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I can't see what all the fuss is over Newport Wafer Fab beyond maybe what it could be transformed into as it doesn't produce anything cutting edge. Good article generally. The sale of ARM was a joke. "Tory Heavyweights such as Iain Duncan Smith and Daivd Davis" made me laugh though. That campaign is bound to fail.
Lol, I know they'll try everything but I still can't believe they requested a further stay after the IPR review was only instigated once both parties agreed to it after the judge said it shouldn't happen once the trial was scheduled anyway. I take it federal circuit here is a federal court that will reveiw the PTAB adjudication?
Excellent news this morning. Feels like NANO is really about to kick off a growth phase. Best to assume it's the £2.6M for the year NGR1616. It sounds like another new material / product research project although the comments about building inventory and firming up supply lines are intriguing.
Just a commment on the placement. It's a very small amount. The company must be very confident of commerical orders for sensor materials or they would be asking for more. Once it's done the sp is bound to go up IMO. Until then, as with any placing of any amount, it'll probably hang around the placing price.
I don't think NANO will be able to confirm the end user. Just how much product they are supplying to STM. STM may well say who their customers are so we may have to easily join the dots. The example I'm going from here is IQE's contract to supply wafers used to make the FaceID sensors in iPhones. They've been supplying for several years but still refer to "The customer." Where as the companies they supply that assemble the modules openly reference their contracts with Apple.
I agree that the requirements for these sensors match nicely the ones using NANO's particles on STMicro's roadmap. However, they could also be using VCSELs - https://www.laserfocusworld.com/lasers-sources/article/14276314/vcsels-from-telecom-to-the-metaverse
I see quantum dots and VCSELs converging into being direct competitors in many markets over the next few years. They certainly overlap in SWIR sensing. IQE just announced that they can produced 200mm substrates for making VCSELs which will bring the cost down considerably.
While NANO's previous work with Apple is encouraging Lumentum already supplies the depth sensor used for FaceID which is less so. If the headset came out in the very short term I would assume there's no NANO technology in there just because NANO have no orders yet. If they come out next year it would be a different story.
Based on current tools installed. Fitting more would need another large capital investment. I thought they were only using a very small amount in Wales. More like 20% than 80%. Can't recall where I got that from though so could be completely wrong.
This does feel exciting in a very mysterious way.
I share the view that the UK government won't respond in any coherent or meaningful way but I don't think the previous administration at IQE would have even considered such a plan. The strange part is what are they actually asking for or planning? We know that IQE doesn't use the full capacity of the machines it already has installed in Newport. Thay also don't produce the silicon based products that would help alleviate the semi-conductor shortage. They do work in technology that could replace some of the silicon based prodcuts that are squeezed but also Global Foundaries specialise in the low tech ones that are most squeezed. There could be an attempt to get incentives to bring GF in to make a huge investment in a new fab making use of ready made clean rooms, etc that IQE somehow has something to do with and can profit from? Anyway, it's a good indication the CEO wants to break IQE out of it's $165M to $185M revenue range. Didn't think they'd be talking about expanding capacity for the next 10 years after the recent massive investment.
As Hawi says the failure of the contract with Apple wasn't down to performance. Officially it was down to cost. I'm sure NANO said so at the time but the only support I can find online after a quick search is, "BlueFin Research, a boutique research firm that closely follows Apple’s supply chain, last week said the iPhone maker had shut down work on its quantum dot image sensor, after finding it would be too costly to produce in large numbers."
Apple rarely lead in the world of technology and iPhones are already eye wateringly expensive. They must have concluded that their camera was good enough and that the extra $s on the iPhone wouldn't have brought in enough new customers. If they're going again what's changed? STMicro will be producing for multiple customers and technology has moved forward meaning they will no doubt be offering finished sensors at cheaper prices and the prospect of their competitors introducing improved sensors means they have to keep up.
Very impressive. Those taking up the new shares should hold them tightly as well. Hopefully the REDX SP can kick on a bit now the funding side is derisked and it won't get dragged back down again after the lock in period.