RFMD Assembles 100 Millionth Module and Plans Capacity Increase
CompoundSemi News StaffJune 7, 2006...RFMD has reported assembling its 100 millionth module in its Beijing, China
assembly facility. The company cites continued strong sales of its cellular
power amplifiers for the accomplishment. Additionally the company announced
that it will increase the assembly capacity of the Beijing facility by 100 percent
due to strong demand for its mobile products. RFMD also plans to expand its
gallium arsenide production capacity by 40 percent at its Greensboro, North
Carolina USA, facility. Bob Bruggeworth, president and CEO of RFMD, made the
announcement while touring the Company's Beijing facility. Bruggeworth stated,
"Our power amplifiers are found in approximately one half of the world's
phones, and our customers include all of the world's major handset manufacturers.
We are particularly focused on supporting the growing presence of handset manufacturers
in Asia, and we are committed to increasing our manufacturing capabilities in
Asia as the region continues to evolve as the handset industry's manufacturing
center." Company
News Release
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Heliovolt Wins Another Award for its Thin Film Photvoltaics
CompoundSemi News StaffJune 7, 2006...Heliovolt has won Frost and Sullivan’s award for thin film photovoltaics
and has also added to their technical advisory panel. Frost and Sullivan reportedly
honored the company with the 2006 Innovation of the Year Award in the field
of thin film photovoltaics. Heliovolt also added, Dr. Vish Krishnan to its technical
advisory panel. Dr. Krishnan, a specialist in technology innovation and commercialization
at the University of California, San Diego, will join Dr. Krishnan joins Colorado
State University's Dr. James Sites, Princeton University's Dr. Kyle Vanderlick,
and Nobel Prize winning physicist Dr. Arno Penzias on HelioVolt's technical
advisory panel.
The company was honored for developing its high speed, low cost manufacturing
process called FASST for high efficiency copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS)
films. The FASST process can reportedly produce the CIGS films at least 10 x
as fast as its competitors. According to Heliovolt, their solar technology can
be applied directly onto conventional construction materials including steel,
architectural glass, and roofing materials. "In addition to Frost &
Sullivan's recent recognition of our FASST(TM) process and a new facility designed
to meet our product development and manufacturing needs, we've also assembled
an extraordinary group of distinguished technical experts committed to guiding
HelioVolt's product development," said HelioVolt CEO and solar energy
pioneer, Dr. B.J. Stanbery. Company
News Release. The company received the "Company of the Year" award
from the Texas Renewable Energy Association in November 2005. (Ref: Coverage) SID Conference Gets Underway in San Francisco
CompoundSemi News StaffJune 5, 2006...The Society for Information Display (SID) is putting on a conference in San
Francisco where companies will showcase the latest display technology from June
4-9. Presenters will discuss the latest advances in LCD displays, backlighting,
plasma displays, and organic light-emitting diode displays. Among the companies
we regularly cover: MOCVD equipment maker Aixtron, optical component company,
Bookham, optical component maker and test and measurement company, JDSU, micro-display pioneer Kopin,
and lighting company, Osram Sylvania will be exhibiting. (Ref: SID
web site). According to SID, the conference will have 250 exhibitors and a record 540 total papers-including 61 Invited Papers and
14 Distinguished Papers-will presented over four days by the top display experts
in the world. These will reportedly examine the entire gamut of the industry's
hottest topics. In what some industry watchers consider a sign of the switch to a new technology,
cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs) are not on the agenda. Not surprisingly,
LED backlighting will be among the presented topics. (Ref: SID
web site).
Bookham Releases LED Multiplexer Module for RPTVs
CompoundSemi News StaffJune 5, 2006...Bookham has released a modular multiplexer technology product called the ZoroLight LED
Multiplexer. It supports rear projection televisions RPTV and pocket
projectors that use LED illumination instead of conventional ultra high performance
(UHP) lamps. The company has designed optical thin film filters required for
multiplexing into a package that it says is more compact and optically efficient
than conventional solutions. ZoroLight multiplexes red, blue and green LED signals
to enable DLP (Digital Light Processor) projection devices. The module is designed
to requires minimum alignment during light engine assembly by customers. The
Bookham utilizes its patented AED (Advanced Energetic Deposition) automated
thin film optical coating technology to produce optical filters with ultra-low
defect levels and higher light throughput, tighter wavelength control, high
volume and low cost. Company
News Release TDI Hopes to Open the Door to More GaN Devices
CompoundSemi News StaffJune 5, 2006...Technology and Devices International Inc.(TDI) of Silver Spring, Maryland USA,
hopes to fill the industry’s need for 4–inch substrates which have
a high-latice and thermal match with gallium nitride (GaN). TDI has reported
fabricating substrates of 4-inch diameter with a layer of aluminum nitride (AlN) on silicon carbide (SiC). The company says these substrates are ideal for group III materials. The group-III nitride
compound semiconductor material family includes gallium nitride (GaN), aluminum
nitride (AlN), indium nitride (InN) and their alloys TDI’s new product
is aimed at substrate applications for ultra high power AlGaN/GaN devices such
as high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) and high frequency power amplifiers
for next generation of wireless communications. Other possible applications
include high power blue and ultra violet (UV) light emitters, light emitting
diodes (LEDs) and laser diodes (LDs). According to the company, the product
prototype consists of 10 microns thick of single crystal AlN film deposited
on a 4-inch SiC wafer. The company points out that the substrates provide both
the unique thermal conductivity of SiC and the exceptionally high intrinsic
electrical resistivity of AlN.
“Development of 4-inch semi insulating substrates for high power
GaN-based HEMTs has a long history and we are pleased to inform nitride community
and especially our customers that the first prototype of AlN-based 4-inch substrate
has been fabricated. The prototype was fabricated using proprietary stress control
technology and crystal growth equipment developed by TDI for deposition of thick
crack free AlN films,” stated Vladimir Dmitriev, President and CEO
of TDI. He added, “Our customers have been asking about 4-inch substrates
from the very introduction of the first 2-inch AlN-on-SiC wafers three years
ago followed by 3-inch product introduction a year ago. This new product will
allow our customers to use existing 4-inch device manufacturing lines, reduce
production cost and speed up commercialization of GaN devices. We plan to start
pilot production of 4-inch AlN-based substrates in a few months and make the
first product shipments in the last quarter of 2006.” Company
News Release Funding Awarded for Carbon Nanotube Manufacturing System Commercialization
CompoundSemi News StaffJune 5, 2006...The Advanced Technology Institute
(ATI) at the University of Surrey, and its partner for plasma processing, a
deposition system maker, CEVP, have won
project funding to develop a tool to grow nanomaterials. The funding infusion
from South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) of £215,000 increases
the total project development capital to £450,000. The program’s
goal is to commercialize a device for mass producing carbon nanotube technology.
The organization says that it has created a promising prototype called NanoGrowth
which it hopes to develop into a “turnkey” tool for manufacturing
highly bespoke nanomaterials on 3-inch substrates. ATI hopes the tool will eventually
scale up to 12-inch substrates.
Chemical vapor disposition (CVD) requires temperatures above 700 degrees Celsius
to grow carbon nanotubes. NanoGrowth however, uses a plasma enhanced system
that allows significantly lower processing temperatures. ATI says that mass
production opens the door to a wide range of possible products and applications.
In addition to selling the NanoGrowth machine itself, the University and CEVP
hope to develop some carbon nanotube-based products. "SEEDA funding
will help us transform the prototype NanoGrowth machine into a world-beating
technology platform for nanomaterials," said Professor Ravi Silva,
lead investigator at the Advanced Technology Institute. "We are already
talking with multinationals about a range of high-tech products, and as well
as developing the tool, we are actively examining routes to create a spin-out
vehicle for this exciting technology." The Advanced Technology Institute
expects the benefits of the research and development project to extend to compound
semiconductors, solid-state lighting, and high-efficiency solar cells. CEVP
News Release 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
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