Semiconductor today

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Electricity (OE) has launched the $2.25m American-Made Silicon Carbide (SiC) Packaging Prize. This contest invites competitors to propose, design, build and test state-of-the-art SiC semiconductor packaging prototypes to enable these devices to work more effectively in high-voltage environments such as energy storage. The prize is part of the American-Made Challenges program, which fosters collaboration between the USA’s entrepreneurs and innovators, DOE’s National Labs, and the private sector...

The LED packaging market will rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.9% from US$16bn in 2024 to US$19.4bn in 2029, forecasts a new report from MarketsandMarkets...

Cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film photovoltaic (PV) module maker First Solar Inc of Tempe, AZ, USA has released what is believed to be the first comprehensive economic analysis of a vertically integrated solar manufacturer’s value chain in the USA. Commissioned by First Solar and conducted by the Kathleen Babineaux Blanco Public Policy Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the study used IMPLAN economic software to analyze First Solar’s actual and forecasted US spending in 2023 and 2026, when the company expects to have 14GW of annual nameplate capacity across Alabama, Louisiana and Ohio...

In its meeting room (Hall 2, #2D12MR) on the show floor at Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona (26–29 February), Finwave Semiconductor Inc of Waltham, MA, USA is hosting demonstrations of its latest technology and products, including unveiling the newest performance benchmarks with its gallium nitride on silicon (GaN-on-Si) technology and high-power switches targeting the infrastructure and handset markets...

Arrow Electronics Inc and its engineering services company eInfochips are working with Infineon Technologies AG of Munich, Germany to help eInfochips’ customers accelerate the development of electric vehicle (EV) chargers...

AXT Inc of Fremont, CA, USA – which makes gallium arsenide (GaAs), indium phosphide (InP) and germanium (Ge) substrates and raw materials – says that its full-year revenue fell by 46.3% from $141.1m in 2022 to $75.8m in 2023...

Compound semiconductor wafer maker SK Siltron CSS of Auburn, MI, USA (a subsidiary of South Korea-based wafer manufacturer SK Siltron, a part of South Korea's second-largest conglomerate SK Group) has secured a conditional commitment from the US Department of Energy (DOE) for a loan of up to $544m...

For its fiscal third-quarter 2024 (to end-December 2023), Transphorm Inc of Goleta, near Santa Barbara, CA, USA — which designs and manufactures JEDEC- and AEC-Q101-qualified gallium nitride (GaN) field-effect transistors (FETs) for high-voltage power conversion — has reported revenue of $4. 67m, up 3.9% on $4.49m a year ago but down 6.8% on $5m last quarter...

Gallium nitride (GaN) power IC and silicon carbide (SiC) technology firm Navitas Semiconductor Corp of Torrance, CA, USA has announced that its GaNFast power ICs drive Samsung’s 25W ‘Super-Fast Charging’ (SFC) for the new, AI-enhanced Galaxy S24 smartphone...

Semiconductor production test and reliability qualification equipment supplier Aehr Test Systems of Fremont, CA, USA has received new follow-on orders totaling $23m from existing customers for FOX wafer-level test & burn-in products to be used for production and engineering qualification needs for wafer-level burn-in and screening of their silicon carbide devices. Customer-requested shipping dates for these orders range from immediate shipment through the end of Aehr’s current fiscal year, which ends on 31 May...

Dallas-based Texas Instruments (TI) has introduced two new power conversion device portfolios to help engineers achieve more power in smaller spaces, providing what is claimed to be the highest power density at a lower cost. TI’s new 100V integrated gallium nitride (GaN) power stages feature thermally enhanced dual-side-cooled package technology to simplify thermal designs and achieve the highest power density in mid-voltage applications at more than 1.5kW/in3. The firm’s new 1.5W isolated DC/DC modules with integrated transformers are claimed to be the industry's smallest and most power-dense, helping engineers to shrink the isolated bias power-supply size in automotive and industrial systems by over 89%...

Materials, networking and laser technology firm Coherent Corp of Saxonburg, PA, USA says that Dr Vincent (Chuck) D. Mattera Jr is to retire as CEO following the commencement of employment of his successor...

As part of the US CHIPS and Science Act, the US Department of Commerce has announced $1.5bn in planned direct funding for New York-headquartered GlobalFoundries (GF), which is celebrating 15 year of operations and is the only US-based pure-play foundry with a global manufacturing footprint including facilities in the USA, Europe and Singapore. The investment aims to enable GF to expand and create new manufacturing capacity and capabilities to securely produce more chips for automotive, IoT, aerospace, defense and other vital markets...

Dowa Electronic Materials Co Ltd of Tokyo, Japan has developed and released a high-efficiency short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) LED chip series with what is claimed to be record luminous efficiency in the peak wavelength range 1200–1900nm...

In booth #1045 at the IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference & Exposition (APEC 2024) in Long Beach, CA, USA (25–29 February), 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 — is highlighting what it claims is the industry’s most comprehensive portfolio of GaN-based power conversion solutions. With a focus on efficiency, reliability and performance, EPC says that its GaN-based products offer advantages for applications such as DC-DC converters, motor drives, and renewable energy...

SemiQ Inc of Lake Forest, CA, USA — which designs, develops and manufactures silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductors and 150mm SiC epitaxial wafers for high-frequency, high-temperature and high-efficiency power semiconductor devices — has unveiled the latest addition to its QSiC family. The QSiC 1200V SiC MOSFET modules in full-bridge configurations deliver near-zero switching loss, significantly improving efficiency, reducing heat dissipation, and allowing the use of smaller heat-sinks...

For fourth-quarter 2023, epitaxial deposition and process equipment maker Veeco Instruments Inc of Plainview, NY, USA has reported revenue of $173.9m, down 2% on $177.4m last quarter but up 13% on $153.8m a year ago. It is also near the top of the guidance range (which had been raised in mid-January from $155–175m to $165–175m), driven by growth in semiconductor applications...

BluGlass Ltd of Silverwater, Australia — which develops and manufactures gallium nitride (GaN) blue laser diodes based on its proprietary low-temperature, low-hydrogen remote-plasma chemical vapor deposition (RPCVD) technology — has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on its GaN distributed feedback (DFB) lasers being used by US-based advanced defence and dual-use photonics company Applied Energetics Inc in its advanced systems development for next-generation military and commercial applications...

In a series of events during 2024, beginning with the IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference & Exposition (APEC 2024) and ‘GaNFast Blast!’ celebration in Long Beach, CA, USA from 26 February, gallium nitride (GaN) power IC and silicon carbide (SiC) technology firm Navitas Semiconductor Corp of Torrance, CA, USA is marking 10 years of innovation and growth in a broad range of fast-growing markets, from ultra-fast mobile charging to artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, renewable energy and EVs...

At the IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference & Exposition (APEC 2024) in Long Beach, CA, USA (25–29 February), Infineon Technologies AG of Munich, Germany has detailed its plans to highlight what it claims is the industry’s broadest range of power electronic devices – spanning silicon, silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) materials – including wide-bandgap solutions offering the highest efficiency and power density...