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September 23, 2005...Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials of North Andover, Massachusetts USA and the
Laboratory for Photonics and Nanonstructrues (LPN) at CNRS, Marcoussis, France
have devised an new process to grow germanium films on germanium at low temperatures
in a MOCVD reactor, according to a report from III-Vs
Review. The work is reportedly targeting Ge/III-V hetero devices, and
the researchers hope to advance the integration of compoundsemi devices on silicon
and other substrates. The breakthrough was presented at the ACCGE-16 at the Big Sky Resort in Montana in the USA. Using the new and less toxic precursor isobutylgermane, the group at
LPN-CNRS demonstrated the growth of high quality germanium films at temperatures
as low 500C. The low growth temperature and the new precursor are expected to
virtually eliminate a memory effect of germanium in the III-V material.
Many researchers have hoped that Germanium which has about three times the
electron mobility of silicon, could lead to faster transistor switching times.
Electrical engineers have also developed a process for combining high-K oxides
with both silicon and germanium. This could be important for integrating compoundsemi
and silicon devices. However, Germanium's small bandgap results in greater electrical
leakage than silicon. Stanford's Center for Integrated Systems has been studying
the feasibility of using germanium, and it has received aid from the Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
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Shuji Nakamura Reports New GaN Crystal Structures for More Efficient LEDs
LIGHTimes StaffSeptember 22, 2005...A research team led by the blue spectrum LED and laser diode breakthrough artist, Shuji Nakamura,
has announced the development of a gallium nitride (GaN) crystal structure perhaps allowing
brighter and more efficient LEDs, according to an article from Nikkei
Net Interactive. Dr. Nakamura, who is a professor and researcher now at the University of California
at Santa Barbara (UCSB), reported the findings at a recent news conference in Tokyo.
Content continues for LIGHTimes SecondPage members... Cree Offers 100mm SiC Substrates to Civilians
CompoundSemi News StaffSeptember 22, 2005...Cree, which has been developing 100mm (4-inch) silicon carbide (SiC) substrates
for DARPA for some time now (Ref: 2003
article), has announced that it will take orders from civilian
companies for its n-type 100mm SiC substrates and epitaxial materials. While
the company is not new to the production of 100mm substrates, its standard is
still the 75mm (3-inch) SiC substrates. The idea of switching to 100mm (4-inch)
substrates is to allow the production of more circuits per wafer and thereby
lowering the cost of production.
According to the company, Cree's ability to produce single crystal SiC in the
larger 100 mm format allows customers to potentially double the number of devices
produced per wafer compared with current production on 3-inch material. The
increase is possible because the surface area of the wafer is almost doubled,
and the required distance between circuit structures and the wafer’s edges
remains the same. Therefore, the unused space makes up a lower percentage of
the wafer surface area. Add this to the reduced cost of production per circuit
for the larger wafers, and it is easy to see the benefits of the larger size.
"Cree's launch of 100 mm substrates and epitaxy establishes that SiC
can be a high volume, production-oriented material within the semiconductor
industry. It demonstrates Cree's technology and commitment to develop material
products targeted to the needs of the commercial market," noted Lyn
Rockas, Cree Materials general manager. "Cree would like to acknowledge
the significant support received from the Army Research Laboratory and the Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in our efforts to develop 100 mm SiC
substrates and epitaxy. We all benefit from the commercialization of this product,"
said John Palmour, Cree executive vice president of advanced devices.
Earlier in the month Cree was awarded a five-year $15 million contract (Ref:
our
coverage) from the Air Force Research Laboratory to develop processing techniques
for switching from 3-inch to 100mm (4-inch) silicon carbide(SiC) microwave monolithic
integrated circuits (MMIC’s). Also, earlier in the year Cree completed
phase I of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Wide Bandgap Semiconductor
Technology Initiative which included demonstrating 100 mm semi-insulating, high
quality substrates, and developing epitaxial material technologies with better
than plus or minus 1% composition, thickness, and doping control. Company
News Release
Molecular Imprints Scores $17 Million More in Financing
Scott McMahanSeptember 21, 2005...Molecular Imprints Inc. of Austin, Texas USA, which has the uniquely precise
Step
and Flash Imprint Lithography technology, has received $17 million in the
first close of a planed $25 million in series C financing. According to the
company, to date, they have raised $60 million in funding. The company plans
to use the funding to expand its Imprio product line, its testing and mass production
lithography equipment with sub 50nm resolution. The investors participating in the financing of the company with its uniquely
precise method of lithography include: Dai Nippon Printing Company (DNP), Alloy
Ventures, Motorola Ventures, Harris & Harris, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Hakuto
Co. Ltd., Asset Management Partners and others.
Dr. Norm Schumaker, MII’s CEO, said, “Molecular Imprints appreciates
the support and vote of confidence our investor base is expressing with this
new round of financing. We are committed to delivering on our mission of enabling
nanoscale manufacturing in markets such as nano-devices, LEDs for solid state
lighting, magnetic data storage for micro disk drives, and others. We are pleased
to have DNP, a major supplier of photomasks, join a growing number of world
class suppliers who are investing in the technology required to support the
commercialization of MII’s S-FIL imprint lithography. DNP’s technical
leadership, along with the other photomask manufacturers that MII is working
with, will help further increase the availability of advanced imprint templates,
a key element of the imprint process.” Company
News Release
Ahura Releases Software for Unknown Mixture Identification
CompoundSemi News StaffSeptember 21, 2005...Ahura Corporation has again made an important breakthrough in chemical
identification. The company has released free new software for its FirstDefender
chemical identification system, called DecisionEngine 2.0, to allow the identification of unknown mixtures.
According to the company the software effectively gives the device, which uses
Ramen spectroscopy, billions of possible combinations and concentrations of chemicals.
The results are available in merely minutes instead of the hours of work required
for highly trained spectroscopists. The company pointed out that that the identification
algorithm does not rely on error prone subtraction routines.
Dr. Daryoosh Vakhshoori, Founder and President commented, "With the
DecisionEngine 2.0 software the FirstDefender does the heavy lifting for our
users, delivering reliable analytical performance with literally the push of
a button. These revolutionary patent pending algorithms provide first responders
with accurate information to aid in their decisions on-scene in real-time. This
handheld unit provides immediate information in the harshest of environments
and does so without requiring user intervention or consultation with a highly
trained spectroscopist.” Company
News Release Consortium Creates Diamond Shottky Diode
CompoundSemi News StaffSeptember 20, 2005...A collaborating group aptly named CArbon Power Electronics (CAPE) consortium hope
to reignite interest in diamond-based electronics with their recent development
of a diamond Shottky diode. The project, supported by the UK Department of Trade
and Industry, is being undertaken by an a UK consortium of two industrial companies
(Element Six Ltd and Dynex Semiconductors Ltd) and one academic partner (Cambridge
University Engineering Department – CUED). The Shottky diode was produced
at Element Six. Power conversion is one of the major applications that engineers
are hoping to develop with the technology. Consortium engineers have speculated
that diamonds would allow power conversion devices capable of operating in excess
of 10,000 volts.
Content continues for LIGHTimes SecondPage members... Sharp Labs Reports CW Blue Laser From MBESeptember 20, 2005...Until recently, the only method of producing the blue laser diodes required
for the next generation DVD players, was with metal organic chemical vapor disposition
(MOCVD). Scientists at Sharp laboratories of Europe Ltd., in Oxford, UK, were able
to produce the first continuous wave blue laser with the laser diode produced by MBE,
according to an article
in the September issue of Photonics Spectra. Both the Blu-Ray DVD format supported
by Sony, Sharp, and others, and the HD-DVD format supported by Toshiba, NEC, and
others, require 405 nm blue lasers.
Content continues for LIGHTimes SecondPage members... Fairchild Semiconductor Creates Ballast Design Using SEPIC TechnologySeptember 20, 2005...Fairchild Semiconductor's Global Power Resource Design Center in Germany recently
completed designs to meet the proposed European daytime headlight (daytime running
light) safety regulations. It uses a new ballast design with SEPIC (single-ended
primary inductance converter) topology. According to the company this new design
is ideal for low voltage DC/DC applications, such as automobile headlights. Content continues for LIGHTimes SecondPage members... Mostly Favorable Ruling for IXYS in International Rectifier Patent Infringement Case
CompoundSemi News StaffSeptember 19, 2005...Power electronics specialist, IXYS of Santa Clara, California USA, reported a
mostly favorable ruling in its patent infringement case with International Rectifier
(IR). According to the company, in perhaps the first patent infringement jury
trial brought by International Rectifier, on September 15, 2005 the jury specifically
found that IXYS not guilty of willful infringement, and the jury ruled in favor
of IXYS in five the seven issues presented. IR had accused IXYS of infringing
on three MOSFET patents including: 4959699
('699), 5008725
('725) and 5130767
('767) patents. The infringement claims were separated into two groups. In one
group the jury ruled that IXYS had infringed on the patents based on the doctrine
of equivalents. The company considers this to be a minor goup of claims which
will not significantly impact IXYS financially.
In the first group of claims, the jury found that IXYS did not infringe the
'725 and '767 patents, but did infringe the '699 patent by the doctrine of equivalents.
IXYS pointed out the jury’s specific finding that the IXYS' devices do
not infringe the '725 and '767 patents because they include an "annular
source region", which is inconsistent with the conclusion that the '699
patent is infringed. "I am extremely satisfied by the jury's findings
in nearly all respects, and I am confident that the two factual issues decided
against IXYS will be reversed on appeal," said Dr. Nathan Zommer,
President and Chief Executive Officer of IXYS Corp. Company
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