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April 2, 2007...While attending the Japan Society of Applied Physics at Aoyama Gakuin University,
Hitachi Cable Ltd. announced that it has created a highly reproduceable 3-inch
gallium nitride substrate prototype, according to a Nikkei Electronics
article. The company claims that it is the first company to release photos and
data for 3-inch GaN substrates. The industry primarily utilizes 2-inch GaN substrates.
During a presentation the company reportedly was asked the question, “How
far can it grow in size?” A company spokesperson told Nikkei Electronics,
“We believe 4-inch products can be produced with no difficulty if
the production equipments are arranged accordingly."
The compound semi industry has devoted much effort to reducing manufacturing costs of components
requiring GaN substrates. Increasing the substrate diameter is one method of
decreasing the cost per component by allowing more components to be placed on
a single substrate. Hitachi reported that it was able to produce a larger diameter
substrate by using a new technique it developed which adds a thin “sacrifice
layer” onto the base substrate upon which the GaN is grown using HVPE.
The sacrifice layer has a microscopic void in between the thick film GaN
and the base substrate. This allows for easier detachment of the thick film
GaN, the article
stated. The article also carries considerable technical details. Hitachi is calling their procedure, "the void-assisted separation method." Vishay Completes Acquisition of Power Control Systems Business of International Rectifier
CompoundSemi News StaffApril 2, 2007...Vishay has completed its acquisition of the Power Control Systems business
from International Rectifier for $290 millon in cash. During the December quarter
of fiscal 2006, revenues for the acquired product lines totaled about $81 million
(roughly $320 million per year expected). Vishay predicts that after the first
12 months of operation it could increase its net profits from breaking even
to about $40 million by March 2008. Vishay expects the newly acquired business
to increase net profits to $50 million per year by March 2010.
According to Vishay, the aquired product lines, a complement to its own product
portfolio, consist of high-voltage and high-power range products including:
planar high-voltage MOSFETs, Schottky diodes, diode rectifiers, fast-recovery
diodes, high-power diodes and thyristors, power modules (a combination of power
diodes, thyristors, MOSFETs, and IGBTs), and automotive modules and assemblies.
The acquisition includes a wafer fab in Torino, Italy, as well as facilities
in Swansea, UK; Mumbai, India; and Xian, China. Currently, Vishay has no plans
for extensive restructuring. Vishay reported that it had entered into several
Transition Service Agreements with International Rectifier for IT, logistics,
and other functions as well as for the supply of wafers for up to three years.
Vishay said it expects a smooth transition of the newly acquired business into
Vishay's existing organization. Vishay
News Release Finisar to Acquire Azna LLC and Kodeos Communications Inc.
CompoundSemi News StaffApril 2, 2007...Optical component maker and tester, Finisar of Sunnyvale, California USA, reported
that it has entered into agreements to acquire Azna LLC of Wilmington, Massachusetts,
and Kodeos Communications Inc. based in South Plainfield, New Jersey. Finisar
says that both acquisitions broaden its product lines, especially those for
telecom applications. The acquisition will also add advanced modulation and
electronic signal processing to economically extend the reach and tunability
of transceivers.
Finisar reports that it will purchase the “equity interests in Azna
for $19.7 million in initial consideration comprised of $2.7 million in cash
and two convertible promissory notes in the principal amount of $15.6 million
and $1.4 million that will be payable, at Finisar's option, in cash or in shares
of Finisar common stock.” Finisar indicated it will purchase equity
interests in Kodeos for initial payment of $7 million, an additional payment
of up to $2.5 million to certain equity interest holders, and $1 milliono to
current Kodeos employees.
Jerry Rawls, Finisar's chairman of the board, president, and CEO said that
the acquisition of Kodeos would address the 10Gb/s 300-pin transponder market
for telecom applications. Rawls added that with the acquisition of Azna, Finisar
“…will be able to create a competitive advantage in terms of
the cost, reach, and performance of our products for both telecom and datacom
applications." Finisar
News Release Next Gen DVD Player Prices Reach $500 Benchmark Sooner than Expected.April 3, 2007...Samsung Electronics lowered the price for its Blu-ray Disc (BD) player BP-1000
by about 48% to US$469.99 in late March of 2007, a Digitimes article
stated. Toshiba immediately responded by reducing the US retail price for its
entry-level HD DVD player HD-A2 to US$399. The retail price for Blu-ray or HD
DVD players was lowered to the benchmark of $499 two quarters sooner than expected,
the article
said. While the format war is by no means over, the lower prices will bring much more early adopters of next generation DVD technology. IQE Wins $2.4 Million in Contracts; Announces 2006 Results
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 29, 2007...IQE, a maker of advanced wafer products was awarded two one-year development contracts
worth a total of $2.4 million. These contracts add to the other research and development
projects to be delivered in 2007, the company said. With the two new contracts,
the awards to date for delivery in 2007 total almost USD $5 million. The company
also released its yearly earnings statement posting a 55.2 percent increase in
revenue in 2006 over its 2005 results. The company indicated that much of the growth is attributed to two acquisitions during the year, Singapore based MBE Technology Pte and Emcore's electronic materials division.
One of the new contracts focuses on the
development of strontium titanium oxide on silicon epi-wafers (STO/Si) using IQE’s
molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) systems. IQE will further develop a method for using
MBE to deposit STO/Si with high quality and superior composition for future high
volume production.
The other contract is to develop advanced material structures for increased
processing speed for future ICs. Dr Drew Nelson, IQE Chief Executive, commented,
“We plan to aggressively pursue the metal-oxide on Silicon market
where we offer unique and superior solutions for these advanced state of the
art materials systems. Our entry into this market is important as it further
diversifies the Group’s product portfolio and underscores our position
as the global leader in advanced semiconductor wafer production and R&D.”
Company
News Release Bookham Unveils Record Power 980nm Pump Laser Module
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 29, 2007...Bookham unveiled its new 750mW 980nm pump laser module at OFC/NOFEC 2007 in
San Jose, California USA this week. The company considers the laser to be the
most powerful telecom 980nm pump laser. The company indicated that it offers
a “kink-free” power output of 750 mW. The company says that the
pump modules output power will reduce the number of pumps required and therefore
enable cost reductions. Bookham indicated that similar pump laser technology
is being applications for next-generation submarines, which require high power
and very high reliability. The new pump module takes advantage of Bookham’s
generation eight laser chip (G08), which is qualified for use in both terrestrial
and submarine applications. Bookham boasts that the industry-leading performance
and reliability of the G08 laser chip makes it ideally suited for high-performance
uncooled applications. Company
News Release Anadigics Introduces PA to Slash Handset Power Consumption
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 29, 2007...Anadigics has introduced its ZeroIC CDMA power amplifier designed to cut average
current consumption by up to 50 percent over what it says was its previously
industry leading HELP technology. Furthermore the company asserts that the PA
slashes current usage by up to 85 percent compared to conventional two-stage
amplifiers. At low power levels, the PA boasts zero power consumption with its
new feature. The company points out that because the majority of handsets transmit
at low power levels in a fully populated network, the ZeroIC power amplifier
could translate into significant power consumption savings for the vast majority
of handsets. Anadigics says that the unique power saving features of ZeroIC
PAs are made possible by Anadigics' unique InGaP-Plus technology and differentiated
design IP. In addition the compact devices have internal voltage regulators
to further reduce space. Company
News Release SMI Awarded STTR to Develop MOCVD Equipment for LiNbO3
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 27, 2007...The National Science Foundation has awarded Structured Materials Industries
(SMI) a Phase II Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) to develop
LiNbO3 thin films by MOCVD. SMI reported that it is collaborating with the University
of Wisconsin to convert the University-led research into a viable manufacturing
method. The company will develop a new MOCVD tool which supports LiNbO3 deposition.
SMI points out that conventional methods for producing lithium niobate (LinNbO3)
devices use “titanium indiffusion or proton exchange to form shallow waveguiding
channels in bulk LiNbO3.” However, forming structures such as ridge waveguides
is impractical using this method because of the inertness of LiNbO3. Ridge waveguides
are important in quantum well lasers and other optical communication applications.
For this reason, the company hopes to develop a method of producing thin films
of the material that can be processed into ridge waveguides. Company
News Release University of Delaware Researcher Produce Flexible CIGs Solar Cells
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 26, 2007...The University of Delaware reports that its Institute of Energy Conversion
(IEC) has developed a thin-film solar cell based upon copper, indium, gallium,
and selenium (CIGS). The solar cells are reportedly produced by depositing the
CIGS material on long sheets of a 10-inch wide flexible polymer. Erten Eser,
associate scientist at IEC, indicated in an article
by the University of Delaware, that the a multilayer structure is stacked onto
a “high-temperature polyimide substrate that is coated with molybdenum,
CIGS, cadmium sulfide, zinc oxide and indium tin oxide.” Eser said
that their flexible solar cells had an average of about 10 percent conversion
efficiency.
The University of Delaware’s Institute of Energy Conversion (IEC) joined
an alliance to help commercialize solar energy. Other members of the alliance
include: GE, the Renewable Energy Corporation (REC ASA), Solaicx, Xantrex Technology
Inc, Sandia National Laboratories, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Heliovolt of Austin, Texas USA, has demonstrated that CIGS-based solar cells
are much more efficient than silicon solar cells. Unlike the University of Deleware’s
IEC, HelioVolt’s cells are produced by depositing the CIGs directly onto
a building material such as glass or metal. The company hopes its method will
significantly reduce the cost of CIGS solar cell production while improving
efficiency. In theory, buildings could be built with their own off-grid source
of electricity. HelioVolt says that to compete against silicon solar cells in
price and efficiency, CIGS solar cells need to have at least 10 percent conversion
efficiency. Strategy Analytics Reports CS Industry Moving Towards Profitability
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 26, 2007...Strategy Analytics’ GaAs and Compound Semiconductor research service,
reported its quarterly analysis of compound semiconductor industry news. In
the quarterly report, the market research firm says that the compound semiconductor
industry is moving into profitability. While individual companies had ups and
downs for the calendar year 2006, the report indicates that the CS industry
generally demonstrated positive results.
According to Asif Anwar, Strategy Analytics' lead CS market researcher, the telecom sector continued to struggle in 2006, with JDSU as the exception. “…The
market is picking up, so performance should improve in 2007,” said Anwar about the telecom sector. He added that CS equipment makers found strong demand
from LED sector. Asif Anwar will be a speaker at our upcoming CompoundSemi Vision 2007 conference June 19-20 in Austin.
Stephen Entwistle, Vice President of the Strategic Technologies Practice, added that “2006 was a good year for the industry with strong demand helping
to drive revenues…. At the same time, companies adopted focused strategies
that included divesting operations that did not tie in with their core business, helping them to move towards profitability.” Strategy
Analytics News Release IBM Researchers Demonstrate 160 Gigabits/Sec Optical Chipset
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 26, 2007...At the 2007 Optical Fiber Conference in Anaheim, California USA, IBM scientists
will unveil a prototype of an optical transceiver chip which the company says
can transmit data at more than eight times faster than the best optical components
today. For example, IBM says that a high-definition feature length film with
roughly 160 billion bits of data would only take one second to download as opposed
to 30 minutes or more over the best network connectivity available..Instead
of sending electrons over wires, optical networking relies on pulses of light
to transfer data. The prototype optical chipset, which IBM Research created,
measures merely 1/15th the area of a dime, but according to the company, it
can transmit the equivalent of 4 million simultaneous telephone conversations,
or one conversation between every two New York City residents.
IBM researchers said they built the optical transceiver utilizing current high-volume
low-cost CMOS technology with driver and receiver integrated circuits. The researchers
added necessary optical components made in indium phosphide (InP) and gallium
arsenide (GaAs), into one, integrated package only 3.25 by 5.25 millimeters
in size.
Dr. T.C. Chen, vice president, Science & Technology, at IBM Research, pointed
to the increasing demands on networks created with the explosive growth of the
amount data being transferred when downloading movies, music or photos. He said,
"Greater use of optical communications is needed to address this issue.
We believe our optical transceiver technology may provide the answer."
Company
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