news digest ♦ Equipment and Materials Semiconductor.
Over the past 18 months, Altatech Semiconductor’s research, development and production processes for its wafer-inspection, CVD and inkjet-printing products were thoroughly assessed by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance, an accredited ISO organization. All non-conformities were analyzed and resolved, with key performance indicators put into place to avoid any recurrence.
To support its continuous improvement program, Altatech Semiconductor conducted employee training and hired an in-house quality assurance manager and external consultants. Evaluations of the company’s quality management systems are conducted each month by in-house personnel and annually by external auditors.
The ISO 9001:2008 certification is scheduled for renewal in three years.
Riber 2010 Revenues Up 20% to €20.7 million
The firm’s order book for 2010 was €17.3 million, 6.9 times higher than end of 2009.
Riber, a manufacturer of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) equipment, has announced €20.7 million in full-year revenues, including €13.1 million for the fourth quarter.
MBE system sales were up 10% to €11.1 million. This growth reflects the good level of sales to research
centers and the upturn in demand from industrial firms for compound semiconductors. In 2010, the firm sold 10 MBE systems ; three production systems and seven research systems. One of the systems will be delivered after 2011.
Riber says its services and accessories business has continued to develop at a strong rate, with revenues climbing to a record level of €6.5 million, representing growth of 38% in relation to 2009.
Sales of evaporation sources and cells increased by 24%, confirming the relevance of the strategy to diversify into the strong-growing markets for
166
www.compoundsemiconductor.net January / February 2011
organic LEDs (OLED) and thin-layer solar panels for CIGS technology.
In 2010, the Riber sales in Europe amounted to 56% of which 35% went to Russia. In Asia, the firm sales were 28% and in North America 16%.
The order book does not include the major OLED effusion cell contract signed in January 2011 for several million euros.
Riber will announce its 2010 full-year earnings on March 24th, 2011 (after close of trading).
Hynix, Samsung & Toshiba Most Innovative in Materials & Processes
The only semiconductor subsector showing growth in 2010 according to IP Solutions, a division of Thomson Reuters, was Materials and Processes.
Innovation levels, as measured by patent volume, shifted across 12 major technology areas from 2009 to 2010.
According to the IP Solutions report ”The 2010 Innovation Report: Twelve Key Technology Areas and Their States of Innovation”, the aerospace technology market has increased overall activity by 25% year over year. Furthermore, the largest aerospace subsector increase from 2009 to 2010 occurred in the field of Space Vehicles and Satellite Technology, which jumped up by 108%. IP says the three companies in this area were Japanese manufacturer Sharp, followed by Korean manufacturers LG and Samsung.
The Semiconductor technology area saw the largest drop in innovation activity across the 12 areas tracked, falling 9% last year. The drop was driven by subsector declines in Integrated Circuits; Discrete Devices; and Memories, Film & Hybrid Circuits.
The one Semiconductor subsector showing growth in 2010 according to IP Solutions, was Materials and Processes. The innovators with the most patent activity in this subsector were Korean manufacturers Samsung and Hynix Semiconductor,
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