Solliance gets rolling

Posted on November 30, 2011 by

One of the most challenging and ambitious thin-film photovoltaic (PV) R&D initiatives is underway, attracting new partners and establishing pilot facilities.

Imec, a recent partner of Solliance, earlier this year unveiled an organic photovoltaic demonstrator configured to achieve 6% efficiencies earlier in 2011. Image: Imec Set up in 2008 to pool the R&D of several research institutes in thin-film PV technologies of amorphous silicon, CIGS and organic (O)PV and team with industrial partners, Solliance is extending its influence to industry bodies ranging from R&D centres, end users, and providers of production and inspection equipment.

Since Solliance founders the Holst Centre and the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands have completed a roadmap for the programme, which includes short-, mid- and long-term goals for thin-film PV R&D and pilot production, Imec has become a partner. The Belgian organisation is merging its thin-film PV R&D efforts into the initiative.

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European OLED100.eu research project celebrates successful conclusion

Posted on November 28, 2011 by

A three-year OLED research project has ended with the demonstration of large-area lighting panels.

OLED100.eu, an integrated European research project to accelerate the development of organic LEDs (OLED) technology in Europe, has come to an end. The project received EUR12.5 million funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme and had an overall budget of EUR19.95 million. The program ran from September 1, 2008 to August 31, 2011.

As part of its overall goal of increasing the energy efficiency and lifetime of OLEDs for large-area lighting applications, the program partners demonstrated a large-area OLED luminaire that consists of nine 33×33 cm² OLED tiles.

Fifteen companies and research institutes from six European countries (see below) have been working for the past three years to bring OLEDs closer to market introduction in general-lighting applications.

The OLED100.eu consortium has focused on five goals: increasing luminous efficacy; increasing lifetime; increasing the light-emitting area; reducing manufacturing cost by optimized processes; and measurement standardization based on application research.

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Evercore Partners Analysts Now Covering ON Semiconductor (ONNN) Stock

Posted on November 21, 2011 by

Equities research analysts at Evercore Partners initiated coverage on shares of ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ: ONNN) in a research note issued to investors on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $9.00 price target on the stock.

Separately, analysts at Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) cut their EPS estimates on shares of ON Semiconductor in a research note on Tuesday. They now have a “neutral” rating and a $8.50 price target on the stock. Also, analysts at Citigroup (NYSE: C) downgraded shares of ON Semiconductor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note to investors on Thursday, November 3rd. They now have a $8.00 price target on the stock.

ON Semiconductor Corporation (ON Semiconductor) is a global supplier of power, analog, digital signal processing, mixed signal, advanced logic, data management semiconductors, memory and standard semiconductor components, and integrated circuits. The Company designs, manufactures and markets a portfolio of semiconductor components that address the design needs of electronic systems and products. Its power management semiconductor components control, convert, protect and monitor the supply of power to the different elements within a range of electronic devices.

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Triquint Semiconductor Stock Hits New 52-Week Low

Posted on November 18, 2011 by

Triquint Semiconductor (Nasdaq:TQNT) hit a new 52-week low Friday as it is currently trading at $4.64, below its previous 52-week low of $4.66 with 790,259 shares traded as of 10:17 a.m. ET. Average volume has been 6.7 million shares over the past 30 days.

Triquint Semiconductor has a market cap of $832.8 million and is part of the technology sector and electronics industry. Shares are down 59.3% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday.

TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc. provides radio frequency (RF) solutions and technology for communications, defense, and aerospace companies worldwide. The company has a P/E ratio of 9.8, equal to the average electronics industry P/E ratio and below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7.

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Semiconductor Co. InvenSense Opens Up 10.7% Post-IPO

Posted on November 16, 2011 by

Motion processing semiconductor firm InvenSense Inc. (INVN) made modest gains in early trading during its first day of trading as a public company Wednesday.

The company’s shares opened at $8.30 a share on the New York Stock Exchange, up 10.7% from its initial public offering price of $7.50. It sold 10 million shares at the lower end of its expected $7 to $8.50 range.

Based in Sunnyvale, Calif., InvenSense makes motion sensing and processing chips for use in consumer electronic devices such as Nintendo Co.’s (7974.OK, NTDOY) Wii, portable video games, smartphones and computer tablets.

The company’s products combine motion sensors such as accelerometers and gyroscopes with mixed-signal integrated circuits to detect complex motion across multiple axes.

One risk facing InvenSense is its dependence on Nintendo for about 73% of its net revenue in fiscal 2011, which ended in March, and on the Wii, which is declining in sales.

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Soitec receives regulatory approval for 155MW of Californian power purchase agreements

Posted on November 14, 2011 by

Soitec of Bernin, France, which makes engineered substrates including silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers (as well as III-V epiwafers through its Picogiga International division), says that its subsidiary Soitec Solar Development LLC has received approval for five of its power purchase agreements with San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

These five projects represent a combined capacity of 155MW with electricity generated at solar power plant sites in San Diego County that will use Soitec’s Concentrix concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) technology. Additionally, the CPUC has approved an option agreement for the right, but not the obligation, for SDG&E to purchase additional capacity from Soitec Solar Development. Soitec says that this announcement represents a significant step forward in its expansion plans and strategy in the USA.

As previously announced, the CPV modules will be made in a new Soitec factory planned for the San Diego area. To supply the projects, the new facility will use new Concentrix’s fifth-generation technology, which provides a module efficiency that exceeds 30% (2-3 times the efficiency of conventional PV technology).

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Posted on November 11, 2011 by

The most recent wave of economic woes and rising consumer pessimism has impacted the global electronics sector to the point where many analysts have cut semiconductor revenue forecasts for 2011. While it can prove to be nearly impossible to predict whether the economy will begin to stabilize or continue to decline, emerging semiconductor companies have positioned themselves to become the primary drivers of what has recently been deemed a tepid industry.

Each year, GSA recognizes the industry’s most respected emerging public semiconductor companies at its Annual Awards Dinner Celebration held in Santa Clara, California. In September, industry peers, suppliers, customers and pundits were asked to cast a vote for the emerging public semiconductor company they most respect in terms of vision, strategy, execution and future opportunity. The following article analyzes the financial status of the top 15 voted emerging companies, including the top three nominees Cavium, NetLogic Microsystems and Silicon Laboratories.

Cavium Inc. (NASDAQ: CAVM), a provider of highly integrated semiconductor products that enable intelligent processing for networking, communications and the digital home, saw Q3’11 revenues consistent with reduced financial outlooks released in September. Though weaker than desired, Syed Ali, president and CEO of Cavium, stated, “We continued to experience high levels of design win activity across multiple product families and we are confident that we are well positioned for the future.” While revenue decreased 5.4% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ), Cavium experienced 22.7% year-over-year (YoY) revenue growth in Q3 and expects revenue to increase between 18% and 20% in Q4 over the prior quarter.

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Cypress Semiconductor backs another start-up

Posted on November 9, 2011 by

San Jose-based Cypress Semiconductor announced Wednesday that it has launched a new subsidiary that hopes to radically transform the way that tiny chips — critical components of the booming smart phone and tablet market — are packaged.

Deca Technologies, a start-up that has labored in “stealth” mode for two years, operates as an independent entitity within Cypress, which has invested about $35 million in the company. Cypress CEO T.J. Rodgers, a legendary personality in the semiconductor industry and Silicon Valley, is the chair of Deca’s board of directors.

Deca’s founder Tim Olson, a veteran of Motorola and Amkor Technologies, served on Cypress’s technical advisory board for over a decade. Packaging is an often overlooked but key part of the semiconductor business that involves encapsulating chips in plastic or metal so they can be attached to circuit boards. Deca — the word is Greek for “ten” — plans to focus on packaging at the wafer level.

“I’m going to talk about why I let Tim con me out of $35 million,” said Rodgers, who hosted a party celebrating Deca’s long-awaited debut at his Woodside home and vineyard Tuesday evening. “Chip scale packaging is a billion dollar industry, and Deca can make it cheaper than competitors.”

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Semiconductor Manufacturing posts 3Q net loss

Posted on November 7, 2011 by

Chinese chip maker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. reported a net loss for its first quarter on Monday because of lower revenue.

The company reported a net loss of $87.9 million, or 16 cents per American Depositary share. That’s down from earnings of $30.7 million, or 6 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue fell 24 percent to $306.9 million from $403.8 million.

Analysts, on average, were expecting a loss of 15 cents per share on revenue of $297.9 million, according to a poll by FactSet.

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PV fab capacity expansions finally slow in deference to demand, prices

Posted on November 4, 2011 by

PV module, cell, and wafer manufacturing capacity will slow significantly for the remainder of 2011 and H1 of 2012, according to IMS Research. Manufacturing capacity will increase, only at a slower rate and more from start-ups entering the market than from existing suppliers expanding.

Production capacity has been vigorously added for the last two years; almost 30GW since the start of 2010. This growth is finally slowing in response to sluggish demand in many key regions (Italy, Germany, the UK), and a severe PV module oversupply, IMS Research reports.

Over 50GW of PV module manufacturing capacity will be in place and operating by the end of 2011: over 54% more than at the start of the year. Annual global demand has only grown by 19% to 23 GW. In 2012, capacity will expand by less than 10%, just 6% in H1.

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