Tag Archives: Small Times Magazine

June 8, 2006 – Veeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq: VECO), announced that it has received multi-unit orders for its GaNzilla II MOCVD (metal organic chemical vapor deposition) system from three leading Asian manufacturers of high-brightness light emitting diodes (HB-LEDs).

Multi-unit orders have been received from Huga Optotech Inc. of Taiwan, Dalian Meiming Epitaxy Technology Co. Ltd of China, and LG Innotek Co. Ltd. of Korea during the second quarter of 2006.

Piero Sferlazzo, vice president and general manager of Veeco’s MOCVD operations said in a prepared statement that, “The GaNzilla II is rapidly becoming the production workhorse for gallium nitride (GaN)-based LEDs. This strong order pattern from Asia driven by emerging small panel LCD backlighting applications, demonstrates the confidence our customers have in the ability of GaNzilla II to support their capacity expansions.”

June 7, 2006 — Akustica announced a collaboration with Ricoh Company Ltd. aimed at a new camera module for optimized audio and video performance in Universal Serial Bus audio/video applications.

The company said the camera module offers a seamless interface between Akustica’s newly announced AKU2001 Digital Microphone Chip and Ricoh’s family of USB Audio/Video Controllers, which support USB2.0 standards.

The collaboration is intended to simplify the integration of camera modules and microphone arrays into computer and flat panel displays, webcams and notebook computer platforms.

The AKU2001 is currently sampling with production in Q3. Ricoh plans to ship camera module samples in July.

June 6, 2006 – Acusphere Inc. (NASDAQ: ACUS) announced that it will license various ultrasound-related intellectual property from GE Healthcare, a division of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE). The agreement enables Acusphere to use GE’s ultrasound contrast agent patents in combination with the company’s own Acusphere’s cardiovascular drug candidate in the field of ultrasound contrast agents, as well as any patents that GE acquires in the field within a year. Acusphere is developing AI-700, currently in Phase 3 clinical trials, as an ultrasound contrast agent to support the assessment of myocardial perfusion, or blood flow within the heart muscle.

Acusphere paid GE Healthcare $5 million at signing and will pay GE Healthcare $5 million at the one-year anniversary of the agreement, $5 million upon commercial approval of AI-700, and $5 million at the one year anniversary of such commercial approval.

Acusphere is a pharmaceutical company that develops new drugs and improved formulations of existing drugs using its microparticle technology.

June 5, 2006 – EBARA Corporation, a Japanese-based equipment and component supplier for semiconductor manufacturing, will conduct nanoelectronics research and development at the Albany NanoTech complex as part of a $5 million program being launched in partnership with the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) of the University at Albany.

Located at CNSE’s Center for Semiconductor Research, the three-year program is designed to develop advanced chemical mechanical planarization processes and electrolytic plating methodologies for 300mm copper wiring applications. The goal of the joint initiative is to support process and hardware advances that will enhance reliability in leading-edge nanoelectronics device manufacturing at the 32nm node and beyond.

As part of the agreement, EBARA will initially locate five employees at CNSE’s Albany NanoTech complex. In addition to utilizing the UAlbany NanoCollege’s facilities, EBARA has installed two new tools, one designed for CMP and the other for electrochemical deposition.

June 5, 2006 — Xradia Inc., a developer and manufacturer of high-resolution x-ray imaging systems for 3D tomography and nanotechnology applications, announced it has been awarded a $2 million contract from the Argonne National Laboratory’s Center for Nanoscale Materials.

The contract calls for the design and engineering of a high resolution hard x-ray nanoprobe instrument for 30nm high-resolution elemental and structural analysis using scanning probe and full-field transmission x-ray microscopy. The nanoprobe instrument will be installed at Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source as part of a joint development effort between Argonne’s Center for Nanoscale Materials and its’ Advanced Photon Source.

June 5, 2006 – Applied Materials (Nasdaq:AMAT) announced that Hoya Corporation has selected its Applied Tetra II Mask Etch system for 65nm mask applications at Hoya. Hoya Corporation is among the world’s largest supplier of photomasks used in semiconductor and LCD production.

The tool is scheduled for installation at Hoya in mid-2006, in the company’s Hachioji, Japan, facility.

Applied Materials makes nanomanufacturing technology solutions for the electronics industry, including equipment, service and software products.

June 2, 2006 — Nano-Proprietary announced that it has hired R.D. (Dan) Burck as Chief Executive Officer. Burck will also become a member of the company’s board of directors. Outgoing CEO Marc Eller will help during a transition period and will remain on the board of directors.

Nano-Proprietary is a holding company consisting of two wholly-owned operating subsidiaries. Applied Nanotech Inc. develops nano applications in the electronics field. Electronic Billboard Technology’s technology is related to electronic digitized sign technology.

June 1, 2006 – Akustica Inc. and X-FAB Semiconductor Foundries AG announced a strategic supplier partnership to focus on wafer processing of Akustica’s AKU2000 Microphone Chip.

The first Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) MEMS microphone, Akustica’s AKU2000 Microphone Chip is also the first single-chip silicon microphone. The companies say that the combination of Akustica’s expertise in patented CMOS MEMS semiconductor design and X-FAB’s device manufacturing technologies is expected to deliver improvements in manufacturing cost and time-to-market, as well as new classes of CMOS MEMS chips.

“X-FAB is a leading pure-play analog and mixed-signal semiconductor foundry,” said Jim Rock, co-founder and CEO of Akustica, in a prepared statement, “making them an ideal high-volume CMOS foundry for the delivery of our single-chip products.”

May 31, 2006 — BASF (NYSE: BF) and Engelhard (NYSE: EC) jointly announced that they have signed a definitive agreement for BASF to acquire all the outstanding shares of Engelhard for $39 per share in cash. Including stock options, that gives the transaction a total net equity value of about $5 billion, according to an Engelhard release. A previous deal for 20 percent of the company is being withdrawn.

Engelhard’s board of directors unanimously approved the agreement and recommended Engelhard shareholders tender their shares into BASF’s offer.

“We are very pleased that BASF and Engelhard were able to reach agreement on a negotiated transaction,” said Jurgen Hambrecht, chairman of BASF’s board of executive directors, in a written statement.

“Our board has determined that the $39 per share offer provides fair value to our shareholders, and the agreement paves the way for an orderly and cooperative transaction,” said Barry Perry, Engelhard’s chairman and chief executive officer, in a written statement.

Engelhard is a surface and materials science company that develops technologies to improve products and processes. It is based in Iselin, New Jersey. BASF is a chemicals company based in Ludwigshafen, Germany.

May 31, 2006 – Acacia Research Corporation (Nasdaq:CBMX) (Nasdaq:ACTG) announced that its CombiMatrix group’s wholly-owned subsidiary, CombiMatrix Molecular Diagnostics, has named genomics expert Stephen Scherer to its scientific advisory board.

Scherer is associate chief of research and director of the Center for Applied Genomics at the Hospital for Sick Children, and associate professor of medicine at the University of Toronto.