Semiconductor today

ROHM has developed the RLD8BQAB3 high-output laser diode for use in ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) equipped with LiDAR for distance measurement and spatial recognition. In addition to automotive applications, the firm is also initially supplying samples targeting consumer applications (drones, robot vacuums, golf rangefinders) and industrial applications (AGVs, service robots, and 3D monitoring systems such as sensors for human/object detection)...

At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2025) in Las Vegas (7–11 January), Aledia S.A of Echirolles, near Grenoble, France (a developer and manufacturer of 3D micro-LEDs for display applications based on its large-area gallium nitride nanowires-on-silicon platform) has announced the availability of its micro-LED technology for augmented reality applications and next-generation displays for vision applications...

Aehr Test Systems of Fremont, CA, USA has received an initial production order from a top-tier automotive semiconductor supplier for a FOX-XP wafer-level test and burn-in system with fully integrated FOX WaferPak Aligner for production test of its gallium nitride (GaN) power semiconductor devices. The system was scheduled to ship immediately...

Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) system maker Riber S.A. of Bezons, France has received an order for a production MBE system from Almae Technologies SAS of Marcoussis, France — which was spun off in 2016 from III-V Lab of Palaiseau, France (the joint laboratory between Nokia, Thales and France’s micro/nanotechnology R&D center CEA-Leti in Grenoble) — in order to enhance its production of photonic components addressing the growing demand in telecoms and datacoms markets for ultra-high-speed optical data transmission, driven by the surge in artificial intelligence (AI) applications requiring increasingly higher data volumes...

AmpliTech Group Inc of Hauppauge, NY, USA – which designs, develops and makes signal-processing radio frequency (RF) microwave components and network solutions for satellite communications, telecoms (5G & IoT), space exploration, defense and quantum computing applications – says that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued another Notice of Allowance for its patent application related to its monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) low-noise amplifier (LNA) designs, based on its proprietary low-noise technology. The firm expects this and other previously announced patent certificates to be issued during first-quarter and second-quarter 2025...

Shares in China-based gallium nitride-on-silicon (GaN-on-Si) power chip maker InnoScience (Suzhou) Technology Holding Co Ltd began trading on 30 December after being listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in an initial public offering (IPO) of 45.36 million shares at HK$30.86 each, raising gross proceeds of HK$1.4bn (US$180m). The offer price range had been HKD30.86-33.66, aiming to raising up to HKD1.527bn ($193m)...

NUBURU Inc of Centennial, CO, USA — which was founded in 2015 and develops and manufactures high-power industrial blue lasers — has increased the size of its board of directors from four to six with the appointment of Dario Barisoni and Shawn Taylor for a term expiring at the 2025 annual meeting of shareholders (or until a respective successor is duly elected and qualified). They will also each serve on the board’s Audit Committee...

Light detection & ranging (LiDAR) solution provider Voyant Photonics of Long Island City, NY, USA has announced the availability of the CARBON frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) LiDAR sensor, featuring what is claimed to be the first truly effective and affordable LiDAR on a chip with solid-state beam steering...

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced $179m in funding for three Microelectronics Science Research Centers (MSRCs), which will perform basic research in microelectronics materials, device and system design, and manufacturing science to transform future microelectronics technologies...

Polar Light Technologies (PLT) — which stems from research by founder professor Per-Olof Holtz and his team at Linköping University (with support from Sweden’s innovation agency Vinnova) — has fabricated 625nm-wavelength red-light-emitting pyramidal micro-LED based on its non-etching bottom-up concept. The firm has hence achieved red, green and blue pyramidal micro-LEDs using the same material compound...

Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn) of Taipei, Taiwan (the world’s largest electronics manufacturer and technology service provider) has entered the augmented reality (AR) glasses market by partnering with fabless micro-LED company Poro Technologies Ltd (a spin off from the Cambridge Centre for Gallium Nitride at the UK’s University of Cambridge that has developed porous GaN material and has an R&D center in Hsinchu, Taiwan). The firms will leverage Porotech’s gallium nitride (GaN) technology and Foxconn’s vertical integration capabilities to develop micro-LED display technology and AR applications...

Neo Performance Materials Inc of Toronto, Canada has completed the sale of its equity ownership interest in Neo Rare Metals (Oklahoma) LLC in Quapaw, OK, USA – which produces gallium trichloride – to the facility’s general manager & co-founder Kevin Reading...

The ChipNL Competence Centre has been launched, aiming to advance technological capabilities and foster innovation in the Dutch semiconductor ecosystem. The European Commission and the Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO) have jointly allocated a budget of €12m for the next four years. Specifically, the four-year project aims to stimulate innovation, collaboration and talent development and to enhance global competitiveness of the Netherlands and Europe in semiconductor technologies...