GaAs Device Demand from Digital Cable to Grow Through 2012, Strategy Analytics Says
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 31, 2008...Research analysis firm, Strategy Analytics (SA) of Boston, Massachusetts USA, predicts that gallium arsenide demand from the digital cable market will grow continuously over the next five years as cable networks switch to digital and high definition platforms. SA revealed the predictions in its latest forecast entitled, “GaAs Device Demand from Digital Cable Markets 2007-2012.” From 2007 to 2012, SA contends that GaAs device demand from digital cable markets will grow at a compound annual average growth rate (CAAGR) of 11 percent. SA says that the rollout of digital cable infrastructure accounted for 57 percent of GaAs device demand in 2007. SA forecasts that this proportion will increase to 67 percent of demand by 2012.
“Cable infrastructure applications, namely line amplifiers and hybrid amplifiers will continue to constitute the main demand for GaAs MMICs for the next five years,” observed Asif Anwar, GaAs Service Director. “These products are used in the cable infrastructure networks as system amplifiers, line extenders and fiber nodes.”
“GaAs demand will grow in set-top boxes, with multiple tuners driving demand,” added Stephen Entwistle, VP of the Strategic Technologies Practice. “However, silicon technologies will continue to dominate, limiting overall CAAGR for GaAs devices to no more than 5 percent over the next five years.” Company News Release
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March 31, 2008...Sunovia Technologies and EPIR Technologies have established a joint cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and BAE systems for the development of advanced infrared technologies for night vision surveillance.
Sunovia and EPIR have exclusively partnered to commercialize solar and the similar infrared (IR) technology for the renewable energy and night vision applications.
Sunovia insists that IR technology is very similar, but IR is a much more precise and complex science. Sunovia notes that IR devices absorb non-visible light, convert the light to electricity, and then 'pixelize' the electricity to create an image. Solar devices on the other hand, absorb visible light, convert the light to electricity, and then store (or spend) the electricity. The companies are working to combine numerous IR and solar II-VI material layers in order to achieve maximum light absorption from the different light intensities and different light spectra.
The goal of the CRADA is to develop a method to use EPIR’s IR detecting MCT material on a silicon substrate instead of the currently used and more expensive cadmium zinc telluride (CdZnTe) substrates. In addition the project hopes to increase processing yields.
Sunovia and EPIR plan to use the project to become a U.S. supplier of MBE grown MCT. BAE Systems hopes the technology from the project will go into production of IR detectors and focal plane arrays. Under the agreement, BAE systems will receive the processing technology developed for the ARL. Sunovia News Release Energomera Acquires Atlas PCF, Another Sapphire Manufacturer
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 31, 2008...Energomera Corporation, a dominant industrial group of southern Russia and the owner of Monocrystal, a maker of synthetic sapphire wafers, have reported the acquisition of Atlas PCF, another Russian sapphire manufacturer. Energomera says that Monocrystal and Atlas are renowned for their synthetic sapphire and are both leading sapphire substrate suppliers for high brightness light emitting diodes (LEDs) and radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) as well as sapphire optics for special applications. Furthermore, Energomera says that the companies’ products are highly complementary in the global market and will add to Energomera’s product portfolio, and the addition of Atlas will add to Energomera’s customer base. Similarly, Energomera says that the integration and cooperation between the two companies in R&D, production, sales, and marketing activities will forge a synergy leading to cost reduction, new products development, and improved customer satisfaction.
“The acquisition of Atlas gives rise to the largest synthetic sapphire crystal growing and processing company in the world in terms of production capacity. This is a part of our strategy to develop stronger presence in compound semiconductor market,” said Vladimir Polyakov, President and Chairman of Energomera. Energomera News Release
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After Year of Strong Growth, Kopin Plans to Diversify III-V Product Offerings
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 31, 2008...Kopin, a company known for its display technology reported a 38 percent increase in revenues for 2007 compared to revenues of 2006. Total revenues increased 38% to a record $98.1 million, exceeding the Company's guidance of $90 million to $95 million.
During the quarter the company expanded its production capacity, adding three metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) systems for its III-V product line. Kopin says it hopes to diversify its product offering. It hopes to eventually develop III-V products for wireless handsets, cell phones, and mobile radio, in addition to developing solar cells for energy applications.
Dr. Fan commented, "With our recent installation of three of the world's most advanced metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) reactors for our III-V product line, the expansion of our III-V manufacturing capacity is now essentially complete. By consistently producing 6-inch III-V wafers with superior uniformity, these new systems strengthen our capability to develop products for not only the wireless handset market but also for emerging applications..."
He continued, "We believe our new systems are ideal to produce the yield and uniformity required for HEMT structures and the performance and efficiency necessary for solar cells.” Company Financial Results. 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 Sensors Unlimited, Inc. Introduces Shortwave Infrared Wavelength Linear Arrays for Advanced Imaging Tasks
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 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 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. 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 Our news features are reported
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