APRIL 2012 issue n°128THE DISRUPTIVE SEMICONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGIES MAGAZINEPHOTOVOLTAICSQ-Cells SE files for insolvency proceedingsThe former in crystalline silicon solar cell manufacturer has abandoned an attempt to refinance its debts.Q-Cells SE files for insolvency. The companyemploys currently more than 2,000 workers.Against the background of the final ruling ofthe Frankfurt Higher Regional Court in the Pfleiderercase on March 27, 2012, the company had come tothe conclusion that no going concern prognosis isFirst Solar under strong market pressureFirst Solar announced it is restructuring its operations in response to deteriorating market conditions in Europeand to reduce costs and align its organization with sustainable market opportunities.Frankfurt (Oder) manufacturing facility to beclosed in the fourth quarter of 2012• Four production lines in Kulim, Malaysia, tobe indefinitely idled• Workforce to be reduced by 2,000As part of this program, First Solar will close itsmanufacturing operations in Frankfurt, Germany, inthe fourth quarter of 2012. Additionally, the Companywill indefinitely idle four production lines at itsmanufacturing center in Kulim, Malaysia, on May 1,2012. These actions, combined with other personnelreductions in Europe and the U.S., will reduce FirstSolar's global workforce by approximately 2,000positions, about <strong>30</strong> percent of the total.The restructuring initiatives are expected to reducegiven anymore. Following an intensive review ofalternative concepts for the implementation of thefinancial restructuring, the Executive Board hasreached the conclusion that a going concern of thecompany cannot be restored on a sufficiently securelegal basis. Therefore the filing for insolvencyFirst Solar's costs by $<strong>30</strong>-60 million this year and$100-120 million annually going forward. In addition,the Company's average manufacturing cost isexpected to improve to $0.70-$0.72 per watt in 2012as a result of the changes, below prior expectationsof $0.74 per watt. In 2013 the Company estimatesaverage module manufacturing costs will range from$0.60 to $0.64 per watt.To achieve these significant cost savings, theCompany will record restructuring and other relatedcharges of $245-370 million, of which $80-120 millionare cash expenditures, consisting of:• $150-250 million in asset impairment, primarilyrelated to the Frankfurt plants• $50-70 million in severanceproceedings is legally necessary. The ExecutiveBoard and the preliminary insolvency administratorwill work together to secure the continuity of thecompany within the insolvency proceedings.www.q-cells.com• $<strong>30</strong> million for repayment of a government grantrelated to the Frankfurt operations• $15-$20 million for other charges which representsvaluation allowances for deferred tax assets in Europeand costs associated with the repayment of theGerman debtFirst Solar expects to incur these charges primarilyduring the first quarter of 2012 and the rest over thecourse of this year. In addition, First Solar hasvoluntarily paid down approximately $145 million ofdebt ahead of schedule in 2012, which representsrepayment in full for outstanding amounts under theCompany's German loan agreement.www.firstsolar.comEMCORE awarded III-V solar panel manufacturing contract for space applicationsEmcore produces III-V cells and modules for space applications and terrestrial concentrator systems.EMCORE Corporation, a provider of compoundsemiconductor-based components andsubsystems for the fiber optic and solar powermarkets, announced that it has been awarded acontract by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation(BATC) to design, manufacture, test and deliver solarpanels for a new spacecraft. The period of performancefor this program is about 2 years, with a total contractvalue of nearly $6 million. The solar panels deliveredto BATC will be populated with EMCORE's ZTJ multijunctionsolar cells. The ZTJ is currently the highestperformance space-grade solar cell available involume production to the global market. Production ofthe solar cells and panels will take place at EMCORE'sstate-of-the-art manufacturing facilities located inAlbuquerque, New Mexico, USA. EMCORE is amanufacturer of highly-efficient radiation-hard solarcells for space power applications. With abeginning-of-life (BOL) conversion efficiency nearing<strong>30</strong>% and the option for a patented, onboard monolithicbypass diode, EMCORE's industry leading multijunctionsolar cells provide the highest available powerto interplanetary spacecraft and earth orbitingsatellites.www.emcore.comCopyrights © <strong>Yole</strong> Développement SA. All rights reserved - Recycled paperArkema and CEA set up two new joint laboratories dedicated to micro-electronicsand organic electronicsThe outputs of the R&D activities in the domain of organic electronics can be valorized also in organic PVArkema and CEA are to extend their existingcollaboration in photovoltaics to the field ofmicro-electronics and organic electronics bysetting up two joint research laboratories. These publicprivatemixed laboratories will enable the developmentof new ultra high performance materials and theirintegration within manufacturing processes in growthareas of the electronics sector in France. Bothlaboratories will pool Arkema’s expertise in the designand production of high performance polymers with thecompetences of CEA researchers in the design andprocesses involved in the development of electroniccomponents. The CEA-Leti (Laboratoire d'Electroniqueet de Technologie de l'Information) and CEA-Liten(Laboratoire d'Innovation pour les Technologies desEnergies Nouvelles et les nanomatériaux) laboratoriesconstitute world-class applied research centers, inmicroelectronics and information technologies for theformer, and in new energy technologies for the latter.As part of its collaboration with Leti, Arkema will drawon its expertise in polymer nanostructuring to producenew materials designed to optimize the performancesof silicon components and significantly reduce theirmanufacturing costs in next generation integratedcircuits. As part of its collaboration with Liten, Arkema,which markets a group of leading technical polymers(fluorinated, piezoelectric, nanostructuredthermoplastic polymers), will be able to meet thetechnological challenges of the large-area printedelectronics sector (flexible screens, intelligentpackaging and textiles, photovoltaic panels), such aslifetime of the systems, cost of manufacture, andintegration of several functions onto a single support.In fact, the use of organic materials, rather than silicon,opens up a new field of printable, transparent andflexible components that can be integrated into largeareaprinted electronic products. Both these researchstructures will help expand the technological offeringof the French electronics sector and its competitivenesson the world scene.www.arkema.com16
APRIL 2012 issue n°128THE DISRUPTIVE SEMICONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGIES MAGAZINEADVANCED PACKAGINGGeorgia Tech proposes industry consortium on advanced packaging technologiesand heterogeneous 3D integrationwins first orderFrom page 1GT-PRC has demonstrated groundbreakingtechnologies that include ultra-thin organicsubstrates, fine-pitch Cu-to-Cuinterconnections, low temperature bonding with highassembly throughput and prototype functionalmodule demonstration of digital Si and RF GaAs dieembedding.3D stackingbeyond PoPUltra-thin package substrateswith low warpageUltra-fine pitch and low profilepackage to package I/OsGT-PRC proposes the next consortium, building uponthe above advances, 3D ThinPack with a focus on:- 3D package stacking beyond conventional PoPleading to ultra-thin stacked modules- Ultra-fi ne pitch and low profi le package-to-packageinterconnections- Novel thermal solutions for embedded thin dieeliminating TIM- 15μm pitch die-to-package Cu-Cu I/Os with highcurrent carrying capability- Ultra-slim substrates with low warpage- Embedded thin IPDsThe primary objective of the proposed 3D ThinPackconsortium is to achieve ultra-miniaturizedUltra-fine pitch, lowprofile interconnectionsheterogeneous sub-systems by 3D integration ofmultiple ultra-slim packages with embedded thinactive or passive components. The two-year goal isto demonstrate a four-package stack within ~1mmthickness by advancing the above fi ve technologiesshown in Fig 1.Novel thermal solution forembedded dieEmbedded thinIPDsProposed technologies for ultra-miniaturized 3D stacked modules (Courtesy of Georgia Tech)The proposed 3D ThinPack research addressesthe need for highly-miniaturized and highlyfunctionalheterogeneous modules with particularfocus on:1. High-yield, low-cost, chip-last embedding withFR4-compatible manufacturing-processes2. Interconnections and assembly processescompatible with existing infrastructurewww.prc.gatech.edu2012 IEEEINTERNATIONAL INTERCONNECTTECHNOLOGY CONFERENCEIITCInnovations In InterconnectionsSHORT COURSE OFFERED ON SUNDAY, JUNE 3The IITC one-day Short Course precedes the technical program,providing an opportunity for instruction and interaction onadvanced interconnect technology, emerging materials anddesign/reliability issues:Scaling Options for Barriers3D InterconnectReliabilityChip Package InteractionOptical InterconnectsBEOL MemoryAdvanced InterconnectsEric Eisenbraun, University of Albany CNSEClair Webb, IntelLucile Arnaud, ST/LETIThomas Shaw, IBMDavid Miller, StanfordJorge Kittl, IMECMizuhisa Nihei, AIST/FujitsuDOUBLETREE HOTELSAN JOSE, CAJUNE 4 – 6, 2012For complete IITC 2012conference and registrationinformation visit:www.his.com/~iitc/Copyrights © <strong>Yole</strong> Développement SA. All rights reserved - Recycled paper17
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