Semiconductor today

Process equipment maker Applied Materials Inc of Santa Clara, CA, USA and micro/nanotechnology R&D center CEA-Leti of Grenoble, France have announced the next phase of their longstanding collaboration to accelerate innovation in specialty semiconductors. Through an expansion of their joint lab, the organizations plan to develop materials engineering solutions to address emerging infrastructure challenges in AI data centers...

Using the Fiji G2 plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) system of epitaxial deposition and process equipment maker Veeco Instruments Inc of Plainview, NY, USA, the University of Michigan has reported the ALD of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) using di-tert-butyl disulfide (TBDS) as a replacement for hydrogen sulfide (H2S) (Chemistry of Materials vol 37, issue 4, 11 February 2025)...

Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) system maker Riber S.A. of Bezons, France has signed a three-year collaborative partnership with the Denmark-based Novo Nordisk Foundation Quantum Computing Programme (NQCP), a research initiative launched by the Novo Nordisk Foundation in collaboration with the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen...

Marktech Optoelectronics Inc of Latham, NY, USA, a vertically integrated designer and manufacturer of optoelectronics components and assemblies, has released its new high-efficiency 25µm-diameter resonant-cavity light-emitting diodes (RCLEDs) with a peak emission at 650nm, which it claims set a new benchmark for performance in precision optical targeting applications...

Hong Kong-based UGREEN (which provides charging accessories) has unveiled the Nexode 500W 6-Port GaN Desktop Fast Charger, which is claimed to be the first 500W gallium nitride (GaN) charger engineered to simultaneously charge six devices with unprecedented power. Combining groundbreaking charging power, intelligent safety systems, and near-universal compatibility, it is built to handle the high-performance demands of professionals, gaming setups, and tech-heavy households...

Materials, networking and laser technology firm Coherent Corp of Saxonburg, PA, USA has launched the SES18-880A-190-10, a high-power 880nm single-emitter laser diode on sub mount, designed specifically for high-efficiency, high-reliability pumping of diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) lasers...

Discrete semiconductor and passive electronic component maker Vishay Intertechnology Inc of Malvern, PA, USA has partnered with Wales Tech Week 2025, which is taking place at the International Convention Centre (ICC) Wales in Newport on 24–26 November...

Power semiconductor technology firm ROHM says that it is one of the key silicon providers supporting NVIDIA’s new 800V High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) architecture. This marks a pivotal shift in data-center design, enabling megawatt-scale AI factories that are more efficient, scalable, and sustainable...

Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Electric Corporation says it has developed a compact 7GHz band gallium nitride (GaN) power amplifier module (PAM) with record-breaking power efficiency of 41%. The performance was verified in a demonstration using 5G-Advanced communication signals...

Global smartphone production reached 289 million units in Q1 2025, says market research firm TrendForce. Compared to Q1 2024, the figures represent a 3% decline. However, in China, sales in Q1 were boosted by an ongoing consumer subsidy program...

Imec of Leuven, Belgium has unveiled a gallium nitride (GaN) MOSHEMT (metal-oxide-semiconductor high-electron-mobility transistor) on silicon (Si) that achieves both record efficiency and output power for an enhancement-mode (E-mode) device operating at low supply voltage. In parallel, the firm also demonstrated a record-low contact resistance of 0.024Ω·mm, which is essential to further boost output power in future designs. Imec says that the results mark a crucial step toward integrating GaN technology into next-gen mobile devices, particularly those targeting the 6G FR3 band between 7 and 24GHz. The results are being presented at the 2025 Symposium on VLSI Technology and Circuits in Kyoto, Japan, June 8-12...

Gallox Semiconductors, a startup with roots in Cornell University, has won the 2025 Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge in the Advanced Computing & Electronics category...

SweGaN AB of Linköping, Sweden, a developer and manufacturer of custom gallium nitride on silicon carbide (GaN-on-SiC) epitaxial wafers, based on proprietary growth technology, has announced several key board appointments supporting its growth in telecom, satcom, defense, and power electronics....

BluGlass Ltd of Silverwater, Australia — which develops and manufactures gallium nitride (GaN) blue laser diodes based on its proprietary low-temperature, low-hydrogen remote-plasma chemical vapor deposition (RPCVD) technology — has extended the closing date for its share purchase plan (SPP) offer (which opened on 8 May) from 10 June to 17 June...

MACOM Technology Solutions Inc of Lowell, MA, USA has announced the availability of a wideband front-end module (FEM) covering 2–18GHz. Suitable for electronic countermeasures (ECM) and phased-array radar applications, the miniature multi-chip ENGSD00088 transmit/receive module integrates a high-power 3-stage gallium nitride (GaN) power amplifier (PA), a 3-stage gallium arsenide (GaAs) low-noise amplifier (LNA) and a transmit/receive (T/R) switch with a fail-safe antenna termination, all within a compact package...

Efficient Power Conversion Corp (EPC) of El Segundo, CA, USA — which makes enhancement-mode gallium nitride on silicon (eGaN) power field-effect transistors (FETs) and integrated circuits for power management applications — has released the EPC9196, a high-performance 25ARMS, 3-phase brushless DC (BLDC) motor drive inverter reference design powered by the EPC2304 eGaN FET. The EPC9196 is specifically designed for medium-voltage (96V–150V) battery-powered motor drive applications, including steering systems in automated guided vehicles (AGVs), traction motors in compact autonomous vehicles, and precision motor joints in robotics...

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Dowa Electronic Materials Co Ltd of Tokyo, Japan (a subsidiary of Dowa Holdings Co Ltd) has launched a surface-mountable device (SMD) in the peak wavelength range of 1040–1900nm made with its high-efficiency SWIR (short-wavelength infrared) LEDs. DOWA aims to expand business in the rapidly growing machine vision and healthcare markets...

Nanoelectronics research center imec of Leuven, Belgium and two imec research groups at Ghent University (the Photonics Research Group and IDlab) have demonstrated a fully integrated single-chip microwave photonics system, combining optical and microwave signal processing on a single silicon chip (Hong Deng et al, ‘Single-chip silicon photonic engine for analog optical and microwave signals processing’ Nature Communications volume 16, Article number 5087 (2025)). The chip integrates high-speed modulators, optical filters, photodetectors and transfer-printed lasers, making it a compact, self-contained and programmable solution for high-frequency signal processing. This can replace bulky and power-hungry components, enabling faster wireless networks, low-cost microwave sensing, and scalable deployment in applications like 5G/6G, satellite communications, and radar systems...

BluGlass Ltd of Silverwater, Australia — which develops and manufactures gallium nitride (GaN) blue laser diodes based on its proprietary low-temperature, low-hydrogen remote-plasma chemical vapor deposition (RPCVD) technology — is now an approved supplier and has received its first order from the Indian Ministry of Defence’s Solid State Physics Laboratory (SSPL), valued at $230,000. The order is for development services for benchmarking the fabrication process of GaN-based laser diodes...