Yearly Archives: 2017

A team of Hokkaido University researchers has developed a novel material synthesis method called proton-driven ion introduction (PDII) which utilizes a phenomenon similar to “ion billiards.” The new method could pave the way for creating numerous new materials, thus drastically advancing materials sciences.

The synthesis method is based on a liquid-free process that allows for intercalation – insertion of guest ions into a host material – and ion substitution with those in the host material by driving ions with protons. This study, led by Assistant Professor Masaya Fujioka and Professor Junji Nishii at the university’s Research Institute for Electric Science, was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society on November 16th.

Conventionally, intercalation and ion substitution have been conducted in an ion solution, but the process is regarded as cumbersome and problematic. In a liquid-based process, solvent molecules can be inserted into the host materials along with guest ions, degrading the crystal quality. It is also difficult to homogeneously introduce ions into host materials, and some host materials are not suitable when used with liquids.

In the PDII method, a high voltage of several kilovolts is applied to a needle-shaped anode placed in atmospheric hydrogen to generate protons via the electrolytic disassociation of hydrogen. The protons migrate along the electric field and are shot into the supply source of the desired ions – similar to balls in billiards – and the ions are driven out of the source to keep it electrically neutral. Ions forced out of the source are introduced, or intercalated, into a nanometer-level gap in the host material.

In this study, by using different materials as ion supply sources, the team succeeded in homogenously introducing lithium ions (Li+), sodium ions (Na+), potassium ions (K+), copper ions (Cu+) and silver ions (Ag+) into nanometer-level gaps in tantalum (IV) sulfide (TaS2), a layered material, while maintaining its crystallinity. Furthermore, the team successfully substituted Na+ of Na3V2(PO4)3 with K+, producing a thermodynamically metastable material, which cannot be obtained using the conventional solid-state reaction method.

“At present, we have shown that hydrogen ions (H+), Li+, Na+, K+, Cu+ and Ag+ can be used to introduce ions in our method, and we expect a larger variety of ions will be usable. By combining them with various host materials, our method could enable the production of numerous new materials,” says Masaya Fujioka. “In particular, if a method to introduce negatively charged ions and multivalent ions is established, it will spur the development of new functional materials in the solid ion battery and electronics fields.”

Kateeva, a developer of OLED production equipment solutions, today appointed Dr. Homer Antoniadis to the newly created role of Executive Vice President of Technology. With decades of technical and executive leadership in OLED displays and printed electronics, Dr. Antoniadis will drive the company’s technology development programs, and help customers optimize Kateeva’s YIELDjet systems for their OLED mass-production lines.

“Homer is among the early pioneers that brought OLED-enabled products into the mainstream,” said Kateeva’s President and COO, Dr. Conor Madigan. “A skilled technologist, he is particularly knowledgeable in OLED and printed electronics, with a talent for developing and productizing breakthrough technologies. His technical expertise will help us continue driving forward our applications programs in thin film encapsulation and RGB pixel deposition, and his broad technology vision will help ensure that Kateeva’s existing and new applications pipeline remains robust and focused on meeting our customers’ current and future needs. We’re thrilled to welcome Homer on board.”

“At Kateeva, I can fulfill my ambition to proliferate OLED technology while working with extraordinarily talented technologists,” said Dr. Antoniadis. “I’m excited to take a leadership role at the company.”

Dr. Antoniadis joins Kateeva from DuPont Silicon Valley Technology Center, where he served as CTO of the DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions Group following the company’s acquisition of Innovalight in 2011. Previously, he was CTO and VP of Engineering at Innovalight, a developer of silicon inks for the photovoltaic industry.

Before Innovalight, he held positions with Osram Opto Semiconductors, Hewlett-Packard Labs, and Xerox. At Osram, he led the worldwide OLED product development efforts, bringing a variety of display products from  R&D through engineering and into production. In addition, he raised funds and directed the company’s Department of Energy (DOE) Lighting Award program. Prior to Osram, he steered HP Labs’ OLED program to accomplishments that earned international recognition.

Widely recognized as an authority in the OLED and photovoltaics fields, Dr. Antoniadis is a frequent lecturer and conference chair at leading industry events. He served on the board of the International Photovoltaic Quality Assurance Task Force, as well as the PV Cell Tech Conference. In 2016, he was appointed to the National Research Energy Laboratory (NREL) External Advisory Council, and in March 2017, he was awarded the title of NextFlex Fellow.

Dr. Antoniadis has more than 70 publications in OLED displays, polymer materials, crystalline and amorphous silicon photovoltaics, and is a named inventor on more than 30 issued U.S. patents.

A native of Greece, he received his B.S. in physics from Ioannina University in Greece, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in physics from Syracuse University.

YIELDjet is a trademark of Kateeva, Inc.

InfinityQS International, Inc. (InfinityQS), the global authority on data-driven manufacturing quality, announces TEL NEXX, a metallization solutions provider to chip designers and manufacturers, is using its software to modernize shop floor data collection and quality control. Moving from a manual, paper-based system to an accessible database, the company has installed InfinityQS’ Quality Intelligence solution ProFicient on tablets for shop floor operators to directly enter data. This has improved the accuracy and timeliness of data capture and enabled rapid response to production issues. With access to historical data at the management level, TEL NEXX can also identify opportunities for quality and process improvements.

Brian Hart, Manufacturing Engineer, TEL NEXX, said, “ProFicient has made accessing a history for each product easy. As our database grows, we can extract information to drive continuous improvement projects and eliminate bottlenecks. What’s more, moving from a paper-based system to an accessible database has made us more efficient. As the projects and operators advance, we only expect to move faster and faster—with the same integrity.”

Historically, TEL NEXX collected data almost entirely manually, which required operators to duplicate data-entry steps by recording data on paper and then entering them into spreadsheets. These processes were time consuming and required rechecking to avoid errors. But now, operators are entering data once into ProFicient, and the data immediately becomes available for managers and administrators to review and provide feedback in real time. Direct data entry has also improved morale on the shop floor, with operators seeing the importance of data collection and taking greater ownership of the work.

Michael Lyle, President and CEO, InfinityQS, said, “When manufacturers rely on manual data entry, it creates inefficiencies that prevent them from responding to variations and other shop floor issues properly and in a timely manner. Instead, modern technologies are available that can create visibility for organizations into their quality data. This transparency enables them to not only make prompt corrections to ensure problems don’t compound, but also perform proactive analysis for continuous improvement.”

To support operator adoption, Hart is leading an incremental rollout of ProFicient and also gradually integrating the solution with TEL NEXX’s existing shop-floor systems. Notably, within just weeks of deploying ProFicient, Hart was able to detect equipment settings that had been inadvertently altered from the original specifications and in a few hours make adjustments so that the machine operated correctly moving forward.

SkyWater Technology Foundry announces that it has been assigned the Specialty Foundry customer relationships from Cypress Semiconductor Corporation. The customer relationships were already being serviced within SkyWater’s 200mm semiconductor wafer manufacturing facility when purchased from Cypress earlier this year. Through the transaction, SkyWater assumes ownership of Cypress’ current embedded Specialty Foundry customer engagements and adds associated business management personnel.

“This transaction builds upon the concept of a Technology Foundry, which enables customers to design, build, and scale their products by simplifying the realization of complex technologies through access to semiconductor technology, experienced personnel and volume manufacturing capabilities,” said SkyWater Chairman of the Board Gary Obermiller. “The addition of the Specialty Foundry customers is synergistic with our pure-play Technology Foundry model; customers come to us with their ideas and we transform them into practice through the application of our differentiated semiconductor technology and operational expertise.”

The Technology Foundry Business model enables customers to design and optimize their product concepts. In tandem with SkyWater’s advanced wafer manufacturing facility, customers are able to prototype and rapidly scale to production volumes, all inside of a high-yield production fab.

“The Specialty Foundry Business was created in 2008 with the vision of providing advanced development access to a high-volume production-scale fab, building on the site’s proven track record of success in bringing new technologies to production,” said Michael Moore, executive vice president of Sales and Marketing at SkyWater. “It’s in our DNA. We’ve been doing development work at this site for decades, right alongside production.  This move is a natural next step for the company and our customers.  We have successfully diversified the customer base this way, by serving new and unique markets that are poised for rapid growth.”

As part of the assignment, which closed October 2, SkyWater will now have direct responsibility for all Specialty Foundry Business customers, eliminating the prior Cypress interface. Because of the existing working relationship between all parties, there will be a seamless transition for all current projects; the same team will continue working with all existing customers, the only difference being that they are now SkyWater employees.

Within SkyWater’s manufacturing facility there are a wide variety of unique technologies currently being developed and manufactured – from superconducting quantum computers to advanced technology Readout IC’s (ROIC), MEMS-based infrared imagers, DNA sequencing and fabrication platforms, and photonic integrated circuit (PIC) devices.

According to SkyWater’s Senior Director of Sales Brad Ferguson, “These types of Technology engagements just start with a simple conversation about our capabilities, and once Customers see the potential of our Technology Foundry solution, they realize this is the right place to transform their concepts into a manufactured product.”

SkyWater is a U.S.-based technology foundry specializing in the development and manufacturing of a wide variety of semiconductor based solutions.

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today announced the SIA Board of Directors has elected Matt Murphy, president and CEO of Marvell Semiconductor, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRVL), as its 2018 Chair and Sanjay Mehrotra, president and CEO of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU), as its 2018 Vice Chair.

SIA Matt Murphy headshot

“It is a great pleasure to welcome Matt Murphy as SIA’s 2018 Chair and Sanjay Mehrotra as SIA’s Vice Chair,” said John Neuffer, SIA President and CEO. “Matt is a strong leader, an industry veteran, and an outstanding champion for SIA and our industry. An engineer by trade, Sanjay is a mainstay in our industry and a respected voice on semiconductor technology. Together, their skills and accomplishments will be a major asset to advancing SIA’s priorities in Washingtonand around the world.”

Murphy has led Marvell since joining the company in July 2016, and serves as a member of the company’s board of directors. Since that time, he has led the company’s turnaround and reestablished Marvell as a leading innovator in storage and networking technology.

Prior to joining Marvell, Murphy spent over two decades at Maxim Integrated, most recently as Executive Vice President of Business Units and Sales & Marketing, overseeing all product development and go-to-market activities. Previously, Murphy managed the company’s Communications & Automotive Solutions Group, led Worldwide Sales & Marketing, and served in a range of other business unit management positions.

“Few technologies have impacted the modern world more than semiconductors, and we’re now entering an era that promises even greater change,” said Murphy. “However, progress isn’t guaranteed unless the United States does more to support research, boost competitiveness, and promote global trade. As 2018 SIA Chair, I look forward to working with my colleagues to champion these priorities.”

Mehrotra joined Micron in May 2017, after a long and distinguished career at SanDisk Corporation where he led the company from a start-up in 1988 until its eventual sale in 2016. In addition to being a SanDisk co-founder, Mr. Mehrotra served as its President and CEO from 2011 to 2016, overseeing its growth to a Fortune 500 company.

Prior to SanDisk, Mr. Mehrotra held design engineering positions at Integrated Device Technology, Inc., SEEQ Technology and Intel Corporation. Mehrotra earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of California, Berkeley. He holds more than 70 patents and has published articles on nonvolatile memory design and flash memory systems.

“Semiconductor technology has revolutionized our society and transformed our economy,” said Mehrotra. “The success of our industry is driven, in part, by our unity of purpose. Working together through SIA, we can ensure continued U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, design, and research. I look forward to helping lead that effort as 2018 SIA Vice Chair.”

With flexible active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) panel fabs building at a quicker pace than global demand, supply capacity of flexible AMOLED panels is forecast to be 44 percent higher than global demand in 2018, according to IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO).

The net area capacity of flexible AMOLED panels is expected to reach 4.4 million square meters in 2018, up 100 percent from 2017. However, demand for flexible AMOLED panels is increasing slower than suppliers’ expectation, at 69.9 percent to 2.4 million square meters in 2018, according to the AMOLED & Flexible Display Intelligence Service by IHS Markit.

171114_flexible_AMOLED_supply_capacity_and_demand_balance_forecast

“Panel makers had expected that flexible AMOLED panels would penetrate into the smartphone market fast,” said Jerry Kang, principal analyst of display research at IHS Markit. “But, this year, most smartphone brands have focused on LCD or rigid AMOLED wide-screens with an 18:9 or higher aspect ratio rather than curved screens using flexible AMOLED panels because the price of flexible AMOLED module is still much higher.”

According to the OLED Display Cost Model by IHS Markit, it costs 1.5 times more to produce flexible OLED panels in the Gen 6 production line than to make rigid OLED panels in the same Gen 6 line.

“The wide-screen smartphone is expected to maintain its competiveness against one with curved edge screen for a while,” Kang said.

Due to the high cost, smartphone brands use the flexible AMOLED panels for their highest-end product segment, making it more difficult for the second-tier flexible AMOLED panel suppliers to meet the product qualification. “This may result in seriously low fab utilization at the second-tier panel suppliers,” Kang said.

The AMOLED & Flexible Display Intelligence Service covers the latest trend and forecast of the AMOLED display industries (including shadow mask and PI substrates), technology and capacity analysis, and panel suppliers’ business strategies by region.

The OLED Display Cost Model provides more detailed cost analysis of OLED panels, including details of boards, arrays, luminescent materials, encapsulants, direct materials such as driver ICs. The report also covers overheads such as occupancy rate, selling, general and depreciation costs. In addition, this report analyzes OLED panels in a wide range of sizes and applications.

The stacked color sensor


November 16, 2017

The human eye has three different types of sensory cells for the perception of colour: cells that are respectively sensitive to red, green and blue alternate in the eye and combine their information to create an overall colored image. Image sensors, for example in mobile phone cameras, work in a similar way: blue, green and red sensors alternate in a mosaic-like pattern. Intelligent software algorithms calculate a high-resolution colour image from the individual colour pixels.

However, the principle also has some inherent limitations: as each individual pixel can only absorb a small part of the light spectrum that hits it, a large part of the light is lost. In addition, the sensors have basically reached the limits of miniaturization, and unwanted image disturbances can occur; these are known as color moiré effects and have to be laboriously removed from the finished image.

Transparent only for certain colors

Researchers have therefore been working for a number of years on the idea of stacking the three sensors instead of placing them next to each other. Of course, this requires that the sensors on top let through the light frequencies that they do not absorb to the sensors underneath. At the end of the 1990s, this type of sensor was successfully produced for the first time. It consisted of three stacked silicon layers, each of which absorbed only one colour.

This actually resulted in a commercially available image sensor. However, this was not successful on the market because the absorption spectra of the different layers were not distinct enough, so part of the green and red light was absorbed by the blue-sensitive layer. The colors therefore blurred and the light sensitivity was thus lower than for ordinary light sensors. In addition, the production of the absorbing silicon layers required a complex and expensive manufacturing process.

Empa researchers have now succeeded in developing a sensor prototype that circumvents these problems. It consists of three different types of perovskites – a semiconducting material that has become increasingly important during the last few years, for example in the development of new solar cells, due to its outstanding electrical properties and good optical absorption capacity. Depending on the composition of these perovskites, they can, for example, absorb part of the light spectrum, but remain transparent for the rest of the spectrum. The researchers in Maksym Kovalenko’s group at Empa and ETH Zurich used this principle to create a color sensor with a size of just one pixel. The researchers were able to reproduce both simple one-dimensional and more realistic two-dimensional images with an extremely high color fidelity.

Accurate recognition of colors

The advantages of this new approach are clear: the absorption spectra are clearly differentiated and the colour recognition is thus much more precise than with silicon. In addition, the absorption coefficients, especially for the light components with higher wavelengths (green and red), are considerably higher in the perovskites than in silicon. As a result, the layers can be made significantly smaller, which in turn allows smaller pixel sizes. This is not crucial in the case of ordinary camera sensors; however, for other analysis technologies, such as spectroscopy, this could permit significantly higher spatial resolution. The perovskites can also be produced using a comparatively cheap process.

However, more work is still needed in order to further develop this prototype into a commercially usable image sensor. Key areas include the miniaturisation of pixels and the development of methods for producing an entire matrix of such pixels in one step. According to Kovalenko, this should be possible with existing technologies.

Perovskites are such a promising material in research that the prestigious journal Science has published a special edition about them. It includes a review article by the Empa/ETH research group led by Maksym Kovalenko about the current state of research and potential uses of lead halide perovskites nanocrystals.

These have properties that make them a promising candidate for the development of semiconductor nanocrystals for various optoelectronic applications such as television screens, LEDs and solar cells: they are inexpensive to manufacture, have a high tolerance to defects and can be tuned precisely to emit light in a specific colour spectrum.

AKHAN Semiconductor, a technology company specializing in the fabrication and application of lab-grown, electronics-grade diamond, announced today the issuance by the Japan Patent Office of a patent covering a method for the fabrication of diamond semiconductor materials, core to applications in automotive, aerospace, consumer electronics, military, defense, and telecommunications systems, amongst others.

“We are ecstatic to be awarded this key patent in Japan. Its issuance protects our proprietary interests in diamond semiconductor in one of the nations leading the globe in diamond research,” said Adam Khan, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, AKHAN Semiconductor, Inc. “Following this year’s issuances of a Taiwan diamond semiconductor patent, and a major US diamond transparent electronics patent, the Japan patent issuance is a further testament to AKHAN’s leadership in the diamond semiconductor space.”

Japan, which has actively funded millions of dollars into diamond electronics research since 2002, earlier this year announced marked progress in the development of diamond semiconductor device performance. The AKHAN granted and issued patent, JP6195831 (B2), is a foreign counterpart of other issued and pending patents owned by AKHAN Semiconductor, Inc. that are used in the company’s Miraj Diamond Platform products. As a key landmark patent, the claims protect uses far beyond the existing applications, including microprocessor applications. Covering the base materials common to nearly all semiconductor components, the intellectual property can be realized in everything from diodes, transistors, and power inverters, to fully functioning diamond chips such as integrated circuitry.

AKHAN’s flagship Miraj Diamond Glass for mobile display and camera lens is 6x stronger, 10x harder, and runs over 800x cooler than leading glass competitors like Gorilla Glass by coating standard commercial glass such as aluminosilicate, BK7, and Fused Silica with lab-grown nanocrystalline diamond. Diamond-based technology is capable of increasing power density as well as creating faster, lighter, and simpler devices for consumer use. Cheaper and thinner than its silicon counterparts, diamond-based electronics could become the industry standard for energy efficient electronics.

“This patent adds to the list of other key patents in the field of Diamond Semiconductor that are owned by the company, including the ability to fabricate transparent electronics, as well as the ability to form reliable metal contacts to diamond semiconductor systems,” said Carl Shurboff, President and Chief Operating Officer, AKHAN Semiconductor, Inc. “This patent bolsters the supporting evidence of AKHAN’s leadership in manufacturing diamond semiconductor products, and supports ongoing efforts with our major defense, aerospace and space system development partners.”

 

For the first time ever, SEMICON Southeast Asia (SEMICON SEA), the region’s premier gathering of the industry connecting people, products, technologies and solutions across the electronics manufacturing supply chain, will be held in Kuala Lumpur. Taking place 8 to 10 May 2018, the conference will debut in the newly constructed Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC). With more than 85 percent of the exhibition space already sold, SEMICON SEA 2018 will represent companies from Southeast Asia, China, Taiwan, Europe and the U.S.  More than 300 companies will exhibit and as many as 8,000 visitors from 15 countries are expected to participate in SEMICON SEA. Organised by SEMI, SEMICON SEA 2018 theme will be “Think Smart Make Smart.”

The Southeast Asia region is a world-class electronics manufacturing hub with end-to-end R&D capabilities, and SEMICON SEA 2018 is the comprehensive platform for the electronics industry in the region. The event will feature three themed pavilions, five country pavilions, keynote presentations, and forums that will address critical trending topics within the semiconductor eco-system. The show will connect decision makers from the industry, demonstrate the most advanced products, and provide the most up-to-date market and technology trends.

Ng Kai Fai, president of SEMI Southeast Asia says, “The growth of SEMICON Southeast Asia is attributed to the rapid expansion and robust growth of the Electrical & Electronics (E&E) sector across Southeast Asia, with companies emerging as world leaders in mobile, automotive, medical and Internet of Things (IoT) supply chains. As one of the high-growth markets in the region, Malaysia contributes 44 percent of the total manufacturing output and 26 percent of the total Gross Domestic Product of the region and is forecasted to generate approximately US$ 382 billion in exports in 2018.”

Over the past three years, SEMICON SEA has become the annual gathering of the full regional supply chain. SEMICON SEA 2018 will feature a supplier search programme to encourage cross-border business matching as well as a technology start-up platform which will bring together Southeast Asia technology entrepreneurial resources. In conjunction with SEMICON SEA 2018, this event will also include the SEMICON University Programme which aims to encourage and promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) interest amongst young talent and will also include a job fair.

Seoul Semiconductor has developed an ultra-compact LED driver series with a power density 5X higher than conventional LED drivers. Based on Seoul Semiconductor’s patented Acrich technology, the MicroDriver Series delivers more than 24W of output power with a power density of 20W/cubic inch cubic inch, compared to existing drivers at 3-5W/cubic inch. Measuring just 1.5″ x 1.1″ x 0.8″ (38mm x 28mm x 20.5mm), the MicroDriver is 80% smaller than conventional LED drivers, giving lighting designers the ability to develop ultra-thin and novel luminaires with flicker-free operation.

“The new MicroDriver Series LED drivers will have a significant impact on external converters, enabling lighting design engineers to dramatically reduce the size, weight and volume of their luminaires,” explained Keith Hopwood, executive vice-president at Seoul Semiconductor. “This breakthrough in size reduction for the MicroDriver Series is the result of the company’s continuing investment in Acrich high voltage LED technology, delivering benefits for customers in smaller size, increased efficiency and lower costs.”

The MicroDriver Series LED drivers are ideal for lighting designs such as wall sconces, vanity lights, downlights, and flush-mounted lighting fixture applications. The MicroDriver Series’ smaller size facilitates the conversion of these applications to LED light sources, which was not previously possible due to bulky conventional LED drivers, making halogen lamp replacement possible without the need for a large volume recess for the driver, or a reduction in light output.

The MicroDriver Series LED drivers are ideal for luminaire designs up to 2,400 lumens, and their compact size enables integration of the lighting control circuitry with the external converter. This gives lighting designers the capability to mount more light sources on the board or reduce the total size of the fixture and mounting plate.

The resulting decrease in the LED drivers’ physical size has significant business implications for the lighting industry, giving lighting designers the ability to shrink the size of light fixtures by as much as 20%, which reduces shipping and storage costs. Because conventional LED drivers are both heavy and bulky, they are typically shipped via sea freight from manufacturers in Asia to European and North American fixture companies, with transit times up to six weeks. The MicroDriver Series LED drivers are small and lightweight enough to make airfreight practical and economical, reducing lead time and streamlining the overall supply chain.

The MicroDriver Series is rated to IP66, and is available in 10 models, rated for 8 – 24W in 120V or 230V versions, for LED assemblies from 900-2400 lumens. The drivers are CE recognized, provide flicker-free operation for phase-cut dimmers, and are compliant to California Title 24, enabling lighting designers to meet the most challenging design requirements, including low flicker, high power factor, Class B EMI and 2.5kV surge.