In brief: Cree, Nichia, Seoul, Aixtron, Anadigics
Cree and Nichia will keep disputes between themselves
Top-flight LED makers Nichia and Cree have extended their 2002 and 2005 cross-licensing agreements, and agreed that future disputes will not affect their customers.
The new agreement resolves patent claims that Nichia had made against Cree s Taiwan subsidiary, COTCO, and otherwise covers white LEDs and nitride lasers.
The LED companies have also agreed to a process that eliminates the impact of any new disputes on customers. Under the process, buyers can purchase products from one company without fear of being sued for patent infringement by the other.
Nichia takes Seoul patent battle to Korea
Nichia has opened a new round in its patent dispute with Seoul Semiconductor, by filing a lawsuit in the Seoul courts.
Seoul s top-view white LEDs, serial number TWH104-HS, are the focus of the suit, as Nichia claims they infringe its Korean patent, number 406201.
This is the latest in a series of Nichia patent claims against Seoul Semiconductor, which has previously involved action in the US and Japan against Seoul's side-view white LEDs. Seoul has previously responded by saying that it mostly uses Cree s chips, and that “companies should not use patents for their improper sales and marketing purpose in business activities”.
Aixtron gains another reactor order from China
Sun Yat-Sen University has placed an order for a 3x2-inch configuration Thomas Swan Close Coupled Showerhead MOCVD reactor from Aixtron.
The reactor will be installed in the Guangzhou region cleanrooms belonging to the University's optoelectronics research facility and will help cement Sun Yat-Sen s reputation as one of the country's leading research centers.
“The Thomas Swan CCS tool will match our needs for the development of heteroepitaxy of nitride-on-silicon for next generation lower cost materials,” commented Wang Gang, of the State Key Lab of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies.
Anadigics gets another helping of Chocolate
Warren, New Jersey, based Anadigics is shipping production volumes of its AWT6321R dual-band CDMA PAs for inclusion in the latest LG Chocolate phone.
“Our compact 3x5 mm dual-band CDMA PA requires 25 percent less board area compared to competitors single-band PAs, which enables LG to pack more multimedia features into slimmer handset designs,“ said Ali Khatibzadeh, who heads up Anadigics wireless business unit.
As in the dual-band AWT6310 CDMA PAs it provided for LG s first generation of Chocolate phones, the AWT6321R series is made using Anadigics InGaP-plus technology.
