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Editorial: China's SSL Forum & Expo July 12-14 is a Bellwether Event
... While there are a growing number of LED-related international events to select from these days, our event in Taiwan last month, Blue/SSL, and the upcoming China International Forum (CIF) on Solid State Lighting (SSL) July 12-14, CIF-SSL in mainland China (PRC) stand apart in that they are totally focused...
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NeoPhotonics Acquisitions Extend Product Offerings to Reconfigurable Optical Networks
CompoundSemi News StaffJune 19, 2006...NeoPhotonics has increased its vertical integration through acquisition of
LightConnect and OptTun. NeoPhotonics, an optical component maker for FTTx and
other broadband networks headquartered in San Jose, California USA, has acquired
LightConnect, Inc., of Newark, California, and OpTun Inc., of Santa Clara, California.
LightConect, a dominant manufacturer of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMs)
components for optical communications, provides products including: variable
optical attenuators (VOAs), blockers, dynamic gain equalizers (DGEs), and dynamic
channel equalizers (DCEs). OpTun another optical component maker, specializes
in planar lightwave circuit (PLC)-based reconfigurable optical add drop multiplexers
(ROADMs). Terms of the acquisition based on a combination of cash and stock
were not announced.
Dr. Ferris Lipscomb, VP of marketing at NeoPhotonics stated, “The
only way to achieve the high performance required by advanced networks at an
economically viable cost is through optical integration. LightConnect’s
MEMS switches and VOAs are the industry’s solution of choice. Similarly,
OpTun’s very low power integrated Switch-VOA-Tap (SVT) module is a key
part of these solutions. When combined with NeoPhotonics’ extensive suite
of passive PLC products, including our ultra low loss, very wide band DWDM MUX/DMUX,
customers will have the benefits of leading edge performance for all ROADM architectures,
including Blockers, Switched (2-Deg) ROADMs and Wavelength Selective Switches
(WSS).” NeoPhotonics
News Release June 19, 2006...Nitronex of Raleigh, North Carolina USA, a developer and manufacturer of power
transistors has closed a deal to get $21.8 million in venture funding from Alloy
Ventures. The company recently introduced its gallium nitride on silicon technology
called Sigantic, for the WiMax Market. Sigantic technology reportedly adds the
scalability of silicon to the high power, high frequency, high operating voltage,
and broad bandwidth performance of gallium nitride (GaN). Nitronex plans to
use the capital to finish the development and expand manufacturing of several
new products; accelerate hiring in operations, engineering, sales and marketing
and finance; expand into new global markets; and take advantage of emerging
opportunities in cellular, WiMax, broadband and more.
Alloy Ventures, a provider of expansion capital focused on information technology
and life sciences joined new funding providers Intersouth Partners, Arch Venture
Partners, and Diamondhead Venture. Returning investors include: VantagePoint
Venture Partners and Contender Capital. According to Nitronex, the funding round
is one of the largest raised in the Research Triangle region. Charles Shalvoy,
Nitronex CEO said, “We believe that our GaN on silicon based products
offer significant advantages over existing LDMOS and GaAs solutions for the
WiMax, cellular, and broadband wireless markets. With our new financing, we
plan to accelerate our efforts to introduce a broad family of innovative RF
power transistor products for these markets.” Nitronex
News Release Veeco Gets MBE System Orders
CompoundSemi News StaffJune 19, 2006...Veeco Instruments Inc., a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) equipment maker located
in Woodbury, New York USA, reported receiving orders for two of its Gen200 MBE
systems. IPG Photonics of Oxford, Massachusetts, plans to use the system to
produce high-quality GaAs-based lasers. The second order for the system came
from an undisclosed multi-billion dollar electronics manufacturer which plans
to collaborate with Veeco in developing technology for oxide film deposition.
The collaboration will take place at Veeco’s St. Paul, Minnesota MBE Process
Integration Center (PIC). The process development will run parallel to the manufacturing
of the identical system that will be delivered to the customer upon completion.
“These orders signify further adoption of Veeco’s cluster-based
systems for production applications. Our PIC provides customers with the unique
ability to qualify production processes scaled from research systems and to
work together to expand MBE technology to new materials and substrates,”
commented Jeffrey Hohn, vice president, and general manager of Veeco MBE Operations.
Veeco
News Release Aviza Ships ALD Tool to DRAM Maker
CompoundSemi News StaffJune 19, 2006...Aviza Technologies of Scotts Valley, California USA, a provider of semiconductor
equipment and processing technology, reports the deployment of its atomic layer
deposition (ALD) system, Celsior, to a large, undisclosed DRAM supplier based in
Europe. The company says it has shipped many other ALD systems in recent months
to companies in: Taiwan, China, and Europe. Aviza contends that the Celcior
lowers the cost of ownership by increasing throughput, lowering chemical consumption,
and extending the process window. "Aviza's Celsior ALD system offers
the critical hardware and process capabilities demanded by this very precise
deposition technology to satisfy chipmakers' stringent production requirements
for 90-nm and below geometries," said Subrata Chatterji, Vice President
and General Manager, ALD Business Unit of Aviza Technology, Inc. Company
News Release Dr. Shuji Nakamura Honored With Millennium Technology Prize
Scott McMahanJune 15, 2006...Dr. Shuji Nakamura, the LED breakthrough artist often credited for producing blue LEDs and blue lasers, was again recognized for his technological accomplishments. He was awarded the prestigious Millennium Technology Prize of 1 million Euros (about $1.26 million USD ) for his invention which the Millennium Prize Foundation of Finland says “created the conditions for applications that improve the quality of human life.” The Millennium Prize Foundation awards the world’s largest technology prize awarded every second year for innovations that improve or lead to improvements in the quality of human life.
The Millennium Prize Foundation credits Dr. Nakamura, a professor of materials and of electrical and computer engineering in UC Santa Barbara's College of Engineering at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), with producing a new sector in light producing semiconductor research and development which made possible the wide-scale industrial production of efficient LEDs and ultimately created the conditions that are expected to improve the quality of human life. Technically, while working at Japanese LED making company, Nichia, Dr. Nakamura created a method for growing high quality gallium nitride crystals on a large scale using a reactor of his own design. Gallium nitride crystals are the key component in blue LEDs and blue laser diodes. When coated with a light conversion technology such as a phosphor, a blue LED produces white light. His nitride growth innovations extend to GaN alloys of aluminum and indium. SecondPage Members can see the extended version of the story. Cree and RFMD Set to Compete in Producing GaN HEMTs for WiMAX
CompoundSemi News StaffJune 14, 2006...Cree and RFMD, both of Durham, North Carolina USA, have introduced their new
gallium nitride HEMTs for WiMAX at the IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium
in San Francisco on June 13. The companies will compete against each other to
capitalize on the burgeoning infrastructure and wideband markets. Cree demonstrated
its new GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) for WiMAX at the symposium.
Cree’s new 30- and 120-watt GaN HEMTs, which reportedly range from 2.4
to 3.9 GHz, add to the 15-watt HEMT, CGH27015, released last month. The CGH27015
is the first in a new line of Cree transistors targeted to address the 2.4 to
2.9 GHz North American WiMAX market. According to the company the HEMTs together
cover WiMAX applications requiring from 2 to 12 watts average orthogonal frequency
division multiplexing (OFDM) with output power in the 3.3 to 3.9 GHz frequency
band. Cree
News Release. Additionally the company introduced an HEMT for WiMAX.with
the claim of a record breaking output of 400-watts. Cree
News Release.
RFMD indicated that it has converted its 4-inch gallium arsenide GaAs fabrication
machines to GaN fabricators using silicon carbide substrates to avoid redeployment
costs. The company reportedly switched its gallium arsenide capacity to 6-inch
substrates. RFMD says it uses its own MOCVD machines for GaN epitaxy however.
RFMD's GaN HEMT transistors for the wireless cellular market are targeted to
the UMTS or 3G base station segment and include the RF3820 (8W), RF3912 (60W),
RF3913 (90W) and RF3914 (120W). RFMD's GaN HEMT transistors targeted to the
emerging WiMAX base station segment include the 2.5 GHz RF3916 (50W), RF3917
(75W), RF3918 (100W) and 3.5 GHz RF3821 (8W), RF3919 (50W). "The infrastructure
market is a key growth area for RFMD that leverages our existing technological
and manufacturing expertise," said Jeff Shealy, Vice President, Infrastructure
Product Group for RFMD. "With the achievement of our baseline GaN process
technology, we are positioned to provide customers with the high-power, broadband
solutions that are needed to meet their growing demand for more cost-effective
and more efficient deployment of next-generation wireless infrastructure." (Ref: Coverage) and RFMD
News Release Two other companies that have pioneered the WiMAX market and that we will likely see more from soon are Anadigics (Ref: Coverage) and Nitronex (Ref: coverage). VLSI Research Releases Customer Satisfaction Survey Results for Small Wafer Equipment Makers
CompoundSemi News StaffJune 14, 2006...In the company traits, Aixtron came in first for technical leadership among
small wafer processing equipment providers. However, overall, Aixtron AG of
Aachen, Germany slipped in their ranking in VLSI Research’s 2006 customer
satisfaction survey for small wafer processing equipment providers compared
to last years results. The company fell from 2nd place last year to 5th this
year amid tighter competition. Nissin Ion Equipment Co., Ltd. came in first
place this year with a score of 7.77 out of a possible 10. They were followed
by Oxford Instruments, Unaxis Wafer Processing, and EV Group. Then Aixtron
rounded out the top five tying EV Group’s score of 7.36. Aixtron did especially
well in equipment performance with a score of 7.9 for both the build quality
and product performance. (Ref: VLSI
Research). Novalux Secures Financing and Allies with Unaxis
CompoundSemi News StaffJune 14, 2006...Novalux of Sunnyvale, California USA, developer of the Novalux Extended Cavity
Surface Emitting Laser (NECSEL) technology, has closed Series B financing for
up to $21.7 million (USD). The company has also entered into a joint development
and license agreement with Unaxis Optics of Switzerland for NECSEL-based RGB
illumination devices for projection display products. Uniaxis led the funding
round which secured up to $21.7 million. Crescendo Ventures (Palo Alto, Calif.),
Morgan Stanley Venture Partners (New York), Dynafund Ventures (Torrance, Calif.)
and Tredegar Corporation (Richmond, Va.), reportedly also participated. Novalux
says it will use the capital to complete NECSEL product development and enhance
its production infrastructure. Novalux
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The
McDonald Report
Commentary & Perspective...
China's SSL Forum & Expo July 12-14 is a Bellwether EventJune 14, 2006...While there are a growing number of LED-related international events to select
from these days, our event in Taiwan last month, Blue/SSL,
and the upcoming China International Forum (CIF) on Solid State Lighting (SSL)
July 12-14, CIF-SSL in mainland China
(PRC) stand apart in that they are totally focused on the solid state lighting
supply chain, and they're located where an amazingly large number of suppliers
reside. PRC and Taiwan combined also comprise a huge and leading edge marketplace
for LED manufacturers, packagers, systems and subsystems designers as well as
OEMs, lighting designers, and end users who are poised to become major players
in the international SSL industry. With the SSL marketplace taking shape more
rapidly than many might realize, I believe CIF-SSL qualifies as a bellwether
event, i.e.... a leading indicator of the current status of the SSL industry,
and where it's headed.
The PRC government is solidly behind this CIF-SSL event, which is now in its
third year, and they've made sure from the outset that this is a very international
event. Attendance from those residing in China has proved to be extremely high
and the organizing committee, under the chairmanship of Ms. Wu Ling, is again
welcoming the international SSL community to take part. Based on last year's
attendance, CIF-SSL boasts the largest expo in the field, thus providing an
unprecedented opportunity for sponsors and exhibitors to receive exceptional
and highly targeted exposure to the mainland China market. Check out the list
of participating organizers
and committee members and prepare to be impressed.
A key member of Wu Ling's committee is noted Asia LED industry expert, Dr.
Robert (Bob) Walker, CEO of the Sunnyvale, California USA-based power LED supplier
BridgeLux, Inc. Bob points out that the CIF-SSL event promises to offer attendees
a blend of business and technology updates along with networking opportunities
that will connect international manufacturers and suppliers to many of China’s
SSL companies and national SSL committee personnel. “I believe China
will be on the bleeding edge of the solid state lighting revolution,”
said Walker. “Companies need to view China as not just a manufacturing
center for labor-intensive products, such as toys or tennis shoes, but as an
important end-market and customer base for their solid-state lighting products.
Only by being in China, and developing person-to-person relationships, will
someone really begin to understand the business potential of the world’s
largest population and gather the knowledge they’ll need to design products
that can capitalize on this market potential.”
The committee has recruited an impressive lineup of key speakers from the USA.
Included is the industry's foremost market researcher, Dr. Robert (Bob) Steele
of Strategies Unlimited, and HB-LED technology pioneers, Dr. Asif Khan of the University of South Carolina and Dr.
Steven Denbaars of the University of California, Santa Barbara. Bob Steele points
out that, "With the rapid infrastructure growth they are experiencing
as a nation, China has recognized that now is the time to establish a national
goal to realize the energy-saving benefits that solid-state lighting can offer.
I don’t see any other nation showing this level of commitment to deploying
LED-based lighting solutions in such a broad-based manner. This commitment will
help to make China one of the most significant world markets for solid-state
lighting.”
In my opinion, this expo
portion of CIF-SSL is where the real action will take place as this is obviously
becoming a high traffic event. Like so many larger shows for compound semi suppliers,
the real deals go down in the expo aisles... or at least the stage is set for
precisely that. As with all business, it's all about networking and the beauty
of any big expo is that you don't have to go through switchboards or admins
to get to the target customer or potential partner. Since the conference agenda
spans the entire supply chain, there will be ample opportunity for indepth visits
to the expo. Exhibitors should again be quite pleased with the quality and quantity
of expo traffic. Check out details
on exhibiting to be sure your company is represented at this important expo.
At CIF-SSL, as is the case with Blue/SSLS, the organizers guarantee that sponsors
and exhibitors receive center stage. With so many of us now using the Internet
as their primary source of business information, sponsors of these type events
now enjoy tremendous exposure online. It's an excellent way to advertise while
supporting an important event or cause. The visual message that comes across
via such online exposure is becoming vital to companies. Plus, sites like ours
are now experiencing exceptionally high traffic and the embedded links such
as in this column, and crosslinks over a rich variety of information sources
is what sets online exposure apart from old fashioned ways of publicizing and
advertising. Sponsorship slots for CIF-SSL are still available. Check out details
on sponsorships.
Lastly, here's the link to attendee
information and registration. If you're based outside China, your best direct
contact is Kathi Blanchard in California at tel: 801-495-5500 and Kathi's email
is: info@china-ssl.org. Inside China it's Grace Cui at tel: 86-10-82512802 or
email her at cgw@techcn.com. Interestingly, Shenzhen
is a 6,000 year old city with a population of over 1 million noted for its Longgang
Sanhuang Chicken, Nantou Lichee, Nanshan Peach, Shiyan Pear, Jingui Orange,
Longhua Square Persimmon, dragon-dances, lion-dances and steed-dances. Sounds
like quite an experience. Enjoy!
If you have questions about the
solid state lighting and compound semiconductor industries or have news
or views to share, I'm Jo Ann McDonald, Editor of LIGHTimes and CompoundSemi News.
Feel free to contact me directly, anytime. 
My direct tel at the ranch is
+1-325-463-5345
From time to time Jo Ann may comment on companies in which she holds a
modest investment - be sure to read
her disclosure at some point in time... |
