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Editorial: What I Liked Best About CS Vision '07
... Last week in Austin, Texas compound semi (CS) industry veterans, most of whom were CEOs, plus analysts, strategic planners and a sprinkling of guests and people new to our industry gathered at the serene and somewhat restful Hyatt Regency hotel on Town Lake for our annual CS Vision Executive...
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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
News Release Our news features are reported
by the CompoundSemi News staff writers.
For submissions or content suggestions, you can contact us using
editor -at - compoundsemi.com
For more information and to reserve promotion space contact
Info7 -at - compoundsemi.com
or call +1 (512) 257-9888 |
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The
McDonald Report
Commentary & Perspective...
What I Liked Best About CS Vision '07
Jo Ann McDonald, founding editorJune 26, 2007...Last week in Austin, Texas compound semi (CS) industry veterans, most of whom
were CEOs, plus analysts, strategic planners and a sprinkling of guests and
people new to our industry gathered at the serene and somewhat restful Hyatt
Regency hotel on Town Lake for our annual CS
Vision Executive Business Forum. For the better part of two days, these
wonderful people... who literally drive our CS industry, openly shared their
vision of where this remarkable industry is headed, and why. As one of our three
CEO co-chairs, Phil Yin of AXT
summed up the the meet... "Even though our group/attendance was small, I believe the presentations were at a very high caliber, extremely informative, and the dialogue between speakers and audience was great. Especially towards the end when we all discussed whether the compound semi industry needed an official organization like SEMI to drive standards, but most importantly drive the technology and markets. Pending my schedule, I look forward towards next year's event."
Speaking as the event organizer, I'd like everyone to know that Phil Yin and
his fellow co-chairs Bill Kroll, CEO of Matheson-TriGas
and Keith Evans, CEO of Kyma Technologies
deserve tremendous credit for helping make CS Vision precisely what I envisioned.
I don't know about you, but I've never been too fond of stilted talks that either
praise ones own company or call attention to one's own technological feats.
(I tend to nod off shortly after the keynote). And I'm not too fond of jammed
programs where the timer has to practically pull out the old stage hook and
drag the speaker off the podium. The type event where you're lucky if the audience
gets one or two meaty questions in at the end. I prefer eclectic presentations
where you get a truly objective review of an entire topic or application sector,
with plenty of time after the presentation for open, spontaneous dialog. And
I like lively panel discussions. That's precisely what Phil, Bill and Keith
helped foster at this year's Vision. Those three brilliant, vibrant and highly
successful CEOs helped make CS Vision a true executive business forum. (Ref.
June
6 editorial: Why the CS Industry Needs an Executive Business Forum).
I can't thank Phil, Bill and Keith enough for helping me put together a top
notch program and a memorable meet.
No, we didn't get a big turnout at Vision, and you know what? That didn't bother
me a bit. (Surprise, surprise... a case where profit isn't the measure of
success!) It turned out that, once again, quality has it all over quantity.
This year's CS Vision was just the right size for everyone to find plenty of
time to visit with one another. Plenty of time to catch up; plenty of time to
laugh together, plenty of time to actually lay the groundwork for a future collaboration
of some sort. That's what we had with a manageable size group in a relaxed atmosphere.
Time to spend with one another. And isn't "quality time" networking
with just the right people precisely what makes any industry tick? Attendees
to CS Vision were clearly the shakers and movers of the CS industry. That's
why they were there.. Oh there were a handful of key people that couldn't make
it due to vacations or prior commitments, and they were missed, but the makeup
of the group who assembled in Austin was absolutely top notch. Note that we'll
definitely hold next year's CS Vision earlier in calendar year '08.
For those of you who attended... thank you notes and attendee contact lists
will be emailed to you soon, as will passwords to access online versions of
the presentations via the www.CompoundSemiVision.com website. For those
of you who were unable to join us, I'll be reviewing most of the presentations
in this McDonald Report column space over the coming weeks. "Months,"
really... because there was so much good material). But for this initial column,
I'd like to share with you what I personally liked best about CS Vision '07.
And I invite my fellow attendees to CS Vision to do so too. Just drop me an
email, like Phil did, and tell me what you liked best about CS Vision '07 and
whether you think we're on the right track for a revisit in '08. Keith Evans
wants to hold it at a spa. Norm Schumaker suggested a cruise boat. That's not
a bad idea, actually. Nobody would be able to "jump ship" early. The
downside is that someone may arrive late and miss the boat! Maybe the spa's
a better idea. If you think your shareholders won't mind sending you to what
might look like a boondoggle venue, hey... I'm game.
I liked it all, of course. I liked being able to see so many old friends and
colleagues. I liked being able to kick things off by handing out free copies
of my friend Bob Johnstone's new book, Brilliant! which chronicles the
pioneering days of Shuji Nakamura and his predecessors whose technological breakthroughs
in blue spectrum LEDs helped make CS-based solid state lighting (SSL) a reality.
(Ref: Mar.
13 column: Brilliant Moves reviewing the book). I liked holding CS
Vision in Austin, so I could drive there and schlep enough homemade cookies
to give out to every attendee to tide them over during their next plane flight
to the next event (or hopefully home). But most of all, I liked the rare combination
of newcomers to our industry and industry old timers who liked telling war stories
(and there were really good war stories at this year's Vision). At a get-together
like CS Vision, we old-timers tend to hold court and... bless their hearts and
patience... the newcomers seemed to hang on our every word. Norm Schumaker and
Bill Kroll, for example, were treated with the emeritus status they so deserve.
And having keynoters of the status of Gene Fitzgerald of MIT (and Cornell) and
Asif Anwar of Strategy Analytics made our crystal ball virtually glow!
A natural phenomena of any industry event is the inevitable attrition at the
end. I've put on many, many events over the years, starting way back in the
70s, and have attended more than my share of others. And, in almost all cases,
about half the attendees split before the event is actually over. There are
plenty of good reasons for them having to leave, mostly prior commitments and
catching the only flight that gets them to their next destination in a timely
manner. But those who can plan ahead and carve out the time ahead of schedule
so that they don't have to hurry off, tend to comprise what I call the hard
core of any meet. At technical meets, it's often the organizing committee that
stays late, plotting the next year's version. At any meet I put on, for some
wonderful reason, it turns out that my "hard core" people just start
to get revved up near the end. They don't feel at all worn out. They feel invigorated
by all the discussions and they don't want it to stop. CS Vision '07 in Austin
reminded me of some of those early Silicon Valley mini-events I used to put
on, where the "hard core" turned out to be someone like Bill Joy,
the founder of Sun Microsystems. Or Bill Gates when he was just starting Microsoft.
Or Col. Will Stackhouse, back when open systems was making its first debut (a
meet where Bill Joy "held court" and stunned the DoD attendees with
what boded with the coming of a commercial Internet). The discussion we hand
that Phil eluded to in the opening of this column... the discussion about if
we needed a CS version of SEMI... reminded me of the early days in Silicon Valley...
back before silicon got boring.
What I liked also about CS Vision '07 was that we were able to hold a meeting
of "The Girl's Club" because we had three females on the speaker roster
this year... if you count me. We heard an excellent and enlightening presentation
on the future of CS-based solar concentrator cells by solar pioneer Nancy Harsoch
of SolFocus and the other female speaker was none other than the inimitable
Laura Rea of the US Air Force's Wright Labs, who held everyone's attention with
the latest DoD messages and missions. Laura also absorbed more than her share
of flak as the only DoD representative there. And we actually had female attendees
this year too, which is somewhat unprecedented in this still male-dominated
industry. So The Girl's Club actually was able to hold an official
meeting again... finally. [Note that we don't actually have an agenda
nor do anything at these infrequent get-togethers. We just say we have a girls
club just to keep the guys guessing].
And finally, what I didn't expect was the enthusiastic support for what
we're doing here at CompoundSemi Online. Up until this year's CS Vision
meet, I was pretty well set to retire. Doctor's orders. The lure of full-time
ranching beckoned. But after spending two business days with Phil Yin, who's
only one year younger than I am, and Emcore founder Norm Schumaker, who's my
same age, and Strategies Unlimited's GaN guru, Hank Rodeen, who I think may
actually be older than me (heck, he worked originally at Schotky! But then...
my first Silicon Valley job was at Varian in 1961 when the brothers Varian were
still alive) well... if those guys can muster up all that enthusiasm and energy,
which they displayed at this year's Vision event, I guess I can hang in there
a little longer. According to the above fellow industry veterans and so many
others who expressed their pleasure with our unique meeting style, it looks
like the CS industry still needs someone who's able to bribe, badger or blackmail
superb speakers into attending an annual CS Vision Executive Business Forum.
I'll start looking for a venue and date for the next one... providing you start planning
now to participate in CS Vision '08.
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... |
