December 2007 Archives

Raleigh, NC / December 28, 2007 - Kyma Technologies, Inc., a leading supplier of ultra-high purity crystalline gallium nitride (GaN) and aluminum nitride (AlN) materials and related products and services, announced the signing of a US Navy Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between the company and Naval Surface Warfare Center - Crane Division (NSWC Crane).

Riber has signed a new contract for the purchase of a production machine in Asia.

FREMONT, Calif., Dec 27, 2007 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Avanex Corporation (NASDAQ:AVNX), a pioneer of intelligent photonic solutions that enable next-generation optical networks, today reported that it filed an arbitration complaint in New York against 3S Photonics, of Marcoussis, France. The arbitration complaint alleges various breaches by 3S Photonics of its obligations to Avanex, including that 3S Photonics prematurely terminated its exclusive distribution agreement with Avanex.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - December 24, 2007 - Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (NYSE: TDY) announced today that its subsidiary, Teledyne Scientific & Imaging, LLC, has entered into an agreement to acquire assets of Judson Technologies, LLC ("Judson"). Judson, headquartered in Montgomeryville, Pa., is a leading designer and manufacturer of high performance infrared detectors and accessory products. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The closing of the transaction, which is subject to various conditions, is anticipated to occur on February 1, 2008.

GREENSBORO, N.C., Dec. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- RF Micro Devices, Inc. (Nasdaq: RFMD - News), a global leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance radio frequency systems and solutions, and Filtronic PLC (LSE: FTC - News) today announced a definitive agreement pursuant to which RFMD will acquire Filtronic Compound Semiconductors Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Filtronic PLC, for an acquisition price of approximately 12.5 million pounds in cash.

The acquisition price includes the purchase of Filtronic Compound Semiconductors' six-inch GaAs wafer fabrication facility ("fab") at Newton Aycliffe, United Kingdom, which is currently a major supplier of GaAs pHEMT semiconductors to RFMD. The acquisition price also includes the purchase of Filtronic Compound Semiconductors' millimeter wave RF semiconductor business.

Washington, DC (announced 18 December 2007) -- The high electron mobilities of selected III-V compounds make them prime candidates for future NMOS channel materials, with an indium-based gallium-arsenide (InGaAs) likely to be the material of choice, industry experts agreed during a SEMATECH-led workshop at the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM).

New Digital Optical Network to Support Fast, Reliable UK-Wide Broadband Service

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Dec. 19, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The Carphone Warehouse (LSE:CPW.L - News), Europe's leading mobile phone retailer and one of the UK's leading Internet service providers, has selected Infinera (NasdaqGM:INFN - News) for its national backbone network in the United Kingdom.

Svyazinvest's North-West Telecom Continues to Grow with IPG Products

OXFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IPG Photonics Corporation (NASDAQ: IPGP - News) today announced that its Russian subsidiary, NTO IRE-POLUS, is supplying its DWDM equipment to North-West Telecom of Svyazinvest, one of the leading telecom companies in Russia. IPG has shipped over $3.8 million over the last 12 months to support several network expansion projects by North-West Telecom.

FREMONT, CA, Dec 18, 2007 - AXT, Inc. (NASDAQ: AXTI), a leading manufacturer of compound semiconductor substrates, announced today that it has been awarded a production order from IQE plc for semi-insulating gallium arsenide (GaAs) substrates for IQE's 2008 worldwide substrate requirements. This agreement is valued at approximately $15.1 million, with an option to purchase an additional $3.5 million of substrates. All substrates ordered under this contract are to be shipped by the end of 2008. The substrates ordered by IQE are primarily 6-inch semi-insulating GaAs.

Company Outsources "Necsel" Wafer Processing to Ramp-Up for High-Volume Consumer Display Applications

SUNNYVALE, Calif., December 12, 2007 - Novalux, Inc., developer of Necsel(tm) laser technology, has sold its Sunnyvale wafer fabrication facility to an undisclosed Silicon Valley company in a transaction that closed November 21, 2007.

Spire Corporation, a global solar company providing turnkey solar factories and capital equipment to manufacture photovoltaic modules worldwide, today announced that Bandwidth Semiconductor, Spire's wholly owned subsidiary, will become Spire Semiconductor effective January 1, 2008.

Aachen/Germany, December 14, 2007 - Philipps-University of Marburg, one of the leading research centres in Germany, has placed an order for a Close Coupled Showerhead (CCS) 300mm CRIUS cluster system that includes two silicon- and III/V-based material MOVPE modules.

Oxford Instruments, the high-technology tools and systems company, is pleased to announce that it has won an order for 9 process tool systems, worth a total in excess of GBP2.5m (~$5m), to equip a new cleanroom facility at the University of Southampton, UK.

San Jose, CA - A number of groundbreaking power LED lighting designs that have been made possible by the miniature package size and high output per mm2 of the LUXEON Rebel LED from Philips Lumileds are set to hit the market in the coming weeks.

World's leader in submarine pump laser modules, the French expert in nanotechnologies plans to win 15% of the terrestrial pump laser module market by the end of 2008

Paris, 12 December 2007 - 3S PHOTONICS, a leading manufacturer of laser chips and modules for telecommunication networks, announces the kick-off of a complete product line of 980 nm terrestrial pump laser modules.

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico, Dec. 12 - EMCORE Corporation, a leading provider of compound semiconductor-based components and subsystems for the broadband, fiber optic, satellite, and terrestrial solar power markets, announced today that it has signed a memorandum of understanding for the supply of 60MW of solar power systems that are scheduled for deployment in Ontario, Canada over the next three years.

REDONDO BEACH, Calif., Dec. 11, 2007 - Northrop Grumman Corporation has set a new world record for transistor speed with an ultra-fast device that will provide much higher frequency and bandwidth capabilities for future military communications, radar and intelligence applications.

SAN DIEGO, CA - December 11, 2007 - E-Band Communications Corporation (EBCC), developer of ultra-high capacity millimeter-wave wireless transmission systems, has raised $10 million in its Series B financing Round. Reliance Technology Ventures Limited (RTVL), the corporate venture capital arm of the Reliance ADA Group, led the round which included investment from ADC Telecommunications, Express Ventures, Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Inc., Investec and a major wireless carrier.

Dublin, Ireland - December 6, 2007 - Evans Analytical Group (EAG), a leading global provider of materials characterization and microelectronic "release to production" and failure analysis (RTP/FA) testing services, announced today that it has acquired White Mountain Labs LLC (WML). WML is a leading provider of electrostatic discharge (ESD) and latch-up testing, a key set of RTP/FA services used in testing the reliability of integrated circuits and qualifying them for final volume production. WML has 17 employees, all of whom are continuing with the business, and is located in Phoenix, Arizona.

New L4 Series Generates 10W of Power in Compact Package For Industrial, Medical and Dental Applications

MILPITAS, Calif., Dec. 11 - JDSU today announced that it has released the most powerful fiber-coupled diode laser solution with its next-generation L4 platform.

Money To Help Mature New Semiconductor Materials Technology

MIDLAND, Mich., Dec. 11 - Dow Corning Compound Semiconductor Solutions (DCCSS) has been awarded a $4.2 million contract from the U.S. Office of Naval Research to develop semiconductor silicon carbide (SiC) materials technology.

Showa Denko K.K. (SDK) has decided to increase its production capacity of aluminum-gallium-indium-phosphide (AlGaInP) ultrabright LED chips at the Chichibu Plant from 100 million units a month at present to 200 million units a month by the end of 2008.

Patent filed to achieve competitive advantage in technology

SEOUL, KOREA (December 11, 2007) - Seoul Semiconductor, one of the world's leading LED manufacturers, announced today that it has launched the world's thinnest chip-LED at 0.17mm, capable of producing more than two times the brightness of existing chip-LEDs. Seoul Semiconductor has applied for a patent for its new chip.

Bespoke Lighting has recently merged and combined skills with LEDtronics, Inc., a Los Angeles, CA, based LED lighting company, in developing a unique method of illuminating chandeliers using light emitting diodes (LEDs).

WEST CHESTER, PA, December 10, 2007 - Johnson Matthey Gas Purification
Technology (GPT) group, a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of
Highly reliable bulk and point-of-use purifiers, announced today that they have supplied two Model PSH-60 hydrogen purifiers, capable of hydrogen flows of 60 Nm3/hr to Tekcore Co, LTD. in Nantou, Taiwan. Johnson Matthey has now supplied Tekcore with five bulk hydrogen purifiers. The sale was obtained by JM's Taiwanese sales and service agent - Pionics Technology Corp.

Driver Information and External Vehicle Lighting Drive Highest Growth

Boston, MA - December 7, 2007-- The latest Strategy Analytics study, from its Automotive Electronics and Gallium Arsenide practices, on LED markets, focuses on LED demand from the automotive sector. "Automotive LED Market Demand: Exterior Lighting Driving Major Growth Opportunity" forecasts the expanding use of LEDs into automotive LCD backlighting and exteriors lighting--most recently, fully LED based front headlights. Major LED vendors, including Nichia, OSRAM and Lumileds are currently working with automotive partners to gain a major share of a market that will be worth $1 billion by 2014.

Star performance for lighting technology

For outstanding research work on innovative lighting technologies Dr. Klaus Streubel and Dr. Stefan Illek from OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, together with Dr. Andreas Bräuer from the Fraunhofer Institute for Optics and Precision Engineering in Jena, were awarded this year's prize for technology and innovation from the President of Germany. The German Future Prize for 2007 was awarded specifically for thin-film chip technology and its application in the Ostar family of LEDs.

New Competitively Priced Low-Power Red, Green, Blue and Amber Compact LED Lamps Offer Narrow Viewing Angle, and Superior Reliability

SAN JOSE, Calif.- Avago Technologies, a leading supplier of analog interface components for communications, industrial and consumer applications, today introduced a new series of competitively priced high-brightness Red, Green, Blue and Amber subminiature light emitting diode (LED) lamps for use in a variety of industrial and consumer applications where space is limited.

December 3, 2007, Ottawa, Canada: Cyrium Technologies, an Ottawa (Canada) based firm
developing high efficiency multi-junction solar cells, announced today that the firm has now
secured over $5.5 million in total funding.

Innovative design provides flexible configuration and eliminates cables and accessory rack

TOKYO, JAPAN (5 December, 2007) -- Edwards, a leading supplier of vacuum, abatement and chemical management equipment and services, today announced its new iXA (TM) series of magnetic bearing turbomolecular vacuum pumps.

WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Skyworks Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWKS - News), an innovator of high-performance analog and mixed signal semiconductors enabling mobile connectivity, today announced that Huawei, a rapidly emerging leader in network infrastructure, is leveraging multiple devices from its portfolio including downconverters, front-end modules, power amplifiers, attenuators and switches, for both GSM and WCDMA base station platforms.

Shipments extend RFMD's leadership in EDGE RF solutions

GREENSBORO, N.C., Dec. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- RF Micro Devices, (Nasdaq: RFMD - News), a global leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance radio frequency systems and solutions, today announced it is supporting the ramp of Huawei's U120E 3G multi-mode (UMTS/EDGE) handset with its RF3161 quad-band large signal polar modulation (LSPM) EDGE power amplifier (PA) module.

On December 4, Seoul Semiconductor Corp. filed a complaint with the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) alleging that Nichia Corporation engaged in unfair trade practices through the importation and sales of Gallium Nitride (GaN) based laser diode products that infringe Seoul Semiconductor's US Patent No. 5,321,713 ('713 patent).

OIPT upgrade for dry-etch de-processing

Oxford Instruments, the high-technology tools and systems company, is pleased to release its latest upgrade for dry etch de-processing in semiconductor failure analysis (FA), the Plasma Accelerator for advanced die processing.

Aachen/Germany; December 4, 2007 - AIXTRON AG today announced it had received an order for several new AIX 2800G4 high capacity MOCVD reactors from Lung-Tan, Taoyuan, Taiwan, based company Forepi Formosa Epitaxy Inc.

HILLSBORO, OR (USA) - December 3, 2007 -TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc (Nasdaq: TQNT), the world's largest GaAs foundry supplier, today introduced TQBiHEMT, its latest foundry process for wireless/RF design engineers. This new manufacturing capability combines two of TriQuint's previous processes, offering designers one technology to integrate previously incompatible functional blocks onto a single die, reducing part count, saving board space and improving overall system costs.