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Editorial: Strategies in Light still the premier US LED event
... When it comes to the broader LED industry and supply chain, Strategies in Light, held February each year in San Jose, California, is the place to be in the US for the latest market updates and technology. From its humble beginnings as a "here comes the LED technology" conference...
Jump down to the full story
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Features:
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February 24, 2010...Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. reports that its Premier and 2 Meter flexible CIGS solar modules have been certified to meet U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) military ruggedization standards known as MIL-STD-810G. The company, a developer of flexible thin-film CIGS photovoltaic modules based in Thornton, Colorado USA, says that the MIL-STD-810G standard focuses on environmental engineering issues and requires products to pass various laboratory tests to ensure that military equipment operates in worldwide environments.
Ascent Solar President and CEO Farhad Moghadam stated, "MIL-STD-810G certification is a significant step forward in penetrating the defense application market for military and disaster relief integrated products. These certified modules are equipped with a non-reflective coating to prevent glare and have demonstrated the ability to withstand humidity, shock and sand blasting. Specialty markets which include defense applications are vital to our ability to demonstrate the diverse market opportunities with partners and customers using our unique flexible CIGS modules."
Ascent Solar News Release
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Concentrix Solar to Deploy Megawatt CPV System at Chevron Facility
CompoundSemi News StaffFebruary 24, 2010...Concentrix Solar, a recent acquisition of the Soitec Group of Germany, signed an agreement to deploy a one MW CPV power plant for Chevron Technology Ventures. Concentrix says that the concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) plant will be installed at the Cheveron Mining facility in Questa, New Mexico USA. The plant will leverage Concentrix's Flatcon technology. The Flatcon modules are comprised of a lens plate (Fresnel lens) and a base plate on which the high performance solar cells are mounted. The Fresnel lens focuses sunlight concentrated by a factor of almost 500 on the solar cells beneath.
Concentrix boasts that it will be the largest CPV installation in the USA and among the largest in the world. Chevron stated in a press release that the power produced will be sold through a power purchase agreement to the Kit Carson Electric Cooperative.
Concentrix Solar CEO, Hansjorg Lerchenmuller commented, "With their high direct normal irradiance and their high energy demand, the Southwestern states of the USA are perfectly suited for our CPV technology. Our Flatcon technology's high-precision, two-axis tracking system helps utilities to match U.S. peak power demands. "
In the USA, Concentrix Solar previously installed a demo system on the University of California San Diego campus which confirmed system efficiencies (AC) of 25 percent. Concentrix's production facility in Frieburg, Germany has a current capacity of 25 megawatts; further expansion is planned.
Concentrix Solar News Release Aixtron’s New AIX G5 System Achieves Productivity Targets at Epistar
CompoundSemi News StaffFebruary 22, 2010...Aixtron AG today announced that its next generation MOCVD Platform AIX G5 HT has demonstrated high quality GaN deposition at very high growth rates. According to Aixtron, the AIX G5 platform has operated at high pressure above 600mbar and provided GaN/InGaN uniformities. Aixtron says that the epitaxial runs were performed at Epistar Corporation, located in the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park, Taiwan. Aixtron boasts that the runs were demonstrated consecutively without reactor baking or swapping of any parts. The MOCVD reactor is now being transferred into mass production.
Aixtron says that Platform AIX G5 HT provides the largest wafer capacity (56x2” / 14x4” / 8x6” among its MOCVD systems. The new reactor design features reportedly allow high growth rates and consecutive runs without baking or swapping of parts. Overall, this results in a more than doubled high quality throughput compared to the previous generation, Aixtron indicated.
Aixtron contends that its AIX G5 HT systems provide fastest time to production with highest reproducibility from tool-to-tool, which enables a faster production ramp up as compared to any other reactor, with easy copy-and-paste process transfer, a key factor in a rapidly booming market with limited numbers of available process experts.
Gerd Strauch, Vice President Corporate Product Design & Engineering, and responsible for Planetary Reactor Development at Aixtron AG commented, "We have successfully transferred the epitaxial growth performance from our laboratory 1:1 to the system at Epistar’s site.” Aixtron News Release
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Skyworks Introduces Antennae Switch Modules and Its LTE PAs and Front-end Modules Support M710 ST-Ericsson Solution
CompoundSemi News StaffFebruary 22, 2010...Skyworks Solutions reports that its
long-term evolution (LTE) power amplifier and front-end modules now support the M710 solution from ST-Ericsson. Skyworks has also introduced a family of antenna switch modules (ASMs) for 2/3/4G handset and data card platforms using both gallium arsenide (GaAs) as well as silicon on insulator (SOI) technologies.
LTE is reportedly emerging as the 4G standard of choice worldwide for mobile broadband systems. Skyworks asserts that these 4G systems are expected to significantly boost network throughput, improve spectral efficiency and performance, reduce latency, simplify roaming and further drive economies of scale. Skyworks News Release
Skyworks notes that its products address the three primary switching functions: main antenna, diversity, and band/mode.
The SKY13362 is a single-pole ten-throw (SP10T) ASM with an integrated CMOS decoder and dual low pass harmonic filters for multiple combinations of 2/3/4G multimode cellular applications.
The SKY14152 is a single-pole eight-throw (SP8T) ASM for use in multimode embedded data cards. The SKY14152 is designed for UMTS, code division multiple access (CDMA2000), enhanced data for GSM evolution (EDGE), and GSM applications, and supports flexibility with up to five 3/4G TRx bands.
The SKY14155 is a double-pole four-throw (DP4T) switch for broadband, 3/4G band switching applications which demand low insertion loss, high isolation, and high linearity.
The SKY18106 is a SP8T ASM for multimode, high power switching which is optimized for both 2G GSM/EDGE and 3G WCDMA applications. Skyworks News Release Solyndra, Inc. Signs Distribution Agreement with Advanced Green Technologies
CompoundSemi News StaffFebruary 18, 2010...Solyndra, Inc. of Fremont, California USA , a manufacturer of CIGs-based cylindrical photovoltaic (PV) systems for commercial rooftops, has signed a distribution agreement with Advanced Green Technologies (AGT). AGT, headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is a provider of building-integrated solar energy products.
"Advanced Green Technologies has built our reputation by providing building-integrated renewable energy products and working through the value chain to create efficiency that offers our customers the highest returns from renewable sources,” said Michael Kornahrens, President of Advanced Green Technologies. “Solyndra’s rooftop solar energy systems are a great solution that offers our customers the benefits of low levelized costs of electricity, especially when coupled with energy saving cool roofs.” Solyndra News Release Lattice Power Places Large Order with Aixtron
CompoundSemi News StaffFebruary 18, 2010...Lattice Power, a Chinese company based in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China placed an order for Aixtron MOCVD reactors in Q4 2009. Aixtron says that the order is one of the largest single orders that it has received from China.
Lattice Power reportedly plans to use the systems to produce power InGaN on silicon LEDs. The local Aixtron support team will commission the new reactors at the company’s purpose-built facility in Nanchang between the first and the fourth quarter of 2010.
The order was received during an official Chinese ceremony at the Hotel Adlon, Berlin, Germany on October 12, 2009, in which various import / export contracts between the Chinese government and the Federal Republic of Germany were signed in the presence of the Chinese Vice President, Xi Jinping and the former German Federal Minister of Economics, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg.
Mr. Sonny Wu, Chairman and CEO, Lattice Power, said, “During discussions it quickly became clear that Aixtron was the company that could deliver this large quantity of high performance production tools to our tight schedule."
“Aixtron’s delivery and support commitment secured our fast expansion plan for LCD backlighting and general lighting business," added Dr. Bo Lu, Executive Vice President of Lattice Power.
Aixtron Chief Operating Officer, Dr. Bernd Schulte, commented, “We believe they’re one of the best LED contenders with strong and outstanding technology on GaN-on-Silicon." Aixtron News Release
RFMD Adds TD-SCDMA Power Amplifier to 3G Product Portfolio
CompoundSemi News StaffFebruary 18, 2010...RF Micro Devices Inc. announced that it has expanded its 3G front end product portfolio with its second-generation TD-SCDMA power amplifier (PA), the RF7234 . The dual-mode RF7234 (TD-SCDMA and WCDMA band 1) follows RFMD's first-generation TD-SCDMA PA, the RF3266, which has secured multiple design wins across leading TD-SCDMA reference designs. RFMD predicts that its RF3266 will support multiple top-tier handset manufacturers headquartered in Asia and Europe.
RFMD points out that it is supporting multiple TD-SCDMA reference designs, including MediaTek and T3G. The company robust growth in TD-SCDMA handsets in calendar 2010, driven by Samsung, ZTE, BYD, LG and other leading handset manufacturers.
Eric Creviston, president of RFMD's Cellular Products Group (CPG), said, "RFMD is introducing a record number of new cellular components this year in support of our customers' new handset builds. We are particularly focused on expanding our leadership in 3G with a broad product family that is cost- and feature set-optimized for this rapidly emerging, high-growth category. In TD-SCDMA, we are forecasting strong customer adoption of our RF3266 and RF7234, and we expect robust growth in TD-SCDMA devices in calendar 2010." Company News Release Our news features are reported
by the CompoundSemi News staff writers.
For submissions or content suggestions, you can contact us using
editor -at - compoundsemi.com
For more information and to reserve promotion space contact
Info7 -at - compoundsemi.com
or call +1 (512) 257-9888
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Commentary & Perspective...
Strategies in Light still the premier US LED event
Tom Griffiths - PublisherFebruary 19, 2010...When it comes to the broader LED industry and supply chain, Strategies in Light,
held February each year in San Jose, California, is the place to be in the US
for the latest market updates and technology. From its humble beginnings as
a "here comes the LED technology" conference focus back in 1999/2000,
Strategies has definitely shifted its strength into an exhibition platform (80+
exhibits this year). As the LED market has matured, the event has followed the
trends "up market". Not that many years back, it was about the materials,
processes and technologies that created LEDs. As the supply chain has consolidated
and narrowed (as they always do), the 2010 event continued the trend to be less
about "how you do them" and more about "how you put them to use",
with a particular focus in the lighting space. If you engineer LED luminaires/fixtures,
and are looking for the latest trends in "the ingredients" that make
a better solid state light, or LED backlight, there was plenty to hear and see.
We'll outline just a few of the nuggets for the broader LED industry and its
applications.
As with any Strategies, major highlights always come from Strategy Unlimited's
"Dr. Bob" Steele, and his High-Brightness LED Market Review and Forecast.
True to the focus, his market numbers, which we always consider to be the best
in the industry, are tallied from the package LED level. The 2009 numbers were,
in a sense, no surprise. From Q3 2008 to 1Q 2009, the LED industry pretty
much fell off the cliff. Bob's look at 18 publicly traded LED manufacturers
showed a 29% drop during that period, and likely those represented more stability
than the market in whole. The exciting thing was the bounce-back that occurred
from Q1 2009 through the rest of the year, as numbers climbed 89% from their
lows, finishing 2009 a modest 9.5% above the overall 2008 numbers. A near-death
experience isn't so traumatic when the hindsight shows growth. Lighting and
display-containing segments reflected good double-digit growth (24% and 17%),
while traffic signals experienced an 18% downturn, which we would attribute
to the combination of application saturation (most signals are now LED-based)
and the tighter capital equipment budgets that most municipalities are working
with.
While mobile phone handsets and smart phones showed an overall decrease, those
stalwarts which have driven the LED market growth for much of the last decade
have been replaced in their preeminence by LED backlights and displays. In 2008,
only about 10% of the laptops on the market had LED backlighting. For 2009,
that number had shifted dramatically up to 50% penetration of the technology
in the new models. For 2010, predictions have ranged towards expecting 90-100%
penetration into the notebook/netbook space. LED-based backlighting in monitors
and TVs is shaping up to be a massive market-maker for 2010 as well. Numbers
vary, ranging up to forecasts of 39 million LED-backlit TVs for 2010, but Bob
felt more comfortable with something in the 22 million unit ballpark, representing
about 15% penetration, and the start of a move that could be expected to lead
to near 100% adoption over a fairly short span.
LED lighting is rightly generating a lot of buzz, and the market isn't disappointing.
While anything but big in terms of its penetration, it is clear that momentum
has arrived with 24% segment growth in 2009 and 32% predicted here in 2010.
Overall, Strategies Unlimited is forecasting a 44% compound annual growth rate
(CAGR) for the lighting segment looking out the next 5 years. That represents
a growth in LED sales from less than $1B now to something more in the $5B range
by 2014. General lighting, and especially TV and display backlighting, will
be driving the LED industry to $8.2B, a predicted 53% growth, here in 2010.
Even more exciting is Bob's expectation of a overall 30% CAGR for the HB-LED
industry, reaching over $20B worth of 'packaged LED value' in 2014. Significantly,
those TVs and displays will represent half of that 2014 industry revenue.
With LEDs continuing their drop in "dollars per lumen" there would
appear to be no doubt more than a little increase in some key capacity areas
will be required, including substrates and in the LED chip production equipment
arena. Companies like Aixtron and Veeco (the A to V's of MOCVD reactor-suppliers,
which underpin the LED manufacturing technology) are seeing this ramp now, and
reporting the revenue growth to match.
Interesting tech... There were also some technology highlights that
caught our attention in the LED arena. The first was in a discussion with Eran
Fine, CEO of Oree (not to be confused
with "Cree" when looking at the name badges). Oree, which means "My
light" in Hebrew, was showing "planar LED" technology that could
find its way into a number of applications in the future. In the simplest description,
Oree starts with existing commercial LEDs, and redirects the light across a
reflective surface a little smaller than the size of a business card. The result
is a glowing RGB-driven panel, that is initially targeted to bring direct-backlit
capabilities, most notably local dimming, to the LED TV manufacturers, at a
cost-point closer to edge-lit solutions. It also provides the manufacturers
with the ability to deliver the thinner TV solutions that are the edge-lit technology
has also made popular. We had the pleasure of meeting Oree's chairman, former
CEO of Philips SSL business unit, Peter van Strijp. Mr. van Strijp's involvement
pretty clearly indicates Oree's plans to move the technology into the "glowing
panel" arena of general purpose lighting. Given the recent advances in
LED efficacy, it's not unreasonable to assume that an approach like Oree's will
be able to give OLEDs a run for their money for a number of years while that
technology develops.
We also took advantage of the opportunity to spend a little time with both
Bridgelux and Luminus Devices, two LED companies that are well positioned to
keep a healthy pressure on the current top players in the arena. Bridgelux
has just rolled out a wide offering of multi-chip packages that take a number
of individual unpackaged LED die, and places them on a single compact board
(think dime to half-dollar size). The packages take the "bright egg"
approach that covers the full array with the yellow-orange toned phosphor, making
it look somewhat like the yolk of a small egg. The company claims to be only
one of two significant players that is still making progress on 'lateral chip'
designs. Virtually all the others are focused on vertical designs, which are
not yet as cost effective as the laterally oriented chips. With warm white efficacies
of better than 75 lumens/watt, their new ES line is targeted at enabling LED
replacement lamp developers to exceed the approximate 45 lm/w system efficiency
requirements that are bundled into the latest Energy Star requirements. Bridgelux'
RS series moves up the brightness curve, and is rated to provide 3000 lumens in warm white, and 4500 lumens in cool white from a roughly 50w input. They've
taken the a design approach to maintain those lumens in a hotter platform (referred to as "hot" lumens), to
allow luminaire developers to design their systems with LED test point temperature
of up to around 60-degrees C (ouch... don't touch), which trickles down to real-world
luminaire case temperatures instead of the more idyllic, but seldom achieved
75 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. To round out the line, they're also offering the
LS series, which uses the "L" for "little", producing 240 lumens
in warm white an up to 360 cool white lumens from a 4 to 4.5w input, and is targeted
at MR-16 and decorative replacement lamps. Notably, their approach is promising
pricing in reasonable quantities in the 1 to 1.5 cent per lumen range as
a result of their lateral-chip manufacturing efficiencies. That compares favorably
with some of the new offerings out there, including Cree's new MPL-EasyWhite
multi-chip package which ballparks in the 2 cents per lumen range. Obviously,
each will claim their advantages, but a competitive market is a healthy market
for growth.
We've always been appreciative of technologies that have a clear market niche
that can create immediate profits, and which can then be leveraged into broader
and potentially more lucrative arenas. Luminus
Devices has always been one our favorite examples of this, with their extraordinarily
large "photonic lattice" chips that lent themselves marvelously to
the DLP-TV arena. The PhlatLight brand smoked that market, commanding impressively
quick market share, with performance to match. Unfortunately for Luminus, the
DLP projection TV market completely dried up as the LCDs used in flat panel
TVs and displays plummeted in price, with consumers voting for the thinner solutions
as the prices neared equalization. While Luminus LEDs continue to capture market
share in the "pocket" and now standard projector market, they had
a bit of a rough road as one market dried up before their technology had really
reached an adoption stage in the up and coming general lighting market. While
well suited for the 'multiple kilo-lumen' oriented market that will eventually
supplant those metal-halides hanging from our gymnasiums and factory ceilings,
they hadn't gotten there yet and have suffered for it. Their new CEO, Keith
Ward, is a big believer in how "LEDs will change everything about how
we 'do' lighting' as the rate of innovation picks up speed." Amen to
that. Keith's experience is in the "real" lighting industry, and he's
keenly aware of the gaps that exist between the so-called "chipheads"
the "lighting folks". It also turns out that Keith is heading a
NEMA task force called Enlighten
America that is 2 years into a 5 year plan to reach out to US building
owners and operators with the "enhanced lighting energy efficiency = enhanced
competitiveness" message. Keith is featured there on an introduction
video that sums up the message succinctly (and notably, reaches towards
the same audience that our SSL Summit
series is beginning to bring in... more 2010-2011 series updates coming soon).
The future is bright indeed... If you have news or
views to share about the compound semiconductor, LED or solid
state lighting industries
contact our Publisher, Tom Griffiths
His direct tel in Austin is +1-512-257-9888
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