1. technology and computing

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ISSUE
N°144
25/04/2013
T H E
D I S R U P T I V E
INSIDE
3
Lemoptix’s MEMS-based
laser scanning and
microprojection
technologies
S E M I C O N D U C T O R
LED
11
T E C H N O L O G I E S
POWER ELECTRONICS
Aledia makes its first LEDs on
8-inch silicon wafers using
cost-disruptive microwire
technology
17
PL AT IN U M PA R T NE R S:
IXYS introduces the smallest
footprint surface mount
package for 1.2KV to 1.8KV
power semiconductors
Everywhereyoulook™
MEMS
EDITORIAL
Top 30 MEMS companies
The fast growing market for sensors for smart phones is re-shuffling the
ranks of MEMS suppliers. For the first time, suppliers of inertial sensors
have surpassed the major makers of micro mirrors and inkjet heads
that have long dominated the industry’s annual ranking of the Top 30
MEMS companies.
S
TMicroelectronics (ST) increased MEMS
sales by ~10% in 2012, to become the
first company with $1 billion in MEMS
revenue, moving past Texas Instruments to
become the sector’s largest company. Robert
Bosch saw 14% growth, to ~$842 million in
MEMS sales, pushing ahead of both Texas
Instruments and Hewlett Packard for the first
time to become the second ranking player,
according to Yole’s figures.
Both ST and Bosch have been aggressively
expanding their consumer product lines to
offer customers a broad range of sensors,
and increasingly also combinations of sensors
in a single package for easier integration at
lower cost. Their growing volumes also help
keep their fabs running more efficiently, for
the assured manufacturing capability that
volume users demand.
>p.5
STMicroelectronics increased
its MEMS sales by ~10% in 2012.
This company becomes
the 1st company with $1B
in MEMS revenue.
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Status of the MEMS Industry report, to be released Q2, 2013. (Courtesy of Yole Développement)
ADVANCED PACKAGING
ZOOM
Hurel receives $9.2 million
series a funding from Spring
Mountain Capital
Hurel announced that Spring Mountain Capital
has organized and closed a $9.2 million Series A
private equity financing facility for the company.
F
unds from the financing will support the commercial
launch of Hurel’s current products, the continued
research and development of its technologies and
future products, and other general corporate purposes.
Spring Mountain, operating through its SMC Select CoInvestment Fund I, L.P., is the lead investor; Spring
Mountain also organized co-investment participations by
several other private investor entities. “This investment
refl ects our belief in Hurel’s management, its scientifi c
leader ship, and its produc t strength,” said Spring
Mountain’s Managing Partner Avi Faliks, Ph.D.
>p.8
Yo l e D é v e l o p p e m e n t
recently issued its
Biophotonics market report. Thanks to life
science and health applications, the report
proposes an estimated market growth of
$23B-$36B between 2012-2017, with a strong
CAGR increase for emerging opportunities in
imaging and sensing modalities.
In local Japanese affairs, one hot topic is the
MIC’s (the Japanese government’s Ministry of
In t e r n a l A f f a i r s a n d C o m m u n i c a t i o n s)
announcement that the number of Japanese
people aged 65 or older ( “pensioner s” )
exceeded 30 million in October 2012. The last
time this happened was way back in 1950.
When you consider that Japan’s total population
is 127.5 million, pensioners now account for
25%. It’s interesting to note that while Japan is
“aging fast”, its total population is decreasing,
which begs the question: is this the same for
other countries? The answer is yes. This
phenomena is not exclusive to Japan, but
appears in other developed countries as well,
and it has created a sense of urgency to
improve a number of currently outdated and
unbalanced healthcare systems.
In other news, Biotech 2013 will take place in
Tok yo from May 8 – 10. On May 9, Yole
Développement will host a market trends/
analysis seminar titled “Point-of-Care Testing
finds Applications in Many Fields”. We’re very
excited to meet our great customers and
discuss new emerging technologies, such as
those linked to life science and healthcare
applications.
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Biophotonics
enables
point-of-care
testing
Yutaka Katano
General Manager, Japan Office
Business Development Manager
Yole Développement
PHOTOVOLTAICS
GLOBALFOUNDRIES
demonstrates 3D TSV
capabilities on 20nm technology
First Solar to acquire TetraSun
to expand addressable market
opportunity
Fab 8 i n N ew Yo r k d e li ve r s f un c t i o n a l 20 n m
silicon with Through-Silicon-Vias (TSVs).
First Solar announced it is acquiring TetraSun, a
solar photovoltaic technology startup which has
deve lop e d a br eak-thr ough c e ll ar c hite c t ur e
capable of conversion efficiencies exceeding 21
percent with commercial-scale manufac turing
costs comparable to conventional multicrystalline
silicon solar cells.
G
LOBALFOUNDRIES announced the accomplishment of
a key milestone in its strategy to enable 3D stacking
of chips for next-generation mobile and consumer
applications. At its Fab 8 campus in Saratoga County, N.Y., the
company has demonstrated its first functional 20nm silicon
wafer s with integrated Through-Silicon Vias (TSVs).
Manufactured using GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ leading-edge 20nmLPM process technology, the TSV capabilities will allow
customers to stack multiple chips on top of each other,
providing another avenue for delivering the demanding
per formance, power, and bandwidth requirements of
F
irst Solar signed a definitive agreement to acquire
TetraSun from JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation and
other investors, including TetraSun management. Terms
of the transaction, which is expected to close in the second
quarter of 2013, were not disclosed. First Solar and JX Nippon
Oil & Energy also have entered into discussions on an
agreement to distribute the technology in Japan.
electronic devices.
>p.14
>p.15
2 | ISSUE N°144 | 25/04/2013
TO MEET US
CONTENT
INSIDE
EQUIPMENT & MATERIALS
MEMS
MEDTECH
COMPOUND SEMICONDUCTORS
LED
IMAGING
OPTOELECTRONICS
ADVANCED PACKAGING
PHOTOVOLTAICS
NANOTECHNOLOGY
POWER ELECTRONICS
3
4
5
8
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
Editorial Staff
Board Members: Jean-Christophe Eloy - Media Activity,
Editor in chief: Dr Eric Mounier - Editors: Alexandre
Avron, Frédéric Breussin, Lionel Cadix, Paul Danini, Wenbin Ding, Dr. Éric Mounier, Pars Mukish, Laurent Robin,
Milan Rosina, Benjamin Roussel, Dr. Philippe Roussel
- Media & Communication Manager: Sandrine Leroy Media & Communication Coordinators: Clotilde Fabre,
Camille Favre - Layout: atelier JBBOX - Production: Kzen
• SPIE - Defense, Security & Sensing, April 29 to May 3 –
Baltimore, USA
One of the largest exhibitions for optics, lasers, sensors, image
processing, spectroscopy, infrared systems, optoelectronic components,
and more for defense and security applications. Come and visit Yole
Développement experts on booth # 2106 in Zone 2.
success of the compound semiconductor industry by encouraging
the sharing of best manufacturing technologies and practices
among peers in an open, informal environment. We feature the
fundamentals of device production including design, materials,
fabrication, test and operations’ practices. Come and visit Yole
Développement experts on booth # 207
• BIOTech 2013, May 8 to 10 - Tokyo, Japan
Asia’s LARGEST consisting of 3 events - PARTNERING, CONFERENCE
& EXHIBITION. Grab the latest research achievements in Japan/
Asia. (600 exhibitors & 250 presentations). Come and listen to Yole
Développement Biotech expert on May 9, from 3.00PM to 4.00PM :
Point of care testing finds applications in many fields: from emergency
diagnostics to industrial testing
• PCIM Europe, May 14 to 16, 2013 - Nuremberg, Germany
From latest developments of power semiconductors, passive
components, products for thermal management, new materials,
sensors as well as servo-technology and the wide area of power
quality and energy-management - PCIM offers a comprehensive,
focused and compact presentation of products all under one roof!
Benefi t from the success of such a well established international
exhibition with conference and tutorials. Come and visit Yole
Développement experts on booth #134 Hall 7. Participate to Yole
Développement Market Briefing on May 15 from 1:30 to 3:30 in the
Forum Area
• CS Mantech, May 13 to 16 - New Orleans, LS, USA
The 28th International Conference on Compound Semiconductor
Manufacturing Technology mission is to foster the growth and
GOLD PARTNERS
SAVE THE DATE
SEPTEMBER 11-12, 2013
Seattle, WA, USA
CONSULTING
About Yole Développement
Founded in 1998, Yole Développement has grown to
become a group of companies providing marketing,
technology and strategy consulting, media in addition to
corporate finance services.
With a strong focus on emerging applications using silicon
and/or micro manufacturing, Yole Développement group
has expanded to include more than 50 associates
worldwide covering MEMS, Compound Semiconductors,
LED, Image Sensors, Optoelectronics, Microfluidics &
Me dic al, Photovolt aic s, Advanc e d Pac kaging,
Nanomaterials and Power Electronics. The group supports
industrial companies, investors and R&D organizations
worldwide to help them understand markets and follow
technology trends to develop their business.
Consulting
• Market data, market research & marketing analysis
• Technology analysis
• Reverse engineering & costing services
• Strategy consulting
• Patent analysis
More information on www.yole.fr
Reports
•
•
•
•
•
Collection of technology & market reports
Manufacturing cost simulation tools
Component reverse
Patent investigation
Engineering & Costing analysis
Financial services
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Due diligence & valuation
• Fundraising
• Coaching of emerging companies
• IP portfolio management, valuation & optimization
More information on www.yolefinance.com
“MEMS in Motion is a different way of doing business…you’re going to see a lot
more of these in the future. I’ll attend again, and I’d recommend it to other
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John Brashear, VectorNav Technologies
MEMS in Motion 2012 Participant
“I love MEMS in Motion. I will absolutely dedicate the time to make sure I attend
QH[WWLPH´
Kevin Shaw, Sensor Platforms
MEMS in Motion 2012 Participant
“I am extremely pleased with MEMS in Motion. It was great and I am looking
IRUZDUGWRQH[W\HDU¶VVXPPLW´
Vincent Fortin, Teledyne DALSA
MEMS in Motion 2012 Participant
“Some conferences you have just speakers and listeners, presentation after
presentation. Forums like MEMS in Motion force interaction between people
which tend to be more productive meetings. I would recommend this event to
RWKHULQGXVWU\SHRSOH²SHUFHQW´
Tom Flynn, Coventor
MEMS in Motion 2012 Participant
Industry leaders will gather for the third edition of the two-day MEMS in Motion event. Qualified
attendees will enjoy exclusive plenary sessions; hours of one-on-one meeting opportunities,
plus a variety of social activities.
Mark your calendar, and help shape the future of inertial devices.
Media
• Online disruptive technologies website: www.imicronews.com
• Editorial webcasts program
• Six magazines: Micronews - MEMS Trends – 3D
Packaging – iLED – Power Dev’ - New in 2013: Image
Sensors Industry
• Communication & Webcasts services
For more information,
please contact S.Leroy at leroy@yole.fr
Contacts
PLATINIUM SPONSORS
For more information about :
• Consulting Services : Christophe Fitamant
(fitamant@yole.fr)
• Financial Services: Géraldine Andrieux-Gustin
(Andrieux@yole.fr)
• Reports: David Jourdan (jourdan@yole.fr)
• Media & Communication : Sandrine Leroy
(leroy@yole.fr)
25/04/2013 | ISSUE N°144 |
3
INSIDE…
Lemoptix MEMS-based laser scanning and microprojection
technologies
Based on its proprietar y MEMS platform, Lemoptix designs, develops, and licenses next-generation laser
scanning and microprojection technologies.
L
emoptix specializes in developing nextgeneration laser scanning and
microprojection technologies based on
its proprietary MEMS platform. Launched in
20 0 8, i n L a u s a n n e , S w i t z e r l a n d, t h e
company is a spin-off from the Swiss Federal
Institute of Technology.
Its MEMS technology is rapidly expanding
into a wide range of applications.
“Our main focus is on head-up displays and
pic opr ojec tor s,” s ays Raja Yazigi, vice
pr e s ide nt of busine s s deve lopme nt at
Lemoptix. “But we discover a new application
about every two weeks now.”
ASICs
ASICs are at the heart of Lemoptix’s MEMS
technology, and its MEMS are ac tuated
magnetically. Using Lemoptix’s ASIC means
it can sense the position of the MEMS mirror.
So the ASIC acts as both a driver and a
sensor, which forms a feedback loop for good
control of the mirror angle—resulting in high
resolution and luminosity.
“Our MEMS driver, which is a standard CMOS
ASIC, was developed in-house,” explains
Yazigi. “The MEMS driver is half of the
electronics, and the other half is a solution
to process the video for the application. We
also developed the method to process this
digital information.”
Lemoptix is on its 2nd-generation ASIC, and
is adding new features to each generation.
“We’ll release the 3rd-generation ASIC, with
new eye safety functions, by the end of this
year,” says Yazigi.
Lemoptix’s MEMS platform
Lemoptix’s MEMS scanning mirror platform
uses standard manufacturing processes and
tools quite similar to those used by the
semiconductor industry. Its MEMS mirrors
are fabricated on silicon wafers and rely on
waf e r-l eve l p a c k a gin g, whi c h e nab l e s
integration into the overall hosting
architectures.
The company created an ultraminiature laser
microprojector optical engine, MVIEW, which
is built around the MEMS scanning mirror
platform and integrates MEMS, scanning
mirror, red-blue-green laser light sources,
and beam compacter optics into a compact,
plug-and-play package.
“Today, MVIEW is a mere 1.5cc in volume
and 5mm in thickness, but it could be made
smaller. This results in a microprojection
system ideal for use in applications such as
head-up displays in cars or mobile devices,”
says Yazigi.
Embedding its MVIEW modules enables the
pr oje c tion of c onte nt and inf or mation
direc tly from a device onto any nearby
sur face, which, according to Lemoptix,
allows users to view and share information
without the typical limitations of physical
displays.
The company’s laser scanning micromirrors
are integrated into optical applications such
as 3D sensing, printer s, and industrial
sensors—enabling development of smaller,
higher-resolution and lower-cost products.
“With our MEMS laser scanning technology,
in handheld devices where power is limited,
we’re able to provide more than 20 lumens
for a microprojec tion system power
consumption between 1 to 1.5 W with no
visible speckles,” notes Yazigi. “Current
resolution is WVGA, moving toward 720p.”
Lemoptix’s MEMS technology also recently
passed one of the industry’s most rigorous
reliability tests, in which its unpackaged
MEMS mirrors underwent testing for 1000
hours at 85°C and 85% humidity. This was
the first test in the automotive qualification
process; other tests to meet IEC, JEDEC,
AEC, and MIL standards for storage
temperature, shock resistance, vibration,
thermal cycling, etc., are still ongoing.
Diverse applications
Head-up displays for the automotive industry
are a particularly promising application of
Lemoptix’s technology, and the company has
prototypes available.
“ We’r e wor k ing with c us tome r s in the
automotive industry and several others on
head-up technology. We’re also involved in
augmented reality glasses, which are another
head-mounted display type, in goggles,
Lemoptix’s ultraminiature laser microprojector optical engine, MVIEW. (Courtesy of Lemoptix)
which is a head-mounted display, and in
helmet-mounted displays for bikers,” says
Yazigi.
Pic o pr oje c tor s e mb e dde d in handhe ld
devices—such as smartphones, laptops, and
tablets—is another key area Lemoptix is
focusing on.
Yet another application is gesture control.
“Today, the trend for laptops and tablets is
to be able to sense the environment for
gesture control for gaming or other features
like eye tracking. We’re ver y involved in
this,” says Yazigi.
The company is also working on L IDAR
applic ations for sensing objec t s in the
pathway of vehicles, as well as medical
applications, such as dental imaging, that
require 3D scanning and printing.
a c o m p a ny c o m e s t o u s, r a t h e r t h a n
attempting to start from scratch, it can save
90% of their R&D costs and go to market
within a year,” notes Yazigi.
Future goals
Since Lemoptix is still a young start-up, “the
company is in to win.” T heir goal is to
continue licensing the company’s technology
and see it become popular in the market.
“We expect soon to see our products in the
hands of consumers.” says Yazigi.
License-based business model
Lemoptix’s business model is license-based,
meaning that the company doesn’t do any
manufac tur ing, aside f r om c r eating
prototypes and samples. Instead, Lemoptix
licenses its technology to companies such as
Hamamat su Photonic s, a Jap an-b a s e d
manufacturer of optoelectronics.
Lemoptix encourages other companies to
explore the licensing options it of fer s,
because their calculations show that “if
Lemoptix Multidisciplinary Expertise
Interface
Optical
Engine
Digital
Processing
RGB Laser
Driver
Zero Speckle
solution
Power
Management
ASIC MEMS
Driver/Sensing
2D MEMS Mirror
About Lemoptix
L e m o p t i x i s a S w i s s c o m p a n y,
headquartered in Lausanne. It is a Spinof f fr om Swiss Federal Institute of
Te c h n o l o g y ( E P F L ) , L a u s a n n e ,
Switzerland (in 2008). With more than
14 years R&D on MEMS scanning mirror
t e c h n o l o g y, i t d e v e l o p e d s t r o n g
multidisciplinar y exper tise in MEMS
mirror modeling, design & fabrication
and, System & module development,
including optical & electronics
subsystems. Lemoptix business model is
licensing. It is financially profitable in
2011 and 2012 and backed by private
investors.
www.lemoptix.com
Lemoptix multidisciplinary expertise (Courtesy of Lemoptix)
4 | ISSUE N°144 | 25/04/2013
EQUIPMENT & MATERIALS
Thermo compression bonding technologies
Thermo-compression bonding (TCB) technology is a fascinating alternative to the established C4 flip-chip technology with
mass reflow.
T
CB can master a couple of challenges which
would be show stoppers for C4:
• TCB is capable for ultra-fine pitch Cupillar flip chip (40μ pitch and less)
• Based on local reflow TCB can deal with
warped (thin) die and warped substrate,
which is normally a no-go for mass reflow
• 22 nm CMOS nodes and below are especially
sensitive to silicon/substrate CTE mismatch
stress, which can be significantly reduced
by the TCB gradient bonding method (which
is not an available option for mass reflow)
TCB bonding has been introduced in mass
production in combination with NCP (nonconductive paste) pre-application. This is a
smart approach to overcome the voiding issues
of capillary underfill (CUF) for fine bump
pitches. The TCB process, however, gets very
challenging for ultra-thin dies like for TSV
memory stack production, as the bleed can
climb up to the top of the die. For this reason
there are lots of activities to replace NCP by
NCF (non-conductive foil). NCF, however,
demands for higher bond force, which - in
combination with 30μ thin die - does not make
people feel very confident. For this reason the
step back to post-applied underfill like CUF
(capillary underfill) can be frequently observed,
but also MUF (molded underfill) becomes more
and more attention. The Fico molding machine
of our sister company is already capable to
underfill gaps of 30μ thickness.
Challenges and opportunities
Thermo-compression comes with a lot of
technical challenges. In contrast to the
current C4 flip-chip technology thermocompression requires much higher forces,
while at the same time demanding a five-fold
increase in placement accuracy. Another
crucial requirement is high co-planarity of
bond head and pedestal, as well as a
sophisticated bond control which is capable of
smoothly switching between bond force
control and bond height control.
Besi/Datacon has chosen a unique approach
to tackle this challenge. In contrast to the
usual approach of building heavy and stiff
systems by adding sufficient mass to the
mechanical structures, Besi/Datacon uses a
patented mechatronic approach which is based
on light weight machine design, proper
kinematics and enhanced servo control. This
approach allows unique opportunities to end-
up with a high speed thermo-compression
bonder which has small footprint while
maintaining exceptional placement accuracy at
high bond forces. The mechatronic approach
is not only capable to tackle the high accuracy/
high bond force/productivity challenge. It also
allows for an automatic tilt diagnostic
procedure at any bond location, and automatic
adjustment of the bond head tilt.
Finally, the mechatronic approach of the
Datacon 8800 CHAMEO TC allows dual head
bonding on a single substrate, which is a
unique advantage for the processing of high
density substrate with pre-applied NCP, as it
avoids NCP dry-out because of the double
throughput of the substrates.
Ready for high volume production?
Our customers give us a clear message about
the requirements for high volume production:
TCB bonding needs to run robustly with high
yield, and it needs to become as easy and
productive as C4 flip-chip bonding. High yield
is related to the TCB “core capabilities” which
are high accuracy, automated co-planarity,
bond control and thin die handling. All these
capabilities are in place, but in order to
Fully automatic thermo-compression production line (Courtesy of Besi)
maint ain a r obust pr oduc tion pr ocess
throughput is usually compromised, even if
the machine could run at a higher speed. TC
bonders must be equipped with sufficient
diagnostics for capability integrity in order to
utilize maximum machine productivity without
compromising the yield. As most TC products
are still in a pilot phase and not in mass
production, a final statement about readiness
for high volume production will clearly have
some limits in confidence level. The big
challenge is to run steep mass production
ramps with the guarantee that the production
equipment does not vary from tool to tool.
This will be the next focus where vendors of
ther mo-compr e ssion bonder s have to
concentrate their attention.
w w w. b e s i .c o m
Dr. Hugo
Pristauz,
Vice president
of Besi Flip Chip
division.
D r. P r i s t a u z
held various
management positions in Besi R&D
and Marketing since 1999, among
others being responsible for the
c omplete development of the
highly successful 8800 platform.
Today as Vice President of the Flip
Chip division he is responsible for
the development and marketing
ac tivitie s of all B e si f lip c hip
equipment. Dr. Pristauz holds a
PhD in electrical engineering with a
main focus on control engineering.
After graduation he worked as a
university teacher before starting
a career in the semiconductor
industry.
The equipment & materials business
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25/04/2013 | ISSUE N°144 |
5
MEMS
Top 30 MEMS companies: STMicroelectronics and Robert Bosch rise to top of Yole Développement’s
annual ranking
From page 1
S
T, Bosch and other major inertial sensor
suppliers saw strong revenue growth
despite the 20%-30% drop in average
s e llin g p r i c e s f o r a c c e l e r o m e t e r s an d
gyroscopes over the year-because of even
bigger ramps in unit volume. “ST increased
unit production by 58%, to 1.3 billion MEMS
devices in 2012, up to some 4 million units a
day-not counting its foundry business,” notes
Yole Market & Technology Analyst, Laurent
Robin. “It’s hard for many companies to
match that.”
Yole calculates the MEMS industry overall saw
another ~10% growth in 2012 to become an
~$11 billion business- in a year when the
semiconductor industry saw a ~2% decline.
The Top 30 companies account for nearly
75% of that total MEMS market.
The traditional gap between the big four
MEMS maker s and the rest of the pack
narrowed this year, as strong demand for
more MEMS sensors in both consumer and
automotive markets drove strong growth
a c r o s s a r a n g e o f s up p li e r s . K n owl e s
Electronics saw better than 20% growth to
climb into four th place with some $440
million in revenues from MEMS microphones,
closing in on HP. Panasonic and Denso were
close behind with more than $350 million in
MEMS sales in their largely automotive
markets.
Mobile phones and tablets were the real
sweet spot for big growth oppor tunities
though. Chinese electret microphone supplier
AAC made the top companies ranking for the
first time as its MEMS microphone sales
jumped ~90% to ~$65 million, as it became
the second source for the iPhone. InvenSense
saw some 30% growth as it ramped up
production of its inertial sensors. Triquint saw
a 27% increase in revenues from its BAW
filters.
Murata moved sharply up the ranking as its
acquisition of VTI created ~$179 million in
combined MEMS revenue.
Meanwhile, the traditional major MEMS
markets for micromirrors and inkjet heads
have matured and slowed, with demand for
inkjet heads particularly hit by the consumer
pr inter mar ket ’s rapid tur n away fr om
replaceable heads to page-wide and fi xedhead technologies. That hit revenues at both
the inkjet companies and their manufacturing
partners.
Yole defines MEMS as three dimensional
struc tures made by semiconduc tor-like
processes, with primarily mechanical, not
e l e c t r o n i c , f u n c t i o n. We a l s o i n c l u d e
magnetometers, as they are now so closely
integrated with MEMS inertial sensors, and all
microfluidics, including those on polymer. We
figure MEMS units and value at the first level
of packaged device. For companies that do
not release MEMS revenues, we estimate the
figures based on our data for product market
size, market share, product teardowns,
reverse costing, and discussions with the
companies.
www.yole.fr
Advantest enters MEMS testing market with multiple system installations at
Freescale® semiconductor’s facilities in Arizona and Asia
MEMS pressure sensor
for tablets
Advantest has entered the high-growth market for testing MEMS-based sensor s by installing V93000 Smar t
Scale™ systems at several of Freescale Semiconductor’s facilities around the world.
Measurement Specialties has
introduced a digital barometric
pressure sensor in a QFN package
which draws only 0.6μA.
I
n addition to using Advantest’s testers for
engineering development at Freescale’s
Sensor and Actuator Solutions Division
engineering center in Tempe, Arizona, the
semiconductor manufacturer has started to
employ the V93000 platform in production
testing of its newest generations of MEMSbased sensors being manufactured in Asia.
Advantest’s versatile V93000 Smart Scale
platform, equipped with Pin Scale 1600
digital channel cards, can be confi gured to
provide the lowest cost of test for highvolume sensors. While the ultra-compact
A-Class test head enables a small footprint,
the V93000’s robust system resources and
its unique, processor-based universal pin
architecture combine to deliver unmatched
parallelism and high multi-site efficiency in
testing all current and emerging sensor
technologies.
The tester is equipped with drivers for all
major MEMS handlers and can communicate
with the handler during the test flow. This is
a key performance attribute in testing MEMS,
which requires the handler to move between
different orientations during test runs.
“In extensively evaluating testers for its
MEMS applications, Freescale conducted
comparative reviews of various systems to
find the solution that would meet its technical
r e q uir e m e nt s,” s ai d S a e B um M y un g,
Executive Vice President of Worldwide Sales
at Advantest. “The combination of the V93000
platform’s cost efficiencies, the high-volume
productivity enabled by our Pin Scale 1600
cards and our around-the-clock engineering
suppor t ser vice s wer e ins tr ument al in
winning this business.”
The Advantest V93000 tester has a successful
track record with Freescale. The company
contracts with outsource semiconductor
assembly and testing (OSAT ) facilities
throughout Asia that are using V93000
systems.
“Using Advantest’s V93000 systems in MEMS
testing will enable us to continue to lower our
cost of test and improve the time to market
for our newest sensor products,” said Seyed
Par ansun, V ic e Pr e side nt and G e ne r al
Manager of Freescale’s Sensor and Actuator
Solutions Division.
The V93000 platform has the flexibility to
test a wide range of semiconductor devices
used in a variet y of applic ations, from
sensors to wireless communications. The
tester’s per-pin accuracy and high throughput
enable customer s to quickly ramp to
production volumes, shortening their time to
market. For nearly two decades, the V93000
platform has been used in developing and
producing multiple generations of logic and
high-speed memor y ICs by fabless
companies, OSAT foundries and integrated
device manufacturers (IDMs) around the world.
www.advantest.co.jp
www.freescale.com
S
tandby power of the MS5637 is less than
0.15μA at 25°C and supply voltage
ranges from 1.5V to 3.6V. The MEMSbased sensor has a footprint of 3 x 3 x 0.9mm.
The MS5637 uses an integrated 24-bit ADC to
precisely process pressure and temperature
values in as little as 0.5ms. It uses a highlinearity pressure sensor to provide an altitude
resolution of 13cm (5.1in) at sea level for
highly accurate measurements. The ADC, with
internal factory-calibrated coefficients that do
not require additional programming, easily
interfaces with any microcontroller via an I2C
interface. The sensor operates from 300 mbar
to 1,200 mbar over an extended temperature
range of -40°C to +85°C, with a long term
stability of ±1 mbar per year.
www.meas-spec.com
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6 | ISSUE N°144 | 25/04/2013
MEMS
IDT announces world’s lowest jitter MEMS oscillators with integrated frequency margining capability
IDT’s 4H LVDS / LVPECL MEMS oscillators with 100 femtoseconds typical phase jitter and adaptable output frequency reduces BER in high-performance
10GbE and networking applications.
I
ntegrated Device Technology (IDT ®)
announced the industry’s first differential
MEMS oscillators with 100 femtosecond
(fs) typical phase jitter performance and
integrated frequency margining capability.
The extremely low phase jitter and adaptable
output frequency of IDT’s high-performance
oscillators significantly reduce bit error rate
(B E R) in 10 gi gab i t E t h e r n e t (10 G b E)
s w i t c h e s, r o u t e r s, a n d o t h e r r e l a t e d
net working equipment. The IDT 4H
per formance MEMS oscillators feature a
differential LVDS / LVPECL output and the
lowest phase jitter in their product class (100
fs @ 1.875 - 20 MHz and sub-300 fs @ 12kHz
- 20 MHz), satisfying the low-jitter chipset
requirements of high-per formance
net working applications. Integrated
frequency margining capabilit y enables
c u s t o m e r s t o f i n e -t un e t h e o s c illat o r
frequency during operation in the application
by up to ±1000 ppm, minimizing BER and
facilitating margin testing. IDT’s 4H MEMS
oscillators are available in multiple package
sizes including the smaller 3225 (3.2 x 2.5
mm) to save board space and cost in densely
populated applications. IDT is the only
supplier to offer this combination of MEMS
oscillator performance, features, and small
package size.
“IDT’s latest series of MEMS oscillators build
upon the standard 4M and enhanced 4E
oscillator series’ to address the demanding
performance requirements of 10GbE and
networking applications,” said Christian
Kermarrec, Vice President and General
Manager of the Timing and Synchronization
Division at IDT.
www.idt.com
Ultra-high performance MEMS oscillators (Courtesy of IDT)
Tessera Technologies announces refocused DigitalOptics business strategy and restructuring
DOC will concentrate on its differentiated technology and leverage partner relationships. Company operating expenses in DOC and corporate overhead
are expected to be reduced by $78 Million or approximately 45%, excluding charges.
T
essera Technologies announced that it is
refocusing its DigitalOptics Corporation
(“DOC”) business strategy to achieve the
full potential of its differentiated imaging
tec hnology while r educing cost s. T he
Company expec t s to r educe operating
expenses in DigitalOptics Corporation (“DOC”)
and Corporate Overhead by approximately
$78 million, or 45%, on an annualized basis
exiting 2013, as compared to 2012. The
Company has determined that it is no longer
necessary for DOC to be a vertically integrated
camera module supplier. DOC will instead
focus its strategy on the differentiated MEMSrelated technologies, where it has proprietary
assembly technology and expertise, and will
partner with third-party manufacturers to
produce other components of the full camera
module. DOC will continue to productize the
mems|cam technology throughout the rest of
the year, and expects to ship small production
volumes of its technology in 2013. The
refocused DOC strategy and restructuring
resulted from a business strategy review
directed by a committee of independent
directors (the “Committee“), led by Richard S.
Hill, former chairman and CEO of Novellus
Sys tems. T he C ommit te e wor ke d with
management to evaluate the Company’s
overall business opportunity, strategy and
operating model. The Committee and the
Board of Directors will continue to monitor the
DOC business closely to ensure that its
strategy and business model are appropriate
for the market opportunity. The Company’s
restructuring will reduce spending in DOC and
Corporate Overhead, but not in the Company’s
Intellectual Property business. As a result of
DOC’s refocused business strategy and
previously announced cost reductions, the
Company expects its reported Corporate
Overhead to be at an annual run rate of
approximately $29 million exiting 2013,
compared to $47 million in 2012; and DOC
operating expenses, excluding cost of revenues
and restructuring, impairment and other
charges, to be at an annual run rate of
approximately $53 million exiting 2013,
compared to $88 million in 2012. These
reductions will occur throughout the rest of this
calendar year. DOC also expects cost of
revenues to decline from $40 million in 2012 to
approximately $15 million in 2013 as a result
of the change in estimated production volumes
and previously announced actions. DOC’s
refocused strategy includes initiatives across
multiple fronts:
DOC will accelerate the use of par tner
manufacturers for the production of camera
modules and will focus its own manufacturing
on the lens barrel assembly, which is a highermargin component for which DOC has unique
proprietary technology. This approach will cut
DOC’s expected capital spending in 2013 by
roughly half — to a range of between $5 million
and $7 million, as compared to the Company’s
previous estimate of $10 million to $15 million.
DOC is consolidating its manufac turing
capabilities into its Taiwan facility and expects
to cease all operations at its leased facility in
Zhuhai, China. DOC will transfer a portion of
the manufacturing equipment located there to
Taiwan. DOC will terminate its current lens
manufacturing program and instead will focus
on designing lenses that its partners can
produce for use in DOC’s proprietary assembly
technology. The Company expects to take a
total charge of between $17 million and $23
million, whic h inc lude s r e s t r u c t ur ing,
impairment of assets and other related exit
costs, with the majority taken in the first
quarter of 2013 and the remainder in the
second quarter of 2013.
www.tessera.com
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25/04/2013 | ISSUE N°144 |
7
MEMS
STMicroelectronics leads european research to secure lead in advanced
MEMS devices
SGX launch innovative
MEMS pellistor
STMicroelectronics (ST) has begun working with research par tners to develop a pilot line for next-generation
MEMS devices augmented with advanced technologies such as piezoelec tric or magnetic materials and 3D
packaging. The project was launched by the European Nanoelectronics Initiative Advisory Council (ENIAC) Joint
Under taking (JU), a public-private par tnership in nanoelectronics.
SGX Sensor tech has reinforced its
position as a leading designer and
manufac turer of gas sensor s with
the launch of a new pellistor product.
I
n coordinating the €28M, 30-month
Lab4MEMS project, ST is working with
universities, research institutions and
technology businesses across nine European
countries. The project benefits from ST’s
MEMS facilities in France, Italy and Malta to
establish a complete set of manufacturing
competencies for next-generation devices,
spanning design and fabrication to test and
packaging. With over 800 MEMS-related
patents, more than three billion devices
shipped and extensive in-house production
capabilities currently producing more than 4
million MEMS devices per day, ST is ideally
placed to lead the Lab4MEMS research into
next-generation devices. The project will
develop technologies such as Piezoelectric
(PZT) thin films to enhance current puresilicon MEMS, enabling improvements such as
larger displacement, higher sensing
functionality and greater energy density.
These are needed to build smart sensors,
ac tuator s, micr o pumps and energy
harvesters meeting the demands of future
data-storage, ink-jet, healthcare, automotive,
i n d u s t r i a l - c o n t r o l a n d s m a r t- b u i l d i n g
applications, as well as consumer applications
such as smartphones and navigation devices.
The projec t will also develop advanced
packaging technologies and ver tic al
interconnections using flip-chip, throughsilicon vias and through-mold vias, enabling
3D-integrated devices for applications such
as body area sensors and remote monitoring.
A key target is to perfect a PZT deposition
process compatible with mass production,
and integrate it into complex MEMS processes
to enable innovative actuators and sensors on
System-On-Chip industrial products.
L ab 4MEMS is one of the Key Enabling
Tec hnologie s (KE T ) Pilot-L ine pr ojec t s
contrac ted by the ENIAC JU to develop
technologies and application areas with
substantial societal impact.
“The ENIAC JU research agenda has synergies
with ST’s commitment to improving quality of
life thr ough tec hnology,” said Rober to
Zafalon, European Programs Manager, R&D
and Public Af fair s, S TMicroelec tronic s.
“Lab4MEMS is an important project that will
benefit consortium members and
stakeholder s, including ENI AC member
states. Ultimately, we expect the results to
translate into long-term prosperit y and
valuable knowledge-based employment
opportunities.”
The ENIAC JU is a public-private partnership
i nv o l v i n g E N I A C m e m b e r s t a t e s , t h e
European Union, and the Association for
European Nanoelectronics Activities
(AENEAS). It is currently contributing some
€1.8bn towards the costs of R&D projects,
which it selec t s thr ough a competitive
process assessing responses to its Calls for
Proposals. The Lab4MEMS project,
coordinated by ST, was selected in 2012 and
work began in January 2013.
A
n industrial-suited MEMS has been
developed for a new generation of lowpower and rugged sensor s for the
detection of combustible gases, in particular
methane. Innovative process technologies
combined with optimized sensing and filter
materials are engineered to achieve
e xc e ptional p e r f or manc e c ompar e d to
existing products. These sensors can provide
a significant power reduction, in continuous
op e r ation and c ompar e d with e xis ting
pellistor gas sensors it can be up to 50
percent.
www.st.com
SGX MEMS pellistor (Courtesy of SXG)
Tronics reports record 2012 income of €16.7million
Tronic s closed a ver y successful 2012 with total income of €16.7million ($ 22,1M), €1.8million in net prof it
($ 2,4M) and expanded its investments in submicron and glass technologies.
T
ronics’ income exceeded expectations
in 2012 thanks to strong growth of its
high p e r f or manc e iner tial s e ns or
business, as well as a significant increase in
its contract manufacturing customer base.
Tronics’ traditional high performance inertial
MEMS manufacturing business expanded
significantly in both Europe and Asia. This
growth was driven not only by the better
economic conditions, but also by Tronics’
growing reputation as a key player in the
field.
The company was also able to add several
impor tant customers to its contract
manufacturing portfolio with applications in a
var iet y of mar ket s suc h as medic al
diagnostics, RF MEMS, industrial sensors,
consumer goods, and defense. Its Dallas
entity was particularly successful in winning
new contracts with promising non-consumer
MEMS volumes. This product diversity is very
positive in terms of risk management, in the
current global MEMS industr y, which is
heavily dependent on consumer iner tial
MEMS.
2012 also yielded a solid balance sheet with
close to 4 million Euros cash and a debt/
equity ratio below 35 percent. Thanks to
these robust financial results, the company
was able to invest signif ic antly in new
generation equipment and new technologies.
It is specifically addressing submicron MEMS
demand, glass-based MEMS applications, and
is investing several million in a new nanowirebased inertial sensor technology that has the
potential to be a game changer. The company
now employs more than 80 people, and
believes it is well positioned to continue
broadening its customer base in the coming 2
years.
www.tronicsgroup.com
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The micron silicon heater design delivers
improved resistance to shock, with
millimetre diced components this unique
structure allows reductions in the sensor size
and a large flexibility within the certified
package design.
To read full article, please visit envirotechonline website
www.envirotech-online.com
ATEC and Sencio sign
strategic deal to
strengthen assembly
services for MEMS and
Sensors
Captive manufac turing agreement
expands Sencio’s capacity for highvolume, automotive qualified
assembly of MEMS and integrated
sensor systems.
I
ndependent package development and
assembly specialists Sencio BV announced
a deal with Automated Technology (Phil)
Inc. to create a captive assembly line at ATEC’s
facilities in Laguna, Philippines. This strategic
agr e ement enable s Senc io to of fer it s
customer s cost-ef fec tive, high-volume,
TS16949 qualified assembly while maintaining
transparency, production oversight and control
over the supply chain. This initial agreement
provides Sencio with manufacturing space for
a Class 10k cleanroom environment, and the
option of an additional space as required.
Preparing the cleanroom and moving in the
first equipment is already underway. Following
the pr oven ‘c opy exac tly’ appr oac h to
technology transfer, the first assembly line is
a direct copy of Sencio’s current multi-chip
module (MCM) line in Nijmegen. The first
qualified products are expected in October
2013. Initial capacity is estimated to be 2.5
million devices per year, rising to 6-8 million
per year by 2015.
www.sencio.nl
8 | ISSUE N°144 | 25/04/2013
MEDTECH
Seventh Sense Biosystems announces initiation of registration trial for
painless TAP™ blood collection device
Seventh Sense Biosystems, a privately held medical device company developing integrated blood micro-collection
and analysis platforms, announced that it has initiated a registration trial for its painless TAP™ (Touch Activated
Phlebotomy) blood collection device.
T
he company expec t s to f ile for
marketing authorization in the United
States and in the European Union in the
second quarter, and anticipates receiving its
E.U. CE Mark and U.S. regulatory approval
later this year.
The company’s propriety TAP Blood Collection
device is designed to address deficiencies in
the current blood collection process, including
patient anxiety that can negatively impact
compliance with prescribed testing. The TAP
p lat f o r m i s e x p e c t e d t o o f f e r gr e at e r
ef ficiency over existing blood collection
methods by providing a faster pathway to
diagnostic results, while also increasing
safety and eliminating pain.
“H
Business Wire - Seventh Sense Biosystems begins the
registration trial for its painless TAP (Touch Activated
Phlebotomy) blood collection device.
(Courtesy of Seventh Sense Biosystems)
www.7sbio.com
Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories are developing a medical instrument that will be able to quickly
detect a suite of biothreat agents, including anthrax, ricin, botulinum, shiga and SEB toxin.
T
• SpinDx, the latest medical diagnostic tool
developed at Sandia
“This will take things to the next level,” said
Singh. In addition to the broader suite of
toxins and bacterial agents that the device
w o u l d t e s t f o r, t h e p r o j e c t i n c l u d e s
comprehensive testing with animal (mouse)
samples.
This is an important step, Singh said, since
toxins may behave differently in live animals
an d human s t han in lab o r at o r y b l o o d
samples. “We are getting closer and closer to
translational elements of research, which
involve s te s ting in animal and c linic al
facilities. This is part of the maturation of our
bioresearch activities at Sandia.”
The new NIH project includes collaborators
with expertise in animal modeling as well as
device manufacturing.
The University of Texas Medical Branch, with
whom Sandia enjoys a year s-long
p a r t n e r s h i p, t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e U. S .
Department of Agriculture’s Western Regional
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providing Sandia with expert insight into
toxins and diseases at animal lab facilities.
Bio-Rad, a manufacturer and distributor of a
variety of devices and laboratory
technologies, is serving as a consultant on
the project to evaluate plans for product
development, assist with manufacturers’
criteria on the device that is developed, and
provide important feedback when a prototype
is built.
Although the latest NIH award represents a
c o nt inuing s u c c e s s s t o r y f o r S an dia’s
mic r of luidic s/bior e s ear c h wor k, Singh
stresses that it was part of a thoughtful
multi-year strategy.
The need for diagnostic devices for
biodefense is not going away, Singh said,
since there are always new diseases springing
up that lack good diagnostic assays.
Expanding into those areas, he said, will keep
Sandia’s bioresearch efforts engaged for
years to come.
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Rainer Cramer
Christoph Merten
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Director, High Content Research Facility,
(INCHA)
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Hakim Djaballah
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Director, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer
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Team Leader, Wellcome Trust Sanger
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Stevan Djuric
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Senior Director, Abbott Laboratories
Brain Bank Consultant, Royal Dutch
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Director, Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia
t Next-Gen Sequencing
Primary Media Partner
Professor, Universita di Bari
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Hur el’s suite of ar tif ic ial tis sue and
microfluidic products, which are based on
cultures of actual, living cells, are aimed
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discovery is conducted, reducing drugmaker s’ and r e gulator s’ r elianc e on
problematic animal tests, and improving
the success rate of drug candidates that
advance to clinical trials. We are gratified
to have such an insightful, experienced,
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Keynote Speakers
t Nano & Microfluidics
We think that Hurel, with its potential to
reduce clinical trial failures, speed timeto-market, and dramatically reduce the
cost of new medicines, is such a company.”
Hurel CEO Robert Freedman said, “Spring
Mountain’s investment provides the capital
to enable us to fully execute our business
plans and make a direct impact in the
marketplace.
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urel has assembled a talented
business team and a core group
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the fields of artificial tissue constructs and
microfluidics. Together, they have created
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From page 1
Point-of-care market research of physicians,
lab directors, nursing professionals and
patients provides an addressable market
e s timate of ove r $1.0 billion by 2017,
par ticularly in areas such as diabetes,
c ar diovascular disease, and infec tious
disease.
New instrument will quickly detect botulinum, ricin, other biothreat agents
he device, once developed, approved by
the Food and Drug Administration and
commercialized, would most likely be
used in emergency rooms in the event of a
bioterrorism incident.
“This is an unmet need for the nation’s
biodefense program,” said Anup Singh, Senior
Manager for Sandia’s biological science and
technology group. “A point-of-care device
does not exist.”
Sandia’s work is funded by a recent grant –
nearly $4 million over four years – from the
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases, part of the National Institutes of
Health. NIH has funded a number of recent
projects at Sandia.
Sandia’s bioscience s and mic r of luidic s
program areas have continued to evolve with
a string of notable projects, including:
• MicroChemLab, a trailblazer in lab-on-a-chip
technology, developed in the early 1990s
• T h e “ s ali v a d ev i c e ” an d a f o ll ow-up
technology, RapiDx, developed in the earlyto-mid 2000s
ZOOM
Head, Cornell University
Henk Stunnenberg
Thomas Laurell
Head, Nijmegen Center for Molecular
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Professor, Lund University
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Greg Wendel
BioMEMS
and microsensors
are reshaping
healthcare
applications
BioMEMS
Head, Sample Management Group Novartis
Executive Director, Institute for Laboratory
Automation
Sponsors
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25/04/2013 | ISSUE N°144 |
9
MEDTECH
Biomagnetics unveils world’s first urine-based
tuberculosis diagnostics tool
Better than X-rays: A more powerful terahertz
imaging system
B i o m a gn e t i c s D ia gn o s t i c s, a d eve l o p e r o f r evo lu t i o n a r y dia gn o s t i c s
s ys tems and te c hnology f or HI V, hepatitis, tuber c ulosis, c holer a and
malar ia dete c tion, and other innovative te c hnologie s, in a new vide o
unveiled the world’s first urine-based tuberculosis diagnostics tool.
Low-energy teraher tz radiation could potentially enable doc tor s to see
deep into tissues without the damaging effects of X-rays, or allow security
guards to identify chemicals in a package without opening it.
T
his revolutionar y optical biosensor
diagnostics device was developed by
top scientists, chemists and engineers
at Los Alamos National Laborator y via a
cooperative research and development
agreement between the two organizations.
The waveguide-based system is capable of
providing a qualitative tuberculosis diagnosis
using only a few drops of human urine in a
timeframe of only 15 to 20 minutes. This is a
signif ic ant br eak thr ough c ompar e d to
sputum, blood and skin tests that often take
several days or weeks for results. Recently
developed PCR-based diagnostics which take
approximately two hours to produce results
are significantly more expensive.
www.biomagneticsbmgp.com
Their approach enables light to hitch a ride
with free electrons on the surface of the
metallic electrodes to form a class of surface
waves called surface plasmon waves. By
coupling the beam of light with sur face
plasmon waves, the researchers created a
funnel to carry light into nanoscale regions
near device electrodes.
Waveguide
Amplification
Laser Diode
B
ut it’s been difficult for engineers to
make power ful enough systems to
accomplish these promising
applications. Now an electrical engineering
research team at the University of Michigan
has developed a laser-powered terahertz
source and detector system that transmits
with 50 times more power and receives with
30 times more sensitivit y than existing
technologies. This offers 1,500 times more
powerful systems for imaging and sensing
applications. “With our higher-sensitivity
terahertz system, you could see deeper into
tissues or sense small quantities of illegal
drugs and explosives from a farther distance.
That’s why it’s important,” said Mona Jarrahi,
U-M Assistant Professor of elec trical
engineering and computer science and leader
of the project.
Jarrahi’s research team accomplished this by
funneling the laser light to specif ically
selected locations near the device’s electrode
that feeds the antenna that transmits and
receives the terahertz signal.
Detector
Miniaturized sensor array
Miniaturized sensor array (Courtesy of Biomagnetics)
The excited surface plasmon waves carry
optical photons where they need to be much
faster and much more efficiently, Jarrahi said.
“When you want to generate or detec t
terahertz radiation, you have to convert
photons to electron hole pairs and then
quickly drift them to the contact electrodes
of the device. Any delay in this process will
reduce the device effi ciency,” Jarrahi said.
“We designed a struc ture so that when
photons land, most of them appear to be right
next to the contact electrodes.”
According to Jarrahi, the output power of the
terahertz sources and the sensitivity of the
terahertz detectors can be increased even
further by designing optical funnels with
tighter focusing capabilities.
Norris, an expert on terahertz technology, is
director of the U-M Center for Photonic and
Multiscale Nanomaterials.
Terahertz systems that are powered by lasers
have b e e n t he mo s t suc c e s s f ul in t he
marketplace so far, thanks to the costeffective, compact and high-power lasers
available. Other researcher s are using
different approaches to powering terahertz
systems, though.
T h e s t u d y, “ S i g n i f i c a n t p e r f o r m a n c e
enhancement in photoconductive terahertz
optoelectronics by incorporating plasmonic
contact electrodes,” is published in the
current edition of Nature Communications.
In addition to Jarrahi, author s include:
Christopher Berr y and Ning Wang, U-M
doctoral students in electrical engineering
and computer science; and Mohammad Reza
Hashemi and Mehmet Unlu, U-M postdoctoral
researchers in electrical engineering and
computer science.
The research was funded by the Michigan
Space Grant Consortium, Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency, National Science
Foundation, Office of Naval Research and
Army Research Office.
www.umich.edu
Register today
To attend editorial webcast
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IR imagers:
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Are there biological applications where silicon’s added
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Come to meet
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*8:00 AM San Francisco; 5:00 PM Paris, 12:00 AM Tokyo
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10 | ISSUE N°144 | 25/04/2013
COMPOUND SEMICONDUCTORS
What’s happening in the Silicon Carbide world?
The SiC Power Center, Enterprise Europe Network and Yole Développement present: International SiC Power
Electronics Applications Workshop 2013.
T
he SiC Power Center, Enterprise Europe
Network and Yole Développement are
proud to announce their third
collaboration on the International SiC Power
Elec tr onic s Applic ations Wor k shop
(ISiCPEAW), taking place in Stockholm,
Sweden from June 9 - 11.
This year’s ISiCPEAW is a three-day event
consisting of a two-day workshop covering the
latest Silicon Carbide technology innovations in
the Power Electronics area, and a one-day
tutorial prior to the workshop. As in past years,
the Organizing Committee has created an
attractive program and invited key industry
players to present their latest products &
services. Registration is now open, so make
sure you’re a part of ISiCPEAW 2013! Each year,
international experts meet at ISiCPEAW to
share expertise, discuss recent developments
and swap visions of SiC electronics applications.
In 2012, the workshop attracted more than 200
attendees from around the world, and the
Organizing Committee expects no less in 2013.
ISiCPEAW’s 2013 program includes:
- A six-session workshop dedicated to Silicon
Carbide technology and its applications. Over
two exciting days, the Committee invites you
to discover the latest Silicon Carbide
innovations and related applications. You’ll
also gain a thorough understanding of the
industry’s status from key industrial experts,
covering R&D projects, industrialization
phases and everything in-between.
- An exhibition area and numerous business-tobusiness (B2B) matchmaking opportunities.
- A tutorial dedicated to Silicon Carbide devices,
packaging technology and applications.
The event takes place at Scandic Hasselbacken
Stockholm, located on beautiful Djurgården
Island in the middle of Stockholm.
D on’ t mis s ISi C PE AW 2013’s p owe r f ul
program. Visit the official website www.
b2match.eu/isicpeaw2013 and register today!
ISiCPEAW 2013 Workshop.
The workshop aims to promote the latest
Silicon Carbide research and development
results by bringing together the f ield’s
foremost experts from both academia and
industry. Focus is placed on the use of SiC
technology in Power Electronics applications,
components, modules, packaging, reliability
an d b e nc hmar k ing wit h s ilic o n P owe r
Electronics. The workshop is created by SiC
experts and reflects SiC’s status from an
industry point-of-view. Specialists from around
the world will present their views on current
status, ongoing development and application
opportunities in Power Electronics, as well as
comment on the latest products and solutions.
Additionally, every speaker will be available for
detailed technical discussions.
Exhibition & B2B Matchmaking
More than just a conference, ISiCPEAW 2013
includes debates and networking throughout
the event. An exhibition area set up by Yole
Amec enters solid-state lighting market
Company debuts MOCVD platform for low-cost high-volume manufacture
of HB-LEDS, with extendibility to GaN-on-Silicon applications.
A
t SEMICON China, Advanced MicroFabrication Equipment (AMEC) made its
Solid-State Lighting (SSL) market
debut with a new multi-reactor Metal Organic
Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) cluster
tool. The Prismo D-Blue™ MOCVD platform
enables high-volume manufac turing of
sophisticated GaN, InGaN and AlGaN ultrathin
laye r e d s t r u c t ur e s r e quir e d f o r hi ghbrightness LEDs.
W i t h p r e c i s e p a r a m e t e r c o n t r o l, f u l l
automation and an unusually compact design,
it’s a new-generation MOCVD tool built for
L E D m a n u f a c t u r i n g m u s t- h ave s: h i g h
productivity, high yields and lowest possible
cost-of-ownership. A Prismo tool has already
been shipped to a customer’s LED production
line in China.
The patented architecture can accommodate
up to four reactors. Each reactor can be
controlled independently - an inventive
design that enables exceptional
manufacturing flexibility. Right Tool. Right
Market. Right Time: Solid-State Lighting is a
natural market move for AMEC. An emerging
innovation leader, the company provides
advanced processing technologies and tools
to the global semiconductor industry. More
than 200 AMEC etch stations are operating in
production at 16 leading semiconductor fabs
across Asia.
The silicon technology experience, process
knowledge, disciplined R&D protocols and
materials engineering pedigree that produced
AMEC’s semiconductor front-end equipment
were applied to develop the Prismo D-Blue
platform. AMEC’s new LED customers will also
b e ne f it f r o m t he c o mp any ’s s t r inge nt
supplier-management protocols. The timing
is good for a new MOCVD player – especially
one with an R&D and manufacturing hub in
Shanghai. Between now and 2017, the market
for MOCVD tools is estimated to be $4.3
billion, according to research f irm Yole
Developpement.
China will continue to dominate global
manufacturing activity. With bulb prices
dropping, LEDs are becoming the de-facto
alternative to traditional incandescent lights
for retrofits and new builds. Cheaper bulbs
mean tighter margins for LED manufacturers,
which makes production efficiencies more
essential than ever. This puts AMEC’s highproductivity tool in a sweet spot.
The Prismo D-Blue MOCVD Tool: Excellent
Process Performance & Capital Productivity:
The Prismo platform can process up to 216
2-inch wafers simultaneously.
The processing capability will extend to 4, 6
and 8-inch wafer production. Beyond the
multi-reactor architecture configured for
maximum process flexibility, the Prismo
excels in every key performance category.
Finally, the Prismo is optimized for easy
maintenance - imperative in a fast-moving,
cost-conscious LED production fab.
Special innovations embodied in the Prismo
D-Blue MOCVD platform are protected by a
portfolio of more than 100 patents (granted
and pending). In addition, the tool follows
semiconductor manufacturing disciplines and
complies fully with SEMI standards.
Prismo D-Blue is a trademark of AMEC.
www.amec-inc.com
Développement and dedicated to SiC industry
experts will be featured, along with B2B
m a t c h m a k i n g a r r a n g e d by E nt e r p r i s e
European Network. Don’t miss the opportunity
to meet the SiC industry’s key players, share
opinions, and debate technology issues,
business development, market organization
and more. Save the dates: June 9 - 11, in
Stockholm, Sweden!
Tutorial
The tutorial will highlight the following
subjects: SiC device design & operation,
packaging technology, system application and
device driver issues. The tutorial day/site is
J un e 9 at t h e K T H c a mp u s in c e nt r al
Stockholm - one day before the workshop
begins. The official ISiCPEAW 2013 program
will be available soon. Don’t miss out on this
once-a-year chance to make new contacts and
meet industry leaders!
Contacts:
Attendees & Speakers:
Karin Pagard • karin.pagard@acreo.se
Exhibition area:
Sandrine Leroy • leroy@yole.fr
Veeco MOCVD chosen
for CEA-Leti and
Aledia’s new nano-LED
venture
Veeco Instruments announced that
C E A-L e t i ha s s e le c t e d Ve e c o’s
Tu r b o D i s c ® K4 6 5 i M e t a l O r g a n i c
Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD)
system for its program with Aledia,
its nanowire-LED partner.
A
ledia is a start-up company spun out
of the CE A-L eti labs in 2011, and
b a s e d at t h e C E A s i t e. It c o unt s
among its three founders two former CEA
researcher s, Xavier Hugon and Philippe
Gilet.
Aledia’s goal is to manufacture 3D nanowirebased LEDs for solid-state lighting
applications on thin silicon wafer substrates,
of 8 inches or greater in diameter, at a cost
signif icantly below that of conventional
planar LEDs.
Nanowires are thin crystalline structures
that, when electrically charged, can emit a
broader spectrum of light than conventional
L E D s, an d c a n b e gr own o n in du s t r ystandard silicon substrates.
B2B Matchmaking:
Håkan Sehlin • hakan.sehlin@acreo.se
Aledia’s nanowire technology was originally
developed at CEA-Leti, and Aledia and CEALeti continue to develop nanowire
technology in close cooperation.
www.b2match.eu/isicpeaw2013
www.veeco.com
25/04/2013 | ISSUE N°144 |
11
LED
Cree introduces XLamp XQ LEDs, delivering breakthrough size and light distribution
Cree announces the availability of a new product family, XLamp ® XQ LEDs, featuring a unique combination of small size, novel light distribution and
high-reliability design.
T
his combination of features enables the
next generation of designs for
applications that require broader light
distribution such as omni-directional lamps
and fixtures. The XQ LEDs are Cree’s smallest
lighting-class LEDs at just 1.6 mm x 1.6 mm,
57 percent smaller than Cree’s XLamp XB
package. Built on Cree’s revolutionary SC3
Technology™ Platform, the ceramic-based XQ
LEDs are designed to deliver the long-term
calculated lifetimes of Cree’s other high-power
LEDs, such as the high performing XP or XT
LEDs. The XQ LED’s new light-emission pattern
directs more light towards the edge rather
than the center of the package. Compared to
existing LEDs, XQ LEDs allow the use of fewer
packages to achieve a wide, distributed light
pattern. Together, these innovations can
enable manufacturers to increase the light
output, expec ted lifetime and omnidirectionality of their designs.
“The high reliability of the ceramic-based XQ-B
LED allows us to offer a high-quality solution
that does not compromise on lifetime,” says
A new £1million growth facility will allow
Cambridge researchers to further reduce the cost
and improve the efficiency of LEDs
Gallium nitride has been described as “the most important semiconductor
since silicon” and is used in energy-saving LED lighting.
A
new £1million growth facility will allow
Cambridge researcher s to fur ther
r e duc e the c os t and impr ove the
efficiency of LEDs, with potentially huge costsaving implications. A new facility for growing
Gallium Nitride – the key material needed to
make energy-saving light-emitting diodes
(LEDs) – has opened in Cambridge, enabling
researchers to expand and accelerate their
pioneering work in the field. Gallium Nitride
LEDs are already used in traffic lights, bicycle
lights, televisions, computer screens, car
headlamps and other devices, but they are
too expensive to be used widely in homes and
offices. The main reason for this is that they
are normally grown on expensive substrates,
which pushes up the price of LED lightbulbs.
The new Gallium Nitride growth reactor at
Cambridge will allow researchers to further
improve a method of growing low-cost LEDs
on silicon substrates, reducing their cost by
more than 50% and opening them up for
more general use.
LED technology is already so energy-efficient
that it is estimated that the overall demand
for electricity would fall by at least 10% if
every home and business in the UK switched
to LED lighting. This would save the UK over
£2 Billion per year in electricity costs. Further
developments planned in the new reactor
would result in an additional £1 Billion per
Plessey releases its first
GaN on silicon LEDs
Plessey announced that samples of
it s Gallium Nitr ide on silic on L ED
p r o d u c t s ( p / n P L W 111 0 1 0) a r e
available.
T
hese entry level products are the first
LEDs manufactured on 6-inch GaN on
silicon substrates to be commercially
available anywhere in the world. Plessey is
using its proprietary large diameter GaN on
silicon process technology to manufacture the
LEDs on its 6-inch MAGICTM (Manufactured
on GaN I/C) line at its Plymouth, England
facility.
The use of Plessey’s MAGIC GaN line using
standard semiconduc tor manufac turing
processing provides yield entitlements of
greater than 95% and fast processing times
providing a significant cost advantage over
sapphire and silicon carbide based solutions
for LEDs of similar quality.
www.plesseysemiconductors.com
ye a r e l e c t r i c i t y s av i n g s . In a d d i t i o n,
researchers are developing colour-tunable
LED lighting, which would have the quality of
natural sunlight, bringing considerable health
benefi ts to users. University scientists are
also starting to investigate the potential of
Gallium Nitride in electronics, which it is
thought could have similarly significant
energy-saving consequences – perhaps
cutting nationwide electricity consumption by
a further 9%.
T h e r e a c t o r, w h i c h i s f u n d e d b y t h e
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research
Council (EPSRC), was opened today (March
28) by David Willetts MP, the Minister for
Universities and Science. It marks the latest
chapter in a decade-long research project to
make LEDs the go-to technology for lighting,
led by Professor Sir Colin Humphreys in the
University’s Department of Materials Science
and Metallurgy.
Read the complete
www.i-micronews.com
www.cam.ac.uk
article
on
Martin Hockemeyer, Vice-Chairman of the
Board of TELEFUNKEN Licht AG. “The unique
optical advantage of the XQ-B gives us the
opportunity to create the brilliant look that our
customers are looking for.”
The XQ family includes two new LEDs, the
XQ-B and the XQ-D. In cool white (5000 K),
the XQ-B LED delivers up 160 lumens-perwatt at 0.18 W, and the XQ-D LED delivers up
to 130 lumens-per-watt at 1 W. Both LEDs are
a v a i l a b l e i n 27 0 0 - K t o 6 5 0 0 - K c o l o r
temperatures with minimum 80 CRI option.
Cree® XLamp XQ LED samples are available
now and production quantities are available
with standard lead times. Visit www.cree.
com/xq to learn more about Cree’s latest
innovation.
www.cree.com
ZOOM
Aledia makes its first LEDs on 8-inch silicon
wafers using cost-disruptive microwire
technology
Aledia announced that it has made its first LEDs on 8-inch (200mm) silicon
wafers.
T
he cost of Aledia’s LED 3D chips based on
microwires is expected to be four times
less than traditional planar (2D) LEDs.
Additionally, Aledia announced its first-round
financing totalling €10 million (approximately
$13M) with leading US and European investors,
which was closed in 2012. Aledia solves the
important cost issue in the very large and
growing LED market. The continued integration
of LEDs into new applications, such as general
lighting, depends on LEDs becoming available
at substantially lower prices than today. Aledia’s
microwire technology enables the steep cost
reduction that is vital for the further transition
to LED. The Aledia LED technology, made on
large-size silicon wafers and with very low
materials cost, represents a cost-disruptive
solution to this problem. Furthermore the new
LED technology is compatible with silicon CMOS
technology and will be manufactured directly in
existing high-volume silicon foundries.
“Since our financing last year, we have scaled
up our microwire manufacturing process and
transferred it to 8-inch (200mm) silicon wafers.
We can now push forward to optimize the
performance of these products and bring them
to market,” indicated Giorgio Anania, Aledia Cofounder, President and CEO.
Investors in Aledia’s first-round financing
included Sofinnova Partners, a leading
European venture capital fund and an active
investor in energy; New-York based Braemar
Energy Ventures, a leading US energy
technology investor with various investments in
the LED and illumination area; Demeter
Partners, the largest France-based cleantech
investor; and CEA Investissement, the venture
capital arm of CEA, France’s Commissariat à
l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives.
The 3D GaN-on-Silicon microwire technology
was developed over a six year period at the
LETI-CEA in Grenoble, France. As part of its
spin-out from CEA, Aledia received exclusive
worldwide rights to all present and future CEA
patents on microwire technology as applied to
the area of lighting. Several additional patents
have already been filed directly by Aledia.
www.aledia.com
Aledia 8-inch (200mm) silicon wafers (Courtesy of Aledia)
12 | ISSUE N°144 | 25/04/2013
IMAGING
SiOnyx announces IR enhanced ultra-low light CMOS image sensors
SiOnyx XQE™ sensors enable new capabilities in biometrics, eye-tracking, natural human interface, and night vision.
S
iOnyx announces the XQE™ family of
CMOS image sensor s. XQE image
sensor s deliver unprecedented
performance advantages in infrared imaging
with sensitivity enhancements as high as 10x
incumbent solutions. The SiOnyx XQE family
in c lu d e s t hr e e n ew hi gh p e r f o r man c e
sensors: the 1.3M pixel XQE-1310, the 1.0M
pixel XQE-0920, and the 0.6M pixel XQE0570. The XQE sensor family is based upon
SiOny x’ break through black silicon
semiconduc tor process technology that
enhances the sensitivity of silicon based light
detectors.
“ T h e s e n ew XQ E s e n s o r s r e p r e s e n t a
tremendous accomplishment for our sensor
team and our company,” said Stephen Saylor,
President and CEO of SiOnyx. “Since CCD and
CMOS sensors were invented decades ago,
image sensor development has focused
almost entirely on capturing images in the
visible spectrum. XQE sensors build upon this
foundation of excellence and add a new
dimension of extraordinarily high sensitivity
in the near infrared spectrum.”
Infrared (IR) sensitivity is critical in many
exis ting and emer ging mas s-mar ket
applic ations inc luding biometr ic s, eye
tracking, natural human inter face (i.e.
gesture UI) and sur veillance. In human
interface applications like eye tracking and
biometrics, IR sensing has the advantage of
operating over a wide variety of lighting
conditions without interfering with the user’s
visual experience. In surveillance, enhanced
IR sensitivity takes advantage of the naturally
occurring IR ‘nightglow’ to enable imaging
under conditions that normally require very
expensive image intensified night vision
equipment.
“IR imaging is a fundamental enabler for any
man-machine interface,” said Dr. Homayoon
Haddad, Vice President of Engineering and
CTO of SiOnyx. “Applications as diverse as
autonomous vehicles and gaming depend on
IR light to enable systems to measure,
analyze, and adapt to the environment
around them.”
All sensors in the XQE family share the
benefits of ultra-low read noise for extended
low light imaging and 72dB of native dynamic
range. Additionally, all XQE™ sensors have
on-chip HDR features that allow up to 120dB
dynamic range capability. XQE sensors are
fabricated with a standard CMOS process that
offers low power, low dark current, and no
sensor cooling requirements.
For applications from moonless night sky
surveillance (<0.001 Lux) to biometrics and
gesture UI, the SiOnyx XQE image sensors
will redefine the way IR imaging systems are
specified and deployed.
sionyx.com
Vision Research unveils the next-generation of digital high-speed imaging
at 2013 NAB– the Phantom® Flex4K
Flex4K will offer levels of flexibility never before available on a high-speed camera.
V
ision Research is previewing the next
member of its award-winning digital
c in e m a p r o du c t lin e at t h e 2013
National Association of Broadcasters show.
Redefining what’s possible when it comes to
high-speed imaging, the Phantom Flex4K
of f e r s e xc e pt ional image qualit y, new
workflow options, a user-friendly camera
control interface and improved performance
at standard frame rates. At its full
acquisition resolution of 4096 x 2304 the
camera is capable of recording from 24 to
over 900 frames-per-second (fps), and up to
1,000 fps at 4096 x 2160 resolution.
Another notable feature of the camera
s ys t e m i s t h e n ew o n- c am e r a c o nt r o l
interface, still in development. All capture,
playback and save parameters will be set
from the built in menu on the right side of
the camera body, no separate sof tware
connec tion is necessar y. Shor tcuts are
available for popular functions and multiple
user presets exist to allow for a quick setup.
Monitoring, playback and save controls will
be available from both sides of the camera.
“We are excited to announce the Phantom
Flex4K, our first professional cinema camera
that is designed to capture normal frame
rates, and high speed up to 1,000 fps at 4k
resolutions,” said Toni Lucatorto, Cinema
Product Manager at Vision Research. “We
are previewing the Phantom Flex4K in its
current form here at NAB, however, there
are still features to turn on and work to be
done. We plan to use the summer to roll out
those features and really run the camera
through its paces before it officially hits the
market. When finished it will truly be an
amazing piece of technology that has the
potential to revolutionize cinematography
and overall video production.”
www.visionresearch.com
The Phantom Flex4K will suppor t three
distinct in-camera workflows to address
dif fer ent pr oduc tion st yles. Phantom’s
uncompressed raw format ensures the
fastest high-speed workflow on set and
maximum quality and versatility for postp r o d u c t i o n . A l t e r n a t i v e l y, r e c o r d
compressed fi les for a simplifi ed workfl ow
directly out of the camera. 2x 3G-SDI video
outputs are also available and compatible
with the industry’s latest field recorders.
Capture the full 4K super 35mm sensor and
then save those fi les at full resolution, or
choose to save them at 2K resolution for a
r ic h, over-sampled image. Sync-sound
frame rates and time code is fully supported.
For high-speed capture, it ’s possible to
record up to 1,000 fps at 4K resolution of
4 0 9 6 x 216 0, u p t o 2 , 0 0 0 f p s w h e n
windowed down to 1920 x 1080, and over
3,000 fps at 1280 x 720.
AltaSens introduces
latest generation 1/3”
CMOS sensor
AltaSens introduced two new
p r o d u c t s: t h e A L 3 0 2 10 C i m a g e
sensor, it s latest generation 1/3”
C M O S s e n s o r, a n d t h e A LW P U, a
companion Wide Dynamic Range
(WDR) processing unit.
T
he WDR ASIC solution was recently on
display throughout the four-day China
P u b l i c S e c u r i t y E x p o (C P S E) a n d
attracted a variety of customers interested
in the exciting new capabilities offered by
AltaSens.
In addition, AltaSens will demonstrate WDR
applications at ISC West 2013 in Las Vegas
on April 10-12 at booth 3037.
AltaSens plans to market the WDR ASIC
solution throughout the securit y, video
conference, and medical industries as a highperformance WDR HD sensor with multiple
programmable image capture speeds up to
60 fps.
The AL30210 and ALWPU are fully qualifi ed
to JESD-47, Qualif ication of Integrated
Circuits and elements of JESD22, JESD85,
an d J E SD78 a s ap p lic ab l e. T h e s e n s o r
a n d A S IC m e e t a l l R o H S a n d R E A C H
environmental requirements and are in mass
production.
Four versions of the sensor are available:
• A L 30210 C-1, 60 de gr e e s C St andar d
Product
• A L 3 0 210 C -2 , 8 5 d e g r e e s C H i g h
Temperature Sensor – Proven Performance
for Demanding Environments
• AL30210M-1, Monochrome, 60 degrees C
Standard Product
• AL30210M-2, Monochrome, 85 degrees C
H i g h Te m p e r a t u r e S e n s o r – P r o v e n
Performance for Demanding Environments
The Phantom Flex4K (Courtesy of Vision Research)
www.altasens.com
Sapphire & Imaging seminar
June19, 2013
Room 402c, TWTC Nangang Exhibition Hall, Taipei
Satellite event of Photonics Festival 2013
Agenda:
s)MAGING The camera module business for mobile
phones and tablets: who will win the game?
s3 APPHIRE Sapphire covers for mobile displays:
just a buzz or a revolution for the industry?
Powered by
General information and registration:
Mei-LingTsai (meiling.tsai@yole.com.tw) or
CamilleFavre (favre@yole.fr)
13 | ISSUE N°144 | 25/04/2013
OPTOELECTRONICS
Using optical links, IBM achieves ultrahigh-speed
communications
Alfalight sells commercial component product line
to Compound Photonics.
Ultrafast supercomputers that operate at speeds 100 times faster than
current systems may now be one step closer to reality.
High efficiency and wavelength stabilized laser technology is key. Alfalight
retains defense segment product lines to focus growth on military/aerospace
customers.
A
team of IBM researchers working on a
DARPA-funded program has found a
way to transmit massive amounts of
data with unprecedented low power
consumption, increasing the speed by 66
percent and shattering the previous power
efficiency record by one-half.
Scientists predict that the supercomputers of
the future - so-called exascale computers will enable them to model the global climate,
run molecular-level simulations of entire cells,
design nanostructures and much more.
“We envision machines reaching the exascale
mark around 2020, but a great deal of research
must be done to make this possible,” said
Jonathan E. Proesel, a research staff member
at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center.
To achieve this feat, researchers must find a
way to quickly move large amounts of data
within the supercomputer while simultaneously
keeping power consumption in check.
Proesel and colleagues created an optical
communication link operating at 25 Gb/s using
24 mW of total wall-plug power, or 1 pJ/bit.
The link combines circuits in IBM’s 32-nm
silicon-on-insulator CMOS technology with
advanc e d VC SEL s and photo dete c tor s
fabricated by Sumitomo Electric Device
Innovations USA (formerly Emcore).
To read more visit photonics website.
www.photonics.com
Photo
Diode
TX
Circuits
Lasers
150 μm
RX
Circuits
150 μm
Optical link test chips, including transmitter circuits, laser diodes, photodiodes and receiver circuits. (Courtesy of IBM)
Cisco unveils CPAK 100G silicon photonics-based
optical transceiver
Cisco has announced initial deployment plans for its much-discussed CPAK
100-Gbps pluggable transceiver, based on the nLight silicon photonic s
technology it gained when it acquired Lightwire.
T
he optical transceiver, designed as a
smaller, lower-cost alternative to CFP
transceivers, will find its first use on
Cisco ONS 15454 MS TP 100G coherent
transponders.
T he Cis c o ONS 15 45 4 MS T P will sp or t
10 0Gbas e -L R4, -SR10, and -ER4 C PAK
pluggables as client side interfaces. The
company also plans to integrate the CMOSenabled CPAK on routing and switching line
cards, Bill Gartner, vice president and general
manager of Cisco’s High End Routing and
Optical business unit, told attendees at the
Optical Society of America’s Executive Forum
on March 18. He said the company also will
explore using the nLight technology to enable
other form factors.
Responding to a question from the audience
regarding the advantages of the CPAK versus
the CFP2 form factor modules that should
become available soon, Gartner says that
Cisco’s original design goal was something
better than the CFP devices that originally
were the focus of transceiver vendor s’
development efforts. If one takes into account
the var ying roadmaps dif ferent module
suppliers are following as they develop CFP2
devices, Gartner asserted that the CPAK still
offers significant cost, power, and footprint
advantage over what could be considered the
marketplace’s “average” offering.
“CPAK represents a significant advancement in
optical networking, providing dramatic space
and power efficiencies,” said Eve Griliches, Vice
President, ACG Research, via a Cisco press
release. “The timing for this solution could not
be more ideal, as network traffic volumes
continue to escalate, with no end in sight. If the
telecommunications industry is to advance and
enable a new generation of services, it will
need a new generation of optics, and the Cisco
CPAK represents one of the early options in
this area.”
To read more visit lightwaveonline website.
www.lightwaveonline.com
A
lfalight has sold its commercial
segment product lines and
semiconductor fab assets to
Compound Photonics, a technology leader in
high-definition laser projection light engines
for mobile devices. Alfalight retains its
d e f e n s e lin e s o f b u s in e s s t o f o c u s o n
developing and manufacturing ruggedized
component and system-level solutions for
defense customers. Compound Photonics will
fully support Alfalight’s commercial business
and customers, and the two companies will
also cooperate on component-level strategy.
“ T hi s t r an s a c t i o n e nab l e s A l f ali ght t o
increase our investment in the development
and production of laser-based solutions for
defense, aer ospace, and r elated highper formance applic ations,” said Mohan
Warrior, president and CEO of Alfalight.
“With a fabless model, Alfalight can better
expand our engineering capabilities and align
our system manufacturing infrastructure for
the challenging requirements of this market.”
“Adding Alfalight ’s highly-ef f icient and
wavelength-stabilized diode laser
components to our technology por tfolio
strengthens our position as a ver ticallyintegrated projection light engine
manufacturer,” said Jonathan A. Sachs,
Ph.D., president and CEO of Compound
Photonics. “We look forward to continuing to
supply Alfalight’s commercial customers with
products they have come to rely upon, as
well as delivering new, high-performance
p h o t o ni c s c o mp o n e nt s f o r t h e ir n e x tgeneration systems.”
A s par t of the transac tion, the t wo
companies have signed a strategic supply
agreement that ensures Alfalight a continued
source of high-performance laser
components from Compound Photonics,
enabling it to further grow its business of
delivering leading-edge, ruggedized electrooptical products and subsystems for defense
and aer ospac e applic ations. E xample s
include laser-based visible and infrared
illumination, las e r-initiate d or dnanc e,
targeting, tracking, and locating, and eyesafe non-lethal ocular disruptors. Alfalight
remains an ITAR-registered company.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Both companies remain independent and
privately held.
www.alfalight.com
www.compoundphotonics.com
Pyreos heads east with expanded Asia operations
Pyreos announces the 2nd stage of its global expansion has been completed,
with the appointment of ten sales and distribution channel par tner s to
suppor t customers in Asia-Pac, to help deal with the exceptional interest
levels in the Pyreos gesture sensor product from mobile phone and tablet
computer manufacturers in China, Taiwan, Hong-Kong and Japan.
S
cottish company, a pioneer of next
generation infrared sensor products
and touchless gesture control for
mobile phones & tablets
• Adds ten South-East sales channel partners
to cope with unprecedented demand for
gesture sensor product
• Interest accelerated after recent launch of
gesture enabled Samsung Galaxy 4
Vice President of Sales and Marketing Jeff
Gray says: “There is phenomenal interest in
our low power gesture sensor in that region,
which has intensified since the introduction of
the Galaxy 4 by Samsung which has gesture
functionality. Many customers have told us
that they see our gesture sensing as the
lowest power and more long term solution for
mobile and tablet devices that can work from
close-up to a few meters of distance. It is
gr eat to add so many well est ablished
distribution par tners to suppor t our
customers in their respective regions in AsiaPac.”
Jeff Wright, CEO & Co-Founder of Pyreos
comments: “These developments will ensure
customers in Asia-Pac can rapidly access our
gesture sensor produc ts as well as our
industrial sensor products and receive world
class sales and customer support from our
partners.”
Pyreos is a leading supplier of next generation
infrared sensor products. Its unique, patented
technology is enabling ground-breaking new
applications including: touchless gesture
control of mobile phones and tablet pcs;
prevention of gear box failure in the engines
of wind turbines, ships and helicopters; the
early detection of serious medical illnesses,
including diabetes and other life threatening
conditions.
www.pyreos.com
Avago set to acquire CyOptics in $400M cash deal
Maker of single mode indium phosphide lasers and detectors to boost Avago’s presence in data centers and silicon photonics.
A
vago Technologies, the San Jose-based
semiconductor manufacturer spun out
of Agilent Technologies, is set to
ac quir e indium phosphide (InP)
optoelectronics specialist CyOptics for $400
million in cash. The deal, which still needs to
be ratified by US regulators, follows a sharp
recent uptick in fortunes for the Pennsylvania
company. Following years of heavy losses,
CyOptics swung to a net profit in 2010 and
has nearly doubled its revenues since. Avago
is aiming to exploit the company’s single
mode laser and detector technologies in the
f as t-gr owing dat a c enter inter c onne c t
business, where there is escalating demand
f or longer-r eac h high-spe e d c able s as
internet traffic continues to spiral.
Whereas Avago’s existing produc ts are
t ypically based around VCSEL sources,
C yOptic s is seen as having higher-end
technologies that are complementary to the
e xis ting p or t f olio. Avago als o s e e s an
opportunity to play in the emerging field of
silicon photonics through the deal. Avago’s
CEO Hock Tan said: “We believe CyOptics’
leading InP technology and optical
manufacturing capability will strengthen
Avago’s fiber-optics portfolio and accelerate
our ability to capture next generation 40G
and 100G enterprise and data center sockets.
We also see interesting revenue growth
opportunities in delivering a broad range of
proprietary components to the market.“
To read more please visit optics.org website.
optics.org
25/04/2013 | ISSUE N°144 |
14
ADVANCED PACKAGING
GLOBALFOUNDRIES demonstrates 3D TSV capabilities on 20nm technology
From page 1
T
SVs are vertical vias etched in a silicon
wafer that are filled with a conducting
material, enabling communic ation
between vertically stacked integrated circuits.
The adoption of three-dimensional (3D) chip
stacking is increasingly being viewed as an
alternative to traditional technology node
scaling at the transistor level. However, TSVs
present a number of new challenges to
semiconductor manufacturers.
GLOBALFOUNDRIES utilizes a “via-middle”
approach to TSV integration, inserting the
TSVs into the silicon after the wafers have
completed the Front End of the Line (FEOL)
flow and prior to starting the Back End of the
Line (BEOL) process. This approach avoids the
high temperatures of the FEOL manufacturing
process, allowing the use of copper as the TSV
fill material. To overcome the challenges
a s s o c iat e d wi t h t h e mi gr at i o n o f T S V
technology from 28nm to 20nm,
GLOBALFOUNDRIES engineers have developed
a proprietary contact protection scheme. This
scheme enabled the company to integrate the
TSVs with minimal disruption to the 20nm-LPM
platform technology, demonstrating SRAM
functionality with critical device characteristics
in line with those of standard 20nm-LPM
silicon.
As the fabless-foundry business model evolves
to address the realities of dynamic market,
foundries are taking on increasing
responsibility for managing the supply chain
to deliver end-to-end solutions that meet the
requirements of the broad range of leadinge d g e d e s i g n s . To h e l p a d d r e s s t h e s e
challenges, GLOBALFOUNDRIES is engaging
early with partners to jointly develop solutions
that will enable the next wave of innovation in
the industry. This open and collaborative
BEoL
FEoL
TSV
(Courtesy of GLOBALFOUNDRIES)
approach will give customers maximum choice
and flexibility, while delivering cost savings,
faster time-to-volume, and a reduction in the
technical risk associated with developing new
technologies.
www.globalfoundries.com
A*STAR and UTAC to develop 2.5D TSI platform
Singapore’s UTAC to co-develop 2.5D Through-Silicon-Interposer with A*STAR’S Institute of Microelectronics for
volume manufacturing.
A
*STAR’s Institute of Microelectronics
(IME) and United Test and Assembly
Center (UTAC), a leading outsourced
assembly and test (OSAT) provider, have
announced a collaboration to develop a 2.5D
Through-Silicon-Interposer (TSI) platform
which will enable UTAC to join the scarce list
of suppliers in offering fi ne-pitch 2.5D TSI
packaging solutions.
This collaboration builds on the technology
expertise of both partners and leverages
IME’s cutting-edge 300mm Through-SiliconVia (TSV)/ TSI fabrication and assembly
infrastructure to develop and prototype
2.5D TSI-based systems. IME will contribute
it s deep R& D experience in design and
advanced packaging to develop optimized
solutions to address electrical, thermal,
thermo-mechanical and reliability
requirements for applications including
mobile devices such as tablets and smart
phones. The optimized 2.5D TSI technology
from this collaboration will be transferred to
U TAC f o r high vo lum e manu f a c t ur in g,
enabling UTAC to shor ten their time-tomarket significantly.
With the 2.5D/3D IC process technologies
gradually being accepted by industry, IME
has been ac tively engaging leading
companies from the supply chain to drive
the mass production of 2.5D/3D ICs.
«IME’s strong commitment in accelerating
industry adoption of 2.5D and 3DIC design
and manufacturing as well as our breadth of
expertise in 200mm and 300mm back-endof-line (B E O L) c ap abilit ie s pr e s e nt an
attractive value proposition to companies to
collaborate with us,” said Prof. Dim-Lee
MORE THAN 300
TECHNICAL PAPERS COVERING:
3D/TSV
Advanced Packaging
Modeling & Simulation
Optoelectronics
Interconnections
Materials & Processing
Applied Reliability
Assembly & Manufacturing Technology
Electronic Components & RF
Emerging Technologies
Conference Sponsors:
Kwong, Executive Director of IME. “IME
looks forward to working with our partners
to develop innovative 3D IC solutions and
carr y 3D integration for ward toward
numerous applications that can be
commercialized.»
“L everaging on IME’s leading 3D IC
capabilities, we believe that we will be able
to better respond to market demands and
support our customers with services that
of fer them faster time-to-market,
strengthening our leadership in the 3D IC
arena,” said Dr William John Nelson, Group
President and Chief Executive Of ficer of
UTAC.
Micron, Samsung, Hynix
agree to 3-D memory
spec
The Micron-led Hybrid Memory Cube
Consor tium has issued version 1.0
of it s s p e c if ic at ion f o r a ve r t ic al
memory stack with a defined logiclayer interface.
N
ow the group will turn its focus to
higher-speed variations of a dynamic
r an d o m -a c c e s s m e m o r y (D R A M)
module stacked using through-silicon vias.
In its next-generation spec, the group aims to
increase short-reach data rate across modules
from the current 10, 12.5 and 15 Gbits/second
up to 28 Gbits/s. Speeds for ultra-shor t
reaches within a die will go from 10 Gbits/s to
15 Gbits/s in the spec, which is expected to be
complete by the first quarter of 2014.
The HMC group consists of more than 100
companies including Micron’s rivals Samsung
and SK Hynix as well as potential customers
such as AMD, Cray, Fujitsu, IBM, Marvell, ST
Microelectronics and Xilinx. Missing are big
potential users including Intel and Nvidia.
Last year, a top Nvidia technical exec said the
graphics chip company doesn’t want a memory
cube with a logic layer, although it is pursing
3-D ICs. So far, Micron insists the logic
interface is required to hit its target data rates
and bandwidth. “The logic also ensures
resiliency and repair-ability in the field,” said a
spokesman for group.
Previously, Micron said it will deliver 2- and
4-Gbyte versions of the stack before June.
They will provide aggregate bi-directional
bandwidth of up to 160 Gbytes/second. The
top three memory makers expressed support
for the spec in a press statement.
To read more, visit eetimes website
www.a-star.edu.sg
www.utacgroup.com
HIGHLIGHTS
„
41 Technical sessions including:
s4 Interactive Presentation sessions
s1 Student Poster session
„
16 CEU-approved professional
development courses
„
Technology Corner Exhibits, featuring over
90 industry-leading vendors
„
5 Special Invited sessions
„
Several evening receptions
www.eetimes.com
Over the next
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ZDIHUGHPDQG
LVH[SHFWHGIRU
WKHVHPLFRQGXFWRU
PDQXIDFWXULQJ
LQGXVWU\
Glass
Substrates for
Semiconductor
Manufacturing
„
Wednesday luncheon speaker
„
Many opportunities for networking
„
Great location
'LVFRYHUWKH1(:UHSRUWRQ
ZZZL0LFURQHZVFRPUHSRUWV
15 | ISSUE N°144 | 25/04/2013
PHOTOVOLTAICS
Cree SiC MOSFETs enable next-generation solar
inverters from Delta Energy Systems
Cree and Delta Energy Systems announce a breakthrough in the photovoltaic
(PV) inverter industry with the release of Delta’s new generation of solar
inverters, which utilize SiC power MOSFETs from Cree.
S
iC MOSFET Technology can significantly
improve weight, cost and efficiency in
PV inverters
T h e u s e o f Si C M O S F E Ts in t h e n e x tgeneration PV inverters can enable significant
new milestones in power density, efficiency
and weight.
Cr ee r eleased the f ir s t silic on-c ar bide
MOSFETs, used for their ability to cut losses
and allow PV inver ter s to run at higher
efficiencies and higher power densities, in
2011 and a dramatically improved, secondgeneration SiC MOSFET in 2013. Now, as a
milestone product announcement, Delta
Ener gy Systems, a subsidiar y of Delt a
Electronics Group, one of the world’s largest
and most respected providers of power
management solutions, has incorporated
Cree® SiC MOSFETs into its next-generation
solar power inverter.
Utilizing 1200-V SiC MOSFET’s from Cree in
an 11-kW PV inverter, Delta has already been
able to extend the DC input voltage range
while maintaining and even increasing the
maximum efficiency of its previous products.
The Delta 11-kW booster, which employs
Cree’s SiC MOSFET and now has 1-kV DC
input instead of 900-V, is targeted for release
in Q2 2013.
Delta’s new generation of solar inverters, which employ
SiC power MOSFETs (Courtesy of Cree)
www.cree.com
www.deltaenergysystems.com
Spectrolab sets world record for solar cell
efficiency for III-V cell without light concentration
H
ighest ever ener gy conver sion
efficiency without solar concentration.
Increased efficiency for ground-based
applications.
A Spectrolab solar cell recently set a world
record by converting more energy from the
sun into electricity than any other groundbased solar cell without solar concentration.
The Boeing subsidiary’s achievement in
ground-based solar cell efficiency was verified
by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National
Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden,
Colo.
The cell conver ted 37.8 percent of solar
energy using a new class of high-efficiency
multi-junction solar cell, created from two or
mor e mater ials and leveraging B oeing
te c hnology that make s s emic onduc tor
materials more reliable. The record was set
without concentration, the common practice
of having lenses or mirrors focus solar rays
on the cells.
www.spectrolab.com
GT Advanced Technologies and Powertec Energy
sign memorandum of understanding
GT Advanced Technologies and Powertec Energy (“Powertec”) announced
the execution of a memorandum of under standing (MOU), which states
Powertec’s intention to purchase polysilicon technology and equipment from
GT for their phase 2 and 3 expansion projects.
D
esign work for these projects has
begun and Powertec currently expects
to begin ordering GT equipment and
technology in the second half of 2014.
P o w e r t e c w a s f o u n d e d i n 2 010 w i t h
WalsinLihwa Group, United Microelectronics
Corp. (UMC), and Sino American Silicon
Products Inc. (SAS) as major shareholders.
In 2011, Powertec began its phase 1 project,
located in Taiwan’s Changbin Industrial Park,
at whic h time it pur c hased 6,000 M TA
polysilic on pr oduc tion te c hnology and
equipment from GT. The equipment for phase
1 was shipped in 2012. Powertec’s phase 1
project is on track for commercial operation
in the first half of 2014 in line with when the
solar industr y, which has experienced a
downturn since 2011, is expected to recover.
“When our plant is fully operational next year,
we will immediately begin debottlenecking
work to increase our phase 1 capacity to
7,500 MTA. We expect to produce high-quality
polysilicon at a cash cost that will enable us
to successfully compete on a global scale,”
said YiYi Tai, Chairman of Power tec.”In
addition, Power tec and GT have already
star ted designing the phase 2 and 3
expansion projects. Construction of our next
phase is expected to begin immediately after
the successful star tup of phase 1. Total
capacity at our current site is expected to
reach 27,500 MTA after all three phases are
completed.”
With increasing demand for higher solar
power conversion ef ficiency, polysilicon
quality is becoming increasingly important. In
addition, there is strong demand in Taiwan
f r o m l e a d i n g Ta i w a n s e m i c o n d u c t o r
companies such as UMC and SAS for ultra
high-quality electronic-grade polysilicon.
Powertec’s phase 1 high-quality capacity as
well as phase 2 and 3 elec tronic grade
capacity are expected to meet not only future
solar demand, but also domestic
semiconductor industry demand in Taiwan.
www.gtat.com
www.powertec-energy.co.uk
ZOOM
SunPower launches X-Series family of solar panels
with world-record efficiencies of 21.5 percent
SunPower introduced its SunPower X-Series Solar Panels (X-Series), a new
product line for the residential market that offers an unprecedented 21.5
percent efficiency.
T
he X-Series delivers more energy,
higher reliabilit y and superior
aesthetics than conventional solar
panels. The new world-record efficiency of
this product line has received third-party
validation by the National Renewable
Energy Laboratory (NREL).
The X-Series is made with SunPower’s
thir d-generation Maxeon® solar cells
which are built on a solid copper
foundation for high reliability and
performance. This foundation makes them
virtually impervious to the corrosion and
cracking that typically degrade
conventional panels. As a result, SunPower
solar panels are backed by the industry’s
first combined 25-year product and power
warranty.
The X-Series de livers approximately eight
to 10 percent more energy per rated watt
when compared with conventional solar
panels. Features include:
• High energy output with no light induced
degradation
• Better low-light and spectral response,
gener ating elec tr ic it y ear lier in the
morning and longer in the evening
• Low temperature coefficient, allowing for
m o r e e l e c t r i c i t y g e n e r at i o n o n h o t
rooftops
The X-Series surpasses the performance o
f the SunPower E-Series Solar Panels,
which placed first, second and third in the
2012 testing conducted by third-par t y
Photon International Magazine for it s
annual f ield per formance test. The
additional energy generated, along with
the high efficiency and reliability delivered
by the X-Series, results in approximately
75 percent more energy production over
the first 25 years, when compared to a
conventional solar system covering the
same sized roof.
With the sleek appearance of a jet-black
glass panel with a black frame and all-back
contac t solar cells, the SunPower
Signature™ Black design allows the panels
to blend seamlessly into the rooftop.
Sunpower’s modules are both aesthetic and highly efficient
(Courtesy of Sunpower)
The new X-Series is now available in a 250
watt small format and a 345 watt standard
size format for the residential market, and
can be ordered in the U.S. via SunPower’s
North American dealer network.
X-Series joins the SunPower E20 Series
Solar Panels, offering customers a choice
of high efficiency SunPower products.
www.sunpowercorp.com
First Solar to acquire TetraSun to expand
addressable market opportunity
From page 1
T
etraSun’s core technology is a
proprietar y cell architecture which
breaks the historical tie between highefficiency and high-cost. Compared to other
high-ef f icienc y cr ystalline silicon cells,
TetraSun’s advanced cell design is simpler
and optimized for manufacturing, requiring
fewer process steps with wider tolerances.
The design enables high-volume production
with higher yields using readily available
equipment.
Cost-effectiveness is further enhanced by
using large-format (156 mm) n-type wafers
and eliminating the need for expensive
silver and transparent conductive oxide
(TCO). The technology also benefits from a
low temperature coefficient of power, which
produces superior energy yields in hot
climates compared to t ypical silicon PV
modules. First Solar tentatively plans to
begin commercial-scale manufacturing of
the new technology in the second half of
2014.
All fourteen of TetraSun’s associates will join
First Solar and continue to be based in San
Jose, Calif. The technical team brings First
Solar significant expertise in silicon PV R&D
and a track record of innovation at
companies like SunPower and Fraunhofer
ISE, where they earned world-records for
silicon cell efficiency.
www.firstsolar.com
16 | ISSUE N°144 | 25/04/2013
NANOTECHNOLOGY
Flexible electronics could transform the way we
make and use electronic devices
Nearly ever yone knows what the inside of a computer or a mobile phone
looks like: A stiff circuit board, usually green, crammed with chips, resistors,
capacitors and sockets, interconnected by a suburban sprawl of printed
wiring.
F
lexible electronics open the door to
foldaway smartphone displays, solar
cells on a roll of plastic and advanced
medical devices - if we can figure out how to
make them.
But what if our printed circuit board was not
stiff, but flexible enough to bend or even fold?
Flexible electronics are in vogue for two
reasons.
First, they promise an entirely new design
tool. Imagine, for example, tiny smartphones
that wrap around our wrists, and flexible
displays that fold out as large as a television.
Or photovoltaic cells and reconfigurable
antennas that conform to the roofs and
trunks of our cars. Or flexible implants that
c an m o ni t o r an d t r e at c an c e r o r h e lp
paraplegics walk again.
Penn State’s interest in flexible and printed
electronics is not just theoretical. In October
2011, the University announced a multi-year
research projec t with Dow Chemical
Corporation. Learn more about the
partnership.
Second, flexible electronics might cost less to
make. Conventional semiconductors require
complex processes and multi-billion dollar
foundries. Researchers hope to print flexible
electronics on plastic film the same way we
print ink on newspapers.
www.psu.edu
Beneq to deliver thin film encapsulation system
for OLED R&D to Fraunhofer COMEDD
The ALD encapsulation R&D system will be delivered in the summer of 2013.
B
eneq, a global supplier of thin film
coating equipment, announces the
availabilit y of an R& D thin f ilm
encapsulation system for 200×200 mm OLED
substrates. The first system will be delivered
in the summer of 2013 as part of an atomic
layer deposition (ALD) project to the Germanbased Fraunhofer COMEDD.
This research platform has been specifically
designed together with the Fraunhofer
Research Institution for Organics, Materials
and Electronic Devices, known as COMEDD,
which is an independent research institution
of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. Fraunhofer
COMEDD offers a wide range of research,
development and pilot production
possibilities, especially for OLED lighting,
organic solar cells and OLED microdisplays.
What makes the B eneq OL ED thin f ilm
encapsulation system unique from a technical
point of view is that it is based on a cross-flow
reactor, which has been optimized for the
shortest possible cycle time, even at low
processing temperatures, such as <100 °C.
This feature facilitates rapid prototyping of
new OLED designs. Most importantly, the
cross-flow reactor design enables process
scale-up for large areas and high throughput,
which is compatible with industrial
requirements. The R&D system for 200×200
mm substrates is available as a stand-alone
system and it can also be integrated with an
MBraun glove box.
Beneq has been invited as a sponsor and
speaker at Fr aunhofer COMEDD’s f ir s t
Industry Partners Day, which takes place in
Dresden, Germany, on April 10, 2013. The
ALD enc apsulation R& D system will be
delivered in the summer of 2013.
www.beneq.com
www.comedd.fraunhofer.de/en
Revolutionary new device joins world of smart
electronics
Researchers at the University of Exeter have developed a new photoelectric
device that is both flexible and transparent.
S
Example of a flexible-circuit film displayed by a member of Professor Tom Jackson’s Electronics Research Group
(Courtesy of the Penn State’s University Park campus)
mart electronics are taking the world
by storm. From techno-textiles to
transparent electronic displays, the
world of intelligent technology is growing fast
and a revolutionary new device has just been
added to its ranks. Researcher s at the
University of Exeter have developed a new
photoelectric device that is both flexible and
transparent. The device, described in a paper
in the journal ACS Nano, converts light into
electrical signals by exploiting the unique
p r o p e r t ie s of t h e r e c e nt ly di s c ove r e d
m a t e r ia l s g r a p h e n e a n d g r a p h E xe t e r.
G r a p h E xe t e r i s t h e b e s t k n o w n r o o m
temperature transparent conductor and
graphene is the thinnest conductive material.
At just a few atoms thick, the newly
developed photoelectric device is ultralightweight. This, along with the flexibility of
its constituent graphene materials, makes it
perfect for incorporating into clothing. Such
devices could be used to develop photovoltaic
textiles enabling clothes to act as solar panels
and charge mobile phones while they are
being worn. Photosensitive materials and
devices such as the one developed at Exeter
can, in the future, also be used for intelligent
windows that are able to harvest electricity
and display images while r emaining
transparent. Smart materials have almost
unlimited potential applications from integral
iPods and keyboards in clothing to electronic
displays on glasses and goggles. Metallic
nanostructures in smart materials typically
cause a haze that prevents them from being
truly transparent. The photosensitive device
developed at Exeter contains no metals and
is therefore completely transparent but, as it
can detect light from across the whole visible
light spectrum, it is as efficient at sensing
light as other recently developed opaque
p h o t o e l e c t r i c d ev i c e s . T h i s wo r k wa s
financially supported by the Engineering and
Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
www.exeter.ac.uk
ZOOM
New approach to testing health, environmental effects of nanoparticles
Earlier effor ts to determine the health and environmental effects of the nanopar ticles that are finding use in hundreds of consumer products may
have produced misleading results by embracing traditional toxicology tests that do not take into account the unique proper ties of bits of material
so small that 100,000 could fit in the period at the end of this sentence.
T
hat was among the obs er vations
presented here at the 245th National
Meeting & Exposition of the American
Chemical Society (ACS), the world’s largest
scientific society, by one of the emerging
leaders in nanoscience research. The talk by
Christy Haynes, Ph.D., was among almost
12,000 presentations at the gathering, which
organizers expect to attract more than
14,000 scientists and others.
Hayne s de live r e d t he inaugur al Kavli
Foundation Emerging Leader in Chemistry
Lecture at the meeting, being held in the
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and
downtown hotels.
Haynes, who is with the Univer sit y of
Minnesota, explained that as manufacturers
began using or considering use of
nan o p ar t ic le s in c o n s ume r an d ot he r
products, concerns emerged about the
possible health and environmental effects.
More than 800 consumer products based on
nanote c hnology ar e on the mar ket,
according to some estimates. A new field
s o m e t i m e s t e r m e d “ n a n o t ox i c o l o g y ”
emerged in the last 10 years to investigate
those concerns.
“Initial work focused on using the toxicology
test s that had been used for year s to
evaluate bulk materials,” Haynes said.
“Nanoparticles, however, are inherently
different. A nanoparticle of material used in
food or a cosmetic lotion may contain just a
few atoms, or a few thous and atoms.
Regular-sized pieces of that same material
might c ont ain billions of atoms. T hat
dif ference makes nanopar ticles behave
differently than their bulk counterparts.”
Hayne s s aid t hat s ome of t he e ar lie r
“While these results can be useful, there are
t w o i m p o r t a n t l i m i t a t i o n s ,” H a y n e s
explained. “A cell can be alive but unable to
func tion properly, and it would not be
apparent in those tests. In addition, the
nature of nanoparticles - they’re more highly
reactive - can cause ‘false positives’ in these
assays.”
ability to function normally, rather than just
it s abilit y to sur vive the exposure. In
addition, they have implemented measures
to reduce “false-positive” test results, which
overestimate nanoparticle toxicity. One of
the team’s s afet y te s t s, for ins t ance,
determines whether key cells in the immune
s ys t e m c an s t ill wo r k n o r m all y af t e r
exposure to nanoparticles. In another, the
scientist s determine whether bac teria
exposed to nanopar ticles can still
communicate with each other, engaging in
the critical biochemical chatter that enables
bacteria to form biofilms, communities
essential for them to multiply in ways that
lead to infections.
Haynes described a new approach used in
her team’s work in evaluating the toxicity of
nanoparticles. It focuses on monitoring how
exposure to nanoparticles affects a cell’s
portal.acs.org
nanotoxicology tests did not fully take those
an d o t h e r f a c t o r s int o a c c o unt wh e n
evaluating the effects of nanoparticles. In
some cases, for instance, the bottom line in
those tests was whether cells growing in
laborator y cultures lived or died af ter
exposure to a nanoparticle.
17 | ISSUE N°144 | 25/04/2013
POWER ELECTRONICS
APEI and GaN Systems demonstrate high efficiency DC-DC boost converter with ultra-high speed gallium
nitride switch
The converter demonstrated at APEI, exploited the ultra-high switching capability of GaN Systems’ high power switch to achieve a 1 MHz switching capability.
A
rkansas Power Electronics International
(APEI), and GaN Systems announced
the test results for a gallium nitride
power switch based DC-DC boost converter.
The converter demonstrated at APEI, Inc.
exploited the ultra-high switching capability
of GaN Systems’ high power switch to achieve
a 1 MHz switching capability. In addition, the
boost converter was able to demonstrate over
98.5% ef ficiency at 5 kW output power.
Testing demonstrated turn-on and turn-off
transitions of only 8.25 ns and 3.72 ns,
respectively.
The co-development of the gallium nitride
power switch and boost conver ter were
funded in part by Sustainable Development
Te c h n o l o g y C a n a d a w i t h t h e g o a l o f
demonstrating the effi ciency, performance
and reliability of gallium nitride power devices
for hybrid and electric vehicles (HEVs and
EVs). Other key applications for gallium
nitride power devices include high efficiency
power supplies, solar inverters and industrial
motor drives.
Gallium nitride power switches offer increased
s ys te m p e r f o r manc e a dvant age s ove r
traditional power semiconductor devices
when used in power conversion systems.
“Wide bandgap semiconductor technology,
such as gallium nitride, enables increased
power density for modern power electronic
systems,” said Dr. Ty McNutt, Director of
Business Development at APEI, “and we are
e xc ite d to b e deve loping nove l p owe r
packages and high performance systems
around these ultra-high speed devices.”
A s new gallium nitride devices become
av a i l a b l e a t i n c r e a s i n g p ow e r l e ve l s,
demonstration in high-power systems is
paramount to customer acceptance. “The
ultra-high switching frequency that gallium
nitride enables is one key to reducing the size
and weight of power electronic systems”, said
Girvan Patterson, CEO of GaN Systems, “and
these test results demonstrate first-hand the
system-level benefits enabled by this exciting
technology.”
www.gansystems.com
www.apei.net
The gallium nitride power switch based DC-DC boost converter. (Courtesy of GaN Systems)
ZOOM
IXYS introduces the smallest footprint surface mount package for 1.2KV to 1.8KV power semiconductors
“The market demands smaller footprint solutions for 1.2KV to 1.8KV power semiconductors.”
I
X YS Corporation, a leader in power
semiconductors and IC technologies for
energy efficient products used in power
conversion and motor control applications,
announcedthe D2-Pak (TO-263) and D3-Pak
(TO-268) packages with higher ‘creepage’
spacing which enables higher voltage power
semiconductors to be used in these Surface
Mount Devices (SMD).
“The market demands smaller footprint
s o l u t i o n s f o r 1. 2 K V t o 1. 8 K V p o w e r
semiconductors. The main reason for this is
the higher power demands which are realized
by higher voltages instead of higher current.
Key inverter
applications and
markets under
Yole
Développement’s
scrutiny
Inverter
Technology
Trends
& Market
Expectations
Discover the NEW
report on
i-Micronews.com/reports
By using a higher voltage the conduction
losses in copper wires are less for power
control circuits; therefore, thinner copper
conductors or traces on PCB circuits can be
used. These SMDs improve energy efficiency,
reduce cost, reduce size and reduce weight
when used in power electronics,” commented
Mr. Jeroen van Zeeland, head of marketing at
IXYS Germany.
SMDs are preferred for lower cost
alternatives to modules and to other bulkier
discrete components in integrated power
designs. Until now there was no such solution
for applications higher than 1.2KV. The new
IXYS D2-Pak and D3-Pak designs now offer
the standard footprint, but with compliance
to the high voltage ‘creepage’ specifications.
For D3-Pak the creepage distance between
the terminal to the copper of the backside is
greater than or equal to 5.80 mm. The same
value for the D2-Pak is greater than or equal
to 4.70 mm. This enables the use of 1.2KV
D3-Pak in pollution degree 2 industrial
designs. In addition to industrial power
control applications, these devices target
other 1.2KV to 1.8KV power supply, UPS,
renewable energy, motor drives and medical
applications.
The following products are already available:
• CMA30E1600PZ (D2-PakHV, single SCR with
30A and 1600V)
• DMA10P1600PZ (D2-PakHV; phase-leg for
diode bridges with 10A and 1600V)
• CMA50E1600TZ (D3-PakHV, single SCR with
50A and 1600V)
• DSP45-16TZ (D3-PakHV; phase-leg for
diode bridges with 45A and 1600V)
• Standard delivery mode for D2-Pak is Tape
& Reel and tube for D3-Pak (T& R on
request)
www.ixys.com
! !!! !
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25/04/2013 | ISSUE N°144 |
YOLE IN THE PRESS
Mainly driven by the
Wafer-Level Packaging
industry, the glass
wafer market is
expected to grow from
$158M in 2012 to $1.3B
by 2018, at a CAGR of
~41% over the next
five years
“I
nitially driven by CMOS Image Sensor
and MEMS applications, this growing
industry will be supported by relevant
end-applications such as LED, memory and
logic IC, where glass is on its way to being
commercialized. In terms of wafers shipped, a
4x glass wafer growth is expected in the
semiconductor industry over the next five
years, achieving more than 15M 8” EQ WSPY
by 2018,” explains Amandine Pizzagalli, Market
and Technology Analyst, Equipment & Materials
Manufacturing, at Yole Développement…
To read the complete story, go to I-Micronews.com
Sources: SemiconductorPackagingNews –
GlassGlobal – ElectroIQ – SlideShare – efytimes –
CircuitNet – Electronicspecifier – Electronic
EETimes …
Did you know?
TECHNOLOGY & MARKET REPORTS
Discover Yole Développement two most recent reports. Detailed information about Yole Développement’s
technology & market analysis is available on www.i-micronews.com, Reports section.
MEMS Gyroscope Patent Investigation
“Investigating the MEMS gyroscope patent situation is essential to understanding the present business climate
and anticipating future developments,” explains Yole Développement.
Through requests made to Micropatent and several other databases, Yole Développement has developed a unique methodology for defining
not only the patent landscape’s technical segmentation, but also which patents are the most innovative, either for future preparation or for
use in current production.
By blending its technical knowledge, business acumen and patent search abilities, Yole Développement has created the report, MEMS Gyroscope
Patent Investigation. This report provides unique analysis and tremendous added value.
Key features:
• Gyroscope market’s status and technological developments
- MEMS gyroscope market and 2013 competition
- Technology trends for front-end manufacturing, assembly and
software
• Statistical analysis of existing IP
- Patent landscape overview
- Top industrial and academic players
- Details on geography, inventors, legal status, etc.
- Collaborations mapping
- Segmentation by patent type (MEMS design/IC/ Software)
• Patent ranking and in-depth analysis of 30 key patents selected
by Yole Développement
• Focus on STMicroelectronics, InvenSense and Bosch patent
portfolios
• Analysis of the link between IP and industry trends
Top 10 assignees for MEMS gyro patents
(relevant and related included)
(Source: MEMS Gyroscope Patent Investigation report, April 2013, Yole Développement)
Assignee
0
100
200
Number of patent families
300
400
500
447
PANASONIC (JP)
SONY (JP)
125
BOSCH (DE)
89
51
ADI (US) 31
WACOH (JP)
57
ST (FR/IT) 32
CEA (FR) 26
9
14
20
HONEYWELL (US) 42
SEIKO EPSON (JP)
37
472
MURATA (JP)
47
9
Relevant
29
Related
1
17
18
Released in April 2013
Glass Substrates for Semiconductor Manufacturing
“Glass wafer market will reach more than 15M 8” EQ WSPY by 2018,” estimates Yole Développement
SiC: more devices, more business
and more applications
SiC has reached the industrialization
stage, but it’s still a small market with
only ~$70M in revenue forecasted in
2012 for SiC chips (defense-related apps
excluded). However, expectations remain
very high: SiC MOSFET is now available
at a lower market price thanks to 6»
wafer introduction, and provides faster
epitaxy and better yield, among other
advantages…
Yole Développement’s webcast dedicated
to the SiC industry is still available on
w w w. i - m i c r o n e w s . c o m , A r c h i v e d
Webcast section.
Feel free to register to view it.
This analysis provides a glass substrate wafer forecast for the next five years and predicts future
application trends. In addition to key insights into future glass technology trends & challenges,
the report delivers an overview of glass’s functionalities and the end-applications that use glass.
“Initially driven by CMOS Image Sensor and MEMS applications, this growing industry will be
supported by relevant end-applications such as LED, memory and logic IC, where glass is on
its way to being commercialized.» explains Amandine Pizzagalli, Market and Technology Analyst,
Equipment & Materials Manufacturing, at Yole Développement.
2012 overall glass substrate market:
breakdown by glass material supplier
Figures available in the report
Key features:
• Key technical insight into glass substrate’s future technology trends & challenges
• Supply chain analysis of key end applications using glass
• Glass substrate market metrics (wspy and value)
- Breakdown by end-application: Forecast 2012 -2018 for MEMS, CMOS Image Sensors,
LED, Memory, Logic IC, RF/Analog ICs, Power, μbatteries, Optoelectronic component, μfluidic
- Breakdown by Wafer-Level Packaging & μstructuring platforms: Forecast 2012-2018 for
Support Substrate, WLCapping, 3D TGV/2.5D Interposer, Carriers, Microstructuring
- Breakdown by wafer size
Released in April 2013
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International Exhibition and Conference
for Power Electronics, Intelligent Motion,
Renewable Energy and Energy Management
Nuremberg, 14 – 16 May 2013
Powerful?
…then you are right here!
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The marketplace for developers and innovators.
Future starts here!
18
More information at +49 711 61946-0
pcim@mesago.com or pcim-europe.com