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Editorial: It's About the System
... Our BLUE 2007 Solid State Lighting Suppliers Conference in Taiwan is coming up fast, as you can tell by the promos all over our sites. April 17-19 in Hsinchu will see a gathering and focus unlike anything our compound semi (CS) and solid state lighting (SSL) industries have seen...
Jump down to the full story
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NREL Scientists Win $1 Million Prize
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 8, 2007...Two scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's National
Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will get to share $1 million in prize money for being named Dan David Prize Laureates for 2007. Jerry Olson and Sarah Kurtz won the award for contributions in the field of photovoltaics. Jerry They will receive the award at a ceremony in Paris on March 8. The prize committee wrote that solar cells based on the scientists’
work "have the potential to alleviate the world's impending energy crisis."
The scientists pioneered the multi-junction solar cell, which uses layers of
semiconductor material to efficiently convert sunlight to electricity. Spectrolab
recently manufactured and tested a cell based on Olson's and Kurtz's design.
The solar concentrator cell achieved a world-record conversion efficiency of
40 percent. Such multi-junction cells (without the optics required to concentrate
the light) are utilized on space rovers and satellites. "I am honored
to receive this prize, especially because it reflects the promise of the technology
as a partial solution to the world's need for renewable energy," Kurtz
said. "In the past few years, the investment in concentrator systems
using high-efficiency, multi-junction solar cells has mushroomed. Although this
investment is not yet reflected by large installations, the Dan David prize
recognizes this technology in the "future" category, predicting that
it will be a huge success. I look forward to the day when this and other renewable
technologies will provide the world with sustainable energy." NREL
News Release Acreo Spins-Off QWIP Maker IRnova
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 6, 2007...Acreo, a semiconductor and optical networking company, has spun-off a separate
company, IRnova AB based on Acreo’s experience with quantum well infrared
photodetectors (QWIP). Acreo will own the majority of IRnova; employees will
own the remaining stake. IRnova’s main technology uses aluminum gallium
arsenide (AlGaAs) on a gallium arsenide (GaAs) substrate to produce the quantum
wells.
During 2005-2006 calendar years, IRnova substantially increased its production
capacity in the number of infrared detectors the organization produces per year.
During 2006 Acreo says that IRnova received substantial new orders and customers
which required a need for volume production of QWIP detectors. Acreo says that
IRnova is already a leader in supplying QWIP detectors and solutions for QWIP
focal plane arrays. Factory floor monitoring and medical testing devices are
a couple of the applications of QWIP technology can be used for beyond the military
applications which dominated early development efforts. Acreo
News Release Goodrich Corporation to Develop SWIR Camera for Northrop Grumman
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 6, 2007...Northrop Grumman Laser Systems business unit selected Goodrich Corporation
to design and manufacture a boresight monitoring camera subsystem with its shortwave
infrared technology. The boresight monitoring camera will be used to track and
align lasers at multiple wavelengths on the device referred to as a multi-function
laser. As part of the Army’s modernization program, a family of manned
and unmanned air and ground systems are linked via a network
Goodrich’s SUI team (formerly Sensors Unlimited) based in Princeton,
New Jersey USA, pioneered the design and production of SWIR cameras using indium
gallium arsenide imaging technology, which will go in the boresight monitoring cameras. According to Goodrich Vice President and
General Manager of its SUI team, Dr. Marshall Cohen, "Our team will
modify, combine and enhance the functionality of two of its commercially available
320 x 256 focal plane array Shortwave Infrared (SWIR) cameras, resulting in
a single unit that will meet the Army's requirements. By leveraging our proprietary
technology, the new cameras will be smaller, will require less power and will
offer superior operational capabilities over currently available SWIR cameras."
Goodrich
Corporation News Release Anadigics Launches 3G HSPA Transmit Modules
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 5, 2007...Anadigics of Warren, New Jersey USA, a broadband, wireless, and wireline communication
developer, has launched a new family of front-end modules (FEMs) The company
says the FEMs provide the complete transmit chain for WCDMA/EDGE (WEDGE) mobile
handsets. The power amplifier (PA), RF coupler, transmit filter, duplexer, and
antenna switch are all integrated in the front-end modules.
The FEMs utilize Anadigics' exclusive, third-generation high-efficiency- at-low-power
(HELP3) technology, which the company says reduces average current consumption
by 75 percent. The AWT6507 and the AWT6510 FEMs both measure 6.8 x 8.0 x 1.2mm
and support quad-band Polar EDGE applications. The AWT6507 integrates a SP7T
antenna switch for single-band UMTS, and the AWT6510 features a SP9T antenna
switch for tri-band UMTS. Company
News Release KDDI and Fujitsu Jointly Develop Amplifier of Next Generation Mobile WiMAX
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 2, 2007...KDDI Corporation, Fujitsu Limited, and Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. of Japan announced
that they have jointly developed a high-efficiency amplifier for mobile WiMAX
(IEEE 802.16e-2005), a next-generation wireless broadband communications protocol,
according to Japan’s Corporate News Network. The joint development efforts
of Fujitsu and KDDI started in May 2006. KDDI reportedly had been exploring
ways to make base stations smaller and more energy efficient to ultimately reduce
costs required for a mobile WiMAX system infrastructure and operation. Amplifier
performance dictates much of the performance of base station equipment. Fujitsu
notes that high efficiency amplifiers can reduce size, weight, noise, and maintenance
requirements while improving efficiency.
In particular, amplifiers dictate the performance of base station equipment.
High-efficiency amplifiers can enable various benefits for base station equipment
such as downsizing, lighter weight, greater power efficiency, less noise, and
moving closer to becoming maintenance-free. Fujitsu says that the improved efficiency
of the amplifiers will also make it possible to lower cost of support equipment
for base stations base stations such as equipment for power sources and air
conditioning.
Fujitsu said it was able to construct a prototype transmitter amplifier using
a gallium-nitride (GaN) HEMT device that was developed by and later enhanced
by Fujitsu Laboratories. Fujitsu was able to enhanced the prototype performance
by optimizing the design of the amplifier circuits for higher efficiency and
making improvements to its digital pre-distortion technology which has already
been used successfully in 3G systems. The company succeeded in developing a
prototype transmitter amplifier that achieves power efficiency of roughly 30
percent with 25 watt power output at 2.5 gigahertz (2.5GHz) operational frequency
band. Fujitsu contends that the device’s efficiency is double the level
of conventional amplifiers, and the development of the amplifier prototype paves
the way for practical use of GaN HEMT-based high-efficiency amplifiers. Fujitsu
News Release Avanex Divests in French Optoelectronic Fabs
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 2, 2007...Avanex Corporation of Fremont, California USA, a photonic solutions developer,
reported that it entered into a definitive agreement to sell a 90 percent interest
in its French subsidiary, Avanex France S.A. The divestiture includes selling
its indium phosphide (InP) and gallium arsenide (GaAs) semiconductor fabs to Global
Research Company, which is owned by Alexandre Krivine, and to the current management
of Avanex France S.A, Didier Sauvage. Avanex Corporation also announced that it
entered into a definitive agreement with an accredited institutional investor
for a private placement of approximately 10.8 million shares of common stock for
estimated aggregate proceeds of $20.0 million.
Avanex said that in addition to the III-V fabs, the divested business includes
the laser, terrestrial pump, submarine pump, and Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) product
lines. Avanex indicated that its core development group will remain in France
to focus on transmission products. The transaction is expected to close in the
second quarter of calendar 2007. Once the sale is completed, according to the
agreement, Avanex will pay the purchasers approximately $17.3 million for anticipated
working capital including accrued liabilities for past restructuring activities.
Avanex will retain the remaining 10 percent interest in the divested business
and will enter into several commercial and transitional services agreements.
Upon closing of the transaction, Avanex France S.A. will be renamed. Mr. Krivine
will be named CEO and Mr. Sauvage will be named the company's first vice president.
"The divestiture of our fabs and certain product lines simplifies
our operating structure, significantly reduces our fixed costs and accelerates
our path to profitability," said Jo Major, chairman, president and
CEO. "We expect to realize approximately $12.0 million to $16.0 million
in annual financial improvements beginning in our fourth quarter of fiscal 2007."
Mr. Major added, "The series of commercial agreements are designed
to ensure our customers reliable access to the technology, continuity of supply,
and provide transition support." Avanex
News Release Rensselaer Researchers Create Anti-Reflective Material for More Efficient Solar Cells or LEDs
LIGHTimes StaffMarch 1, 2007...A report, which will appear in the March issue of Nature
Photonics, explains how researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
have created a special material that reflects virtually no light. The research
could lead to brighter LEDs, more efficient solar cells, and a new class of
“smart” light sources that adjust to the environment. The material
the researchers created is an order of magnitude less reflective than what was
previously the least reflective material. In fact the researchers say that it
has almost the same refractive index as air. The refractive index is a fundamental
optical property of a material. It governs the amount of light a material reflects,
as well as other optical properties such as diffraction, refraction, and the
speed of light inside the material. The material they created has refractive
index of 1.05. As a comparison, window glass reportedly has a refractive index
of 1.45. Content continues for LIGHTimes SecondPage members... JDSU to Acquire VCSEL Product Maker, Picolight
CompoundSemi News StaffFebruary 28, 2007...JDSU, a broadband and optical solution provider headquartered in Milpitas,
California USA, announced a definitive agreement to acquire Picolight Inc.,
a maker of optical pluggable transceivers. JDSU said it expects the transaction
to close in the fourth quarter ending June 30, 2007, subject to receipt of regulatory
approvals. Under the terms of the agreement, JDSU will pay about $115 million
in JDSU stock and up to an additional $10 million cash subject to the achievement
of certain revenue targets during calendar year 2007. JDSU says that the addition
of Picolight’s pluggable optics technology will strengthen its ability
to address the fast-growing market for optical interconnect applications in
the datacenter, enterprise, storage area, and metro networking markets. Picolight
also brings its expertise in vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSEL)
used in high-speed and short-to-medium optical interconnects. JDSU says it will
gain Picolight’s reliable and high performance 850 nm and 1310 nm VCSEL-based
transceiver products. JDSU points out that with the added ability to manufacturer
Picolights VCSEL products, it will be able to address a wider range of markets.
"By adding Picolight's vertically integrated VCSEL-based transceivers,
JDSU will offer our enterprise customers an even broader product portfolio and
an exceptionally strong roadmap to address the steep demand for reliable data
management and delivery. This will put JDSU in an excellent position to serve
existing and near-term requirements for 8 and 10 Gigabit network data management,"
said Mike Ricci, senior vice president of JDSU's optical communications group.
"By adding to our vertically integrated photonics platform, we also
will provide our customers a clear pathway and solid foundation to scale to
100 Gigabits in the future."
Steve Hane, Picolight president and chief executive officer said, "We
believe we have an opportunity to alter the datacom optics landscape by creating
a best-in-class product portfolio for datacenters and enterprise networks worldwide."
JDSU
News Release Emcore Seeks to Expand Patent Litigation Against Optium
CompoundSemi News StaffFebruary 28, 2007...Emcore announced that it is seeking to expand its patent litigation against
optoelectronic component maker, Optium. Both JDSU and Emcore filed a patent
lawsuit against Optium on Septermer 11, 2006 in the U.S. District Court for
the Western District of Pennsylvania. The original complaint alleges that Optium’s
Prisma II 1550nm transmitters violate two patents that Emcore licenses from
JDSU, U.S. patent No. 6,282,003
(the ‘003 patent) and 6,490,071
(the ‘071 patent). (Ref: Coverage).
Emcore has added an addition patent that the company licenses from JDSU, U.S.
patent No. 6,519,374
("the '374 patent") and an additional product line to this litigation.
Instead of alleging that Optium’s Prisma II 1550nm transmitters infringe
the patents, Emcore would like to specify that the company’s 1550nm externally
modulated transmitters and its 1550 nm QAM transmitters infringe the patents.
The three patents relate to the transmission of video, voice, and data for the
CATV (cable TV) market.
"Emcore continues to put considerable resources into developing unique
technologies that are key to transmission of video, voice and data, and which
support Emcore's stature in the CATV market," said Dr. Hong Q. Hou,
President and COO of Emcore. "Similarly, we will deploy considerable
resources to ensure that our intellectual property is respected. We believe
that Optium has infringed on several of our licensed patents and we will aggressively
pursue any misuse of our intellectual property by Optium or any other companies
and individuals," he said. Emcore
News Release Mimix Introduces GaAs MMIC Buffer Amplifiers
CompoundSemi News StaffFebruary 27, 2007...Mimix Broadband Inc. of Houston, Texas USA, has introduced two gallium arsenide
(GaAs) monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) two stage buffer amplifiers.
The buffer amplifiers use GaAs pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor
(pHEMT) device model technology and have a 0.15 micron gate length. The XB1007-BD
and XB1008-BD cover 4 to 11 GHz and 10 to 21 GHz respectively. The devices deliver
+20 dBm P1dB compression point and +30 dBm OIP3. The XB1007-BD has a noise figure
of 4.5 dB and 23 dB small signal gain; the XB1008-BD has a noise figure of 5.5
dB and 18 dB small signal gain. According to the company, the buffer amplifiers
are ideal for wireless communications applications such as millimeter-wave point-to-point
radio, local multipoint distribution services (LMDS), SATCOM and VSAT applications.
Mimix says that packaged versions of the XB1007-BD and XB1008-BD in fully molded,
plastic 3x3 QFN packages will be available in the near future for surface mount
applications. Mimix says it performs 100% RF, DC and output power testing on
the XB1007-BD and XB1008-BD, as well as 100% visual inspection to MIL-STD-883
method 2010. The chips also have surface passivation to protect and provide
rugged parts with backside via holes and gold metallization to allow either
a conductive epoxy or eutectic solder die attach process. "These two
buffer amplifiers offer a combination of broadband operation, output power and
compact dimensions to provide a cost-effective solution for frequencies from
4 to 21 GHz," stated Paul Beasly, Product Manager of Mimix Broadband,
Inc. "The compact 1.2 square millimeter die with wideband return loss
operation is consistent with broadband use in a variety of frequency and functional
applications." Company
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The
McDonald Report
Commentary & Perspective...
March 7, 2007...Our BLUE 2007
Solid State Lighting Suppliers Conference in Taiwan is coming up fast, as you
can tell by the promos all over our sites. April 17-19 in Hsinchu will see a
gathering and focus unlike anything our compound semi (CS) and solid state lighting
(SSL) industries have seen to date, because this time we're keying in on what
everybody's business is ultimately all about. The end system. Without an eye
and a plan pointed towards the eventual end system, R&D breakthroughs and
performance milestones are just that. But if all the materials and equipment,
components and packaging technologies involved are geared to the outcome of
the system they'll help create, everyone ends up a winner in the marketplace.
BLUE 2007 is our 5th international gathering of insiders working at the very
heart and soul of today's and tomorrow's SSL systems, which is well on the road to replacing energy inefficient conventional forms
of lighting. Incandescents, fluorescent tubes and even compact fluorescent bulbs
are on their way out. Solid state solutions are on their way in. And as SSL
semiconductors, they're already in the digital domain. The mind boggles with
what we'll come up with next as humans strive to overcome a myriad of environmental
challenges. Every year, especially at BLUE, we hear about successful applications
we didn't dream would be possible a few years ago. And every year, especially
at BLUE, we hear about new uses for all the blue spectrum, bright white and
UV LEDs that we couldn't fathom even a year ago. BLUE is where you learn what
it will take to put the next level of cost reduction techniques in place, and
with whom you want to partner to make it all come together.
Each year we bring you fresh new SSL stars as speakers and co-chairs, with
BridgeLux's Robert Walker taking his place again in the perennial chair as host.
At a meet of this size and origin, and in the relaxed atmosphere conducive to
true networking, you get time to get to know these industry leaders better.
And that makes good business sense. This year Bob Walker will be joined by other Blue cochairs, BJ
Lee of Epistar and Brent York of TIR Systems. BJ Lee
is the man who led Epistar through the entire merger and acquisition cycle that
melded UEC with Epistar, which resulted in "The Big Five" now becoming
"The Big Six." (Nichia, Philips Lumileds, Osram Opto, Cree, Toyoda
Gosei, and... Epistar. But you'd be surprised how many hot companies are now
in a position to challenge those ranking members.) Remember back in 2004 when
Cree CEO Chuck Swoboda was our keynoter and predicted the consolidation we've
since experienced? Obviously, Chuck's talk at BLUE was taken to heart by all
the Asian LED manufacturers and packagers. Especially BJ. When asking Chuck
if he wanted to do a repeat performance at a subsequent BLUE, he graciously
declined commenting that, "BJ took my talk and turned it into a business
strategy."
Brent York of TIR Systems is one of those people you'll simply want to get
to know. If you're already acquainted with Brent and TIR's earth-shaking Lexel
technology, you'll benefit greatly by getting to know him better because Lexel
has proved itself to represent precisely what innovative, practical lighting
systems are all about. Total convenience plus ease of installation and complete
control. The Taiwan meet has always been a place where you get an opportunity
to spend quality time with the true shakers and movers in the burgeoning SSL
industry. BridgeLux's Robert Walker has earned the title of perennial co-chair
because he's not only a good friend and a good guy, he's also the person who
helped us get BLUE going in Taiwan. The debut BLUE event was in Dallas, Texas
in 2003, but when we saw what was happening in Asia, we simply had to move the
event to the heart of the stepped up high volume production action, and it was
Bob who led the way. Previously running Emcore's Pacific Rim operations before
helping form BridgeLux, and as the noted author of Strategies Unlimited's comprehensive
Asian Producers
study in the interim, Bob is the walking encyclopedia of Asian high brightness
LED information.
Speaking of Strategies Unlimited, another familiar face and mastermind helping
lead the industry is Robert (Bob) Steele, our industry's foremost market researcher
in high brightness LEDs. He will again be one of our keynote speakers at BLUE
2007. BLUE 2007
attendees will find they'll have unusually good access to this esteemed researcher.
Bob will be joined this year in the keynote slots by none other than the co-founder
of both Cree and LED Lighting Fixtures, Neal Hunter. Our third keynoter is David
Hseih, VP of DisplaySearch who will enlighten attendees on the probable future
of LEDs in yesterday's and today's mainstay application; backlighting.
Something new this year is that BLUE will be a three day event. Tuesday,
April 17th are the pre-conference workshops. We'll go into detail on what
the workshop topics and leaders will be in a subsequent editorial as they always
deserve a special spotlight. This year we've divided the main conference into
two stand-alone days. Day two, Wednesday April 18th is the Technical Forum
and day three, Thursday April 19th is the Business Forum. Both are complete
full day sessions. The tech day has been added to our classic business forum
because so many people in Asia are working on the epi chip and packaging
side of the system and need this type dynamic networking get-together to keep
up on developments. Think of BLUE as an opportunity for the many
and varied viewpoints on the supply chain to talk to one another about how to
work more effectively with one another. BLUE truly provides the best networking
opportunity in Asia. A quick and easy-to-scan agenda
has been posted for your viewing convenience and registration
for any or all of the three days is now open.
Lastly, I'd like to publicly thank our lead sponsors for making BLUE 2007 possible
and to thank my partner (and our publisher and my boss), Tom Griffiths, for
taking on the task of program chair for this year's event. He's working incredibly
hard to make this a landmark event. Tom reports that all the sponsorships slots
for BLUE have already been filled... but that he might be convinced to add maybe
one more platinum slot. Our Diamond sponsors this year are Veeco, Aixtron,
Tekcore, SemiLEDs and BridgeLux. Platinum sponsors include Rubicon, KLA
Tencor, Monocrystal, NuSil, Intematix, and Epistar. Consult our "Exhibitors
and Sponsors" page for details on how to be involved as a gold sponsor.
Gold sponsorships provide an enhanced visibility for the event promotion and gold sponsors
receive two registrations to BLUE and are included in the gold sponsor section
on several key pages of the conference site. In addition, they receive a 2m
tabletop exhibit area, along with the opportunity to insert a single page in
the conference proceedings. If your company is planning to exhibit, and will
have at least 2 people in attendance, a gold sponsorship will save you money
as well as giving your company the benefit of added website exposure.
Remember, we're all in this adventure together and we need one another more
than ever before. So mark your calendar and make your plans to attend BLUE
2007 April 17-19 in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Everyone you need to do business with
in Asia will be there.
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... |
