Category Archives: LEDs

The company will use these proceeds to expand development, marketing and sales, and overall operations. Lamina’s proprietary packaging technology provides thermal management and interconnections to enable reliability and functionality with high-brightness, high-heat applications. Its TitanTurbo line of high-output LED light engines is comparable to traditional bulbs for household, office, retail, commercial, and exterior end-uses.

(April 25, 2007) NUREMBERG, Germany &#151 SMT/Hybrid/Packaging, April 24–26 in Nuremberg, hosts technical sessions, tutorials, exhibitions, live packaging demonstrations, and other events geared toward advanced applications in packaging and electronics assembly. Following are some highlights from the show.

Users can download the footprint data from LinkZ, www.zuken.com/linkz, Zuken’s customer support site. The company cited an increase in DSP popularity, leading to more module designs incorporating the component, as reason for the free design kits. Partnering with third-party vendors, such as TI, allows Zuken to provide design technologies and architectures for next-generation products, said Werner Rissiek, general manager of engineering for Zuken Europe.

(April 25, 2007) WESTHAMPTON, NJ &#151 In series D funding, Lamina Ceramics, Inc., raised $7 million to fund expansion of its high-brightness, high-power LED business. Easton Capital Investment Group (New York and Florida) led the round.

April 23, 2007 – Texas Instruments is the number one MEMS company worldwide thanks to its DLP chips business, raking in a record-setting $905 million in sales in 2006, nearly twice as much as No. 2 ranked Hewlett-Packard, according to German research firm Wicht Technologie Consulting. The firm’s updated MEMS market survey also shows that HP led a pack of firms focusing on the biggest current MEMS cash cow: inkjet print heads.

WTC interviewed more than 60 organizations during February and March 2007 regarding their current MEMS revenues, products, applications, and views of the major changes in the industry. In addition to ranking the top 30 MEMS manufacturers in terms of 2006 MEMS revenue (see chart above), WTC’s report also includes a listing the top 10 MEMS foundry service providers (see chart below).

“Although other rankings have existed for a couple of years, we did not agree with some of their results”, said Jeremie Bouchaud, head of market research, in a statement. He claimed that worthy companies are missing from those reports, and that MEMS sales from other firms has been underestimated.

TI saw its sales surge last year thanks to a 15% jump in DLP revenues, after an 8% slide the year before, boosted by its front projector business, according to WTC’s numbers. However, the firm predicts TI’s TV business will suffer from LCD and plasma competition.

Inkjet print heads still contribute greatly to overall MEMS revenues, with five companies in WTC’s top 10 list: HP, Canon, Lexmark, and Seiko with their own print head production, and STMicroelectronics as a major foundry partner for HP.

The automotive sector also is a next major revenue source, led by Bosch (overall 4th ranked) with sales of $374 million, followed by nine further companies jostling for position between the 9th place Freescale with $200 million and 16th in the list Honeywell with $122 million. Both gyro and accelerometer sensors for vehicle dynamics (ESP) applications and pressure sensors for TPMS were major stimulants for automotive MEMS markets in 2006, WTC noted.

Revenue from MEMS contract manufacturing from the firm’s “mems10” foundries — a homogeneous group of contract manufacturing companies that specialize or perform most of their foundry business in MEMS — reached $131 million in 2006, 30% better than in 2005. IMT overtook APM as the leading MEMS foundry, jumping from $13 million to $21 million based on contract manufacturing of infrared sensors, MOEMS, and DC switch arrays for telecom applications. Best growth in 2006 went to Silex, which doubled revenues to $13 million.

WTC noted that ST and Sony should be mentioned alongside the “mems10” foundries — whereas the others serve anywhere from 15-60 customers, the big chip companies’ MEMS foundry activity usually is focused on one key customer. In the case of ST that partner is HP, while Sony Semiconductor Kyushu Corp. is the main MEMS wafer supplier for Knowles acoustics. Their MEMS sales actually dwarf the smaller foundries, roughly ~$240 million for ST and $35 million for Sony.

(Published with SST sister publication Small Times)

Panel including experts from government and industry announced by Pet Food Institute

April 12, 2007 — /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — WASHINGTON, DC — The Pet Food Institute (PFI), which represents pet food manufacturers, today announced the formation of the National Pet Food Commission, composed of nationally-recognized veterinarians, toxicologists, state and federal regulators and nutritionists, to further strengthen industry procedures and safeguards in light of recent pet food recalls.

The industry-government partnership will have two main goals:

  • To investigate the cause of the current pet food recall.
  • To recommend steps the industry and government should take to further build on safety and quality standards already in place.

Information on the National Pet Food Commission’s charge and a complete list of commissioners is available at http://www.petfoodreport.com/. At the conclusion of its work, the National Pet Food Commission will issue a report outlining its findings and offering its recommendations to the industry and regulators.

PFI President Duane Ekedahl announced formation of the National Pet Food Commission today during his testimony before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies.

“The pet food industry has been working diligently with the Food and Drug Administration, which has led the investigation to understand the cause of this incident since we learned of the first recall,” Ekedahl said. “As part of this continuing effort, the Commission will augment the FDA’s work and make recommendations so that consumers continue to be confident in the food they feed their pets.

“The people who make pet food are pet lovers and owners themselves,” Ekedahl noted. “They understand the concerns consumers have about pet food products and feel a special responsibility to address this issue.”

Ekedahl was joined at the hearing by Dr. Angele Thompson—an expert in nutritional biochemistry and a member of the American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition—who will chair the National Pet Food Commission.

“It is a distinct privilege to offer what I can to such an important topic at this critical time,” said Dr. Thompson. “It is imperative that we study this problem from all sides and apply lessons learned to further build on industry procedures and safeguards.”

Dr. Thompson said the commission will have its first meeting in the coming days.

Since 1958, the Pet Food Institute has been the voice of U.S. pet food manufacturers. PFI is the industry’s public education and media relations resource, representative before the U.S. Congress and state and federal agencies, organizer of seminars and educational programs, and liaison with other organizations. PFI represents the manufacturers of 97 percent of all dog and cat food produced in the United States.

Source: The Pet Food Institute

Contact:
Kurt Gallagher of The Pet Food Institute
202-367-1120
[email protected]
http://www.petfoodreport.com/

The top six MEMS manufacturers in Yole’s ranking remained the same from 2005 to 2006. Texas Instruments led the report with 13% annual growth, and Yole predicts that the company’s micro-mirror business will become more important as it continues to grow. Hewlett Packard (HP) and Robert Bosch were also in the top three, led by ink-jet head and sensors business, respectively. Several new companies entered the top-30 group. Form Factor uses MEMS technologies to manufacture springs used in its probe cards for wafer-level testing. Kionix also joined the top group by manufacturing accelerometers and gyros for automotive and other applications. Both companies were in the top five for growth. Three companies in the top 30 experienced revenue declines from 2005 to 2006.

(April 19, 2007) STAMFORD, CT &#151 Gartner published a Dataquest Insight report predicting a 3% decline in sales revenues for semiconductor capital equipment in 2007. The research firm indicates that growth will begin in 2008, slow in 2009, and pick up again in 2010. Consumer spending, investments, and inventory control will dictate the semiconductor markets.

April 18, 2007 – Toko Inc. is shifting to 0.35-micron process technology for driver chips used in displays to adjust brightness of LEDs, investing 200-300 million yen (US $1.7-$2.5 million) to upgrade etching equipment from 0.64-micron design rules, according to the Nikkei Business Daily. The company expects to boost capacity to 3,000 wafers/month (150mm equivalent).

The company’s driver chip integrates functions normally performed on separate chips — analog circuitry that adjust power supplied to the LEDs, and digital circuitry that processes digital instructions from the microprocessor. Mass production should be ramped later this fiscal year, the paper noted.

Apr. 18, 2007 — mPhase Technologies Inc., Little Falls, NJ, is creating a new 100% wholly owned subsidiary, AlwaysReady Inc. With this launch, mPhase hopes to deliver to shareholders the value of its nanotechnology and MEMS-based products. The move follows mPhase’s August 2006 announcement that its board of directors approved the separation of its ultra-sensitive magnetometer business into a separately traded public company.

“The combined strengths of our innovative Smart Nanobattery and our Ultra Sensitive Magnetometer led us to the decision to keep these two businesses together,” said Ronald A. Durando, mPhase CEO and president.

Durando noted that AlwaysReady’s value could exceed that of mPhase. AlwaysReady hopes to become a separately traded company through the filing of a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“In the coming years, the nanotechnology category will evolve into a trillion dollar industry,” said Durando, “and we are re-structuring accordingly to be well-positioned in the marketplace, to streamline our operational activities and to leverage our existing synergistic relationships with such leading academic and research institutions as Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey; and such defense-oriented entities such as Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Army Armament Research, Development, and Engineering Center (ARDEC) at Picatinny, New Jersey”

A new management team will be named to lead the new company.

April 17, 2007 – In an abrupt about-face, the investor group seeking to snap up Taiwanese packaging services firm Advanced Semiconductor Engineering has called off its pursuit, with both sides apparently unable to agree on a final pricetag.

ASE says the consortium led by the Carlyle Group notified the company that it would withdraw its plans, originally announced last November, after an increased offer of NT$39.50/share (about US$1.19/share), up incrementally from the original NT$39/share offer. ASE’s committee to evaluate the proposal said the new price “did not reflect the value of the company,” and the committee told both the consortium and its board of directors “that it would not support a transaction at the proposed offer price.”

The Carlyle-led consortium’s $5.5 billion proposal launched in November was interpreted as a possible move to accelerate the company’s expansion into China, by relisting offshore and avoiding Taiwanese trade restrictions with the mainland. The Carlyle Group, which was also involved in deals earlier in 2006 for Freescale Semiconductor and Jazz Semiconductor, later offered an olive branch to the Taiwan government, applying to the Investment Commission and the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) to establish a Taiwanese subsidiary that would purchase shares of packaging/testing firm ASE Inc., as a token to help gain government approval for the acquisition, according to the Taiwan Economic News.

The Associated Press quoted one investor as unsurprised by the failed pursuit, given Carlyle’s lowball initial bid. “We believe that the private equity fund, which is interested in privatizing ASE, has to raise its bid by 10%-15% if it is to gain the support of its existing shareholders,” noted Bear Stearns Asia Ltd. analyst Roxy Wong.

April 16, 2007 – Semprius Inc., a company developing transfer printing technology for manufacturing semiconductor devices, has closed a $4.1 million round of Series A venture funding, led by ARCH Venture Partners and Intersouth Partners, along with seed investor Illinois Ventures. Proceeds will be used for product and business development, the company said in a statement.

Semprius was spun out of the U. of Illinois in 2005 to commercialize technology that enables the placement of a high performance semiconductor onto any substrate or target wafer. The company claims the technology enables a manufacturing process that is faster and less expensive than alternatives, and can be applied to semiconductors, solar cells, and electronic displays. Initial applications of the technology include high frequency radio frequency semiconductors for mobile communications, TFT backplanes for flat panel displays and flexible digital X-ray detectors.

April 13, 2007 – New Wave Research Inc. says it has obtained a preliminary injunction ruling in Taiwan against Japan’s Laser Solutions, prohibiting that firm from manufacturing, selling, or importing some of its equipment that allegedly infringes New Wave patents unless and until a final judgment is issued denying the patent claims.

The ruling is based on New Wave’s accusation that Laser Solutions’s Rapyulas MP-T1 030 and MPT-2030 tools infringe upon New Wave’s patented AccuScribe systems technology, patented in Taiwan, regarding its blue LED wafer-scribing products. Other patents recognize the technology in the US and China.

New Wave manufactures lasers and systems for wafer scribing, flat-panel display repair, and semiconductor failure analysis, as well as other applications in micromachining, velocimetry, spectroscopy, and general-purpose OEM and scientific applications.