Iqe Share Discussion Threads

[tomduck] 26/11/2018 17:49

Nice price action over past week, bottom even more looking like it’s in the rearview mirror now 😉

[shabbadabbadoo2] 26/11/2018 17:41

tonsil - if you really want a laugh, google 5g Gateshead. Apparently they have rigged up a test in the lampposts that is causing cancer. The Council have denied anything is going on - but they would, wouldn't they? HAHAHAHAH

Some right nutters around.

[tonsil] 26/11/2018 17:11

Looks like 5G May have to go back to the drawing board. Lethal to wildlife. https://youtu.be/ah8Bpg6ep1kSurely this could have been found out earlier.

[adejuk] 26/11/2018 14:12

i agree james
i would be surprised if they hadn't emptied the gun
don't take a knife to a gunfight

[jamesrowe] 26/11/2018 13:39

I am sure that management gave Edison everything significant that they knew about/could publicise for use in their latest report. I would be surprised if we have many surprises in the Dec trading update.

[bocase] 26/11/2018 12:17

Given that most of the share price action has been from the US of late and that the US futures are way up, I am hopeful of a positive afternoon's trading with the share price continuing it's slow recovery from it's oversold position.

Not too long until the December trading update when we might get updated further on the prospects for next year and the expected ramp in production.

[maxwellsdemon] 26/11/2018 11:53

...Automotive lidar
Much like the way that Apple’s new “Face ID” iPhone security feature maps out the contours of its owners face, it is thought that higher-power versions of the technology could enable self-driving cars to map their immediate surroundings using lidar.

Another VCSEL maker, the Sandia National Laboratories spin-out TriLumina, is working on arrays of the devices for what could become an enormous future market in autonomous vehicles – with the dozens of lidar companies attracting venture capital investment recently all requiring a supply of laser components for their own specific approaches....

“Specification for automotive lidar is not finally settled, but it looks like there is no reason to use a wavelength different to that found in smartphones,” Pankert said. “The required power levels can be achieved with VCSEL technology, and of course other suppliers can also do this. However, what counts in automotive is the ability to meet the stringent quality and reliability requirements, and to support customers in system design.”

[poombear] 25/11/2018 13:50

Thanks Cotswold.

[cotswoldsparky] 25/11/2018 13:23

poombear,

re. your question on 8" wafers for VCSELs, when I went on a factory visit in July, Chris Meadows explained that the problem with 8" wafers in GaAs and InP is that the substrate is brittle and requires a very stable temperature gradient to form without impurities. The gradient can be achieved over 6", is difficult to maintain over 8". Consequently 6" will be the norm for a while.

cREO will allow integration of compound semiconductors onto an 8" silicon substrate but they are looking longer term with that one.

CS

[poombear] 25/11/2018 13:21

Dr Smith, Yes the same machines have been used for both GaA (vcsel) and GAN wafers, but this adds costs and impact margins. IQE appear to have moved to avoid that where possible.
On your other point they have made investment in the US for GAN capacity, and are consolidating sites (addressing margins again).

From interims.

"The Group will invest approximately £6m in expanding GaN capacity in its facility in Taunton, MA in order to transition and combine its GaN activities from its NJ plant, providing a strong position for the upcoming wide ranging 5G deployment of GaN solutions. This investment will commence in H2 2018 and be completed by H1 2019. The GaN facility in Somerset, NJ will close in December 2018 as the transfer of its business to Taunton is completed. The consolidation of GaN production capacity is expected to save approximately £1.5m in 2019, after allowing for severance and decommissioning costs, and approximately £3m per annum thereafter."

[tomduck] 25/11/2018 13:08

Philips don’t produce the wafers...

[maxwellsdemon] 25/11/2018 12:13

horneblower,

Good point, Philips have acquired ULM Photonics who I assume produce the actual VCSEL chips. It may well be the case that Philips are more into the manufacture of VCSEL systems than VCSEL chips and that they source some of their VCSEL chips from other manufacturers. However, it says, in one of the articles below, that the staffing level in 2016 at ULM is around 200. So they seem to have a fairly significant VCSEL chip manufacturing capability?

It does say in the old article below that Philips have been producing VCSELs on 3 inch wafers for many years "ready to migrate to six inch wafer processes"



Since its establishment in 2000 as ULM Photonics GmbH and its acquisition by Philips in 2006, the facility in Ulm has grown significantly. The last expansion (to double production capacity) was completed by early 2018. Now, the firm plans to double production capacity again at its Ulm facility within the next 18 months.



Since its establishment in 2000 as ULM Photonics GmbH and its acquisition by Philips in 2006, the facility in Ulm has grown significantly, with staffing rising from 50 in 2012 to 200 in 2016. The latest expansion, with a new production line featuring automation, reflects the huge potential of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) in many applications, says the firm. Completion is planned for the end of 2017




Manufacturing standards are said to match those of other high volume semiconductor processes. And Philips, which had been producing VCSELs on three inch wafers for many years, claims to have now produced more than 500 million devices in the last two years, up from 200 million across the previous decade. The company also claims to be ready to migrate to six inch wafer processes.

According to Davies, a key part of the project was understanding the dependence between IQE's epitaxy and device fabrication from Philips. Project researchers scrutinised materials characterisation data, such as luminescence and reflectance, alongside device performance parameters including output power, efficiency and emission wavelength.

From here, they developed an in-situ monitoring process to better control epitaxy processes, while state-of-the-art ex-situ characterisation equipment was used to check wafer specifications, after epitaxy.

[horneblower] 25/11/2018 11:16

Does Philips actually produce VCSEL chips or does it produce devices that use VCSELs?

[dr_smith] 25/11/2018 10:51

Cheers Poombear.
We have constrained production on the limited Aixtron tools.
Is this new (non-VCSL) production done using the same Aixtron tools?
Or put another way, we have planned additional revenue from the expanding number of Aixtron tools.
Is this new revenue part of that or additional?

[poombear] 25/11/2018 07:35

Dr Smith that article is regarding GAN on Si, which isn't used for VCSELS. That's used for 5g base stations, which is a new revenue stream just taking off.

[46maxon] 24/11/2018 21:48

Don’t put all you eggs in one “apple”

[bocase] 24/11/2018 21:29

I like your sense of humour Regas.

I know I should not encourage you but it made me smile.

Just read the Motley Fool article comparing us to Debenhams and M & S - another good reason for laughing. I won't post the link as I post enough rubbish on here anyway.

Yes indeed a welcome respite this last week and against a backdrop of falling stocks.
At least we are moving in the right direction and given that the 'annus horribilis' of 2017 is nearly over maybe the bottom fishers will replace the shorters in 2019.

Good luck to all who have kept the faith. I do believe IQE will prove to be a good investment for those with patience, or a good doctor to keep them alive long enough.

[dr_smith] 24/11/2018 14:57

Poombear.
Interesting.

Given they speak of capability, not implementation, it could just mean altering configuration of an existng machine, between production runs, to see what's what.

Or..has a 4 inch contract/machine become free at end of a supply contract enabling it to reconfigure and test (no doubt with client side own testing).
Maybe a machine on a production run for.. cough.. Apple..temporarily been put on hold?

Or..a new machine brought in and unwrapped from it's bubble wrap.

In writing this I happened upon this article re IQE and 8 inch wafers...


Double take..what?? 2014???
Same contract (on rollover)?

If they were testing 8 inch capability for purpose of an order they would have said so...although with the plethora of NDA's maybe not, so diplomatic speak for new order to indisclosed client?

I find it information overload with IQE, so don't shoot me down if I have something wrong. ;-)

Dave

Edit note. Not just 2014..but 1st April!!! (Time of day not stated).
AND... writen by Richard Wilson!!!!
I DON'T BELIEEEEEVE IT! ;-)

[maxwellsdemon] 24/11/2018 12:16

The above is a link to an old article regarding the Philips, IQE et al collaboration on the European funded VIDaP project. Although it is not recent I still think it is very relevant. Note the mention of doubling the throughput.It is the doubling of throughput per unit time which I think is very significant. The other doubling is, I believe, due to the upgrade to the newer AXITRON reactor

There is a lot of talk of Finisar, Lumentun, AMS etc, with regard to VCSELs in the press, but not much about Philips.

...........According to Davies, a key part of the project was understanding the dependence between IQE's epitaxy and device fabrication from Philips. Project researchers scrutinised materials characterisation data, such as luminescence and reflectance, alongside device performance parameters including output power, efficiency and emission wavelength..........


..........."The cycle time became a little shorter between runs as we gained more confidence in the stability of the process," he says. "So essentially we doubled wafer throughput in a run and also doubled the throughput per unit time."


"And given this is just after a year of running the new tools, we could have yet more wins, giving us an even higher throughput again," he adds........

[poombear] 24/11/2018 11:56

This line jumped out at me from yesterday's Edison report.

"IQE is extending its VCSEL capability in its Newport facility so that it will be able to process VCSELs on 8” wafers."

Would be good to know the timeline for this? Certainly would move the goalposts for would be competition.

[maxwellsdemon] 24/11/2018 11:28

Philips Photonics passes billion-VCSEL milestone
23 Nov 2018

Firm aiming to double production capacity at its Ulm, Germany, facility within the next 18 months.


No slowdown: Philips is continuing to expand VCSEL production

Philips Photonics says that the proliferation of applications for vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) in 3D and proximity sensing means it has now passed the shipment milestone of one billion such devices.............


Capacity ramp
Having acquired the VCSEL startup company Ulm Photonics back in 2006, Philips Photonics then took a lead role in the European Commission-funded “VIDaP” (VCSEL Pilot Line for Illumination, Datacom and Power Applications) project - standardizing the design, manufacture and testing of the laser devices.

Demand for VCSELs has since snowballed after first Apple and then other smart phone companies began to use the technology to enable security applications based on face-scanning.

Aside from Philips Photonics, the likes of US-based Lumentum, II-VI, and Finisar, and Austria’s AMS have invested heavily to meet the anticipated growth in demand. The UK epiwafer foundry IQE which was also involved in the VIDaP project, now plays a critical role in the VCSEL supply chain

But over the past couple of weeks some doubts about the true level of demand have emerged, following reports that Apple’s latest iPhone designs have failed to meet expected sales targets.

Lumentum, AMS, and IQE each issued warnings that sales and profits in the final quarter of 2018 would not meet prior expectations. However, IQE’s CEO Drew Nelson indicated in the company’s statement on the matter that the current issue was a delay resulting from recent inventory consumption, and that demand would ratchet up rapidly again from early 2019 as more customers deployed the technology.

“We believe that we have retained [an] approximately 90 per cent share of the VCSEL epiwafer market that we enjoyed last year, and based on early initial indications we expect a similar market share in FY 2019, but with a significantly broader OEM end customer spread as the technology penetrates many more devices and applications,” Nelson said...............

“We (i.e. Philips) are seeing very strong levels of interest from the consumer electronics sector, and we expect this to continue in the coming years as more manufacturers adopt facial recognition technology in their new smart phone models.”

The company also cites recent market research from French analyst firm Yole Développement predicting that the “killer application” in smart phone sensing would propel the global VCSEL market from $330 million in 2017 to around $3.5 billion by 2023.