Dr. Bami Bastani Resigns as CEO at Anadigics; Gilles Delfassy Becomes Chairman
CompoundSemi News StaffAugust 18, 2008...Anadigics, a wireless solution provider based in Warren, New Jersey USA, announced that its president and CEO, Dr. Bami Bastani has resigned. The company appointed Gilles Delfassy to be the chairman of the board of directors. Anadigics says that Delfassy, who has been director of the company since January of 2008, will temporarily take on the job of CEO until a permanent replacement is found. Dr. Bastani’s resignation comes just weeks after the company lowered its projected third quarter revenues and announced a delay in constructing its fab facility in Kunshan, China.
Before coming to Anadigics, Delfassy served as an executive at Texas Instruments. Delfassy reportedly helped guid Texas instruments to be one of the largest suppliers of semiconductors for wireless handsets. Before that he managed Texas Instruments’ European digital signal processing operations and its European automotive electronics business.
Ron Rosenzweig, founder of the company and vice chairman of the board commented, “Bami has made a significant contribution to Anadigics by guiding us over the past ten years. We thank Bami and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.” He later stated, “Gilles is the ideal person to move the company forward during our CEO search. His extensive understanding of the semiconductor industry coupled with his knowledge of our customers and his experience in managing a business with high-volume manufacturing operations will help ensure a smooth transition.” Company News Release
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NREL Solar Cell Reaches 40.8 Percent Conversion Efficiency
CompoundSemi News StaffAugust 18, 2008...Researchers at the US. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) reported setting a world record in solar cell efficiency. The researchers boasted that its specially designed solar cell achieved 40.8 percent conversion efficiency under the concentration of light equivalent to about 326 suns. This is the highest conversion efficiency of any photovoltaic device to date. One sun is the amount of light that hits the earth on a sunny day. The inverted metamorphic triple-junction cell was reportedly designed, fabricated, and independently tested at NREL. The researchers indicated that the new cell is ideal for the space satellite market and for terrestrial concentrated photovoltaic arrays, which use lenses or mirrors to focus sunlight onto the solar cells. Although achieving 326 suns of concentration outside of the laboratory would be difficult and dangerous for terrestrial solar concentrator cells.
The NREL points out that the new solar cell efficiency record holder differs significantly from the previous record holder – also based on a NREL design. The design of the cell splits the solar spectrum into three equal parts, one for each of the junctions. A germanium wafer forms the bottom junction, and compositions of gallium indium phosphide and gallium indium arsenide form the other two junctions. The split spectrum arrangement allows higher potential efficiencies. The layers of the solar cell are grown on a gallium arsenide wafer, flipping it over, then removing the wafer. Additionally the junctions are lattice mismatched (with atoms that don’t line up) to get higher conversion efficiency. NREL News Release
QPC Lasers Receives Order for Custom Green Laser Development
CompoundSemi News StaffAugust 18, 2008...QPC Lasers of Sylmar, California USA announced that it has received an order for the design and delivery of a customized green laser from an undisclosed digital information equipment maker. According to QPC the specially designed green laser will be used in the development of a commercial laser projector. QPC Lasers reportedly produces high-brightness, high-power semiconductor chip-based lasers for the consumer electronics, defense, industrial, and medical markets. QPC says it has received $15 million in orders for its visible lasers since September of 2007. The company also reported several additional orders from consumer electronics companies. QPC indicates that these orders may result in additional large orders.
QPC’s Vice President of Marketing and Sales Paul Rudy, Ph.D. commented, “It is well known in the display industry that green lasers are the most challenging laser color to produce for commercial projectors because of unique and demanding performance and cost requirements. We believe that our green laser technology can enable higher brightness displays with substantially reduced power consumption and attractive costs compared to other green lasers commercially available in the past.” Company News Release
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RFMD Touts Design Win for Triple-Path Cellular Front End for Leading 3G Handset Platform
CompoundSemi News StaffAugust 13, 2008... RF Micro Devices, Inc. (RFMD) of Greensboro, North Carolina USA, announced a major design win. RFMD said that a leading handset original equipment manufacturer's (OEM's) upcoming 3G multimode handset platform. RFMD says that the OEM's upcoming 3G multimode handset will utilize its triple-path, broadband power amplifier (PA). RFMD says that it delivers unmatched broadband performance and TRP compliance. RFMD says that based upon current customer forecasts and design activity, it expects to begin volume shipments in the fourth quarter of calendar 2008.
RFMD's triple-path 3G PA combines three broadband (multi-band capable) power amplification paths in a single, size-reduced package. According to RFMD says that the PA offers two high-band broadband amplifiers and one low-band broadband amplifier, thereby enabling 3G handset designers to simultaneously address any combination of the eight major WCDMA cellular frequency bands without the need for external tuning. The company notes that the broadband, triple-path capability allows handset designers to use a single RF platform across all 3G band combinations. This reduces space requirements and accelerating time to market, the company said.
Eric Creviston, president of RFMD's Cellular Products Group commented, "Handset designers using our broadband 3G PA can implement a single, scalable 3G platform that services multiple WCDMA bands through simple changes in filter components. No change to the RF layout of the phone board is necessary.” Company News Release SolFocus Hires Former Lockheed Martin Executive as Company President
CompoundSemi News StaffAugust 13, 2008...SolFocus, Inc., a maker of commercial concentrator photovoltaics based in Mountain View, California USA, announced that Mark Crowley, a former Lockheed Martin executive, has joined the company as president. He will report to chairman and CEO Gary D. Conley. The company indicated that the expansion of its leadership team marks a shift from R&D and product development, into the commercialization and volume deployment phase of its business. Mr. Crowley joins SolFocus from Lockheed Martin Space Systems where he served as vice president of West Coast operations. Mr. Crowley reportedly has over 25 years of technical and program management experience including time at Lockheed Martin as VP of technical operations, VP of programs and subcontracts, as well as VP and program director of the company's SBIRS program, a highly technical and complex program utilizing some of the same technologies such as non-imaging optics which are used in SolFocus solar systems. The company said that Mr. Crowley will be taking over responsibilities for product development, delivery, support, and execution of its operations.
“SolFocus has recently reached a major milestone in its development as a company which is the deployment of its first commercial Concentrator Photovoltaic (CPV) plant,” commented CEO Conley. “We are extremely pleased to have Mark join us, as he brings with him a proven ability to address the execution challenges and processes which will face our business in this fast growth phase.” SolFocus News Release Nitronex Gets DOD Phase II STTR Grant for GaN-on-Silicon HEMT Technology Development
CompoundSemi News StaffAugust 13, 2008...The Department of Defense (DOD) has awarded Nitronex a Phase II STTR grant to further develop GaN-on-silicon HEMTS for high-frequency applications. Nitronex, a company started from a spin-out of research conducted at North Carolina State University, began the two-year Phase II program in the first quarter of this year with funding from a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant for military and aerospace applications. Nitronex notes that primary program objective is to deliver high power X-band GaN monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) that address ballistic missile defense radar needs of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA).
“We are excited to be working with the MDA to advance our GaN-on-Silicon HEMT and MMIC manufacturing infrastructure and to broaden the operating frequency range of our RF power discrete devices and MMICs for both commercial and military applications,” said Edwin Piner, director of advanced technology. “The program's high power X-band Gallium Nitride on Silicon MMICs will enable X-band radar with increased performance capability, reduced size, weight and power consumption (SWAP) while simultaneously leveraging the inherent affordability and reliability of our technology.” Company News Release SCD of Israel Awarded DARPA Contract for xBn Device Development
CompoundSemi News StaffAugust 13, 2008...Semi Conductor Devices (SCD) of Haifa, Israel, was awarded a Phase I contract from DARPA for the development of new "XBn" infrared detector technology. The contract valued at $1.75 million could be worth a total of $5 million once all of the phases of the program are completed. Baruch Glick, CEO of SCD said, "We see this direct contract between an Israeli company and DARPA as a recognition by DARPA in the capabilities of SCD to perform a challenging project that eventually will fit into the high end Infra Red systems."
The program hopes to develop technology for a semiconductor hetero-structure detector. The detector will not have a depletion layer in any narrow bandgap region. The company said that instead, the depletion layer will be confined to a wider bandgap barrier material. SCD says that in such a "barrier device" the dark current can be made lower than in a conventional homo-structure device operating at the same temperature. According to the company, this will allow operating temperatures of 150K without degrading the detector's performance relative to homo-structure devices with a similar photo-response operating at lower temperatures. Company News Release Our news features are reported
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