Semiconductor today

The UK has joined the European Union’s ‘Chips Joint Undertaking’ as a participating state, giving British semiconductor researchers and businesses enhanced access to a €1.3bn fund set aside from Horizon Europe (the European Union’s scientific research initiative) to support research in semiconductor technologies over 2021-2027...

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 has signed a product development agreement with an undisclosed company, helping to develop photonic laser arrays enabling next-generation artificial intelligence (AI)...

Infinera Corp of San Jose, CA, USA — a vertically integrated manufacturer of digital optical network systems — has announced ICE-D, a new line of high-speed intra-data-center optics based on monolithic indium phosphide (InP) photonic integrated circuit (PIC) technology. ICE-D optics are designed to dramatically lower cost and power per bit while providing intra-data-center connectivity at speeds of 1.6 terabits per second (Tb/s) and greater. The technology enables data-center operators to cost-effectively keep pace with relentless growth in bandwidth, says Infinera...

Although micro-LEDs exist as single chips and waveguides as fiber-optic cables, the materials required to make them are too heterogenous to integrate these electronics and photonics components onto a single chip. However, a novel etching technique could enable the combining of optoelectronic light sources and photonic fiber optics...

MACOM Technology Solutions Inc of Lowell, MA, USA (which designs and makes RF, microwave, analog and mixed-signal and optical semiconductor technologies) is showcasing its latest products for space and hi-reliability applications in booth #1427 at the SATELLITE 2024 event in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington DC, USA (19–21 March)...

Worksport Ltd of West Seneca, NY, USA (an automotive accessory manufacturer developing clean energy solutions) has announced a strategic move to integrate gallium nitride (GaN) in its upcoming product offerings...

Through its subsidiary Infineon Technologies Austria AG, Infineon Technologies AG of Munich, Germany has filed a lawsuit in the district court of the Northern District of California against gallium nitride-on-silicon (GaN-on-Si) power solutions firm Innoscience (Zhuhai) Technology Co Ltd of Suzhou, China, and Innoscience America Inc and affiliates. Infineon is seeking permanent injunction for infringement of a United States patent relating to gallium nitride (GaN) technology owned by Infineon. The patent claims cover core aspects of GaN power semiconductors encompassing innovations that enable the reliability and performance of Infineon’s proprietary GaN devices...

California-based global lighting and smart home brand Feit Electronic Company Inc has commenced a second white LED filament patent enforcement action against Savant Technologies LLC doing business as GE Lighting in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Feit Electric says that, despite being warned, Savant imported and then sold white LED filament light bulbs marketed under the GE brand...

MICLEDI Microdisplays B.V. of Leuven, Belgium — a fabless developer of micro-LED display modules for augmented reality (AR) glasses that was spun off from nanoelectronics research center IMEC in 2019 — has announced a first closing of its Series A funding round with participation from imec.xpand, PMV, imec, KBC and SFPIM, demonstrating support for the firm’s commercial and technological progress achieved in the seed round. The seed round award plus additional non-dilutive funding in the form of grants and other vehicles from VLAIO brings total funding to date to nearly $30m...

Intelligent power and sensing technology firm onsemi of Scottsdale, AZ, USA has formed an Analog and Mixed-Signal Group (AMG) that will be led by newly appointed group president Sudhir Gopalswamy. The group will be focused on expanding onsemi’s portfolio of power management and sensor interface devices to unlock an additional $19.3bn total addressable market and accelerate the firm’s growth in the automotive, industrial and cloud-end markets...

Infineon Technologies AG of Munich, Germany has launched the CoolSiC MOSFETs 2000V in the TO-247PLUS-4-HCC package to meet designers’ demand for increased power density without compromising the system's reliability even under demanding high-voltage and switching frequency conditions. The CoolSiC MOSFETs offer a higher DC link voltage so that the power can be increased without increasing the current. It is claimed to be the first discrete silicon carbide device with a breakdown voltage of 2000V on the market and comes in a TO-247PLUS-4-HCC package with a creepage distance of 14mm and clearance distance of 5.4mm. With low switching losses, the devices are suitable for solar (e.g. string inverters) as well as energy storage systems and electric vehicle charging applications...

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 issued its Phase-16 Reliability Report, documenting continued work using test-to-fail methodology and adding specific guidelines for overvoltage specifications and improving thermo-mechanical reliability...

Gallium nitride (GaN) power IC and silicon carbide (SiC) technology firm Navitas Semiconductor Corp of Torrance, CA, USA has announced its artificial intelligence (AI) data center technology roadmap for to up to 3x power increase to support similar exponential growth in AI power demands expected in just the next 12–18 months...

Third-quarter 2023 saw a significant rebound in global smartphone production, marking the end of an eight-quarter slump, according to market research firm TrendForce. In a strategic year-end surge, brands amped up production to capture more market share, propelling fourth-quarter smartphone output up 12.1% to 337 million units. Despite this final-quarter growth, 2023 rounded off with a slight 2.1% dip in annual production — totaling 1.166 billion units...

The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) says that its record-breaking, multi-vendor interoperability demonstrations at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference & Exposition (OFC 2024) in San Diego, CA, USA (24–28 March) will spotlight interoperable solutions in 800ZR, 400ZR and OpenZR+ optics; Energy Efficient Interfaces (EEI) & Co-Packaging; 112G and 224G Common Electrical I/O (CEI); and Common Management Interface Specification (CMIS) implementations...

Optica (formerly the Optical Society of America, OSA) says that Dr Radhakrishnan Nagarajan has been selected as the 2024 recipient of the David Richardson Medal. Nagarajan is honored for the successful manufacturing and commercialization of indium phosphide (InP)- and silicon (Si)-based photonic integrated circuits for use as optical interconnects with a wide range of applications. Described as an insightful engineer and outstanding innovator and mentor, Nagarajan’s ability to move from concept to commercialization and deployment continues to have a profound impact on our industry, says Optica...

Optica (formerly the Optical Society of America, OSA) has named Kenichi Iga, Professor Emeritus and former president of Tokyo Institute of Technology, as recipient of the 2024 Frederic Ives Medal/Jarus W. Quinn Prize for his “pioneering contributions and visionary leadership in the field of semiconductor lasers and optoelectronics and a dedication to training and educating future generations”...

Theodore Moustakas (ECE, MSE, Physics) — Professor Emeritus and Distinguished Professor of Photonics and Optoelectronics at Boston University (BU) — has been awarded the Nick Holonyak Jr Award by Optica (formerly the Optical Society of America, OSA) for his pioneering contributions to nitride semiconductor materials and optical devices that helped build the foundation for efficient blue and ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (LEDs)...

For fourth-quarter 2023, deposition equipment maker Aixtron SE of Herzogenrath, near Aachen, Germany has reported record revenue of €214.2m, up 30% on €165m last quarter and up 17% on €183.2m a year ago: This is also about three times first-quarter 2023’s revenue of €77.2m, underlining Aixtron’s flexibility in its supply chain and manufacturing...

Polar Light Technologies (PLT) — which stems from research by founder professor Per-Olof Holtz and his team at Sweden’s Linköping University — has appointed Oskar Fajerson as CEO to lead it through the final stages of research and into commercialization of its micro-LED technology...