CIGS Thin-Film Solar Cell Record Makes it Competitive with Silicon Efficiency
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 26, 2008...Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have achieved 19.9 percent efficiency with a copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film solar cell. In doing so the researchers came close to a record set with a multicrystaline silicon solar cell of 20.3 percent efficiency. The The energy conversion efficiency of a solar cell is the percentage of sunlight converted by the cell into electricity. As the NREL noted in their news release, thin-film solar cells require less energy to manufacture and can be attached to a low-cost backing such as glass, metal foils, high temperature polymers, or stainless steel sheets. This allows would allow them to be used in roof shingles, windows, and siding. The cells are also of interest for space exploration because of their light weight.
“This is an important milestone,” said NREL senior scientist Miguel Contreras. “The thin film people have always looked for matching silicon in performance, and we are reaching that goal.” Contreras indicated that researchers were able to set the world record and boost the output power from the cell because of improvements in the quality of the material applied during the manufacturing process. NREL News Release
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Engineer Gets Long Prison Sentence for Attempting to Export Naval Technology Secrets to ChinaMarch 26, 2008...Chi Mak, a 65-year-old former engineer for defense contractor Power Paragon and naturalized U.S. citizen, was sentenced to 24 and one-half years for conspiracy to obtain and export U.S. naval technology to China. Among other information that he was found guilty of exporting to China, was information about power switching technology for nuclear submarines, and information about the future of power electronics. Though not precisely stated, the technology most likely includes compound semiconductor-based power electronics. According to the report from an FBI investigation, Chi Mak put the sensitive information onto a CD-ROM. He and his wife gave the discs to his brother Tai Mak. Then Tai Mak’s son Yui “Billy” Mak encrypted the discs. The discs were found on October 28, 2005, when Tai Mak and his wife, Fuk Heung Li, attempted to board a flight to the People’s Republic of China.
Kenneth L. Wainstein, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, stated, "Today's 24-year sentence is a fitting punishment for an American citizen who was convicted of working clandestinely on behalf of China in an effort to steal critical information about the U.S. Navy's current and future warship technologies. His prosecution demonstrates our ongoing resolve to use the criminal justice system to protect America's military secrets." U.S. District Court News Release Sharp to Develop 400 mW Pulsed Operation Blue-violet Laser DiodeMarch 26, 2008...Sharp reports it hopes to develop a more powerful blue-violet laser diode that puts out 400 mW by 2009, according to a Nikkei Electronics article. The laser diode would be compatible with 8X or higher double layer discs. The company also hopes to decrease the size of the of blue-violet laser diode modules.
Sharp released a blue-violet laser diode with a light output 250 mW with pulsed operation in February 2008. The company plans to mass produce the 250 mW blue-violet laser diodes in April 2008. These laser diodes can reportedly perform 4-6x high speed recording on double layer discs.
A 300 mW product is scheduled for release in 2009, and a 400 mW is expected to be released by about 2010.
The article indicates that the company hopes to reach its increased output power goals through improvements in technology of the end surface from which the laser beam is emitted, the crystal growth technology, and the ridge formation technology. The article points out that the company will use CAN packages for all of its blue-violet lasers because the short wavelength can break down air and contaminate the diodes (thereby shortening its life), unless they are in an airtight CAN package.
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March 26, 2008...Sensors Unlimited, Inc., part of Goodrich Corporation with headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey USA, has released the new LC Series Linear Photodiode Arrays. The SU256LCS-2.6T2 detector array is reportedly available with 256 elements of extended response InGaAs material. The device was designed for broad wavelength range from 0.9 microns to 2.6 microns and the company says it offers a comprehensive feature set from its proprietary ROIC to maximize instrument design flexibility.
The photo diode array package design includes a two-stage TEC and thermally optimized materials for multi-channel spectrometers that require high sensitivity, low power consumption, and long-term stability. The company notes that the InGaAs photodiode array has a large active area, 50 micron x 250 micron pixel size. The company’s proprietary readout integrated circuitry has an autozero function that the company says significantly reduces dark current and fixed pattern non-uniformity. It comes with a serial command input, which allows the user to select one of four gain settings and to control readout timing and exposure. The array can be used for biomedical analysis, industrial process control, and possible alternative instrumentation to FT-NIR instruments. Sensors Unlimited News Release ITC Approves Investigation of Patent Infringement Complaint Against 34 Companies
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 24, 2008...On March 20, 2008, the U.S. International Trade Commission, as expected, has agreed to investigate the patent infringement claims in a complaint filed by Gertrude Neumark Rothschild of Hartsdale, New York on February 20. The complaint alleges that 34 separate big-name electronics manufacturers who produce products containing short-wavelength (e.g., blue, violet) LEDs and laser diodes such as hand-held mobile devices, instrument panels, billboards, traffic lights, HD DVD players (e.g., Blu-ray disc players), and data storage devices that infringe on a patent owned by a former Columbia University professor, Gertrude Neumark Rothschild.
The complaint seeks an injunction against importation of the products, and financial damages. The list of companies being investigated for alleged infringement makes up most of the big players in the compound semiconductor industry, the makers of Blu-ray consumer products. It also includes many of the big companies that produce products with blue or violet LEDs. Noticeably absent from the list are the several companies that in the LED market that have already settled. Philips Lumileds, Toyoda Gosei, Nichia, and Osram have already settled the dispute. A patent infringement claim that alleges that Cree infringed the former professor’s patent is still pending.The Honorable Paul J. Luckern, an ITC administrative law judge will schedule and hold an evidentiary hearing. The ITC expect to complete the investigation in 45 days of the investigations start. ITC News Release with List of Companies U.S. Air Force Selects Ascent Solar for Phase II of Tandem Solar Cell Development Project
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 24, 2008...The U.S. Air Force has selected Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc., of Littleton, Colorado USA to continue development of flexible thin-film copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) tandem solar cells. The goal of the second phase of the continuing project is to achieve photovoltaic conversion efficiencies of 20 percent. A tandem solar cell is two cells stacked atop one another. The top and bottom cells gather energy from separate parts of the solar spectrum. For optimum efficiency, tandem cells require two solar cells that have the desired electrical and optical properties and also share compatible manufacturing processes. The project is expected to be performed under the second phase of an Air Force Small Business Innovative Research contract. The company expects the contract value of the project to be about $750,000, pending negotiation.
Ascent Solar's Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Joseph Armstrong stated, “This Phase II project follows our success in Phase I of the U.S. Air Force program, and builds upon work already performed by our scientists in the areas of wide bandgap and durable bottom cell thin-film photovoltaic technologies. Our objective in Phase II is to demonstrate an ability to make tandem solar cells using new material systems we developed during Phase I. We are delighted that the U.S. Air Force has selected Ascent Solar to continue work with these exciting thin-film photovoltaic technologies.” Company News Release Kyma Gets Sales Distributor for Japan
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 24, 2008...New Metals and Chemicals Corporation, Ltd. (NMCC) reportedly signed an agreement with Kyma Technologies, a maker of ultra-pure crystalline gallium nitride (GaN) and aluminum nitride (AlN) products, to become its exclusive sales representative in Japan. Kyma says its products are used in the development of several new III-V nitride semiconductor devices, including visible and ultraviolet light emitting diodes (LEDs) and laser diodes, solar blind ultraviolet detectors, and advanced high power electronics. Kyma also notes that many development and manufacturing activities are already in progress in Japan for all of these device technologies, targeting a broad range of commercial applications.
"We are very pleased with this business alliance with Kyma Technologies and look forward to supporting the wide bandgap industries in Japan as they develop novel III-V nitride semiconductor devices using Kyma's leading-edge and quality materials," said Minoru Mito, General Manager of NMCC. Keith Evans, Kyma president and CEO, added, "The great sales support we receive from NMCC in Japan enables Kyma to focus on manufacturing in North Carolina. The end result is the improved ability to serve our customers."
Kyma News Release Nitronex Develops 45W GaN-on-Si RF Power Transistor
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 24, 2008...Nitronex, a producer of gallium nitride-on-silicon (GaN-on-Si) RF power devices based in Durham, North Carolina USA, has developed a GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) that delivers 45W at 28V for high peak-to-average (PAR) and pulsed applications. The device is manufactured using the company’s SiGaNtic NRF1 process. The NPT1004 has a broadband DC to 4 GHz high power density process, and it offers a cost effective thermally enhanced plastic package that is optimized for thermal load power applications.
“Feedback from early customers confirms that the NPT1004 is an excellent fit for high peak to average power amplifiers for WiMAX and pulsed waveforms found in radar, telemetry and medical applications,” said Chris Rauh, VP of Marketing and Sales at Nitronex. “We believe these markets need the unique power, bandwidth and efficiency combination GaN devices can offer and Nitronex is excited to offer a product optimized for this customer base.”
The NPT1004 provides an average of 5W power for 2.5-2.5GHz WiMAX applications (single carrier OFDM 64-QAM ?, 10.3dB peak to average, 10MHz channel bandwidth) and 4.5W for 3.3-3.5GHz WiMAX applications (single carrier OFDM 64-QAM ?, 10.3dB peak to average, and 3.5MHz channel bandwidth). Company News Release
Veeco's TurboDisc K465 GaN MOCVD Systems Accepted HB LED Makers in Asia
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 19, 2008...Veeco reports that HB LED manufacturers located throughout Asia have accepted four of its TurboDisc K465 gallium nitride (GaN) metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) systems to produce HB LEDs. The company’s TurboDisc K-Series MOCVD GaN platform, which includes the K300(TM) and K465 models, provides what the company contends is the industry’s highest throughput available today for high volume production of GaN-based blue and green LEDs and blue lasers.
Sam DiRenzo, Vice President, General Manager of Veeco's MOCVD Operations commented, "Veeco's K465 systems were qualified for production in a relatively short period of time, enabling our customers to ramp quickly. The speed of installing and qualifying an MOCVD system into production is critical as our customers continue to increase capacity of HB-LEDs for growing applications such as lighting, displays, automotive and backlighting for laptops." Company News Release NEC Develops Optical Interconnect Device for Future Supercomputer
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 19, 2008...NEC Corp. of Tokyo and the Tokyo Institute of Technology have developed a prototype device to connect processing chips of a supercomputer, according to a Nikkeinet article. The device was specifically developed for optically interconnecting chips in the next-generation 10- petaflop (10 quadrillion floating point operations per second) supercomputer that the Japanese government hopes to build around 2010.
Supercomputers use a number of different interconnected processing chips to perform high speed calculations. However, the transfer of data over wires has been limited the speed in terms of how much data can be transfered. The article points out that it is difficult to transfer data any faster than 10Gb/s with electrical signals. NEC has developed an interconnect device that turns electrical signals into optical signals using laser diodes. The connecting reportedly is reportedly made with bundles of 1,000 fibers that transmit data between neighboring chips. Skyworks Ramps Production After RF Design Wins
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 19, 2008...Skyworks Solutions, an RF solutions provider based in Woburn, Massachusetts USA, announced key design wins and production ramps for its growing line of power amplifiers (PAs), synthesizers, switches, and silicon voltage controlled oscillators (VCOs).
Skyworks' design wins in the industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) bands applications range from professional special mobile radio (SMR), radio frequency identification (RFID), automatic meter reading (AMR), and industrial control.
Skyworks points out that according to The Scott Report on AMR Deployments, only about 34 percent of about 300 million electric, gas, and water meters use a wireless application. Automatic meter reading significantly reduces meter reading costs. Furthermore, the Scott Report Indicates that outside of North America just six percent of the 2.5 billion meters utilize AMR solutions.
"Our Linear Products business continues to address new markets by
providing highly integrated and innovative semiconductor solutions to
solve real-world problems," said Stan Swearingen, Jr., vice president
and general manager of Linear Products at Skyworks. "With our
comprehensive RF solution set, Skyworks is setting the bar for
performance and footprint, while at the same time reducing the need
for extra components."Company News Release
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