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October 15, 2007...Cree of Durham, North Carolina USA, announced the commercial production release of its 100-mm Zero Micropipe (ZMP), n-type silicon carbide (SiC) substrates. The commercialization is the result of a project that was partially funded by the U.S. Army and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). SiC can be used in power, light, and communications components, such as power-switching devices, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and RF power transistors for wireless communications. Cree first demonstrated the 100-mm version of its Zero Micropipe substrates in late may 2007.(Ref: Coverage).
Cree named the SiC substrate product Zero Micropipe because the company says it virtually eliminates micropipes, a common crystalline defect in SiC. Micropipes can decrease overall device performance, reduce reliability, and can decrease the number of usable electronic devices per wafer. In late May, Cengiz Balkas, Ph.D., Cree vice president and general manager for materials stated, “...We expect that ZMP technology can significantly improve device yields, expand the range of products that can be designed and produced, and enable manufacturing at higher-volume levels than had been possible before.” (Ref: May 23, News Release).
In the most recent announcement Balkas stated, “The integration of this technology across other Cree product lines is expected to accelerate the adoption of SiC as a high-volume, production-ready material platform.” Company News Release
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SMI Receives SBIR Phase II Funding to Develop Dielectrics for SiC MOSFETs
CompoundSemi News StaffOctober 15, 2007...SMI points out that SiC devices suffer from poor reliability and limited high temperature performance because the devices lack suitable gate dielectric materials and the associated fabrication techniques. SMI says it is applying high-k materials to SiC device manufacturing to produce more reliable transistor devices that have better high temperature performance. In Phase II SMI says it will integrate its high-k film structures into actual SiC device manufacturing, and it will continue refining production-worthy tools and process technologies for both the high-k film deposition and the SiC MOSFET fabrication. At the end of Phase II, we will have developed and demonstrated optimized SiC MOSFET devices, with significantly improved performance and reliability over present devices. Company News Release Velox Gets Funding for Development of GaN on Silicon Switches
CompoundSemi News StaffOctober 15, 2007...Velox Semiconductor, manufacturer of Gallium Nitride (GaN) transistors and diodes with headquarters in Somerset, New Jersey USA, reported that the company has received an ATP (Advanced Technology Program) award from the U. S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The NIST award is for development of high-voltage (600 Volt and 1200 Volt), high-current (20 Amp and 100 Amp) electronic switches based on Velox's Gallium Nitride-on-Silicon (GaN on Si) technology. Velox indicated that the program funding will be used to help develop new enhancement-mode Field Effect Transistors (FETs). The ATP funding for the two year program will total $2,000,000 and matching funds from a variety of sources will make the total program cost of approximately $3,280,000.
In Phase I, Velox will develop 600V, 20A GaN FETs for improved power supply applications. In the next phase, 1200V, 100A devices will be developed, which are ideal for motor driver applications in the automotive industry.
Velox says that the new switching devices will offer benefits to the automotive, computer laptop, consumer, and industrial power supply industries. According to Velox, successful introduction of the new FETs will significantly increase the fuel efficiency of the best hybrid vehicles. Additionally, Velox says that the new FETs will increase the efficiency and drastically decrease the size of power supplies used for consumer, computer, industrial, and telecom applications. Company News Release
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Skyworks Ramping Production of High Performance Downconverters
CompoundSemi News StaffOctober 15, 2007...Skyworks Solutions, Inc. of Woburn, Massachusetts USA, a developer of high performance analog and mixed signal semiconductors for mobile connectivity, reported that it is in volume production of many of its down converters. These include the SKY73032 and the SKY73021, and are part of the company’s linear product portfolio. Skyworks says that its linear product portfolio supports GSM/EDGE, CDMA, WCDMA, WiMAX, and Long Term Evolution (LTE) applications.
According to Stan Swearingen, Skyworks' vice president and general manager of Linear Products, the company has recently received several design wins from industry leading OEMs that lead to the production ramp of the down converters. He stated, "Our expansive portfolio supports infrastructure OEMs at any stage, from those implementing system upgrades to those developing next-generation designs, essentially providing customers with the ability to meet all their high performance downconverter needs with one supplier." Company News Release nLight Acquires Liekki
CompoundSemi News StaffOctober 10, 2007...nLight, a high-powered laser manufacturer headquartered in Vancouver, Washington USA, announced an agreement to acquire Liekki Corporation, a specialty fiber manufacturer based in Lohja, Finland. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, and the acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions. It is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2007 Liekki produces fiber components and subassemblies (optical engines) for fiber amplifiers and lasers using its unique and proprietary Direct Nanoparticle Deposition (DND) technology. “This is a very important acquisition that integrates core technology for the rapidly growing markets for semiconductor and fiber lasers,” stated Scott Keeney, nLight’s president and CEO. “Combining the nLight and Liekki product portfolios will bring compelling solutions to our industry. We highly value the Liekki team and their operational excellence.”
“The combination of our technology and teams will provide customers with a complete supply chain from semiconductor lasers and fibers to optical modules,” commented William Willson, Managing Director of the Fiber Division. “nLight is the fastest growing company in the semiconductor laser market and Liekki will bring its experience in fibers and modules; a unique, patented Direct Nanoparticle Deposition (DND) fiber technology process; and a specialized manufacturing facility, which scales efficiently in this growing market.” nLight News Release Kyma Extends PolyGaN Portfolio of Products
CompoundSemi News StaffOctober 10, 2007...Kyma Technologies, a supplier of high quality nitride materials and related services, has introduced a dense form of ultra-high purity polycrystalline gallium nitride (GaN). The products will be part of Kyma’s PolyGaN product line. Kyma explains that it produces the PolyGaN products by leveraging the company’s patent-protected GaN boule growth process. Kyma boasts that its PolyGaN products have the highest purity in the industry at 99.999 percent (5-nines) or higher (5-nines+). They come in cylindrical disks with diameters of 2”, 3”, or 4” at thicknesses of 2mm to 10mm.
Since 2005, the company has offered higher surface area, lower density, and lower purity PolyGaN Pellets that are 99.99 percent pure (4-nines).
Kyma says that the PolyGaN products can be used for plasma sputtering of III-nitride thin films and pulsed laser deposition (PLD) of III-nitride device layers. It can also be used as feedstock for ammonothermal growth of bulk crystalline GaN or as source material for sublimation growth of bulk crystalline GaN. Company News Release
Cyoptics and Kotura Win Funding to Develop Terabit Photonic Integrated Circuits (TERAPICS)
CompoundSemi News StaffOctober 10, 2007...Cyoptics and Kotura announced that they have won $5.9 million in funding from the U.S. Commerce Department National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Advanced Technology Program (ATP) to develop next generation Terabit Photonic Integrated Circuits (TERAPICS). Cyoptics, an indium phosphide (InP) optical chip component maker based in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania and Kotura, a producer of silicon photonics headquartered in Monterey Park, California USA, won the funding for a three year contract. The goal of the project is to demonstrate optical laser and receiver components for transmission speeds of up to 1 Terabit-per-second (1,000Gbps). The project hopes to use a combination of monolithic and hybrid integration to reduce hundreds of individual components to less than 10. “In network centers and high performance computing clusters TERAPICS will reduce the number of transceivers, connectors and fibers by a factor of 100,” stated Arlon Martin, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Kotura.
Stefan Rochus, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at CyOptics stated, “The TERAPICS development project will leverage CyOptics’ broad device portfolio of InP based lasers, receivers and integration processes as well as our highly automated assembly and packaging platforms.” Kotura will design the integrated silicon photonics chips upon which the laser and receiver arrays will be mounted. CyOptics will develop the monolithic arrays of high speed InP-based lasers and detectors, the automated assembly processes, and the laser and receiver components. Then, TERAPICS components will be assembled at CyOptics’ automated plant in Breinigsville, Pennsylvania, USA. Cyoptics News Release Aixtron Acquires Nanoinstruments
CompoundSemi News StaffOctober 8, 2007...Aixtron AG, an MOCVD equipment manufacturer headquartered in Aachen, Germany, has a reached an agreement to acquire Nanoinstruments, a maker of CVD and plasma enhanced CVD research systems for the production of carbon nanotubes (CNT) and other nanomaterials. Nanoinstruments, a spin-off of Cambridge University, is among many companies and research groups to develop CNT for many optical and electronic device applications such as flat panel displays, heat sinks, integrated circuits, sensors, or for electron guns.
The new business unit, Aixtron Nanoinstruments, will reportedly focus on research and development of CNT and industrial scale CNT equipment. In the new business unit, Nanoinstruments will contribute its unique technology and expertise to Aixtron’s technical resources, manufacturing capabilities and its international customer service and support network. Key members of the Nanoinstruments management team will join the new Aixtron Nanoinstruments technology unit, including Nanoinstruments’ founders, Dr. Ken Teo and Dr. Nalin Rupesinghe.
Paul Hyland, President and CEO of AIXTRON said, “This emerging technology is highly complimentary to our core skill set. ...Coupled with our existing extensive experience and technical strength, we believe that we can, through the Nanoinstruments team, expand the business in the very interesting nanotechnology arena.”
Dr. Ken Teo added, “We are convinced that AIXTRON is the right partner to take our technology to the next level. ...We will be able to operate more closely with our customers through AIXTRON’s subsidiaries in Europe, USA, Japan, China, Korea and Taiwan.” Aixtron News Release Update: Aonex and Sandia Demonstrate Cost-Effective GaN on A-GaN Substrate with Defect Density as Low as Bulk GaNOctober 8, 2007...Arrowhead Research Corporation reported that its majority-owned subsidiary, Aonex Technologies, Inc. of Pasadena, California and its partner Sandia National Laboratories have successfully demonstrated the growth of high-quality gallium nitride on Aonex's proprietary A-GaN substrates. Laser diodes are manufactured by depositing (or 'growing') GaN-based device structures on expensive bulk GaN substrates. Aonex's A-GaN substrates are intended to offer a low-cost replacement for bulk GaN .
Aonex explains that blue LEDs are currently fabricated by depositing GaN-based device structures on sapphire and silicon carbide substrates, which results in lower quality devices and lower yield because of the lattice mismatch between the GaN and the substrate. Aonex acknowledges that superior devices can be produced using bulk GaN substrates, but says that these are prohibitively expensive compared to its A-GaN. GaN grown on A-GaN substrates is less expensive than both GaN on bulk GaN substrates and GaN on sapphire substrates. When Sandia researchers deposited GaN on A-GaN substrates they found it had about the same defect density as the original bulk GaN donor wafer (approximately 4 x 10-6 cm-2), but at a much lower cost. Aonex News Release
UF Engineer Wins Award for CS Process Technique Development
CompoundSemi News StaffOctober 8, 2007...University of Florida College of Engineering professor, Steve Pearton, received the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Electron Devices Society’s J.J. Ebers Award. The Electrical and Electronics Engineers Electron Devices Society says that it gave Pearton the award for “developing advanced compound-semiconductor processing techniques, and clarifying the roles of defects and impurities in compound-semiconductor devices.” The University says that Pearton is the third UF engineering professor to hold the award. The others are Jerry Fossum, a professor of electrical and computer engineering won the award in 2004, and Chih-Tang Sah, a graduate research professor and Pittman Eminent Scholar of Electrical and Computer Engineering, received the award in 1981 while at the University of Illinois. Sah has been a UF faculty member since 1988. University of Florida News Release Aixtron and CrystalQ Jointly Develop Tool and Processes for GaN on- 6-inch Sapphire Wafers
CompoundSemi News StaffOctober 8, 2007...LED manufacturers have long understood that one of the best ways to increase throughput while reducing cost per LED is to increase the size of the wafer so that more LEDs can fit on each wafer. The majority of LED manufacturers use 2-inch wafers, and the high-end and high volume producers have switched to 3- or 4-inch wafers. Aixtron and CrystalQ have taken c-plane gallium nitride on sapphire wafers to the next level with 6-inch wafers. Aixtron developed and introduced a flexible mass-production deposition device, the AIX 2800G4 HT reactor, which can handle 6x6 inch sapphire wafers along with 2 inch wafers, while ensuring optimum uniformity of the epitaxy-layer growth.
With the same goal, CrystalQ, a maker of sapphire wafers, has improved upon its proprietary chemical mechanical polishing (CMP-polishing) process. CrystalQ’s innovative fabrication tool design allows controllability of roughness and flatness parameters of the of 6 inch C-plane sapphire substrates. The researchers worked to reduce the edge-exclusion zone to optimize the number of LED-chips per wafer. According to CrystalQ, this particular development gained impressive results: the standard deviation of the wavelength on the photoluminescence map was 2,48nm (0,55%) without edge exclusion. CrystalQ said that as part of the joint development project, the developers were able to successfully reuse (reclaim) 6-inch sapphire wafers after several steps to take ICs off of the sapphire wafers. CrystalQ News Release Our news features are reported
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