the perfect time for those working in the HB LED side of the compound semi field to get ready for the biggest events of 2006: PennWell's Strategies in...
Jump down to the full story
| |
Features:
|
|
RFMD Named “Best Supplier” by Leading China Handset Manufacturer
CompoundSemi News StaffDecember 1, 2005...RF Micro Devices located in Greensboro, North Carolina USA, has received the
Best Supplier Award from Lenovo Mobile, a major China-based handset manufacturer.
The award recognizes a long-standing relationship between RFMD and Lenovo Mobile.
Zhijun Liu, vice president Lenovo and general manager Lenovo Mobile said, "This
award is a testament to RFMD's customer-centric focus and its ability to supply
best-in-class technologies on time and in very high volumes. We look forward
to continued growth in our relationship with RFMD." Bob Bruggeworth, president
and CEO of RF Micro Devices stated, "RFMD is committed to expanding our
operations in China in order to support valued, high-growth customers such as
Lenovo Mobile." Company
News Release JDSU Completes Acquisition of Agility Communications
CompoundSemi News StaffDecember 1, 2005...JDSU has completed the acquisition of Agility Communications, Inc., a leading
provider of widely tunable laser solutions for the optical networks. JDSU paid
approximately $67 million for privately held Agility Communications, Inc., comprising
approximately $57 million in stock and $10 million in cash. Tunable lasers simplify
deployment by allowing one tunable laser to take the place of many different lasers
required to connect heterogeneous networks. JDSU says the acquisition will add
to its portfolio of agile network products. (Ref: Our
coverage), Company
News Release November 30, 2005...Agilent Technologies announced that it has completed the sale of Lumiled’s
lighting to Royal Philips Electronics for $950 million and repayment of $50 million
of Lumiled’s debt. According to Agilent, the divestiture is part of the
company’s shift in focus to being a pure-play measurement company. In the
August 15, news release which originally announced the divestiture, Bill Sullivan,
Agilent president and chief executive officer, was quoted saying, "These
actions enable Agilent to focus exclusively on realizing its full potential as
the world's premier measurement company, serving global customers as the largest,
most innovative and best-positioned entity in the world. It has become increasingly
clear that investors also prefer this exclusive focus on the $40 billion measurement
market. Returning the proceeds of these divestitures via share repurchases demonstrates
Agilent's commitment to realizing superior value for our owners as well as our
customers." The shares that Agilent LED International had in Lumileds
lighting have been transferred to Philips Lumileds Holding B.V. (Ref: Aug.
15 announcement) Current
Agilent News Release, Royal
Philips Electronics News Release ASM International Licenses ALD Technology to Oxford InstrumentsNovember 30, 2005...ASM Internationa, a long-time maker of chemical wafer processing tools located
in Belthoven, the Netherlands, has licensed its Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD)
technology to Oxford Instruments. The license allows Oxford Instruments of Enysham,
UK, to use over 280 issued and published patents from ASM’s portfolio relating
to ALD technology. ALD technology deposits ultra-thin films, one atomic layer
at a time, allowing excellent control of thickness and composition. ALD is mostly
utilized with semiconductor technology, but it is also utilized with micro-mechanical
devices, nanotechnology, opto-electronics, and magnetic heads.
Jim Hutchins, Managing Director of Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology commented,
"ALD is an exciting technology for semiconductor processing, with further
potential for exploitation in numerous applications of nanotechnology. We are
pleased to enter an agreement with ASM which will enable Oxford Instruments
to deliver world leading ALD technologies to the research and development community
world wide and to offer our customers a valuable addition to their processing
capability." ASM
News Release UCSB Researchers Create Hybrid Laser
CompoundSemi News StaffNovember 29, 2005...Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB)have developed a hybrid
laser which combines silicon photonics with III-V gain material, according to
an EE Times article. The researchers said that the device provides an
alternative to silicon Raman lasers but it is about one-tenth the length. The
optically pumped laser reportedly needs only 30 milliwatts of input pump power
to operate with a continuous wave. In the article
the UCSB researchers indicated that the device demonstration is the first step
toward an electrically pumped hybrid silicon laser. The challenge for silicon
lasers in general has been designing a device that that can be integrated fully
into silicon micro electronics. John Bowers, a professor of electrical and computer
engineering at UCSB, said in a statement issued by UCSB that the ability to combine
"the best of both worlds," such as III-V gain material with
silicon photonics, "could lead to a new way of enabling highly integrated
laser sources with intelligent opto-electronic devices for future optical communications
at low cost.” The laser was developed by Bowers and his students,
Alex Fang and Hyundai Park with funding help from the Defense Advanced Research
Project Agency (DARPA) and Intel Corp. RF Micro Devices Supplies Chipsets for More of Motorola’s Handsets
CompoundSemi News StaffNovember 29, 2005...RF Micro Devices Inc., has extended its Polaris 2 Total Radio chipset into
Motorola’s V360 Handsets. The company recently announced the shipment
of the devices that adds another handset model to the list for which RFMD supplies
Polaris-enabled EDGE technology. Other members of the handset list include Motorola’s
V551, V186, E895, PEBL, and SLVR L7 models. RF Micro Devices is a key supplier
to Motorola, delivering transceiver chipsets, front-end modules, and power amplifiers
for CDMA, GPRS, EDGE and WCDMA handsets. RFMD anticipates sales growth of its
POLARIS Radio Module in upcoming quarters in, support of high volume EDGE and
GPRS handsets. The company also expects its POLARIS transceiver solutions will grow
as a percentage of the their total revenue in calendar 2006. Company
News Release Strategies Unlimited Says HB LED Industry Still has Room For New Companies
LIGHTimes StaffNovember 29, 2005...Strategies Unlimited has released their latest report on the HB LED market.
The report indicates that from 1995 through 2004, the packaged HB LED market
grew at an incredible pace of 46% per year in terms of estimated worldwide sales
revenue to reach $3.7 billion. The number of companies supplying high brightness
LEDs (HB LEDs) has exceeded 100 worldwide, but 50% of the market is still supplied
by the top five companies, according to the report. Furthermore, according to
Strategies Unlimited, nearly 75% of the packaged HB LED market (in terms of
sales revenue) comes from 10 out of the 48 identified companies. The report
contends that companies supplying epitaxial wafers and chips to the HB LED merchant
market are in a similar situation. The top three of the epitaxial wafer and
chip suppliers for the HB LED merchants account for over 50% of the market,
and the top 11 suppliers account for 75%. Content continues for LIGHTimes SecondPage members... Skyworks Signs Development Agreement With Motorola
CompoundSemi News StaffNovember 28, 2005...Skyworks Solutions of Woburn, Massachusetts USA has signed an agreement allowing
the production EDGE radios based on Helios DigRF Radio Solution for next-generation
EDGE Platforms. The reported agreement addresses front-end modules and single-chip
direct conversion transceivers in support of multimedia handsets. According to
the company, the new handsets will be designed to support high-speed Web browsing,
music downloads, and streaming video. "Skyworks' Helios EDGE radio pushes
the performance envelope and offers Motorola tremendous design flexibility, field
reliability and ease of implementation," stated Rob Shaddock, chief technology
officer for Motorola Mobile Devices. "Our adoption of Skyworks' DigRF radio
would signify our commitment to the DigRF technical specification." Company
News Release Major Taiwan University Selects Thomas Swan DeviceNovember 22, 2005...The National Central University (NCU), Optical Science Center in Taoyuan County,
Taiwan R.O.C. has ordered a Thomas Swan 3x2” Close Coupled Showerhead (CCS)
reactor for research into LED structures. According to Aixtron, the MOCVD tool
will provide GaN epitaxial materials and will complement NCU’s other research
tools. The University chose the Aixtron system in part because of the success
of the existing Aixtron sytem and the good relationship with the company. The
university also has a cooperation agreement with Aixtron in which NCU operates
as a demonstration laboratory for Aixtron. Aixtron said that this has enabled
their customers to see quality of the GaN wafers grown on their equipment. Company
News Release Toshiba American Electric Introduces SiGe Power AmplifierNovember 22, 2005...Toshiba American Electric (TAEC) and its parent company Toshiba Corp. have introduced
a new power amplifier. The silicon germanium (SiGe) device, first in a family
of SiGe power amplifiers, uses a bipolar complementary metal oxide semiconductor.
First described in an article
in III-V’s Review, the power amplifier is designed for IEEE 802.11b/g WLAN
systems. The device can reportedly also meet PHS adjacent channel power ratio
(ACPR) specifications up to 23dBm of output power with 35dB of gain. According
to the company the device dubbed TA4401CT, is well suited for use in 1.9-2.5GHz
band wireless applications, including wireless LAN (WLAN), personal handy system
(PHS) and bluetooth (BT). Satcon Technology Awarded Contract for Power Converter DevelopmentNovember 22, 2005...The Applied Technology division of SatCon Technology Corporation of Boston, Massachusetts
USA, was awarded a contract with General Atomics to help develop a 40 megawatt
power converter for an Office of Naval Research project. The device will power
and control a full-scale superconducting DC Homopolar Motor for a wide range of
military and commercial vessels. According to the company, the development of
an integrated modular converter design extends its portfolio of power electronics
applications and represents a major step in technology for "all electric"
ship applications.
SatCon's President and Chief Operating Officer, Millard Firebaugh, stated,
"SatCon is pleased to be participating in the Navy's advanced propulsion
and power distribution programs. This contract supports one of our stated strategic
initiatives to grow our Navy business area. The HPM program enables SatCon to
develop propulsion power technology for the military that we believe could represent
the future of propulsion and power distribution technology for ships and other
commercial platforms." 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...
Tis the Season (To Get Ready for THE Season)November 28, 2005...With the USA's Thanksgiving festivities behind us and the worldwide Winter
Holidays before us as we wrap up 2005, now is the perfect time for those working
in the HB LED side of the compound semi field to get ready for the biggest events
of 2006: PennWell's Strategies
in Light conference and the annual SSL Suppliers Forum (SSLS
2006) the event formerly known as "Blue".
Strategies
in Light (SIL) is truly the premier global summit and longest-running
conference in the LED industry. Now in it's 7th year (yes, it's been that
long!). SIL traditionally meets in the San Francisco Bay Area, not too far
from Strategies' Unlimited's headquarters in Mountain View, California. This
time SIL will be held right in downtown San Francisco at the Hilton Hotel. The
dates are February 15-17, 2006; thus SIL marks the official start of our industry's
2006 conference season.
CompoundSemi Online's annual Taiwan event for the advanced LED industry, now
in its 3rd year there, will pick up where SIL leaves off and gets down to the nitty
gritty "get it done" business environment, right in the regional heart
of where the vast majority of advanced LED manufacturing actually occurs. Now
officially renamed the Solid State Lighting Suppliers Forum (SSLS
2006) this year's version will be held at the same venue as it has for
the last two years, the Ambassador Hotel - Hsinchu in Hsinchu, Taiwan. The dates
are May 9-11, 2006, so mark your calendar for that event as well, if you haven't
already done so.
In addition to the obvious insider networking and hearing direct from industry
leaders, you get the freshest market
forecast and insight, direct from Strategies Unlimited's foremost market guru,
Bob Steele, and you get to see for yourself who's on top and who's running fastest
to catch which hottest markets... and why. Then, by attending the SSL Suppliers
Forum in Taiwan, you get to find out for yourself, up close and personal, if
Bob and the key leaders who present at SIL were right! Bob Steel is again our
number one keynoter at the SSL Suppliers Forum. He's always right, of
course, but it's great to see him polish up his crystal ball right in May, right
in the heart of the Asian manufacturing scene and to see (and hear) for yourself
what changes have occurred since February. Often, those changes are dramatic.
Simply keeping up with who bought whom or which startup is shaking up the industry,
and why, is worth the price of admission alone.
The other tie-in between the two events is Robert C. Walker. Formerly with
Emcore and then Vincera Ventures, many know Bob Walker best from his outstanding
work at his consultancy, YEBY Associates,
as the man who spearheaded Strategies Unlimited's 270-page report, Asian
Producers of High-Brightness LEDs (Taiwan, South Korea, China). Bob has
also served as our very active coordinating co-chair for Blue (now SSLS
2006) in 2004 and 2005. Now as President and CEO of eLite Optoelectronics,
Bob Walker will again serve as co-chair for SSLS 2006 (we've now dubbed him
our "Perennial" Co-Chair) along with Color Kinetics' founder chairman,
George Mueller and Dr. Yung-Sheng Liu, VP and General Director Optoelectronics&
Systems Laboratories (OES) at the Taiwan Industrial Technology Research Institute
(ITRI). The YEBY team members
Ella Shum, Danny Noh, our own Alan Thompson, and Anita Draa continue to actively
participate with Strategies Unlimited on their upcoming HB LED industry suppliers
analysis, which will be expanded this year to worldwide coverage of the field.
The latest collaborative effort, High-Brightness LED
Glogal Supplier Analysis, is about to go to press and includes in-depth
profiles of 74 companies.
So when it comes to LED events, the synergy of SIL 2006 plus SSLS 2006 equal
one big very smart and highly influential family. Your participation in this
"Insider's Club" is definitely the route to success in the
burgeoning field of HB LEDs and Solid State Lighting.
The theme of this year's Strategies In Light conference is Beyond Mobile Phones:
Meeting the Challenges of a Changing LED Market. Yes, the field is moving
rapidly beyond just the cellphone market. It is moving more rapidly than some may believe
into mainstream solid state lighting, with lots of noteworthy application fields
in between, as you'll learn in detail at SIL in San Francisco. By the way...
if you register for SIL by December 16th (which isn't that far off!), you'll
get a $200 discount off the full conference price. Now you can register
for SIL online, print out the pdf
registration form for registration by fax or mail or simply email lubah@pennwell.com
for more information. If you can't remember that, you can easily remember to
simply go to "StrategiesInLight.com"
and all will be revealed! Well... not all. You'll have to actually attend
to get the whole picture. But we can preview a bit of it here for you.
According to Strategies Unlimited, even as it has begun to slow from it's initial "explosion" the HB LED industry has averaged
an impressive 46% growth each year for the last three years, outpacing all other
semiconductor and optical components markets! Did you know that??? Show that
to your broker or shareholders and you'll see why our industry gained such rapid
popularity in the business and technical press (and will continue to garner more attention as the real "world changing" applications begin to hit the mainstream. SIL in February of 2006 will
focus on some of those hot application fields, including: illumination applications,
automotive lighting (including headlamps), backlights for large LCD displays, and
LED video screens and aircraft lighting. They'll also get into the current supply
trends in Asia - including Taiwan, Korea and China. They'll discuss the new system level LED
technologies, product
developments from leading LED suppliers and investigate the current state of
intellectual property issues and industry financing. In addition the conference will approach the issues of LED lifetime and standards, will review the
various national solid-state lighting programs. Last but not least on their
itinerary, Bob Steele will present his annual Market Review with an updated
five-year forecast. And nobody... I mean nobody, can forecast the global LED
industry like Strategies Unlimited! They are indisputably the world's premier
provider of LED industry-related market research.
So how about it? Are you ready to get yourself to the famed Hilton Hotel San
Francisco February 15th to 17th? If not, get that registration in by December
16th and join the LED Industry Insiders' Club. And while you're making preparations
for the start of "The Season", go ahead and start making your
plans for May 9-11 in Taiwan for SSLS
2006. That way you'll be one of the key insiders for the entire season.
Remember... "Tis the Season" to get ready for The Season. 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... |
