Category Archives: LEDs

October 2, 2012 – Driven by market demand, the semiconductor industry is progressing toward consensus on building-block standards for automating LED production on 6-in wafers, explains Paula Doe in an article for SST sister magazine LEDs Magazine.

With the fast-growing demand for HB-LEDs, the industry has added roughly 100 new fabs in the last five years, for a total of 169 LED fabs worldwide. Total industry epitaxy capacity has subsequently ballooned 5× to some 2 million (4-in equivalent) wafers a month.

But there’s still considerable headroom to improve yields and reduce costs — and drive the growth of the solid-state lighting (SSL) market — by moving to larger-diameter wafers and automated production with tighter process controls. Lower front-end processing costs for 6-in wafers mean translate to a 25% cost savings vs. 4-in wafers, per unit surface area, assuming equivalent yields and around $150/wafer for the bigger wafers.

In the latest issue of LEDS Magazine, Paula Doe examines the major players’ progress in enabling this transition, forging consensus on the basics of common wafer parameters, common interfaces for production equipment, and common communication software to communicate data from analysis tools. Bottom line: efforts could enable a $7/$8 60W-equivalent LED bulb by 2014, which would propel the general lighting industry to surpass displays as the main driver of the LED market.

Click through to read the full article.


(Image via LEDs Magazine)

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September 26, 2012 – Sumitomo Chemical has joined the Holst Center’s shared research program on printed organic lighting and signage, to extend the program’s research into multilayer solution processes for high-efficiency organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs).

OLEDs as large-area light sources could cut lighting-related energy use by 50%-90%, while enabling unique lighting applications. They are conventionally made by depositing numerous thin layers of material onto glass substrates or flexible plastic foils, using evaporative processes in vacuum conditions. Switching to solution-based processes that can be done in an atmospheric-pressure environment would significantly reduce costs, by removing the need for vacuum equipment and reducing material waste.

Also read:

Toward this end, Sumitomo Chemical‘s participation in the Holst program will be providing high-end OLED materials, particularly for the active (light-emitting) layers. "Their expertise and high-end OLED materials will help us develop solution-processed OLEDs that match the efficiency of today’s highest-performing devices but at lower manufacturing costs," stated Ton van Mol, Partnership Director at Holst Centre.

Sumitomo Chemical, meanwhile, also will benefit from the program’s expertise in optimizing materials for low-cost production and flexible substrates. "Holst Centre is a leading research center for flexible electronics, and one of the few working on solution processing for OLEDs. Its unique infrastructure and many partners across the OLED lighting community will help us tailor our materials to better meet the needs of the lighting industry," echoed Ikuzo Ogawa, managing executive officer at Sumitomo Chemical.

The Holst Center is an independent open-innovation R&D center bringing together industry and academia to develop technologies for wireless autonomous sensor technologies and flexible electronics. It was set up in 2005 by imec (Flanders, Belgium) and TNO (The Netherlands) with support from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Government of Flanders. It is named after Gilles Holst, a Dutch pioneer in Research and Development and first director of Philips Research. Located on High Tech Campus Eindhoven, Holst Centre has over 180 research staff from 28 nationalities and a commitment from close to 40 industrial partners.

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imec, based in Leuven, Belgium, announced that it has integrated an ultra-thin, flexible chip with bendable and stretchable interconnects into a package that adapts dynamically to curving and bending surfaces. The resulting circuitry can be embedded in medical and lifestyle applications where user comfort and unobtrusiveness is key, such as wearable health monitors or smart clothing. At the 2012 ESTC conference (Electronics System Integration Technology Conference) in Amsterdam (September 17-20, 2012), the researchers will present their results and showcase their latest demonstrations.

Today, most electronic appliances are rigid, or at most mechanically flexible. A growing number of applications, however, require electronics that dynamically adapt to curving and bending surfaces. Some examples include biomedical systems such as unobtrusive, wearable health monitors (e.g. electrocardiogram or temperature sensors), advanced surgical tools, or consumer electronics such as mobile phones embedded in smart textiles. imec’s associated lab at the University of Ghent has pioneered this technology, moving it toward industrial applicability. Industrial partners that want to build a critical lead in this field are welcomed to join the R&D program.

For the demonstration, the researchers thinned a commercially available microcontroller down to 30µm, preserving the electrical performance and functionality. This die was then embedded in a slim polyimide package (40-50µm thick). Next, this ultrathin chip was integrated with stretchable electrical wiring. These were realized by patterning polyimide-supported meandering horseshoe-shaped wires, a technology developed and optimized at the lab. Last, the package is embedded in an elastomeric substrate, e.g. polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). In this substrate, the conductors behave as two dimensional springs, enabling greater flexibility while preserving conductivity.

“Future electronic circuitry will stretch and bend like rubber or skin while preserving its conductivity,” comments Jan Vanfleteren, responsible for the research on flexible and stretchable electronics at imec’s Ghent lab. “This breakthrough achievement demonstrates that flexible Ultra-Thin Chip Packages (UTCP) can be integrated with stretchable wiring, paving the way toward fully flexible applications. We anticipate the first appliances will be used in intelligent clothing, with medical applications following later. Once commercial products are introduced, I expect to see clothing with signalization by using LEDs and sensors to track movements.”

This research is supported by the Agency for Innovation by Science and Technology in Flanders (IWT) through the SBO-BrainSTAR project.

Also read: IBM demos high-performance CMOS on flexible plastic substrates

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September 14, 2012 – Now that the initial dust has settled after Apple’s debut of the new iPhone 5, industry watchers are taking a tally of which semiconductor suppliers stand to gain in the newest must-have smartphone.

Below is a quick tally of the key features and which suppliers likely benefit. (As usual teardown firms prepare their knives, TechInsights has cooked up a preliminary calculation of the iPhone 5’s bill-of-materials.)

— Dual-band WiFi. 4G LTE connectivity, which dramatically accelerates speeds vs. previous models This technology (similar to what the Kindle Fire now uses) increases test times at the module test level, which is a sweetspot for TER’s Litepoint business, points out Credit Suisse’s Satya Kumar. TER already indicated that this unit already saw a boost in 2Q12 attributable to both the iPhone 5 and Kindle Fire. Going forward, this likely means other smartphone vendors will adopt this technology, and eventually 802.11ac next year — both of which "are particularly test-intensive" and thus positives for TER, he notes.

Barclay’s CJ Muse, meanwhile, calls out Qualcomm’s 28nm 4G/LTE baseband and Broadcom’s 40nm WiFi combo chip.

— Upgrade to the A6 logic chip. Apple’s projections of nearly 300m iOS units for 2013 is such a sheer volume that "a seemingly benign metric like SoC die size for iPhone 5 [which is 95 mm2, 22% smaller than the A5] is actually meaningful enough to move the worldwide capex for semiconductor industry by 5% for every 10-sqmm variation," Kumar observes. He factors in 32nm capital intensity, Apple’s unit growth and die size, and determines that Apple’s chip partner Samsung could keep its logic capex spending flat in 2013 just to keep up with manufacturing the new A6 chips. (Apple also is using a dual-core ARM-A15 cores to run at 2× speed for the CPU, which Apple believes is better than Intel’s SoC core roadmap.

Barclays’ Muse points out that anything that means more 28/20nm chips means more litho-intensive processing, which "should benefit ASML disproportionally."

— More DRAM memory content, no extra NAND. DRAM content in the iPhone 5 is doubled to 1GB; Kumar actually had expected an increase in NAND content in the iPhone 5, but apparently Apple’s keeping it steady at 16-32-64GB, which underscores "the cautious commentary on wafer starts and capex from NAND companies," he writes. Among chip tool suppliers possibly affected, KLAC has higher exposure to logic/foundry and LRCX is more heavy into NAND than peers, but the extra DRAM content in the iPhone 5 likely makes up for that. Thus, the extra DRAM and no extra NAND means it’s "a wash" for suppliers.

— Upgraded to in-cell display technology. Putting touch sensors inside the panel, vs. adding a separate touch layer on top of the LCD panel, helps reduce the display’s thickness, which means the phone can be thinner or more features can be improved such as a bigger longer-life battery, explains Vinita Jakhanwal, director for small and medium displays at IHS iSuppli. LG, Sharp, and Japan Display are all potential suppliers of the in-cell display — if they can keep up with demand.

— Audio, antenna upgrades mean more sapphire. Sterne Agee’s Andrew Huang points to Cirrus Logic as a big beneficiary of a new "wideband audio" feature that can fill up more frequency spectrum to improve voice sound quality. Magnachip Semiconductor gets extra business tied to Cirrus Logic, points out Barclays’ Muse. Another winner is Corning, whose Gorilla Glass 2 is likely used as the cover glass for the iPhone 5, he says.

Huang also points out the iPhone 5’s increased used of sapphire, both as a camera lens cover and as the substrate (silicon-on-sapphire) for the antenna switch to automatically switch antenna connections, is a trend worth watching: "Within the next 12-18 months, we believe sapphire content per mobile phones could increase," he writes, suggesting eventually it might supplant the cover glass material. The silicon-on-sapphire trend likely benefits Rubicon (SoS wafer sapphire substrate supplier) and Peregrine Semiconductor (SoS switch component supplier). [Corrected 9/20: Soitec makes the actual SoS wafers for Peregrine.] "Our checks indicate that Rubicon supplies ~30-40% of the market for SoS wafers," he writes, and although a number of other ingot makers are currently getting qualified, "it is much more difficult to core, slice and polish SoS wafers, which suggests margins for SoS wafers are comparable, maybe even lower than those of LED wafers." Muse adds that Magnachip gets a foundry-biz boost from Peregrine, too.

Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim (NTNU)  have patented and are commercializing GaAs nanowires grown on graphene. The technology underpinning their approach has recently been described in a publication in the American research journal Nano Letters.

The new patented hybrid material offers excellent optoelectronic properties, says Professor Helge Weman, a professor at NTNU’s Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, and CTO and co-founder of the company created to commercialize the research, CrayoNano AS. "We have managed to combine low cost, transparency and flexibility in our new electrode," he adds.

The patented method of growing semiconductor nanowires on atomically thin graphene uses MBE (Molecular Beam Epitaxy) to grow the nanowires. "We do not see this as a new product," Weman says. "This is a template for a new production method for semiconductor devices. We expect solar cells and light emitting diodes to be first in line when future applications are planned."

Check out the video to see the process in action.

"Graphene is experiencing tremendous attention worldwide," Weman said, adding that the new invention “fits perfectly” with existing production machinery.  

One possible device with very large market potential is a nanowire solar cell. This type of solar cell has the potential to be efficient, cheap and flexible at the same time. The invention also makes it possible to imagine a future with self-powered nanomachines and advanced 3D integrated circuits built on graphene and semiconductor nanowires, enabling smaller and more efficient electronics.

Weman envisions flexible self-powered consumer electronics integrated into everything from clothes to notepads, and of course traditional cell phones, tablets and exercise accessories.

"Semiconductors grown on graphene could become the basis for new types of device systems, and could transform the semiconductor industry by introducing graphene as a preferred substrate for many applications," he said.

The research underpinning this development has been strongly supported by the Research Council of Norway since 2007. The project is embedded in the NTNU NanoLab, MBE Lab and Nano-Photonics Laboratory. The technology has been patented by NTNU Technology Transfer, of which CrayoNano is a spin-off company. The founders, Professor Helge Weman and Professor Bjørn-Ove Fimland, are both responsible for important research groups and labs at NTNU.

The article "Vertically Aligned GaAs Nanowires on Graphite and Few-Layer Graphene: Generic Model and Epitaxial Growth" was recently published in Nano Letters, which reports on fundamental research in all branches of nanoscience and nanotechnology.

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September 12, 2012 – A delegation of stakeholders in LED manufacturing have met with US Department of Energy officials to plead their case for increased support in solid-state lighting (SSL) R&D and manufacturing, with their key message that SSL offers greater energy conservation and return-on-investments (ROI) than renewable energy technologies that get much more backing.

Pushing for the added US backing is a delegation of SEMI members and other industry stakeholders with origins in the FALCON Lighting Consortium, led by Philips Lumileds and SEMI members Applied Materials, Veeco, KLA-Tencor, Ultratech, and others (SEMI’s broad roster includes major suppliers of LED equipment and materials). FALCON and SEMI have emphasized increased DOE support for domestic SSL development and especially manufacturing. US LED manufacturing received over $23M in grants in several areas (metrology, lithography, and deposition R&D) under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Funding has been reduced since then, but the groups claim lobbying efforts have restored and increased funding levels above what the DoE submitted to appropriations subcommittees.

In August of this year the groups met with US DoE Assistant Secretary of Energy David Danielson and his senior staff, their first such meeting in recent years. The key message was that energy conservation achieved through SSL can have a greater impact on US energy than renewable energy technologies which currently get government investments (and a lot more of it). The group calculates SSL can deliver 4.0-6.0 quads of annual energy savings for a 10-20× higher ROI than other energy investment alternatives.

"According to the Energy Information Administration [EIA], on a dollar-per-unit of-production basis, the level of subsidies received by the wind and solar industries were almost 100 times greater than those for conventional energy," stated Richard Solarz, senior director of technology at KLA-Tencor and Randy Moorhead, VP for government relations at Philips Electronics, co-leaders of the group advocating for greater DOE support for SSL.

"We believe that it is generally understood that conventional energy conservation — specifically lighting — efforts are under-supported."

SEMI added that it hopes the meeting will help secure support for SSL beyond its funding levels of the past four years, despite the obvious and formidable pressures on national budgets. "Despite the austerity mood in Washington, SEMI is confident that increased budget requests for LED-based lighting technologies will receive considerable bicameral and bipartisan support in the legislative branch during upcoming legislative sessions," the group stated.

*US EIA 2009 Annual Energy Review, ref. in each cell
** January 27, 2012 DOE est. 4.0 quads, FALCON estimate against current usage 6.0 quads

2012 stall could pave the way for a record-breaking 2013

by Christian Gregor Dieseldorff, SEMI Industry Research & Statistics

September 7, 2012 — Consumer and business sentiment has become more important than ever before in the semiconductor industry. As we near the end of the third quarter in 2012, pessimism about the economy prevails given the challenging financial situation in the US, a slowing Chinese economy, and the on-going European debt crisis.

At the beginning of 2012, the outlook for semiconductor revenue was more optimistic, with predicted average growth of about 4 to 6 percent. The macroeconomic situation inspired caution and semiconductor revenue outlook changed to an outlook of flat to 2 percent for this year, with various key companies announcing changes in their revenue outlook. For example, in July, Intel cut its 2012 sales growth target to US$ 55.6-58.7 billion, up 3 to 5 percent from 2011, though Intel expects a stronger second half of 2012. TSMC cut its revenue growth rate by about 1 to 2 percent, expecting a slowdown in 4Q12 and into 1Q13. In July, STMicroelectronics announced it will cut capex for 2012 by 25 percent because of a lower outlook.

Meanwhile, struggling Japanese MCU and Analog/Power-maker Renesas considers options to stay in business, such as consolidating business units or pursuing a fab-lite strategy. Fujitsu announced it will pursue a fab-lite strategy, and recently announced the closure of one assembly and test facility and the transfer of ownership of two other facilities to J-Devices Corp. Also since mid-2012, a number of companies have announced more layoffs — including Siltronic AG, Nokia, Cisco, ON Semi, Google’s Motorola Mobility and Rambus.

2013: Another golden year?

While various industry segments appear to be tapping the brakes, others are revving their engines, hoping for an improved 2013. Increased demand for mobile devices, such as new smartphones, ultraportable PCs, and tablets may push semiconductor revenue higher by 10 percent, making 2013 another golden year.

Semiconductor revenue and capex rise and fall together, such that fab equipment spending generally trends along a similar path.

Frontend fab equipment spending, by product types.
(Source: SEMI World Fab Forecast Reports, August 2012)

In terms of fab equipment spending, 2007 and 2011 were golden years. Although spending in 2012 will decline, it may still turn out to be the third largest spending year on record for overall fab equipment spending.

SEMI’s fab database shows about 200 facilities equipping (including Discrete and LED fabs), suggesting that 2013 has the potential to be another golden year — perhaps an all-time record — with 17 percent growth, almost $43 billion.

Frontend fab equipment spending. (Source: SEMI World Fab Forecast Reports, August 2012)

Key drivers for fab equipment spending in 2012 are the foundries, led by TSMC, Globalfoundries, and UMC with over $10 billion combined spending. Their dominance continues in 2013 with about another $10 billion in spending.

Frontend fab equipment spending by product types, showing largest spending types.
(Source: SEMI World Fab Forecast Reports, August 2012)

Examining fab equipment spending by product type, the DRAM sector is still struggling with declining average selling prices. The industry lost German maker Qimonda in 2009, Powerchip exited DRAM in 2011, and ProMOS is struggling. In order to avoid further ASP declines, DRAM makers ceased investments in new capacity and those who could afford it focused investment in new technologies and upgrading existing fabs. After the bankruptcy of Elpida, at the beginning of 2012, global capital expenditure for DRAM declined to very low levels. This is not expected to change in 2013.

Flash investments also slowed in 2012. For example, at the beginning of 2012, Sandisk announced a pause in Fab 5 capacity expansion. At the end of July, Toshiba announced it will cut its NAND production by 30 percent. However, SEMI data indicates that Flash investments will pick up again in 2013, with big spenders Samsung (mainly Line 16), SK Hynix, Flash Alliance, and Micron.

Samsung turns attention towards System LSI by converting existing Memory fabs into System LSI and building new ones. Spending on a grand scale, Samsung is predicted to pour over $5 billion in 2012 and over $6 billion in 2013, all into this product type.

Although more fab projects have begun than estimated last year, the overall number of fab construction projects has declined year-over-year. Looking at how this affects investments, in 2012 investments for construction projects are expected to decline by 4.4 percent (from about $6.4 billion to $6.1 billion). In 2013, another 10 percent drop will bring fab construction spending to about $5.5 billion.

Foundries perform much better than other industry segments in terms of installed capacity growth. Foundries are even more necessary given industry consolidation and as more IDMs change to a fab-lite or fabless business model. Examining installed capacity by product type, Flash will overtake DRAM in 2012.

Cutbacks in Flash production in 2012 have improved average selling prices so companies will likely increase Flash capacity in 2013 to meet anticipated demand growth. DRAM capacity investments are at "maintenance level," so no increase of installed capacity is expected in 2013. Samsung’s heavy investments in System LSI will singlehandedly grow SLSI capacity (its $4 billion conversion of Austin, TX fab from Flash to 28nm SoC logic devices).

Promising future

While 2012 may not bring positive growth, it may still end up reigning among the top performing years. As the industry continues to consolidate, with more companies moving towards a fab-lite or fab-less model, traditional foundries continue to expand and some big IDMs ramp their foundry services. Investment "engines" may be idling in the near-term, and those investments could gear up for a smooth acceleration into 2013, driven by high demand for mobile devices.

SEMI Industry Research and Statistics Group: A worldwide dedicated team

Since the last fab database publication at the end of May 2012 SEMI’s worldwide dedicated analysis team has made 296 updates to more than 230 facilities (including 52 Opto/LED fabs) in the database. The August edition of the World Fab Forecast, lists over 1,150 facilities (including 300 Opto/LED facilities), with 76 facilities starting production this year and in the near future.

The SEMI World Fab Forecast uses a bottom-up approach methodology, providing high-level summaries and graphs; and in-depth analyses of capital expenditures, capacities, technology and products by fab. Additionally, the database provides forecasts for the next 18 months by quarter. These tools are invaluable for understanding how the semiconductor manufacturing will look in 2012 and 2013, and learning more about capex for construction projects, fab equipping, technology levels, and products.

SEMI’s Worldwide Semiconductor Equipment Market Subscription (WWSEMS) data tracks only new equipment for fabs and test and assembly and packaging houses. The SEMI World Fab Forecast and its related Fab Database reports track any equipment needed to ramp fabs, upgrade technology nodes, and expand or change wafer size, including new equipment, used equipment, or in-house equipment.

Also check out the Opto/LED Fab Forecast.

Learn more about the SEMI fab databases at: www.semi.org/MarketInfo/FabDatabase and
www.youtube.com/user/SEMImktstats

SEMI
www.semi.org
San Jose, California
September 4, 2012

September 6, 2012 – GaAs epitaxial substrate production rose just 3% in 2011 as handset power amplifiers offset a shift away from GaAs for handset switches. But inside that slowing slope are two key market drivers, according to Strategy Analytics.

While GaAs epi output was slow, the actual market value surged 19% in 2011 — largely due to supply-chain disruptions and spiking prices after the March 2011 Japanese earthquake/tsunami disaster, a trend the firm emphasizes is "not sustainable." Demand for semi-insulating GaAs epi substrates reached about 30382 kilo-square inches (ksi), and just over $600M in revenues.

Within that slow 2011 growth in GaAs epi substrate production were two major trends: "MOCVD material production increased sharply, fueled by growth in HBT-based handset PAs. Nearly offsetting this growth completely was a sharp decline in production of wafers using MBE epitaxy," explains Eric Higham, director of the firm’s GaAs and compound semiconductor technologies service. Device makers have been moving away from using GaAs MBE wafers in HEMT devices for handset switching applications, but "the bulk of this technology conversion is complete and the MBE market will return to slow growth," adds Asif Anwar, director in the Strategy Analytics strategic technologies practice.

Similar trends were seen affecting the GaAs bulk substrate market too. A few weeks ago the firm calculated the GaAs bulk substrate market as ~32000 ksi in 2011 and $230M in revenues; the difference in markets reflects the added value in extra processing to create GaAs epi substrates, which enable formation of different device structures.

With disruptions in the supply chain easing, Strategy Analytics is forecasting GaAs epi substrate demand to slow to around 35,000 ksi and $544M in 2016. The market for GaAs bulk substrates is seen hitting 39,000 ksi and $240M in revenues by 2016.

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September 6, 2012 – Taiwan-based SemiLEDs (NASDAQ:LEDS), a developer and manufacturer of light-emitting diode (LED) chips and LED components, says it has replaced two top execs, weeks after posting another quarter of weak financials and a patent litigation settlement that restricts its product sales in the US.

Anh Chuong Tran, who has served as company president, COO, and director, has transitioned to the role of chief scientist, where he will focus on SemiLEDs’ technology and product development efforts. Company chairman/CEO Trung T. Doan will add the role of president to his duties. Also, SemiLEDs has hired Ilkan Cokgor as EVP of sales and marketing, joining from Everlight Electronics where he was VP of global marketing. Cokgor has a track record in LEDs and establishing sales and marketing channels, noted Doan.

SemiLEDs had a mixed bag in its most recent financial results (fiscal 3Q12, ending in May). Sales increased more than 60% from a year ago to $9.2M, but losses doubled to -$10M with gross margins swinging to -11% and an eye-popping -87% operating margin. That’s only slightly worse than the -9% GMs and and -73% OMs it reported in the previous quarter.

In late June SemiLEDs agreed to settle a patent dispute with Cree over LED technologies, resulting in a one-time payment and an injunction starting Oct. 1 preventing sales of the company’s blue, green, and ultraviolet (UV) LED chips under the MvpLED brand in the US. As an alternative, SemiLEDs is promoting an "Enhanced Vertical" LED technology, which combines its vertical LED chip architecture with a proprietary metal alloy substrate.

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Three leaders in their respective fields have formed a technology alliance to bring a new glass cutting technology to market. InnoLas Systems GmbH licensed process technology developed by FiLaser LLC and will use ultra-short pulse lasers produced exclusively for InnoLas by LUMERA LASER GmbH. This complete turnkey system designed for glass, sapphire and brittle materials cutting will be available exclusively through InnoLas’ worldwide sales network.

Conventional laser cutting is based on rapid heating leading to vaporization and material removal. This process is not only slow, but it also leads to unwanted micro-cracks and a rough surface finish. Material cut with conventional laser processes require post-processing in order to remove the unwanted damage. These subsequent grinding and polishing steps are costly and time consuming. Filament cutting, on the other hand, uses ultra-short laser pulses in the picosecond range that cut brittle materials via plasma dissociation. This new process ensures lower surface roughness, high bend strength, and faster processing speed. This new laser cutting technology works especially well on chemically strengthened glass and sapphire, which have been difficult to cut with conventional methods. Filament cutting thus enables a higher quality, throughput and yield in the production of touchscreen displays for smart phones and tablet PCs. Further areas of application include Si, SiC, and GaAs at very high speeds.

Richard Grundmüller, CEO InnoLas: “This innovative laser cutting technology gives us access to new markets, where we can leverage our core competencies in laser machining and glass handling in order to offer our customers a clear competitive edge.”

Jeffrey Albelo, CEO FiLaser: “We have created a novel laser process technology that is at the nexus of physics and materials science. It is purely disruptive and will provide our customers with a compelling motivation to acquire this capability. We believe the combination of these leaders in their respective fields will produce world-class results and will aid in putting this capability into the hands of our customers with speed and 24/7/365 reliability. Looking ahead, we have great expectations as the application potential spans far beyond glass, sapphire, and wafer singulation."

Dr. Achim Nebel, CEO LUMERA LASER GmbH: “LUMERA LASER is delighted to be part of this new partnership. LUMERA has been the leader in ps-laser systems for quite some years and our lasers’ capabilities are a perfect fit for this new application. Up to now the field of glass cutting had mostly been the domain of high average power CW lasers. The FiLaser technology utilizes unique aspects of our ultra-fast lasers providing a fast and high quality solution.”