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June 25, 2007...RF Micro Devices has chosen to switch to in-house production of its gallium
arsenide PHEMTs in September. That leaves Filtronic, the company that currently
produces its GaAs PHEMTs in its 6-inch fab facility, without its main customer.
Filtronic, the only major GaAs fabricator in the UK released a statement saying
that the company would downsize its fab operations, cutting some 115 jobs. This
comes roughly two years after RFMD sought GaAs PHEMTs from the fabricator in
2005. At that point Filtronic ramped production. Filtronic had grand plans for
expansion its fab operations, but it was not able to get the customer base required.
The statement from Filtronic said, “Our predominant customer has
now advised us that its requirement for switches from Filtronic will cease in
September because of their decision to in-source all production. This will result
in a substantial reduction in the level of activity for our business.”
The company added that, “The board is considering a full range
of possibilities for the ongoing operation, including sale.” Filtronic
News Release EntreMetrix Pursues Joint Manufacturing Alliance in China for Nitride Devices
CompoundSemi News StaffJune 25, 2007...EntreMetrix Inc. of Irvine, California USA, said in a recent statement that
it is pursuing a joint manufacturing alliance in China for advanced nitride
devices. The company’s plan for the joint venture requires a China-based
alliance partner to invest in building an epitaxial wafer production operation
that serves the semiconductor device manufacturers of China. According to the
company’s plan, the foundry will produce gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor
technology.
Discussing the alliances under consideration EntreMetrix CEO Scott W. Absher
stated that “concern for more balanced trade between the US and China
has encouraged an investment interest by China in joint ventures with US-based
companies to develop technologies to be manufactured in China. The development
of a joint manufacturing venture to produce Gallium Nitride (GaN) semiconductor
technology under advanced nitride devices makes a great deal of sense at this
time. Clearly the manufacturing influence in China and the quest to pursue next-generation
technologies using Gallium Nitride technology offer enormous opportunity.”
EntreMetrix reported that it utilize portfolio investment
scenarios to increase the Company’s net asset value and capital. According
to the plan, the company will distribute the equity of each portfolio company
to EntreMetrix shareholders of record at the time of a public market entry.
The evaluation process has begun and is expected to produce an alliance partner
by Q4 of 2007. Company
News Release Fujitsu Produces Extremely Reliable GaN HEMT
CompoundSemi News StaffJune 25, 2007...Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. reported a very high reliability, high power gallium
nitride (GaN) high electron mobility transistor (HEMT). According to the company,
the new technology allows the transistors to continue operation at 200 degrees
Celsius for an estimated one million hours. This is equivalent to over 100 years
under pinch-off condition with a drain voltage of 50 volts. The company boasts
that according to its estimates, its GaN HEMTs have the longest lifecycle in
the world.
Fujitsu plans on using GaN HEMTs using this new technology for the high-speed
wireless communications market including applications such as: satellite communication
(VSATs), cellular base stations, WiMAX base stations, and other high-speed wireless
communications infrastructure. The company presented details of the new technology
at the 2007 IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium (IMS). Fujitsu indicated
that such a highly reliable and robust device would be ideal for high power,
high voltage wireless communication systems. Company
News Release Micron Technology Engineers Develop Method for Forming Oxide Layer on Silicon
CompoundSemi News StaffJune 25, 2007...Researchers in Boise, Idaho at a company called Micron Technology Inc. have
received a patent for developing a method for forming an oxide layer on a silicon
wafer. The patent describes that first, an epitaxial silicon layer is grown before
the gate diaelectric layer is formed. So defects in the bulk silicon are covered
and therefore isolated from the oxide growth step.
The patent further describes a method where a pad oxide layer is used beneath
the silicon nitride islands used for masking during the field oxidation process.
Then, an in-situ grown epitaxial layer is formed on active areas. The patent states,
"In order to maintain the integrity of the selective epitaxial growth step,
the wafers are maintained in a controlled, oxygen-free environment until the
epitaxial growth step is accomplished.” The inventors were issued U.S.
Patent No. 7,232,728 on June 19. US
FED News Release Scientists Demonstrate Room-Temperature Continuous Nanolaser
CompoundSemi News StaffJune 20, 2007...Scientists at Yokohama National University in Japan have successfully built
and demonstrated a nanoscale room temperature laser that produces stable, continuous
streams of near infrared light. The researchers are presenting their nanolaser
in the latest issue of Optics
Express, an open access journal from the Optical Society of America.
The overall device measures several microns (millionths of a meter) in width.
The portion of the device that actually produces laser light is very much nanoscale
in all directions, according to Optics Express. The laser is made from gallium
indium arsenide phosphate (GaInAsP). The design employed a design for a photonic
crystal laser that was first developed and demonstrated at the California Institute
of Technology in 1999.
In this design, researchers drill a repeating a pattern of holes (also known
as a photonic crystal) through the material. Then they introduce one irregularity
in the pattern. The pattern of holes and the irregularity together prevent light
waves of most colors (frequencies) from existing in the structure, with the
exception of a small band of frequencies that can exist in the region near the
defect. The researchers are the first to make such a laser which can operate
continuously at room temperature. Optics
Express News Release Northrop Grumman Engineer Receives Outstanding Young Engineer Award
CompoundSemi News StaffJune 20, 2007...A Northrop Grumman engineer, Vesna Radisic, has received the Outstanding Young
Engineer Award of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Technique Society. Vesna Radisic,
an electrical engineer at Northrop Grumman Corporation's Space Technology sector,
received the award at the International Microwave Symposium on June 6, 2007
in Honolulu, Hawaii. Radisic was recognized for her leadership in microwave
applications of defected ground structures, active antennas, and millimeter
wave electronics in addition to her contributions to the IEEE MTT Society (MTT-S).
She is reportedly the sixth individual to receive the award.
Rasidic joined Northrop Grumman in 2002. She was reportedly the first to design
heterojunction bipolar transistor HBT and high-electron mobility transistor
(HEMT)-based fundamental oscillators working above 300 GHz. According to Northrop
Grumman (NG), the oscillators she designed can significantly enhance the performance
of sensors and communication system. Additionally, she developed a 346 GHz HEMT
oscillator MMIC, which NG indicated is the highest frequency fundamental oscillator
demonstrated using a 3-terminal device. NG stated that Radisic’s work
with the millimeter wave band increases the possibility of using point-to-point
and point-to-multipoint communications applications more efficiently due to
higher frequencies and a higher density of users, with the potential to eventually
replace or supplement fiber optics. Northrop
Grumman News Release Oplink to Acquire Remaining Shares of OCP
CompoundSemi News StaffJune 20, 2007...Oplink Communications Inc. of Fremont, California USA, will acquire the remaining
41.9 percent of Optical Communication Products’ (OCP’s) outstanding
common stock for $1.65 per share in cash. Oplink’s agreement to acquire
the remainder of OCP comes after Oplink completed the purchase of 58.1 percent
of OPC on June 6, 2007 from the Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd.
According to the terms of the agreement OCP will become a privately held company
and a wholly owned subsidiary of Oplink, a maker of photonic components for
optical networking and subsystems, , after the merger is completed. Oplink indicated
that its strengths along with OCP’s together will create a company that
is can compete more aggressively in the market for telecommunications and data
communications equipment. Hobart Birmingham, Chairman of the Special Committee
of the OCP Board of Directors stated, "This transaction provides significant
value for our shareholders, representing a 20% premium over the closing price
on the last day of trading prior to the announcement of Oplink's agreement with
Furukawa." Oplink
News Release Renesas Technology Improves High-Performance Transistor Technology for 45nm and Lower
CompoundSemi News StaffJune 18, 2007...Renesas Technology Corp. of Tokyo, Japan, revealed that the company has
improved the performance of its high performance transistor technology with
low-cost fabrication technology for 45nm and lower. Like the previous technology
that the company announced in December 2006, the new semiconductor manufacturing
technology has a p-type transistor with a titanium nitride (TiN) metal gate
and an n-type transistor with a conventional polysilicon gate. Unlike that technology
however, the new p-type transistor uses a 2-layer gate structure instead of
a single-layer gate for better control of the threshold voltage. Additionally,
the new hybrid structure applies strained-silicon manufacturing techniques to
boost current drive capability. The company points out that this allows low
cost fabrication, and these innovations produce about a 20-percent performance
improvement compared to the previous Renesas hybrid structure.
The company fabricated an experimental chip containing transistors with a 40-nm
gate length. Data from tests performed on this chip have confirmed world top-level
drive performance: 1,068 µA/µm for the n-type transistor and 555
µA/µm for the p-type transistor at a 1.2 V power supply voltage.
Company
News Release Tegal Announces AlN PVD System Order from University of Pennsylvania
CompoundSemi News StaffJune 18, 2007...Tegal Corporation reports that the University of Pennsylvania has ordered its
AMS SMT aluminum nitride physical vapor deposition tool. The company said it will
install the system in the university’s Wolf Nanofabrication Laboratory.
In the laboratory, Professor Gianluca Piazza and his group will research piezoelectric
and nano systems for next generation RF wireless communication, biological detection,
wireless sensor platform, and medical ultrasound applications.
According to Professor Piazza, "We think we've found the best fit,
with this small footprint tool, to meet our laboratory needs for reliably depositing
highly oriented piezoelectric aluminum nitride films. We are confident our research
work with these AlN films will produce enabling technology for the realization
of new classes of micro and nanomechanical resonators, filters, switches and
precision actuators. These AlN-based devices have applications in several different
areas, such as analog frequency processing, mechanical computing, and biochemical
sensing." Tegal
News Release Toshiba Develops 60 GHz Receiver Made With CMOS Processes
CompoundSemi News StaffJune 18, 2007...Toshiba of Tokyo, Japan, reports that it has developed a new technology to manufacture
integrated circuits for the millimeter-waveband. Toshiba says that its new fabrication uses low-cost CMOS processes to produce devices that can achieve high
speed, wireless communication in the 60 GHz band. The company points out that
at the 60 GHz frequency (which is ten times greater than wireless LAN), communication
distances are limited to a few meters, but data can be transferred at a rate
of more than a gigabit per second.
In the USA, Japan, and Europe, frequencies around the 60 GHz range are allocated
to unlicensed equipment. In Japan in particular, the allocated range is between
59 GHz and 66 GHz, a width of 7GHz. For this reason, Toshiba sees millimeter
wave communication as a solution for short distance transmission. Toshiba says
that previously, 60 GHz millimeter-wave communication devices were made with
costly gallium arsenide and ceramic boards. Toshiba indicated that less costly
complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology is now approaching
a level where it is applicable to the millimeter waveband. Toshiba said it will
continue improving the receiver IC’s performance. It also hopes to develop
the high power technology required for a transmitter IC, aiming to achieve practical
application of a millimeter-wave CMOS transceiver IC soon. Company
News Release Blockbuster to Make Blu-ray Discs Available at 1,700 Stores
CompoundSemi News StaffJune 18, 2007...The early results are in at Blockbuster for their customer’s choice of
high definition video formats based on blue laser diode technology, and so far
Blu-ray format is the in the lead over HD DVD format. Based on demand at its
video rental stores Blockbuster Video reported that it has chosen to expand
its Blu-ray disc inventory to its 1700 corporately owned stores by mid July.
The company says it will continue to offer both HD DVD titles and Blu-ray titles
through its online store, and it will continue to offer both formats at the
250 stores that already carry both high definition formats. Both Blu-ray and
HD DVD formats. In 2006, Blockbuster began offering both high definition formats
of all the movies that were out in those formats at Blockbuster.com, and it
also began to offered select titles in both formats at 250 of its brick and
mortar stores.
"We intend to meet the demands of our customers and based on the trends
we're seeing, we're expanding our Blu-ray inventory to ensure our stores reflect
the right level of products," said Matthew Smith, SVP Merchandising
for Blockbuster. "While it is still too early to say which high-definition
format will become the industry standard, we will continue to closely monitor
customer rental patterns both at our stores and online, so we can adjust our
inventory mix accordingly and ensure that Blockbuster is offering customers
the most convenient access to the movies they want, in the format they want."
Company
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