Semiconductor today

As one of the world’s most powerful radio telescope facilities, the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) at 5000m above sea level on the Chajnantor Plateau in the Chilean Andes observes dark and distant regions of the universe by measuring the millimeter and submillimeter radiation emitted by cold molecular clouds (interstellar gas clouds with a temperature of only a few tens of Kelvin, in which stars form when the density and temperature are right) in order to better understand how stars, planets, galaxies and life are formed...

At a time when production lines begin to ramp and the technology enters a pivotal make-or-break phase, market analyst firm Yole Group has released two strategic reports: MicroLED Markets, Applications, and Competitive Landscape 2025 and MicroLED Technologies, Equipment, and Manufacturing 2025...

In its new report ‘Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) 2026-2036: Technologies, Market, and Forecasts’ by principal technology analyst Dr Yu-Han Chang, market research firm IDTechEx notes that, in recent years, optical transceiver technology has been steadily shifting toward placing the optics closer to the ASIC. Traditionally, pluggable modules inserted into the front panel of a switch sit at the edge of the printed circuit board and have long served as the standard solution for connecting switches and servers in data centers...

Taiwan-based micro-LED developer PlayNitride Technologies says that its board has approved the acquisition, for US$2m, of Lumiode Inc of New York, NY, USA, which was founded in 2012 and specializes in high-brightness micro-displays for augmented reality (AR) and other display applications. Market research company TrendForce reports that Lumiode has complementary technologies and patents that can help PlayNitride to expand its intellectual property portfolio and improve access to North American customers and sales channels...

The South Wales-based compound semiconductor cluster CSconnected has announced MicroLink Devices UK Ltd as an awardee of the CSconnected Supply Chain Development Programme — Call 2...

Japan-based power electronics manufacturer Fuji Electric Co Ltd and automotive parts maker Robert Bosch GmbH of Reutlingen, Germany have agreed to collaborate on silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductor modules for electric vehicles (EVs) that feature package compatibility...

ams OSRAM GmbH of Premstaetten, Austria, and Munich, Germany has launched a convertible bond tender and invites current bondholders to submit offers to sell up to €300m in principal amount of the outstanding €760m convertible bonds due 2027...

As one of the 36 partners in the PhotonHub PHACTORY project (a one-stop-shop for photonics innovation, funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe program), III-V Lab of Palaiseau, France (the joint Nokia, Thales and CEA-Leti lab for industrial research and the development of III-V-based optoelectronic and microelectronic components and their integration with silicon circuits) is giving three training sessions...

Aerospace, Defense & security firm Leonardo S.p.A. of Rome, Italy has announced a major step forward in the development and implementation of the Michelangelo Dome advanced integrated defence system technology enablers, signing a contract with Italy-based TELEDIFE (Direzione Informatica Telematica e Tecnologie Avanzate) for the development and delivery of four next-generation radars, designed to counter long-range ballistic threats (3000km)...

Lumileds of Eindhoven, The Netherlands says that its Versat 2016 is designed to address the necessary illumination specifications, reduce the engineering complexity and support the economic requirements for the growing segment of animated, personalized car-body lighting. With LUXEON Versat 2016 singular optical elements, backlit optical surfaces and 3D illuminated structures can all be successfully addressed, ushering in the expansion of car illumination beyond traditional signaling into styling and communication lighting...

To further strengthen its strategic and technological leadership as it advances its semiconductor innovation roadmap, Sweden-based AlixLabs AB (which was spun off from Lund University in 2019) has appointed Arthur van der Poel to its advisory board...

Intelligent power and sensing technology firm onsemi of Scottsdale, AZ, USA has signed a collaboration agreement with GlobalFoundries of Malta, NY (GF, the only US-based pure-play foundry with a global manufacturing footprint, including facilities in the USA, Europe and Singapore) to develop and manufacture gallium nitride (GaN) power products using GF’s 200mm eMode GaN-on-silicon process for critical markets, starting with 650V...

After an unprecedented investment wave between 2019 and 2024, the power silicon carbide (SiC) industry is now entering a correction cycle, according to Yole Group’s report ‘Power SiC 2025 – Front-End Manufacturing Equipment’...

Fabless firm Cambridge GaN Devices Ltd (CGD) — which was spun out of the University of Cambridge in 2016 to design, develop and commercialize power transistors and ICs that use GaN-on-silicon substrates — has been named as one of the winners of Hyundai’s Open Innovation Challenge on the future of sporty driving. Out of nearly 50 companies, CGD’s one-chip ICeGaN solution has been selected for its robustness and ease of use, showing high potential for utilization in power modules for EV traction inverters. This technology enables GaN to be considered as a cost-effective alternative to expensive silicon carbide (SiC) solutions in the high-power EV inverter market, says CGD...

NUBURU Inc of Centennial, CO, USA — which was founded in 2015 and developed and previously manufactured high-power industrial blue lasers — has entered into a securities purchase agreement with YA II PN Ltd pursuant to which it will receive a gross cash infusion of $23.25m in exchange for the issuance of a $25m unsecured debenture and related warrant packages...

RENA Technologies GmbH of Gütenbach, Germany (which supplies production machines for wet chemical surface preparation) is a key industrial partner in a new €1.3m (£1.2m) Government-funded project led by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) – the UK’s National Metrology Institute (NMI) – and supported by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). The initiative aims to establish critical new metrology capabilities to strengthen the UK’s semiconductor innovation infrastructure and accelerate the development and adoption of next-generation semiconductor materials and processes...

NHanced Semiconductors Inc of Batavia, IL (the first US-based pure-play advanced packaging foundry) says that it uniquely supports mixed-material hybrid bonding with either copper or nickel bonds. Its new Besi bonding system further expands its advanced packaging yield and throughput...

With the transition to 800V electric vehicles (EVs) affecting the whole powertrain (including the power electronics), IDTechEx’s report ‘Power Electronics for Electric Vehicles 2026–2036: Technologies, Markets, and Forecasts’, this trend is analysed and used to forecast the adoption of wide-bandgap semiconductors silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), as well as the entire power electronics market for EVs...

Lumentum Holdings Inc of San Jose, CA, USA (which designs and makes photonics products for optical networks and lasers for industrial and consumer markets) has appointed Thad Trent to its board of birectors, expanding the board membership to nine members...

At the 71st IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM 2025) in San Francisco (6–10 December), micro/nanotechnology R&D center CEA-Leti of Grenoble, France and STMicroelectronics of Geneva, Switzerland presented results showcasing key enablers for a new high-performance and versatile RF silicon platform cointegrating best-in-class active and passive devices used in RF and optical front-end modules (FEM). Their paper details 3D sequential integration of silicon-germanium (SiGe) heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBT), RF silicon-on-insulator (SOI) switches, and high-quality passives on a single wafer — opening a path to highly integrated, low parasitic, and targeting cost-efficient systems for next-generation wireless and wireline communications...