Talks over poly-Si prices stall

Jul 15, 10:39

Solar wafer and cell manufacturing companies have been negotiating with their upstream material suppliers to lower July prices for polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si), but the talks...

GaAs wafer makers Win Semiconductors and AWSC June revenues riding higher

Jul 6, 14:54

Taiwan-based GaAs wafer makers Win Semiconductors and Advanced Wireless Semiconductor Company (AWSC) have both posted strong sales for June 2011 due to strong demand for GaAs-based...

Wafer price trend is strong indicator of solar market conditions

Jul 1, 14:26

The price trend of solar wafers will be an important indicator of the market recovery, according to industry sources, as the price of solar wafers is highly related to the capacity...

Taiwan solar wafer makers under pressure to hike quotes

Jul 1, 10:30

Taiwan-based solar-grade crystalline silicon wafer makers have asked South Korea-based OCI to lower polycrystalline silicon prices to below US$50/kg but the latter is sticking to...

Semiconductor unit sales to grow 8.6% in 2011, says Semico

Jun 29, 10:15

Semiconductor unit sales remain strong and are expected to reach 718 billion in 2011, an 8.6% growth over 2010, according to Semico Research. Unit sales are driving wafer demand at...

Formosa Sumco to hike 3Q11 wafer quotes by 10-20%

Jun 28, 10:43

Formosa Sumco Technology (FST), a major producer of 8- and 12-inch silicon wafers in Taiwan, has unveiled plans to raise quotes for the third quarter of 2011 by 10-20%. FST noted...

Solar wafer firms defending price level of US$2 per unit

Jun 23, 11:05

With price of solar wafers continuing to decrease, Taiwan-based wafer firms are still keeping their quotes above US$2.00/unit. But wafer firms are likely to incur loss if the price...

Solar wafer firms hope for decrease in polysilicon price

Jun 22, 01:15

The contract price of polysilicon for July 2011 has not yet been finalized between many polysilicon and wafer firms. Solar material providers have been rigid about keeping the price...

Foundries seeing slower growth in wafer starts for 3Q11, say sources

Jun 20, 11:16

Contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) have seen their clients cut back on wafer starts for the third...

2-inch sapphire wafer prices expected to fall to US$20-25 in 3Q11, 18-20 in 4Q11

Jun 17, 10:25

Quotes for sapphire wafers, for a 2-inch wafer for example, are expected to drop to US$20-25 in the third quarter of 2011 and further to US$18-20 in the fourth quarter, according...

TI reportedly cuts wafer starts at TSMC, UMC

Jun 15, 16:49

Texas Instruments (TI) has cut its orders to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), according to sources in the industry...

First stage annual capacity for second solar cell production facility to be 100MW, says Mosel

May 31, 15:01

Taiwan-based Mosel Vitelik initiated its second solar cell production facility in Hukou, Hsinchu, Taiwan on May 30. The facility broke ground in September 2010 and is set to include...

GaAs wafer maker VPEC to set sales record for fifth straight month

May 27, 01:25

Visual Photonics Epitaxy Company (VPEC), a manufacturer of GaAs epitaxial wafers used in the fabrication of power amplifiers (PA), will likely break its revenue record for the fifth...

LED wafer maker Huga to list on TSE

May 26, 01:45

Taiwan-based LED epitaxial wafer and chip maker Huga Optotech has obtained approval from Taiwan's Securities and Futures Board (SFB) to list on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE). Huga...

Gigastorage says solar wafer production still running at full capacity

May 19, 10:17

Taiwan's Gigastorage, a maker of optical discs as well as solar-grade silicon wafers, has stated that its production of solar wafers has not been affected by recent demand and price...

Inventory build-up hits solar wafer firms

May 17, 11:11

The falling price of solar wafers and contracting capacity of solar cell makers have caused many wafer firms in China and Taiwan to decrease production since April, according to industry...

China-based solar wafer makers interested in production of sapphire substrates

May 17, 10:26

Many medium to small China-based makers of solar crystalline silicon wafers have reduced or stopped production due to decreased demand, and have actively inquired about investments...

Wafer area shipments up 3% in 1Q11, says SEMI

May 13, 12:15

Worldwide silicon wafer area shipments were 2.29 billion square inches in the first quarter of 2011, a 3% increase compared to the same period in 2010, according to SEMI. Shipments...

TSMC receives more requests to produce analog chips using 12-inch, advanced processes

May 13, 01:10

A number of international analog IC companies have been in talks with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) for allocation of 12-inch wafer production capacity to put...

Three of four sapphire wafer makers see April revenues down sequentially

May 11, 01:25

Crystal Applied Technology (CAT), among four Taiwan-based makers of sapphire wafers used to make LED chips, was the only one to see April 2011 revenues grow on quarter, according...

Wafer Works outshines peers in 1Q11 performance

Newswatch - May 6, 15:40

After several gloomy announcements of first-quarter financial performances for the solar industry, Wafer Works, a Taiwan-based wafer firm outshined its peers with earnings per share...

SAS reports falling April revenues

May 6, 11:54

Sino-American Silicon has reported April revenues of NT$1,857 million (US$64.82 million), a 7.76% sequential decrease but a 25.49% on-year increase.

GaAs foundries post sales growth in April

May 5, 01:35

GaAs foundries Advanced Wireless Semiconductor Company (AWSC) and Win Semiconductors have reported sequential growth in revenues for April 2011 of 15.1% and 3.4%, respectively.

Europe backlog of solar products may trigger 'race to the bottom'

May 4, 13:52

The backlog problem in Europe continues to hover over the solar industry. The estimation at the end of March for backlogs of solar modules is around 4-4.5GW. However, the backlog...

Prices for PV silver paste rise to US$1,900/kg, say Taiwan makers

May 3, 10:28

International quotes for photovoltaic (PV) silver conductive paste used in making solar cell modules have risen 20% from US$1,500-1,600/kg in January 2011 to US$1,900/kg currently...

A cloudy forecast for the solar industry in 2Q11, says paper

Newswatch - May 2, 15:20

The uncertainty of the incentive programs in Europe forced Taiwan-based solar cell makers to quote below US$1/W last week. Wafer quotations also failed to remain at the US$3/unit...

Soaring shipments and falling gross margins for solar cell firms

May 2, 14:27

Shipments and monthly revenues have been soaring for solar cell makers due to falling prices and massive capacity expansions, but their earnings per share (EPS) and gross margins...

Wafer Works Optronics to ramp up sapphire ingot capacity

Apr 29, 14:12

Wafer Works Optronics, a Taiwan-based producer of sapphire ingots, wafers and substrates, will expand its production capacity of sapphire ingots by adding crystal-growing furnaces...

Wafer firms receive loans for capacity expansions

Apr 28, 12:33

Eversol recently received a syndicated loan from 21 financial institutions totaling NT$5 billion for its new wafer facility and equipment in Taoyuan, Taiwan.

Tekcore to expand LED epitaxial wafer capacity by 30-50% in 2011

Apr 27, 01:10

Tekcore will expand its wafer production capacity by 30-50% in 2011, with MOCVD equipment to increase from 50 sets in the first quarter of 2011 to 66 at the end of the year, according...

China-based makers lower prices for solar cells to US$0.95/W

Apr 26, 12:10

A few second-tier China-based makers of polycrystalline silicon solar cells have reduced quotes to US$0.95/W, the lowest ever on record, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

Wafer Works Optronics to double sapphire wafer capacity in 2011

Apr 25, 10:28

Taiwan-based Wafer Works Optronics will gradually expand its production capacity of sapphire wafers beginning May-June, with monthly capacity to be hiked from 100,000 wafers currently...

Green Energy posts 1Q11 profits

Apr 22, 01:15

Solar wafer maker Green Energy Technology (GET) has announced net profits of NT$597 million (US$20.7 million) on sales of NT$6.5 billion for the first quarter of 2011. The earnings...