Norway Plans to Ban Gallium Arsenide
CompoundSemi News StaffAugust 1, 2007...The time for public consultation on PoHS is running out.
In June, Norway told the World Trade Organization of its intentions to ban 18 substances. The ban
would go beyond the prohibitions EU’s RoHS directives for electrical and
electronic companies. Norway has proposed banning the use of what it lists as
hazardous substances in all consumer goods with a few exceptions. Gallium arsenide,
is on the list of banned substances. Arsenic is the substance of concern in
that compound. Instead of the list of six banned substances in the RoHS directive,
Norway has proposed banning 18 substances in all consumer products (not just
in electronics). Some of the substances barred in the RoHS directive allowed
certain exceptions in consumer goods. However, Norway’s proposed new rules
would allow very few exceptions. The proposal is scheduled to be adopted on
15 December, and enforcement is set to begin on January 1, 2008. The regulation
would not be confined to electrical and electronic equipment. Public consultation
about the measure will end September 1, 2007. At that point a report will be
written that will provide recommendations to legislature of Norway.
PoHS would also cover any use of lead except in medical devices. A PoHS guidance
package (a PoHS guidebook) about the legislation can be purchased from RoHS-International.
It costs NZ$140, which is about $110 in U.S. dollars. The PoHS guide was published
to help companies identify where these banned substances may be used in products.
The PoHS guide has sections for plastics, electronics, construction, textile
industries, and manufacturers of end consumer products. RoHS
News Release Bell Labs MBE Pioneer Alfred Y. Cho Awarded USA's Highest Technology HonorAugust 1, 2007...August 1, 2007...On Tuesday, the USA's President Bush awarded the 2005 National Medal of Technology to Alfred Y. Cho for his contributions to the invention and development of MBE technology. An announcement of the award was originally made by Alcatel-Lucent which now owns Bell Labs. (Ref: company
news release, which contains details about the award and Dr. Cho's achievements. In the White House awards ceremony, President Bush underscored that Dr. Cho helped develop MBE technology into a production tool for advanced electronic and photonic devices. Applications for the tool help produce components of cellular phones, CD players, and high-speed communications. The National Medal of Science and Technology is the highest honor the president of the United States can give to any citizen for work in their science and technical fields.
ACCO Raises $10 Million in Round A Funding
Compound Semi News StaffAugust 1, 2007...ACCO, a fabless French startup specializing in analog and RF semiconductor
design, reported that it has closed round A funding with $10 million of investment.
In the funding round, Pond Venture Partners and Partech International join Siparex
Ventures, a seed-level investor since October 2005. ACCO recently demonstrated
what the company says is a very innovative approach that will make CMOS technology
a reality in the power amplifier market for handheld devices. The company also
says its innovation in power amplifier design enables the manufacturing of more
reliable and highly integrated mobile devices at a lower cost. Acco was founded
by Denis Masliah. ACCO decided earlier this year to raise VC funds to support
its new business model strategy based upon what the company’s important
advance in power amplifier design.
Richard Irving, Managing Partner at Pond Venture Partners, commented, “The
wireless handset market is always looking for innovative solutions to satisfy
continuously growing consumer expectations in terms of cost and battery life.
We are convinced ACCO will play a significant role in meeting these needs.”
“CMOS power amplifiers represent a huge convergence opportunity”
stated Jean-Marc Patouillaud, Managing Partner at Partech International. “We
are convinced ACCO’s technology will act as a key driver of that convergence.”
ACCO
News Release C9 Corporation Announces Plans for SiC Wafer Facility
CompoundSemi News StaffJuly 30, 2007...C9 Corporation, based in Kingston, New York USA, announced plans to build a
microchip wafer facility at the Saratoga Technology + Energy Plant. The company,
started by FALA Technologies, NanoDynamics-88, and Amtrade, has invested $11
million in silicon carbide wafers used for the military’s hybrid electric
armored vehicle program. The state of New York also pitched in $1.75 million
for construction of the new facility. The military is also expected to utilize
C9’s technology in solar related projects. The company hopes to create
about 35 jobs by 2010. Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-New Brunswick)
said on Thursday, "This announcement, in conjunction with recent commitments
by International Sematech and General Electric to locate and expand here, is
just one more example of how far we have come in attracting leaders in the field
of advanced technology."
C9's CEO Kevin Donegan said the company will be developing technology used
by the U.S. Defense Department. The money will be used to fit-out a new manufacturing
plant and office. The company expects to finish the work on the new facility
next year. C9
News Release Veeco 6-Month Net Income Bolstered by HB LED/Wireless Equipment Sales
CompoundSemi News StaffJuly 30, 2007...Veeco faced a data storage slump for the second quarter of 2007. HB-LED equipment
sales partially offset the slump in data storage. The company of Woodbury, New
York USA, reported revenue of $98.8 million for the quarter, slightly below its guidance of
$100-105 million. The total revenue stayed the same over the previous quarter,
but was down about 12 percent compared to $111.6 million reported a year ago.
Some 26 percent of the Q2 2007 revenue came from HB LED/wireless equipment
sales. The HB LED/wireless equipment sales were 26 percent of the quarterly
total and 24 percent of the six-month total. For the quarter, 32 percent of
the revenue came from data storage, 31 percent from scientific research, and
11 percent came from the semiconductor business. The six month revenue total
was $197.9 million. For the first six months of the year Veeco reported an operating
income of $0.7 million. This is significantly lower than the $7.2 million operating
income during the first six months of last year.
Edward H. Braun, Veeco's Chairman, commented, "Veeco's revenue was
below our guidance due primarily to the field acceptance delay of a new data
storage PVD system and end of quarter data storage customer factory shut-downs.
In addition, weakness in semiconductor also impacted revenue and profitability.
For the first six months of 2007, Veeco's revenue of $197.9 million was down
4% from 2006. By market, Veeco's first half 2007 revenue was up 39% in HB-LED/wireless,
up 15% in scientific research and down 28% in data storage and down 12% in semiconductor."
Veeco
Quarterly Financial Results Hittite Microwave Introduces 4 GaAs LNAsJuly 30, 2007...Hittite Microwave Corporation of Chelmsford, Massachusetts USA, introduced
four new low-noise amplifiers which are suitable for industrial sensors, test
and measurement equipment, military radar, and electronic warfare applications
that require a rating of 2 to 4 GHz. The HMC594LC3B, and the HMC609LC4 are GaAs
pHEMT MMIC LNA that are rated from 2 to 4 GHz. They both have radio frequency
inputs and outputs that are matched to 50 Ohms with no external components.
The company says that for hybrid and multi-chip module applications, the HMC594LC3B
and HMC609LC4 are available in chip form as the HMC594 and the HMC609. All four
of these wide dynamic range LNAs utilize a +6V power supply, and they incorporate
DC blocked radio frequency inputs and outputs matched to 50 Ohms with no external
components. Company
News Release RFMD Outlook Good and Net Income Strong Despite Lower Orders from Motorola
CompoundSemi News StaffJuly 25, 2007...Revenues fell for the second consecutive quarter and 18 percent over the previous
quarter. However, the company reported a $25.3 million net income including benefits
from tax allowances and compensations for its $1.8 million operating loss. One
of the main reasons for the falling revenues was the $50 million lower volume
of orders from Motorola. The company is beginning full production of Polaris
3 front-end modules bolstered by the agreement to supply them to Nokia. "This
is a breakthrough product that delivers meaningful customer benefits - its significance
to RFMD cannot be overstated,” commented Bob Bruggeworth, the company's
CEO.
The company says that it already has orders for the Polaris 3 that will lead
to 50 percent sequential growth in its WCDMA business. RFMD also says that orders
for its WLAN front ends will also proportionately boost WCDMA revenues. Company
Financial Results for Q1 of Fiscal 2008. The company also announced that
it shipped its 100 millionth WCDMA cellular front end. Skyworks Helios II-Plus EDGE Radios in Samsung’s Ultra Series Handsets
CompoundSemi News StaffJuly 25, 2007...Skyworks reported that Samsung’s Ultra Series handsets including the
SGH-U600 and SGH-U700 utilize Skyworks’ Helios II-Plus EDGE radios. Samsung's
Ultra Edition models offer the latest advances in technology and multimedia
functionality housed in one of the slimmest and most powerful handsets. The
slider models feature have a 3 megapixel camera, high-speed Web connectivity,
extensive multimedia and audio capabilities, and jewel-inspired casing.
According to Skyworks, the SKY77519 FEM incorporated by Samsung provides optimized
power usage solution (OPUS) and delivering maximum performance that can help
increase talk times by 10 percent, power savings by 30 percent, and battery
capacity by 10 percent. Skyworks noted that the SKY77519 FEM is also the industry's
smallest solution for open-polar EDGE architectures. Skyworks' Helios II-Plus
radios reduce RF board space by an additional 25 percent when compared to the
company's previous Helios designs. Skyworks said the Helios II-Plus radios can
interface with almost any analog baseband, and radically simplify factory calibration.
Skyworks
News Release Applied Materials Introduces High-k/Metal-gate Structures
CompoundSemi News StaffJuly 25, 2007...Applied Materials of Santa Clara, California USA, introduced a portfolio of
processes for building high-k/metal gate (HK/MG) structures in volume production.
According to the company, the new HK/MG materials will allow faster, and more
efficient chips. Applied Materials points out that at 45nm and lower, transistors
are extremely small and regular gate materials are no longer effective. The
company indicated that the most difficult part of designing new chips with HK/MG
materials optimizing the gate structures to have atomically-engineered interfaces
with the performance needed for volume manufacturing.
“For years, integrating new gate materials has been viewed by our
customers as the most formidable roadblock to scaling. We want to help them
minimize this risk by providing integration-proven HK/MG technologies to make
their transition faster,” said Tom St. Dennis, senior vice president
and general manager of Applied’s Silicon Systems Group. “Applied
has a strong history of helping customers integrate new materials into their
process flow, most recently with the transition to low k dielectrics. Since
we have the upstream and downstream technologies, we can optimize the process
sequence and help customers successfully integrate HK/MG technology to fabricate
their most advanced transistors.” Company
News Release Aixtron Reports on Arima's Purchase of Highest Capacity MOCVD System for LEDs
LIGHTimes StaffJuly 24, 2007...According to Aixtron, Arima Optoelectronics Corporation ordered another MOCVD
system from its long-time MOCVD system supplier Aixtron. The system that Arima
ordered is Aixtron’s latest and highest capacity gallium nitride (GaN)
MOCVD system, the AIX 2800G4 HT. Aixtron boasts that the system provides the
highest wafer capacity of any GaN MOCVD system on the market. Aixtron pointed
out that the MOCVD machine will be utilized in the production of GaN-based ultra-high
brightness LEDs.
Dr. P. J. Wang, President of Arima commented, "We have now chosen
the new 2800G4 system because of its excellent references and its proven performance.
Aixtron MOCVD systems are always dependable. Every system has performed as announced
or better whatever the type of optoelectronic product we are looking to manufacture.
For the shorter as well as longer wavelength HB-LEDs, our production capabilities
rely strongly on Aixtron technology and service.” He added, “The
Aixtron Planetary Reactor defines the industry standard of performance, dependability,
throughput and yield to give excellent operating costs and uptime. Without this
level of capability we could not continue to meet the market need for competitively
priced high brightness LEDs." Aixtron
News Release LG Electronics to Offer Hybrid DVD Drive
CompoundSemi News StaffJuly 23, 2007...LG Electronics of Taiwan reported that it will launch the GGC-H20LI hybrid
optical disk drive supporting both the Blu-ray Disc (BD) and HD DVD formats,
a Digitimes article indicated. The drive will come at a recommended
price of US$400. Unlike the Pioneer BDC-S02, a BD Combo drive, the LG drive
has its additional HD DVD read support. The multi format support comes at a
price. Instead of the US$299, pioneer is selling their BD combo drive for blue
ray and conventional DVDs, the hybrid drive from LG for Blu-ray, HD DVD, and
conventional DVDs will cost about $100 more. Sony, Philips as well as Taiwan-based
Lite-On IT, and Asustek Computer plan to offer BD Combo drives, with the same
functionality of the Pioneer combo drives, in the second half of the year, according
to the Digitimes article. Both HD DVD and Blu-ray DVD technology require the use of blue gallium nitride laser diodes. Mimix Introduces 32 to 45 GHz GaAs MMIC TransmitterJuly 22, 2007...Mimix Broadband Inc., of Houston, Texas USA, has introduced a gallium arsenide
monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) transmitter that operates from
32 to 45 GHz. It delivers 14dBm OIP3 and 5dB conversion gain with +4 dBm LO
drive level. The device utilizes .15 micron length GaAs pseudomorphic high electron
mobility transistor (pHEMT) technology. It integrates a balanced resistive mixer,
a distributed amplifier, a LO doubler, and a LO buffer amplifier. The device
called, XU1004-BD, is reportedly well suited for point-to-point radio, LMDS,
SatCom or VSAT applications.
“The high level of integration in the XU1004-BD allows our customers
to reduce the number of components on their board, facilitating a smaller design
area and fewer interconnects,” stated Paul Beasly, Product Manager,
Mimix Broadband, Inc. “The device is suitable for PTP commercial applications,
as well as defense applications where board-space is a critical design requirement.”
Company
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