Solid-State Lighting Issue 18: Selected Business & Technology News (Late May

ISSUE 18: BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY NEWS
(Late May - Late July 2003)

A selection of news appears in this section.

A. Developer News

B. New Products

C. Novel or Interesting LED Applications/Uses

D. Market Information

E. Overviews

F. Research Results

G. Selected Events of Interest

H. Government Funding News and Opportunities

Where possible, links to full-text articles and press releases have been included in the abstracts.� Click on the links in the table below to go directly to the abstract.

Table of Contents:� Business and Technology News

A. Developer News

� AXT announced that it is discontinuing optoelectronics production.

� Carmanah has sold $25,000 worth of their solar illuminated bus stops to Chicago's Regional Transportation Agency.

� Carmanah announced its intent to buy AVVA Technologies, which makes LED edge lighting.

� Color Kinetics has been awarded Hong Kong patent No. HK1025416 entitled �Multicolored LED lighting method and apparatus".

� Comlase has improved the power of semiconductor lasers through the creation of a new native nitride ion beam epi reactor.

� The first ever CompoundSemi Pioneer Awards were given to Shuji Nakamura, Michael Shur, Norm Shumaker, John Edmond, and Bob Steele.

� Cree acquired the SiC patent portfolio of ABB Research Ltd.

� Cree and current CEO, Neal Hunter, were sued by former CEO Eric Hunter and his wife, who alleged violations of employment and security laws at the firm.

� Cree filed a lawsuit against AXT, citing infringement of US Patent No. 5,686,738, entitled "Highly Insulating Monocrystalline Gallium Nitride Thin Films"; AXT has countersued.

� EpiPlus purchased a second Emcore 300 GaNzilla MOCVD tool.

� June revenues were down for Epitaxy Corp. and United Epitaxy Co., the leading Taiwanese blue LED manufacturers.

� Furukawa Co. plans to begin production of sapphire substrates for blue spectrum LEDs.

� Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers has awarded Nick Holonyak Jr. the 2003 Medal of Honor for inventing the first visible LED and semiconductor injection lasers.

� Kyma has acquired $4 million in venture capital funding.

� Lumileds reports that sales through its exclusive distributor, Future Electronics, have increased 400% year-on-year.

� A Korean LED manufacturer has admitted to the design infringement of Nichia's intellectual property rights.

� According to Nikkei Online, Japan may soon create a high court that would specialize in intellectual property rights.

� Osram Opto announced that they have improved the pulse proof characteristics of their laser diodes by one order of magnitude.

� Riber has sold a Compact 21T System to Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia.

� Samsung America says it will enter the US LED digital signage market, using BillBoard Video as its sole distributor.

� Sandia National Laboratories announced the creation of the first solid-state white LED using quantum dots.

� According to Nikkei Business Daily, Seiwa Electric has announced plans to expand blue LED production to 10 million units per month.

� Construction has begun on the manufacturing facility of China's Shenyang Keysi-STL Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. facility where cellphone FBAR chips and two inch white and blue LEDs will be produced.

� Tegal Corp. unveiled a new process for reactive sputter deposition for substrates used in LED, optoelectronic and electronic device manufacturing.

� Tekcore bought two AIXTRON AIX 2600G3 HT reactors for UHB-LED wafer manufacturing.

� Veeco will sponsor an MBE Innovator Award to recognize individuals who have significantly advanced MBE.

B.� New Products

� Cree launched its new line of GaN-on-SiC "RazerThin" blue spectrum LEDs.

� Cree announced their capability to produce a 100mm 4H semi-insulating silicon carbide (SiC) substrate.

� Cree says ithas increased the brightness of its MegaBright and Xbright LEDs (30% and 20%, respectively).

� Emcore has integrated a new GaN RealTemp® 200 temperature measurement system into its GaNzilla tool for GaN growth.

� Fairchild announced a new line of RGB LED lamps for backlighting applications.

� Intersil announced that the Elantec® EL7513 LED driver is now being produced in volume for use in white LED displays.

� Mitsubishi Chemical, Tokyo Denpa, and Tohoku University have jointly developed low cost GaN single crystals under conditions similar to those used in manufacturing single-crystal quartz.

� Opto Technology announced the "Endura Bright" line of LED-based, MR-16 halogen replacement lamps.

C.� Novel or Interesting LED Applications/Uses:

� Alderm has received FDA approval for an LED acne treatment.

� Color Kinetics' HB-LEDs are lighting up the Broadway musical �Hairspray�.

� Lumileds has introduced a new line of Luxeon LED-based SCUBA diving flashlights.

� Permlight launched its new LED sign lighting system, the Twiste'R^TM.

D.� Market Information:

� Intertech has published the "2003 Directory and Source Guide for LEDs for Lighting and Display Applications."

� Semiconductor Industry Association predicts 16.8% growth in the global semiconductor market for 2004.

� Strategies Unlimited has released a report entitled "High-Brightness LED Market Review and Forecast -- 2003".

� Strategies Unlimited's latest report, �Gallium Nitride 2003 -- Technology Status, Applications, and Market Forecasts,� predicts that the blue spectrum market will grow to $4.5 billion by 2007.

E.� Overview Articles:

� An article appearing in the July 2003 issue of Compound Semiconductor reviewed LED lighting product offerings at this spring's LightFair International.

� The June 2003 issue of Compound Semiconductor featured recent innovations in white LEDs.

� The EE Times has published an overview of recent developments in LED displays entitled "Focus on LED displays:Multicolor LEDs brighten portables."

� Industry Week published an overview of advances in white LED applications.

F.� Research Results:

� Emcore researchers have found that InGaN V-defect formation is dependent on ambient H₂ and temperature during GaN barrier growth.

� RPI's LRC has developed new techniques to evaluate LED lighting system junction temperatures.

G.� Selected Events of Interest:

� Intertech has announced the date for Light Emitting Diodes 2003, an event dedicated to HB-LEDs.

� RPI's Lighting Research Center -- next LED Lighting Institute to be held on September 17-19, 2003.

H.� Government Funding News and Opportunities:

� Aixtron Taiwan has received funding from the Taiwanese government for a new R&D center that will assist in the technology transfer in Taiwan.

� Cambridge University, Thomas Swan Scientific Equipment and the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology have been awarded a three-year collaborative grant for £1.2 million by the Engineering and Physical Research Council (EPSRC) of the UK.

� Crystal IS announced that it was selected to participate in DARPA's SUVOS program.

� DARPA has issued an SBIR entitled "Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Materials and Devices."

� Kyma has been awarded $1 million in government contracts from DOD and DOE to develop applications of GaN substrates to microelectronics and optoelectronics.

A. Developer News

�        AXT announced that it is looking to spin-off, sell, or liquidate its optoelectronics division, which is housed in its California facilities. According to a June 25^th press release, 165 employees were to have been laid off within the next 60 days. A small core group was to remain to sell and ship their remaining inventory. Sales of optoelectronics have been down since May of 2003, which AXT blames on the SARS virus. AXT will remain in business, focusing on its core substrate division. (Recently, AXT was sued for patent infringement by Cree Lighting -- see item below.AXT believes these lawsuits to be without merit.)[ Press release ]

�        Chicago's Regional Transportation Agency has purchased $25,000 worth of Carmanah's solar illuminated bus stops. Components of the i-STOP^tm bus stops include a security light, an illuminated schedule and an LED beacon that alerts a bus driver up to one mile away when there is a potential passenger waiting. [ Press release ]

�        Carmanahannounced its intention to purchase AVVA Technologies. Carmanah is interested in AVVA because it is seeking to add technical expertise and an improved route to market. AVVA also brings increased manufacturing in the area of LED edge-lit lighting products to the merger. Preliminary agreements have been made for AVVA shareholders to receive 1 share for every 8 they currently hold. The price of one Carmanah share will be $0.95 and $0.11875 per AVVA share. [ Press release ]

�        Color Kinetics has been awarded a Hong Kong patent (Patent No. HK1025416) entitled "Multicolored LED lighting method and apparatus". The patent, which was issued on June 5, 2003, covers Color Kinetics' Chromacore® LED control technology.This is the first Asian patent for Color Kinetics. [ Press release ]

�        Comlase (Sweden) has created a new reactor designed to use the company's Native Nitride Ion Beam Epitaxy process for passivation and facet coating. Comlase claims that the new process increases the lifetime, improves the output power, and raises the damage threshold of edge emitting semiconductor lasers. [ Article in CompoundSemi News]

�        Five blue spectrum device pioneers were honored at Blue 2003 with the first ever CompoundSemi Pioneer Awards. These five were Shuji Nakamura (UCSB), for his breakthrough work with blue lasers, Michael Shur (RPI), for his work with GaN, Norm Shumaker (Molecular Imprints), a founder of Emcore, for his work in making volume quantities of high brightness photonics and electronic devices available, John Edmond (Cree), a co-founder of Cree, for his work creating the first truly commercial blue spectrum LEDs, and Bob Steele, the Director of Optoelectronics Programs at Strategies Unlimited, for his reporting on the evolution of blue spectrum devices. [ Article in CompoundSemi News ]

�        Cree has acquired ABB Research Ltd.'s (Switzerland) portfolio of patents and patent applications relating to SiC technology. The patents cover a range of topics from epitaxial growth technology to device and circuit-level technology. A total of 44 US patents and patent applications, and corresponding international patents and patentapplications, were included in the deal. (This move is part of ABB's strategy to divest non-core business to focus on power and automation technologies.)The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. [ Article in CompoundSemi News ]

�        Cree co-founder and former Cree CEO, Eric Hunter, and his wife have brought a lawsuit against his brother and current Cree Chairman, Neal Hunter, and against Cree Inc. They are seeking damages in excess of $3 billion for unspecified harm resulting from alleged conduct of the defendants and alleged violations of employment and security laws. Cree denies the allegations and intends to defend the case vigorously. [ Press release 1, Press release 2, Article at Compoundsemiconductor.net]Bank of America has also been named in this litigation.The amended complaint includes allegations that NationsBank, which later became BofA and was acting then as Cree's lead underwriter, failed to disclose material information and assisted Cree and F. Neal Hunter in misleading the public and the SEC. [See article in the Charlotte Business Journal for details. ] In June, a class action lawsuit was filed by investors charging that Cree's stock price was artificially inflated by a number of false statements to the marketplace. [See article at CompoundSemiconductor.net] In late June, Cree issued a statement saying that the company had filed a motion to dismiss this lawsuit, asserting that the lawsuit lacks merit. [ Press release]On July 10, 2003, the SEC opened an informal inquiry related to the lawsuit filed against the company by its co-founder and former chief executive, Eric Hunter. [ Article in The Miami Herald]

�        Cree Lighting Company and co-defendant Boston University have filed a lawsuit against AXT in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.This lawsuit requests enforcement of patent No. 5,686,738 , entitled "Highly Insulating Monocrystalline Gallium Nitride Thin Films.";Owned by Boston University, this patent relating to buffer layer technology for GaN growth has been exclusively licensed to Cree Lighting Company.The co-plaintiffs are seeking an injunction and damages.
According to the "McDonald Report" in CompoundSemi News, on July 24, 2003 AXT filed a countersuit against Cree and Boston University. AXT alleges that the "plaintiff's actions were intentionally designed to interfere with AXT's prospective business relationships, attempted to gain an unfair business advantage, and violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act and the Cartwright Act." AXT is requesting the court dismiss the complaint "with prejudice" and that AXT receive damages and injunctive relief. [ Article at CompoundSemiconductor.net, Article in CompoundSemi News ]

�        EpiPlus purchased another GaN MOCVD tool for their HB-LED production. The new Emcore 300 GaNzilla will be utilized in the production of blue, green and UV HB-LEDs at EpiPlus' manufacturing facility in Korea. [ Article in CompoundSemi News ]

�        Revenues declined in June for Epitaxy Corp. and United Epitaxy Co., Taiwan's leading blue LED manufacturers.Price cuts and inventory issues were blamed. Leading blue LED maker Epitaxy Corp. had June revenues of NT$154 million, down 9% from May. United Epitaxy reported June revenues of NT$212 million, the lowest monthly figure since May 2002. [ Article in Taiwan Economic News No URL available. ]

�        Furukawa Co. (Japan) plans to begin production of sapphire substrates in its Osaka plant. The substrates are intended to be used to manufacturer blue LEDs. The company anticipates production rates of 10,000 substrates per month. The article in CompoundSemi News, which quoted from a recent Nikkei wire article, says Furukawa will use a production method involving the growth of a thin layer of single-crystal GaN on a foundation of single-crystal alumina. [ Article in CompoundSemi News ]

�        The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers has awarded Nick Holonyak Jr. the 2003 Medal of Honor for inventing the first visible LED and semiconductor injection lasers. The award was presented at the annual IEEE Honors Ceremony on June 21st in Nashville, TN. Among Nick Holonyak's numerous contributions to semiconductor electronics are the first practical LED and the first semiconductor laser to operate in the visible spectrum.Nick Holonyak is currently a John Bardeen Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. [ Press release ]

�        In their second round of funding, Kyma acquired $4 million from former investors, Digital Power Capital, and Siemens Venture Capital. These funds will be allocated to commercialization, product development and staffing. Kyma has already hired more materials scientists and increased its number of expert advisors.It is looking to increase its staff considerably by the end of 2003.Kyma is a leading supplier of GaN substrates for optoelectronics, communications, and microelectronics. [ Press release ]

�        In a short news item appearing in Optics.org, Lumileds reports that it has increased sales through Future Electronics by 400% year-on-year. Future Electronics is Lumileds' exclusive distributor. [ Article in Optics.org ]

�        Nichia has settled out of court with an unnamed Korean LED manufacturer in June 2003. The Korean manufacturer admitted to design infringement of Nichia's intellectual property rights. The two parties have signed an agreement that includes the Korean manufacturer destroying the remaining copied products in its inventory and immediately stopping all manufacturing, sales and exportation of these products. [ Press release, Article at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]

�        Nikkei Online has reported that Japan may create a high court to specialize in intellectual property rights cases.The idea is championed by a Japanese government council, the Strategic Council on Intellectual Property. If instituted, this new court would be the first major judicial change in Japan since 1945. Sixteen judges with experience in advanced technology and patent law would preside over the court. [ Article in CompoundSemi News ]

�        Osram Opto announced that they have improved the pulse proof characteristics of their laser diodes by one order of magnitude. They claim to have improved the laser efficiency by 15% and lowered the threshold by 25%.These advances have been made possible by the use of a new single quantum well structure material as well as improvements in the electro-optical properties of the device. Consequently, the laser diodes are better able to handle thermo-mechanical stress. [ Press release ]

�        Riber has sold a Compact 21T (MBE) System to Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia. The machine will be used for the growth of GaN-based nanostructures for next-generation optical communication and electronic devices. [ Article in CompoundSemi News ]

�        Samsung America signed a distribution agreement with BillBoard Video, Inc. BillBoard will be the exclusive US supplier of Samsung LED displays for out-of-home advertising and printed signs in malls, retail stores, and sports arenas. Samsung says that they are the first Korean LED display supplier to enter the US digital sign market. Under the agreement, hardware, software, and media content will be bundled together to provide custom solutions for customers. Financial and other details of the agreement were not immediately available. [ Press release at PlanetAnalog.com ]

�        Sandia National Laboratories announced that it has created the first solid-state white light-emitting device using quantum dots. The device consists of encapsulated semiconductor quantum dots with engineered surfaces. The dots emit visible light when excited by near-UV LEDs. The size and surface chemistry of thedots determine the color of the re-emitted light. Principal Investigator Lauren Rohwer and the quantum dot team have recently made white and blue lighting devices using the encapsulated quantum dot technology. [ Press release ]

�        According to Nikkei Business Daily, Seiwa Electric has announced plans to expand blue LED production to 10 million units per month by September. The company will invest 1 billion yen in order to reach this production goal. Seiwa recorded an operating loss of 500 million yen for its LED business in the fiscal year ending March 2003. The NBD article was cited at length in an article appearing at CompoundSemiconductor.net. [ Article at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]

�        Construction has begun on the site of China's Shenyang Keysi-STL Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. facility. When completed, the company will make China the world's third producer of 6-inch cellphone FBAR chips and two inch blue and white LEDs. The company expects its output value to reach US $260 million by 2004, with a profit between 25 and 30%. By 2005, the output value is expected to hit US $500 million with an estimated profit rate above 30%. Subsequently, the company plans to build a second factory with a Chinese partner to produce 8-inch chips for LCD modules used in computers and cellphones. [Article in AsiaPulse News. No URL available]

�        Tegal Corp. has developed a new process for reactive sputter deposition. The new process is composed of a new set of process applications for the Endeavor-AT PVD cluster tool along with the use of the new MF-RF and DC-RF coupled S-Guns. The Endeavor-AT's DC-RF coupled S-Gun chamber is supposed to eliminate electrical damage to the LED p-n junctions during silicon nitride deposition, maintain low substrate temperatures during deposition, and creates high-density nitride films with near-zero intrinsic stress and good optical properties. Tegal Corp. believes that the new process will have major benefits for manufacturers of LED and optoelectronic devices, power MOS makers, and for the MEMS, SAW, and EUVL photomask industries. [ Press release ]

�        Tekcore (Taiwan) has bought two AIXTRON AIX 2600G3 HT reactors, both in 24x2 configuration.Tekcore manufactures green, blue, and UV UHB-LED wafers and is currently expanding its facilities. [ Press release ]

�        Veeco will sponsor the MBE Innovator Award to recognize individuals who have significantly advanced MBE. The award will also be sponsored by the North America Molecular Beam Epitaxy (NAMBE) and the International MBE organizations, whose officials will select the winners for the $3000 award. The award will be presented at the annual meetings of both organizations. (Deadline for nominations: August 25, 2003.Additional details can be found at the NAMBE website.) [ Article at CompoundSemiconductor.net, Article at NAMBE website ]

B. New Products

�        Cree announced the availability of its new line of GaN-on-SiC "RazerThin" blue spectrum LEDs.At a height of 0.095 mm, the RazerThin devices are less than half as thick as the company's standard blue spectrum LEDs, which have a height of 0.250 mm. The RazerThin devices have a typical brightness of 7mW and forward voltage of 3.2V when operated at 20mA. When operated at 5mA, which is characteristic of battery-powered applications, the forward voltage is only 2.9V. The RazerThin devices are currently availablein 460nm and 470nm blue versions. [ Article in CompoundSemi News, Press release ]

�        At the 45^th Electronic Materials Conference in Salt Lake City, Cree presented a technical paper outlining their capability to produce a 100mm 4H semi-insulating silicon carbide (SiC) substrate. The increased surface area should allow Cree to almost double the amount of devices on each wafer. Cree believes that the SiC substrate will be able to use current compound semiconductor production equipment. [ Press release ]

�        Cree announced that they have increased the brightness of their MegaBright and Xbright families of LEDs. Cree claims that the new MegaBright Plus device is 30% brighter than previous MegaBright LEDs, and the average brightness level for the new XBright Plus device has been improved by about 20%. Both of these new devices will be available in 460 nm and 470 nm versions. The MegaBright Plus and the XBright Plus were created for use in white LEDs used for backlighting color LCD screens in mobile devices. [ Article in CompoundSemi News ]

�        Emcore has added its GaN RealTemp® 200 temperature measurement system to its GaNzilla tool for GaN growth.Designed for GaN-on-sapphire and GaN-on-SiC applications, RealTemp uses a high-speed infrared pyrometer and an LED-based reflectometer to directly and simultaneously measure target reflectivity and radiance, enabling real-time correction of emissivity during epitaxial deposition. The unit enablestuning of the reactor to ensure repeatable growth temperatures over a full series of production runs. [ Press release ]

�        Fairchild Semiconductor has announced the availability of its first two full-color, surface-mount RGB LED lamps for backlighting applications. The QTLP650D-RGB, intended for backlighting and status indication, is a top-illuminating lamp in a 1210 package and the QTLP614C-RGB is a side illuminating, right angle, LED lamp designed for edge lighting LCD displays. Both lamps can produce red, green or blue color output, or can mix the RGB light sources for multi-color output. [ Press release] The specifications noted in the press release are summarized below.

Specifications	QTLP650D-RGB	QTLP614C-RGB
Package	1210 surface-mount	Right angle LED
Footprint, height	3.2 x 2.7 mm, 1.1 mm	3.2 x 1.0 mm, 1.5 mm
Viewing angle	140	160
Die material-red	AlInGaP	AlInGaP
Die material-blue and green	InGaN	InGaN
Luminous intensity (red)	60 mcd	110 mcd
Luminous intensity (green)	130 mcd	100 mcd
Luminous intensity (blue)	40 mcd	40 mcd

�        Intersil has announced that the Elantec® EL7513 white LED driver is now being produced in volume. This is Intersil's first product for white LED displays.The driver can power up to four LEDs in a series or 12 LEDs in a parallel series configuration. Intersil claims the driver has 91% efficiency.These are all desirable characteristics for portable color LCDs as they help ensure uniform brightness across white LED backlit screens. [ Press release ]

�        Scientists at Mitsubishi Chemical, Tokyo Denpa, and Tohoku University have jointly developed a low cost 2" GaN single crystal substrate used in the substrates of blue-violet lasers. The substrate was recrystallized at a temperature below 500 C and a pressure of less than 1,000 atmospheres. These are the same conditions as those commonly used to produce single-crystal quartz. The new substrates are expected to cost several hundred thousand yen, significantly less than the current cost of 2" GaN substrates at over 1 million yen.I nformation on substrate quality was not available at the time of this report. [Article in AsiaPulse News.No URL available]

�        Opto Technology Inc. announced a new line of LED-based, MR-16 halogen replacement lamps using Lumileds' Luxeon emitters. These "Endura Bright" lamps are intended as a direct replacement for 12V AC-low voltage applications, offering up to 120 lumens of light and more than 1800 candela of light output at an angle of 10 degrees. The lamps will be available in white, blue, green, red and amber.The white Endura Bright LED will replace 50-100 typical 5mm white LEDs. [ Press release ]

C. Novel or Interesting LED

�        Alderm and its UK manufacturing partner, Photo Therapeutics, have received FDA approval for Omnilux Blue, a new acne treatment that uses blue LEDs. Omnilux Blue is composed of five arrays of LEDs that emit at 415 nm. The device delivers approximately 40 mW / cm² to the skin surface. It may be used to treat a variety of skin conditions, the most common of which is moderate inflammatory acne vulgaris. The manufacturers claim the treatment has no serious side effects. [ Article at Optics.org ]

�        Color Kinetics has created a HB-LED lighting system for the Broadway musical "Hairspray". Using almost 600 of Color Kinetics C-75 programmable fixtures created a continually changing color effect, akin to the "Lite-Brite" toy of the 1960's. [ Article in CompoundSemi News ]

�        Lumileds has introduced the Electronic Lights 2000 system, a Luxeon-based SCUBA diving flashlight designed in collaboration with Italian underwater light specialist Leone. The light emitted from the device has a color temperature of 6,000 K both above and below water.Device lifetimes are approximately 4 hours with a luminous efficacy of 25 lumens per watt. [ Article in CompoundSemi News ]

�        Permlight has launched its new LED sign lighting system, the Twiste'R^TM PL752-XXX Series. The Twiste'R^TMlighting system is based upon Permlight's patented (U.S. Patent US 6,578,986) reel dispenser system and heat sinking LEDs. It also provides 180 degree viewing angle technology. This allows the sign to be mounted on a side or back wall. The Twiste'R^TM is able to accommodate channel letters and fabricated plastic letters less than 6" with strokes as narrow as 1/2". It is currently available in ruby red (630nm), blue (470nm), and white. The LED module is a Permlight universal 12Vdc system. Its physical dimensions are 0.625" wide by 1.0" long and 1/16" tall. The modules come pre-wired (20 gauge UL Class 2 power limited wire) with 3.0" spacing. [ Press release ]

D. Market Information

�        Intertech has published the "2003 Directory and Source Guide for LEDs for Lighting and Display Applications", which it claims is the "most comprehensive LED lighting and display listings ever assembled in one handy, 200-page reference book". The guide covers device manufacturers, lighting product manufacturers, display fabricators and producers, equipment and materials suppliers, testing and measurement labs, trade and professional associations, and government and academic laboratories.Originally scheduled for release in April 2003, the guide became available at the end of May. [ Brochure ]

�        The Semiconductor Industry Association predicted a positive growth forecast for the global semiconductor market. The forecast market estimates are as follows: for 2003 - $155 million (10.1 percent growth), for 2004 - $181 million (16.8 percent growth), for 2005 - $192 million (5.8 percent growth), and for 2006 - $205 million (7 percent growth). The SIA predicts the sales of optoelectronic components to increase by 22% in 2003 to $8.3 billion. [ Article at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]

�        Strategies Unlimited released a new report on market trends in the HB-LED market, entitled "High-Brightness LED Market Review and Forecast -- 2003." According to the report, the HB-LED market grew by 51% in 2002, to $1.84 billion, driven mainly by the demand for LED use in mobile display and keypad backlighting. The authors anticipate that the HB-LED market will grow to $4.7 billion by 2007. [ Press release Article in CompoundSemi News ]

�        Strategies Unlimited released the third edition of their GaN market report, entitled "Gallium Nitride 2003 -- Technology Status, Applications, and Market Forecasts". Highlights of the report include a growth in research and product development activity of 74% and 24%, respectively, since their previous report in May 2000. The gallium nitride device market has also seen growth of 221% to $1.35 billion since 1999, primarily in the blue, green, and white HB-LED sectors. The overall gallium nitride device market is forecast to grow to $4.5 billion by 2007. [ Press release ]

E. Overview Articles

�        The July 2003 issue of Compound Semiconductor ran an article reviewing LED lighting products that won awards at this spring's LightFair International. According to the article, entitled "LEDs scoop lighting awards", at least 10% of the 600 exhibitors featured LED lighting products, with Lumileds' Luxeon products appearing in almost 50 products shown by more than 25 companies. Many of the products mentioned in the article had application in architectural and mood lighting, but a few related to solid-state lighting for general illumination: Nichia's NSPL510S warm white LED, OptoLum's BrightLife 800 lightbulb, Mule Lighting's FlameTip screw-based LED lamps and LEDtronics' TrackLED MR-16 bulb replacement lamps. [ Article in Compound Semiconductor page 1, page 2 ]

�        Compound Semiconductor magazine featured solid-state lighting in an extensive article in the June 2003 issue. The article, "Innovations push white LEDs towards new applications" focuses on recent advances by white LED makers to improve the color consistency, white light quality, lifetime, efficiency and cost of their products. The article also reviews developments by GELcore, Osram Opto, Nichia, Toyoda Gosei, and Lumileds. [ Article part 1, part 2 at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]

�        In a recent review article, "Focus on LED displays: Multicolor LEDs brighten portables", EE Times reviewed how recent changes in LED backlights have revolutionized mobile displays. The key trend is that the LEDs have become brighter while power consumption has declined, extending the battery life of portables. Backlighting LEDs manufactured by Fairchild Semiconductor, Agilent Technologies, Sharp, and Toshiba were also profiled. [ Article in EE Times ]

�        Industry Week has published an overview of advances in white LED applications due to increases in efficiency and performance life. The June 1, 2003 article is titled "LEDs redefine lighting:Advances in light emitting diodes (LEDs) are delivering a revolution in efficiency, performance life and in how light can be employed." The article highlighted automotive applications, as well as a preference for LED buggy headlamps among Pennsylvania's Amish. [ Article in Industry Week ]

F. Research Results

� Emcore researchers have determined that InGaN V-defect formation can be minimized by adding H₂ or raising the temperature to ~900 C during GaN barrier growth. These same conditions suppress inclusion propagation entirely, rendering a uniform nanoscale cathodoluminescence signal. University of Central Florida researcher L. Chernyak was a collaborator on part of this research, which was headed up by Emcore's Doru Florescu. The research was published as "Morphological evolution of InGaN/GaN quantum-well heterostructures grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition," by S. M. Ting, J. C. Ramer, D. I. Florescu, V. N. Merai, B. E. Albert, A. Parekh, D. S. Lee, D. Lu, D. V. Christini, L. Liu, and E. A. Armour, in Journal of Applied Physics 94(3): 1461-1467 (August 1, 2003) and "Investigation of V-Defects and embedded inclusions in InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition on (0001) sapphire," by D. I. Florescu, S. M. Ting, J. C. Ramer, D. S. Lee, V. N Merai, A. Parkeh, D. Lu, E. A. Armour, and L. Chernyak in Applied Physics Letters 83(1):33-35 (July 7, 2003). [ Article in Compound Semiconductor, no URL available, Abstract for first article, Abstract for second article. ]

� The Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute reports that it has developed new methods to evaluate LED lighting systems that will eventually lead to reliable life estimates. Dr. N. Narendran and his team have developed new methods for measuring LED junction temperatures, the primary cause of LED light degradation. The methods relate junction temperature to emission spectra using a technique that is both quick and non-invasive.Results of their studies will be presented at the annual SPIE meeting, the Third International Conference on Solid-State Lighting, to be held in San Diego, California, in August. [ Article in LRC News ]

G. Selected Events of Interest

� Intertech has announced the date for Light Emitting Diodes 2003, an event dedicated to HB-LEDs. The event will be held on October 15-17, 2003 in San Diego. Industry leaders such as Osram Opto Semiconductors, Cree, Toyoda Gosei, Nichia, and Lumileds Lighting will be in attendance.Market assessments, new technological innovations and commercial opportunities will be presented, as well as a discussion on luminous handheld devices. [ Press release]

� Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Lighting Research Center will be offering its next "LED Lighting Institute" on September 17-19, 2003. The institute has been expanded to three days to increase the time available for hands-on sessions using LEDs. Institute participants will learn how to incorporate LED technologies into the design of architectural lighting fixtures, how to develop optical components that will best take advantage of the small size and compact beam spread of LEDs, and how to design lighting applications using LEDs.Participants will also learn how to compare LED technologies from various manufacturers. [ LED Lighting Institute webpage ]

H. Government Funding News

�        Aixtron Taiwan received funding from the Taiwanese government for a three-year project to create a R&D centerthat will assist in the technology transfer in Taiwan. The center will be funded by Taiwan's Department of Industrial Technology (DoIT) within the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The center has stated its goals to be: "Quality optimization and improved yield management of LED materials, increasing the throughput of high power electronic devices, developing the production of key materials for high-k-dielectrics, exploring the potential of nanotechnology, cost reduction and performance tuning of in-situ process control, accelerating time-to-market of technology and process simulation, and developing organic vapor-phase deposition (OVPD) technology for advanced OLED display production." [ Article at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]

�        Cambridge University, Thomas Swan Scientific Equipment and the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology have been awarded a three-year collaborative grant for £1.2 million by the Engineering and Physical Research Council (EPSRC) of the UK. The grant is to be used for the purposes of developing GaN based products, such as lightbulbs, lasers, and semiconductors. [ Article in Business Weekly ]

�        Crystal IS again announced that it has been selected to participate in DARPA's SUVOS program. The company also indicated that its boule growth technology is scalable to produce larger boules, and that it plans to offer 50 mm substrates in limited quantities by the end of this year. [ Article at CompoundSemiconductor.net, Article at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]

�        DARPA has issued SBIR 2003.2 - Topic SB032-044, entitled "Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Materials and Devices." The program object is to investigate novel materials, growth techniques, fabrication processes and device concepts for military components and microsystems, and commercial applications. The solicitation opened July 1, 2003 and closes August 14, 2003. [ Full text of solicitation, DARPA topics ]

�        Kyma has been awarded $1 million in government funding. The supplier of gallium nitride substrates was awarded four contracts from the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy. These contracts are to be used in the support of micro and optoelectronic applications of GaN substrates, such as solid-state lighting. [ Press release ]

The information presented in this section has been developed by Perspectives, a firm that specializes in technical and market intelligence, with assistance from Sandia National Labs.
NOTE :� The provision of summaries and mention of specific manufacturers or products does not constitute an endorsement by Sandia National Laboratories or Perspectives; nor is the information presented warranted or guaranteed by either Sandia National Laboratories or Perspectives.

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