Semiconductor today

Riber S.A. of Bezons, France — which makes molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) systems as well as evaporation sources — has received an order from a US customer for a Compact 21 research MBE system, for delivery in 2024, to be used for the development of III-V semiconductor materials and devices for microelectronics and photonics...

MACOM Technology Solutions Inc of Lowell, MA, USA (which designs and makes RF, microwave, analog and mixed-signal and optical semiconductor technologies) has received two awards at US-based aerospace & defense technology company Northrop Grumman Corp’s Supplier Excellence Awards...

Odyssey Semiconductor Technologies Inc of Ithaca, NY, USA — which develops high-voltage vertical power switching components based on proprietary gallium nitride (GaN) processing technology — has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its assets for $9.52m in cash to “a large semiconductor company”...

Odyssey Semiconductor Technologies Inc of Ithaca, NY, USA — which develops high-voltage vertical power switching components based on proprietary gallium nitride (GaN) processing technology — has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its assets for $9.52m in cash to “a large semiconductor company”...

Mersen of Courbevoie, France (which focuses on electrical power and advanced materials for high-tech industries) is to benefit from subsidies totaling over €12m under the European Commission’s Important Project of Common European Interest program in MicroElectronics and Communication Technologies (IPCEI ME/CT)...

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 announced the availability of the EPC9193, a 3-phase brushless DC (BLDC) motor drive inverter using the EPC2619 eGaN FET. The EPC9193 operates with a wide input DC voltage ranging from 14V and 65V and has two configurations — a standard unit and a high-current version...

Materials, networking and laser technology firm Coherent Corp of Saxonburg, PA, USA has recognized specialty analog foundry Tower Semiconductor Ltd of Migdal Haemek, Israel as an Outstanding Innovation and Technology Supplier for its silicon photonics based optical transceiver products. The award recognizes Tower’s “unwavering long-term commitment to providing the most advanced technology solutions, enabling the development of Coherent’s market-leading multiple-data-rate nodes for high-speed optical transceivers based on Tower’s PH18 silicon photonics process technology”...

California-based technology investment company GaAs Labs LLC has sold its portfolio company Mission Microwave Technologies LLC of Cypress, CA, USA — a provider of gallium nitride (GaN)-based solid-state power amplifiers (SSPAs) and block upconverters (BUCs) to the satellite communications market — to an investment affiliate of US-based J.F. Lehman Company (JFLCO)...

The UK has joined the European Union’s ‘Chips Joint Undertaking’ as a participating state, giving British semiconductor researchers and businesses enhanced access to a €1.3bn fund set aside from Horizon Europe (the European Union’s scientific research initiative) to support research in semiconductor technologies over 2021-2027...

Sivers Semiconductors AB of Kista, Sweden (which supplies ICs and modules for communications and sensor solutions) says that its subsidiary Sivers Photonics of Glasgow, Scotland, UK has signed a product development agreement with an undisclosed company, helping to develop photonic laser arrays enabling next-generation artificial intelligence (AI)...

Infinera Corp of San Jose, CA, USA — a vertically integrated manufacturer of digital optical network systems — has announced ICE-D, a new line of high-speed intra-data-center optics based on monolithic indium phosphide (InP) photonic integrated circuit (PIC) technology. ICE-D optics are designed to dramatically lower cost and power per bit while providing intra-data-center connectivity at speeds of 1.6 terabits per second (Tb/s) and greater. The technology enables data-center operators to cost-effectively keep pace with relentless growth in bandwidth, says Infinera...

Although micro-LEDs exist as single chips and waveguides as fiber-optic cables, the materials required to make them are too heterogenous to integrate these electronics and photonics components onto a single chip. However, a novel etching technique could enable the combining of optoelectronic light sources and photonic fiber optics...

MACOM Technology Solutions Inc of Lowell, MA, USA (which designs and makes RF, microwave, analog and mixed-signal and optical semiconductor technologies) is showcasing its latest products for space and hi-reliability applications in booth #1427 at the SATELLITE 2024 event in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington DC, USA (19–21 March)...

Worksport Ltd of West Seneca, NY, USA (an automotive accessory manufacturer developing clean energy solutions) has announced a strategic move to integrate gallium nitride (GaN) in its upcoming product offerings...

Through its subsidiary Infineon Technologies Austria AG, Infineon Technologies AG of Munich, Germany has filed a lawsuit in the district court of the Northern District of California against gallium nitride-on-silicon (GaN-on-Si) power solutions firm Innoscience (Zhuhai) Technology Co Ltd of Suzhou, China, and Innoscience America Inc and affiliates. Infineon is seeking permanent injunction for infringement of a United States patent relating to gallium nitride (GaN) technology owned by Infineon. The patent claims cover core aspects of GaN power semiconductors encompassing innovations that enable the reliability and performance of Infineon’s proprietary GaN devices...

California-based global lighting and smart home brand Feit Electronic Company Inc has commenced a second white LED filament patent enforcement action against Savant Technologies LLC doing business as GE Lighting in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Feit Electric says that, despite being warned, Savant imported and then sold white LED filament light bulbs marketed under the GE brand...

MICLEDI Microdisplays B.V. of Leuven, Belgium — a fabless developer of micro-LED display modules for augmented reality (AR) glasses that was spun off from nanoelectronics research center IMEC in 2019 — has announced a first closing of its Series A funding round with participation from imec.xpand, PMV, imec, KBC and SFPIM, demonstrating support for the firm’s commercial and technological progress achieved in the seed round. The seed round award plus additional non-dilutive funding in the form of grants and other vehicles from VLAIO brings total funding to date to nearly $30m...

Intelligent power and sensing technology firm onsemi of Scottsdale, AZ, USA has formed an Analog and Mixed-Signal Group (AMG) that will be led by newly appointed group president Sudhir Gopalswamy. The group will be focused on expanding onsemi’s portfolio of power management and sensor interface devices to unlock an additional $19.3bn total addressable market and accelerate the firm’s growth in the automotive, industrial and cloud-end markets...

Infineon Technologies AG of Munich, Germany has launched the CoolSiC MOSFETs 2000V in the TO-247PLUS-4-HCC package to meet designers’ demand for increased power density without compromising the system's reliability even under demanding high-voltage and switching frequency conditions. The CoolSiC MOSFETs offer a higher DC link voltage so that the power can be increased without increasing the current. It is claimed to be the first discrete silicon carbide device with a breakdown voltage of 2000V on the market and comes in a TO-247PLUS-4-HCC package with a creepage distance of 14mm and clearance distance of 5.4mm. With low switching losses, the devices are suitable for solar (e.g. string inverters) as well as energy storage systems and electric vehicle charging applications...

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 issued its Phase-16 Reliability Report, documenting continued work using test-to-fail methodology and adding specific guidelines for overvoltage specifications and improving thermo-mechanical reliability...