Semiconductor today

The UK’s University of Cambridge and University of Southampton have been named as participants in the PIXEurope consortium, a collaboration between research organizations from across Europe that is developing and manufacturing prototypes of their products based on photonic chips...

Aeluma Inc of Goleta, CA, USA — which develops compound semiconductor materials on large-diameter substrates — is showcasing its latest advances in AI-driven photonics, quantum computing, and advanced sensing solutions at SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing 2025 at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Orlando, Florida (13–17 April)...

At the IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference & Exposition (APEC 2025) in the Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, GA, USA (16–20 March), fabless company Wise-integration of Hyeres, France — which was spun off from CEA-Leti in 2020 and designs and develops digital-control of gallium nitride (GaN) and GaN integrated circuits for power conversion — is unveiling its latest WiseGan and WiseWare advances, featuring two technical presentations and demonstration boards, including a new 1.5kW totem-pole power factor correction (PFC) module designed specifically for server and industrial applications...

Keysight Technologies Inc of Santa Rosa, CA, USA has enhanced its double-pulse test portfolio, enabling customers to benefit from accurate and easy measurement of the dynamic characteristics of wide-bandgap (WBG) power semiconductor bare chips. The technologies implemented in the measurement fixture minimize parasitics and do not require soldering to the bare chip. The fixtures are compatible with both versions of Keysight’s double-pulse testers...

Market research firm TrendForce reports that global smartphone production grew 9.2% quarter-to-quarter to 334.5 million units in fourth-quarter 2024, driven by Apple’s peak production season and consumer subsidies from local Chinese governments. While Apple expanded production with the launch of new models, Samsung faced production declines due to intensified competition in emerging markets...

Gallium nitride (GaN) power IC and silicon carbide (SiC) technology firm Navitas Semiconductor Corp of Torrance, CA, USA has announced the first production-released 650V bi-directional GaNFast ICs and high-speed isolated gate-drivers, creating a paradigm shift in power with single-stage BDS converters, which enables the transition from two-stage to single-stage topologies. Targeted applications range widely and opens up multi-billion dollar market opportunities across electric vehicle (EV) charging (on-board chargers (OBC) and roadside), solar inverters, energy storage and motor drives...

Many industrial applications are transitioning to higher power levels with minimized power losses, which can be achieved by increasing the DC link voltage. Infineon Technologies AG of Munich, Germany is hence addressing this market trend with the CoolSiC Schottky diode 2000V G5 product family, which are claimed to be the first discrete silicon carbide diodes with a breakdown voltage of 2000V, introduced in September 2024...

As network demands grow more complex, Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) is to showcase interoperability breakthroughs with live demonstrations and expert discussions at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference & Exposition (OFC 2025) in San Francisco, CA, USA (1–3 April)...

In booth 2039 at the IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference & Exposition (APEC 2025) in the Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, GA, USA (16–20 March), 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 — is demonstrating that its ICeGaN gallium nitride ICs can now satisfy a broad range of applications with higher power requirements, such as servers, data centers, inverters, industrial power supplies and, very soon, automotive electric vehicles (EVs) to over 100kW...

An international collaboration linking the US and European water industries is helping to accelerate the use of UV-C LED technology for municipal-scale water disinfection....

In booth 2144 at the IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC 2025) Exposition at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA, USA (17-19 March), Japan-based Sumitomo Chemical Co Ltd is exhibiting gallium nitride (GaN) substrates and high-purity GaN-on-GaN epitaxial wafers, which are expected to be used as semiconductor materials for next-generation power devices...

In booth 1223 at IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference & Exposition (APEC 2025) in Atlanta, GA, USA (16–20 March), ROHM Semiconductor USA LLC is presenting its latest power electronics technologies designed to improve power density and efficiency in automotive and industrial equipment applications while achieving smaller form factors and greater reliability...

Luminus Devices Inc of Sunnyvale, CA, USA — which designs and makes LEDs and solid-state technology (SST) light sources for illumination markets — has launched its patented SFT-12R and SFT-25R round LED technologies, setting what are claimed to be new benchmarks in optical performance for directional lighting applications...

NUBURU Inc of Centennial, CO, USA — which was founded in 2015 and develops and manufactures high-power industrial blue lasers — has completed the first key step in its strategic acquisition plan focused on the defense and security business sector. This aligns with its ongoing commitment to cultivate synergies with its existing laser technology expertise and the adoption of AI-driven solutions and robotic process automation capabilities by virtue of the recent partnership with NexGenAI...

A new report by Compound Semiconductor Applications (CSA) Catapult has highlighted how the UK can be a leader in power electronics for data centers and the critical role of compound semiconductors in managing data-center energy consumption...

Infineon Technologies AG of Munich, Germany has introduced its roadmap for next-level battery backup unit (BBU) solutions for uninterrupted operations of AI data centers to avoid power outages and the risk of data losses...

Efficient Power Conversion Corp (EPC) of El Segundo, CA, USA — which makes enhancement-mode gallium nitride on silicon (eGaN) power field-effect transistors (FETs) and integrated circuits for power management applications — has released its Phase 17 Reliability Report, further solidifying GaN’s position as a highly reliable technology for power electronics, automotive, AI, space and industrial applications...

Automated test solutions provider Teradyne Inc of North Reading, MA, USA has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Quantifi Photonics Ltd of Auckland, New Zealand, which provides test solutions for scalable and cost-effective high-volume manufacturing of photonic integrated circuits (PICs), co-packaged optics and pluggable optics. The acquisition is expected to close in second-quarter 2025, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval...

BluGlass Ltd of Silverwater, Australia has reported what is reckoned to be record single-spatial-mode power of 1250mW from a single gallium nitride (GaN) laser chip, an increase of more than 67% from the prior 750mW (reported as recently as January, at Photonics West 2025, demonstrating the rapid growth of the firm’s technology capabilities)...

On 13 and 21 January, respectively, the Munich District Court of Germany ruled in favor of Nichia Corp of Tokushima, Japan — the world’s largest gallium nitride (GaN)-based light-emitting diode/laser diode (LED/LD) manufacturer and inventor of high-brightness blue and white LEDs — in two patent infringement lawsuits and issued two acknowledgment judgments in relation to Nichia’s claims for patent infringement by certain automotive LED products of Malaysia-based LED manufacturer Dominant Opto Technologies Sdn Bhd...