Features

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June / July 2010

Lattice-matched SiGe on GaAs for triple-junction CPV solar cells
Dr. Andrew Johnson and Mr. Robert Harper explain how IQE has demonstrated the first triple-junction PV device with an epitaxial bottom cell grown lattice-matched on a 6" GaAs substrate.

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MANTECH comes full cycle in Portland
Latest developments reported at this year's CS MANTECH.

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(1.11 MB)

Hopes and fears for high-mobility logic
Dr. Mike Cooke looks at the present state of III-V and germanium MOSFETs as possible future logic devices.

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(1.50 MB)

Deep UV LED efficiency reaches 3%
External quantum efficiency of 5% for 255-280nm single-chip LEDs within reach, says Dr. Mike Cooke.

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(447 KB)

Large chip improvements to deep-ultraviolet output
SET characterizes large-area 273nm and 247nm LEDs.

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(480 KB)

Other articles in this issue include: Multi-story production of optoelectronics from GaAs release. For this and much more, subscribe for free

May / June 2010

Combination to unlock high yields and throughput in LED production?
The entry of a leading silicon semiconductor equipment supplier into the nitride LED arena suggests a new era for mass solid-state lighting technology, says Dr. Mike Cooke.

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(1.11 MB)

Tunneling a way to understand efficiency droop in InGaN
Defect states in quantum well barriers proposed for current leakage. Dr. Mike Cooke reports.

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(467 KB)

Other articles in this issue include: Capacity of InGaAs to increase drive current in nano MOSFETs, and Sumitomo powers up vertical nitride transistors. For this and much more, subscribe for free

April / May 2010

Going deep for UV sterilization LEDs
Mike Cooke looks at how research to shorten the wavelength of commercial LEDs to ~250nm is progressing.

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(1.66 MB)

Polarization technology for HEMTs and LEDs
University of Notre Dame researchers have been developing techniques to use the spontaneous and strain-dependent polarization electric fields in nitride semiconductor to positive effect in transistors and LEDs.

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(947 KB)

Material shortages take the edge off LED boom
Michael Hatcher of Strategy Analytics reports on the booming LED market and its impact on suppliers of materials and MOCVD systems.

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(575 KB)

Other articles in this issue include: Sapphire market to exceed $200m in 2010, Tyndall claims first junctionless transistor, and Seeking ultra-low ohmic path to high-frequency nitride transistors. For this and much more, subscribe for free

March 2010

Veeco - Accelerating the growth of the HB-LED industry
Jim Jenson of Veeco's MOCVD business explains how improving MOCVD process uniformity can boost yields and capital efficiency.

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(1.08 MB)

Nitride transistors get ready for market
Dr. Mike Cooke reports on the application of nitrides to transistor devices.

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February 2010

SEI explains polarization clues to optimal GaN green laser stripes
Semi-polar [1014] direction preferred over [1210] for lower threshold current and longer wavelength.

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Producing more light than heat from quantum cascade lasers
QCL wall-plug efficiencies have been boosted from 35% to 40–50%.

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(508 KB)

Dielectrics at the III-V logic starting gate
Focus shifts from demonstrating the benefits of high mobility and integration with silicon substrates to developing the gate stack.

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(1.44 MB)

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December 2009 / January 2010

Advances in nitride precursors pave way to HB-LED mass production
SAFC Hitech discusses the demands on nitride MOCVD precursor manufacturing.

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(991 KB)

Digging into SiC etch
Two groups of researchers, at Fujitsu and TriQuint, have been looking at some problems of etching back-side via holes in SiC substrates. Mike Cooke reports.

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(493 KB)

Thickening AlN layers on sapphire substrates
Growth of aluminum nitride on a-plane rather than c-plane sapphire yields lower defect densities, reports Mike Cooke.

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(436 KB)

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November 2009

Management of arsenic-rich waste streams in III-V foundries
Safe practices for waste management associated with the grinding, lapping and polishing of GaAs in wafer thinning. Authors: Keith Torrance and Helen Keenan, University of Strathclyde.

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(709 KB)

Progressing etch techniques for compound semiconductors
Dr Mike Cooke reports on recent developments in using various etch processes on compound semiconductors.

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(1.24 MB)

Other articles in this issue include: DARPA awards NEXT contracts for GaN ICs research. For this and much more, subscribe for free

October 2009

Getting a green light from lasers
Dr Mike Cooke reports on approaches to producing green lasers in the III-nitride material system by using InGaN based active layers.

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(1.33 MB)

Other articles in this issue include: Fujitsu develops first mm-wave GaN transceiver amplifier chipset. For this and much more, subscribe for free

September 2009

Extending dot-dash advantages to InP
Dr Mike Cooke reports on recent quantum dot/dash laser diode developments.

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(1.49 MB)

Other articles in this issue include: Buffer boost for InGaN on silicon solar cell. For this and much more, subscribe for free

July / August 2009

New angle on approach to green lasers
Dr Mike Cooke reports on UCSB’s use of 1º -miscut m-plane GaN substrates to develop blue–green lasers with lower threshold current densities than is achieved using on-axis c-plane GaN.

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(488 KB)

Other articles in this issue include: Fujitsu develops GaN HEMT for use in power supplies. For this and much more, subscribe for free

June / July 2009

Wide load potential for electric vehicles
The enhanced material properties of wide-bandgap materials beckon for developers of electric vehicles. Dr Mike Cooke reports.

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May / June 2009

Conference Report: CS MANTECH 2009
Compound Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology conference sees new focus on photovoltaics in light of inventory correction in established wireless markets.

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(1.72 MB)

Other articles in this issue include: OFC conference report. For this and much more, subscribe for free

April / May 2009

LED growth compatibility between 2", 4" and 6" sapphire
By understanding thickness and wafer bow dependence for MOCVD, process conditions can be modified to provide GaN-based blue LEDs on 4” and 6” wafers equivalent to those on 2”, says Veeco.

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(1.27 MB)

Other articles in this issue include: GaAs industry downturns: 2001 versus 2009, and CIGS solar: a new investment landscape. For this and much more, subscribe for free

March / April 2009

Heterostructuring for high speed, power and light
Dr Mike Cooke reports on heterostructure materials (III-nitride, III-arsenide, III-phosphide) for power, light and high speed applications.

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(1.46 MB)

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February 2009

III-Vs from a logical point of view
Dr Mike Cooke reports on IEDM 2008, with a focus on III-V channels research.

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(1.21 MB)

Other articles in this issue include: ISE raises multi-junction solar-cell efficiency record to 41.1%. For this and much more, subscribe for free

December 2008 / January 2009

Nanowire transistors, lasers and hetero-engineering
Semiconductor nanowires constitute a growing field of research, particularly as the size of commercial devices decrease. Dr Mike Cooke looks at some recent research looking to achieve ultra-small transistors, photovoltaic devices, lasers and bandgap engineering.

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(1.09 MB)

Other articles in this issue include: Probing hydrogen’s impact on ZnO. For this and much more, subscribe for free

November 2008

Solutions don’t solve droop controversy
InGaN LEDs suffer a nasty fall-off in efficiency as the current through the device increases. Although some companies say they have solved the problem, debate about the cause continues. Dr Mike Cooke reports.

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(1.26 MB)

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October 2008

Powering up GaN MOSFETs
In the past few years a new application for nitride semiconductors has been developing for high-power radio/microwave frequency amplifiers based on high critical field and carrier mobility properties. Dr Mike Cooke reports on progress.

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(1.24 MB)

Other articles in this issue include: First high-output normally-off GaN HEMT. For this and much more, subscribe for free

September 2008

CdTe PV progresses to mass production
First Solar has accelerated its mass production of CdTe thin-film photovoltaic modules, and others are following the company's lead, says Dr Mike Cooke.

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(1.1 MB)

Other articles in this issue include: Central delivery of TMGa for lower-cost epi. For this and much more, subscribe for free

August 2008

Oxide materials for III–V MOSFET gate stacks
New incentive to find suitable ‘gate oxides’ for III–Vs could lead to early adoption of III–Vs into mainstream logic, reports Dr Mike Cooke.

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(1.3 MB)

Other articles in this issue include: PbSe research resurrects nanocrystal avalanche hopes. For this and much more, subscribe for free

June / July 2008

Flash fast forward to quantum dot memory
NAND Flash is driving silicon industry development, but the technology can only continue through adaptation. Dr Mike Cooke looks at how III-V quantum dots offer the prospect of faster non-volatile memory.

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(1.3 MB)

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May 2008

Wide-bandgap RF devices: a $100m market by 2010
Yole Développement's Philippe Roussel asks what can displace the LDMOS monopoly.

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(520 KB)

Other articles in this issue include: CS-MANTECH 2008 conference report. For this and much more, subscribe for free

April 2008

Infinera targeting PICs of 4Tb/s within 10 years
Infinera outlines its roadmap to integrating more components and wavelengths into InP-based photonic integrated circuits.

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(601 KB)

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March 2008

CMOS reaches for 60GHz+ applications?
Dr Mike Cooke looks at the prospects for using CMOS at frequencies of 60GHz and 77GHz.

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(1.39 MB)

Other articles in this issue include: 100Gb/s or bust... and Semiconductor choices for wireless access. For this and much more, subscribe for free

February 2008

Lighting up CIGS PVs
Dr Mike Cooke reports on developments in producing lower-cost solar energy based on compounds of the elements copper, indium, gallium and selenium.

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(1.28 MB)

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December 2007 / January 2008

Are silicon technologies poised to displace GaAs?
GaAs remains cost competitive in high-volume markets, says Asif Anwar.

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(1.11 MB)

Graphene opens up to new possibilities on SiC
A positive bandgap has been found for graphene on SiC, pushing it into the semiconductor domain, reports Mike Cooke.

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(724 KB)

Other articles in this issue include: MMICs making gains in terahertz range. For this and much more, subscribe for free

November 2007

Towards low-cost high power density devices
GaN power electronics are now ready to address a $3.5bn market, reckons Philippe Roussel of market research firm Yole Développement.

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(560 KB)

Other articles in this issue include: Seeking workable low-cost silicon carbide. For this and much more, subscribe for free

October 2007

Antimonides - Electromagnetic alchemy
Applications beckon for antimony compounds in high-speed electronics, and for the detection and manipulation of infrared light and magnetic behavior, says Dr Mike Cooke.

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(1.35 MB)

Other articles in this issue include: ICNS-7 Conference Report. For this and much more, subscribe for free

September 2007

Narrow focus, wide scope
Both basic research and applications ranging from gas sensing to tomorrow’s high-speed computer chips use and characterize semiconductor materials with narrow energy bandgaps. Dr Mike Cooke reports on such opportunities as described at the Narrow Gap Semiconductor conference.

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(1.12 MB)

Other articles in this issue include: Substrates challenged by raw material prices. For this and much more, subscribe for free

July / August 2007

GaAs industry back in equilibrium
The CS MANTECH 2007 conference in Austin, Texas evidenced much optimism about GaAs market growth (despite glitches with Motorola’s handset business), as well as progress in GaN HEMT performance and reliability, reports Mark Telford.

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June 2007

SiC power devices: if only we had a switch...
With 4" diameter substrates and zero-micropipe technology now introduced, Dr Philippe Roussel of market research firm Yole Développement considers what else remains in the path of SiC power device market development.

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May 2007

Charting routes to zinc oxide applications
A wide bandgap and piezoelectric properties make zinc oxide an interesting material for research into producing and detecting light (up to ultraviolet) and for electromechanical systems. Dr Mike Cooke looks at progress in producing p-type doping, allowing light emission from p–n junctions, and new ideas for mechanical coupling and photodetection from nanowires.

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(1.26 MB)

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April 2007

Eliminating bowing in blue LED and laser epi
LayTec and Ferdinand-Braun-Institut describe new in-situ technology for optimizing the growth of blue LEDs and laser diodes by reducing wafer bowing during epitaxial growth.

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Other articles in this issue include: Blue laser output boost; Coherent emission from room-temperature excition-polariton; and Restructuring the cascade for Bloch gain. For this and much more, subscribe for free

March 2007

Channel surfing
Nanoelectronics developers are aiming to boost channel properties in metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) as used in mainstream complementary MOSFET (CMOS = nMOS + pMOS) silicon technology. Dr Mike Cooke reports.

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(1.50 MB)

Other articles in this issue include: InGaAs HEMTs challenge Si, and Company profile: AXT Inc. For this and much more, subscribe for free

February 2007

Filling the THz gap with new applications
New imaging opportunities for medical and security applications may launch terahertz technology into the public domain. Semiconductor technology is key to many of these developments, says Dr Mike Cooke.

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(1.37 MB)

Other articles in this issue include: CIGS PV cells progress. For this and much more, subscribe for free

December 2006 / January 2007

Resonant tunneling barriers in nitrides
The widening applications for nitrides, from LEDs through lasers to high-power HEMTs, has led to work on advanced devices. Dr Mike Cooke reports on GaN/AlN quantum-well-based resonant tunneling diodes.

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(1.29 MB)

Other articles in this issue include: CSIC Conference report - Optimizing technologies. For this and much more, subscribe for free

November /December 2006

SiC driving interest for power semiconductors
Mark Telford reports on ECSCRM 2006: SiC has formerly been the preserve of niche industrial applications such as power generation and control, but is now attracting interest from major silicon power semiconductor manufacturers.

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(1.2 MB)

Other articles in this issue include: IMEC - Stress control for GaN HEMTs on 150mm Si and Finisar - Doubling fab capacity. For these articles and much more, subscribe for free now.

October / November 2006

Silicon shortage opens window for CIGS PVs
The shortage of polysilicon is constraining uptake of solar power, driving some recent large investments to speed less costly thin-film copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) solar cells on flexible substrates into production.

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(1.1 MB)

Other articles in this issue include: Taiwan's LED makers consolidate and grow, and Emcore refocuses. For these articles and much more, subscribe for free now.

September 2006

Transending frequency and integration limits
Dr Mike Cooke reports on how indium phosphide enables higher-frequency transistors and large scale integration of optical communication components.

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(252 KB)

Other articles in this issue include: Strained SOI, Silicon lasers, and BluGlass company profile. For these articles and much more, subscribe for free now.

August 2006

The wide blue yonder
Dr Mike Cooke looks at blue laser developments in the light of the recent market introduction of HD-DVD and Blu-ray optical storage disks, and surveys future applications and prospects for improvements in the technology.

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(6.7 MB)

Other articles in this issue include: Microsemi profile, and ICMOVPE XIII conference report. For these articles and much more, subscribe for free now.

July 2006

Enhanced BiFET boosts wireless integration
Skyworks' Ravi Ramanathan and colleagues detail how the BiFET process is integrated into a high-volume GaAs HBT manufacturing facility, allowing integration of external bias control circuitry into wireless power amplifier die.

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(3.3 MB)

Other articles in this issue include: Beaten-up industry turns upbeat, Nitride substrates bridging the gap, and Fab tools enabling opto device integration. For these articles and much more, subscribe for free now.