Aixtron Completes Taiwanese Government Funded Project
CompoundSemi News StaffJune 1, 2006...Aixtron Taiwan announced the successful completion of its first research and
development project entitled, “Manufacturing-Oriented Research Lab,”
the company’s first R&D project funded by the Taiwanese government.
The project was part of the program for multinational innovative R&D centers
in Taiwan. Prof. Dr. Michael Heuken, vice president of corporate research and
development at Aixtron and member of the Aixtron Taiwan Scientific Advisory
Board officially closed the project after the review meeting was held in Hsinchu,
Taiwan at the beginning of March.
Aixtron points out that Taiwan is the fastest growing market for nearly all
Aixtron technologies in Asia, and according to the Aixtron, the funded project
is starting point in the establishment of the company’s R&D Center
in Taiwan. Aixtron says it utilizes the research activity in Taiwan to strengthen
its market position and to maintain its leading role as technology driver. The
company reportedly increased its number of staff 270 percent over a three-year
period beginning at the end of 2002. Dr. Joe Yang, R&D Manager of Aixtron
Taiwan commented, “Local engineers and scientists were attracted by
the challenging scientific program that includes nanotechnology and recent materials
science subject matter. With the completion of the project they serve the Taiwanese
market better based on the scientific and technical results of the project.”
Aixtron reported several research achievements including the reduction of operating
costs in LED manufacturing and the development of red, blue, yellow, and even
white OLEDs with the unique OVPD production technology. Company
News Release Cree Distributor Sumitomo Agrees to $180 Million Order
LIGHTimes StaffJune 1, 2006...Cree Inc., of Durham, North Carolina USA, reported that its Japanese distributor,
Sumitomo Corp., has agreed to purchase $180 million of Cree’s LED and
wafer products during the fiscal year ending June 2007. Cree, says that the
purchase is about 10 percent greater than what it expected from Sumitomo. Both
companies anticipate that purchases will be made across Cree’s full line
of wafer and LED chip products, including MegaBright, XBright, XThin, and EZBright
LEDs. Company
News Release Verigy Expects $16 to $18 Per Share for IPO
CompoundSemi News StaffJune 1, 2006...Verigy, a wholly owned subsidiary and spin-off of Agilent, has set its initial
public offering at 8.5 million ordinary shares with a price of $16 to $18, according
to Reuters.
Agilent will own about 50 million ordinary shares or 85.5 percent, after the
IPO. Verigy told Reuters it expected to receive about $134 million in net proceeds
of from the IPO. The funds wll reportedly go towards repaying debt, general
corporate purposes, and paying costs from the separation from Agilent. Verigy
reported that for the three months ended Jan. 31, its net loss narrowed to $16
million from $45 million a year earlier, while revenue jumped to $170 million
from $79 million. Assuming the offering price is in the expected range of $16
to $18, the company will have an initial market capitalization of between about
$934 million and $1.053 billion. Verigy intends to list its stock on the Nasdaq
under the symbol "VRGY."
In other company news, Robert J. Nikl will become company CFO June 20. He previously
served as senior vice president and CFO of Fremont, California-based semiconductor
manufacturing equipment maker Asyst Technologies Inc. GCS Announces HFET Foundry Process
CompoundSemi News StaffJune 1, 2006...Global Communication Semiconductors, Inc. (GCS), a compound semiconductor foundry
in Torrance, California USA, will begin offering its proprietary high linearity
HFET foundry process to address the high dynamic range requirement of base station
driver amplifiers. "GCS has a number of proprietary FET technologies
including 0.5um and 0.25um PHEMT processes. Our 0.5um high performance HFET
process is the latest addition to the FET family. With a breakdown voltage of
16V with a pinch off voltage of -2.0V, this technology was developed specifically
with high linearity in mind and it is ideal for linear amplifiers that require
high dynamic range," commented Jerry Curtis, CEO of GCS. "As
a performance example at 2.0 GHz, when biased at 8V and 50% Idss, our 1.2mm
HFET device can achieve an output power of 28.1 dBm with a Third Order Intercept
(TOI) point of 48.5 dBm. With a 20.4 dB linear figure of merit, a difference
between TOI and P1dB, our HFET is by far one of the most linear foundry processes
ever available. Similar linear performance can also be achieved at 5.0V bias.
The superior linearity makes it well suited for use in both analog and digital
wireless communication infrastructure and subscriber equipment including 3G,
cellular, PCS and fixed wireless system," continued Mr. Curtis. The new foundry service adds to the company’s wide range of foundry services
for the wireless telecommunication and high-speed networking industries. The
company offers foundry services for InGaP and InP HBT, power and switch PHEMT
processes. GCS also provides foundry services for various optoelectronic components
such as PIN PD, PIN POD Array, APD, VCSEL and lasers used in the fiber optic
communication market. Company
News Release Aixtron Sells MOCVD System to Uni LightMay 30, 2006...Aixtron of Aachen, Germany has reported selling a Thomas Swan MOCVD system to
Uni Light Technology in Taoyuan Hsien, Taiwan. The CCSTM 19x2" multiwafer
reactor will be used for the development and manufacture of gallium nitride (GaN)
epitaxial wafer materials for LED devices. Mr. Ping-Hui Lee, Chairman of Uni Light
Technology commented, "We have been very satisfied with our first GaN
MOCVD system and have decided to acquire another Thomas Swan CCSTM multiwafer
reactor. It will form the basis of our continued expansion plans and will be configured
as a GaN HB-LED production tool. In our experience, the CCSTM system provides
exceptional uniformity of thickness, doping, and composition within epitaxial
layers. Also, with Aixtron’s well proven reactor and service support, we
will continue to play a leading role in the market with competitive production
costs and highest quality epitaxial products.” Company
News Release Cree Releases Samples of GaN HEMTs for WiMaxMay 30, 2006...Cree, Inc. of Durham, North Carolina USA, has announced sample availability of its new 15-watt packaged gallium nitride (GaN) high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) called the CGH35015. It is reportedly optimized for broadband wireless access and for WiMAX applications operating between 3.3 GHz and 3.9 GHz. According to Cree, GaN HEMTs offer higher linear power and improved efficiency performance over wider bandwidths than traditional technologies such as silicon LDMOS or GaAs. Company News Release
Demand for Mobile Handsets to Drive Growth at IQEMay 30, 2006...Dr Drew Nelson, IQE President and CEO, said the company has continued to show strong growth in 2006. The company expects increasing handset demand to lead to increased demand for its gallium arsenide (GaAs) materials. He added that the increasing sophistication of handsets will further require more radio frequency components and therefore more GaAs. Dr. Nelson says its major outsourcing contracts are performing ahead of expectations. He also indicated that IQE has moved into full production of the qualifications it carried out in the second half of 2005, and he reported that new qualifications including several in the Far East continue well. He reported that the company’s opto electronics and vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) markets are strong, with growing demand for short distance communications, laser printing and copying, and laser mouse applications. Dr. Nelson explained that the markets for its silicon and wafer technology are also showing good strength. However, He said that the growth has increased the company’s need for capital funding. For this reason, the company secured a 3 million loan and 2 million overdraft facility towards the end of 2005.
Dr. Nelson concluded, "We are now moving into a situation in the market where outsourcing is featuring more prominently in many companies' strategic considerations because the semiconductor industry is now becoming capacity limited in several areas. We see this as an advantage to the Group as our breadth of product range, large scale production capacity and economies of scale are key considerations in attracting new business. We therefore look forward to continued strong growth as the Group’s capacity utilization continues to increase and the industry continues to expand."Company News Release
IMEC to Offer AlGaN/GaN HEMTs on Silicon
CompoundSemi News StaffMay 30, 2006...IMEC, a leading European nanotechnology research company, has reportedly demonstrated the growth of low-sheet-resistivity AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) on 150mm silicon (Si) wafers. According to the company headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, the growth process will allow the development of high-efficiency/high-power systems that go beyond silicon capabilities. The company used their new 150mm metal organic chemical vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) system to grow the high-quality aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN) / gallium nitride (GaN) high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) on silicon. IMEC says it can now offer AlGaN/GaN epiwafer production for laboratories and partner companies.
The company says it uses an AlGaN buffer layer to overcome the high lattice mismatch and large difference in thermal expansion coefficient between Si and GaN. IMEC adds their proprietary in-situ Si3N4 passivation layer, resulting in what the company calls “superb” HEMT devices on Si. According the company, the devices offer excellent quality, good uniformity, and high reproducibility. IMEC presented at the 13th International Conference on Metal Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy in Miyazaki, Japan. Company News Release NIST Researchers Grow GaN “Nanowires”May 30, 2006...Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory in Gaithersburg, Maryland USA, have reported growing what they call “nanowires” made of gallium nitride alloys. They have also created prototype devices and nanometrology tools utilizing the nanowires. The wires are formed from deposits made layer by layer onto silicon. The layering is done under a high vacuum. The resulting “nanowires” are thin cylinders about 12micrometers long and about 30 to 100nm in diameter. NIST says it's one of the only labs that can grow the nanowires without catalysts. The wires act like quantum wells; when excited with a laser or electric current, they emit an intense glow in the ultraviolet or visible parts of the spectrum. According to NIST, "A paper in the May 22 issue of Applied Physics Letters* reports that individual nanowires grown at NIST produce sufficiently intense light to enable reliable room-temperature measurements of their important characteristics." One such measurement would find the peak wavelength of light emitted when an electric field parallel to the long axis of a nanowire is shifted with respect to an electric field perpendicular to the wire. NIST says the differences can characterize the nanowire materials and also may be exploited to make sensors and other devices. So far NIST reasearchers have made LEDs, field-effect transistors (FETs), and nanowire “bridge” structures which may prove useful in nanoscale mechanical resoators. NIST News Release
II-VI Listed Among Businessweek’s Hot 100 Growth Companies for 2006
CompoudSemi News StaffMay 25, 2006...II-VI, a maker of infrared optics and radiation equipment has made the list
of Businessweek’s
Hot 100 Growth companies of 2006. Company profits have reportedly risen
an average of 50 percent per year for the last three years. Revenues for the
same period have risen an average of 19 percent per year. As of the Q3 of fiscal
2006, the company reported booking orders totaling $183.5 million during the
nine month period. The company’s products are used in industrial, medical,
military, security, and aerospace applications. The company was co-founded by
Carl J. Johnson in 1971 and has its headquarters in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania.
The company ranks number 97 on the Businessweek list. Our news features are reported
by the CompoundSemi News staff writers.
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