Semiconductor today

Photonic application-specific integrated circuit (PASIC) chip designer and manufacturer OpenLight of Santa Barbara, CA, USA (which launched as an independent company in June 2022, introducing the first open silicon photonics platform with heterogeneously integrated III-V lasers, modulators, amplifiers and detectors) has closed its oversubscribed $34m Series A fundraising round, which was co-led by Xora Innovation and Capricorn Investment Group. Other participants include Mayfield; Juniper Networks (now part of HPE); Lam Capital (the corporate venture arm of Lam Research Corp); New Legacy Ventures; and K2 Access...

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 appointed Robin Lyle, a 30-year veteran of the power semiconductor industry, as vice president of R&D...

Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corp of Kawasaki, Japan and Chinese silicon carbide (SiC) supplier SICC Co Ltd have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore collaboration in improving the characteristics and quality of silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductor wafers developed and manufactured by SICC, and expanded supply of stable, high-quality wafers from SICC to Toshiba. The two firms will discuss the scope of their joint efforts and mutual support...

Infineon Technologies AG Munich, Germany is expanding its CoolSiC MOSFETs 650V G2 portfolio with new 75mΩ variants to meet the demand for more compact and powerful systems...

Filtronic plc of Sedgefield and Leeds, UK — which designs and manufactures RF and millimeter-wave (mmWave) transmit & receive components and subsystems — has secured its largest ever contract, valued at £47.3m ($62.5m), with its long-standing customer SpaceX, for the Starlink high-speed internet service...

Skyworks Solutions Inc of Irvine, CA, USA (which manufactures analog and mixed-signal semiconductors) says that Philip Carter has been appointed senior VP & chief financial officer, effective 8 September, responsible for financial strategy, investor relations, treasury and leadership of the global finance and information technology organizations...

Gallium nitride (GaN) power IC and silicon carbide (SiC) technology firm Navitas Semiconductor Corp of Torrance, CA, USA has appointed Chris Allexandre as president & chief executive officer, effective 1 September. He will also join the board of directors...

Power Integrations Inc of San Jose, CA, USA (which provides high-voltage integrated circuits for energy-efficient power conversion) is rolling out a new reference design kit tailored specifically for solar-powered race cars as 37 student teams prepare to race across the Australian Outback in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, starting 24 August...

Plessey Semiconductors Ltd of Plymouth, UK — which develops embedded micro-LED technology for augmented-reality and mixed-reality (AR/MR) display applications — has been acquired by London-based Haylo Labs, which has been established by Haylo Ventures (a venture operator founded in 2023 to build and scale deep-tech businesses) to focus specifically on the micro-LED, optical compute, and interconnect sectors...

Launch services and space systems company Rocket Lab Corp of Long Beach, CA, USA (the parent company of space power provider SolAero Technologies Corp) is boosting its US investments to expand semiconductor manufacturing capacity and provide supply chain security for space-grade solar cells and electro-optical sensors for national security space missions. The investments are supported by a $23.9m award through the US Department of Commerce, as part of the CHIPS and Science Act...

InnoScience (Suzhou) Technology Holding Co Ltd — which manufactures gallium nitride on silicon (GaN) power chips on 8” silicon wafers — and China’s largest tier-1 automotive supplier United Automotive Electronic Systems Co Ltd (UAES, a joint venture established in 1995 by China’s Zhonglian Automotive Electronics Co Ltd and Germany’s Robert Bosch GmbH) have established a joint laboratory to develop advanced power electronics systems for new energy vehicles using the advantages of GaN technology in size, weight, and efficiency. The two parties held an unveiling ceremony at UAES (Suzhou R&D Center)...

InnoScience (Suzhou) Technology Holding Co Ltd — which manufactures gallium nitride on silicon (GaN) power chips on 8” silicon wafers — has launched four new 700V SolidGaN devices (ISG6123TA, ISG6123TP, ISG6124TA, and ISG6124TP) that adopt industry-standard TOLL and TOLTP high-power packages, offering compatibility with both traditional controllers and motor driver applications, and streamlining design and simplifying adoption across various applications...

For its fiscal full-year 2025 (ended 28 June), Lumentum Holdings Inc of San Jose, CA, USA (which designs and makes optical and photonic products for optical networks and lasers for industrial and consumer markets) has reported revenue of $1645m, up 21% on $1359.2m in fiscal 2024...

TriEye Ltd of Tel Aviv, Israel — which claims to have pioneered the first CMOS-based shortwave infrared (SWIR) sensing technology — and optoelectronic and power management firm LITEON Technology of Hsinchu, Taiwan have partnered to deliver a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL)-powered SWIR sensing and imaging solution...

NUBURU Inc of Centennial, CO, USA — which was founded in 2015 and developed and previously manufactured high-power industrial blue lasers — has successfully executed the first milestone under the phased acquisition plan for Tekne S.p.A. established following formal notice received from the Italian government under the ‘Golden Power’ framework...

ams OSRAM of Premstaetten, Austria and Munich, Germany has evaluated a new UV-C LED emitting at a wavelength of 265nm, with a lifespan exceeding 20,000 hours, that delivers over 10% efficiency at 200mW power, as validated by Germany’s National Metrology Institute Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB). With these specifications, the UV-C LED can replace conventional mercury discharge lamps in the future...

Invest Ontario is supporting an investment of over $100m by Ranovus Inc of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (which develops and manufactures multi-terabit photonics interconnect solutions for data-center and communications networks) to develop and scale optical semiconductors that are powering the next generation of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. The project will expand Ranovus’ manufacturing facility in Ottawa and create 125 new jobs, more than doubling the existing workforce...

AXT Inc of Fremont, CA, USA – which makes gallium arsenide (GaAs), indium phosphide (InP) and germanium (Ge) substrates and raw materials – says that its China-based manufacturing subsidiary Beijing Tongmei Xtal Technology Co Ltd has been informed that it has satisfied the applicable requirements for a permit to export indium phosphide and has received export permits from the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China to resume shipping indium phosphide substrates to certain additional customers...

Independent power electronics company Quantum Power Transformation (QPT) Ltd of Cambridge, UK — which was founded in 2019 and develops gallium nitride (GaN)-based electric motor controls — has unveiled MicroDyno, a low-voltage motor drive test platform which demonstrates the key benefits of ultrahigh-frequency GaN-based motor drives. The solution enables greater control and efficiency with lower system complexity and cost, providing significant benefits in the fast-growing cobot market...

Tokyo-based Oki Electric Industry Co Ltd has developed Tiling crystal film bonding (CFB) technology using its proprietary CFB technology. The technology enables the heterogeneous integration of small-diameter optical semiconductor wafers onto 300mm silicon wafers, previously not possible due to wafer size restrictions, and will contribute to the advancement of rapidly growing photonics-electronics convergence technology. OKI aims to achieve early commercialization through collaboration with partner companies and universities...