SMI Receives Army SBIR Grant to Research Substrate Alternative for Advanced Infrared Sensors
Scott McMahanAugust 25, 2006...Structured Materials Industries (SMI) of Piscataway, New Jersey USA, reports
receiving an Army Phase I Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant to
develop an economical, large area substrate, Mg2Si, for use with an important
infrared detector material known as MCT (HgCdTe, mercury cadmium tellurium).
While MCT (pronounced “mer-cad-tel” by industry insiders) is utilized
in military and civilian applications requiring the highest infrared sensitivities,
the material has no readily available, economical large area substrate. SMI
will attempt to use MOCVD processes to grow Mg2Si, which has a low lattice mismatch
with MCT and can be grown on silicon. The goal of the project is to make a low
cost, large area substrate material for MCT to help improve IR sensing capabilities
of large area systems, improve quality of MCT deposition. In addition, SMI hopes
to lower costs, improve throughput, and increase the percentage of space available
on each substrate for deposition. SMI
News Release.
In October 2003, Siva Sivananthan, president of EPIR Technologies and director
of the Microphysics Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and
inventor of MCT, warned the House Armed Services Committee that while the United
States has the most technologically advanced, night vision, infrared systems,
the USA would not have the most advanced systems for long. The reason, he indicated
is that the USA is entirely dependent upon foreign sources for substrates upon
which the material can be deposited.
"You might be shocked to learn [that] there is not a single supplier
of substrates for molecular-beam epitaxy-grown MCT devices in the United States,"
he told the House Armed Services Committee. "Funding decisions by our
government have resulted in increased and now total reliance on foreign suppliers
for these high-end infrared materials, making us hostage to the current political
and business climates of foreign countries beyond our control. These foreign
governments and businesses either are or may become indifferent to or even hostile
to the security of the American people."
The end of the cold war brought with it a sharp reduction of government funding
for military applications including night vision. In 1988 eight Universities
were developing the technology, but as of 2003, only the University of Illinois
was researching it. And the only MCT compatible substrates had to come from
Japan. (Ref: House
Armed Services Committee Manufacturing and Technology News). The military
is finally taking Sivananthan’s warning to heart in funding the research
at SMI.
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August 25, 2006...SemiSouth reported that it officially opened its new silicon carbide semiconductor
manufacturing facility in Starkville, Mississippi USA. Additionally the company
said it has completed much of the installation of the manufacturing equipment.
The company held a Grand Opening at the Starkville site. SemiSouth indicated
that II-VI Inc. also opened its SiC wafer processing clean-room within the SemiSouth
Facility. Speaking at the opening ceremonies were U.S. Congressman Chip Pickering
of Mississippi's Third Congressional District; U.S. Congressman Roger Wicker
of Mississippi's First Congressional District, Mississippi State University
President Dr. Robert Foglesong, and Dr. Carl Johnson, CEO of II-VI, Inc. The
ceremonies were lead by Dr. Jeff Casady, President and CEO of SemiSouth Laboratories,
Inc.
"The completion of this facility is a major milestone for both SemiSouth
and the state of Mississippi," said Dr. Casady. "This opening
marks the debut of the first major semiconductor (microchip) manufacturing facility
in the state and provides a solid example of homegrown high tech economic development.
This state-of-the-art facility is a proud example of how federal investment
in University-based research and development, coupled with state support for
high tech job growth, can lead to true high tech economic development in Mississippi.
SemiSouth's success derives from the strong support of our federal, state and
local government leaders and our solid base of private investors. Today's grand
opening ceremony is an opportunity for us to pause and recognize the support
of those individuals who have been instrumental in the company's success."
SemiSouth was co-founded five years ago by two Mississippi State University
(MSU) professors spearheading SiC research and development activities at Mississippi
State University (MSU). Since has received accolades for being such a promising
venture including being named one of the top 5 most promising companies at the
recent Semiconductor Venture Fair and one of the top 50 emerging technology
companies in the USA by Dow Jones / Venture Wire. SemiSouth
News Release Evans Analytical Group Acquires Applied Microanalysis LabsAugust 25, 2006...Evans Analytical Group, headquartered in Sunnyvale, California USA, a company
that provide microanalytical surface analysis and materials characterization,
reported that it has acquired Applied Microanalysis Labs, Inc. (AML). AML uses
static and dynamic SIMS (Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry) techniques to analyze
III-V compound semiconductors for the data storage, biomaterial, and semiconductor
industries. The company was founded by Dr. Yumin Gao, a recognized expert in
compound semiconductor analysis.
“Dr. Gao is a recognized world leader in characterization of III-V
semiconductor materials, particularly including GaN-based LED structures,”
said EAG Executive Vice President of Operations, Dr. Mike Edgell. “Dr.
Gao's proven commitment to excellent customer service, combined with high quality
analyses, is an ideal match to the EAG business model, ” Dr. Edgell
continued. “The addition of Dr. Gao and his colleagues to the EAG
team further strengthens our leadership position in the III-V characterization
field, enabling EAG to continue offering improved technical capability and insights
to customers in support of both production control and materials development
activities. SIMS continues to be a powerful technique for providing high sensitivity
quantitative analysis of silicon and compound semiconductor materials. Increased
instrument capacity gained through the acquisition of AML further cements EAG's
position as the industry leader in SIMS-related analytical services."
EAG
News Release
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DOE to Fund Kyma and Rensselaer Researchers to Improve Green LEDs and GaN TechnologyAugust 23, 2006...Makers of green LEDs are green with envy over the efficiency and performance
of state-of-the-art blue and red LEDs, or so it would seem. A team from Kyma
Technologies and researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have won funding
under the US Department of Energy (DOE) Solid State Lighting Core Technologies
Program. (Ref: March
22 Coverage). The winning proposal, co-led by professors Christian Wetzel
and E. Fred Schubert of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is entitled, “High
Performance Green LEDs by Homoepitaxial MOPVE.” The company hopes to improve
green LED performance and efficiency by making improvements in the quality of
native polar and non-polar gallium nitride (GaN). LIGHTimes SecondPage Members can click here to view the extended version of this article. NEC Boasts Highest Output Power Amplifier for 3G Base StationsAugust 23, 2006...NEC Corporation of Tokyo, Japan, reported developing a compact gallium nitride
(GaN) power transistor amplifier and GaN power amplifier (PA). The company touts
the power amplifier as the world’s highest output power level of 400 Watts.
The transistors used for this amplifier are made on a GaN epitaxial wafer, which
was developed under the NEDO "High-Power, High-Frequency Gallium Nitride
Device Project," and manufactured by Toyoda Gosei Co, Ltd.. The company
said it features low distortion characteristics for 3G base stations. The development
was the result of research project headed by professor Yasushi Nanishi of Ritsumeikan
University. Company
News Release Skyworks Touts PAs That Power Smallest Camera Flip Phone
CompoundSemi News StaffAugust 23, 2006...Skyworks Solutions Inc. of Woburn, Massachusetts USA, announced that its power
amplifiers will power Cingular's GSM/GPRS Pantech C300 multimedia messaging handset.
According to Skyworks, the handset is the smallest camera flip phone available
today, weighing just 2.5 ounces, with an area one-third the size of a US dollar
bill. The phone offers an impressive array of features that Skyworks says are
usually featured on phones twice its size. It has bright, large font color screens,
a video graphics array (VGA) camera with flash and zoom in liquid crystal display
(LCD) mode, multimedia messaging for photos, text, and sound, customizable MP3,
MIDI, and iMelody music ringtones, Yahoo! mobile instant messaging, high-speed
data transmission availability using GPRS, 10 megabytes (MB) of usable memory
for storage and e-mail.
With more and more multimedia features packed into smaller and smaller phones,
designers are increasingly focused on form factor, battery life and system cost
to be able to accommodate such multimedia features. Skyworks says that their
PAs and front-end modules (FEMs) are ideally suited to support extremely compact,
power-efficient and low-cost application. Brian M. Daly, vice president of marketing
for Mobile Platforms at Skyworks, stated, "Our power amplifiers provide
the required functionality and exceptionally small form factor for designing
compelling ultra-thin phones that appeal to consumers of all ages around the
world." Company
News Release SMI Receives Phase I SBIR Grant from DTRA to Develop More Reactive Coatings for Projectiles and Munitions
CompoundSemi News StaffAugust 23, 2006...In one MOCVD application that you rarely hear about, Structured Materials Industries
(SMI) has received a Phase I SBIR grant from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)
to explore MOCVD and sputter processes to develop enhanced lethality coatings.
In other words, the company will develop MOCVD and sputter process techniques
to increase the realizable energy of a projectile or of the munitions’
structural components. The technology, based on the release of thermal energy
of metal/metal-oxide powders, will use the thin films produced through MOCVD
and sputtering techniques to facilitate controllable reactivity of the coatings.
The release of metal/metal-oxide powders is well understood. The company hopes
to use the precision of technologies such as MOCVD and PVD to produce thin films
that have physical properties that make them more reactive. Company
News Release EDGE Technology Still Has Its Place, ABI Research Says
CompoundSemi News StaffAugust 21, 2006...EDGE technology can not provide all the features of mobile broadband, and
has therefore been downplayed by the industry. However, ABI Research’s
latest report on the wireless component industry predicts that EDGE handsets
will reach about 14 percent of the total mobile phone market in 2006 with approximately
148 million shipments. Furthermore, ABI contends that currently many carriers
who do not have licenses for 3G and are waiting for 4G technology, will choose
EDGE technology. One reason they cite is that it comes closer to providing complete
geographic coverage on a wide scale than WiMAX, LTE, or HSUPA.
Principal analyst Stuart Carlaw points out that, "EDGE is downplayed in
the market because it cannot really provide a mobile broadband experience and
is therefore not seen as being at the cutting edge of cellular handset evolution;
it is viewed purely as an evolutionary step on the GSM ladder, and industry
attention is very much focused on the newer technologies such as W-CDMA and
HSDPA. That view is further compounded by the fact that operators do not actively
report EDGE numbers in the public domain." ABI
Research News Release IQE Completes Acquisition of Emcore's Epi Business
CompoundSemi News StaffAugust 21, 2006...IQE reports completing the acquisition of Emcore’s US epi foundry business, called
the Electronic Materials Division (EMD). The acquisition was completed after shareholders
approved the settlement of funds with Emcore. The acquisition cost a total of
$16 million with 13 million of it in cash and $3 million in financing at 7.5 percent annual
interest rate to be paid in equal payments in each of next four fiscal quarters.
Emcore says it expects $9 to $11 million profit from the sale.
The IQE says the acquisition positions it as the leading global outsource supplier of wireless
components including: pseudomprphic high electron mobility transistors (PHEMTs),
heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs), integrated bipolar field effect transistors
(BiFETs) and gallium nitride (GaN) technologies. IQE’s Directors believe
that the new customer base and the new product offerings will help increase
revenues. IQE now boasts the largest production capacity epi foundry in the
industry.
Dr Drew Nelson, President & CEO of IQE plc commented, “We are
very happy to have completed this acquisition, which represents a key step forward
in IQE’s development as the leading outsource wafer supplier worldwide
to the global semiconductor industry. The joining of the two companies allows
IQE to offer a truly one stop wafer outsource service to its customers, with
a complete range of current and next generation products. This transaction assures
EMD’s current customers that as part of a larger wafer outsource group
all the necessary resources are in place to fully support the joint customer
base as their wafer demands continue to grow.” IQE
News Release IQE’s products reportedly include components used in wireless infrastructure, optical communications, optical storage (CD, DVD), laser optical mouse, laser printers & photocopiers, thermal imagers, leading edge medical products, barcode, high efficiency LEDs and a variety of advanced silicon based systems. Our news features are reported
by the CompoundSemi News staff writers.
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