Semiconductor Industry News

Friday, 9 June 2017

The successes, challenges and opportunities for Wales' tech ecosystem

Wales is a small, agile and dynamic country, which punches well above its weight when it comes to developing the enabling technologies that advance the way we all work and live.

The importance of the Welsh technology sector cannot be overstated. Our industry generates over £8bn for the Welsh economy and the achievements of its 3,000 businesses and the 40,000 people they employ must be recognised.

Instrument Systems to Present Numerous Innovations at LASER World of PHOTONICS 2017

At LASER World of PHOTONICS, due to be held in Munich from 26- 29 June 2017, Instrument Systems will be showcasing many new products for the measurement of displays, UV sources and laser diodes, together with an extensive portfolio of spectroradiometric instruments.

Display measurement technology with the new LumiCam 2400 With the LumiCam 2400 Instrument

Systems presents a new imaging photometer and colorimeter for the characterization of displays, control and display elements. The LumiCam 2400 – expected to be available by autumn – delivers images with an effective 5 megapixel resolution, enabling the evaluation of extended instrument clusters or small details with an extremely high resolution. The respective software calculates all relevant variables, e.g. luminance, color coordinates, color temperature, color homogeneity or dominant wavelength. A wide range of analysis tools enable a comprehensive evaluation of the measured values. The LumiCam software also offers freely configurable false color presentation for the impressive visualization of data.

ISRAELI TECH FIRM TURNS PARKED CAR WINDOWS INTO VIDEO DISPLAYS

Cars windows made from 'liquid' glass could be used as screens for localized targeted information and advertising, according to an Israeli start-up.

Technology company Gauzy worked with German carmaker Daimler Benz to develop its opaque screens. It debuted the smart glass at the Autobhan Expo Day in Stuttgart in February.

Gauzy developed a method to bond sheets of flexible plastic material containing a liquid crystal layer to car windows which become clear when an electric current is passed through them, but are opaque without it.

The company aims to use its technology for smart messaging based on where the car is parked and local conditions.

Semiconductor maker IQE eyes a market in optical sensors

It has been known for years that dogs can detect disease, but a Welsh semiconductor company says that optical sensors in healthcare devices for the home could one dayprovide a similar early warning system.

IQE of St Mellons, Cardiff, makes compound semiconductors composed of two or more chemical elements. These work faster than conventional, single-element silicon semiconductors. The wafers that are the base for semiconductors can be found in mobile phone handsets and are also used in lasers. They were a key technology in DVD and Blu-ray players.

Rotolight launches the AEOS, an ultra portable LED light

Rotolight has established as one of the leading manufactures of multi-award winning on-camera, studio and location LED lighting systems for photography, videography, broadcast and cinematography.

Extending the range is the Rotolight AEOS, one of the thinnest and most lightweight Bi-Colour LED panels on the market today.

Designed specifically for portrait and location photographers, as well as those who shoot video, the compact dimensions of the AEOS make it incredibly portable, with the AEOS tipping the scales at just 1.5kg.

LED bike lights target night riders and ‘burners’

BERKELEY, Calif. — When Dan Goldwater first attached kaleidoscopic LED lights to the spokes of his bicycle wheels and rode through the Burning Man festival at night, the crowd was wowed.

And the “burners” — people who flock to the giant late-summer counterculture festival in the Nevada desert — were not the only ones. Back home in Berkeley, “Everywhere that I took it, people would run down the street after me and ask, where could they get this thing?” Goldwater said.

Bicycle-equipment companies come and go; mostly they go. Goldwater’s company, Monkeylectric, has been in business for 10 years, convincing night cyclists that front and back lights are inadequate and that they need bright side lighting, too.

Europe embraces wide-bandgap semiconductors

Disruptive forces are going through the power electronics industry, driving development and challenging manufacturers to keep up with the latest in materials, topologies, and technologies. Digitally-enabled power systems, advanced topologies, and wide-bandgap semiconductors are moving the industry forward, leveraging one another to create the next generation of power infrastructure.

The recent Power Control and Intelligent Motion (PCIM) conference in Nuremberg was a cavalcade of engineering demonstrations, each showing solutions based on one or all of the disruptive technologies now available. The greatest buzz was around Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Gallium Nitride (GaN), as many vendors had a demo or static display showing they were a part of the hottest trend.