- 13 September 2006 -

Opto Mid-Week Round-up

There have several significant developments in optoelectronics in the past few days. After aperiod of quiet another patent infringement litigation has been revealed. Meanwhile, two of the datacom component majors have published demonstrations as to their commitment in areas which will likely affect all the other players in due course. Firstly, Bookham qualification labs achieved International Standard ISO/IEC 17025 and second, JDSU has received Frost & Sullivan's 2006 Growth Strategy Award for IP Video/IPTV. Finally, HelioVolt and NREL take the next step in developing nanomaterial-based solar cells.

Cree Files Lawsuit Against BridgeLux

Cree, Inc., has filed suit against BridgeLux, Inc. (formerly eLite Optoelectronics) for infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,657,236 (“the ‘236 patent”) and 5,686,738 (“the ‘738 patent”). The suit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, seeks monetary damages and injunctive relief to prohibit BridgeLux from infringing these patents.

Cree’s ‘236 patent, entitled “Enhanced Light Extraction in LEDs through the Use of Internal and External Optical Elements,” relates to light extraction structures used in LEDs. The ‘738 patent, entitled “Highly Insulating Monocrystalline Gallium Nitride Thin Films,” relates to semiconductor devices manufactured using a gallium nitride-based buffer technology. The ‘738 patent is owned by the Trustees of Boston University and licensed to Cree on an exclusive basis. Boston University is a co-plaintiff in the suit. The ‘738 patent was also the subject of two prior suits brought by Cree and Boston University against Nichia Corporation and AXT, Inc., both of which resulted in settlements.
“Cree’s leadership in LED technology is the result of significant investment in R&D and our patent portfolio over the last nineteen years. The filing of this suit demonstrates Cree's willingness to protect our R&D investments and patent rights, especially at a time when some segments of the LED marketplace act as if there are no issues with intellectual property,” stated Cree chairman and CEO Charles Swoboda.

www.cree.com


Bookham Achieves International Standard ISO 17025

At Caswell, UK, Bookham, Inc., announced that it has achieved the International Standard ISO 17025 for testing and calibration. The achievement means that the company’s reliability and qualification testing facilities can now provide independent test data on Bookham products and can offer an independent testing service to other companies.
The accreditation follows a third party audit of the Bookham reliability laboratory at Caswell, which assesses all of the company’s products for reliability and longevity. The audit, which was conducted by the British Standards Institute (BSI), confirmed that the quality and reliability data produced by the laboratory is impartial and satisfies the stringent standards required.

“Bookham has been assessed by a world-renowned, external authority, which has confirmed that our laboratory can be trusted, not only to produce authenticated results for our own products, but now for the products of other companies,” said Reiner Breu, VP, Quality and Reliability at Bookham.

“This complements the Bookham existing TL9000 global accreditation and is another major step forward in the continuous enhancement of the services we offer our customers. It has only been possible through continuous commitment and investment in test equipment, facilities and expertise, and the benefits are already being seen, with a number of customer audits demonstrating the high quality of service provided by Bookham.”
To achieve the standard, Bookham has established a separate service, with its own organisation and line management, that meets the requirements of ISO 17025. This involved the production and documentation of a quality management system and quality management procedures embracing the management and technical requirements that comprise the standard.

www.bookham.com


JDSU Receives Frost & Sullivan's 2006 Growth Strategy Award for IP Video/IPTV

Commitment to quality and strong market performance have earned JDSU has received Frost & Sullivan's 2006 Growth Strategy Award for IP Video/IPTV. JDSU's diverse IPTV test portfolio includes solutions for the installation, maintenance and monitoring of cable and telecom networks as well as lab testing for network equipment manufacturers.
The Frost & Sullivan Award for Growth Strategy Leadership is presented each year to a company whose growth strategy produces high year-to-year growth rates in IPTV. The award is presented to the company that has bolstered its position in the market and whose strategy will have a lasting impact and is based on, among other criteria, implementation of a unique sales strategy, technological innovation and leadership, and discovering new venues for an established product.

Recently JDSU announced its latest financials and even though it narrowed a Q4 loss, the sales forecast fell short of expectations: the loss fell to $45.8m, or 3 cents a share, from $145.7m, or 10 cents a share, a year ago. Its sales increased by 86% to $318m thanks to a major acquisition last year.

www.jdsuniphase.com


HelioVolt and NREL to Continue Developing Nanomaterial-Based Solar Cells

Building on more than two years of collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), HelioVolt announced it will extend the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) for research carried out at NREL's facilities to include the development of non-vacuum nanomaterial-based deposition processes optimized for HelioVolt's proprietary FASST (TM) manufacturing technology.

The fastest and most efficient way to manufacture thin-film CIGS photovoltaics, FASST (TM) was recently honoured with a Nano 50(TM) Award from Nanotech Briefs, a leading nanotechnology magazine from the publishers of NASA Tech Briefs. Judged by an independent panel of nanotechnology and MEMS experts, the Nano 50 award recognizes HelioVolt's process for its significant near-term impact on the market as well as the field of nanotechnology.

HelioVolt is enabling new paths to solar energy marketability by building on its knowledge of the unique characteristics of the Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) material system. As described most accurately so far in a model published by Dr. B.J. Stanbery, HelioVolt's founder, when made under the proper conditions CIGS spontaneously arranges itself at the nanoscale to create a percolation network that drastically reduces losses, making the material the most efficient and reliable thin-film for photovoltaics. By taking maximum advantage of this, HelioVolt's flexible FASST (TM) process can be used under both vacuum and atmospheric conditions to print photovoltaic material directly onto traditional construction materials including architectural glass, steel, roofing and polymers in 80 to 98 percent less time than conventional processes. Under the terms of the CRADA, HelioVolt will work with NREL to optimize both conventional vacuum and pioneering non-vacuum deposition processes for FASST (TM) manufacturing environments.

"Our collaborative efforts with NREL over the years have formed the groundwork for a viable new solar paradigm: large scale production of building materials that are durable, versatile, visually appealing and capable of economically harvesting energy from the sun," said HelioVolt president and founder, Dr. B.J. Stanbery. "NREL's expertise in preparing nanotechnology precursors is the ideal complement to our own highly-efficient process for converting those nanoscale building blocks into finished CIGS thin-film material under both vacuum and atmospheric conditions."

"As the Department of Energy's laboratory for advancing renewable energy, NREL is committed to growing the value and accessibility of solar technology for the mainstream electricity market," said John Benner, Electronic Materials Group Manager at NREL's National Center for Photovoltaics. "Our initial collaboration with HelioVolt indicates that FASST (TM) enables improved manufacturing time and process flexibility, and our extended CRADA will help drive those promising results forward to commercial production."

Many steps in conventional thin-film production require vacuum deposition, a process by which the thin-film material is coated onto the substrate in a very low-pressure vacuum chamber. Vacuum deposition processes can be capital intensive and depositing CIGS films in particular on large areas with the precision necessary to achieve both high performance and low manufacturing costs can be very difficult without the advantages of the FASST (TM) process. Non-vacuum or atmospheric deposition processes offer a combination of lower costs, process simplicity and reduced manufacturing times while still resulting in high-quality films when used with the HelioVolt's FASST (TM) manufacturing process which is flexible and highly controllable and thus capable of being optimized to produce high-quality thin-film through both atmospheric and vacuum techniques.

www.heliovolt.com