Category Archives: LEDs

May 16, 2006 – Harris & Harris Group announced that it led a $14 million second round financing in D-Wave Systems. of Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. The second round financing included investments from existing investors, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, BDC Venture Capital, Growthworks Capital Ltd. and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation.

D-Wave Systems develops quantum computing systems for commercial use in several arenas, including logistics, bioinformatics, and life and physical sciences.

Harris & Harris Group is a publicly traded venture capital company that makes initial investments exclusively in tiny technology, including nanotechnology, microsystems and microelectromechanical systems.

May 10, 2006 – SEMI has bestowed its 2006 North American Government Leadership award to Representative Anna Eshoo (D-CA), praising her strong support on issues important to SEMI members and the nation’s high-tech community.

Working with the House Democrat Innovation Agenda, Eshoo has championed policies that invest in education, research and development, and innovation, including SEMI’s High-Tech U. program. She introduced legislation designed to strengthen control of spam e-mail, and led early efforts to sponsor legislation to require stock options to be deducted from a company’s earnings. She was the lead Democrat on a bipartisan stock-option bill that passed in the House but stalled in the Senate, before the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) finalized its own mandatory stock options expensing standard.

“We are grateful for Representative Eshoo’s support of the SEMI Foundation’s High Tech University program, which is fundamental in helping to fill the pipeline of students with advanced degrees in math, science and engineering,” stated Victoria Hadfield, president of SEMI North America. “We also appreciate her support of the Focus Center Research Program, which is a joint initiative by government and industry to fund basic research at US universities.”

The SEMI North American Government Leadership Award recognizes US policymakers who have demonstrated outstanding leadership on issues and policies that advance the development and growth of the US microelectronics equipment and materials industry. Recipients are selected by the SEMI North American Advisory Board, and announced in conjunction with SEMI’s annual Washington Forum in Washington, DC.

Convicted of fraudulently selling uncleared surgical sterilizing devices that led to eye damage in 18 patients

May 3, 2006 — MEDICAL INDUSTRY E-MAIL NEWS SERVICE(TM) — COSTA MESA Calif. — The US FDA announced today that 2 executives of AbTox, a Mundelein IL company, were convicted April 13 2006, of fraudulently selling uncleared surgical sterilizing devices that led to eye damage in 18 patients, causing them to lose sight in 1 eye.

Mr. Ross Caputo was President & CEO of AbTox, and Mr. Robert Riley was VP of Regulatory Affairs of AbTox, when the company received permission to market a small gas plasma sterilizer only for use in sterilizing flat stainless-steel surgical instruments without lumens (tubes) or hinges. The defendants instead marketed a larger, unauthorized version of the sterilizer and promoted its use for a wide array of nonstainless-steel instruments, FDA officials said.

The defendants face significant penalties that include incarceration, fines and restitution. Sentencing will be at a later date. Two other defendants, Mark E. Schmitt, formerly Director of Marketing of AbTox, and Marilyn M. Lynch, formerly Director of Clinical Services of Abtox, previously pled guilty in this case.

The hospitals that purchased the larger unauthorized units were shown by AbTox the clearance letter for the smaller, authorized unit. These larger units were used in an unauthorized manner, because AbTox marketed them that way, FDA officials said, to sterilize complex instruments, including cataract instruments that have small tubes which are used to put solution into the patient’s eye.

FDA officials claim that 1 unauthorized use was to sterilize ophthalmic instruments that had brass joints, which reacted to the sterilizing agent, creating a toxic residue. AbTox knew of the reaction but did not advise users or seek proper corrective action, claims the FDA. The blindness was caused by a harmful copper acetate residue that remained in the tube of the instrument after sterilization by this machine.

Some 168 of the unauthorized units were sold to hospitals nationwide, including Dept of Veterans Affairs hospitals and other govt agencies, totaling over $18 mln in sales. Hospitals in Chicago IL, Columbia MO and St. Louis MO, reported to AbTox that their sterilizer was suspected of causing injuries to several patients. The company failed to notify the FDA about these reports as required, officials note.

“These convictions are evidence of the FDA’s resolve to ensure the safety and efficacy of human medical devices. Our criminal investigators aggressively pursue those that endanger the public health by manufacturing and selling unsafe products,” said Margaret O’K. Glavin, FDA’s Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs.

The conviction of these 2 men is the result of an investigation conducted by the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations. The defendants were convicted of 3 counts of wire fraud, 4 counts of mail fraud, 7 counts of selling an adulterated (unapproved) or misbranded (mislabeled) human medical device, and conspiracy to defraud the FDA. Mr. Riley was also convicted of 1 count of making a false statement for lying to the FDA, officials announced.

The defendants were found guilty after a 9-week trial in the N District of Illinois as the result of a successful prosecution under the direction of Patrick J. Fitzgerald, US Attorney for the N District of Illinois, in conjunction with the US Dept of Veteran’s Affairs — Office of Inspector General, Investigations, Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), and Air Force Office of Special Investigations, along with the FDA.

BMN PRESS RELEASE
Contact: John Stone
Director of E-mail News Service Sales
714-549-4180 phone
[email protected]
[email protected]

May 9, 2006 – Cree Inc., Durham, NC, has signed a five-year agreement to supply LEDs to Seoul Semiconductor Co. Ltd., which will purchase at least $40 million of the products during the first five quarters of the contract. Purchase commitments for subsequent periods will be negotiated annually. The two also have signed an agreement licensing Cree’s white LED technologies to Seoul Semiconductor.

“Our success to date has been mostly focused on design wins in the Korean market, and we look to further expand this success on a worldwide scale over the next several years,” commented Chuck Swoboda, Cree’s chairman and CEO.

Reaching this long-term supply agreement with Cree provides access to leading LED technology. Our partnering on wider technologies paves the way for added success in future applications,” added Chung H. Lee, Seoul Semiconductor’s president.

May 8, 2006 – SEMI has announced additional details about its backend technology-themed content pavilion at this year’s SEMICON West, developed in conjunction with leading industry associations and companies including FSA, the International Electronic Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI), the Microelectronics Packaging and Test Engineering Council (MEPTEC), and TechSearch International.

The test, assembly, and packaging technologies “TechXPOT” will incorporate exhibits, displays, and exhibitor presentations, along with two detailed roadmap sessions, and presentations from select winners of the show’s fourth annual Technology Innovation Showcase (TIS) awards.

Sessions include test roadmaps and design for test, organized by SEMI; user packaging roadmaps, organized by MEPTEC; fabless roadmaps, organized by FSA; and a lead- free seminar, organized by iNEMI and TechSearch International.

The first of two sessions on test, assembly, and packaging technologies will address several topics, including “Drivers and Challenges for Packaging of Next Generation FPGAs,” an “ASICs Packaging Roadmap,” “Critical Package Requirements for Advanced Manufacturing Flow,” and “Mil-Aero Electronics.” A second session will cover “Modeling for Material Sets in Semiconductor Packaging Assembly,” the “Impact of Application Surface on the Development of TIMs,” “Electronic Packaging Materials,” and a “Global Semiconductor Packaging Materials Outlook led by SEMI’s Dan Tracy.

This year’s TiS winners for test, assembly, and packaging will also be on display and giving presentations in the TechXPOT. They include: Advanced Material Sciences Inc. (AMS), Aguila Technologies, Deep Photonics, ICOS Vision Systems, Microbonds Inc., Segin Semiconductor Solutions, Synova SA, and Xradia Inc.

SEMI test assembly packaging SEMICON West FPGA ASIC

May 5, 2006 – Investment firm Mellon HBV Alternative Strategies, a 6% owner of ASM International NV, said it intends to attend the company’s shareholders meeting on May 18 with its own agenda — to come up with an endgame strategy for the company’s frontend business, seen as not synergistic with its other areas of business.

Mellon noted that ASMI has spent 350 million euros on R&D since 2000, but implied market capitalization of its frontend business has decreased from 300 million euros to less than zero today, a comparison that the firm views as “an alarming development,” since it suggests investments in the frontend unit have exceeded the overall company’s net worth.

“Although ASMI’s front-end business has demonstrated a good technological expertise in a selected number of market segments, Mellon HBV believes it has failed overall to generate satisfactory margins over the last five years,” said the company, in a statement. “Combined with a large and broadly allocated R&D budget, this has led to significant value erosion, which is contrary to industry trends.”

Mellon listed several changes it will push for adoption at the shareholders’ meeting, including a reduced stake in ASM PT, R&D cutbacks, and possibly an outright sale the frontend business, unless a clear synergy with the backend business is demonstrated. Mellon also says it will vote against the board appointment of Chuck Del Prado, son of CEO Arthur Del Prado, as well as proposed board members Berend Brix and Van Amerongen. In addition, the firm wants a clear roadmap to profitability in line with industry peers, as well as restrictions on authorizations to issue shares, seen as detrimental to outside shareholders who represent the majority of issues share capital.

ASMI stated in December that it would allow debate on the merits its frontend-backend business strategy at its general meeting, stating that “from time to time, a number of ASMI shareholders have questioned the reasons of combining what are perceived to be distinct operations.”

The company has already taken steps to get its core frontend business areas back on track to profitability. In February of this year, the company said it would scale back its NuTool copper plating, planarization, and electrochemical mechanical deposition processes business to “a small operation” to focus on process and IP licensing to focus on licensing the technology. The early-stage technology business was purchased in March 2004 for roughly $43 million, in hopes it would accelerate development and commercialization of advanced back-end-of-line copper/low-k interconnect technologies.

ASMI also is consolidating the wafer-handling platforms used in its transistor capacitor product group, including atomic layer deposition (ALD) and plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) acquired from South Korea’s Genitech in April 2004. The restructuring costs were projected to exceed 50 million euros, roughly four times the company’s 12 million euros in revenues over the past three quarters.

May 4, 2006 – Philips Research and the U. of Groningen in The Netherlands say they have fabricated arrays of molecular diodes (1.5nm thin) on standard substrates with “high yields,” targeting applications in plastic electronics requiring low temperature or low cost in-line manufacturing processes.

Work on molecular electronics utilizing self-organizational properties have been ongoing for years, and has led to the creation of functional molecules sandwiched between two metallic (e.g., gold) electrodes, and spontaneously forming a densely-packed monolayer on the bottom electrode. However, efforts to deposit a metal electrode directly onto the monolayer have run into problems — e.g., shorting caused by contacts forming between the electrodes, since the monolayer is only 1-2nm thick.

To address these issues, the scientists use monolayers confined to predefined holes in a polymer applied on top of the bottom electrode. An additional plastic electrode is deposited onto the monolayer prior to the deposition of the metallic electrode. The plastic electrode protects the monolayer, enabling a nondetrimental deposition of the gold electrode.

Bert de Boer, leader of the research team and assistant professor at the U. of Groningen’s Materials Science Centre, explained that the new process “will enable us, for the first time, to do reliable and reproducible measurements on molecular junctions, which is essential for the exploration of the potential applications of molecular electronics.”

Molecular electronics is seen as an option for manufacturing plastic electronics requiring low temperature or low cost in-line manufacturing processes, not as a replacement current silicon-based IC technologies, explained Dago de Leeuw, a Philips Research Fellow and one of the joint research team members. Using molecular electronics processes, scientists hope to fabricate elements for electronic elements in which the functionality is confined to a single molecular layer.

May 4, 2006 – FEI Co. (Nasdaq: FEIC) turned a corner on Wednesday. The Hillsboro, Ore., maker of tools for nanoscale characterization and research announced it had cut its first quarter loss to $5.2 million, compared with a $30.7 million loss in the fourth quarter of 2005.

While that performance is still a ways off the $3.4 million first quarter profit the company posted a year ago, net sales of $113.8 million were up 12 percent over the first quarter of last year. New orders also remained strong, as the company cited a record backlog.

Analysts responded positively to the news. “We see Q1 as confirmation that the company effectively implemented its operational overhaul during 2005 to raise gross margins and overall profitability,” wrote JoAnne Feeney in a research note this morning. Feeney is an equities analyst with investment bank Punk Ziegel & Co., which makes a market in FEI stock. She reiterated a buy rating on the stock and raised her price target from $26 to $28. The stock closed today at $25.39, up 14.8 percent over yesterday’s close.

Other analysts echoed the sentiment. ThinkEquity Partners analyst Stuart Pulvirent and W.R Hambrecht analyst John Roy also raised their targets on the stock.

It was a shift that was long in coming. Prior to yesterday’s earnings announcement Feeney said the company had taken a “giant step away from the competition” through the introduction of its Titan scanning transmission electron microscope. The device began shipping in August of last year.

She was also unfazed by CEO Vahe Sarkissian’s relatively sudden departure, which was announced April 3. He had been with FEI since 1998 and had led through numerous transformations in technology. “I think Vahe was looking for retirement,” Feeney said.

FEI, which makes focused ion- and electron-beam tools for nanoscale characterization and research, is conducting a search to replace Sarkissian, who is also leaving his position on the company’s board of directors.

“We are doing a search that will include inside and outside candidates, so probably it will take several months,” said Fletcher Chamberlin, director of investor relations for the company. He would not comment on reasons for the change in leadership. He said there has been no change in the company’s strategy of focusing on three major markets: nano research, nanobiology and nanoelectronics.

In early December 2005, FEI closed its Peabody, Mass. site, where nanoelectronics instruments were made, “to focus our nanoelectronics business more tightly,” Chamberlin said.

“We concentrated those product lines back here in Hillsboro. We also had more capacity than needed.” The company will retain its Eindhoven, Netherlands site, according to Chamberlin. “It is a very significant piece of the company. That’s where we have designed and built the Titan scanning transmission electron microscope,” he said.

The Eindhoven site could also be what attracted the attention of Carl Zeiss SMT, a unit of Carl Zeiss AG, which initiated acquisition discussions with FEI several months ago. FEI terminated those discussions in February.

Analyst Feeney doesn’t think a renewed Zeiss acquisition offer is likely now that the leadership has changed hands. “My understanding is that the company as a whole rejected it,” she said.

Raymond Link, who was brought on as chief financial officer in July of last year, was recently named interim CEO while the company’s search for a new chief executive ensues.

May 2, 2006 – Veeco Instruments Inc. (VECO) announced that it has received several multi-unit orders for its GaNzilla II MOCVD (metal organic chemical vapor deposition) system from several key Taiwanese manufacturers of high-brightness light emitting diodes. Customers which have placed multi-unit orders during the first quarter of 2006 include Huga Optotech Inc., Highlink Technology Corp. and Epitech Technology Corp.

In addition to these multi-unit orders for new GaNzilla IIs, Veeco says it has sold several GaNzilla I reactor upgrade kits which allow its customers to significantly increase the performance of their installed base.

May 1, 2006 – Alliance Semiconductor Corp. has agreed to sell its analog and mixed-signal business unit to a group of investors led by private equity firm Shah Capital Partners LP for $9.25 million in cash, carving out nearly two-thirds of its remaining business after declaring it will end “years of losses” from its semiconductor operations.

The new deal comes just two weeks after the company sold its systems solution business unit to Tundra Semiconductor Corp. for $5.8 million in cash, including facilities and employees in Santa Clara, CA and Hyderabad, India. The analog/mixed-signal business was Alliance’s largest unit, making up about 48% of total sales in fiscal 3Q06; the systems and solutions unit accounted for 24% of sales in 3Q06. The company said it is still exploring a possible sale of its remaining memory chip operations, which accounted for about 27% of total revenues.

“In addition to the cash being generated by these sales, we will be ending the years of losses generated by the semiconductor manufacturing operations that occurred under the prior management,” stated Mel Keating, president and CEO of Alliance. Keating took over from N. Damodar Reddy, formerly president, CEO, and interim CFO, who resigned in December. Alliance also is significantly reducing its overhead — from 238 employees worldwide in Oct. 2005 now down to just 30, with a planned relocation of corporate headquarters expected to save $150,000/month.

In its most recent financial statements, covering fiscal 3Q06 (ended in December), Alliance posted a 25% year-on-year increase in revenues to $6.6 million, and a net income of $3.1 million vs. a $9.9 million loss a year ago. For fiscal 1Q06-3Q06, Alliance losses were $15.9 million vs. $26.7 million during the same period a year ago, on 1% higher sales of $18.1 million.

“This agreement is a significant step in our plan to return value for Alliance stockholders,” added Bryant Riley, chairman. “Now that we have taken steps to stop the operating losses, we can focus on realizing value from the Alliance venture capital investments.”

In 3Q06, Alliance Ventures V invested approximately $3.2 million in six companies through its Alliance Ventures VC unit. Total equity in net losses of Alliance Ventures investee companies was approximately $3.4 million in fiscal 3Q06. Alliance also holds a 73.3% interest in Solar Venture Partners LP, a VC partnership that generated a small writedown in fiscal 3Q06.