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2002: the year in review
Review of the year
When looking back ten years hence, 2002
Roy Szweda
2002:
will not be remembered as one of the
numerous intriguing developments in the
better years. For most companies in the
sector to surprise as well as depress those
III-Vs sector it will be one best forgotten.
who observe and commentate upon it.
Nonetheless, it cannot be said to have been
the year in review While business has b e e n patchy, technical
to have b e e n wilfully ignored in m o r e places
This w o u l d confirm that while c o m p a n i e s may
than it should have.
ing back R&D. However, there w e r e few of w h a t might be t e r m e d 'revolutionary' developments. A n n o u n c e m e n t s have b e e n m o r e of an 'evolutionary' nature for the most part. O n c e again this may reflect the austerity of the times. It has b e e n
Even m o r e u n e x p e c t e d w a s the coincidental d o w n t u r n in not one but t w o markets. Not only fibre but also handsets took a dive. Or rather it was a case of market saturation and no followt h r o u g h . T h e s e catastrophes hurt c o m p o u n d s e m i c o n d u c t o r s particularly hard. C o m p o n e n t s
a case of existing materials and devices being fur-
based on III-Vs enable and u n d e r p i n b o t h appli-
t h e r refined for the marketplace rather than
cations and so all suppliers of device and their
innovations such as the violet laser o r HBT
suppliers in turn also felt the cooling of the mar-
MMICs o f years past.
ketplace in fairly short order.
A most intriguing trend has b e e n the further
While there w e r e still areas of good business to
blurring of the boundaries b e t w e e n device appli-
be had telecoms are by far the biggest value mar-
cations.At no o t h e r time have there b e e n so
ket for III-Vs (and o t h e r s e m i c o n d u c t o r s ) so f e w
many device options available for the system
w e r e spared the d o w n t u r n . For example, GaN-
designers.This should result in s o m e very inter-
based LEDs w o u l d s e e m to be p r o o f against the
esting n e w p r o d u c t s in due course.
vagaries of the t e l e c o m business.Yet they are a
Open for business
key c o m p o n e n t in backlighting o f the displays used in handsets.This market is n o w proving to
That was n o t to say that c o m p a n i e s w e r e not
be o n e of the stronger areas thanks to the popu-
o p e n i n g n e w facilities. RFMD was a m o n g s t the
larity of colour-screen c e l l p h o n e s in Japan but it
handful to a n n o u n c e n e w device manufactur-
has yet to spread w o r l d w i d e . In due course it
ing. Suppliers to that business w e r e c o n c l u d i n g
will surely follow text-messaging enabled p h o n e s
long-standing p l a n s for e x p a n s i o n . For example,
w h i c h w e r e also first p o p u l a r in Japan.
in t h e UK Bede and T h e r m o VG S e m i c o n b o t h
O n c e again, the fortunes o f high-tech OEMs and
o p e n e d n e w facilities. Farther afield, J o h n s o n
their suppliers will be c o n t i n g e n t on the w h i m s
Matthey built a n e w gas purifier p l a n t w h i l e Air
of youth fashion. DVD was again proving to be a
Products a d d e d a n e w a m m o n i a p l a n t in the
big market success after a few years of delays.
summer.
For example, the PS2 games console w i t h its
Looking back at the usual linear market forecasts published a f e w years ago, 2002 should have
lll-Vs REVIEW ~
s e m i c o n d u c t o r s have b e e n cyclic but this s e e m s
progress has b e e n relentless across the board. be cutting d o w n on p r o d u c t i o n t h e y are not scal-
34
an uninteresting year. There have been
DVD laser and blue LED status lamp have provide d useful business in a trying year.
b e e n a bonanza year. Most of these w e r e simply
Rather than bringing out startlingly novel n e w
an extrapolation from the prevailing business
devices the year has b e e n characterised by man-
success in m o s t markets but especially fibre net-
ufacturers tending to launch n e w versions o f
works and mobile telecoms. No one s t o p p e d to
existing devices into the marketplace. For exam-
question w h e t h e r d e m a n d w o u l d dry up or
ple, the Elekon ESM-3070 was claimed to be the
w h e t h e r n e w markets could sustain w h a t t u r n e d
world's first range of side-looking surface m o u n t
out to be inflated market valuations.Traditionally
GaP LEDs in green, yellow-green, red and orange
~-~vJ~¢si~ Si: ~'~,:~CO
Review of the year
MARKET
ANALYSIS
The future arbiter of success for 3G may lie not with handsets but with the auto industry. Installing such facilities and proving them without many of the technical challenges of miniature handsets (such as battery talk-time etc.) may be the way forward. To this effect a specially fitted Mercedes-Benz S-Class car has demonstrated incar UMTS services. Data are transferred into the test vehicle at an average transmission rate of 128 kbit/s. The car has been set up in a co-operation between DaimlerChrysler, Siemens, Sun Microsystems, T-Mobile, Jentro and MBDS/Nice University Sophia Antipolis. It demonstrated a portfolio of multimedia services possible through broadband UMTS live video and music downloads, video telephony and an ingenious off-board navigation system, which uses up-to-data cartographic data via UMTS for destination finding.
for indicators requiring low-profile light source
Motorola, h a d over 2.65 million s u b s c r i b e r s in
s u c h as backlighting for p o r t a b l e electronic
the first six m o n t h s of 2002 offering t h e m 3G
devices, PDAs a n d cellphones.
CDMA2000 l X voice and data services.
A very notable p r o n o u n c e m e n t in March was US
Second,Agilent Technologies l a u n c h e d a n e w
c o m p a n y Lumileds b e i n g able to tell us a b o u t its
miniature E-pHEMT c o m b i n i n g good RF perform-
supply a g r e e m e n t for LED backlights to
ance, p o w e r efficiency and reliability all in a
Mitsubishi for displays.
compact, low-cost, reliable package suitable for
Yet t h e backlighting m a r k e t may e v a p o r a t e b e c a u s e m a n u f a c t u r e r s are seeking to eliminate blue LEDs o n t h e g r o u n d s of t h e i m p a c t t h e y h a v e n o t only o n t h e total cost of t h e p h o n e b u t also o n its p o w e r budget. So too, organic LED t e c h n o l o g y is m a k i n g great strides a n d this c o u l d s u b v e r t t h e 'inorganic' LEDs before t o o long. O t h e r forms of display are also c o m i n g
mass-production processes. It was said to b e ideally suited for 2.5G a n d 3G base-stations, w h i c h d e m a n d very h i g h linearity for accurate signal transmission a n d high transmission p o w e r levels w i t h m i n i m u m electrical p o w e r c o n s u m p t i o n and c o m p o n e n t heat generation.
Widening the gap
along as t h e OEMs - a n d t h e s u b - c o n t r a c t o r s
Progress in III-nitrides is u n r e m i t t i n g ff less star-
t h e y are n o w increasingly using - strive to rec-
tling in q u a n t u m advances of p r e v i o u s years.
oncile full-colour functionality w i t h b a t t e r y life-
N e w violet laser diodes (VLDs) have d e b u t e d b u t
t i m e a n d o t h e r factors.
fewer t h a n before.This is just o n e sign of w o r k
T h e o t h e r side of t h e 3G coin is t h e e q u i p m e n t required for t h e base-stations a n d related systems. Behind t h e scenes, installing the n e c e s s a r y infrastructure is going o n apace. H o w this proc e e d s will b e a decisive factor in t h e success of 3G.To take a c o u p l e of e x a m p l e s of progress w e look at a n n o u n c e m e n t s f r o m two key US companies in 2002. First, Motorola's Global Telecom
p r o c e e d i n g o n the commercialisation of the technology.The headlines w e r e filled w i t h p a t e n t suits a n d c o u n t e r claims. Some of these have b e e n resolved n o t always to e v e r y o n e ' s satisfaction b u t the big battle for r e c o g n i t i o n as to the origination of certain LED p a t e n t s b e t w e e n Prof Nakamura and Nichia will likely c o n t i n u e into the n e w year.
Solution Sector (GTSS) said it h a d already
W h i t e LEDs h a v e despite n o t b e i n g as efficient
s h i p p e d over 30,000 CDMA 2000 1X 3G base-
as t h e m a r k e t w o u l d like started to b e c o m e a
stations. M e a n w h i l e , J a p a n ' s KDDI, w h o s e 1X
big c o m m o d i t y c o m p o n e n t . T h e y are finding
radio access n e t w o r k is 100% supplied b y
w i d e s p r e a d use in m a n y general i l l u m i n a t i o n
lll-Vs REVIEW Ti.~ I ~ V ~ ~
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(~01~~;~B.I~ ~R ~I(:;1~;~ ~£ VOL 15 - NO 9 " NOV/DEC 2 0 0 2
MARKET
ANALYSIS
Review of the year
applications as a novel n e w architectural design
the Palo Alto Research C e n t e r (PARC) d e m o n -
feature.Also, t h e y are i m p o r t a n t for t h e internal
strated a UV LED using substrates p r o d u c e d by
and external illumination in vehicles. O n e o f
Crystal IS.
their m o r e interesting uses has b e e n to c o u p l e w i t h solar cells for r e m o t e or p o r t a b l e light sources.
AlN is said to be a promising "alternative for AIGaN-based devices o w i n g to good chemical, crystal structure and thermal expansion coeffi-
In early 2002 Toyoda Gosei scored its first w h i t e LED orders while around that time c a m e o n e of the most interesting business deals in the IIInitrides, it saw Nichia breaking years of rigid n o n - c o o p e r a t i o n to form a manufacturing alliance with Citizen for its w h i t e LEDs.
cient compatibility. Commercialisation of VLDs continues almost unnoticed in the instrumentation sector.The all-solidstate DVD recorder for h o m e use took some steps closer in 2002. But this market will belong to the longer wavelength laser products for a few years
Nichia was still having to fight it out in the
more.The market has yet to c o m p l e t e and will
courts w i t h rival c o m p a n i e s such as as Osram
undoubtedly gain more m o m e n t u m over the next
and Toyoda. It was also embroiled in a dispute
two years.As the red DVD market begins to peak
w i t h its ex-employee Prof Nakamura. He was
it has reached the status of the VCR in respect to
doing well in his n e w American h o m e with
production. 2002 saw a shift of c o m p o n e n t mak-
n u m e r o u s offers o f help. Intriguingly, in the
ing to lower cost regions of the world. By no
Spring h e had b e e n offered an ERATO grant from
m e a n s is this market exhausted, however, and w e
Japan to develop GaN single crystals.At last the
can e x p e c t a further surge as n e w variants c o m e
w o r l d s e e m e d ready to take t h e m seriously as a
into play. DVD-Audio is about to get underway
foundation for III-nitride devices. Pioneers such
and w e will once again be asked to pay over
as Poland's Unipress had b e e n working away for
again for music albums w e already- have on vinyl
years and 2002 saw t h e m move into the device
or CD. But perhaps the most important will be
field as well w i t h a start-up company, TopGaN.
DVD-R in whatever format gains the dominant
Unipress is also n o w one of the n e w e s t m e m b e r s
position. It is questionable w h e t h e r this will take
of the elite 'Violet Laser Diode Club'. The n u m b e r
off until re-recordable DVD c o m e s along given the
of c o m p a n i e s and institutes demonstrating VLDs
p r e c e d e n t for time-shifting (TS) of the VCR gener-
increased yet again:Taiwan's ESRI as well as
ation. Having said that machines are available
Sanyo w e r e in the n e w s in this respect.
w h i c h include a PC-type hard disk forTS with the
Meanwhile, Cree's proprietaryVLD r e a c h e d a
option of archiving to DVD. Copyright infringe-
projected lifetime of over 10 000 hours.
m e n t will play a key role in the success of such developments of course as piracy has seldom
Sony, Osram and NEC w e r e all sampling VLDs for OEMs to c o n s i d e r for p r o d u c t i o n . A n o t h e r key d e v e l o p m e n t was the 'blue-Ray' a g r e e m e n t
b e e n out o f the headlines all year with the likes of Napster and other file-sharing programs being the latest bane of the entertainment industry.
w h i c h looks set to o p e n up the way for true commercialisation of VLDs in c o n s u m e r p r o d u c t s
In SiC the substrate t e c h n o l o g y was marching o n
such as digital optical storage and VCRs. To
w i t h 2002 seeing the first commercial samples o f
m u d d y the waters a little, Matsushita and some
3-inch material.This came from not one but sev-
others w e r e looking at alterative a p p r o a c h e s
eral v e n d o r s w h o are anticipating the market for
using infra-red diode lasers up-converting to the
larger area devices such as those for microelec-
violet to achieve the same result.Yet there w e r e
tronics applications.
the critics - not the least Prof Nakamura himseff w h o p o i n t e d out the drawbacks as regards the p o w e r required for re-write applications. Further into the future p e r h a p s as regards applications, several researchers had r e p o r t e d o n early results from InGaN/GaN lasers built on silicon.
III-Vs REVIEW >-
A n o t h e r example to illustrate the i m p o r t a n c e o f packaging is the p a r t n e r s h i p b e t w e e n Cree and Microsemi w h i c h brings t o g e t h e r opto- and micro-electronics business.The UltraBright blue LED catalogue is c o m p l e m e n t e d by so-called 'light engine architectures' and a 'breakthrough
O t h e r k e y n o t e items for 2002 i n c l u d e d Emcore
LED o n silicon technology'. Microsemi has partic-
and Rockwell Scientific collaborating for GaN
ular skills like its O p t o m i t e packaging w h i c h has
HEMTs and m e r c h a n t e p i w a f e r c o m p a n y
b e e n deployed to c o m p l e m e n t GaN-based die
Kopin sampling its CyberLite blue LEDs in
from Cree so as to achieve higher p o w e r in a
the summer. In the really short wavelengths,
smaller surface m o u n t package.
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VOL~5 - NO9 - NOV/DEC 2002
Review of the year
MARKET
ANALYSIS
In September Nokia unveiled the model 6650, its first 3G phone for testing by carriers by the end of 2002, with commercial availability next year. It is the world's first 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) compliant mobile phone operating both in the GSM 900/1800 frequencies and on the WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) protocol. One of the benefits of the WCDMA radio interface in the Nokia 6650 phone is it allows running more than one data session simultaneously. This makes it possible, for example, to capture and share what the user sees whilst talking on the phone. The dual-mode functionality makes the Nokia 6650 phone the world's first GSM/WCDMA handset to work in Europe and Asia including Japan. It brings both the GSM and WCDMA chips on to one circuit, enabling long talk times and standby time (up to 14 days). With the new Bluetooth wireless headset users will be able to handle phone calls and messaging comfortably on the go. Market researchers, IDC estimate that the number of mobile imaging (e-photo) users in the USA will grow from 40,000 by the end of next year to 8 m by 2006 depending on successful rollout of multimedia messaging services.
A f u r t h e r result of its alliance w i t h Cree has
Size is everything even in InP and AXT has devel-
b e e n Microsemi's l a u n c h of its first c o m m e r c i a l
o p e d 6-inch InP substrates w h i c h it was sam-
SiC Schottky diodes in its P o w e r m i t e packages.
piing quantities in t h e summer. Meanwhile, SDK
It e x p e c t s the c o m b i n a t i o n of efficiency a n d
was also developing 6-inch InP wafers.
h i g h voltage to b e particularly valuable in c a r d i o v e r t e r de*ibrillator applications, military aircraft a n d h i g h voltage t e l e c o m s w i t c h i n g equipment.
In 2002, OC-768 t r a n s p o n d e r s a n d related products were c o m i n g o n s t r e a m b u t t h e market was depressed. For example, m o d u l e m a k e r GTran p a r t n e r e d I n p h i for n e w OC-768 InP-based
Within such areas t h e r e could well b e p r o d u c t
products.Also,Vitesse S e m i c o n d u c t o r b e g a n sam-
types that see b e t t e r g r o w t h over the medium-to-
piing its OC-768 p r o d u c t s b y mid-year. OC-768
long-term. Overall they m i g h t take longer t h a n
p r o d u c t s as a volume market will b e s o m e t h i n g
LEDs as a result of smaller market pull c o u p l e d
to look out for some time next year.
w i t h t o u g h technical r e f i n e m e n t for useful competitively p r i c e d devices.
Two leading US wireless c h i p m a k e r s - - TRW and RFMD - - are c o m m i t t e d to mass-producing InP
InP interest on the turn
ICs.They have targeted wireless a n d fibre-optic applications that operate at frequencies greater
T u r n i n g n o w to InP t h e r e is strong interest in b o t h SI a n d s e m i - c o n d u c t i n g materials a n d devices. Firstly, a n d m o s t importantly,
t h a n 20 GHz.They are also developing m o r e efficient p o w e r amplifiers for 3G wireless handsets.
in very h i g h - s p e e d d a t a c o m s at u p to
In March Velocium,TRW's c o m m e r c i a l t e l e c o m
40 Gbit/s for OC-768 fibre n e t w o r k s . High-
c o m p o n e n t s company, l a u n c h e d its first p r o d u c t s
speed transceivers monolithically integrating
in a family of high-speed f r e q u e n c y dividers
active a n d passive c o m p o n e n t s are going to b e
p r o d u c e d using InP.The DV2401 a n d DV2101,
in d e m a n d for low-cost, reliable units. But
see photo, are b o t h divide-by-two f r e q u e n c y
before that t h e traditional r o u t e will see pro-
dividers targeted at d o w n - c o n v e r s i o n and phase-
gressively i n t e g r a t e d m o d u l e s from discrete
locked-loop applications for the fibre optic and
components.
b r o a d b a n d wireless markets.
III-VsREVIEW
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2002
Review of the year
The d e v e l o p m e n t of h a n d s e t chips is b e i n g driv-
m o v i n g to InP should appeal to GaAs chipmak-
e n by t h e n e e d to significantly improve the per-
ers b e c a u s e it allows t h e m to look f u r t h e r u p t h e
f o r m a n c e of devices so that they c a n b e used in
s p e c t r u m for future profits.This is crucial
3G terminals. P o w e r c o n s u m p t i o n will b e a key
b e c a u s e silicon-based materials such as silicon
issue, b u t devices must also p e r f o r m at h i g h e r
g e r m a n i u m (SiGe) are b e i n g m a d e to operate at
frequencies a n d l o w e r p o w e r to avoid p r o b l e m s
h i g h e r frequencies, in direct c o m p e t i t i o n w i t h
associated w i t h dissipating excess heat. InP is a
GaAs. Frequencies in t h e 40-100 GHz region
p r i m e candidate for these applications.
s h o u l d b e b e y o n d t h e r e a c h of silicon-based
InP has b e t t e r t h e r m a l characteristics, h i g h e r freq u e n c y r e s p o n s e and l o w e r t h r e s h o l d voltages
technologies, and while GaAs is capable of operating at these levels t h e r e are certain technologi-
t h a n existing p o w e r amplifier technologies.
cal challenges to face.
I m p r o v e d t h e r m a l characteristics e n a b l e very
Research indicates that InP can o u t p e r f o r m GaAs
small identical c o m p o n e n t s to b e p r o d u c e d . For
in t h e 40-100 GHz range. Moreoever, for certain
example, a p o w e r amplifier b a s e d o n InP w o u l d
devices p r o c e s s i n g tolerances c a n b e relaxed
typically b e smaller in size and h i g h e r in efficien-
c o m p a r e d w i t h GaAs.Theoretically it could b e
cy t h a n a c o m p a r a b l e p o w e r amplifier p r o d u c e d
easier to achieve commercially effective produc-
from c u r r e n t materials such as GaAs, according
tion yields w h e n fabricating higher-frequency
to its adherents.
InP devices.
However, the m a r k e t could b e c o m e less clear t h a n k s to o t h e r d e v e l o p m e n t s in hetero-epitaxy
All change in European GaAs
materials. For example, InP-on-GaAs has b e e n
In 2002 TriQuint S e m i c o n d u c t o r pulled off
s h o w n to b e a viable p r o p o s i t i o n for 6-inch
a n o t h e r major c o u p in Europe. Only a few
b a s e d fabrication facilities. Maybe this will see
w e e k s after securing a supply deal w i t h
such fabs b e i n g given a n e w lease of life. With
Philips Semiconductors, I n f i n e o n Technologies
InP layers just a few microns thick a n d virtually
was transferring its GaAs device business to
indistinguishable from a p u r e InP substrate,
TriQuint as part of a plan to establish a E u r o p e a n
Velocium's chipset operating in the 55 to 64 GHz range delivers cost-effective high performance for a full-band transceiver for high-capacity, short-haul wireless communications. The compact chip set (17 sq. mm total die area) supports various modulation schemes and can be used in simplex, half duplex, or full duplex mode. The chip set consists of a X4 multiplier (the XDH1S8); a LNA (ALH382), which is also used as a driver amplifier in the transmit chain; an image reject mixer (MDB207) with an IF frequency range of DC to 3 GHz; t w o RF switches (SDH126); and a power amplifier (ABH209) capable of 18dBm o u t p u t saturated RF power.
III-Vs REVIEW
VOL 15 - NO 9 - N O V / D E C 2 0 0 2
MARKET
ANALYSIS
Review of the year
w o r l d - r e n o w n e d base in wireless and h a n d s e t p o w e r amplifiers and related p r o d u c t s and into opto n e t w o r k products. For example, in February AMD
Yes
Agere
Yes
it i n t r o d u c e d SiGe analog ICs for 3.5 Gbit/s dataYes
c o m transceivers.Thus it has one of the broadest portfolios in the business. Being one of the lead-
Fujitsu
Yes
Hitachi
Yes
Hynix
Yes
IBM
Yes
Yes
Also in substrates there c a m e the shock that
Infineon
Yes
Yes
Litton one of the world-leading w e s t e r n
Intel
Yes
Yes
suppliers of SI GaAs substrates was exiting the
Matsushita
Yes
Yes
business. O n c e again this part of Litton was
ers it will u n d o u b t e d l y trigger similar actions by the o t h e r players in due course.
seemingly the victim of larger m o v e m e n t s in the
Micron Technology Mitsubishi
Yes
Yes
corporate w o r l d as Litton was acquired. But
Motorola
Yes
Yes
either no buyer could be found or it lost out as
NEC
Yes
Yes
part o f the restructuring.Whatever the case it
Philips
Yes
Yes
was sad end to an illustrious career of supplying
Samsung
Yes
quality material. Certainly, the 6-inch GaAs market was foundering after a p e r i o d of shortages
Sanyo Sony
Yes
Yes
STMicroelectronics
Yes
Yes
Texas Instruments
Yes
Yes
Toshiba
Yes
Yes
Table 1 The World's Largest Semiconductor Companies ~Commitment To SiGe.(Source: Profile of the Worldwide Silicon Germanium Materials & Devices Industry - A Market & Technology Overview 2001-2006, Elsevier Advanced Technology, 2002.)
and stronger prices.This left the business of local US supply to AXT and M/A-Com w h o w e r e having troubles of their o w n and making various changes.AXT exited t h e laser and germanium businesses but was getting stronger in o p t o such as blue LEDs and InP AXT said its substrate revenue had g r o w n but only slightly, but its LED business was p e r f o r m i n g
'beach-head' design centre for TriQuint.The deal reflected its interests in Europe and t h e impor-
w i t h Agilent in March.
tance of GSM in its strategic planning. Infineon's
In devices, M/A-Com was striking deals w i t h oth-
GaAs activities w e r e b e g u n by Siemens nearly a
ers such as UK's Filtronic.This was a life-saver for
quarter of a c e n t u r y ago.The Munich-based team
that c o m p a n y w h i c h was finding it troublesome
had a great many technical achievements to its
to fill its huge Durham fab. Basically, it has a port-
n a m e including some of the first MMIC p r o d u c t s
folio o f good business relating to antennas and
and highest p e r f o r m a n c e records. Infineon was evidently marshalling and re-directing its s e m i c o n d u c t o r manufacturing resources and today t h e s e s e e m to be more about silicon than GaAs.The Infineon GaAs fab was to close and be re-converted to silicon as it was in the first place before it b e c a m e one of the world's first 6-inch GaAs fabs. RFMD surprised a lot of p e o p l e in 2002 and for m o r e than one reason. First it o p e n e d its s e c o n d HBT lab in January.The c o m p a n y has b e e n one of the most c o n s p i c u o u s over the year moving into n e w markets while others are retrenching. The N e w Year will no d o u b t s h o w the w i s d o m or otherwise o f this strategy. It has also got into GaN and released the world's first c h i p s e t com-
lll-Vs REVIEW
well. Importantly for AXT was a LED supply deal
such like but it has to turn its MMIC business back into profitability by securing more design wins around the world. Filtronic was reconsidering all of its options and like so many in the business also closed one of its many scattered sites, the former Litton Solid State site in California. GaAs substrates w e r e literally getting bigger in 2002. In February, Freiberger C o m p o u n d Materials p r o d u c e d the first 200 m m SI GaAs substrates using its VGF technology. The 200 m m materials w e r e on s h o w and being sampled by certain of the bigger device houses. Do not, however, e x p e c t t h e s e to be a commercial proposition for at least a n o t h e r year.
SiGe scores first goals
bining SiGe and GaAs and it is also into InP and
The family of devices that c o m e u n d e r the title
silicon. But m o s t notably it b r a n c h e d out from a
of SiGe is potentially one o f the most important
VOL ~5 " NO 9 " N O V / D E C 2 0 0 2
Review of the year
for t o m o r r o w ' s microelectronics industry.The
c o m p a n y Communicant, but was being coy
SiGe devices - - and the materials used to make
about w h e t h e r w e w o u l d ever see a SiGe
t h e m - - presently not only permit the high-
Pentium microprocessor.
s p e e d processing but also the transmission of data, i.e. information, audio and video.They thus u n d e r p i n a wide range o f p r o d u c t s from handsets and fibre optic c o m m u n i c a t i o n s through c o m p u t e r s to h o m e e n t e r t a i n m e n t systems. 2002 saw this is an industry w h i c h is continually developing with n e w variants of existing types along with n e w devices n o w beginning to appear on a fairly f r e q u e n t basis. Not surprisingly, it is an industry w h i c h is e x p e r i e n c i n g a period of h e i g h t e n e d interest. At p r e s e n t the majority o f these players are concentrated at the device making e n d of the supply chain.There are presently around fifty c o m p a n i e s w i t h a strong interest in SiGe, see Table 1. Over two-thirds of these are makers of high performance devices. However, w h i l e they are at least developing silicon g e r m a n i u m devices, only s o m e of t h e m have b e g u n offering actual commercial devices.
So while everyone else was b e m o a n i n g their regret of having ever talking themselves into t e l e c o m opto, Intel was getting ready to deploy its considerable expertise to change the way the market operates. On the o t h e r h a n d there w e r e those w h o t h o u g h t this was just d o w n to timing and was not yet serious e n o u g h to p r e s e n t a threat.Time will tell.The first commercial p r o d u c t s had c o m e out and w e r e receiving good press.
Looking ahead It is p e r h a p s a p p r o p r i a t e to e n d this o v e r v i e w w i t h s o m e b e t t e r n e w s . T h e r e will always be gems in the murky business that w a s 2002. Spotting t h e m and dominating t h e m is the key. But w h a t the industry looks out for is the indication of a firm general revival. In o t h e r w o r d s the overall state o f health of the s e m i c o n d u c t o r business.As t h e s u m m e r faded gracefully came
Next year the market will likely see some consol-
m o r e e n c o u r a g i n g n e w s than the business had
idation. However, most notable could be an
s e e n for s o m e time. It came from o n e of the
expansion of the n a s c e n t m e r c h a n t epiwafer
industry's barometers, the S e m i c o n d u c t o r
market.There could be m o r e expansion of exist-
Industry Association (SIA) and thus carries
ing epiwafer-making players, e.g. t h o s e making
s o m e weight.
GaAs products, into the sector and n e w start-ups. The year may also see university spin-outs and start-ups entering this business arena.
According to the SIA the global chip sales totalled $11.9 billion this August r e p r e s e n t i n g a 2.2% sequential increase over the $11.7 billion
The geographic distribution of these SiGe materi-
level of July. Most notably, on a year-to-year basis,
als and device providers is also significant.
chip sales in August w e r e up 14% from August of
Notable m e r c h a n t players include those such as
2001, the first double-digit increase from the
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing C o m p a n y
industry's cyclical low in 2001.
(TSMC) and Chartered Semiconductor, w h i c h will likely further e x t e n d their already strong position in lbundry silicon. The start-ups could result from w h a t could be a
The SIA added that digital c o n s u m e r products, such as DVDs, digital cameras and video games w h i c h have a significant III-Vs c o n t e n t - continued to lead rapid g r o w t h in Asian markets. In fact
diversification of SiGe into n e w areas such as
chip c o n s u m p t i o n in Japan was u p 3.5% in
microelectromechanical systems (MEMs) or opti-
August, reflecting Japan's c o n t i n u e d strong
cal circuits a n d / o r combinations thereof.This
e x p o r t sales o f popular c o n s u m e r p r o d u c t s . T h e
market might see further expansion on several
Asia Pacific market registered g r o w t h of 2.7%, led
fronts.Two years will see the direction of the
by strong d e m a n d for wireless h a n d s e t s w i t h
business having b e c o m e m u c h clearer but in the
m o r e subscribers in China and Asian c o n s u m e r s
m e a n w h i l e there will be m o r e revelations as to
migrating to 2.5G.
the strategic intent of the existing and p r o s p e c tive players. Its m o m e n t u m will be such that SiGe will be a vital and dynamic addition to t h e s e m i c o n d u c t o r market.
Best of all, the industry did slightly b e t t e r than last because for 2002 as a whole, w o r l d w i d e chip sales are e x p e c t e d rise by 3%, to $143 billion. Moreover, the industry continues to forecast
A n o t h e r one of the surprises was Intel's entry
accelerated g r o w t h rates e x c e e d i n g 20% in b o t h
into the o p t o business.The c o m p a n y had already
2003 and 2004.With assessments like these the
made a c o m m i t m e n t to SiGe via a newly-formed
NewYear is awaited with interest.
III-Vs R E V I E W
V O L 1 5 - NO 9 - N O V / D E C 2 0 o 2
When looking back ten years hence, 2002
Roy Szweda
2002:
will not be remembered as one of the
numerous intriguing developments in the
better years. For most companies in the
sector to surprise as well as depress those
III-Vs sector it will be one best forgotten.
who observe and commentate upon it.
Nonetheless, it cannot be said to have been
the year in review While business has b e e n patchy, technical
to have b e e n wilfully ignored in m o r e places
This w o u l d confirm that while c o m p a n i e s may
than it should have.
ing back R&D. However, there w e r e few of w h a t might be t e r m e d 'revolutionary' developments. A n n o u n c e m e n t s have b e e n m o r e of an 'evolutionary' nature for the most part. O n c e again this may reflect the austerity of the times. It has b e e n
Even m o r e u n e x p e c t e d w a s the coincidental d o w n t u r n in not one but t w o markets. Not only fibre but also handsets took a dive. Or rather it was a case of market saturation and no followt h r o u g h . T h e s e catastrophes hurt c o m p o u n d s e m i c o n d u c t o r s particularly hard. C o m p o n e n t s
a case of existing materials and devices being fur-
based on III-Vs enable and u n d e r p i n b o t h appli-
t h e r refined for the marketplace rather than
cations and so all suppliers of device and their
innovations such as the violet laser o r HBT
suppliers in turn also felt the cooling of the mar-
MMICs o f years past.
ketplace in fairly short order.
A most intriguing trend has b e e n the further
While there w e r e still areas of good business to
blurring of the boundaries b e t w e e n device appli-
be had telecoms are by far the biggest value mar-
cations.At no o t h e r time have there b e e n so
ket for III-Vs (and o t h e r s e m i c o n d u c t o r s ) so f e w
many device options available for the system
w e r e spared the d o w n t u r n . For example, GaN-
designers.This should result in s o m e very inter-
based LEDs w o u l d s e e m to be p r o o f against the
esting n e w p r o d u c t s in due course.
vagaries of the t e l e c o m business.Yet they are a
Open for business
key c o m p o n e n t in backlighting o f the displays used in handsets.This market is n o w proving to
That was n o t to say that c o m p a n i e s w e r e not
be o n e of the stronger areas thanks to the popu-
o p e n i n g n e w facilities. RFMD was a m o n g s t the
larity of colour-screen c e l l p h o n e s in Japan but it
handful to a n n o u n c e n e w device manufactur-
has yet to spread w o r l d w i d e . In due course it
ing. Suppliers to that business w e r e c o n c l u d i n g
will surely follow text-messaging enabled p h o n e s
long-standing p l a n s for e x p a n s i o n . For example,
w h i c h w e r e also first p o p u l a r in Japan.
in t h e UK Bede and T h e r m o VG S e m i c o n b o t h
O n c e again, the fortunes o f high-tech OEMs and
o p e n e d n e w facilities. Farther afield, J o h n s o n
their suppliers will be c o n t i n g e n t on the w h i m s
Matthey built a n e w gas purifier p l a n t w h i l e Air
of youth fashion. DVD was again proving to be a
Products a d d e d a n e w a m m o n i a p l a n t in the
big market success after a few years of delays.
summer.
For example, the PS2 games console w i t h its
Looking back at the usual linear market forecasts published a f e w years ago, 2002 should have
lll-Vs REVIEW ~
s e m i c o n d u c t o r s have b e e n cyclic but this s e e m s
progress has b e e n relentless across the board. be cutting d o w n on p r o d u c t i o n t h e y are not scal-
34
an uninteresting year. There have been
DVD laser and blue LED status lamp have provide d useful business in a trying year.
b e e n a bonanza year. Most of these w e r e simply
Rather than bringing out startlingly novel n e w
an extrapolation from the prevailing business
devices the year has b e e n characterised by man-
success in m o s t markets but especially fibre net-
ufacturers tending to launch n e w versions o f
works and mobile telecoms. No one s t o p p e d to
existing devices into the marketplace. For exam-
question w h e t h e r d e m a n d w o u l d dry up or
ple, the Elekon ESM-3070 was claimed to be the
w h e t h e r n e w markets could sustain w h a t t u r n e d
world's first range of side-looking surface m o u n t
out to be inflated market valuations.Traditionally
GaP LEDs in green, yellow-green, red and orange
~-~vJ~¢si~ Si: ~'~,:~CO
Review of the year
MARKET
ANALYSIS
The future arbiter of success for 3G may lie not with handsets but with the auto industry. Installing such facilities and proving them without many of the technical challenges of miniature handsets (such as battery talk-time etc.) may be the way forward. To this effect a specially fitted Mercedes-Benz S-Class car has demonstrated incar UMTS services. Data are transferred into the test vehicle at an average transmission rate of 128 kbit/s. The car has been set up in a co-operation between DaimlerChrysler, Siemens, Sun Microsystems, T-Mobile, Jentro and MBDS/Nice University Sophia Antipolis. It demonstrated a portfolio of multimedia services possible through broadband UMTS live video and music downloads, video telephony and an ingenious off-board navigation system, which uses up-to-data cartographic data via UMTS for destination finding.
for indicators requiring low-profile light source
Motorola, h a d over 2.65 million s u b s c r i b e r s in
s u c h as backlighting for p o r t a b l e electronic
the first six m o n t h s of 2002 offering t h e m 3G
devices, PDAs a n d cellphones.
CDMA2000 l X voice and data services.
A very notable p r o n o u n c e m e n t in March was US
Second,Agilent Technologies l a u n c h e d a n e w
c o m p a n y Lumileds b e i n g able to tell us a b o u t its
miniature E-pHEMT c o m b i n i n g good RF perform-
supply a g r e e m e n t for LED backlights to
ance, p o w e r efficiency and reliability all in a
Mitsubishi for displays.
compact, low-cost, reliable package suitable for
Yet t h e backlighting m a r k e t may e v a p o r a t e b e c a u s e m a n u f a c t u r e r s are seeking to eliminate blue LEDs o n t h e g r o u n d s of t h e i m p a c t t h e y h a v e n o t only o n t h e total cost of t h e p h o n e b u t also o n its p o w e r budget. So too, organic LED t e c h n o l o g y is m a k i n g great strides a n d this c o u l d s u b v e r t t h e 'inorganic' LEDs before t o o long. O t h e r forms of display are also c o m i n g
mass-production processes. It was said to b e ideally suited for 2.5G a n d 3G base-stations, w h i c h d e m a n d very h i g h linearity for accurate signal transmission a n d high transmission p o w e r levels w i t h m i n i m u m electrical p o w e r c o n s u m p t i o n and c o m p o n e n t heat generation.
Widening the gap
along as t h e OEMs - a n d t h e s u b - c o n t r a c t o r s
Progress in III-nitrides is u n r e m i t t i n g ff less star-
t h e y are n o w increasingly using - strive to rec-
tling in q u a n t u m advances of p r e v i o u s years.
oncile full-colour functionality w i t h b a t t e r y life-
N e w violet laser diodes (VLDs) have d e b u t e d b u t
t i m e a n d o t h e r factors.
fewer t h a n before.This is just o n e sign of w o r k
T h e o t h e r side of t h e 3G coin is t h e e q u i p m e n t required for t h e base-stations a n d related systems. Behind t h e scenes, installing the n e c e s s a r y infrastructure is going o n apace. H o w this proc e e d s will b e a decisive factor in t h e success of 3G.To take a c o u p l e of e x a m p l e s of progress w e look at a n n o u n c e m e n t s f r o m two key US companies in 2002. First, Motorola's Global Telecom
p r o c e e d i n g o n the commercialisation of the technology.The headlines w e r e filled w i t h p a t e n t suits a n d c o u n t e r claims. Some of these have b e e n resolved n o t always to e v e r y o n e ' s satisfaction b u t the big battle for r e c o g n i t i o n as to the origination of certain LED p a t e n t s b e t w e e n Prof Nakamura and Nichia will likely c o n t i n u e into the n e w year.
Solution Sector (GTSS) said it h a d already
W h i t e LEDs h a v e despite n o t b e i n g as efficient
s h i p p e d over 30,000 CDMA 2000 1X 3G base-
as t h e m a r k e t w o u l d like started to b e c o m e a
stations. M e a n w h i l e , J a p a n ' s KDDI, w h o s e 1X
big c o m m o d i t y c o m p o n e n t . T h e y are finding
radio access n e t w o r k is 100% supplied b y
w i d e s p r e a d use in m a n y general i l l u m i n a t i o n
lll-Vs REVIEW Ti.~ I ~ V ~ ~
{) ~
(~01~~;~B.I~ ~R ~I(:;1~;~ ~£ VOL 15 - NO 9 " NOV/DEC 2 0 0 2
MARKET
ANALYSIS
Review of the year
applications as a novel n e w architectural design
the Palo Alto Research C e n t e r (PARC) d e m o n -
feature.Also, t h e y are i m p o r t a n t for t h e internal
strated a UV LED using substrates p r o d u c e d by
and external illumination in vehicles. O n e o f
Crystal IS.
their m o r e interesting uses has b e e n to c o u p l e w i t h solar cells for r e m o t e or p o r t a b l e light sources.
AlN is said to be a promising "alternative for AIGaN-based devices o w i n g to good chemical, crystal structure and thermal expansion coeffi-
In early 2002 Toyoda Gosei scored its first w h i t e LED orders while around that time c a m e o n e of the most interesting business deals in the IIInitrides, it saw Nichia breaking years of rigid n o n - c o o p e r a t i o n to form a manufacturing alliance with Citizen for its w h i t e LEDs.
cient compatibility. Commercialisation of VLDs continues almost unnoticed in the instrumentation sector.The all-solidstate DVD recorder for h o m e use took some steps closer in 2002. But this market will belong to the longer wavelength laser products for a few years
Nichia was still having to fight it out in the
more.The market has yet to c o m p l e t e and will
courts w i t h rival c o m p a n i e s such as as Osram
undoubtedly gain more m o m e n t u m over the next
and Toyoda. It was also embroiled in a dispute
two years.As the red DVD market begins to peak
w i t h its ex-employee Prof Nakamura. He was
it has reached the status of the VCR in respect to
doing well in his n e w American h o m e with
production. 2002 saw a shift of c o m p o n e n t mak-
n u m e r o u s offers o f help. Intriguingly, in the
ing to lower cost regions of the world. By no
Spring h e had b e e n offered an ERATO grant from
m e a n s is this market exhausted, however, and w e
Japan to develop GaN single crystals.At last the
can e x p e c t a further surge as n e w variants c o m e
w o r l d s e e m e d ready to take t h e m seriously as a
into play. DVD-Audio is about to get underway
foundation for III-nitride devices. Pioneers such
and w e will once again be asked to pay over
as Poland's Unipress had b e e n working away for
again for music albums w e already- have on vinyl
years and 2002 saw t h e m move into the device
or CD. But perhaps the most important will be
field as well w i t h a start-up company, TopGaN.
DVD-R in whatever format gains the dominant
Unipress is also n o w one of the n e w e s t m e m b e r s
position. It is questionable w h e t h e r this will take
of the elite 'Violet Laser Diode Club'. The n u m b e r
off until re-recordable DVD c o m e s along given the
of c o m p a n i e s and institutes demonstrating VLDs
p r e c e d e n t for time-shifting (TS) of the VCR gener-
increased yet again:Taiwan's ESRI as well as
ation. Having said that machines are available
Sanyo w e r e in the n e w s in this respect.
w h i c h include a PC-type hard disk forTS with the
Meanwhile, Cree's proprietaryVLD r e a c h e d a
option of archiving to DVD. Copyright infringe-
projected lifetime of over 10 000 hours.
m e n t will play a key role in the success of such developments of course as piracy has seldom
Sony, Osram and NEC w e r e all sampling VLDs for OEMs to c o n s i d e r for p r o d u c t i o n . A n o t h e r key d e v e l o p m e n t was the 'blue-Ray' a g r e e m e n t
b e e n out o f the headlines all year with the likes of Napster and other file-sharing programs being the latest bane of the entertainment industry.
w h i c h looks set to o p e n up the way for true commercialisation of VLDs in c o n s u m e r p r o d u c t s
In SiC the substrate t e c h n o l o g y was marching o n
such as digital optical storage and VCRs. To
w i t h 2002 seeing the first commercial samples o f
m u d d y the waters a little, Matsushita and some
3-inch material.This came from not one but sev-
others w e r e looking at alterative a p p r o a c h e s
eral v e n d o r s w h o are anticipating the market for
using infra-red diode lasers up-converting to the
larger area devices such as those for microelec-
violet to achieve the same result.Yet there w e r e
tronics applications.
the critics - not the least Prof Nakamura himseff w h o p o i n t e d out the drawbacks as regards the p o w e r required for re-write applications. Further into the future p e r h a p s as regards applications, several researchers had r e p o r t e d o n early results from InGaN/GaN lasers built on silicon.
III-Vs REVIEW >-
A n o t h e r example to illustrate the i m p o r t a n c e o f packaging is the p a r t n e r s h i p b e t w e e n Cree and Microsemi w h i c h brings t o g e t h e r opto- and micro-electronics business.The UltraBright blue LED catalogue is c o m p l e m e n t e d by so-called 'light engine architectures' and a 'breakthrough
O t h e r k e y n o t e items for 2002 i n c l u d e d Emcore
LED o n silicon technology'. Microsemi has partic-
and Rockwell Scientific collaborating for GaN
ular skills like its O p t o m i t e packaging w h i c h has
HEMTs and m e r c h a n t e p i w a f e r c o m p a n y
b e e n deployed to c o m p l e m e n t GaN-based die
Kopin sampling its CyberLite blue LEDs in
from Cree so as to achieve higher p o w e r in a
the summer. In the really short wavelengths,
smaller surface m o u n t package.
:
~•,
VOL~5 - NO9 - NOV/DEC 2002
Review of the year
MARKET
ANALYSIS
In September Nokia unveiled the model 6650, its first 3G phone for testing by carriers by the end of 2002, with commercial availability next year. It is the world's first 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) compliant mobile phone operating both in the GSM 900/1800 frequencies and on the WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) protocol. One of the benefits of the WCDMA radio interface in the Nokia 6650 phone is it allows running more than one data session simultaneously. This makes it possible, for example, to capture and share what the user sees whilst talking on the phone. The dual-mode functionality makes the Nokia 6650 phone the world's first GSM/WCDMA handset to work in Europe and Asia including Japan. It brings both the GSM and WCDMA chips on to one circuit, enabling long talk times and standby time (up to 14 days). With the new Bluetooth wireless headset users will be able to handle phone calls and messaging comfortably on the go. Market researchers, IDC estimate that the number of mobile imaging (e-photo) users in the USA will grow from 40,000 by the end of next year to 8 m by 2006 depending on successful rollout of multimedia messaging services.
A f u r t h e r result of its alliance w i t h Cree has
Size is everything even in InP and AXT has devel-
b e e n Microsemi's l a u n c h of its first c o m m e r c i a l
o p e d 6-inch InP substrates w h i c h it was sam-
SiC Schottky diodes in its P o w e r m i t e packages.
piing quantities in t h e summer. Meanwhile, SDK
It e x p e c t s the c o m b i n a t i o n of efficiency a n d
was also developing 6-inch InP wafers.
h i g h voltage to b e particularly valuable in c a r d i o v e r t e r de*ibrillator applications, military aircraft a n d h i g h voltage t e l e c o m s w i t c h i n g equipment.
In 2002, OC-768 t r a n s p o n d e r s a n d related products were c o m i n g o n s t r e a m b u t t h e market was depressed. For example, m o d u l e m a k e r GTran p a r t n e r e d I n p h i for n e w OC-768 InP-based
Within such areas t h e r e could well b e p r o d u c t
products.Also,Vitesse S e m i c o n d u c t o r b e g a n sam-
types that see b e t t e r g r o w t h over the medium-to-
piing its OC-768 p r o d u c t s b y mid-year. OC-768
long-term. Overall they m i g h t take longer t h a n
p r o d u c t s as a volume market will b e s o m e t h i n g
LEDs as a result of smaller market pull c o u p l e d
to look out for some time next year.
w i t h t o u g h technical r e f i n e m e n t for useful competitively p r i c e d devices.
Two leading US wireless c h i p m a k e r s - - TRW and RFMD - - are c o m m i t t e d to mass-producing InP
InP interest on the turn
ICs.They have targeted wireless a n d fibre-optic applications that operate at frequencies greater
T u r n i n g n o w to InP t h e r e is strong interest in b o t h SI a n d s e m i - c o n d u c t i n g materials a n d devices. Firstly, a n d m o s t importantly,
t h a n 20 GHz.They are also developing m o r e efficient p o w e r amplifiers for 3G wireless handsets.
in very h i g h - s p e e d d a t a c o m s at u p to
In March Velocium,TRW's c o m m e r c i a l t e l e c o m
40 Gbit/s for OC-768 fibre n e t w o r k s . High-
c o m p o n e n t s company, l a u n c h e d its first p r o d u c t s
speed transceivers monolithically integrating
in a family of high-speed f r e q u e n c y dividers
active a n d passive c o m p o n e n t s are going to b e
p r o d u c e d using InP.The DV2401 a n d DV2101,
in d e m a n d for low-cost, reliable units. But
see photo, are b o t h divide-by-two f r e q u e n c y
before that t h e traditional r o u t e will see pro-
dividers targeted at d o w n - c o n v e r s i o n and phase-
gressively i n t e g r a t e d m o d u l e s from discrete
locked-loop applications for the fibre optic and
components.
b r o a d b a n d wireless markets.
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2002
Review of the year
The d e v e l o p m e n t of h a n d s e t chips is b e i n g driv-
m o v i n g to InP should appeal to GaAs chipmak-
e n by t h e n e e d to significantly improve the per-
ers b e c a u s e it allows t h e m to look f u r t h e r u p t h e
f o r m a n c e of devices so that they c a n b e used in
s p e c t r u m for future profits.This is crucial
3G terminals. P o w e r c o n s u m p t i o n will b e a key
b e c a u s e silicon-based materials such as silicon
issue, b u t devices must also p e r f o r m at h i g h e r
g e r m a n i u m (SiGe) are b e i n g m a d e to operate at
frequencies a n d l o w e r p o w e r to avoid p r o b l e m s
h i g h e r frequencies, in direct c o m p e t i t i o n w i t h
associated w i t h dissipating excess heat. InP is a
GaAs. Frequencies in t h e 40-100 GHz region
p r i m e candidate for these applications.
s h o u l d b e b e y o n d t h e r e a c h of silicon-based
InP has b e t t e r t h e r m a l characteristics, h i g h e r freq u e n c y r e s p o n s e and l o w e r t h r e s h o l d voltages
technologies, and while GaAs is capable of operating at these levels t h e r e are certain technologi-
t h a n existing p o w e r amplifier technologies.
cal challenges to face.
I m p r o v e d t h e r m a l characteristics e n a b l e very
Research indicates that InP can o u t p e r f o r m GaAs
small identical c o m p o n e n t s to b e p r o d u c e d . For
in t h e 40-100 GHz range. Moreoever, for certain
example, a p o w e r amplifier b a s e d o n InP w o u l d
devices p r o c e s s i n g tolerances c a n b e relaxed
typically b e smaller in size and h i g h e r in efficien-
c o m p a r e d w i t h GaAs.Theoretically it could b e
cy t h a n a c o m p a r a b l e p o w e r amplifier p r o d u c e d
easier to achieve commercially effective produc-
from c u r r e n t materials such as GaAs, according
tion yields w h e n fabricating higher-frequency
to its adherents.
InP devices.
However, the m a r k e t could b e c o m e less clear t h a n k s to o t h e r d e v e l o p m e n t s in hetero-epitaxy
All change in European GaAs
materials. For example, InP-on-GaAs has b e e n
In 2002 TriQuint S e m i c o n d u c t o r pulled off
s h o w n to b e a viable p r o p o s i t i o n for 6-inch
a n o t h e r major c o u p in Europe. Only a few
b a s e d fabrication facilities. Maybe this will see
w e e k s after securing a supply deal w i t h
such fabs b e i n g given a n e w lease of life. With
Philips Semiconductors, I n f i n e o n Technologies
InP layers just a few microns thick a n d virtually
was transferring its GaAs device business to
indistinguishable from a p u r e InP substrate,
TriQuint as part of a plan to establish a E u r o p e a n
Velocium's chipset operating in the 55 to 64 GHz range delivers cost-effective high performance for a full-band transceiver for high-capacity, short-haul wireless communications. The compact chip set (17 sq. mm total die area) supports various modulation schemes and can be used in simplex, half duplex, or full duplex mode. The chip set consists of a X4 multiplier (the XDH1S8); a LNA (ALH382), which is also used as a driver amplifier in the transmit chain; an image reject mixer (MDB207) with an IF frequency range of DC to 3 GHz; t w o RF switches (SDH126); and a power amplifier (ABH209) capable of 18dBm o u t p u t saturated RF power.
III-Vs REVIEW
VOL 15 - NO 9 - N O V / D E C 2 0 0 2
MARKET
ANALYSIS
Review of the year
w o r l d - r e n o w n e d base in wireless and h a n d s e t p o w e r amplifiers and related p r o d u c t s and into opto n e t w o r k products. For example, in February AMD
Yes
Agere
Yes
it i n t r o d u c e d SiGe analog ICs for 3.5 Gbit/s dataYes
c o m transceivers.Thus it has one of the broadest portfolios in the business. Being one of the lead-
Fujitsu
Yes
Hitachi
Yes
Hynix
Yes
IBM
Yes
Yes
Also in substrates there c a m e the shock that
Infineon
Yes
Yes
Litton one of the world-leading w e s t e r n
Intel
Yes
Yes
suppliers of SI GaAs substrates was exiting the
Matsushita
Yes
Yes
business. O n c e again this part of Litton was
ers it will u n d o u b t e d l y trigger similar actions by the o t h e r players in due course.
seemingly the victim of larger m o v e m e n t s in the
Micron Technology Mitsubishi
Yes
Yes
corporate w o r l d as Litton was acquired. But
Motorola
Yes
Yes
either no buyer could be found or it lost out as
NEC
Yes
Yes
part o f the restructuring.Whatever the case it
Philips
Yes
Yes
was sad end to an illustrious career of supplying
Samsung
Yes
quality material. Certainly, the 6-inch GaAs market was foundering after a p e r i o d of shortages
Sanyo Sony
Yes
Yes
STMicroelectronics
Yes
Yes
Texas Instruments
Yes
Yes
Toshiba
Yes
Yes
Table 1 The World's Largest Semiconductor Companies ~Commitment To SiGe.(Source: Profile of the Worldwide Silicon Germanium Materials & Devices Industry - A Market & Technology Overview 2001-2006, Elsevier Advanced Technology, 2002.)
and stronger prices.This left the business of local US supply to AXT and M/A-Com w h o w e r e having troubles of their o w n and making various changes.AXT exited t h e laser and germanium businesses but was getting stronger in o p t o such as blue LEDs and InP AXT said its substrate revenue had g r o w n but only slightly, but its LED business was p e r f o r m i n g
'beach-head' design centre for TriQuint.The deal reflected its interests in Europe and t h e impor-
w i t h Agilent in March.
tance of GSM in its strategic planning. Infineon's
In devices, M/A-Com was striking deals w i t h oth-
GaAs activities w e r e b e g u n by Siemens nearly a
ers such as UK's Filtronic.This was a life-saver for
quarter of a c e n t u r y ago.The Munich-based team
that c o m p a n y w h i c h was finding it troublesome
had a great many technical achievements to its
to fill its huge Durham fab. Basically, it has a port-
n a m e including some of the first MMIC p r o d u c t s
folio o f good business relating to antennas and
and highest p e r f o r m a n c e records. Infineon was evidently marshalling and re-directing its s e m i c o n d u c t o r manufacturing resources and today t h e s e s e e m to be more about silicon than GaAs.The Infineon GaAs fab was to close and be re-converted to silicon as it was in the first place before it b e c a m e one of the world's first 6-inch GaAs fabs. RFMD surprised a lot of p e o p l e in 2002 and for m o r e than one reason. First it o p e n e d its s e c o n d HBT lab in January.The c o m p a n y has b e e n one of the most c o n s p i c u o u s over the year moving into n e w markets while others are retrenching. The N e w Year will no d o u b t s h o w the w i s d o m or otherwise o f this strategy. It has also got into GaN and released the world's first c h i p s e t com-
lll-Vs REVIEW
well. Importantly for AXT was a LED supply deal
such like but it has to turn its MMIC business back into profitability by securing more design wins around the world. Filtronic was reconsidering all of its options and like so many in the business also closed one of its many scattered sites, the former Litton Solid State site in California. GaAs substrates w e r e literally getting bigger in 2002. In February, Freiberger C o m p o u n d Materials p r o d u c e d the first 200 m m SI GaAs substrates using its VGF technology. The 200 m m materials w e r e on s h o w and being sampled by certain of the bigger device houses. Do not, however, e x p e c t t h e s e to be a commercial proposition for at least a n o t h e r year.
SiGe scores first goals
bining SiGe and GaAs and it is also into InP and
The family of devices that c o m e u n d e r the title
silicon. But m o s t notably it b r a n c h e d out from a
of SiGe is potentially one o f the most important
VOL ~5 " NO 9 " N O V / D E C 2 0 0 2
Review of the year
for t o m o r r o w ' s microelectronics industry.The
c o m p a n y Communicant, but was being coy
SiGe devices - - and the materials used to make
about w h e t h e r w e w o u l d ever see a SiGe
t h e m - - presently not only permit the high-
Pentium microprocessor.
s p e e d processing but also the transmission of data, i.e. information, audio and video.They thus u n d e r p i n a wide range o f p r o d u c t s from handsets and fibre optic c o m m u n i c a t i o n s through c o m p u t e r s to h o m e e n t e r t a i n m e n t systems. 2002 saw this is an industry w h i c h is continually developing with n e w variants of existing types along with n e w devices n o w beginning to appear on a fairly f r e q u e n t basis. Not surprisingly, it is an industry w h i c h is e x p e r i e n c i n g a period of h e i g h t e n e d interest. At p r e s e n t the majority o f these players are concentrated at the device making e n d of the supply chain.There are presently around fifty c o m p a n i e s w i t h a strong interest in SiGe, see Table 1. Over two-thirds of these are makers of high performance devices. However, w h i l e they are at least developing silicon g e r m a n i u m devices, only s o m e of t h e m have b e g u n offering actual commercial devices.
So while everyone else was b e m o a n i n g their regret of having ever talking themselves into t e l e c o m opto, Intel was getting ready to deploy its considerable expertise to change the way the market operates. On the o t h e r h a n d there w e r e those w h o t h o u g h t this was just d o w n to timing and was not yet serious e n o u g h to p r e s e n t a threat.Time will tell.The first commercial p r o d u c t s had c o m e out and w e r e receiving good press.
Looking ahead It is p e r h a p s a p p r o p r i a t e to e n d this o v e r v i e w w i t h s o m e b e t t e r n e w s . T h e r e will always be gems in the murky business that w a s 2002. Spotting t h e m and dominating t h e m is the key. But w h a t the industry looks out for is the indication of a firm general revival. In o t h e r w o r d s the overall state o f health of the s e m i c o n d u c t o r business.As t h e s u m m e r faded gracefully came
Next year the market will likely see some consol-
m o r e e n c o u r a g i n g n e w s than the business had
idation. However, most notable could be an
s e e n for s o m e time. It came from o n e of the
expansion of the n a s c e n t m e r c h a n t epiwafer
industry's barometers, the S e m i c o n d u c t o r
market.There could be m o r e expansion of exist-
Industry Association (SIA) and thus carries
ing epiwafer-making players, e.g. t h o s e making
s o m e weight.
GaAs products, into the sector and n e w start-ups. The year may also see university spin-outs and start-ups entering this business arena.
According to the SIA the global chip sales totalled $11.9 billion this August r e p r e s e n t i n g a 2.2% sequential increase over the $11.7 billion
The geographic distribution of these SiGe materi-
level of July. Most notably, on a year-to-year basis,
als and device providers is also significant.
chip sales in August w e r e up 14% from August of
Notable m e r c h a n t players include those such as
2001, the first double-digit increase from the
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing C o m p a n y
industry's cyclical low in 2001.
(TSMC) and Chartered Semiconductor, w h i c h will likely further e x t e n d their already strong position in lbundry silicon. The start-ups could result from w h a t could be a
The SIA added that digital c o n s u m e r products, such as DVDs, digital cameras and video games w h i c h have a significant III-Vs c o n t e n t - continued to lead rapid g r o w t h in Asian markets. In fact
diversification of SiGe into n e w areas such as
chip c o n s u m p t i o n in Japan was u p 3.5% in
microelectromechanical systems (MEMs) or opti-
August, reflecting Japan's c o n t i n u e d strong
cal circuits a n d / o r combinations thereof.This
e x p o r t sales o f popular c o n s u m e r p r o d u c t s . T h e
market might see further expansion on several
Asia Pacific market registered g r o w t h of 2.7%, led
fronts.Two years will see the direction of the
by strong d e m a n d for wireless h a n d s e t s w i t h
business having b e c o m e m u c h clearer but in the
m o r e subscribers in China and Asian c o n s u m e r s
m e a n w h i l e there will be m o r e revelations as to
migrating to 2.5G.
the strategic intent of the existing and p r o s p e c tive players. Its m o m e n t u m will be such that SiGe will be a vital and dynamic addition to t h e s e m i c o n d u c t o r market.
Best of all, the industry did slightly b e t t e r than last because for 2002 as a whole, w o r l d w i d e chip sales are e x p e c t e d rise by 3%, to $143 billion. Moreover, the industry continues to forecast
A n o t h e r one of the surprises was Intel's entry
accelerated g r o w t h rates e x c e e d i n g 20% in b o t h
into the o p t o business.The c o m p a n y had already
2003 and 2004.With assessments like these the
made a c o m m i t m e n t to SiGe via a newly-formed
NewYear is awaited with interest.
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