Category Archives: LEDs

October 1, 2007 – A group of Taiwanese petrochemical manufacturers are setting up shop in the photovoltaic industry, though most of them are choosing the JV route rather than go it alone, notes the Taiwan Economic News.

Taiwan Styrene Monomer Corp. s putting NT$1 billion (about US $30M) into a polycrystalline silicon manufacturing project in mainland China, adding to its PV footprint with existing stakes in solar-cell firms Gintech Energy and Big Sun Energy, which could return as much as $36M this year, the paper notes.

TSMC mainly produces styrene monomer as well as para-diethyl, benzene, toluene, and ethyl benzene, for makers of polystyrene, ABS resins, and synthetic rubber. It’s not the first Taiwan petro firm to take a stab at solar energy (see table), but the paper notes that it could be the first to develop a presence both upstream and downstream in that industry.

Of those other firms, the paper notes that state-run CPC Corp., seen by analysts as the only domestic firm that can compete with multinational solar materials suppliers, has indicated its desire to test the waters, but so far has not revealed specific plans.

Meanwhile, Lee Chang Yung Chemical Industry Corp. and LED maker Epistar Corp. are planning a polycrystalline JV, capitalized at about $121M and $15M in startup funds. And plastics firm USI Corp. is kicking off its own $363M unit, Universal Semiconductor Corp., to make polycrystalline silicon, projecting pilot production sometime in late 2008 or early 2009.

Taiwanese petrochemical manufacturers’ photovoltaic investment plans

Company……..Planned investment……..Strategic alliance……..Investment model………….Advantage
………………….. capital (NT$100M)

CPC…………………..NA……………………NA…………………….NA………………Technology/capital abundance
Lee Chang Yung…100…………………Epistar……………Joint venture…….Supporting process technology
USI…………………….120…………………NA…………………..Joint venture…….Cross-industry cooperation
Taiwan Styrene……10.5……………..Gintech, Big Sun……Capital investment…….Investment returns

Source: Taiwan Economic News

October 1, 2007 — Konarka Technologies Inc., which is developing photovoltaic material made from semiconducting polymers and nano-engineered materials, has announced it has raised $45 million in private capital financing.

The financing was led by Mackenzie Financial Corp. and Good Energies. Pegasus Capital, a new investor in Konarka, participated in the round as did existing lead investors from prior rounds, including Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Asenqua Ventures, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), and 3i. Other participating current investors include Vanguard Ventures, Chevron, Massachusetts Green
Energy Fund, NGEN Partners, and Angeleno Group. Lehman Brothers served as financing agent.

“Konarka has aggressive plans to accelerate the development and commercialization of our polymer-based organic photovoltaic (OPV) technologies for consumer, commercial, BIPV and electronic applications,” said Rick Hess, Konarka’s president and CEO. “This latest round of financing will help to accelerate our plan to bring Konarka’s organic photovoltaic material, Power Plastic, to market.”


A high-speed data acquisition system with accelerometers embedded in a football helmet. (Photo: Simbex)

September 28, 2007 — As they root for the home team from the bleachers this fall, high school gridiron fans in the small Illinois town of Tolono don’t necessarily see anything out of the ordinary down on the field.

But just out of sight, tucked inside many of the maroon helmets worn by the Unity High School Rockets, a revolution of sorts is taking place. This season, 32 varsity team members are sporting helmets outfitted with the same electronic encoder modules now used by a handful of college teams.

The purpose of the high-tech headgear, which uses six strategically placed, spring-loaded MEMS accelerometers to wirelessly beam information to a Web-based system on a laptop computer on the sidelines, is to more effectively — and more immediately — detect when blows to players’ heads may result in concussions or more severe brain injuries.

In addition, impact data — including location of hits, magnitude of force and length of hits — is recorded for analysis by a University of Illinois research team led by kinesiology and community health professor Steven Broglio.

“Unity is the only high school in the country using the Head Impact Telemetry System, or HITS,” Broglio said. The system being used in the research partnership between the U. of I. and Unity was developed by Simbex, a research and product-development company based in New Hampshire. It works in tandem with helmets made by Riddell, the nation’s largest helmet manufacturer, and was first tested on the Virginia Tech football team in 2002.

Broglio said a number of other researchers at universities across the nation, including Virginia Tech, the University of North Carolina and Dartmouth, also are using the system as the basis for studies of biomechanical processes caused by concussions and traumatic brain injuries.

At Unity, each varsity player was given a baseline assessment for neurocognitive function prior to the start of the season. “The baseline assessments are all over the map,” Broglio said. “Because the kids’ brains are still developing, they have different ranges and abilities.”

On the field during practice or on game day, when the encoder in an athlete’s helmet registers a hit, the system beams impact information to the sidelines laptop, which is monitored by the team’s athletic trainer. “If an athlete is diagnosed with a concussion, he will not return to play until neurocognitive function returns to baseline performance,” Broglio said.

The fact that high school athletes’ brains may not yet be as fully developed as their college or professional counterparts is a large part of Broglio’s motivation for studying the system’s effectiveness on the younger players.

Unfortunately, Broglio said, “what other researchers are finding is that people with multiple concussions have incurred Alzheimer’s Disease at a higher rate. Getting their ‘bell rung’ as high school athletes may have permanent repercussions. There seems to be a link.”

In Tolono, the system’s ability to monitor where athletes are incurring hits has already led to another discovery, just a couple of weeks into the season. “The system picked up one athlete who was hitting with the top of his head, a practice that could result in spinal-cord injury,” Broglio said. Because they were able to identify the pattern, the team’s coaches were able to work with the athlete to correct the habit.

The initial cost of the system is likely to prohibit widespread use, especially at the high school level. Broglio said the system being tested at Unity has a price tag of about $60,000; each helmet costs an additional $1,000.

September 27, 2007 — The convergence of nanotechnology and “green” building is creating fresh economic opportunities, but “the nanotech and building sectors have to get to know each other a lot better in order to realize the dramatic benefits awaiting each of them,” said the author of a new report analyzing the relationship.

“In one case, a company is saving $2.6 million in energy costs and reducing their CO2 emissions by 35 million pounds per year thanks to a single nanotech innovation,” said George Elvin, director of the Green Technology Forum and author of its latest report, Nanotechnology for Green Building.

The report tries to bring the two sectors together through linked references to case studies, university research projects, patents and technologies available for license. The report is also aimed at educating architects, building owners, contractors, engineers and others in the building industry.

“The demand for green building is at an all-time high,” Elvin said, “and those in the industry and in ownership positions adopting nanotechnology now are likely to emerge as leaders and be rewarded accordingly.” He said benefits “will be led by current improvements in solar insulation and coatings, followed by advances in water and air filtration, solar technology and, more distant, in lighting and structural components.”

September 24, 2007 – Private equity firm Advantage Partners LLP reportedly is the winner in the auction for Sanyo Electric Co.’s chipmaking operations, outbidding and outlasting up to six other potential suitors, according to various media reports.

Earlier this month Japanese press reported that Advantage had the inside track in the sale, swooping in with a 120-130B yen offer to outbid Longreach Group’s 110B yen proposal. Reuters recently reported that a consortium led by the Blackstone Group, which led last fall’s blockbuster buyout of Freescale Semiconductor, had folded its tents, deciding the proposals for Sanyo’s chip business were too high.

The Wall Street Journal reported that up to six bidders could potentially drive the price up to 100 billion yen (~US $860M). The company had hoped for a price of 150-200B yen ($1.3-$1.7B).

Back in April Sanyo said it would shed its lossmaking semiconductor business as part of restructuring efforts. The unit posted sales of 166.5B yen ($1.17B) in the fiscal year ended in March, roughly 11% of the company’s sales, but profitability has suffered due to soft demand and falling prices of digital goods, as well as a major earthquake in Oct. 2004 that damaged the company’s facility in Niigata Prefecture.

September 21, 2007 – China’s Grace Semiconductor has named Ulrich Schumacher, former CEO of German chipmaker Infineon Technologies, as its new president and CEO, as well as a director.

“With someone of Dr. Schumacher’s caliber and international stature heading our management team, we are confident that we can further accelerate the process of bringing the company to the next level,” said Grace chairman Dong Yeshun, in a statement. Dong, also a VP at top Grace shareholder Shanghai Alliance Investment, had held the top positions at Grace since 2004.

Schumacher resigned suddenly from Infineon in March 2004, after reportedly losing an internal battle over leadership style and strategy, including his support of outsourcing and his criticism of Germany’s business climate. He had led Infineon’s spin-off from Siemens AG in 1999, and managed the memory chipmaker through the following industry downturn.

Grace noted that Schumacher has stepped down from his most recent position, at US-based private equity firm Francisco Partners (which is a minority supporter in the new Intel-ST flash JV, “Numonyx”).

September 17, 2007 – AU Optronics shipped 7.6 million thin-film transistor/flat-panel displays (TFT-LCD) in August, exceeding SEC and LPL to become the first Taiwanese firm to unseat Korean suppliers, according to data from DisplaySearch.

Total shipments of large-area (>10in diagonal) TFT-LCDs topped 36.8 million units in August, up 6% from July and 38% from a year ago. Market share was about evenly split among the top three firms, each with around 20%, but AU Optronics appears to have squeaked out in front of Samsung Electronics (SEC) and LPL, the LCD JV between LG and Philips.

Demand remained strong across all segments, according to the analyst firm. Shipments of TV panels rose 10% M-M and 57% Y-Y, with the top three suppliers accounting for 64% of shipments (top four were 81%). Chi Mei Optoelectronics edged out Samsung for the No. 3 spot in this segment for the first time, by about a point of marketshare. DisplaySearch noted that 40-in. and larger panels made up 29% of shipments for the top four firms, so the value of shipments likely outpaced actual units.

PC monitor panel shipments rose 8% M-M and 29% Y-Y to 17.4M units, led by AUO (including output of Quanta Display before their ~$2B merger earlier this year). The top three suppliers accounted for half of all monitor panel shipments during the month, with their 20-in. and larger panels making up about a fourth of the market.

Still-strong demand after the prime back-to-school period supported growth in shipments of notebook PC panels, which inched up 2% vs. July but soared 46% vs. August 2006 to 10.5M units. The top three suppliers took 79% share in this segment, down two points from July, with No.1 SEC followed closely by LG Philips LCD.

Top large-area TFT LCD shipments, August 2007

Supplier……………Units (est.)…..M/M growth……….Y/Y growth……….Market share

AUO………………………………….7.6M………………..10%………………..52%………………..20.6%
SEC………………………………….7.4M…………………3%………………..45%………………..20.0%
LPL…………………………………..7.3M…………………8%………………..42%………………..20.0%
Top 3………………………………22.2M…………………7%………………..46%………………..60.5%
TOTAL SUPPLIERS……….36.8M………………..6%………………..38%………………..100.0%

Source: DisplaySearch

Large-area TFT-LCD shipments by application
(Shipments in millions, est.)

Factor…………………Notebook………..Monitor………………TV……………All Large

No.1 Supplier…………SEC………………..AUO………………..AUO……………AUO
No.2 Supplier…………LPL………………..SEC………………….LPL…………….SEC
No.3 Supplier………..AUO………………..LPL………………..CMO……………..LPL
Top 3 Share…………79.2%……………49.9%……………..64.3%…………60.5%
TOTAL UNITS………10.5M……………17.4M………………7.9M…………..36.6M
Growth M/M……………..2%………………..8%………………..10%……………….6%
Growth Y/Y……………..46%………………..29%……………….57%……………38%

Source: DisplaySearch

September 14, 2007 – The European Commission has authorized 200 million euros (about US $277 million) in funding over five years to support the “NanoSmart” R&D program, which aims to develop advanced substrates for microelectronic and optoelectronic components.

The goal of the NanoSmart program, as a nanotechnology research platform, is to develop new advanced materials to improve performance and electrical consumption of image processors, high-frequency telecommunications components, power components for the automotive industry, and home audiovisual equipment and LEDs for lighting.

Working together under the NanoSmart program are French firm Soitec and its Picogiga subsidiary, and electronics lab Leti. Soitec will receive funds of about 62M euros ($86M), including 34M (~$47M) of direct subsidiary and 28M euros (~$39M) in an advance to be refunded based on commercial success.

“Advanced substrates represent a unique opportunity to strengthen Europe’s position in the high-tech industry, where competitiveness is based on innovation,” said Andre-Jacques Auberton-Herve, president and CEO of Soitec, in a statement. “We are grateful to AII [the French Agency for Industrial Innovation] for its support and policy of promoting innovation in companies of our size, alongside the large French industrial groups.”

Soitec had previously indicated it would hire at least an additional 100 researchers to support the NanoSmart project, formed to find new applications for the firm’s proprietary Smart Cut technology.

September 14, 2007 — Soitec, supplier of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers and other engineered substrates, and the French Agency for Industrial Innovation (AII), have announced the European Commission’s authorization for the funding of the strategic R&D program, NanoSmart. The total cost of the program, for all partners, comes to 200 million Euros over five years. The Soitec Group will receive public money amounting to 62 million Euros, with 34 million Euros consisting of a direct subsidy, and 28 million representing an advance to be refunded depending on the program’s commercial success.

The R&D project will involve Soitec, its subsidiary Picogiga based in Les Ulis, France, and Leti, the electronic and information technology laboratory that is part of the public French body CEA. NanoSmart is a strategic program for Europe, and will develop advanced substrates for microelectronic and optoelectronic components, spotlighting the significant role played in substrate engineering innovation, not only by France but more specifically by Bernin and Minalogic, the “Pole de Competitivite” near Grenoble.

As a nanotechnology research platform, NanoSmart will develop a new generation of advanced materials to improve the performance and electrical consumption of image processors, high-frequency telecommunications components, power components for the automotive industry and home audiovisual equipment, and LEDs for lighting.

“Advanced substrates represent a unique opportunity to strengthen Europe’s position in the high-tech industry, where competitiveness is based on innovation,” said Andre-Jacques Auberton-Herve, president and CEO of Soitec. This action answers AII’s core business mission by sustaining the French industry through promoting innovation and significant projects.

CAP-XX supercapacitors boost power delivery in mobile devices while extending battery life. (Photo: Business Wire)

September 13, 2007 — CAP-XX Limited, producer of ultra-thin supercapacitors that boost power delivery in mobile devices to enable new functionality and extend battery life, has expanded its product line with high-temperature models. CAP-XX’s HS and HW supercapacitors feature a higher-boiling-point electrolyte that extends operating and storage temperature from 75°C to an industry-leading 85°C, and operating voltage (V) from 4.5V to 5.5V.

CAP-XX supercapacitors benefit from nanotechnology construction that stores charge on nanoporous carbon electrodes on aluminum foil, arranged in multiple layers and connected in parallel to minimize the resistance and maximize the capacitance of the device. Supercapacitors deliver 100x the power of batteries and store 10,000x more energy than conventional capacitors. They store electrical energy during periods of low-load power, and then release it in quick “bursts” during peak-power events, supplementing power from the source and smoothing out voltage fluctuations.

CAP-XX’s HS and HW supercapacitors promise reliable operation in devices where nearby components can get very hot, such as RF power amplifiers, which can reach 120°C during transmission, as well as in devices which are exposed to environmental high temperatures, such as a mobile phone left on the dashboard of a car in direct sunlight, or in the engine compartment in an automotive application.

According to Stuart Robinson, director of handset component technologies for Strategy Analytics, “Consumers want their cellphones to be as good as their digital still cameras and produce clear pictures even in low light. We estimate that over the next three years high-powered LED flash in cellphones will grow at an annual average rate of 155%, and will be in over 70% of all camera phones by 2010. CAP-XX supercapacitors are a technology enabler for this market. We have seen them power multiple high-current LEDs to full light intensity, producing clear pictures in low light from up to 3 meters away. I expect their new higher-voltage models will make the results even better.”