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July 22, 2009...Lasers may some day revolutionize TVs and projectors. However, only red and blue laser diodes are commercially available. Sumitomo Electric Industries claims to have developed the first pure green laser diode. Sumitomo points out that previously, green lasers could only be created from the frequency conversion of infrared lasers. The company says that commercial green lasers, such as those used in laser pointers, emit green light at the wavelength of 532nm by down converting a 1064nm infrared laser. This type of down conversion reportedly requires many mechanical parts resulting in high cost and inherently lower efficiencies.
Gallium nitride (GaN) is expected to be a key material for light emitting devices in the green color range. However, Sumitomo says that the emitting material made with GaN and other ingredients has been plagued with a rapid decline of efficiency with increasing wavelength.
Sumitomo Electric claims to have overcome this problem. The company says it has developed a GaN crystal which inhibits the efficiency drop, resulting in room temperature pulse operation of a laser diode emitting in the pure-green region at 531nm. According to the company, the crystal they created weakens the internal field effects (specifically decreasing piezoelectric polarization) and also improves the quality of the active layer, both of which help decrease the efficiency drop.
The company contends that it has created the first green laser diode in the world. Company researcher will present details about the device in the July 17th edition of the Applied Physics Express. EPIR News Release EPIR and Sunovia Awarded Second DOE Contract
CompoundSemi News StaffJuly 22, 2009...EPIR Technologies of Boilingbrook, Illinois USA reports that the United States Department of Energy has awarded the company a second contract to provide improved infrared (IR) detectors to be used in a new generation of tools for the inspection and characterization of infrared materials and products. These advanced tools, known as Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) materials characterization and inspection tools, are used to characterize semiconductor material properties in a nondestructive fashion and are especially useful in inspecting semiconductor products for quality control without damaging them.
Sunovia is the exclusive distributor of EPIR products.
The infrared detectors will reportedly be based on II-VI materials similar to those used in ultra-high-efficiency multi-junction solar cells that Sunovia and EPIR are jointly developing under DOE sponsorship. EPIR points out that II-VI material-based Multi-junction solar cells are expected to outperform the most efficient solar cells produced today at a fraction of their cost.
"While II-VI materials have been the state-of-the-art in infrared detection for years, they are just now beginning to impact the solar industry with the emergence of thin-film CdTe technology," said Dr. Siva Sivananthan, founder and CEO of EPIR. "The single-crystal II-VI materials we have developed for infrared applications can be tuned more precisely and to a wider degree than those of the materials currently used in ultra-high-efficiency solar cells. This allows us to more efficiently split the solar spectrum and thus achieve higher performance solar cells." EPIR News Release
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IMEC Launches Industrial Affiliation Program for GaN-on-Si Technology
LIGHTimes News StaffJuly 21, 2009...IMEC announced the launch of a new industrial affiliation program (IIAP) to develop GaN technology for power conversion and solid state lighting applications. One of the main goals of the program is to lower GaN technology cost through the use of large-diameter GaN-on-Si. This would leverage the economies of scale of silicon substrates.
IMEC’s green LEDs are currently on sapphire. However, IMEC proprietary thin-film textures LED technology will be used with GaN-on-Si LEDS to enhance their external quantum efficiency.
The scope of the IIAP is to develop high-voltage, low-loss, high-power switching devices based on large-diameter (up to 200mm) GaN-on-Si technology. Potential applications include high-power switching in solar converters, motor drives, hybrid electrical vehicles or switch mode power supplies. IMEC News Release
Content continues for LIGHTimes SecondPage members... Veeco Makes Acquisitions for Solar Process Development Center
CompoundSemi News StaffJuly 20, 2009...Veeco reports that it has completed the purchase of certain assets of DayStar Technologies Inc. Veeco has reportedly purchased selected equipment, taken over leased facilities, and hired DayStar’s R&D group in Clifton Park, New York, to develop less costly methods of producing copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) solar thin film and perhaps make it more efficient.
David Bruns, Senior Vice President, General Manager, Veeco Solar Equipment commented, “The creation of a “Solar Process Development Center” will accelerate Veeco’s position as a leading integrated equipment provider to the rapidly growing CIGS solar market. We have brought on board a team of highly qualified CIGS technology specialists who bring to Veeco years of CIGS process know-how on a range of glass and flexible substrates. These CIGS process development specialists will now work in tandem with our design team to help our customers achieve the lowest cost of ownership through process and hardware optimization on Veeco’s suite of equipment.”
John Peeler, Veeco’s Chief Executive Officer, added, “In the past year we have rapidly expanded our CIGS product line to include integrated thermal deposition sources, our FastFlex platform for flexible CIGS solar cells and our FastLine platform for CIGS on glass. Based upon the broad end market applications for CIGS in solar farms, building integrated and portable devices, combined with CIGS’ forecasted competitiveness on a cost/watt basis, we see a $750M equipment market opportunity for CIGS by 2011.” Veeco News Release Researchers Create Graphene Analog on GaAs Substrate
CompoundSemi News StaffJuly 20, 2009...Graphene has very unique properties because its carbon atoms are arranged in a perfect honeycomb shape. It holds promise for future electronics. However, it is only available as an extremely rare material that is produced naturally. Researchers lead by Marco Gilbertini and coworkers at NEST and Scuoula Normale Superiore in Pisa, Italy were recently able to produce the first artificially created graphene "analog" on a gallium arsenide (GaAs) substrate. The research appeared in a Rapid Communication in Physical Review B.
According to a synopsis of the research outlined by the American Physical Society, the
scientists created a two-dimensional electron gas of very high purity confined in an AlGaAs on GaAs quantum well.
Then they grew a honeycomb of nanosized “pillars” on top of this. According to the researchers, these "pillars" modulate the electric potential in the two-dimensional electron gas, behaving in a way that is analogous to carbon ions in the graphene lattice.
While technically not a real artificial graphene, the scientists expect to find that it has very similar properties to graphene. It may have the advantage of being extremely pure and the possibility of being made into ribbons and shapes with perfect edges. It may also offer the ability to tune the parameters of the electromagnetic spectrum. Skyworks Passes RFMD in Market Share, According to Strategy Analytics
CompoundSemi News StaffJuly 15, 2009...Research company, Strategy Analytics, has released its latest research about the recent changes the PA and cellular device market caused by the economic slowdown and contraction in cellphone shipments.
The research also gives a forecast for 2009 and several years in the future.
Strategy Analytics (SA) points out that the rapid growth of handsets has pushed the PA market to $2 billion per year, and the fate of the two largest suppliers, Skyworks and RFMD, are tied to the growth. SA notes that both Skyworks and RFMD are dependent on PAs for the majority of their revenues despite efforts at diversification.
SA says that both firms and their competitors have invested heavily in new PA products and technologies to meet the demands of the cellphone OEMs for ever more bands, higher data rates, and lower PA prices.
Christopher Taylor, Director of the RF and Wireless Components service and author, stated: "The transition from the frenetic demand in the first half of 2008 to a severely depressed Q4 caught many PA suppliers off guard.
PAs for mid-priced handsets took the brunt of the slump, and so suppliers with high share in PAs for low-cost handsets and PAs for higher-end 3G handsets fared better than suppliers with broad portfolios at all price and performance points." Taylor noted that Skyworks ended 2008 slightly ahead of RFMD, and each company now holds close to one-third of the market. Strategy Analytics News Release Our news features are reported
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