In Brief: China, ATMI, and GaAs substrates
China plans to build an industrial base in Xiamen city, Fujian province, as part of a national project to develop its semiconductor lighting sector, according to the Chinese web-based newspaper, People s Daily Online.
Xiamen city was chosen for its strong electronic, industrial and research backgrounds. The city has been granted 15 million yuan ($1.87 million) in state funds for base construction, and aims to assist the semiconductor lighting industry in achieving an annual output of 30 billion yuan by 2010, according to the report.
ATMI sells semiconductor fab cleaning business
Materials supplier ATMI, based in Danbury, CT, has sold its semiconductor fabrication plant parts cleaning services business, called "Fab Services", to Materials Support Resources.
Materials Support Resources is a subsidiary of Support Resources Holdings, which delivers system repair and maintenance to semiconductor manufacturers and equipment suppliers.
"The sale includes the operations at five locations, in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oregon and Ireland," said Dan Sharkey, ATMI s chief financial officer.
Materials Support Resources has provided employment offers to Fab Services employees.
Strategy Analytics predicts GaAs substrate growthMarket analysis firm Strategy Analytics is predicting an average annual growth rate, in terms of materials, of 16% for GaAs substrates between 2003 and 2008. Two-inch material will continue to dominate demand in the industry, but four-inch material is expected to grow 40% year-on-year through 2008.
Japan will remain the primary production centre for GaAs substrates, led by Sumitomo Electric, Hitachi Cable and Mitsubishi Chemical, predicts Strategy Analytics.
APA Optics losses continueAPA Optics, based in Blaine, MN, has reported revenue for the fiscal year 2004 of $218,000, up $16,000 on the previous year. Net loss over the equivalent period was $5.5 million, compared with $4.9 million in fiscal 2003.
APA Optics concedes that results in its GaN activities were disappointing. "We incurred significant delays in ramping-up, manufacturing and marketing the PUVM (Personal UV Monitor). Reliable manufacturing of a machined component caused much of the delay," said Peter Nussbaum, manager for GaN products.
The company explained that introduction of its UV Meter product was delayed to focus on the PUVMs. It anticipates completion of the design and prototype build of the reconfigured UV Meter by the second quarter of fiscal year 2005.
The consolidated revenue for the APA Optics group, which includes APA Cables and Networks, was $11.9 million for fiscal year 2004. This is a 27-fold increase in revenue over the previous year, primarily due to the acquisition of Computer Systems Products in 2003.
