IQE the Cardiff based global supplier of wafer products and services to the semiconductor industry is to acquire UK based NanoGan to accelerate commercialisation of advanced blue/green lasers and solid state lighting products.
 
NanoGaN,  the Bath University spinout, has established a range of unique processes and key IP relating to gallium nitride (GaN) materials and devices. This includes its proprietary Nanocolumn Technology for producing high quality, free-standing gallium nitride substrates, critical for manufacturing high quality blue and green semiconductor lasers and ultra high brightness LEDs for solid state lighting (SSL).

The price for the acquisition of NanoGaN is for up to £3.6m, based on the achievement of milestones relating to the commercialisation of the IP.  An initial consideration of £0.4m will be settled by the issue of new shares and cash. IQE has the option to settle the future milestone payments in either shares or cash.
 
Completion of the acquisition will take place upon admission to trading of those new shares to be issued in satisfaction of part of the initial consideration, expected to be on or around 7 October 2009.
 
Development of NanoGaN’s technology is at an advanced stage. IQE will assist in completing the development of commercial products and begin the transfer of the technology to its high volume production facilities expecting to begin generating sales in 2010, followed by rapid growth as the technology is commercialised.

Dr Drew Nelson, IQE CEO said : “The acquisition of NanoGaN represents a major milestone in our technology roadmap, and reinforces our strategy of being a powerful IP based technology leader in the supply of advanced semiconductor materials to a multitude of high growth markets.
 
“This acquisition provides a perfect complement to our existing wireless and opto, and emerging solar businesses and widens our product portfolio.We now operate in a range of diverse international markets, all with powerful  drivers including high growth consumer applications and political and legislative trends towards technological solutions to address environmental challenges.”


The acquisition complements and enhances IQE’s existing product portfolio accelerating plans to develop a leadership position in the emerging high growth markets for advanced laser projection, high definition optical storage (including Blue Ray products), high resolution laser printing and solid state lighting for industrial, commercial and residential lighting. NanoGaN’s core technology will also be used to further enhance IQE’s leading position in products for high power RF applications.  NanoGaN brings IQE seven filed patents, and several additional innovations for which patents will be submitted.
 
As part of the deal, Professor Wang, (right) the CEO of NanoGaN and inventor of the nanocolumn technology will become Chief Scientific Advisor to IQE. Professor Wang is widely acknowledged as a world leading advanced materials scientist with significant commercial and advisory experience.

He was co-founder of Arima Optoelectronics Corp, a leading optoelectronics company listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and  a history of successfully patenting innovative technologies. Many of his 26 granted patents continue to be used for mass production in optoelectronics.  He has also acted in advisory roles, including Scientific Advisor to the ITRI (Industrial Technology Research Institute) of Taiwan and to the Taiwanese Government.
 
Professor Wang Nang Wang said: “NanoGaN has reached a very exciting stage of development. Our Nanocolumn technology provides a unique approach to overcoming the challenges facing the advancement of blue and green laser technology, high density optical storage and ultra high efficiency solid state lighting.
 
“ We carefully selected IQE as the ideal partner to bring our intellectual property to mass production based on its track record and its experience. In addition I am extremely excited to accept the position of Chief Scientific Advisor to the IQE Group, to help further advance their powerful portfolio of IP based production technology for advance semiconductor materials”


GaN on Si transistors and dual sourcing
Gallium nitride transistor and diode manufacturer Velox Semiconductor Corp Somerset, NJ, USA has been granted $2m for a 2--year project to develop high-voltage, high-current electronic components  to further increase the fuel efficiency of hybrid vehicles. Funding comes in the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) awards of the US Commerce Department’s National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST). Together with projected industry cost-share of almost $1.3m, total project funding should be $3.28m.

Much of the power loss in hybrid electric vehicles is due to  slow operation and high electrical resistance of silicon-based transistors in inverters that converts the battery’s DC power to AC power for the motor, limiting power supply efficiency.

The award will fund the development of high-voltage (600V and 1200V), high-current (20A and 100A) power switching transistors, based on Velox’s gallium nitride-on-silicon (GaN-on-Si) technology, that have much faster switching and much lower resistance than silicon-based transistors.

In particular, the program will advance Velox’s efforts to develop new enhancement-mode field-effect transistors (FETs). Such switching devices could not only significantly increase the fuel efficiency of best-in-class hybrid vehicles, says Velox, but also increase the efficiency and more than halve the size of power supplies used for consumer, laptop computer, industrial and telecom applications.

Phase I, Velox will develop 600V, 20A GaN FETs for improved power supply applications. In the following phase, 1200V, 100A devices will be developed, which are suited to motor driver applications in the automotive industry.

Cornell University in Ithaca, NY will assist with device development, while Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, NY will provide modelling expertise. The National Transportation Research Center at Oak Ridge National Labs in Tennessee will help evaluate the devices for vehicular application. A successful product could provide a positive impact on the $14.3bn market for power diodes and transistors, says NIST.

“GaN-on-Si technology has attracted significant interest from researchers in the last seven years,” says CEO Thomas Hierl. However, major challenges in making GaN-based transistors now need to be addressed in order to produce larger electrical currents and to develop ‘enhancement-mode’ designs, he adds.

Since being spun off from Emcore’s GaN Power Device Group in April 2005, Velox has already developed 600V GaN Schottky diodes for consumer and power supply applications that are in the final stages of development before the transition to production.

“The ATP funding will significantly accelerate GaN FETs development at Velox,” Hierl adds. “It gives us an opportunity to bring a second GaN-based product to the market following the introduction of GaN-based Schottky diodes, and we look forward to using the GaN growth and fabrication skills mastered on GaN diodes to advance the GaN-based FETs under this NIST-funded program.”

STM andVelox double source supply  agreement
STMicroelectronics (ST) and Velox Semiconductor Corp are to jointly introduce GaN Schottky diodes into the market, with the aim of establishing both companies as dual-source suppliers. GaN-based diodes can be used to manufacture Switch Mode Power Supplies (SMPS) for computers, consumer applications, and industrial products.

Velox is  in the final stages of developing 600-volt GaN Schottky diodes. In the first phase of the JV, ST will test and qualify the diodes, and use its worldwide distribution network to market and distribute them under the Velox brand name. In the second phase, Velox and ST aim to become dual sources. Velox will license its diode production technology to ST to enable second-source manufacturing.

"Both companies believe that the GaN devices will provide one of the best trade-offs for the 600Vpower device market in the medium term," said Ricardo de Sa Earp, GM, Application Specific Discretes Division, STMicroelectronics. "We believe that the deal with Velox enables ST to introduce a new and fast-growing product line, quickly, and with the minimum of R&D and capital investment."