Semiconductor today

III–V Epi Ltd of Glasgow, Scotland, UK — which provides a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) service for custom compound semiconductor wafer design, manufacturing, test and characterization — is showcasing its specialist, low-volume, fast-turnaround, III-V epitaxy manufacturing services in booth 4923 at SPIE Photonics West 2026 in San Francisco, CA, USA (20–22 January)...

At SPIE Photonics West 2026 in San Francisco (20-22 January), Lumentum Holdings Inc of San Jose, CA, USA (which designs and makes photonics products for optical networks and lasers for industrial and consumer markets) is showcasing high-power ultrafast, UV, and 3D sensing laser solutions designed to meet the growing precision, throughput and reliability demands of advanced manufacturing and sensing applications...

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved €90m in financing to multi-national industrial and energy company METLEN Energy & Metals S.A. of Athens, Greece — which operates the only vertically integrated bauxite, alumina and primary aluminium production unit in the European Union (EU) with privately owned port facilities — supporting strategic investments at the company’s historic Aluminium of Greece industrial complex in Central Greece. The financing is aimed at strengthening the European Union’s supply of bauxite and gallium, two critical raw materials essential for Europe’s green and digital transitions...

For its fiscal first-quarter 2026 (ended 30 November 2025), LED chip and component maker SemiLEDs Corp of Hsinchu, Taiwan has reported revenue of $2.6m, down on $13.2m last quarter but double that of $1.261m a year ago...

On 21 January, Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Electric Corp will starting shipping samples of four new trench silicon carbide metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (SiC MOSFET) bare dies designed for use in power electronics equipment, such as electric vehicle (EV) traction inverters, onboard chargers, and power supply systems for renewable energy sources including solar power. The new power semiconductor bare dies will contribute to efforts to embed advanced bare dies in various power electronics equipment to lower power consumption while maintaining performance...

Phlux Technology — which was spun off from the University of Sheffield in 2020 and designs and manufactures 1550nm avalanche photodiode (APD) infrared (IR) sensors — says that its patented Noiseless InGaAs infrared sensors, proven in demanding defense, telecoms and industrial applications, are now being evaluated for use in premium hunting and professional shooting optics...

In Washington DC in the USA, the Australian Government’s Treasurer Jim Chalmers briefed Australia’s allies and trading partners on new details of its $1.2bn Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve (CMSR), which aims to secure the supply of key minerals vital for Australia’s economy, national security and Future Made in Australia ambitions...

Cree LED Inc of Durham, NC, USA (a Penguin Solutions brand) has launched its new Level 2 (L2) solutions portfolio, offering both standard and custom fully populated LED PC board assemblies (PCBAs). The new lineup gives lighting manufacturers a streamlined way to source LEDs and assembled boards from a single, trusted supplier...

Wolfspeed Inc of Durham, NC, USA — which makes silicon carbide (SiC) materials and power semiconductor devices — has announced what it says is a significant industry milestone with the production of a single-crystal 300mm (12-inch) silicon carbide wafer. Backed by a silicon carbide IP portfolios comprising more than 2300 issued and pending patents worldwide, Wolfspeed is pioneering the transition to 300mm technology, establishing a path to future volume commercialization...

Altum RF (which designs RF, microwave and millimeter-wave semiconductors) has successfully renewed its ISO 9001:2015 certification. Valid through 2029, the firm says its renewal highlights its ongoing commitment to quality, reliability and excellence across its global operations, including its headquarter and design center in Eindhoven, Netherlands and the design center in Sydney, Australia...

Swansea University is to lead a major national initiative to address the UK’s semiconductor skills gap with the launch of a new Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in semiconductor skills...

Atlantic Alumina Company LLC (ATALCO), the only operating alumina refinery in the USA, has announced a partnership with the United States Department of War (DOW) and Concord Resources Holdings Ltd, in conjunction with Concord’s majority shareholder (a fund managed by commodities investment firm Pinnacle Asset Management L.P.), to sustain and increase domestic alumina production and establish the USA’s first large-scale primary gallium production circuit in Gramercy, Louisiana...

Enphase Energy Inc of Fremont, CA, USA (which supplies microinverter-based solar and battery systems) has begun production shipments of its IQ9N-3P Commercial Microinverter across the USA in late December. The product is manufactured in the USA to support domestic content requirements and Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) compliance for eligible commercial solar projects. This is Enphase’s first microinverter powered by gallium nitride (GaN) technology and designed for three-phase 480Y/277 V (wye) grid configurations, without using external transformers...

In a trading update for full-year 2025, epiwafer and substrate maker IQE plc of Cardiff, Wales, UK says it saw strong trading momentum in second-half 2025 due to faster-than- expected funding releases for some US military and defence programs, previously anticipated for 2026...

The US subsidiary of BluGlass Ltd of Silverwater, Australia and North Carolina State University (NCSU) have extended their existing contract to include a third year, valued at A$1.05m (US$680,000). Under the extension, BluGlass will continue developing gallium nitride (GaN) lasers to support defence, quantum, and dual-use technology development for the US Department of War (DoW) as part of the Commercial Leap Ahead for Wide Bandgap Semiconductors (CLAWS) Hub, which is led by NCSU...

US President Donald Trump has issued an executive order requiring Delaware-registered optical communications device developer and manufacturer HieFo Corp of Alhambra, CA, USA to divest the assets it acquired when it was formed on 30 April 2024 through a management buy-out of the digital chips business line and indium phosphide (InP) wafer fabrication operations of New Jersey-based Emcore Corp...

Perceptra of Oakland, CA, USA — which was spun off from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2021 to pioneer photonic chip-based AI-enabled Raman sensors for chemical monitoring — has secured a €1.2m investment from photonic chip industry accelerator PhotonDelta of Eindhoven, the Netherlands (which connects and collaborates with an ecosystem of photonic chip technology organizations worldwide)...

For fourth-quarter 2025, AXT Inc of Fremont, CA, USA — which makes gallium arsenide (GaAs), indium phosphide (InP) and germanium (Ge) substrates and raw materials at plants in China — has updated its expectations for revenue to $22.5–23.5m, primarily due to fewer export control permits for indium phosphide being issued by China’s Ministry of Commerce than previously expected...

Japan-based Sumitomo Chemical Co Ltd is participating at SPIE Photonics West 2026 in The Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA, USA (20–22 January), focusing on its compound semiconductor products...

Marktech Optoelectronics Inc of Latham, NY, USA and its device manufacturing partner Optrans Corp of Kawasaki-Shi, Japan are introducing new transfer-molded photodiode and LED packaging capabilities, which are currently under development and scheduled for first customer availability in second-quarter 2026. The next-generation photonics packages offer improved reliability, optical beam control, enhanced environmental robustness, and reduced stray-light interference while supporting both conventional LED emitters and advanced point-source resonant-cavity light-emitting diode (RCLED) and quantum well light-emitting diode (QWLED) architectures...