Semiconductor today

Japan-based ROHM has released, via its website, the reference designs REF68005, REF68006 and REF68004 for three-phase inverter circuits featuring EcoSiC-brand silicon carbide (SiC) molded modules HSDIP20, DOT-247 and TRCDRIVE pack. Designers can use the data provided in the reference designs to create the drive circuit boards. When combined with ROHM's SiC modules, the designs help to reduce the person-hours required for device evaluation...

POET Technologies Inc of Toronto, Ontario, Canada –– which designs and implementats highly integrated optical engines and light sources for artificial intelligence networks –– has announced a strategic collaboration with optoelectronic and power management firm LITEON Technology of Hsinchu, Taiwan. The partnership aims to co-develop next-generation optical communication modules built on POET’s patented optical interposer technology and integration platform...

In booth 1401 at the Optical Fiber Communications Conference and Exhibition (OFC 2026) at the Los Angeles Convention Center (17–19 March), materials, networking and laser technology firm Coherent Corp of Saxonburg, PA, USA is highlighting the breadth and scalability of its indium phosphide (InP) innovations, showcasing a broad portfolio of lasers, modulators, photodiodes and subsystems for powering next-generation data-center architectures...

In booth #1439 at the Optical Fiber Communications Conference and Exhibition (OFC 2026) at the Los Angeles Convention Center (17–19 March), 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 technology and demonstrating products designed to meet the accelerating demands of next-generation AI and data-center infrastructure...

In booth #1439 at the Optical Fiber Communications Conference and Exhibition (OFC 2026) at the Los Angeles Convention Center (17–19 March), 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 announced an optical interconnect solution designed to support next-generation AI infrastructure using vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) technology. This solution offers a scalable optical platform for next-generation rack-level architectures to address the bandwidth, power, and integration challenges of AI scale-up networks...

Sivers Semiconductors AB of Kista, Sweden (which supplies RF beam-former ICs and lasers for AI data-center, SATCOM, defense and telecom applications) has announced a strategic partnership with optical communication device, module and subsystem maker O-Net Technologies (Group) Co Ltd of Shenzhen, China and Enablence Technologies Inc of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (which designs and manufactures optical components) to develop an advanced external light source (ELS) module with Sivers laser arrays to support co-packaged optics (CPO) roll-out in AI data centers and high-performance computing (HPC) systems. O-Net will serve as the ODM partner, integrating Sivers’ laser arrays and Enablence’s NxN Star Coupler to deliver a scalable ELS module for scale-out and scale-up optical systems...

Navitas Semiconductor Corp of Torrance, CA, USA — which provides GaNFast gallium nitride (GaN) and GeneSiC silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductors — has announced its latest DC–DC power delivery board (PDB) powered by GaNFast technology, enabling direct conversion from 800V to 6V in one power stage. This eliminates the traditional 48V intermediate bus converter (IBC) stage within the compute server trays, maximizing system efficiency, reliability and valuable real-estate, to deliver a simple power delivery solution to support advanced NVIDIA AI infrastructure...

Specialty semiconductor and performance materials producer 5N Plus Inc (5N+) of Montréal, Québec, Canada has announced upcoming changes to its board of directors. Michael Hanley will be proposed for election as a new independent director at the annual meeting of shareholders on 7 May. Jean-Marie Bourassa, a board member since 2007, is not standing for re-election...

At the Japan Society of Applied Physics (JSAP) Spring Meeting 2026 at the Insitute of Science Tokyo (15-18 March), a research group from Nagoya University’s Center for Low-temperature Plasma Sciences, in collaboration with university spinout NU-Rei Co Ltd, is presenting six advances in the growth of gallium oxide (Ga2O3), which has strong potential for next-generation power devices used in electric vehicles, power conversion systems, and space applications. Gallium oxide is attracting growing interest in the power semiconductor industry because it can, in principle, produce higher-voltage devices with relatively abundant, lower-cost raw materials...

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 introduced the EPC91202 evaluation board, a complete three-phase brushless DC (BLDC) motor drive inverter designed to accelerate the development of high-efficiency motor drive applications in robotics, e-mobility, drones, industrial automation, and battery-powered systems...

Agnitron Technology Inc of Chanhassen, MN, USA says that its Agilis 100 MOCVD system has been selected by the Institute for Materials Chemistry (IMC) at the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research (IFW) Dresden, Germany, for its MOCVD and ALD Competence Centre...

The research institute TNO (the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research in Delft) and High Tech Campus Eindhoven are starting construction of what is reckoned will be the world’s first foundry for producing indium phosphide photonic chips on 6-inch wafers. The official opening was attended by European Commission executive vice-president Henna Virkkunen and the Netherlands’ Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Heleen Herbert, and Minister of Defence Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius...

Data infrastructure semiconductor solutions provider Marvell Technology Inc of Santa Clara, CA, USA and Mojo Vision Inc of Cupertino, CA, USA — which is pioneering a wafers-in, wafers-out micro-LED platform designed to enable AI applications — have announced a long-term collaboration to develop a new class of optical interconnect solutions to power the next wave of high-performance AI data-center infrastructure...

The University of Sheffield is leading a new £12.5m national research center to strengthen the UK’s ability to design the next generation of advanced electronic systems and support the ambitions of the UK Semiconductor Strategy...

Micro/nanotechnology R&D center CEA-Leti of Grenoble, France and NcodiN of Palaiseau, Paris, France (which was founded in 2023 to pioneer optical interconnects with integrated nanolasers for next-generation computing) have announced a strategic collaboration to industrialize NcodiN’s optical interposer technology on a 300mm integrated photonics process...

Japan-based ROHM has begun online sales of new TRCDRIVE pack, HSDIP20 and DOT-247 silicon carbide (SiC) molded modules, available from distributors including DigiKey and Farnell...

As AI systems scale from single-rack scale-up network systems to multi-rack configurations up to thousands of AI processors, copper interconnects have reached their limits in speed, density and reach. Future scale-up networks require an optical architecture that delivers higher bandwidth density at lower power with maximum processor utilization...

Navitas Semiconductor Corp of Torrance, CA, USA — which provides GaNFast gallium nitride (GaN) and GeneSiC silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductors — has appointed Tonya Stevens as chief financial officer (CFO), effective 30 March...

Navitas Semiconductor Corp of Torrance, CA, USA — which provides GaNFast gallium nitride (GaN) and GeneSiC silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductors — has launched two new packages: top-side-cooled QDPAK and a low-profile TO-247-4L with asymmetrical leads in its 5th-generation GeneSiC technology platform. The latest 1200V SiC MOSFET products are claimed to set a new industry benchmark for power density and ruggedness...

South Korea-based SK keyfoundry — which provides specialty analog and mixed-signal foundry services on 8-inch wafers for consumer, communications, computing, automotive and industrial applications — has recently completed the development of its silicon carbide (SiC) planar MOSFET process platform, which it says is gaining traction in the next-generation compound power semiconductor market...