Category Archives: Wafer Processing

EV Group (EVG), a supplier of wafer bonding and lithography equipment for the MEMS, nanotechnology and semiconductor markets, today announced that it has received an order for its EVG®120 automated resist processing system from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT). An existing customer of EVG’s wafer bonding and alignment systems, VTT is among the first to place an order for the newest version of the EVG120 system, which has been enhanced to provide even greater reliability, throughput and process performance compared to the previous-generation platform. VTT will use the new EVG120 system to increase capacity for supporting parallel R&D projects involving new and different coating materials, as well as to enable new research applications in “More than Moore” technology areas such as MEMS, optoelectronics, photonics and compound semiconductors.

“Lithography plays a vital role in the production process for devices that power our digital society,” stated Heini Saloniemi, manager, process engineering, at VTT. “After a thorough product evaluation of lithography coating systems, VTT selected the EVG120 in a competitive tender, with coating uniformity and repeatability of coating thickness among the key evaluation criteria. We look forward to receiving the new EVG120 system, which will enhance our lithography process capabilities and allow us to explore new avenues of research.”

The EVG120 automated resist processing system provides reliable and high-quality coating and developing processes in a universal platform. Its versatility and flexibility, as well as its low cost of ownership, makes it an ideal system for research environments where many development projects may be running in parallel, while its high throughput rates enable its use in volume production.

The updated EVG120 platform maintains all industry-leading capabilities of the previous-generation platform, including: compact design for minimal footprint; customizable module configurations for spin and spray coating, developing, bake and chill; EVG’s CoverSpin™ technology, which provides optimized coating uniformity of odd-shaped and square substrates; EVG’s proprietary OmniSpray® technology for conformal coating of extreme topographies; and wafer-edge handling.

The EVG®120 automated resist processing system from EV Group provides reliable and high-quality coating and developing processes in a universal platform.

The EVG®120 automated resist processing system from EV Group provides reliable and high-quality coating and developing processes in a universal platform.

New features on the updated platform include:

  • Separation of wet processing modules to enable constant conditions chamber to chamber
  • Integrated chemistry cabinet for resist pumps and bottles (including support for high-viscosity resists), for improved process control and short dispense cycles
  • New robot handling system that provides the highest reliability and increased throughput
  • Optional humidity and temperature control for constant environmental conditions

“As the leading research institute in Finland, VTT has a strong global network of industry partners throughout the world to transform breakthrough research into new products and services in renewable energy, health care, smart industry and smart city, as well as beyond. EVG is working tirelessly to support our key customers such as VTT in these endeavors,” stated Thomas Wagenleitner, product management director at EV Group. “As part of that effort, we have leveraged more than 20 years of experience in resist processing to drive continuous improvements to our industry benchmark EVG120 platform. This allows us to enable even greater levels of coating performance for our customers at a lower cost of ownership, which is critical for both production fabs and research labs at the cutting edge of technology like VTT.”

Reaching their highest recorded quarterly level ever, worldwide silicon wafer area shipments jumped to 3,084 million square inches during the first quarter 2018, a 3.6 percent increase over fourth quarter 2017 area shipments of 2,977 million square inches and a 7.9 percent rise over first quarter 2017 shipments, according to the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) in its quarterly analysis of the silicon wafer industry.

“Global silicon wafer shipment volumes started the year at historic levels,” said Neil Weaver, chairman SEMI SMG and Director, Product Development and Applications Engineering of Shin-Etsu Handotai America. “As a result, silicon shipments, like device shipments, are positioned to be strong this year.”

Silicon* Area Shipment Trends

Millions of Square Inches
1Q 2017
2Q 2017
3Q 2017
4Q 2017
1Q 2018
Total
2,858
2,978
2,997
2,977
3,084

Source: SEMI, May 2018

*Semiconductor applications only

Silicon wafers are the fundamental building material for semiconductors, which, in turn, are vital components of virtually all electronics goods, including computers, telecommunications products, and consumer electronics. The highly engineered thin round disks are produced in various diameters (from one inch to 12 inches) and serve as the substrate material on which most semiconductor devices or “chips” are fabricated.

All data cited in this release includes polished silicon wafers, including virgin test wafers and epitaxial silicon wafers, as well as non-polished silicon wafers shipped by the wafer manufacturers to end users.

The Silicon Manufacturers Group acts as an independent special interest group within the SEMI structure and is open to SEMI members involved in manufacturing polycrystalline silicon, monocrystalline silicon or silicon wafers (e.g., as cut, polished, epi, etc.). The purpose of the group is to facilitate collective efforts on issues related to the silicon industry including the development of market information and statistics about the silicon industry and the semiconductor market.

 

University of Waterloo chemists have found a much faster and more efficient way to store and process information by expanding the limitations of how the flow of electricity can be used and managed.

In a recently released study, the chemists discovered that light can induce magnetization in certain semiconductors – the standard class of materials at the heart of all computing devices today.

“These results could allow for a fundamentally new way to process, transfer, and store information by electronic devices, that is much faster and more efficient than conventional electronics.”

For decades, computer chips have been shrinking thanks to a steady stream of technological improvements in processing density. Experts have, however, been warning that we’ll soon reach the end of the trend known as Moore’s Law, in which the number of transistors per square inch on integrated circuits double every year.

“Simply put, there’s a physical limit to the performance of conventional semiconductors as well as how dense you can build a chip,” said Pavle Radovanovic, a professor of chemistry and a member of the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology. “In order to continue improving chip performance, you would either need to change the material transistors are made of – from silicon, say to carbon nanotubes or graphene – or change how our current materials store and process information.”

Radovanovic’s finding is made possible by magnetism and a field called spintronics, which proposes to store binary information within an electron’s spin direction, in addition to its charge and plasmonics, which studies collective oscillations of elements in a material.

“We’ve basically magnetized individual semiconducting nanocrystals (tiny particles nearly 10,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair) with light at room temperature,” said Radovanovic. “It’s the first time someone’s been able to use collective motion of electrons, known as plasmon, to induce a stable magnetization within such a non-magnetic semiconductor material.”

In manipulating plasmon in doped indium oxide nanocrystals Radovanovic’s findings proves that the magnetic and semiconducting properties can indeed be coupled, all without needing ultra-low temperatures (cryogens) to operate a device.

He anticipates the findings could initially lead to highly sensitive magneto-optical sensors for thermal imaging and chemical sensing. In the future, he hopes to extend this approach to quantum sensing, data storage, and quantum information processing.

ORS Labs, Inc., the parent company of Oneida Research Services, Inc. (ORS), announces the acquisition of Silicon Cert Laboratories in Reading, Pennsylvania. Silicon Cert Laboratories is an internationally recognized leader in environmental and mechanical testing and qualification of products and components for the telecommunications, defense, automotive, aerospace and medical-device industries. Silicon Cert Laboratories testing services include mechanical shock, vibration, drop testing and environmental exposure such as temperature and humidity cycling to evaluate the impact of changing environmental conditions on products.

“The acquisition of Silicon Cert Laboratories substantially increases the level of expertise and technology that ORS can offer when evaluating and qualifying products and components for mission-critical applications in the industries we serve,” said Daniel Rossiter, Senior Vice President of Oneida Research Services, Inc. “We are thrilled to be working together and look forward to many years of growth.”

John Schmoyer, Client Services Manager at Silicon Cert stated “Oneida and Silicon Cert have had a friendly cooperative relationship for over twelve (12) years. This is a win-win relationship for both Silicon Cert Laboratories and Oneida Research.”

About Silicon Cert Laboratories: Based in Reading, PA, Silicon Cert Laboratories was founded in 1998 by a group of former Bell Labs, AT&T Microelectronics and Lucent Technologies engineers with an extensive background in integrated circuit and optoelectronic component design, manufacturing and testing. The company achieved ISO certification in 2000 and is currently certified to ISO 9001:2008 through DNV-GL. In 2007, the Defense Logistics Agency in Columbus, Ohio approved Silicon Cert for multiple MIL-STD- 883 test methods. In 2009, the company was accredited by A2LA to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 to perform a wide variety of reliability tests. https://www.siliconcert.com

About ORS: Oneida Research Services, Inc. has testing facilities in Whitesboro, New York and Denver, Colorado. Both locations are accredited to ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100D and approved by the Defense Logistics Agency in Columbus, Ohio for several test methods per Mil Std. 883 and Mil Std. 750. Throughout its 40 years, ORS has established strong working relationships with experts in the field of applied analytical chemistry, gas analysis, destructive physical analysis, hermeticity testing and organic mass spectrometry. ORS also has an affiliate in Sophia Antipolis, France. https://www.orslabs.com

By Lung Chu

Lung ChuThe growth of China’s semiconductor industry outstripped sector expansion in many other regions in 2017 thanks in part to heavy government investments and supportive state policies. But China’s chip industry also struggled under the weight of overheated investment, inconsistent project quality, insufficient investment in research and development, a poor ability to innovate, and barriers to international cooperation. To overcome these headwinds to growth, China must identify global trends in the development of global semiconductor industry and better understand the forces it needs to mobilize to further expand its own semiconductor sector.

AI and 5G fuel global semiconductor industry growth

In 2017, global semiconductor industry revenue reached a seven-year peak, expanding 22 percent to nearly USD 420 billion, and entered a new growth phase with artificial intelligence (AI), 5G and other new technologies leading the surge with greater market segmentation, diversification and decentralization. The emergence of smart automobiles, smart cities, smart medicine, AR/VR and other new markets headed the list of new applications. In the next three to five years, semiconductor industry growth is expected to remain stable, with no marked declines. In 2018, the growth rate is expected to fall to between 5 percent and 8 percent, with the expansion more comprehensive and balanced.

The memory market, in particular, will find it hard to match its 2017 blistering growth rate. The market’s expected growth of 10 percent to 20 percent will be chiefly driven by DRAM and 3D NAND Flash. In 2019, NAND growth will continue but DRAM shipments could decline.

Emphasis on both innovation and investment key to sustainable growth of Chinese IC

Under the China government’s Guidelines to Promote National IC Industry Development, designed to provide key policy guidance and capital support for the development of China’s IC industry, the Chinese semiconductor industry is seeing particularly rapid growth that is expected to be a key contributor to continuing global industry expansion. In IC design, HiSilicon and Unigroup Spreadtrum & RDA ranked among the top 10 in the world. In wafer fabrication, Chinese IC manufacturing accounted for 13 percent to 15 percent of global market capacity despite SMIC and Huahong Group lagging international competition in advanced processing. In packaging and testing – China’s strongest segment – JCET, NFME and Huatian Technology also ranked in the global top 10.

The Guidelines to Promote National IC Industry Development has fueled a boom in capital investments. However, investments must go well beyond fab construction to add new capacity for China’s semiconductor industry to flourish. A strategy for sustainable, long-term chip industry growth must focus more on technology innovation while continuing heavy capital investments, though it takes time for innovation to lead to higher capacity demand and GPD growth and more jobs.

Despite large investments by the 02 Special Project in semiconductor equipment and materials, China trails other regions of the world in advanced technologies. Global spending on semiconductor equipment reached a record-breaking USD 56 billion in 2017, with Korea a major driver. In 2017, Samsung alone invested USD 25 billion in semiconductor equipment, followed by TSMC (USD 10.8 billion), Intel (USD 11.5 billion), Hynix (USD 8.5 billion), Micron (USD 0.5 billion), SMIC (USD 2.3 billion) and YMTC (USD 2 billion). In 2018, Samsung’s equipment spending is expected to drop slightly, to USD 24 billion, while investments by Intel and TSMC will be remain roughly equal.

China’s equipment spending will continue to grow in 2018, with SMIC and YMTC maintaining investment levels similar to last year’s and other China semiconductor manufacturers starting to ramp up investments. In 2018, China is expected to surpass Taiwan in equipment spending to claim the number two position after Korea.

SIIP China dedicated to international connection and cooperation

The huge investments in China’s semiconductor industry need to be supported by robust business strategies, greater international cooperation, deeper expertise in advanced technologies, and more skilled workers. China lags the global industry in all of these areas. The rapid rise of China’s semiconductor industry has raised concerns among many countries over China’s growing influence, with some, most notably the United States, going so far as to implement containment measures. Other regions including Japan, Korea and Taiwan followed suit.

The continued growth of China’s semiconductor industry hinges on technological innovation enabled by international cooperation, as well as strong international communication to allay concerns and misunderstandings over the rising prominence of China’s chip sector. China must overcome these obstacles. One partial solution is for China to convince the rest of the world that its need a thriving semiconductor industry if only to meet enormous demand for electronics products within its own borders.

As the largest international semiconductor industry association, SEMI enjoys a unique ability to strengthen the connection between China’s semiconductor sector and its international counterparts. SEMI is well-known for its vital support of the traditional semiconductor equipment and materials markets, but SEMI’s work also spans IC design, manufacturing, packaging and testing. What’s more, SEMI has expanded into innovative market vertical applications such as AI, smart manufacturing, smart transportation and smart automotive as it aims to bring together supply chains across these growth areas.

For its part, SEMI China remains dedicated to improving communications and cooperation between the Chinese and global semiconductor industries. SEMI China will also continue to encourage deeper collaboration among individual enterprises and government institutions in the interest of industry growth while making full use of SEMI’s international, professional and localization platform to promote the development of China’s semiconductor industry.

Last year, we established SEMI Innovation Investment Platform (SIIP) China to help grow China’s pool of skilled workers, promote advanced technology, generate industry capital, and expand China’s semiconductor industry while developing stronger connections with chip sectors in other regions. SIIP China is focused on the following:

  • Promoting sustainable development of the Chinese semiconductor industry
  • Establishing stronger connections to help take advantage of global technology and investment opportunities
  • Providing a platform for open communications between the Chinese and global semiconductor industries
  • Promoting greater coordination between China and its global partners
  • Helping newly enterprises secure funds for expansion

Encouraging greater cooperation with foreign semiconductor manufacturers in the interest of openness and mutual benefit will be the best way for China to overcome obstacles to the development of its semiconductor industry. Meanwhile, China will continue to strive to merge into the global semiconductor industry and become a key partner.

SEMICON China has witnessed the development of Chinese semiconductor industry

SEMICON China-1

SEMICON China marked its 30th anniversary this year. Over the past three decades, China’s semiconductor industry has seen remarkable growth. This year’s SEMICON China was the largest ever. SEMICON China and FPD China 2018 numbered 3,628 booths, covered 74,000 square meters of exhibition space and attracted 1,116 exhibitors from 21 countries and regions and 91,252 professional attendees from 58 countries and regions.

Most of China’s top device makers and global leading packaging houses, together with their equipment and materials suppliers, exhibited at SEMICON China and FPD China 2018, representing the global IC manufacturing ecosystem. The number of SEMICON China and FPD China 2018 visitors jumped 32.3 percent from last year, with representation by professionals from the design, manufacturing, assembly and test, equipment and materials sectors.

Lung Chu is President of SEMI China.

Originally published on the SEMI blog.

SILTECTRA GmbH, a developer of advanced wafering technology solutions and services, today announced that it has fortified its market position by adding three new patents to its global portfolio of intellectual property (IP). The first patent covers new technical capabilities relating to the company’s COLD SPLIT laser process and extends the approach to non-polymer applications. The second patent secures COLD SPLIT for all substrate materials.

The third patent covers an extension of the company’s silicon carbide (SiC) process capability to split materials with sub-100-micron material loss, regardless of vendor-specific SiC crystal-growing processes. SILTECTRA’s relentless effort to drive down SiC material loss aims to help accelerate adoption of the superior substrate for power devices and other ICs. Up to now, high cost has inhibited fast adoption. Substantial cost reductions enabled by SILTECTRA’s technology could speed deployment of SiC for a broader range of applications, such as electric vehicles (EVs) and 5G technology.

SILTECTRA’s IP portfolio now consists of 70 patent families with 200 patents. Collectively, the patents cover every innovation associated with the company’s breakthrough laser-based wafer-thinning process.

The growth of SILTECTRA’s IP portfolio reflects the company’s steady march toward commercializing its solution. COLD SPLIT demonstrated early differentiation by thinning wafers to 100 microns and below in minutes with extreme precision and virtually no material loss. These enabling advantages drew high interest from integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) who had previously relied on grinding to thin their wafers. Grinding is a slower, less precise process that generates material loss and reduces overall yield. In contrast, COLD SPLIT is a much faster laser-based thinning approach with higher yield and strong cost-of-ownership benefits.

In a development announced earlier this year, SILTECTRA reported a breakthrough new capability for COLD SPLIT that vastly increased the value of the technology for cost-sensitive IDMs. Thanks to a novel adaptation known as “twinning”, the company demonstrated that COLD SPLIT can reclaim substrate material generated (and previously wasted) during backside grinding and create a second fully optimizable bonus wafer in the process. SILTECTRA validated the breakthrough by producing a gallium nitride (GaN) on SiC high electron-mobility power transistor (HEMT) device on a split-off (or “twinned”) wafer at its new facility in Dresden. The HEMT showed results that were superior to a non- COLD-SPLIT-enabled HEMT when measured for CMP characterization, as well as GaN EPI, metal layer and gate layer outcomes.

The developments drew keen interest from IDMs, as well as substrate manufacturers, and even providers of certain process technologies.

SILTECTRA’s CEO, Dr. Harald Binder, pledged to maintain the rapid pace of innovation at the company to enable IDMs with superior wafering solutions. He noted: “Like all technology companies, SILTECTRA’s leadership and future growth depend on continually innovating to extend our capabilities and further enrich the value of our solution. Naturally, therefore, it’s a strategic priority to protect the innovations along the way so that our competitive differentiation and enabling advantages remain strong in all regions where customers are located. Our robust IP portfolio reflects this priority.”

Dr. Jan Richter, SILTECTRA’s CTO, stated: “Our R&D team is relentlessly pushing the limits of our COLD SPLIT technology to fulfill its enormous potential. The additional patents further strengthen our market position, while enabling us to drive COLD SPLIT’s material loss far below 50 microns.”

Adesto Technologies, a provider of innovative application-specific semiconductors for the IoT era, announced it has acquired Dublin-based S3 Semiconductors, a global supplier of mixed-signal and RF application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and an extensive library of design IP. The transaction is valued at approximately $35 million, with an additional earn-out provision based on certain milestones to the end of calendar year 2019.

Highlights of expected benefits of the transaction include:

  • Expands Adesto’s portfolio of products and technologies with analog, mixed-signal, and RF solutions and IP
  • Accelerates revenue and customer growth in communications and industrial IoT with immediate cross-selling opportunities and nominal customer overlap
  • Increases dollar content potential for IoT edge nodes
  • S3 Semiconductors is a highly-valued design partner of Arm Holdings
  • Adds high-value embedded systems expertise and mixed-signal engineering team
  • Immediately accretive to gross margin and adjusted EBITDA

“Building on our leadership position in IoT memories, today we take a meaningful step in becoming a supplier of a broad range of innovative semiconductor products and solutions for the IoT markets,” said Narbeh Derhacobian, CEO of Adesto. “S3 Semiconductors has a proven track record of designing and delivering differentiated ASIC products, and an extensive IP portfolio developed by a talented team of design engineers over many years. Through this acquisition, we are significantly expanding our customer base and SAM with a broader product portfolio and comprehensive systems expertise to deliver a complete solution to our customers.”

Dermot Barry, vice president and general manager of S3 Semiconductors, commented, “Over the years, S3 Semiconductors has built a first-class team that is focused on creating complex, high-quality custom products. Joining forces with Adesto gives us access to a broader sales channel with a diversified group of top-tier customers who will benefit from our ability to deliver highly optimized ASICs with unrivaled cost economies. Moreover, the combined company is well-positioned to gain increasing traction in IoT to drive toward the next phase of innovation and growth.”

S3 Semiconductors will become a business unit of Adesto and will continue to operate under its current operating model across existing global sites, including its four design centers in Dublin, Cork, Prague and Lisbon.

Adesto financed the transaction with existing cash and a new credit facility in the amount of $35 million. Concurrent with the close of the new credit facility, Adesto terminated its former credit facility with Western Alliance Bank, which included paying off an outstanding term loan with a principal amount owed of $12 million.

ROTH Capital is serving as financial advisor and placement agent to Adesto, and Menalto Advisors is serving as financial advisor to S3 Group.

 

Air Liquide Advanced Materials, Inc. (ALAM) has been chosen by the New Jersey chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth as an honoree for the 2018 Corporate Growth Awards.

The ACG NJ Corporate Growth Awards were established in 2015 and honor companies that exemplify sustained innovation, excellence and corporate growth. ALAM has been a strong presence in the New Jersey business community since 2013 when it acquired Voltaix, a Branchburg, NJ-based electronics materials company founded in 1986. As the leading manufacturer of speciality chemicals in the semiconductor industry, ALAM is committed to continued long-term growth and engagement with the communities in which it operates.

ALAM is one of five New Jersey companies to receive the distinction at the ACG NJ Corporate Growth Conference and Awards on May 8, 2018 at The Palace at Somerset Park, NJ for a half-day event including a CEO panel discussion and awards ceremony.

Paul Burlingame, Air Liquide Advanced Materials, Inc. President & CEO said, “We are proud to receive the 2018 ACG NJ Corporate Growth Award in recognition of the innovation, operational agility, and customer focus exhibited by Air Liquide Advanced Materials employees every day. As a result of these efforts Air Liquide Advanced Materials remains committed to continued growth fueled by new products, collaborations and markets.”

In the wake of its recent discovery of a flat form of gallium, an international team led by scientists from Rice University has created another two-dimensional material that the researchers said could be a game changer for solar fuel generation. Rice materials scientist Pulickel Ajayan and colleagues extracted 3-atom-thick hematene from common iron ore. The research was introduced in a paper today in Nature Nanotechnology.

Hematene may be an efficient photocatalyst, especially for splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, and could also serve as an ultrathin magnetic material for spintronic-based devices, the researchers said.

“2D magnetism is becoming a very exciting field with recent advances in synthesizing such materials, but the synthesis techniques are complex and the materials’ stability is limited,” Ajayan said. “Here, we have a simple, scalable method, and the hematene structure should be environmentally stable.”

Ajayan’s lab worked with researchers at the University of Houston and in India, Brazil, Germany and elsewhere to exfoliate the material from naturally occurring hematite using a combination of sonication, centrifugation and vacuum-assisted filtration.

Hematite was already known to have photocatalytic properties, but they are not good enough to be useful, the researchers said.

“For a material to be an efficient photocatalyst, it should absorb the visible part of sunlight, generate electrical charges and transport them to the surface of the material to carry out the desired reaction,” said Oomman Varghese, a co-author and associate professor of physics at the University of Houston.

“Hematite absorbs sunlight from ultraviolet to the yellow-orange region, but the charges produced are very short-lived. As a result, they become extinct before they reach the surface,” he said.

Hematene photocatalysis is more efficient because photons generate negative and positive charges within a few atoms of the surface, the researchers said. By pairing the new material with titanium dioxide nanotube arrays, which provide an easy pathway for electrons to leave the hematene, the scientists found they could allow more visible light to be absorbed.

The researchers also discovered that hematene’s magnetic properties differ from those of hematite. While native hematite is antiferromagnetic, tests showed that hematene is ferromagnetic, like a common magnet. In ferromagnets, atoms’ magnetic moments point in the same direction. In antiferromagnets, the moments in adjacent atoms alternate.

Unlike carbon and its 2D form, graphene, hematite is a non-van der Waals material, meaning it’s held together by 3D bonding networks rather than non-chemical and comparatively weaker atomic van der Waals interactions.

“Most 2D materials to date have been derived from bulk counterparts that are layered in nature and generally known as van der Waals solids,” said co-author Professor Anantharaman Malie Madom Ramaswamy Iyer of the Cochin University of Science and Technology, India. “2D materials from bulk precursors having (non-van der Waals) 3D bonding networks are rare, and in this context hematene assumes great significance.”

According to co-author Chandra Sekhar Tiwary, a former postdoctoral researcher at Rice and now an assistant professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, the collaborators are exploring other non-van der Waals materials for their 2D potential.

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.