Category Archives: LEDs

September 20, 2011 – One of two suitors to take a major stake in Korea’s Hynix Semiconductor has bowed out of the running, leaving just one suitor for the planet’s second-largest memory chipmaker in the latest push by creditors/owners to slough off some of the burden.

Earlier this summer STX was mulling a stake in Hynix possibly with a Middle Eastern financial partner. Those talks apparently fell through, however, and so the company cites "economic uncertainties" fed by Europe’s debt woes, such that the required investments just to keep up in the memory business "would have pressed us financially," the company stated.

Multiple deadlines have come and gone over the past few years to obtain suitors for Hynix, with all of them eventually falling by the wayside, from conglomerates Hyosung to Hyundai Heavy Industries. Micron’s offer in 2002 was approved by Hynix’s creditors but was rejected by Hynix’s board. Shipbuilding group STX and SK Telecom are the latest to sniff around the memory firm, in which the Korea Exchange Bank has a 15% stake it’s been trying to offload for years.

So what happens next? Yet another deadline to receive bids comes on Oct. 24; the nine Hynix creditors/shareholders (including the KEB, Woori Bank, Shinhan Bank, and others) hope to resolve a new deal by November. Local media reports that SK Telecom is now the only bidder left for a 20% stake in Hynix, valued at roughly 3 trillion won (US $2.6B), and Hynix reportedly is worried that its leverage will evaporate with just one bidder, and the price will go down. For its part, SK Telecom is shrewdly staying neutral, saying only that it has completed due diligence and will continue to examine factors such as ASPs right up until the Oct. 24 deadline for bids in order to "make a reasonable decision".

Options for new investors are somewhat limited, though, since there is a groundswell of support to keep the company away from "foreign capital." The flip side, though, is that pursued ownership by domestic conglomerates is raising fears of overexpansion by chaebols, a practice that led to heavy debt and ultimately financial crisis in the 1990s.

September 14, 2011 – PRWEB — Using a microreactor and control software, Quantum Materials Corporation (QMC) and the Access2Flow Consortium of the Netherlands achieved a continuous flow process to mass produce quantum dots.

With mass production, Quantum Materials Tetrapod Quantum Dots will be available in materials quantities needed for high-volume electronics products, such as solid-state lighting, quantum-dot light emitting diode (QLED) displays, nano-bio apps, etc. This process will also be used for QMC’s subsidiary, Solterra Renewable Technologies, for quantum dot solar cells and solar panels.

The continuous flow process claims yield and conversion improvements over batch quantum dot synthesis. QMC’s goal is 100kg/day production “with a 95% or greater yield,” explained Stephen Squires, founder and CEO of Quantum Materials Corporation. The inherent design of the microreactor allows for commercial-scale parallel modules to achieve large production rates at low cost in a regulated, optimized system. Materials choice for QD production is flexible, enabling work on heavy-metal (cadmium) free quantum dots and other biologically inert materials. Adaptability to other inorganic metals and elements is as important as the scaleability achieved in the process flow, said QMC CTO Dr. Bob Glass.

Also read: E beam litho, etch make identical quantum dots

While quantum dots offer performance improvements for products from LED displays to energy storage systems, lacking high-volume manufacturing methods have limited quantum dot integration into commercial products, say the Quantum Materials representatives. The continuous flow manufacturing process is meant to eliminate the difficulty in manufacturing quantum dots, the lack of quality and uniformity of quantum dots, and the corresponding high cost (average $2500-$6000/gram).

Quantum Materials Corporation uses volume manufacturing methods to establish a growing line of quantum dots. Learn more at http://www.qdotss.com.

Solterra Renewable Technologies Inc develops sustainable and cost-effective solar technology by replacing silicon wafer-based solar cells with Quantum Dot-based solar cells. Solterra is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Quantum Materials, Inc. Go to http://www.solterrasolarcells.com.

Access2Flow is a consortium of FutureChemistry, Flowid and Micronit Microfluidics based in the Netherlands. Access2Flow produces technology for converting small laboratory processes or “beaker batches” to full scale optimized "continuous flow chemistry."

September 12, 2011 — Fabricated silicon parts for semiconductor and light emitting diode (LED) equipment use made up a $310 million market in 2010, according to the Techcet Group’s new report "Silicon Fabricated Parts for Semiconductor and LED Applications 2011," a Techcet Group Critical Materials Report. The 200% jump from a woeful 2009 will continue with 10-15% additional growth in 2011. By 2014, the market will reach $412 million.

These parts are used for contacting the wafer during processing, with an ideal coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) that minimizes contamination on the product wafer.

Silicon fabricators sold about two-thirds of the 2010 product directly to end users. The remaining one-third of 2010 revenues came from OEM sales. Over 85% of the parts are used in Lam, TEL and Applied Materials equipment for semiconductor manufacturing, while Aixtron and Veeco drive more than 95% of the LED market.

While semiconductors remain the majority market, more than 20% of 2010 silicon parts sales went to LED applications, primarily for metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) equipment.  

The report offers market analysis, supply chain issues, technical trends, and profiles of three silicon suppliers and fifteen silicon parts fabricators that support semiconductor and LED manufacturing equipment. OEM and fab parts manufactured from quartz, silicon carbide and ceramics are each covered in separate reports from Techcet Group.

Techcet Group, LLC specializes in technical trend analysis and market analysis for the semiconductor, silicon, PV and related electronics industries. Learn more at www.techcet.com.

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September 9, 2011 – BUSINESS WIRE — Gallium nitride (GaN) based devices are launching for applications in defense, wireless infrastructure, CATV, satellite and power electronics markets, according to the Strategy Analytics GaAs and Compound Semiconductor Technologies Service (GaAs) viewpoint, "Compound Semiconductor Industry Review June 2011: Microelectronics."

EPC, Cree, Nitronex, M/A-COM Tech, Fujitsu, Microsemi, Renesas Electronics, Toshiba and Integra Technologies have all announced new products recently. Product debuts at the International Microwave Symposium show that "GaN is really gaining a foothold in the compound semiconductor market," noted Eric Higham, director of the Strategy Analytics GaAs and Compound Semiconductor Technologies Service. Higham cites superior power handling and green/eco capabilities of GaN technology for the rash of product development.

This increased product development is taking GaN from its mature market in defense to new uses for commercial wireless infrastructure, CATV, satellite and power electronics markets, added Asif Anwar, director, Strategy Analytics Strategic Technologies Practice.

This viewpoint summarizes June 2011 financial, product, contract and employment developments from major GaAs and silicon suppliers, addressing a variety of commercial and military applications that use gallium arsenide (GaAs), gallium nitride (GaN), Silicon carbide (SiC) and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technologies. The viewpoint captures product, technology, contract and financial announcements for companies such as RFMD, Skyworks Solutions, ANADIGICS, Agilent, Hittite Microwave, TriQuint Semiconductor, Avago, NXP Semiconductors and Freescale Semiconductor. Strategy Analytics Inc. provides market intelligence in the areas of Automotive Electronics and Entertainment, Broadband Connected Home, Mobile & Wireless Intelligent Systems and Virtual Worlds. For more information, visit http://www.strategyanalytics.com/.

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September 9, 2011 – BUSINESS WIRE — QD Vision Inc., nanotechnology-based optical product developer, relocated to a new, high-volume production facility in Lexington, MA, gearing up for new product launches in 2012.

The Lexington building houses QD Vision’s global headquarters and production and development facilities. The company makes quantum dots via a precisely controlled chemical synthesis process. The manufacturing process requires a skilled, educated workforce, said Jason Carlson, QD Vision CEO. The Lexington, MA, site will produce quantum dots in high volume.

QD Vision has partnerships for its Quantum Light optics deploying in consumer electronics products. For displays, quantum dot technology expands the color gamut and reduces manufacturing and operating costs and power use. Solid state lighting companies are using QD Vision products to make warm white high-efficiency LEDs. In August, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the US Department of Defense (DoD) awarded QD Vision Inc. $900,000 to advance their QD-based infrared materials and deliver two prototype devices over the next 12 months.

QD Vision is a quantum dot (QD) product company serving display and lighting markets. Learn more at www.qdvision.com.

September 6, 2011 — AIXTRON SE received an order from Jiangsu CANYANG Optoelectronics LTD. for four CRIUS II metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) systems in a 55 x 2" configuration. All systems will be dedicated to the growth of high brightness blue LEDs (HB-LED).

Jiangsu is a China-based joint venture with Taiwan-based LED chipmaker Formosa Epitaxy (FOREPI). The company is transferring to the new generation from its existing CRIUS MOCVD reactors. The company chose AIXTRON to minimize risks and production downtime as it ramps high-volume blue LED production at Jiangsu CANYANG, said FOREPI president Dr. Fen-Ren Chien. The CRIUS II MOCVD systems feature Showerhead technology and will transfer recipes from the first-generation systems.

Jiangsu CANYANG placed the order in Q2 2011; delivery is planned between Q2 and Q4; AIXTRON’s local support teams will install and commission the reactors. Jiangsu CANYANG’s capacity is expected to reach 50 sets of MOCVD equipment within the next two years.

Jiangsu CANYANG Optoelectronics LTD specializes in R&D and industrialization of LED epitaxial wafers and chips. The company produces ultra-high-brightness InGaN LED epitaxial wafers and LED chips.

AIXTRON SE is a leading provider of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry. Learn more at www.aixtron.com.

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September 1, 2011 — University of Florida materials science and engineering (MSE) researchers developed a manufacturing process for quantum dot (QD) light emitting diodes (LEDs) that is lower cost and higher volume than previous attempts. A start-up company, NanoPhotonica, has licensed the technology and is creating a technology development program to capitalize on the manufacturing breakthrough.

The team solution-processed the LEDs, as opposed to tweaking semiconductor manufacturing processes, said Jiangeng Xue, the research leader and an associate professor of materials science and engineering. They focused on improving existing organic LEDs (OLEDs), which comprise multiple layers of organic materials, such as polymer plastics.

Paul Holloway, distinguished professor of materials science and engineering at UF, led a team developing the quantum dot side of the research. QDs combine sulfur, zinc, selenium and cadmium atoms and emit colored light when electrified. QDs can be fabbed in different sizes to modulate the light color.

Instead of building the hybrid LED via vauum deposition (organic layers) and spin coating (QDs), the teams created a patented device structure that eliminates vacuum deposition and relies solely on spin coating to deposit all the particles and molecules needed for the LED. Device efficiency and lifetime improved compared to previously reported QD-based LED devices, the researchers assert.

The teams will continue the research to investigate continuous roll-to-roll (R2R) manufacturing or other printing/coating processes that may offer more efficiency and lower costs. "That will remain as a future research and development topic for the university and NanoPhotonica," Xue said.

The QD LEDs could be integrated into large-area flat panel displays or solid state lighting applications.

Results are published in the current online issue of the journal Nature Photonics. Access it here: http://www.nature.com/nphoton/journal/v5/n9/full/nphoton.2011.171.html

Other co-authors of this article are Lei Qian and Ying Zheng, two postdoctoral fellows who worked with the professors on this research. The UF research teams received funding from the Army Research Office, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Florida Energy Systems Consortium.

Courtesy of John Dunn, Jiangeng Xue, and Paul Holloway, www.ufl.edu

Also read: Report from the Organic Electronics Workshop

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August 30, 2011 – Marketwire — Ryerson University students and recent graduates can access up to 150 internships with small- and medium-sized businesses in southern Ontario, Canada, thanks to funding from the national government. The internships are tailored to benefit research capabilities in the student body as well, focusing on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs.

"These investments in Ryerson University will help businesses access the research capacity and resources they need to develop new ideas and bring those to market, while also helping graduates gain valuable work experience and entrepreneurial skills," said Costas Menegakis, Member of Parliament for Richmond Hill, on behalf of the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.

FedDev Ontario is providing Ryerson University with up to $2,035,000 to arrange up to 150 six-month internships (Details at http://www.ryerson.ca/ors/funding/internal/iSTEM_bootcamp.pdf).

One participating company is Alcohol Countermeasure Systems Corp. (ACS Corp.), which usese micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) technology to create a breath alcohol sensing instrument that prevents vehicle operation if the driver’s breath alcohol concentration is over a pre-determined level. ACS Corp. has earned TS 16949, ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications.

Participants in related electronics manufacturing fields include C2C Link Corporation, which designs and manufactures standard and customized nonlinear optical chips using their proprietary crystal poling technology; LED nanomaterials developer Lumentra Inc.; Luminautics Inc., working in reliable LED display technology; and Thermodyne Engineering Ltd., a consulting engineering and qualification/certification testing company.

Other participating companies include Delvinia Holdings Inc., Kensington Communications, Messier-Bugatti-Dowty, Met-Scan Canada Ltd., Mount Knowledge, NCK Engineering Ltd., Solana Networks, Trade Secret Printing, Vision Coaters Canada Ltd., and waveDNA.

In addition to FedDev Ontario’s $2 million investment in the internship program, Ryerson will receive up to $750,000 to partner with small- and medium-sized businesses on activities such as applied research, engineering design, technology development, product testing, and certification under FedDev Ontario’s Applied Research and Commercialization Initiative.

FedDev Ontario was created as part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan to support businesses and communities in southern Ontario. Now in its third year of operation, the Agency has launched a number of initiatives to create a Southern Ontario Advantage and place the region in a strong position to compete in the global economy. These initiatives are designed to support businesses and other organizations through partnerships and investments in skills and training; innovation; research and development; and increased productivity. To learn more, please visit www.feddevontario.gc.ca.

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August 30, 2011 – SEMICON Taiwan (Sept. 7-9) approaches, the island’s most celebrated event for microelectronics manufacturing, coorganized by SEMI and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), offers more than 60 programs and sessions and 550 exhibitors spanning the entire semiconductor value chain and related high-growth industries.

A "Market Trend Forum" will host five industry analysts with their takes on future trends in semiconductor markets from up and down the value chain: foundries, DRAM, packaging, and equipment/materials.

The SiP Global Summit presents the latest 3D IC developments from TSMC and ASE, and offers talks on test challenges, 2.5D-3D ICs, and device-embedded substrates, dubbed "the last mile" in heterogeneous integration in SiP packaging.

A gathering for celebration, to see and be seen: The 2011 Leadership Gala Dinner will honor TSMC’s Morris Chang, recipient of the 2011 Akira Inoue award, and we’re told that President Ma Ying-jeou will talk as well. Other invited guests listed are Vincent Siew, VP representing the ROC; Wu Den-Yih, Premier of the Executive Yuan; Yen-Shiang Shih from the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA); and Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-Bin.

For networking, the CEO Forum presents a range of talks from top industry execs (Mentor Graphics, IMEC, Applied Materials, TSMC), addressing market differentiation, future "hyper-intelligent systems," equipment technology inflection points, and other silicon IC technology challenges and opportunities. And there’s the annual SEMICON Taiwan golf tournament and luncheon.

Other forums cover a range of hot industry topics:

– MEMS: Litho for 3D TSV MEMS, etching, simulation, test
– LEDs Cost and technology trends, manufacturing efficiencies, packaging
– Green Manufacturing: Reducing and efficiently managing consumption of energy, water, hazardous substances, waste, etc. Talks include ISO and SEMI standards, TSMC’s "total chemical management," pump/abatement, automation, etc.
– More: Manufacturing/design collaboration, CMP, secondary equipment, and a number of themed pavilions including a Cross-Strait and several national ones.

To learn more about the show and register, go to www.semicontaiwan.org.

August 30, 2011 — The IEEE Photonics Conference 2011 (previously known as the IEEE LEOS Annual Meeting) takes place October 9-13 in Arlington, VA, will gather more than 550 technical presentations on lasers, optoelectronics, lightwave technologies, and other photonic applications. The event aims to tackle important issues, as well as entice students and young photonics professionals. The conference is complemented by a manufacturer’s exhibition.

Attendees — engineers, suppliers, technologists, and students — work in quantum electronic fields involving light, such as displays, sensors, imaging systems, optics & optoelectronics, photovoltaics, interconnects, microwave and nanophotonic devices and systems, planar waveguide technology, lasers, and more.

The presentations focus on technological advances that will benefit communications, energy conservation, computing, medicine, sensing, displays, and other important areas, noted David Plant, IPC-2011 Program Chair and James McGill Professor in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at McGill University.

Plenary speakers on October 10 and 11, 3:30