Semiconductor today

Vitrealab GmbH of Vienna, Austria, a developer of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) for laser–LCoS-based augmented reality (AR) light engines, has closed a significantly oversubscribed $11m Series A financing round, led by LIFTT Italian Venture Capital and LIFTT EuroInvest with participation from Constructor Capital, aws Gründungsfonds, Gateway Ventures, PhotonVentures, xista Science Ventures, Moveon Technologies, and Hermann Hauser Investment...

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 — has appointed Fabio Necco as chief executive officer. The move is designed to drive forward CGD’s entry into key markets...

Mission Microwave Technologies LLC of Cypress, CA, USA has been awarded a contract to design and deliver solid-state power block upconverters (BUCs) for the Telesat Lightspeed Landing Stations...

TCL Technology’s Shenzhen-based subsidiary TCL China Star Optoelectronic Technology Co Ltd (TCL CSOT) recently acquired an 80% equity stake — along with creditor rights — in Fujian Prima Optoelectronics Co Ltd (also known as Fujian ZhaoYuan Optoelectronics). This transaction marks TCL CSOT’s formal entry into the LED chip segment. It represents a critical step toward completing a vertically integrated supply chain spanning from LED chips to mini-LED video wall applications, notes market analyst firm TrendForce...

AXT Inc of Fremont, CA, USA — which makes gallium arsenide (GaAs), indium phosphide (InP) and germanium (Ge) substrates and raw materials at plants in China — has closed its underwritten public offering of 8,163,265 shares of common stock at a price to the public of $12.25 per share, including the full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase an additional 1,064,773 shares. The firm received total gross proceeds of about $100m, before deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses...

Space Forge of Cardiff, UK (which has operations on Florida’s Space Coast) has generated plasma aboard its ForgeStar-1 satellite, marking a world-first for commercial in-space manufacturing and a step toward producing a new class of high-performance semiconductor materials on orbit...

NUBURU Inc of Centennial, CO, USA — which was founded in 2015 and developed and previously manufactured high-power industrial blue lasers — has given an update outlining multiple near-term strategic execution milestones expected to be achieved in January. These reflect continued progress across the firm’s previously announced defense platform expansion, financial strengthening initiatives, and transformation into an integrated Defense & Security Hub...

AXT Inc of Fremont, CA, USA — which makes gallium arsenide (GaAs), indium phosphide (InP) and germanium (Ge) substrates and raw materials at plants in China — has announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 7,098,492 shares of common stock at a price of $12.25 per share...

Move2Thz – Sustainable Indium Phosphide (InP) platform and ecosystem upscaling, enabling future mass market (sub-)THz applications – is a collaborative project to address existing indium phosphide (InP) shortcomings and build a mature European ecosystem to obtain a commercially and industry-viable platform for use in various mass-market applications utilizing the higher-frequency spectrum towards THz and beyond...

Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) system maker Riber S.A. of Bezons, France has received an order for two MBE 6000 production systems (including associated services) for delivery in 2026...

As one of the world’s most powerful radio telescope facilities, the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) at 5000m above sea level on the Chajnantor Plateau in the Chilean Andes observes dark and distant regions of the universe by measuring the millimeter and submillimeter radiation emitted by cold molecular clouds (interstellar gas clouds with a temperature of only a few tens of Kelvin, in which stars form when the density and temperature are right) in order to better understand how stars, planets, galaxies and life are formed...

At a time when production lines begin to ramp and the technology enters a pivotal make-or-break phase, market analyst firm Yole Group has released two strategic reports: MicroLED Markets, Applications, and Competitive Landscape 2025 and MicroLED Technologies, Equipment, and Manufacturing 2025...

In its new report ‘Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) 2026-2036: Technologies, Market, and Forecasts’ by principal technology analyst Dr Yu-Han Chang, market research firm IDTechEx notes that, in recent years, optical transceiver technology has been steadily shifting toward placing the optics closer to the ASIC. Traditionally, pluggable modules inserted into the front panel of a switch sit at the edge of the printed circuit board and have long served as the standard solution for connecting switches and servers in data centers...

Taiwan-based micro-LED developer PlayNitride Technologies says that its board has approved the acquisition, for US$2m, of Lumiode Inc of New York, NY, USA, which was founded in 2012 and specializes in high-brightness micro-displays for augmented reality (AR) and other display applications. Market research company TrendForce reports that Lumiode has complementary technologies and patents that can help PlayNitride to expand its intellectual property portfolio and improve access to North American customers and sales channels...

The South Wales-based compound semiconductor cluster CSconnected has announced MicroLink Devices UK Ltd as an awardee of the CSconnected Supply Chain Development Programme — Call 2...

Japan-based power electronics manufacturer Fuji Electric Co Ltd and automotive parts maker Robert Bosch GmbH of Reutlingen, Germany have agreed to collaborate on silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductor modules for electric vehicles (EVs) that feature package compatibility...

ams OSRAM GmbH of Premstaetten, Austria, and Munich, Germany has launched a convertible bond tender and invites current bondholders to submit offers to sell up to €300m in principal amount of the outstanding €760m convertible bonds due 2027...

As one of the 36 partners in the PhotonHub PHACTORY project (a one-stop-shop for photonics innovation, funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe program), III-V Lab of Palaiseau, France (the joint Nokia, Thales and CEA-Leti lab for industrial research and the development of III-V-based optoelectronic and microelectronic components and their integration with silicon circuits) is giving three training sessions...

Aerospace, Defense & security firm Leonardo S.p.A. of Rome, Italy has announced a major step forward in the development and implementation of the Michelangelo Dome advanced integrated defence system technology enablers, signing a contract with Italy-based TELEDIFE (Direzione Informatica Telematica e Tecnologie Avanzate) for the development and delivery of four next-generation radars, designed to counter long-range ballistic threats (3000km)...

Lumileds of Eindhoven, The Netherlands says that its Versat 2016 is designed to address the necessary illumination specifications, reduce the engineering complexity and support the economic requirements for the growing segment of animated, personalized car-body lighting. With LUXEON Versat 2016 singular optical elements, backlit optical surfaces and 3D illuminated structures can all be successfully addressed, ushering in the expansion of car illumination beyond traditional signaling into styling and communication lighting...