Alain Couder Joins Bookham as New President and CEOJuly 16, 2007...Bookham Inc., an optical electronics component maker of San Jose, California
USA, reported that the company has appointed Alain Couder as president and chief
executive officer (CEO). Bookham said it expects Couder to also be elected to
the company’s board of directors. Alain Couder succeeds Dr. Peter Bordui,
acting president and CEO. Dr. Bordui will now serve as chairman of the board
of directors. Mr. Couder will take his position as CEO effective August 13,
2007 at the company headquarters in San Jose.
“I am joining Bookham at a time when, having achieved significant
technological success, the Company is poised to achieve profitable growth in
a market eager for ever increasing bandwidth,” said Mr. Couder. “I
plan to leverage the Company’s position in the communication market to
increase shareholder value.”
Mr. Couder most recently served as president and CEO of Solid Information Technology
Inc., a supplier of database solutions. Prior to joining Solid Information Technology,
Mr. Couder served as president and CEO of Confluent Software, Inc., and IP Dynamics,
Inc., and as chairman and CEO of Packard Bell NEC, Inc. Mr. Couder has also
held the position of chief operating officer (COO) for both Agilent Technologies
and Groupe Bull. Earlier in his career, Mr. Couder held a series of general
and technology management positions at Hewlett Packard and IBM. He has also
served as an advisor for Sofinnova Ventures, a venture capital firm. Bookham
News Release July 16, 2007...Emcore reported its preliminary unaudited financial results for the second
fiscal quarter ending March 31, 2007. The company reportedly posted consolidated
revenue of $40 million, a 3 percent increase from the prior quarter, and a 10
percent increase from the same period a year ago. So for the first six months
of the fiscal year, the consolidated revenues totaled $78.1 million, a 9 percent
increase from the first half of the last fiscal year. Fiber optics revenues
for the quarter totaled $26.2 million, an increase from $25.9 million reported
during the same quarter last year, and an increase from $25.3 million in the
previous quarter. The company revenues from the Photovoltaics division rose
about 30 percent to $13.4 million from $10.3 million in the quarter a year ago.
Despite solid quarters from the fiber optics business and growth from the photovoltaic
business segment, the company reported a net loss for the quarter of $14.4 million
and a net loss for the six month period of $26.2 million. The net loss widened
from the net loss reported for the quarter during the previous year of $9.6
million and a net loss for the six month period of $14.2 million. Preliminary,
Unaudited Financial Result for Quarter Ending March 31, 2007 Aviza Gets Order for Celsior ALD System from SVTC
CompoundSemi News StaffJuly 16, 2007...Aviza reported receiving an order for its Celsior single-wafer atomic layer
deposition (ALD) system from SVTC technologies. SVTC Technologies, a foundry
for both established and start-up semiconductor companies, told Aviza that it
is installing the Celsior system to meet the needs of customers who require
ultra-thin high-k and metal films for Flash, non-volatile memory, and high-voltage
applications.
Aviza says its Celsior ALD system is used most frequently for high-volume production
of DRAM by dominant DRAM manufacturers in China, Taiwan, Europe, and the United
States. The use of the system for Flash and nanotechnology is outside the DRAM
market in which the system is most often utilized. However, the company indicated
that the tool has the potential to work very effectively for Flash and nanotechnology
in addition to other possible applications. "SVTC's customers are pushing
the envelope in process and materials development and the capabilities of the
Celsior ALD system will allow them to continue on their development roadmaps
well into the future," said Bert Bruggeman, SVTC's VP of Operations
and General Manager. "We selected the Celsior because of the flexibility
it offers to our customers' development teams." Aviza
News Release KDF to Use Momentive Boron Nitride Heaters in Sputtering Tool
CompoundSemi News StaffJuly 16, 2007...Momentive Performance Materials of Strongsville, Ohio USA, reported that KDF
will use its pyrolytic boron nitride ceramic heaters, a tool designed to help
commercialize property phase-change memory technology. Momentive said that KDF
will use its heater assemblies in all five stations of the KDF Ci(Cluster Intelligence)
sputtering tool, which KDF plans to launch in the third quarter of the year
for researchers in the semiconductor industry.
“The outstanding thermal uniformity, high ramp rate, and high temperature
operation of the Momentive PBN heaters are fundamentally important to the performance
of our new Cluster Intelligence tool,” said Kurt Flechsig, president
& CEO, KDF Electronic & Vacuum Services, Inc. “The ability
of the Momentive engineering team to deliver its industry-leading technology
on time and on budget will give our new Ci tool significant advantages in the
marketplace.” Momentive
Performance Materials News Release Win Semiconductors to Venture into Solar Cell Market with New Aixtron Reactor
CompoundSemi News StaffJuly 11, 2007...Aixtron reports that Win Semiconductors Corporation of Taiwan, a developer
and manufacturer of microwave integrated circuits, will delve into the solar
cell manufacturing with the purchase of an Aixtron reactor. Aixtron says that
Win’s new AIX 2600G3 IC epitaxy reactor will be used to produce triple
junction solar cells on germanium wafers for terrestrial solar cells.
A spokesperson of Win Semiconductors, commented, “Our decision for
the Aixtron equipment was confirmed by the fact that the major players in the
solar cell epitaxy market in Europe are successfully using the Aixtron MOCVD
systems. We are convinced of this track record of Aixtron tools in solar cell
manufacture in Europe and are confident that the new system will clear the way
for our success in the solar cell market.” Aixtron
News Release
Strategy Analytics: GaN Laser Diode Market Will Double from 2006 Through 2011
CompoundSemi News StaffJuly 11, 2007...Strategy Analytics predicts that the market for gallium nitride (GaN) laser
diodes will basically double in size from 2006 through 2011. SA expects total
growth in the GaN laser diode market sector will be 103 percent over the period.
SA says that the driving force behind the growth will primarily come from consumer-based
optical data storage market including GaN laser diodes used in gaming, PCs,
and home theaters. By 2011, SA says that there will be a significant increase
in demand for Blu-ray and HD-DVD players. Unlike the gaming consoles which use
low power GaN laser diode, Blu-ray and HD-DVD applications require higher-power
laser diodes.
Asif Anwar, Director of the GaAs service noted that despite early setbacks
in manufacturing yields and lack of competition, “Continuing advances
in substrates and growth technology removed many of the IP issues, so this is
allowing traditionally strong manufacturers of consumer laser diodes to enter
the market in order to drive volume and lower costs.”
“The “format war” between Blu-ray and HD-DVD in the home
is still there to be won. It will be dictated by the price of players/recorders
and the choice of available titles,” notes Stephen Entwistle, VP
of the Strategy Analytics Strategic Technologies Practice. “Since
both formats essentially use the same technology, the GaN laser diode manufacturers
will be the winners regardless of which technology loses the format war.”
Company
News Release Anadigics Breaks Ground on GaAs Wafer Fab in China
CompoundSemi News StaffJuly 11, 2007...Anadigics broke ground for its new GaAs wafer fabrication facility in Kunshan
‘s New and Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone (KSND). Party secretary
of Kunshan Mr. Guohua Zhang, mayor of Kunshan Mr. Aiguo Guan and vice mayor
Feng-Quan Zhu, and several government officials were in attendance at the ceremony
that was part of a city-wide celebration in the city of Kunshan in the Jiangsu
Province in China. Anadigics’ President and CEO, Dr. Bami Bastani, Executive
Vice President and CTO, Dr. Charles Huang, Vice President of Worldwide Human
Resources John Warren, and other members of Anadigics’ workforce were
also on-hand at the ground breaking ceremony.
Andigics anticipates growth in the wireless and wireline markets beyond the
capacity of the company’s primary wafer fabrication in Warren, New Jersey
USA. The company and KSND plan to complete construction of the new facility
in the first half of 2008, and they hope to begin operation at the plant in
the second half of the year.
Vice Mayor Feng-Quan Zhu of Kunshan said, “The addition of the Commercial
six-inch GaAs wafer fab to the development zone not only shows our ever growing
interest of the semiconductor industry but marks a historical first for the
city of Kunshan and the country of China.” Company
News Release Ascent Solar Gets $20 Million from Warrant Conversion; Plans 1.5 MW Pilot Production Start by Year's End
CompoundSemi News StaffJuly 9, 2007...Ascent Solar, a developer of thin-film CIGS photovoltaic modules, reported
that it received $20 million as a result of the conversion of Class A public
warrants. The company also said it has achieved “significant pre-manufacturing
milestones.” “The additional capital received as a result of
the Class A public warrant conversion and our partnership with Norsk Hydro have
enabled us to achieve significant milestones ahead of plan. We are currently
conducting pre-manufacturing testing on our roll-to-roll rapid prototyping tools
in order to baseline the PV manufacturing processes. This is in preparation
for the commencement of manufacturing operations on the 1.5 megawatt (MW) pilot
production plant scheduled for completion by year end,” Ascent Solar
President and CEO Matthew Foster stated. “The additional capital received
will support construction of the first of four 25 MW scale production lines,
the first of which is planned for completion in 2009. Our pathway to the market
with large volume production has been greatly enhanced and will be strengthened
further once we complete qualification of our pilot production plant.”
“By processing approximately one hundred feet each week in our roll-to-roll
rapid prototyping tools, we have systematically proven out the entire end-to-end
manufacturing deposition process. We believe that we can achieve repeatable
and controllable processes that yield excellent uniformity,” Dr.
Prem Nath, Senior VP of Manufacturing, said. “We now intend to focus
on deposition process optimization and the remaining module patterning and encapsulation
areas as we prepare for the staged delivery of our pilot plant production tools
beginning in September 2007.” Company
News Release Global Solar Energy's Thin Foldable CIGS Solar Panels Achieve Military Certification
CompoundSemi News StaffJuly 9, 2007...Global Solar Energy of Tucson, Arizona USA, a maker of thin-film copper indium
gallium diselenide (CIGS) solar cells, received MIL STD-810E certification from
the US military. MIL STD-810E certification requires continued operation after
being under water, under vibration, after being stored at extreme high or extreme
low temperatures, during a fast temperature change, at high altitude, after
being dropped, and while exposed to sand and dust.
“We anticipated that our P3 products would pass the tests; Global
Solar Energy has been manufacturing quality solar products for several years,
now we have the certification to confirm it," said Michael Gering,
President of Global Solar. “To my knowledge no other flexible solar
product has this military certification," added Mr. Gering. Company
News Release Norstel and ETRI/AIST to Collaborate on SiC Growth Methods
CompoundSemi News StaffJuly 9, 2007...Norstel AB of Norrköping, Sweden, and the Energy Technology Research Institute
(ETRI), part of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
(AIST) of Tsukuba, Japan, have signed a collaboration agreement for the development
of silicon carbide (SiC) material manufacturing methods for semiconductor applications.
In work that began in 1995, Norstel has developed High Temperature Chemical
Vapor Deposition (HTCVD), its own method for growing SiC single crystal ingots.
Norstel indicated that it is currently ramping production at its new facility
in Sweden. The HTCVD method, which is under the supervision of Dr. Alexandre
Ellison, utilizes controlled purity gases in the growth process and it has produced
very high purity wafers for advanced semiconductor processing.
AIST has developed SiC growth techniques based on the sublimation method (where
silicon carbide is transported from a solid source to a seed crystal) under
the supervision of Dr. Shin-ichi Nishizawa during the past 7 years. AIST achieved
impressive results on material quality of up to 4” diameter. In April
2007, Dr. Nishizawa joined ETRI of AIST. Norstel said that the primary purpose
of the collaboration will be to optimize SiC crystal growth quality and manufacturability.
Norstel
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