Semiconductor today

Guerrilla RF Inc (GRF) of Greensboro, NC, USA — which develops and manufactures radio-frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) and monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) for wireless applications — has completed a private placement equity financing, selling about 2 million shares of its common stock and accompanying warrants to purchase up to 2 million shares of its common stock...

The global LED market is set to recover in 2024, with revenue growing by 3% year-on-year to US$13bn, forecasts TrendForce. This resurgence is driven primarily by demand across various sectors, including automotive lighting and displays, general/architectural/agricultural lighting, LED video walls, and UV/IR LEDs. Additionally, the successful deployment of micro-LEDs in large displays by Samsung and luxury watches by Tag Heuer has played a significant role in this growth...

After raising $100m in a Series B funding round at the end of June 2023, Celestial AI of Santa Clara, CA, USA has raised $175m in a Series C funding round led by Thomas Tull’s US Innovative Technology Fund (USIT), joined by new and existing investors including AMD Ventures, Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT), Temasek, Temasek’s subsidiary Xora Innovation, IAG Capital Partners, Samsung Catalyst, Smart Global Holdings (SGH), Porsche Automobil Holding SE, Engine Ventures, M-Ventures and Tyche Partners...

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Mojo Vision Inc of Saratoga, CA, USA — which is developing and commercializing micro-LED display technology for consumer, enterprise and government applications — has appointed Dr Achin Bhowmik to its board of directors. Bhowmik, chief technology officer at Starkey, a former executive at Intel, and currently the president of the Society for Information Display (SID), joins as an independent board member to provide guidance and oversight for Mojo Vision as it accelerates the development of next-generation micro-LED technology. With his appointment, Mojo Vision is tapping 23 years of industry experience in perceptual computing, display and semiconductor business...

The UK Government has announced a £16.6m investment to give semiconductor researchers and businesses access to new equipment helping them to test and make chips for use in high-energy machines such as electric vehicles and manufacturing equipment. Of the funding, £14m is targeted particularly at semiconductors used in power electronics...

In a ceremony attended by HRH The Princess Royal as well as key customers, ecosystem partners, investors and government officials, Pragmatic Semiconductor of Cambridge, UK has officially opened what is the UK’s first 300mm wafer fabrication line. The manufacturing facility at the 60,000m2 Pragmatic Park brownfield site near Durham in North-East England produces chips based on the firm’s unique flexible integrated circuit (FlexIC) technology...

Diamfab has raised €8.7m in a first round of funding from Asterion Ventures, as well as from the French Tech Seed fund (managed on behalf of the French government by Bpifrance as part of France 2030), Kreaxi with the Avenir Industrie Auvergne–Rhône–Alpes regional fund, Better Angle, Hello Tomorrow and Grenoble Alpes Métropole...

Quintessent Inc of Santa Barbara, CA, USA, which specializes in heterogeneous integration of quantum dot lasers and silicon photonic integrated circuits (PICs), has closed on just over $11.5m in an oversubscribed seed funding round led by Osage University Partners (OUP), joined by new investors including M Ventures, and existing investors Sierra Ventures, Foothill Ventures, and Entrada Ventures...

Pushing ahead with the European Union (EU)-funded photonixFAB initiative, the consortium partners have taken the first step on the path to industrialize the European silicon photonics value chain by providing early access to R&D and small-scale manufacturing through technology partners...

Automotive-qualified gallium nitride (GaN) open foundry BelGaN of Oudenaarde, Belgium has qualified its BEL1 first-generation 650V eGaN platform for volume production for several lead customers that placed orders. After achieving this milestone within just two years, BelGaN is now ready to scale up as a high-volume GaN foundry in Europe...

Vector Photonics Ltd (which was spun off from Scotland’s University of Glasgow in 2020, based on research led by professor Richard Hogg) and an engineering unit at the University of Glasgow have signed a collaboration agreement to develop lasers that could have a use in manufacturing and consumer products...

Wolfspeed Inc of Durham, NC, USA — which makes silicon carbide (SiC) materials and power semiconductor devices — hosted Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) and other local officials, community partners and employees at a ‘last beam’ ceremony to celebrate the topping out of construction at the $5bn John Palmour Manufacturing Center for Silicon Carbide, located in Siler City, Chatham County, NC. By the end of 2024, phase one of construction is expected to be completed on the 445-acre site...

Epiwafer and substrate maker IQE plc of Cardiff, Wales, UK is strengthening its portfolio of high-speed optical connectivity epiwafers to address increasing demands for artificial intelligence (AI), cloud, carrier and data-intensive workloads. ..

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 announced performance enhancements to its 800ZR+ transceivers that enable the modules to serve a wider range of applications, including expanded use in metro and regional networks through the ability to interface directly into routers...

TRUMPF Photonic Components GmbH of Ulm, Germany (part of the TRUMPF Group) — which makes vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) and photodiodes for the consumer electronics, datacoms, industrial sensing & heat treatment and automotive markets — has announced a “breakthrough” by transferring its proprietary, patented subwavelength surface-grating technology (developed since 2006 and implemented on tens of millions of VCSELs for sensing applications) from its sensing products to datacom VCSELs, where it is said to bring a competitive edge for the firm’s 100Gbps VCSEL with lower relative intensity noise (RIN) and robust polarization stability...

TRUMPF Photonic Components GmbH of Ulm, Germany (part of the TRUMPF Group) — which makes vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) and photodiodes for the consumer electronics, datacoms, industrial sensing & heat treatment and automotive markets — has announced a transmission reach extended to 500m with its 980nm VCSEL and a multi-mode fiber optimized for this wavelength...

In booth #3412 at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference & Exposition (OFC 2024) in San Diego, CA, USA (26–28 March), materials, networking and laser technology firm Coherent Corp of Saxonburg, PA, USA is showcasing its new products and technologies for next-generation optical communications networks, as well as presenting at panels, technical sessions, and other OFC events...

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 introduced the latest additions to its suite of photonic products at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference & Exposition (OFC 2024) in San Diego, CA, USA (26–28 March)...

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 — in collaboration with ecosystem partners — is demonstrating its laser chip and array technology at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference & Exposition (OFC 2024) in San Diego, CA, USA (26–28 March)...