Mar. 25, 2008 – Intel’s decision to locate a 300mm fab in Dalian, China, has spurred interest in the area for other industries, including LED makers from Taiwan, with Epistar and Everlight Electronics considering building a joint facility there, according to the Taiwan Economic News.

If it happens, the combination would form “a relatively dominant conglomerate” with Hon Hai Precision Industry, which already makes LEDs in China, and could “trigger a shakeup in local LED makers’ share of China’s domestic market” for end applications in autos and streetlights, the publication reports.

Growth of an automotive sector in northeastern China has spurred big demand for LED auto lamps and LED lights here. In concert with national policies to sponsor high-tech industry development, the local Dalian government has approved a 15% income tax rate and 5%-17% tax return rate for companies in the Jinzhou IT Park, about 30 miles from Dalian’s economic zone.

January 19, 2007 – QD Vision, a startup founded by MIT scientists in 2004 says it has received a US patent for “Stabilized Semiconductor Nanocrystals,” materials that the company says can enhance the performance of quantum dots, for use in quantum dot light-emitting devices (LED) for flat displays.

“The issuance of this patent represents a key milestone toward our goal of enabling display manufacturers to produce the next generation of displays,” said Mark Comerford, QD Vision’s CEO, in a statement.

The patented technology describes a semiconductor nanocrystal stabilized with a polydentate ligand on its surface. Monodentate ligands can exchange and diminish emissions from the nanocrystal, and such nanocrystals embedded in a nonpassivating environment tend to lose their high luminescence and initial chemical inertness, including phase separation.

By contrast, polydentate ligands (a polyphosphine, a polyphosphine oxide, a polyphosphinic acid, or a polyphosphonic acid, or a salt thereof) bind more strongly to the surface of the nanocrystal, stabilizing it and preserving high luminescence. In addition, the outer portion of the polydentate ligand can be chosen to be compatible with the nanocrystal’s surrounding environment, e.g., organic solvent, aqueous media, or polymer matrix.

The semiconductor forming the core of the nanocrystal can include a variety of Group II-VI, Group II-V, Group III-VI, Group III-V, Group IV-VI, Group I-III-VI, Group II-IV-VI, and Group II-IV-V compounds.

Comparison of nanocrystal stability in the presence of oligomeric phosphine ligands vs. monomeric ligands is shown in the image below, taken from the US Patent and Trademark Office’s filing for this patent. Stabilities of photoluminescence are used to measure the different binding affinities and passivating powers of the ligands on nanocrystal surface. The top panel shows that nanocrystals dispersed in THF, passivated by oligomeric phosphine with hexadecyl alkyl chain (solid line) are more stable than those passivated by trioctylphosphine (dotted line). In the bottom panel, in aqueous 0.1 M potassium hydroxide, nanocrystals passivated by oligomeric phosphine with carboxylic acid (solid line) are greatly stabilized compared to nanocrystals passivated by mercaptoundecanoic acid (dotted line).

QD Vision was founded in August 2004 by a trio of MIT scientists to commercialize their work on quantum-dot display materials, processes, and devices.

Last summer the company revealed it had fabricated a 32×64 pixel red quantum-dot device achieving external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) of 2.2% and luminous efficiencies of 2.7 lm/W (3.7 Cd/A) at a brightness of 100 nits and with CIExy color coordinates of (0.65, 0.32), exceeding NTSC standards. The quantum dots were printed within a sandwich of organic semiconductor thin films, which deliver energy to the quantum dots enabling light emission. In November the company said it boosted EQE to 3.1%, and luminous efficiencies to 3.4 lm/W (4.2 Cd/A) at a brightness of 210 nits, and with CIExy color coordinates of (0.66, 0.33). In October the company announced it had made a green quantum-dot LED, with a blue quantum-dot LED is still in development.

May 1, 2006 – Strong sales of cell phones drove higher demand for microchip sales, pushing overall semiconductor sales in 1Q06 to a 7.3% increase from a year ago, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).

Worldwide sales of semiconductors were $59.1 billion in 1Q06, vs. $55.1 billion in 1Q05, but down 1.3% from 4Q05, following normal seasonal patterns. Sales in March were $19.7 billion, a 2.3% increase month-on-month and up 7.3% year-on-year.

Cell phone unit sales soared 31% from a year ago, well outpacing expectations due to shorter replacement cycles and robust demand in China. Unit sales are expected to top one billion this year, with an average semiconductor content of approximately $41 per unit, according to recent data from iSuppli. Cell phones are now the second largest market after PCs, together accounting for more than half of all semiconductor sales.

Chinese demand for cell phones is staggering — the nation has approximately 410 million cell phone subscribers right now, and is adding new subscribers at a rate of about five million per month, mainly for high-end phones with increased functionality, stated George Scalise, SIA president. He also noted that the replacement cycle for all cell phones has declined to about 18 months from 26 months, due to smaller form factors and increased functionality.

Microprocessor sales rose 6.8% year-on-year in 1Q06 to $8.83 billion, due to a 13% hike in unit sales of PCs. Competition among PC manufacturers led to reduced prices for more powerful systems, with price declines outpacing the historic 10%/year benchmark, Scalise noted.

Inventories are on the rise as manufacturers stockpile ahead of expected market growth, and this situation should be monitored, particularly for market segments involving consumer products, Scalise pointed out — a segment that’s being especially pinched as energy prices continue to rise. He estimated that rising gas prices will take approximately $138 billion out of American households’ discretionary income this year, which could affect consumer confidence and spending on electronics that incorporate semiconductors. Still, for now, overall end market demand remains generally strong, and capacity utilization rates remain well above 90%, he said.

March 2006

Month-to-month sales (US $B)
Market February March % change
Americas 3.72 3.73 0.4%
Europe 3.11 3.24 4.1%
Japan 3.64 3.79 4.0%
Asia Pacific 8.79 8.94 1.7%
Total 19.26 19.70 2.3%

Year-to-year sales (US $B)
Market March ’05 March ’06 % change
Americas 3.25 3.73 14.9%
Europe 3.37 3.24 -4.0%
Japan 3.83 3.79 -1.1%
Asia Pacific 7.91 8.94 13.0%
Total 18.36 19.70 7.3%

Three-month-moving average sales (US $B)
Market Oct/Nov/Dec Jan/Feb/Mar % change
Americas 3.71 3.73 0.6%
Europe 3.32 3.24 -2.3%
Japan 3.62 3.79 4.7%
Asia Pacific 9.31 8.94 -4.0%
Total 19.95 19.70 -1.3%

January 25, 2005 – Edmund Optics Inc., Barrington, NJ, has unveiled an illumination delivery technology to increasing illumination brightness in LEDs as well as their lifetimes.

The patent-pending optical technology, EOS, used in conjunction with an LED, more effectively directs light into a tightly focused and manageable bundle of light, minimizing thermal concerns that impact the life of the chip, the company claims. The technology could make LEDs 2x-5x brighter than quartz halogen and last 20x-50x longer, according to Chris Cummings, R&D engineer at Edmund Optics. John Stack, president and COO, added that the technology “will be applicable to future developments at the source/die level.”

The first product to use the technology is a LED fiber optic illuminator for the industrial vision market, available in 2Q06. Other end-use applications include improved LEDs in automotive headlamps, scientific instrument lighting, infrared military illuminators, surgical headlamps, and portable projector systems.