Semiconductor today

During the inaugural ministerial event of the World Fusion Energy Group at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Rome, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) agreement was signed between Ricerca sul Sistema Energetico (RSE S.p.A., a company indirectly controlled by Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance through its sole shareholder GSE S.p.A.), and Blue Laser Fusion Inc (BLF) of Santa Barbara, CA, USA (founded in 2022 by CEO professor Shuji Nakamura, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2014 and member of the RSE Scientific Committee) to initiate joint R&D on what is claimed would be the world’s first commercial-scale inertial fusion energy (IFE) power plant...

Netherlands-headquartered automaker Stellantis N.V. and Infineon Technologies AG of Munich, Germany are to work jointly on the power architecture for Stellantis’ electric vehicles...

MACOM Technology Solutions Inc of Lowell, MA, USA (which designs and makes RF, microwave, analog and mixed-signal and optical semiconductor technologies) has acquired fabless semiconductor company ENGIN-IC Inc of Plano, TX and San Diego, CA, USA, which designs gallium nitride (GaN) monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) and integrated microwave module assemblies. It is expected that ENGIN-IC’s design capabilities will strengthen MACOM’s ability to serve its target markets and gain market share...

A new report, published by the Welsh Economy Research Unit at Cardiff University, highlights the economic contribution of the Compound Semiconductor Applications (CSA) Catapult...

Fabless firm Cambridge GaN Devices Ltd (CGD) — which was spun out of the University of Cambridge in 2016 to design, develop and commercialize power transistors and ICs that use GaN-on-silicon substrates — is exhibiting in booth C3.539 at electronica 2024 in Messe München, Munich, Germany (12–15 November)...

EPC Space LLC of Haverhill, MA, USA (which provides high-reliability radiation-hardened enhancement-mode gallium nitride-on-silicon transistors and ICs for power management in space and other harsh environments) has launched the HEMTKY product line...

Gallium nitride (GaN) power IC and silicon carbide (SiC) technology firm Navitas Semiconductor Corp of Torrance, CA, USA has announced what it claims is the world’s first 8.5kW power supply unit (PSU), powered by GaN and SiC technologies to achieve 98% efficiency, for next-generation AI and hyperscale data centers...

Discrete device designer and manufacturer Nexperia of Nijmegen, the Netherlands (which operates wafer fabs in Hamburg, Germany, and Hazel Grove Manchester, UK) has entered into a strategic partnership with automotive supplier KOSTAL of Lüdenscheid, Germany, which will enable it to produce wide-bandgap (WBG) devices that more closely match the exacting requirements of automotive applications. Nexperia will supply, develop and manufacture WBG power electronics devices that will be designed-in and validated by Kostal...

Epiwafer and substrate maker IQE plc of Cardiff, Wales, UK has announced an expansion of its manufacturing facility in Greensboro, Guilford County, North Carolina, subject to customer commitments and funding from the US federal CHIPS and Science Act. The firm plans to add 109 jobs and invest $305m over several years...

Power Integrations Inc of San Jose, CA, USA (which provides high-voltage integrated circuits for energy-efficient power conversion) has added to its InnoMux-2 family of single-stage, independently regulated multi-output offline power supply ICs by introduced a new device featuring what is claimed to be the first 1700V gallium nitride (GaN) switch, fabricated using the company’s proprietary PowiGaN technology. The 1700V rating is said to further advances the state-of-the-art for GaN power devices, previously set by Power Integrations’ own 900V and 1250V devices, both launched in 2023...

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 issued its fourth annual Corporate Sustainability Report, for fiscal 2024 (ended 29 June), showcasing its environmental, social and governance achievements...

Infineon Technologies AG of Munich, Germany has strengthened its gallium nitride (GaN) portfolio by launching a new family of high-voltage discretes, the CoolGaN Transistors 650V G5. Target applications range from consumer and industrial switched-mode power supplies (SMPS) such as USB-C adapters and chargers, lighting, TV, data-center and telecom rectifiers to renewable energy and motor drives in home appliances...

MACOM Technology Solutions Inc of Lowell, MA, USA (which designs and makes RF, microwave, analog and mixed-signal and optical semiconductor technologies) has been selected to lead a development project to establish gallium nitride (GaN) on silicon carbide (SiC) process technologies for radio frequency (RF) and microwave applications. Funded by the CHIPS and Science Act through the US Department of Defense (DoD), the project will focus on developing semiconductor manufacturing processes for GaN-based materials and monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) operating efficiently at high voltage and at millimeter-wave (mmW) frequencies...

Wide-bandgap power semiconductor materials, component and foundry services provider Sanan Semiconductor Co Ltd of Changsha City, Hunan, China has expanded its silicon carbide (SiC) power product portfolio by launching 1700V and 2000V devices, offering high power efficiency in applications ranging from renewable energy to electric vehicle charging infrastructure...

JST Manufacturing Inc of Meridian, ID, USA (a provider of wet benches, single-wafer surface preparation equipment and chemical processing systems) has appointed Dr Ismail Kashkoush as chief technology officer. Bringing over 30 years of engineering and industry expertise, he will lead JST’s engineering, technology and product line teams in the development of its surface preparation products and processes...

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Professor Richard Hogg, chief technical officer at III–V Epi Ltd of Glasgow, Scotland, UK — which provides a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) service for custom compound semiconductor wafer design, manufacturing, test and characterization — is chairing the International Workshop on PCSELs 2024 (7–8 November) at Aston University’s Aston Institute of Photonics Technology (AIPT), where Hogg is Professor of Photonics...

The project ‘CMOS compatible, defect-free universal growth of III–N and III–V multilayer heterostructures on Si (001)’ of Zetian Mi, professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in the University of Michigan’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), has been awarded $3m by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) as part of its Material Synthesis Technologies for Universal and Diverse Integration Opportunities (M-STUDIO) initiative. The goal of M-STUDIO is to “realize a universal heterogeneous integration technology, compatible with leading-edge and future advanced-node semiconductor manufacturing processes, via atomic-precision nano-scale multi-layer material synthesis”...

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people became acutely aware of airborne viral spread. In addition to COVID, the common cold, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), measles and the flu may all be passed between people through the air they breathe. NS Nanotech Inc of Ann Arbor, MI, USA — a University of Michigan Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) spin-off co-founded by professor Zetian Mi in 2017 with the help of Innovation Partnerships — has designed a solution to mitigate this airborne infection...

For third-quarter 2024, molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) system maker Riber S.A. of Bezons, France has reported revenue of €4.7m, almost halving from €9.3m in Q2/2024 and down from €4m a year previously...