review news
New EU Project Focuses on Reducing Power Of Telecom & Data Networks
A EUROPE-WIDE consortium has taken up power consumption of telecommunications and data networks, which are estimated to consume as much as 3% of European electricity. Five partner organisations have come together in the BIANCHO project (BIsmide And Nitride Components for High temperature Operation).
The project will develop materials to allow lasers and other photonic components to become more energy efficient and also more tolerant of high operating temperatures. This power reduction is vital as optical communication systems are becoming the principal way to deliver ever- increasing data-rich broadband services to homes and businesses.
Many photonic components have major intrinsic losses, with around 80% of the electrical power used by a laser chip emitted as heat. The presence of this waste heat necessitates the use of thermo-electric coolers and an air-conditioned environment in order to control the device temperature, cascading the energy requirements by more than an order of magnitude.
will allow the creation of more efficient and temperature tolerant photonic devices which could operate without the power-hungry cooling equipment that today’s networks demand. The project brings together five leading European partners with complementary expertise in epitaxy, structural characterization of materials, device physics, band structure modeling, advanced device fabrication, packaging and commercialization.
The energy losses are mainly due to a process known as Auger recombination, a consequence of the band structure of the semiconductor materials used in making components such as semiconductor lasers and optical amplifiers. Over many years, incremental approaches have sought to reduce the consequent inefficiencies without addressing their fundamental cause. BIANCHO proposes a radical change of approach: to eliminate Auger recombination by manipulating the electronic band structure of the semiconductor materials through the use of novel dilute bismide and dilute nitride alloys of Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) and Indium Phosphide (InP). This
Coordinated by the Tyndall National Institute (Ireland), the other academic partners are Philipps Universitaet Marburg (Germany) focusing on material growth and characterization; Semiconductor Research Institute (Lithuania) responsible for the design, manufacture and characterization of bismide-based epitaxial structures; the University of Surrey (UK) who contribute unique characterization facilities and modeling expertise. Commercialization of the project results will be led by CIP Technologies (UK) an organization with a long history of applied photonics innovation, particularly in the telecommunications sector.
4 MW Worth of CPV Technology to ‘The Solar Zone’
ARIZONA Corporation Commission (ACC) has confirmed that in less than a year, The Solar Zone at the University of Arizona Science & Technology Park (UA Tech Park) has moved from an on-paper concept to a bustling, solar-centric business zone that is advancing solar energy innovation and production.
The Solar Zone is the intended site of four of the 10 new solar power developed through contracts with Tucson Electric Power (TEP) that were endorsed on Tuesday by the ACC. The new projects will combine with two previously announced systems to expand the Solar Zone’s generating capacity to nearly 20 MW. Together, the systems will generate enough clean energy to power more than 4,600 Tucson homes annually. The four new tenants join Bell IPC. Site preparation and construction, valued at about $2 million, begins in September 2010.
The new projects will include contributions from Albuquerque based Emcore and Californian company Amonix Solar. Emcore provides compound semiconductor-based components and subsystems for the fiber optics and solar power markets. The firm plans a 2MW Concentrated Photovoltaic (CPV) system in the Solar Zone. Amonix designs and manufactures utility-scale concentrating solar (CPV) systems. The company will build a 2 MW concentrating solar (CPV) system project in the Solar Zone.
The Solar Zone will provide TEP with an opportunity to evaluate different types of systems, including a 5 MW CPV thermal power plant being built by Bell Independent Power Corporation, under a previously approved contract with the utility. TEP also will own and operate a 1.6 MW single axis tracking PV array being developed at the Solar Zone this year by Solon.
“We’ll be able to track how these technologies perform side by side, under identical operating conditions, to determine which systems work best for our company and our customers,” said Paul Bonavia, Chairman, President and CEO of TEP and parent company, UniSource Energy.
“With five new solar projects locating here establishes The Solar Zone at the UA Tech Park as the largest demonstration site in the nation,” said Bruce Wright, UA’s Associate VP for University Research Parks.
“We are pleased that our project was selected for the Solar Zone by Tucson Electric Power,” said Amy LeGere, Foresight Solar Director of Development. “With 350 days of Tucson sun this is an optimal setting for solar energy generation. We commend the UA Tech Park for its leadership in helping Arizona become a global leader in the renewable energy sector.”
August / September 2010
www.compoundsemiconductor.net 7
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196 |
Page 197 |
Page 198 |
Page 199 |
Page 200 |
Page 201 |
Page 202 |
Page 203 |
Page 204 |
Page 205 |
Page 206 |
Page 207 |
Page 208 |
Page 209 |
Page 210 |
Page 211 |
Page 212 |
Page 213