Semiconductor today

Ascent Solar Technologies Inc of Thornton, CO, USA – which designs and makes lightweight, flexible copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film photovoltaic (PV) panels that can be integrated into consumer products, off-grid applications and aerospace applications – has announced plans to continue development of distributed power receiving products in 2026 to account for growing demand for space-based energy-beaming technologies...

For its fiscal first-quarter 2026 (ended 2 January), Skyworks Solutions Inc of Irvine, CA, USA (which manufactures analog and mixed-signal semiconductors) has reported revenue of $1.035bn, down 5.9% on $1.1bn last quarter and 3.1% on $1.068bn a year ago. However, it exceeded the $0.975–1.025bn forecast, driven by upside in both Mobile and Broad Markets...

Amid mounting concerns about US critical mineral and rare-earth element supply chains, Supra Elemental Recovery Inc has launched as a spinout from the University of Texas at Austin, focused on selectively recovering high-purity critical minerals from waste streams. The firm is initially targeting elements such as gallium (Ga) and scandium (Sc)...

Mining exploration company Nimy Resources Ltd of Perth, Western Australia has shipped its first high-grade gallium ore consignment from its Block 3 gallium deposit at the Mons Project in Western Australia to the USA under the collaboration agreement with US-listed company M2i Global, which specializes in the development and execution of a complete global value supply chain for critical minerals...

At the Optical Fiber Communication Conference & Exposition (OFC 2026) at the Los Angeles Convention Center (15–19 March), the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) is presenting a live, multi-vendor interoperability demonstration...

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 started volume production of the EPC2366, the first of its seventh-generation (Gen 7) eGaN family of power transistors...

Cree LED Inc of Durham, NC, USA (a Penguin Solutions brand) has launched OptiLamp LEDs, a new display technology that integrates driver and control intelligence directly into every LED pixel. Built on patented Cree LED technology, the OptiLamp portfolio is said to advance LED display design by delivering superior image quality with reduced power consumption and a streamlined system architecture...

For full-year 2025, molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) system maker Riber S.A. of Bezons, France has reported revenue of €40.3m, down 2% on 2024’s €41.2m. However, second-half 2025 revenue was €29.5m (up 7% on second-half 2024’s €27.4%), whereas first-half 2025 revenue was just €10.7m (down 22% on first-half 2024’s €13.7m)...

Specialty semiconductor and performance materials producer 5N Plus Inc (5N+) of Montréal, Québec, Canada has announced plans by its subsidiary AZUR SPACE Solar Power GmbH of Heilbronn, Germany, to expand solar cell production capacity by an additional 25% in 2026. The new capacity, expected to gradually come online starting in second-half 2026, will add to capacity increases of 30% in 2025 and 35% in 2024...

For its fiscal third-quarter 2026 (ended 27 December 2025), Qorvo Inc of Greensboro, NC, USA (which provides core technologies and RF solutions for mobile, infrastructure and defense applications) has reported revenue of $993m, down 6.2% on $1058.5m last quarter but up 8.4% on $916.3m a year ago, and above the mid-point of the guidance range of $985m±$50m...

In the project ALP-4-SiC (Atomic Layer Processing for SiC for Applications in Photonics and Quantum Communication) — which is part of the ‘Scientific Preliminary Projects (WiVoPro, Quantum Technologies in Germany)’ program of the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space (BMFTR) — the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL) and the Fraunhofer IISB (Institute for Integrated Systems and Device Technology), both in Erlangen, Germany, are jointly developing basic technologies for the production of highly efficient photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and miniaturized solid-state quantum systems based on silicon carbide (SiC)...

Wolfspeed Inc of Durham, NC, USA — which makes silicon carbide (SiC) materials and power semiconductor devices — says that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has formally cleared its issuance of equity to Renesas Electronics America Inc, completing a key component of Wolfspeed’s restructuring agreement with its lender group in support of its Chapter 11 process...

Specialty semiconductor and performance materials producer 5N Plus Inc (5N+) of Montréal, Québec, Canada has been awarded a US$18.1m grant by the US Government to expand capabilities and increase capacity to recycle and refine germanium at its St. George, Utah facility, to feed optics and solar germanium crystal supply chains...

Wolfspeed Inc of Durham, NC, USA — which makes silicon carbide (SiC) materials and power semiconductor devices — has introduced its new TOLT package portfolio, which enables maximum power density in a power supply for data-center rack applications...

Tokyo-based NEC Corp has developed a high-efficiency, compact power amplifier module (PAM) for the sub-6GHz band, designed for integration into 5G base-station radio units (RUs)...

Discrete semiconductor and passive electronic component maker Vishay Intertechnology Inc of Malvern, PA, USA has introduced five new 1200V MOSFET power modules designed to increase power efficiency for medium- to high-frequency applications in automotive, energy, industrial and telecom systems...

Specialty IC foundry service provider Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp (VIS) of Hsinchu Science Park, Taiwan has signed a technology licensing agreement with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd (TSMC) for high-voltage (650V) and low-voltage (80V) gallium nitride (GaN) technologies. This will help VIS to accelerate the development and expansion of next‑generation GaN power technologies for applications such as data centers, automotive electronics, industrial control, and energy management, which are key areas that demand high‑efficiency power conversion...

Epitaxial deposition and process equipment maker Veeco Instruments Inc of Plainview, NY, USA and nanoelectronics research center imec of Leuven, Belgium have collaboratively developed a 300mm high-volume manufacturing compatible process that enables the integration of barium titanate (BaTiO3 or BTO) on a silicon photonics platform...

Ascent Solar Technologies Inc of Thornton, CO, USA – which designs and makes lightweight, flexible copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film photovoltaic (PV) panels that can be integrated into consumer products, off-grid applications and aerospace applications – has closed its private placement for the purchase and sale of 1,818,182 shares of common stock (or pre-funded warrants in lieu thereof), series A warrants to purchase up to 1,818,182 shares and short-term series B warrants to purchase up to 909,091 shares at a purchase price of $5.50 per share (or per pre-funded warrant in lieu thereof) and accompanying warrants priced at-the-market under Nasdaq rules...

Semiconductor materials and technology licensing company Atomera Inc of Los Gatos, CA, USA says that its concept paper on gallium nitride on silicon (GaN-on-Si) technologies has been accepted to move to the proposal stage as part of a PowerAmerica Institute Initiated Proposal (IIP) to advance wide-bandgap (WBG) power semiconductor technology...