Carsem Announces Extremely Thin MLP

from Semiconductor International

Carsem, a provider of turnkey packaging and test services, announced an extremely thin version of its Micro Leadframe Package (MLP). more » » » 

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From Photovoltaics Report

from Semiconductor International

Sharp Breaks Record for Triple-Junction Compound Solar Cell
By successfully forming a high-crystallinity bottom layer from InGaAs rather than the traditional germanium, Sharp has boosted conversion efficiency to 35.8% for its research-level triple-junction compound solar cell. more » » » 

Ascent Solar Achieves 14% Efficiency on Flexible CIGS
Ascent Solar Technologies has achieved 14% cell efficiency for its CIGS thin-film technology on flexible plastic substrates, and 11.7% peak efficiency for its CIGS modules. Both milestones were reached in commercial production at its 1.5 MW plant. more » » » 

First Single-Junction 400 W PV Module Yields Higher Return
Signet Solar introduced a 400 W power class PV module using single-junction thin-film silicon technology that provides 15% higher output. more » » » 

eIQ Energy Partners to Provide Parallel Wiring to Solar Industry
In two separate announcements, eIQ Energy detailed partnerships within the solar supply chain -- combining its vBoost DC-to-DC converter modules with PV Powered's inverters, and separately with Signet Solar's thin-film solar modules. eIQ's Parallel Solar technology lets solar arrays be wired in parallel rather than series for substantial cost savings. more » » » 

Suntech's Reliathon Reduces Utility Solar Costs, Speeds Development
PV module supplier Suntech Power Holdings announced its simplified, integrated program for designing and building utility-scale solar plants, combining product innovations with new business agreements to lower total system costs. more » » » 

Motech Selects Esatto Technology for Double Printing Solar Cells
Motech Solar has installed and qualified an Applied Baccini back-end line for double printing, using the system's newly released Esatto Technology to manufacture its new cell design. more » » » 

Satcon Power Inverters Go to Canada's Largest PV Power Plant
Satcon Technology Corp.'s PowerGate Plus 500 kW solar PV inverters are now fully operational at First Light, Canada's largest solar farm. Satcon supplied 18 inverters for the project. more » » » 

G24i Ships First Commercial Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Application
G24 Innovations (G24i), a global dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) company, has seen the first commercial shipment of dye-sensitized PV modules to Hong Kong-based consumer electronics bag manufacturer, Mascotte Industrial Associates. The shipment makes the company the "first commercial manufacturer of dye-sensitized solar cells technology for mass consumer use in the world," G24i said. more » » » 

Q-Cells Selects Camstar to Boost New Solar Lines
Solar powerhouse Q-Cells will deploy Camstar's SolarSuite software platform to improve process quality and cell efficiency on two new production lines in Germany and its new mega-factory in Malaysia. more » » » 

Amtech Gets Dutch Government Grant for Solar R&D
Amtech subsidiary Tempress Systems Inc. received a technology grant from the Dutch government for solar R&D work. The grant was jointly obtained with one of Tempress's European solar research partners, and will be used to develop a process method to improve solar energy conversion efficiencies. more » » » 

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MEMS Motion Sensors Stay in Motion

from Semiconductor International

In the October issue of Semiconductor International, Laurent Robin of Yole Developpement writes that MEMS inertial sensors now represent a $1.85B market. While the majority comes from automotive applications, consumer should overtake automotive by 2012. "When it comes to very high volumes, big IC players are often preferred," Robin writes. more » » » 

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Solar's Changing Climate: Photovoltaics and the Legislative Effect

from Semiconductor International

In this webcast, aired originally on Aug. 27, our global panel of experts -- Winfried Hoffmann of EPIA, Rhone Resch of SEIA and Paula Mints of Navigant Consulting -- explored the evolving legislative environment in key and emerging markets around the world, examining the effects governments are having on the viability of photovoltaics as the industry pursues grid parity. Key concerns raised by audience members and addressed by panelists included unfair competition from China, and what kind of shape the PV market will be in as demand begins to recover. more » » » 

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From Wefer processing report

News from Semiconductor International

IEDM Confronts Logic Scaling Challenges
The International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM), set for Dec. 6-9 in Baltimore, includes presentations on new annealing techniques, finFETs, compound semiconductors and random telegraph noise. The conference, with 215 paper presentations, will be preceded by a Sunday short course on scaling challenges organized by TSMC's Howard C.H. Wang. more » » » 

High-Power Transistors Emerge at CEATEC
Sanken, Fujitsu Laboratories and other Japanese companies introduced high-power transistors, some of them aimed at the growing market for electric vehicles. The SiC- and GaN-based devices were on display at the CEATEC Japan 2009 show. more » » » 

SOI Reduces Dynamic Power, Wafer Costs Coming Down
Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology is seeking to penetrate the high-volume market for mobile Internet devices and smart phones. An ARM paper at the IEEE International SOI Conference compared power consumption levels for bulk and SOI. And wafer supplier Soitec said its volume wafer prices are now in the $500 range. more » » » 

Foundry Selects Axcelis Optima XE for High-Energy Implant
A major foundry has selected Axcelis Technologies' single-wafer Optima XE for its most advanced production facility. The high-energy implant tool will be used for high-volume manufacturing of a wide variety of logic and memory products, as well as for the development of next-generation devices. more » » » 

Qualcomm's Nowak: 3-D Faces Cost Issues
Qualcomm Director of Advanced Technology Matt Nowak outlined the cost and technology challenges facing 3-D interconnects in a speech at an IEEE 3-D IC conference. "If this technology adds more than 10% to final costs, it will not be widely used in high-volume wireless technology," he said. more » » » 

TSMC and IMEC Create Innovation Incubation Alliance
IMEC and TSMC announced that they have forged an Innovation Incubation Alliance to create a platform enabling the development of innovative product solutions using emerging More than Moore technology options. Integrating extra functionalities with foundry CMOS enables customers to compete in emerging markets. more » » » 

EVG Installs Fusion Wafer Bonding Systems at CIS Fabs
EV Group has completed the installation of two automated fusion bonding systems for 300 mm wafers at a leading semiconductor foundry and at a major consumer electronics manufacturer. The Gemini FB automated production fusion bonding systems will be employed for the production of backside illuminated CMOS image sensors ranging from ultracompact wafer-level cameras for mobile phones to larger form factor high-end image sensors. more » » » 

IBM Readies 32 nm eDRAM With Low Latency
IBM unveiled a 32 nm SOI embedded DRAM, and will provide details at the upcoming IEDM in December. Gary Patton, vice president for IBM's SRDC, said the SOI eDRAM has latency and cycle times of less than 2 nsec, uses 4x less standby power, and has "up to a 1000 times lower soft-error rate (SER), better power savings, and reliability comparable to a similar SRAM." more » » » 

Applied Shipping Topmet Roll-to-Roll Vacuum Coating Systems
Applied Materials has begun shipping multiple Applied Topmet 4450 systems, reported as the largest and fastest roll-to-roll thin-film metal deposition machines, to a customer in Europe. This latest model deposits ultrathin aluminum films on 4.5 m wide rolls of substrate material at 20 m/sec to provide a barrier against oxygen, moisture and ultraviolet radiation for flexible packaging applications. more » » » 

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Perspectives From the Leading Edge: 3-D IC in the City by the Bay

From Semiconductor International

At the San Francisco IEEE 3-D conference, MIT's Lincoln Lab reported on their DARPA-sponsored 3-D integration process to combine Si readout circuits with InGaAs photodetectors for short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) imagers. They examined the MOSFET performance before and after integration and found no apparent degradation caused by the 3-D process. more » » » 

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Dow Unveils CIGS-Based Solar Shingles

from Semiconductor International

Dow Chemical Co. unveiled its line of Powerhouse Solar Shingles, integrating thin-film CIGS solar cells with standard asphalt single materials for rooftop applications. more » » » 

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