Semiconductor
August 1, 2023
The Indian government has offered significant incentives to global semiconductor companies, leading many to decide to invest in production in the country. This is in line […]
September 6, 2013
SunEdison to sell its Semiconductor Division SunEdison Inc. (SUNE) the US based solar and semiconductor company is going to spin off its semiconductor division to focus solely […]
August 31, 2013
United Microelectronics (UMC) is the world’s second largest publicly listed semiconductor foundry. UMC is located in Taiwan like TSMC (TSM) and gets most of its revenues by […]
March 26, 2013
Videocon, Reliance to set up Chip Manufacturing Plants in India India is totally dependent on imports for its technology hardware needs, as the country has almost […]
July 12, 2012
Cadmium Tellurium Thin Film Solar Technology championed by thin film solar panel leader First Solar is set to become a victim of capitalism’s creative destruction as […]
June 16, 2012
The LED chip industry flourished in China as the government provided capital subsidy to small companies to buy MOCVD tools which help in making these chips. […]
May 10, 2012
India’s fast growing middle and upper classes are consuming electronic gadgets at an astounding rate.The replacement cycle has also decreased dramatically as growing disposable incomes means […]
February 23, 2012
China which is the world's largest provider of solar panels made from crystalline silicon is seeing a large number of smaller polysilicon companies go bankrupt or stop production. The reason is that for many of the smaller companies the price of polysilicon is $25-30/kg while the costs are $40-50/kg .This means that the smaller companies are making massive losses with the production of each kg of polysilicon. Note Polysilicon is a commodity industry like the memory industry and goes through periodic ups and downs when prices can go much below costs. In recent years a large number of companies set up polysilicon plants to benefit from the massive growth in the solar panel demand in Europe. However a massive glut in 2011 led the prices to fall across the supply chain of silicon solar panels. Poly prices fell from a high of $100/kg to $25/kg a drop of almost 75% in one year. This has made many of the smaller poly plants in China stop production as the price is below variable costs. The bigger producers like GCL , Renesola and Daqo have lower costs at around $25-30/kg which means they are breaking even . However for smaller companies the situation is dire as massive capacity expansion by the top polysilicon producers will continue in 2012 keeping prices at around the same level.
January 9, 2012
Saving bankrupt solar companies has become the national pasttime of most governments it seems.Competition in the solar market has become so severe that solar comapnies are failing left and right.This has made the government come out to save them with bailouts which only make the oversupply situation in the solar panel industry worse.While China is the worst culprit supporting hundreds of failing solar companies through cheap loans which will be never paid back,other governments are not far behind.
January 4, 2012
South Korean Conglomerates LG,Samsung,Hyundai and Hanwha have made massive investments in solar energy production in the last couple of years.Encoraged by the Korean government to become a force in the Green Energy area in the future,Korean giant chaebols have invested in almost all areas of cleantech like Electric Vehicles,Wind Energy,Solar Energy,Energy Storage etc.While Western companies fall like flies in the face of the Chinese onslaught of super low pricing,Koreans are holding their own and want to take fight into the Chinese camp.
January 4, 2012
Smaller Polysilicon producers with small sizes and higher costs are going bust almost everyday.With poly prices falling below $30/kg even bigger producers with inefficient plants like MEMC have been forced to curtain capacity.The smaller poly producers with 2000-3000 tons capacity have virtually no future.With poly expansion still taking place by big producers even in an oversupplied market the small fish are having the capitulate.
July 7, 2011
Photovoltaic Module demand has increased by more than 50% each year in the last decade as solar panel costs have gone down sharply by almost 80% in the last 4 years alone as scale and technology have improved.Photovoltaic Modules are a combination of solar cells which generate electricity when light strikes them.Photovoltaic is the name given to this process where electrons are released when photo or light transfer its energy to the solar cells.The following article covers a large amount of literature on Photovoltaic Modules from its costs to selling prices as well as the efficiency of the Photovoltaic Module which affects the Energy Output.There are hundreds of Photovoltaic Module Manufacturers but only a few major ones.There are reviews on the major Photovoltaic Module Suppliers and Market as well.
July 6, 2011
Polycrystalline silicon or Polysilicon( poly-Si or "poly") is a material consisting of multiple small silicon crystals.The difference between Silicon Metal and Polysilicon is that Poly is highly pure form of silicon and is much costlier.Polycrystalline silicon can be as much as 99.9999% pure (also known as 4N pure,the 4 denotes the number of 9s after the decimal point).Polysilicon was primarily used by the semi industry till 5-6 years ago and the electronic industry used 9N pure polysilicon.The Solar Industry which has become the main user of polysilicon nowadays can do with 6N pure poly.
Polysilicon is refined to single crystal polysilicon before it can be used by the semiconductor industry.However solar cells can be made even from multicrystalline polysilicon.Monocrystalline solar cells on the other hand are made of single crystal polysilicon and have higher efficiency than those made from multicrystalline polysilicon.Polycrystalline cells can be recognized by a visible grain, a “metal flake effect”. Semiconductor grade (also solar grade) polycrystalline silicon is converted to "single crystal" silicon – meaning that the randomly associated crystallites of silicon in "polycrystalline silicon" are converted to a large "single" crystal.
July 6, 2011
LED light is a semiconductor light source. They are gaining popularity because they are more energy efficient. Mainly used for indoor, street & home lighting, they come in various brightness & designs to suit ones needs. LEDs are available in wide range of colors from 2700K to 6500K which are dark yellow, mild yellow and ultra white. LED lighting fixtures offer endless colour possibilities to enhance one's environment. Because of the infinite colour patterns, these products are ideal for entertainment, architectural and retail applications. The demand for these lights is rising because of its efficiency and cost effectiveness. The future of household and commercial lighting is definitely LED light & soon it will be everywhere - in our homes, street lights, outdoor signs, and offices, replacing the traditional incandescent lighting.
July 6, 2011
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a special type of semiconductor device that emits visible light when an electric current passes through it. It has two sides - one with an abundance of electrons called “n-type semiconductor" & the other with bunch of holes that need to be filled by electrons known as "p-type semiconductor ". With the help of these p-n junctions, these semiconductors can control the direction of the flow of electricity. The LED works on the principle that when electrons lose energy, they move from a higher orbit to a lower orbit. The energy lost is in the form of light photons. The color of the light emitted depends upon the frequency of the light photon released. The higher the frequency, the greater is the energy release. Gallium nitride is the light emitting ingredient in LEDs. It is used in the sapphire-based blue and green LEDs. Its practical application is in traffic signals & in lasers in high-definition DVD players.
July 6, 2011
LED TV is an LCD TV that uses LEDs to illuminate the display. these new sets use LED backlights rather than the fluorescent-type backlights used in most other LCD TVs. LED-backlit LCD TVs cost twice more than standard LCD or plasma TVs. Because of the slim line design of these LED tvs not only is less packaging used, but the vast reduction in overall weight means reduced transport and fuel costs. Most of the LED TVs are mercury free making them extremely eco friendly.
July 5, 2011
xit Sign is an important legal safety requirement, in case of any emergency like fire in any building. An LED exit sign is an illuminated sign that uses LED light to illuminate the word “EXIT. The traditional incandescent & fluorescent technology that are used, consume large amounts of energy & also require frequent maintenance. Since these signs operate 24*7, there is a need to replace incandescent bulbs with efficient models with long lives to help reduce maintenance cost and effort. They offer savings of up to $300 per sign in reduced energy, materials, and labor costs as compared with standard incandescent models. LED exit signs are an array of very small LEDs either red or green in colour arranged in a line or circularly. Many exit signs come with a battery backup since they need to remain lit at the time of emergency, when a building's power is interrupted. It is a good option that buyers should look for. LED exit signs work at 120V or 277V. Exit sign manufacturers have made these products available at very competent prices. They are also easy to install. LED exit signs need to be approved for use by UL (Underwriters Laboratories) and should be compliant with local and federal building codes.
July 4, 2011
LG Solar Review of Multicrystalline and MonoCrystalline PV Cell Panels Modules Prices and Comparison
The LG Group is producing solar products through two Group Companies. LG Solar Energy was formed in 2007 to produce polysilicon which is the most important raw material for the production of solar wafers.It is already selling solar modules in the South Korean and European markets and plans to rapidly expand capacity to One Gigawatt by 2012.LG Electronics , plans to invest 1 trillion won by 2015 in its solar cell business and aims to generate revenue of 3 trillion won by 2015.LG plans to increase annual production of solar cells and modules at its plant in South Korea to 500 megawatts next year and 1,000 megawatts by 2013, from 330 megawatts today.LG plans to have a completely vertically integrated business in the Solar Power and plans to install massive solar power plants in the USA as well.
July 4, 2011
South Korea’s Hyundai Industries which is known more for its ship building and heavy engineering ,is also making a big push into the Green Energy Space.Like its South Korean peers,Hyundai is also preferring to enter this space through Solar Energy.Hyundai has already established a 600 MW Solar Cell and Solar Panel Factory making it the largest South Korean manufacturer.Hanwha Solar One is the largest producer of solar panels but it makes most of those in China through its subsidiary Solarfun.Hyundai had earlier bought solar cell equipment from Germany’s Centrotherm as far back as 2008 and had entered a long term contract with LDK Solar for buying solar wafers as raw material for its cell lines.Note Hyundai Heavy has also heavily invested in the Wind Turbine Industry.Hyundai Heavy has started producing 2.5 MW Turbines from a 500 MW Plant in Geoje Island in South Korea.Hyundai Heavy is amongst the many South Korean Chaebols making a big push into Solar Energy like LG and Hanwha.
May 14, 2011
Electronic Waste is a massive problem in the Developed and Developing world with Thousands of Tons of Hazardous Electronic Waste being generated each year.With Electronics getting more ubiquitous and costs falling rapidly,Electronic Waste Problem is only going to increase.E-Waste is responsible not only for releasing dangerous substances into the environment it also causes deaths and injuries to poor in countries like India,China and Africa who are forced to work in extremely bad conditions.Electronic Waste Recycling is the need of the hour but the governments around the world have not pushed hard enough.Europe has been at the forefront with the WEEE directive passed in 2002 while USA has been a laggard as usual failing to prevent toxic waste from being dumped in landfills and shipped to poor countries with lax environmental regulations.Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003 has been passed in California which again as usual has been leading the federal government on clean technology legislation.
May 13, 2011
WEEE refers to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive issued by the European Community on Electronic and Electrical Waste alongwith the ROHS Directive in 2003 which regulates the collection,recycling and disposal of electronic and electrical equipment.The Directive are 2002/96/EC and 2002/95/EC.WEEE makes it mandatory for the producers of to dispose of the Electronic Waste.Unlike the USA which does not have such a strict policy,the companies must do so in an environment friendly way and can't just export all the electronic junk ot Africa,India and China which has been the way of the industry till then.
The legislation provides for the creation of collection schemes where consumers return their used e-waste free of charge. The objective of these schemes is to increase the recycling and/or re-use of such products. It also requires heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and hexavalent chromium and flame retardants such as polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) or polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) to be substituted by safer alternatives.The EU’s WEEE and RoHS laws simply serve as a template for national laws. They are transposed into national law at national level.Member States are required to draw up a register of producers and collect information on an annual basis on the quantities and categories of electrical and electronic equipment placed on their market, collected, re-used, recycled and recovered within that Member State and on collected waste exported.
May 13, 2011
Electronic waste is defined as loosely discarded, surplus, obsolete, or broken electrical and electronic devices.It consists of secondary computers, electronics,LCDs,computers,mobile phones etc which have been discarded or thrown by the owners.The rapid decline in the cost of semiconductors due to Moore's law has led to a rapid increase in the size of the electronics industry which is more than $1 trillion dollar globally.Millions of electronics items are thrown out each year leading to mountains of Electronic Waste.If not treated and Recycled,E-Waste can be hazardous to the environment and lead to wastage of precious materials which can be reused.Lost electronic devices contain a variety of materials, including metals that can be recovered for future uses. By dismantling and providing reuse possibilities, intact natural resources are conserved and air and water pollution caused by hazardous disposal is avoided.Electronic Waste Recycling companies are quite disorganized without major global e-recycling companies.The E-Waste Manageress industry still consists mainly of thousands of workers in developing countries like India where they continue to work in dangerous conditions.1,200 small companies generated revenue of around $5 billion last year.This is expected to treble by 2015 as more countries make electronic waste management compulsory and the sheer volume of electronics grows (think iPads)
May 10, 2011
E-waste generally consists of obsolete devices such as DVDs, CDs, floppies, tapes and electronic components including chips, processors, mother boards, printed circuit boards and industrial electronics. E-waste contains many hazardous substances like heavy metals, PVC plastics, brominated flame retardants.When disposed off in a landfill, it becomes a conglomeration of plastic and steel casings, circuit boards, glass tubes, wires, resistors, capacitors, fluorescent tubes, and other assorted parts and materials. It is both valuable as a source of secondary raw material, and toxic if treated and discarded improperly. he USA discards 30 million computers each year and 100 million phones are disposed of in Europe each year. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that only 15-20% of e-waste is recycled, the rest of these electronics go directly into landfills and incinerators.India's rapidly growing economy generates more than 500,000 tons of electronic waste every year, a number expected to reach 1 million tons by 2012. The obsolete computer and cellphone parts are dismantled, refurbished and recycled manually by hundreds of thousands of unorganized villagers across the country.
April 17, 2011
Silicon for Solar Cells that are used to make the normal crystalline solar panels is known as Polysilicon.This is a highly purified form of the Silicon Metal that is mined.Note Polysilicon is made through chemical processes which help in purifying the raw silicon and removing the impurities.The Silicon that is used to make Silicon Cells is also used to make semiconductor wafers which is the raw material for the Electronic Industry.Solar Cells require slightly lower purity of 6N compared to the higher 9N required by the Semiconductor Industry.Once Polysilicon is produced it has to be made into flat wafers which require further industrial processes like pouring the metal in crucible to make ingots and then cutting the ingots by wiresaws to make solar wafers.The solar wafers are then converted into solar cells by processes like diffusion,etching etc.
April 7, 2011
It is surprising to see the US Media jumping about saying the General Electric will build the biggest solar factory in the US when it is completely factually wrong.There are other companies that add 400 MW in a single quarter these days (eg.LDK). By the time GE builds its 400 MW Cadmium Tellurium Solar Panel facility,there will be around 20 players in the world with more than 1000 MW capacity.GE has been claiming high efficiencies for its Thin Film Solar Panels but the claims that it will be able to dethrone First Solar as the Leader seems far fetched currently.Note First Solar will have almost 7 times more capacity worldwide by the time GE builds its first solar panel facility.GE has been long been developing the Cadmium Tellurium Technology buying up Prime Solar.
April 2, 2011
Solar Industry is one of the fastest growing industries on the planet and the number of companies in the industry have increased dramatically attracted by the strong growth prospects and low entry barriers.The easy availability of solar producing equipment and low capital requirements for small companies have led to a mushrooming of the number of players in the industry.Its possible to set up a small 30 MW module production factory for as low an investment as $10 million or lower.Though the value add of a pure play solar panel production factory is low and the competetive position quite questionable nonetheless there are hundreds if not thousands of such small module producers in the world right now.Other parts of the crystalline silicon supply chain have also got a number of players though the technology and captial requirements are much higher.Listing out all the solar companies in the world is a difficult task and somewhat useless as well as many of these small scale solar companies will not exist in a few years as competition keeps intensifying.Consolidation in the solar industry will ensue sometime or the other and lead to a much smaller and sustainable industry.
March 31, 2011
India's Green Companies are seeing tremendous growth backed by the nation's massive energy demand increase.The 8% Plus Economic Growth coupled with the already massive electricity deficit which makes brownouts of 8 hours a day normal in many places in the country provides the macro background underpinning the growth.India's Green Industry is still in a nascent state compared to the massive solar and wind industries in countries like China and Germany.However attracted by the massive potential a number of companies small and large have entered the fray.Most of India's large energy groups,utilities have already established a small presence or are in process of doing so.While Wind Energy is the largest Renewable Energy Industry in India after HydroElectricity,Geothermal Energy is non-existent without a single large commercial plant.Biomass Energy is quite well developed and Solar Energy is the fastest growing Green Industry.Here is a comprehensive list of the Green Companies in India operating in the different Alternative Energy Sectors.
March 28, 2011
Dangerous levels of radiation has been detected in the water around the reactors as the Japanese government says that a partial meltdown has occured.While there is no confirmation about cracks in the pressure and containment vessels around the reactors,the radiation in the water inside Unit 2 has tested at radiation levels some 100,000 times normal amounts.Workers also discovered radioactive water in the deep trenches outside three units, with the airborne radiation levels outside Unit 2 exceeding 1,000 millisieverts per hour _ more than four times the amount that the government considers safe for workers.TEPCO officials said Sunday that radiation in leaking water in Unit 2 was 10 million times above normal.TEPCO has been giving confusing figures for radiation making it all the more difficult in understanding the gravity of the nuclear crisis.Note this disaster is only second to Chernobyl in its scale of radiation destruction.Tokyo and other parts have reported intermittently about high radiation in water and air.A ship from Mitsui was recently turned back from a Chinese port because of high levels of radiation.
March 16, 2011
Japan's Nuclear Crisis has taken a turn for the worse as US Energy Sectratary CHU saying that a Partial Meltdown has occured.Even IAEA has said that the situation has turned very serious with 4 of the reactors suffering from core damage and 3 of the reactors have their spent fuel rods exposed to the atmosphere as cooling systems have failed.While Japan has almost imposed a news blackout,the damaging news comes from the US administration which has said that the crisis exceeds that of the Three Mile Island already.Japan has doubled the number of workers as the crisis continues to escalate.Authorities battling the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant have doubled the number of workers on the site to 100.Helicopters have failed to cool the plant using water due to radioactive plumes and now the desperate Japanese are planning to use water cannons to spray the pools.
March 16, 2011
The situation at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi power plant continued to be desperate as new fires and explosions rocked the nuclear plant.The utility which owns and operates the Nuclear Reactors Tepco said that the containment structure may have been damaged as smoke was seen from top of one of the reactors.70% of the Fuel Rods at Nuclear Reactor 1 and 33% at Reactor 2 have been exposed.This means that these fuel rods are not being cooled and may be melting leading to increased radiation poisoning hazards.New Fire broke out on the morning of 16th March at Reactor No.4 and containment chamber at Reactor 2 is damaged from Reactor 2.The problems at the Nuclear Plant seems to be increasing with no solution in sight.What is worse is that the 2 reactors No.5 and 6 which have been dormant all this time have all seen their temperature .increasing.Temperatures in the spent fuel rod cooling pools of the shuttered No. 5 and No. 6 reactors were rising as of 7 a.m. today to about 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit)