Category Archives: LED Manufacturing

Worldwide industrial semiconductor revenues grew by 11.8 percent year over year, reaching $49.1 billion in 2017, according to the latest analysis from IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO). Industrial electronics equipment demand was broad-based, with continued growth in commercial and military aircraft, LED lighting, digital signage, digital video surveillance, climate control, smart meters, traction, photovoltaic (PV) inverters, human machine interface and various medical electronics like cardiac equipment, hearing aids, endoscopy and imaging systems. The industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.1 percent through 2022.

Optical semiconductors delivered excellent performance, due to the continued strength of the general LED lighting market. Power discretes demand has ramped up in industrial motor drives, EV chargers, PV inverters, traction and lighting equipment. General purpose analog has a strong five-year growth in various industrial markets, especially in factory automation, power and energy, and lighting. Microcontrollers (MCUs) are also projected to experience broad-based growth in the long term, thanks to advances in power efficiency and integration features.

“The resilient economy in the United States, and strong demand in China, carried the lion’s share of industrial equipment demand in 2017,” said Robbie Galoso, associate director and principal analyst, industrial semiconductors, for IHS Markit. “A European resurgence also provided a strong tailwind for semiconductor growth.”

Global industrial semiconductor market share rankings

Strategic acquisitions continued to play a major role in shaping the overall semiconductor market rankings in key industrial semiconductor segments. All the following top 10 industrial semiconductor suppliers achieved revenue growth in 2017:

  1. Texas Instruments (TI) maintained its position as the largest industrial semiconductor supplier in 2017.
  2. The acquisition of Linear Technology catapulted Analog Devices into second position.  The combined Analog Devices and Linear Technology company generated $2.8 billion in industrial revenue in 2017. This acquisition boosted ADI’s industrial market shares in diversified segments within factory automation, military aerospace, video surveillance, test and measurement, medical, and power and energy applications.
  3. Intel ranked third, as the company’s Internet of Things (IoT) division continued to generate double-digit revenue growth attributed to innovation and strength in its factory automation, video surveillance and medical segments. Growth was also aided by the proliferation of smart and connected devices and a tremendous uplift in data analytics.
  4. Ranking fourth, Infineon’s strong revenue growth continued to be led by industrial applications, especially in factory automation, traction and various power and energy segments like PV, electric vehicle chargers and power supplies, where its leading discrete and power management devices are used.
  5. In fifth position, STMicroelectronics solid industrial revenue stream stems from a variety of applications, including factory and building automation, where its MCU, analog and discrete components are used.
  6. Micron’s organic revenue from industrial businesses continued to flourish in 2017, pushing the company into sixth place, driven by dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) growth in industrial IoT (IIoT) markets, spanning factory automation, video surveillance and transportation.
  7. Toshiba ranked seventh, with industrial electronics revenue growing to $1.5 billion in 2017. Growth was driven by power transistor discretes, MCU, optical and logic integrated circuit (IC) solutions in manufacturing and process automation, power and energy, and building and home control.
  8. Microchip Technology ranked eighth, and its revenue growth was primarily supported by MCU solutions in manufacturing and process automation, power and energy, and building and home control.
  9. ON Semiconductor was ranked ninth in 2017, driven by manufacturing and process automation, including machine vision, power and energy, building automation and hearing aids and other medical devices.
  10. NXP ranked tenth in the industrial market, with its strong presence in manufacturing and process automation, building and home control, medical electronics and other industrial applications.

Although not part of the top 10 ranking, China’s massive investments in LED manufacturing were especially noteworthy. Chinese firm MLS rose from 18th to 13th place, after posting 50 percent revenue growth and reaching $1 billion in 2017. MLS beat out other leading general lighting LEDs suppliers Nichia, Osram and Cree.

ON Semiconductor (Nasdaq: ON), driving energy efficient innovations, has announced an expansion of its silicon carbide (SiC) Schottky diode portfolio to include devices specifically intended for demanding automotive applications. The new AEC-Q101 automotive grade SiC diodes deliver the reliability and ruggedness needed by modern automotive applications, along with the numerous performance benefits synonymous with Wide Band Gap (WBG) technologies.

SiC technology provides superior switching performance and higher reliability compared to silicon devices. The diodes have no reverse recovery current and switching performance is independent of temperature. Excellent thermal performance, increased power density and reduced EMI, as well as decreased system size and cost, make SiC a compelling choice for the growing number of high-performance automotive applications.

ON Semiconductor’s new SiC diodes are available in popular surface mount and through-hole packages, including TO-247, D2PAK and DPAK. The FFSHx0120 1200 Volt (V) Gen1 devices and FFSHx065 650 V Gen2 devices offer zero reverse recovery, low forward voltage, temperature independent current stability, extremely low leakage current, high surge capacity and a positive temperature coefficient. They deliver improved efficiency, while the faster recovery increases switching speeds, thereby reducing the size of magnetic components required.

In order to meet the robustness requirements and perform reliably in the harsh electrical environments of automotive applications, the diodes have been designed to withstand high surge currents. They also include a unique, patented termination structure that improves reliability and enhances stability. Operating temperature range is -55°C to +175°C.

“By expanding our Schottky diode range with AEC qualified devices, ON Semiconductor is bringing the significant benefits of SiC technology to automotive applications, allowing our customers to achieve the demanding performance requirements of this sector,” said Fabio Necco, Senior Director, ON Semiconductor. “SiC technology is a perfect fit for the automotive environment, where it delivers greater efficiency, faster switching, improved thermal performance and high levels of robustness. In a sector where saving space and weight are critical, the greater power density of SiC, which helps reduce overall solution size, along with the associated benefit of smaller magnetics, is most welcome.”

The new devices will be demonstrated during PCIM, along with the company’s solutions in areas such as Wide Band Gap, Automotive, Motor Control, USB Type-C power delivery, LED Lighting and Smart Passive Sensors (SPS) for industrial predictive maintenance applications.

ON Semiconductor will also be demonstrating its industry-leading advanced SPICE model that is sensitive to process parameter and layout perturbations, and therefore represents a step-change versus current industry modelling capabilities. Using this tool, circuit designers can evaluate technologies early in the simulation process, rather than through costly and time consuming fabrication iterations. A further benefit of ON Semiconductor’s robust SPICE agnostic model is that it can port across multiple industry standard simulation platforms.

A new way of enhancing the interactions between light and matter, developed by researchers at MIT and Israel’s Technion, could someday lead to more efficient solar cells that collect a wider range of light wavelengths, and new kinds of lasers and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that could have fully tunable color emissions.

The fundamental principle behind the new approach is a way to get the momentum of light particles, called photons, to more closely match that of electrons, which is normally many orders of magnitude greater. Because of the huge disparity in momentum, these particles usually interact very weakly; bringing their momenta closer together enables much greater control over their interactions, which could enable new kinds of basic research on these processes as well as a host of new applications, the researchers say.

The new findings, based on a theoretical study, are being published today in the journal Nature Photonics in a paper by Yaniv Kurman of Technion (the Israel Institute of Technology, in Haifa); MIT graduate student Nicholas Rivera; MIT postdoc Thomas Christensen; John Joannopoulos, the Francis Wright Davis Professor of Physics at MIT; Marin Soljacic, professor of physics at MIT; Ido Kaminer, a professor of physics at Technion and former MIT postdoc; and Shai Tsesses and Meir Orenstein at Technion.

While silicon is a hugely important substance as the basis for most present-day electronics, it is not well-suited for applications that involve light, such as LEDs and solar cells — even though it is currently the principal material used for solar cells despite its low efficiency, Kaminer says. Improving the interactions of light with an important electronics material such as silicon could be an important milestone toward integrating photonics — devices based on manipulation of light waves — with electronic semiconductor chips.

Most people looking into this problem have focused on the silicon itself, Kaminer says, but “this approach is very different — we’re trying to change the light instead of changing the silicon.” Kurman adds that “people design the matter in light-matter interactions, but they don’t think about designing the light side.”

One way to do that is by slowing down, or shrinking, the light enough to drastically lower the momentum of its individual photons, to get them closer to that of the electrons. In their theoretical study, the researchers showed that light could be slowed by a factor of a thousand by passing it through a kind of multilayered thin-film material overlaid with a layer of graphene. The layered material, made of gallium arsenide and indium gallium arsenide layers, alters the behavior of photons passing through it in a highly controllable way. This enables the researchers to control the frequency of emissions from the material by as much as 20 to 30 percent, says Kurman, who is the paper’s lead author.

The interaction of a photon with a pair of oppositely charged particles — such as an electron and its corresponding “hole” — produces a quasiparticle called a plasmon, or a plasmon-polariton, which is a kind of oscillation that takes place in an exotic material such as the two-dimensional layered devices used in this research. Such materials “support elastic oscillations on its surface, really tightly confined” within the material, Rivera says. This process effectively shrinks the wavelengths of light by orders of magnitude, he says, bringing it down “almost to the atomic scale.”

Because of that shrinkage, the light can then be absorbed by the semiconductor, or emitted by it, he says. In the graphene-based material, these properties can actually be controlled directly by simply varying a voltage applied to the graphene layer. In that way, “we can totally control the properties of the light, not just measure it,” Kurman says.

Although the work is still at an early and theoretical stage, the researchers say that in principle this approach could lead to new kinds of solar cells capable of absorbing a wider range of light wavelengths, which would make the devices more efficient at converting sunlight to electricity. It could also lead to light-producing devices, such as lasers and LEDs, that could be tuned electronically to produce a wide range of colors. “This has a measure of tunability that’s beyond what is currently available,” Kaminer says.

“The work is very general,” Kurman says, so the results should apply to many more cases than the specific ones used in this study. “We could use several other semiconductor materials, and some other light-matter polaritons.” While this work was not done with silicon, it should be possible to apply the same principles to silicon-based devices, the team says. “By closing the momentum gap, we could introduce silicon into this world” of plasmon-based devices, Kurman says.

Because the findings are so new, Rivera says, it “should enable a lot of functionality we don’t even know about yet.”

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) truly have matured enough to allow for first commercial products in form of small and large displays. In order to compete in further markets and even open new possibilities (automotive lighting, head-mounted-displays, micro displays, etc.), OLEDs need to see further improvements in device lifetime while operating at their best possible efficiency. Currently, intrinsic performance progress is solely driven by material development.

This is a graphic about improving OLEDS on the nanoscale. Credit: Joan Rafols Ribé (UAB) and Paul Anton Will (TU Dresden)To

Now researchers from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and Technische Universität Dresden demonstrate the possibility of using ultrastable film formation to improve the performance of state-of-the-art OLEDs. In their joint paper published in Science Advances with the title ‘High-performance organic light-emitting diodes comprising ultrastable glass layers’, the researchers show in a detailed study significant increases of efficiency and operational stability (> 15% for both parameters and all cases, significantly higher for individual samples) are achieved for four different phosphorescent emitters. To achieve these results, the emission layers of the respective OLEDs were grown as ultrastable glasses – a growth condition that allows for thermodynamically most stable amorphous solids.

This finding is significant, because it is an optimization which does neither involve a change of materials used nor changes to the device architecture. Both are the typical levers for improvements in the field of OLEDs. This concept can universally be explored in every given specific OLED stack, which will be equally appreciated by leading industry. This in particular includes thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) OLEDs, which see a tremendous research and development interest at the moment. Furthermore, the improvements that, as shown by the researchers, can be tracked back to differences on the exciton dynamics on the nanoscale suggest that also other fundamental properties of organic semiconductors (e.g. transport, charge separation, energy transfer) can be equally affected.

GLOBALFOUNDRIES today announced that its 180nm Ultra High Voltage (180UHV) technology platform has entered volume production for a range of client applications, including AC-DC controllers for industrial power supplies, wireless charging, solid state and LED lighting, as well as AC adapters for consumer electronics and smartphones.

The increasing demand for highly cost-effective systems requires integrated circuits (ICs) that achieve significant area savings while reducing bill-of-materials (BOM) and printed circuit board (PCB) footprint by integrating discrete components onto the same die. GF’s 180UHV platform features a 3.3V LV CMOS baseline, with options for HV18, HV30 and 700V UHV, that delivers significant area savings for both digital and analog circuit blocks, compared to the traditional 5V bipolar CMOS DMOS (BCD) technologies.

“GF’s leadership in providing high voltage solutions makes the company a perfect strategic partner for On-Bright’s power supply technologies,” said Julian Chen, CEO of On-Bright, the leading market player in AC-DC switch mode power supply products. “GF’s new 180UHV process integrates UHV components into the same IC with 180nm digital and analog by incorporating On-Bright know-how in the design. The technology has reduced On-Bright’s switched-mode power supply cost and footprint to give our AC-DC switch mode power supply products additional system-level benefits.”

As part of a modular platform based on the company’s 180nm process node, GF’s 180UHV process technology delivers a 10x increase in digital density compared to previous generations for integrated AC-DC conversion. For AC-DC conversion, the platform integrates high voltage transistors with precision analog and passive devices to control high input and output voltages of AC-DC SMPS circuits. The process is qualified up to 150°C to accommodate the high ambient temperatures of power supply and LED lighting products.

“GF continues to expand its UHV portfolio to provide competitive technology capabilities and manufacturing excellence that will enable our customers to play a critical role in bringing a new generation of highly integrated devices to real-world environments,” said Dr. Bami Bastani, senior vice president of business units at GF. “Our 180UHV is an ideal technology for customers that are looking to develop the highest-performing solutions for a new generation of integrated digital, analog and high voltage applications.”

As a part of the company’s analog and power platform, GF provides various types of HV, BCD, and UHV technologies, allowing customers to integrate power and high voltage transistors across a wide range of voltages, from 5V to 700V, to meet the diverse needs of low and high power applications. GF has a successful track record in manufacturing analog and power solutions in both its 200mm and 300mm production lines in Singapore.

Veeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq: VECO) announced that Lumentum Holdings Inc. has ordered the Veeco K475i™Arsenide/Phosphide (As/P) Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) System for production of its advanced semiconductor components which address the 3D sensing, high-speed fiber-optic communications and laser-based materials processing end-markets. Lumentum, headquartered in Milpitas, Calif., is a manufacturer of innovative optical and photonics products.

“The global communications, industrial and consumer electronics markets that our proprietary semiconductor lasers address are growing rapidly,” said Susan Wang, vice president of manufacturing at Lumentum. “We chose Veeco’s K475i system with its high capacity/throughput, uniformity of quality, repeatability and exceptional performance to help expand our capacity and better address these growth opportunities. We have a longstanding relationship with Veeco and look forward to future collaboration together.”

The K475i system incorporates proprietary TurboDisc® and Uniform FlowFlange™ MOCVD technologies. These innovations allow Veeco customers to improve compositional uniformity and dopant control while reducing cost-per-wafer by up to 20 percent compared to alternative systems through higher productivity, best-in-class yields and lower operating expenses. Application areas include lighting, solar, laser diodes, vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs), pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistors (pHEMTs) and heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs).

“A leading player in the optical communications and commercial laser markets, Lumentum is well positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for next-generation laser and optical devices using Veeco MOCVD technology,” said Peo Hansson, Ph.D., senior vice president and general manager of MOCVD Operations at Veeco. “As customers look for technologies that enable demanding new applications in increasingly competitive markets, many leading photonics, power electronics and LED device manufacturers continue to choose our proven MOCVD systems that deliver strong wafer uniformity and the lowest cost of ownership.”

Scientists at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN)–a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory–have used an optoelectronic imaging technique to study the electronic behavior of atomically thin nanomaterials exposed to light. Combined with nanoscale optical imaging, this scanning photocurrent microscopy technique provides a powerful tool for understanding the processes affecting the generation of electrical current (photocurrent) in these materials. Such an understanding is key to improving the performance of solar cells, optical sensors, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and other optoelectronics–electronic devices that rely on light-matter interactions to convert light into electrical signals or vice versa.

“Anyone who wants to know how light-induced electrical current is distributed across a semiconductor will benefit from this capability,” said CFN materials scientist Mircea Cotlet, co-corresponding author on the May 17 Advanced Functional Materials paper describing the work.

Generating an electrical current

When hit with light, semiconductors (materials that have an electrical resistance in between that of metals and insulators) generate an electric current. Semiconductors that consist of one layer or a few layers of atoms–for example, graphene, which has a single layer of carbon atoms–are of particular interest for next-generation optoelectronics because of their sensitivity to light, which can controllably alter their electrical conductivity and mechanical flexibility. However, the amount of light that atomically thin semiconductors can absorb is limited, thus limiting the materials’ response to light.

To enhance the light-harvesting properties of these two-dimensional (2D) materials, scientists add tiny (10-50 atoms in diameter) semiconducting particles called quantum dots in the layer(s). The resulting “hybrid” nanomaterials not only absorb more light but also have interactions occurring at the interface where the two components meet. Depending on their size and composition, the light-excited quantum dots will transfer either charge or energy to the 2D material. Knowing how these two processes influence the photocurrent response of the hybrid material under different optical and electrical conditions–such as the intensity of the incoming light and applied voltage–is important to designing optoelectronic devices with properties tailored for particular applications.

“Photodetectors sense an extremely low level of light and convert that light into an electrical signal,” explained Cotlet. “On the other hand, photovoltaic devices such as solar cells are made to absorb as much light as possible to produce an electrical current. In order to design a device that operates for photodetection or photovoltaic applications, we need to know which of the two processes–charge or energy transfer–is beneficial.”

Lighting up charge and energy transfer processes

In this study, the CFN scientists combined atomically thin molybdenum disulfide with quantum dots. Molybdenum disulfide is one of the transition-metal dichalcogenides, semiconducting compounds with a transition-metal (in this case, molybdenum) layer sandwiched between two thin layers of a chalcogen element (in this case, sulfur). To control the interfacial interactions, they designed two kinds of quantum dots: one with a composition that favors charge transfer and the other with a composition that favors energy transfer.

“Both kinds have cadmium selenide at their core, but one of the cores is surrounded by a shell of zinc sulfide,” explained CFN research associate and first author Mingxing Li. “The shell is a physical spacer that prevents charge transfer from happening. The core-shell quantum dots promote energy transfer, whereas the core-only quantum dots promote charge transfer.”

The scientists used the clean room in the CFN Nanofabrication Facility to make devices with the hybrid nanomaterials. To characterize the performance of these devices, they conducted scanning photocurrent microscopy studies with an optical microscope built in-house using existing equipment and the open-source GXSM instrument control software developed by CFN physicist and co-author Percy Zahl. In scanning photocurrent microscopy, a laser beam is scanned across the device while the photocurrent is measured at different points. All of these points are combined to produce an electrical current “map.” Because charge and energy transfer have distinct electrical signatures, scientists can use this technique to determine which process is behind the observed photocurrent response.

The maps in this study revealed that the photocurrent response was highest at low light exposure for the core-only hybrid device (charge transfer) and at high light exposure for the core-shell hybrid device (energy transfer). These results suggest that charge transfer is extremely beneficial to the device functioning as a photodetector, and energy transfer is preferred for photovoltaic applications.

“Distinguishing energy and charge transfers solely by optical techniques, such as photoluminescence lifetime imaging microscopy, is challenging because both processes reduce luminescence lifetime to similar degrees,” said CFN materials scientist and co-corresponding author Chang-Yong Nam. “Our investigation demonstrates that optoelectronic measurements combining localized optical excitation and photocurrent generation can not only clearly identify each process but also suggest potential optoelectronic device applications suitable to each case.”

“At the CFN, we conduct experiments to study how nanomaterials function under real operating conditions,” said Cotlet. “In this case, we combined the optical expertise of the Soft and Bio Nanomaterials Group, device fabrication and electrical characterization expertise of the Electronic Nanomaterials Group, and software expertise of the Interface Science and Catalysis Group to develop a capability at the CFN that will enable scientists to study optoelectronic processes in a variety of 2D materials. The new scanning photocurrent microscopy facility is now open to CFN users, and we hope this capability will draw more users to the CFN fabrication and characterization facilities to study and improve the performance of optoelectronic devices.”

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: KLIC) today announced it has entered into a licensing agreement with Idaho, US based Rohinni LLC (Rohinni), to facilitate the design, commercialization and distribution of next-generation micro and mini LED solutions.

Next-generation LED technologies have the potential to further enhance performance, improve efficiency and reduce the size of existing lighting technologies. Significant high-volume end-markets including automotive, display, consumer electronics and general lighting are anticipated to drive adoption and benefit from this emerging technology. While micro and mini LED benefits are compelling, high-volume production challenges must be addressed prior to widespread market adoption of these emerging lighting solutions.

Rohinni has developed promising solutions that directly address production challenges and have enabled greater design flexibility in end-use applications. In parallel, Rohinni has also established a network of partnerships in several key segments poised to benefit from this technology.

Kulicke & Soffa’s existing market positions, R&D competencies, supply chain and manufacturing capabilities provide scale to further extend Rohinni’s leadership and its effort in driving adoption of new LED technologies.

“K&S has recently taken a much more proactive approach in targeting and identifying complementary partnerships with a clear path to value creation,” stated Chan Pin Chong, Senior Vice President of Wedge Bond and EA/APMR Business Unit. “We are very excited to work together with Rohinni’s talented team to commercialize this high-potential and innovative technology.”

“Our team has spent the past several years developing precise, high-speed placement technologies for micro and mini LED products,” stated Matt Gerber, Rohinni’s CEO. “This agreement with K&S provides capabilities to quickly scale development and global production for our customers. This is really an exciting moment for designers to be able to produce lighting products that haven’t been possible with existing production technologies.”

LCD displays incorporating these latest developments in LED backlighting technologies deliver an unparalleled High-Dynamic-Range (HDR) viewing experience and are significantly brighter than OLEDs. To produce an HDR LCD display with over 10,000 LEDs in a backlight assembly requires a completely new generation of high speed production technologies. With an estimated 220 million square meters of flat-panel displays estimated to be produced in 2018, the growth potential of new backlighting technologies is significant. The unique and highly-complementary contributions of both organizations are anticipated to accelerate the global adoption of leading micro and mini LED-based solutions.

By Walt Custer, Custer Consulting Group

Broad global & U.S. electronic supply chain growth

The first quarter of this year was very strong globally, with growth across the entire electronics supply chain. Although Chart 1 is based on preliminary data, every electronics sector expanded –  with many in double digits. The U.S. dollar-denominated growth estimates in Chart 1 have effectively been amplified by about 5 percent by exchange rates (as stronger non-dollar currencies were consolidated to weaker U.S. dollars), but the first quarter global rates are very impressive nonetheless.

Walt Custer Chart 1

U.S. growth was also good (Chart 2) with Quarter 1 2018 total electronics equipment shipments up 7.2 percent over the same period last year. Since all the Chart 2 values are based on domestic (US$) sales, there is no growth amplification due to exchange rates.

Walt Custer Chart 2

We expect continued growth in Quarter 2 but not at the robust pace as the first quarter.

Chip foundry growth resumes

Taiwan-listed companies report their monthly revenues on a timely basis – about 10 days after month end. We track a composite of 14 Taiwan Stock Exchange listed chip foundries to maintain a “pulse” of this industry (Chart 3).

Walt Custer Chart 3

Chip foundry sales have been a leading indicator for global semiconductor and semiconductor capital equipment shipments. After dropping to near zero in mid-2017, foundry growth is now rebounding.

Chart 4 compares 3/12 (3-month) growth rates of global semiconductor and semiconductor equipment sales to chip foundry sales. The foundry 3/12 has historically led semiconductors and SEMI equipment and is pointing to a coming cyclical upturn. It will be interesting to see how China’s semiconductor industry buildup impacts this historical foundry leading indicator’s performance.

Walt Custer Chart 4

Passive Component Shortages and Price Increases

Passive component availability and pricing are currently major issues. Per Chart 5, Quarter 1 2018 passive component revenues increased almost 25 percent over the same period last year. Inadequate component supplies are hampering many board assemblers with no short-term relief in sight.

Walt Custer Chart 5

Peeking into the Future

Looking forward, the global purchasing managers index (a broad leading indicator) has moderated but is still well in growth territory.

Walt Custer Chart 6

The world business outlook remains positive but requires continuous watching!

Walt Custer of Custer Consulting Group is an  analyst focused on the global electronics industry.

Originally published on the SEMI blog.

Osram has added to its expertise in semiconductor-based optical security technology by acquiring US-based Vixar Inc. Already a technology leader in infrared LEDs and infrared laser diodes, Osram will have a unique breadth of technological expertise and an expanded product portfolio after bringing on board Vixar’s specialist capabilities in the field of VCSEL. While currently known primarily for identification applications in mobile devices, VCSEL also can be used to recognize gestures and measure distances in medical, industrial and automotive applications. Vixar was founded by pioneers in the VCSEL industry, having first brought VCSEL to the data communication market in the late 1990s, and more recently by founding Vixar in 2005 to pursue sensing applications. Approximately 20 employees of the company, which is based in Plymouth, Minnesota, will transfer to Osram as a result of the acquisition. Vixar is profitable both on an operational and net results level. The parties to the deal have agreed not to disclose financial details. Closing of the transaction is expected in summer.

“The acquisition of Vixar is adding to our expertise, particularly in the fast-growing market for security technologies,” said Olaf Berlien, CEO of OSRAM Licht AG. Osram is a technology leader in infrared optical semiconductors and has already succeeded in bringing to market light sources for fingerprint sensors, iris scanners, and 2D facial recognition. The acquired capabilities will pave the way for further security technologies, including ultra-compact 3D facial recognition. In addition to unlocking smartphones and other consumer electronics devices, such technologies also can be used for high-security access controls in industry.

The way in which VCSEL technology captures 3D environmental data has applications in everything from gesture recognition, augmented reality, robotics and proximity sensors to autonomous driving. VCSEL stands for vertical cavity surface emitting laser and is a special type of laser diode in which the light is emitted perpendicular to the surface of the semiconductor chip. Vixar is a fabless semiconductor company, and has developed a robust volume supply chain consisting of merchant foundries serving the optoelectronic market. Osram’s depth and breadth of semiconductor experience will further strengthen the manufacturing capabilities for the rapidly growing VCSEL market.