CIGS solar cells fabbed with inkjet printers at OSU - ElectroIQ

CIGS solar cells fabbed with inkjet printers at OSU - ElectroIQ

Oregon State University has successfully deposited thin film onto a substrate to create a CIGS solar cell using inkjet printing technology. Advancements in this approach will further lower the cost of creating solar cells.

The efficiency was only 5% which is not commercially viable. Also, this was done in a university setting. This would need to be proven in scaled production. But, it still represents an advancement. As efficiency improvement breakthroughs are made this could change the model for thin film solar manufacturing that will ultimately offer a cost competitive solar energy solution.

TI cuts Q2 outlook; blames Nokia

TI cuts Q2 outlook; blames Nokia

"The Times They are a Changing"

- Bob Dylan

There was a time when I had debated with some colleagues the value of strategically focusing on Apple. Motorola's RAZR was the fashion hit of the wireless world. After conquering Motorola design wins we need to capture share at Nokia. They define the cell phone world....

Well, Nokia is still big. But, one of the problems in technology marketing can be lack of vision. "Smart phones only had 5% of the global market. Who would pay such a premium for an iPhone. Apple only has 3-5% of the computing market..."

I will avoid the over-used, 'Hindsight is 20/20,' rejoinder. We often look at social and economic trends. Just as important are technology trends. It's not about technology for the sake of technology. Look for the intersection of enabling technologies that support the social, economic, and market trends.

E.g. The iPad was Apple's biggest flop...when it was called the Newton in the 1990s. The technologies enabling it to become an industry defining product had not yet been developed.  Success came when the enabling technologies were available and intersected with the market.

But, isn't this about TI and Nokia? Yes, TI is fortunate to have such a big piece of such a huge player (as measured in units). But, the technology driving products are coming from Apple, Samsung, and LG. Sometimes what makes a company successful is what later holds it back. Nokia is finally admitting that their OS doesn't cut it anymore. RIM (Blackberry) is finally embracing touchscreen technology. What made Palm (formerly 3Com, formerly U.S. Robotics) an industry defining company is what killed it. They kept it simple and did a great job at not being all things to all applications. But, the intersection of essential enabling technology has now allowed iPhone to be so much more. Monochrome is dead.  We live in a world of vivid color.

This isn't just a Tech Sector issue; think Auto industry. While the U.S. automotive industry was losing the war with Japan, they missed the challenges now emerging from Korea. And then there was that whole energy efficient hybrid which makes up only a couple of % of the total market...hmmm...that sounds like the smartphone market 5 years ago. But, that market is still changing. New battery technology and regenerative energy designs will enable fully electric vehicles.

Where was I...oh yes, TI and Nokia. Well let's just say:

"If you don't like change, you are going to like irrelevance even less."

General Eric Shinseki, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army

The future of MEMS: Rethinking business strategies and manufacturing technology for volume systems markets - Small Times

The future of MEMS: Rethinking business strategies and manufacturing technology for volume systems markets - Small Times
With The MEMS market set to hit $10 billion by the end of the year and $20 billion by 2016 manufacturers are working to adapt technology. The push for ever smaller devices will create challenges in packaging as well as wafer bonding and Through Silicon Vias (TSV) for a stacked architecture.

Google invests US$168 million in world’s largest solar power tower plant

Google invests US$168 million in world’s largest solar power tower plant

Google has now invested over $250M in clean energy.

At peak usage time this solar power tower plant will generate enough energy to support 140,000 homes.

This solar plant will nearly double the solar power in the U.S.

Dispersed Energy Storage

Dispersed Energy Storage

Battery solution from American Electric Power (AEP) offers a solution to help power grid load-leveling by providing dispersed energy storage in a Sodium Sulfer (NaS) battery.

Crazy Eddie...gone but, not forgotten.

For anyone who grew up in the New York Metropolitan area in the 1970s and 1980s you may remember the most obnoxious and successful ad campaign ever.  Crazy Eddie was a discount electronic store.  They were like Best Buy but smaller and without the dignity.  If you tried to get up during a television commercial break you couldn't escape the screaming of the character who told you how low the prices were for the weekly specials.  "CRAZY EDDIE IS INSANE! HE'S PRACTICALLY GIVING IT ALL AAAWWWAAAAAYYYYY!!!!!"  The owner of the chain, his name really was Eddie, did declare bankruptcy along with other financial problems. 

Crazy Eddy epitomized interruption marketing.  You were forced to hear the message whether you liked it or not.  Fortunately, that was last century.  We still have network television advertising.  But, those networks are a bit more humble.  First came choice (900 channels or more), then came conversation and engagement as companies are slowly relinquishing control of the message.

I have been a B2B marketer for my entire career. Twenty years ago I would have a sales person from a trade magazine tell me that they have a circulation of 100,000+  therefore, my quarter page ad on page 89 is getting 100,000 impressions for a low CPM...no it wasn't.  Who reads a trade publication cover to cover as well as the ads? if you do, just don't tell your supervisor right before a review.  If the ad is relevant and effective it will catch my attention if I happen to open to that page and I'm not in a hurry to a meeting or have another deadline to meet...

In the world of internet marketing and social media it is not about mass market impressions and advertising.  It is about relevant information to a well defined segment that want's the information you have.  As someone said,  we are no longer advertisers we are publishers.

CPM was always a vague leap of faith for most non-mega budget marketers.  Call to actions and clickthroughs are more meaningful.  Advertising is about holding your attention to make you watch or listen.  Social media is about engagement with a community.  These communities often become self-defining markets because they opt in.  As Seth Godin would say, it is 'Permission Marketing.'

In a world of engagement, actions speak loud enough.  You don't have to scream. And, if you capture the Voice of the Customer, you don't even have to 'GIVE IT ALL AWAY'.

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Major IC makers are on 450mm wafers, says ISMI - Solid State Technology

Major IC makers are on 450mm wafers, says ISMI - Solid State Technology

The 'debate is over', says Tom Jefferson, 450mm program manager at ISMI. The key challenge is getting all the stakeholders and suppliers lined up to be ready at the same time. See this video for the interview.

Varian, Novellus top VLSI customer survey

Varian, Novellus top VLSI customer survey

Recently Applied Materials (AMAT) made news by paying an approximately 50% premium to acquire Varian Semicondcutor Equipment Associates (VSEA). Varian is the industry leading ion implantation equipment manufacturer. The initial focus was on the portfolio fit. Buying Varian fills a big hole in AMAT's portfolio as they exited ion implantation approximately 4 years ago. They also picked up Varian's Solar equipment line (Solion).

This is enough reason for AMAT's interest. But, in marketing the one thing that is most difficult to copy is not product or price but, rather relationships. Varian's recent top award for customer service (nine times in a row) demonstrates just how bright the Varian diamond shines.

Evolution of Supercapacitors | Hardware Design Articles | EEWeb

Evolution of Supercapacitors | Hardware Design Articles | EEWeb

When Technologies Collide:

Have you ever wondered why certain markets seem to burgeon almost overnight. Tablets were virtually non-existent a couple years ago. The iPhone has only been around a few years and it has re-shaped the cell phone industry. The iPod redefined music delivery in a few short years. Hybrid and electric cars have gone from fringe markets to rapidly growing. And then, there is solar power....

Solar cells have been around for decades. Electric powered vehicles have been around for a long time in special vehicles like golf carts. GM introduced and then squashed (literally) an electric car long before the Prius. Oh, and tablets...the Apple Newton was around last century and was one of Apple's few product flops. But, today the iPad is a sensation.

It is not that people wouldn't have wanted these products earlier but, they were not practical to make. Sometimes technology has to catch up to aspiration. More specifically it is the intersection of several technologies. Broadband, USB, touch screen technology, battery life, flat screen technology, lighter construction materials, nano-technology providing stronger and lighter materials, new lighting technologies - both for illumination e.g. LEDs and CFL and luminance e.g. back lighting for displays, high density data storage technology, and of course content...lot's of content. It is the intersection of the breakthroughs in many of these categories (to name only a few) that have enabled products that provide value performance and meet mass market price points.

In alternative energy, such as solar powered grids or hybrid / electric cars, one of the key hurdles has been not just the generation of the power but the storage and recapture of the power. When the sun goes down electricity is still in demand. This means that solar farms cannot provide primary sources of energy unless they can store it. When the wind isn't blowing the turbine blades the energy demand is still there. These technologies can provide a valuable supplementary supply of energy on top of traditional carbon based energy sources. But, if the electricity generated can be stored then these technologies can step up to a source of primary power.

One of the enabling technologies for this will be super capacitors, also known as ultra capacitors. Batteries have one big draw back, they take a while to charge. Super capacitors can be charged in seconds. One application will be in transportation. When a car, train, or bus comes to a halt, energy is expended and dissipated in the form of heat. Regenerative technologies can capture this energy and store it relatively quickly in a bank of super capacitors. They can then be used as a source of burst energy when the vehicle goes in motion. Even a crane expends energy when its boom drops. A significant percentage of this energy can be recaptured, stored and used to lift the boom again.

We have not reached the day of the perfect closed loop generator. But, developing means to recapture kinetic energy will be a key to increasing our ability to keep pace with our growing need for energy without increasing our carbon footprint. Maybe some day we will be able to ween our selves off of relying upon fossilized dinosaurs to power our society. Then those forms of power generation will be next to become extinct...possibly.

Hemlock Semi may expand Tennessee plant

Hemlock Semi may expand Tennessee plant

Hemlock is adding U.S. jobs while expanding their Solar grade polycrystalline silicon production. Much of the growth in solar has come from Europe. But, the U.S. is trying to spur alternative energy solutions locally. Over 75% of solar cells use crystal silicon wafers. Other solar cells typically use thin film technology. Currently Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) is the leading technology. Long-term there are good arguments for Copper Indium Gallium (di) Selenide (CIGS). The cost is lower, energy efficiency improvements are being made. And, CIGS on a flexible substrate (not glass) offers the possibility for new building materials such as the DOW™ POWERHOUSE™ materials. see: http://www.dowsolar.com/

The solar grade polysilicon is the key ingredient for making those wafers. Semiconductor grade polysilicon is of a higher purity. A typical semiconductor wafer e.g. 300mm can easily cost over $80-$100. With tight specifications this can be much higher. A solar wafer may cost less than $4. Hemlock is ensuring that they have adequate capacity for the projected growth of crystal silicon based solar wafers.

Silicon semiconductor wafer shipments edged up from Q1 2010 to Q1 2011 May 11, 2011 From Solid State Technology

The recovery for semiconductors is now entering its second year.  Accounting for seasonal fluctuations the best comparison is a pro-forma year-on-year silicon shipment comparison.  To account for the differences in wafer sizes the industry uses MSIE (million square inch equivalents).  Although 2287 MSIE is a marginal 1% reduction from the previous quarter it is up 3.3% vs. the first quarter of 2010. Note: these figures do not include silicon wafers for the solar market.

The second quarter will likely show an uncharacteristic fall off due to the earthquake in Japan.  Approximately 25% of the global wafer supply comes from Japan.  But, expect this recovery to bump the second half of 2011.  What remains to be seen is what part of that demand is unrecoverable.  Also, wafer inventory will partly offset some of the second quarter supply issues.

The earthquake was undoubtedly a human and economic tragedy.  One effect we will likely see on the market is a bit of support for average selling prices (ASP).   The memory market was expected to see a significant  ASP drop in the second half as supply was projected to exceed demand.  This seems to be a perpetual cycle in this industry as capacity increases tend to over-shoot the market and cause price erosion for commodity Flash and NAND.  But, with a tighter supply ASPs may have a bit more support in the second half.  This will bode well for Samsung, Toshiba, Micron and the many Taiwanese memory manufacturers.

Whatever happens in the quarters to come the semiconductor industry remains a great case study in technology meets economics.