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Saint-Gobain Buys Shell's Stake in CIS Solar Company, Avancis
CompoundSemi News Staff

August 12, 2009...As part of its development strategy for solar energy, Saint-Gobain is acquiring Shell's share of Avancis, a joint venture between the two companies. Avancis has reportedly developed thin-film copper, indium selenide (CIS) technology to manufacture photovoltaic modules. With an annual capacity of 20 megawatts, the company's first plant is already operating in Torgau, Germany. Saint-Gobain points out that Avancis' technology necessitates expertise in glass coating and in glass thermal treatment, two processes belonging to the core portfolio of Saint-Gobain, a worldwide leader in flat glass for the building and automotive industries.

Saint-Gobain Solar, a new entity combining all of Saint-Gobain's solar businesses will offer range of solar products and sevices. Saint-Gobain Solar will make and sell of components for PV modules (special glass, performance plastics, etc.) and high-performance mirrors for solar thermal plant operators. It will also have Avancis produce thin-film PV modules using CIS Saint-Gobain Solar will also design and market of PV solutions for residential homes, offices, industrial installations and farm buildings. Saint-Gobain News Release

August 12, 2009...U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the delivery of $377 million in funding for 46 new multi-million-dollar Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) located at universities, national laboratories, nonprofit organizations and private firms across the nation. Some $277 million of the total comes from the Recovery Act. The remaining $100 million comes from DOE's FY2009 budget. The 46 EFRCs are to be funded at $2 to $5 million per year each for a planned initial five-year period. In total, the DOE has committed to $777 million for the EFRCs over five years. The EFRCs were reportedly selected from a pool of applications received in response to a solicitation issued by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science in 2008 and announced on April 27, 2009. Selection of the EFRCs was based on a merit review process of outside panels composed of scientific experts. Projects at Sandia National Laboratory, the University of Southern California, and the University of California, Santa Barbara, will receive funding for research into the fundamental science of solid state lighting.

The University of Arizona, University of California Santa Barbara, Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Massachusetts, the University of Michigan, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Notherwestern University, University of Southern California, and University of Texas will each receive millions over the next five years from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to study the science behind various photovoltaic technologies. Synopsis of 46 EFRC Projects

Strategy Analytics: GaAs and InP to Underpin High Growth Fiber Optic Networks Market
CompoundSemi News Staff

August 10, 2009...Strategy Analytics (SA) predicts that gallium arsenide (GaAs) and indium phosphide (InP) technologies will help drive the growth of fiber optic analog ICs. These ICs include: TIAs (transimpedance amplifiers), laser drivers and post/limiting amplifiers. According to SA, Legacy networks with speeds of less than 2.5Gbps currently dominate the market in terms of volume, but they will represent the slowest growth over the forecast period. SA points out that that 3G and 4G standards, HDTV, and video-on-demand all demand higher bandwidth. SA predicts that continued demand for bandwidth will help raise 10Gbps networks to become the de facto standard showing a 20% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) from 2011-2013. The trend toward higher speed networks will be augmented with strong growth of 40Gbps networks.

“The fiber optic market is set to weather the storm better than most communications markets because the capital expense of laying fiber is already in place, while demand for more and faster bandwidth seems insatiable,” observed Asif Anwar at Strategy Analytics. “We expect GaAs- and InP-based laser drivers and TIAs to be key enabling technologies for the rollout of higher speed 10Gbps, 40Gbps and 100Gbps networks.” Company News Release

DARPA Extends COSMOS Contract
CompoundSemi News Staff

August 10, 2009...IQE reports that it will be taking part in a US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) contract led by Raytheon Integrated Defense System to develop Compound Semiconductor Materials on Silicon (COSMOS). IQE's Pennsylvania-based manufacturing facility will help develop the epitaxial growth process. Phase I of the program began in September 2007 to develop and demonstrate a viable process to integrate compound semiconductor materials with silicon for dramatically improved linearity, dynamic range, and bandwidth of radio frequency (RF) devices.

After phase I was completed, Phase II was awarded to focus on improving the yield and density of the heterogeneous epitaxial growth of InP HBTs in conjunction with conventional silicon based CMOS processes. The program hopes to integrate high-performance compound semiconductors with low-cost commercial complementary metal oxide semiconductor silicon (CMOS) wafers for superior cost-benefit performance compared with either technology individually. Other partners in the COSMOS project are Raytheon Systems Limited in Glenrothes, Scotland; Teledyne Scientific Imaging Company in Thousand Oaks, Calif.; Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass.; Paradigm Research LLC in Windham, N.H.; Soitec in Grenoble, France; and Silicon Valley Technology Center in San Jose, Calif.

"Selective placement of semiconductor compounds on silicon is an important achievement because it proves that optimal circuit performance can be produced through a heterogeneous, high-yield, monolithic integration process," said Dr. Tom Kazior, program manager at Raytheon IDS. IQE News Release

Kopin to Make Additional Investment in Taiwan Foundry
CompoundSemi News Staff

August 5, 2009...Kopin of Tauton, Massachusetts USA, a microdisplay and III-V foundry company, reported entering an agreement to add $6.3 million to the company's investment in its Taiwan-based wafer engineering manufacturing business, Kopin Taiwan Corporation (KTC). The increased investment comes after the company's 51 percent sequential increase in III-V revenues for the second quarter of 2009 Company CEO John Fan spoke of the company's III-V business during an earnings conference call.

"Smartphones and other wireless devices are growing in popularity, and our integrated circuit panel is gaining market share. Clearly, the wireless industry’s migration to 3G is benefitting our customers. A 3G handset can require as many as 4 power amps per phone compared to 1 or 2 power amps in the conventional 2G phones. Hence, Smartphone demand is benefitting all of us." He added, "Wireless connectivity is a vital part of communication landscape, and our III-V technology is integral to the success of this rapidly growing market. "

"We believe that by expanding our investment, will enable us to more efficiently and cost effectively meet the global supply demand of our integrated circuit panels as the manufacturing moves from 4 inch to 6 inch gallium arsenide wafers. More importantly, by spreading our presence in Asia, we are capitalizing on the demand for Taiwan based high, fast growing foundry services, a demand fueled by the expanding telecommunications as well wireless markets." Kopin Q2 20009 Earnings Conference Call Transcript

Epistar Announces Plans to Increase Blue LED Production Capacity
LIGHTimes News Staff

August 4, 2009...Epistar, a Taiwan-based LED maker, reportedly plans to increase its production capacity for blue LEDs. The company plans to purchase 10-15 MOCVD systems in the first half of 2010, according to a Digitimes article. The company indicated that after the expansion it will have more than 190 MOCVD systems. Epistar's board of directors reportedly approved a plan to release 110-135 million new shares in the form of global depositary receipts (GDRs), to help finance its capacity increase. The article indicated that based on the closing price of NT88.6 for Epistar shares on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) on August 3, the planned GDR issue may help the company raise about NT$9.75-11.96 billion (US$297.3-364.6 million) in new capital. MOCVD equipment maker, Aixtron will likely benefit from the company's planned blue LED capacity increase.

Osram Outlines Life-cycle Assessment Study Proving Environmental Friendliness of LED Lamps
LIGHTimes News Staff

August 4, 2009...Osram Opto Semiconductors (Osram) released results of a complete life cycle assessment for LED lamps. The company examined how much energy and raw materials the lamp consumes in terms of production, use, and disposal, and the environmental impact involved in each step of the process. Osram concluded that today's LED lamps achieve the life cycle assessment values that are equivalent to compact fluorescent bulbs, but LED lamps proved far superior to conventional incandescent lamps. The company which makes and sells LED lamps, CFLs, and incandescent bulbs found that in addition to being environmentally friendly in terms of energy consumption, LEDs are also environmentally friendly in terms of their life cycle assessment. The company concluded that an LED lamp is one of the most environmentally friendly lighting products.

Osram went way beyond energy consumption in looking at an LED lamp's environmental impact. The relevant material and energy supplies were determined in detail for all the LED lamp’s components and production processes. Apart from a detailed analysis of each individual production stage, for LED chips and lamp housings, for example, these also include all necessary transports such as the transport of an LED lamp from its production site in China to its place of installation in Europe. Apart from direct input of raw materials, the energy input, materials and emissions associated with the retrieval of resources were also recorded. According to the company, the results allow for conclusions not only on resource consumption and primary energy input but also related to acidification, eutrophication, the greenhouse effect, ozone depletion, and toxicity.

The company says that the bottom line is that LEDs are efficient. In the first LCA, OSRAM Opto Semiconductors found that LED lamps are a genuine alternative to incandescent lamps, even when considering the cumulative energy input and environmental factors. Osram Opto Semiconductors News Release Content continues for LIGHTimes SecondPage members...

Team Awarded Solar Contract From DARPA for Spacecraft Solar Project
CompoundSemi News Staff

August 3, 2009...The Boeing Company has received a contract from Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for work on Phase 2 of the Fast Access Spacecraft Testbed (FAST) program. Emcore reportedly will be part of the team working on the $15.5 million cost-plus-fixed-fee DARPA contract, which is currently funded to $13.8 million. The Boeing-led team includes DR Technologies, Northrop Grumman Astro Aerospace, Texas A&M University, Emcore, Boeing subsidiary Spectrolab Inc.

The goal of DARPA's FAST program is to develop a new, ultra-lightweight High Power Generation System (HPGS) that can generate up to 175 kilowatts. This would be more power than is currently available to the International Space Station. When combined with electric propulsion, engineers plan to use FAST to form the foundation for future self-deployed, high-mobility spacecraft to perform ultra-high-power communications, space radar, satellite transfer and servicing missions.

During Phase I, the team created a preliminary design for an HPGS capable of providing more than 130 watts per kilogram on a system that is less than half the weight and one sixth the size of an existing on-orbit solar power system. The team also defined the test program being conducted in Phase 2, which will verify the performance and operation of the HPGS's solar concentration, power conversion, heat rejection, structure and deployment, and sun pointing and tracking subsystems. The design will take advantage of solar concentrator technology from Boeing, and other technology from its subsidiary Spectrolab, and Emcore. Emcore News Release

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