Menlo Moves U.S. HQ: Week in Brief: 4/26/2024

Menlo Systems’ U.S. subsidiary, Menlo Systems, Inc., has moved its headquarters from Newton, N.J. to Boulder, Colo. The new facility doubles the square footage of the previous location and will be partly under construction to build out laboratory and warehouse space providing the required infrastructure to support development, production, and expanded service capabilities. The official opening of the premises is planned for the second half of 2024.

The façade of Menlo Systems Inc.’s new headquarters in Boulder, Colo. Courtesy of Menlo Systems.

GRENOBLE, France — Lynred, a provider of infrared detectors for the aerospace, defense, and commercial markets, was selected by the European Space Agency to develop a multispectral infrared detector for the Sentinel-2 Next-Generation (NG) land monitoring satellite mission. The device will meet Sentinel-2 NG’s requirements for improved performance, including shortening the ground sample distance and the addition of new spectral bands. The first prototype is due in 2026.

JENA, Germany — Optics and optoelectronics company ZEISS has established a strategic partnership with Argolight, a developer of quality control solutions for microscopy. The companies plan to integrate Argolight's quality control solutions into ZEISS’ microscopes. The collaboration intends to provide users with a tool to document and verify the performance of their systems, subsequently ensuring the quality of their acquired images.

Toshiba and Single Quantum’s extended long distance QKD transmission solution. Courtesy of Toshiba Europe Ltd.

CAMBRIDGE, U.K. — Toshiba Europe Ltd. and Single Quantum B.V., a developer of superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPD), have collaborated to test and validate long-distance deployments of quantum key distribution (QKD) technology. The collaboration produced a solution using SNSPDs that extends the transmission range for QKD deployment over fiber connections, up to and beyond 300 km. In addition, Toshiba and Single Quantum are providing a solution for extended long distance QKD transmission over a single fiber link by integrating Single Quantum’s SNSPDs with Toshiba’s QKD technology in a compact, stackable, and rack-mountable solution.

The PWD shown with the PearlAqua Micro attached. Courtesy of AquiSense Technologies.

ERLANGER, Ky. — UV LED water disinfection systems developer AquiSense Technologies has had its UV-C LED technology successfully integrated into NASA’s potable water dispenser (PWD) aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The system has been operational since August 2023. Equipped with the company’s PearlAqua Micro point-of-use UV-C LED disinfection system, the PWD is designed to provide safe and clean drinking water for astronauts on the ISS.

BOISE, Idaho — Micron Technology, Inc., a semiconductor company, has signed a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms with the U.S. government for $6.1 billion in funding under the CHIPS and Science Act to support planned memory manufacturing in Idaho and N.Y. The funding will support Micron’s plans to invest approximately $50 billion in gross capex for U.S. domestic memory manufacturing through 2030 and the construction of a memory manufacturing fab in Boise, Idaho, along with two others in Clay, N.Y. The facilities are expected to create approximately 75,000 domestic jobs over the next 20-plus years.

MONTRÉAL — Producer of specialty semiconductors and performance materials 5N Plus Inc. has been awarded $14.4 million by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for the production of space-qualified materials for solar cells under its Defense Production Act Investment Program. Based on meeting certain conditions, over the next four years, this award will enable 5N to upgrade and increase its manufacturing capabilities at its St. George, Utah facility while supporting the DoD's domestic sources of supply.

LAS VEGAS — HTA Enterprises, parent company of photomask developer HTA Photomask, has acquired all assets of the Roger K Sherman Company, including the rights to the manufacture, sell, certify, and annual re-certification services of the measurement standards. Included in the sale is the advanced IP of the Roger K Sherman Company of Los Altos, Calif.

Members of the Hinge Technology and KDPOF teams at the Automotive Ethernet Summit China 2024 in Shanghai. Courtesy of KDPOF.

MADRID — Supplier for high-speed connectivity over fiber optics in harsh environments, KDPOF has signed a strategic partnership with China-based designer of advanced vehicle electronics architecture Hinge Technology to solve technical issues in the industrial application of optical communications in vehicles. Using KDPOF components, Hinge Technology has developed an optical fiber camera that can be paired with an optical fiber surround view host, resulting in a high-speed optical communications 360-degree surround view system or a reverse image system. The companies also plan to extend their partnership to the application of optical communications technology in battery management systems for electric vehicles.

The memorandum signing, which was exchanged during the AI and Semiconductor Summit held in the U.K. House of Commons and attended by members of the Sarawak government, UK and Welsh governments, SMD Semiconductor, and CSA Catapult. Courtesy of CSA Catapult.

NEWPORT, U.K. — Compound Semiconductor Applications (CSA) Catapult, a developer of compound semiconductors, and SMD Semiconductor, a boutique fabless chip design house, have signed a memorandum of understanding to the lay the foundation for a partnership in the design, prototyping, and manufacturing of next-generation semiconductors and compound semiconductor chips in the automotive and space industries. The memorandum also signals the intent of SMD to establish an office in the U.K. to enable the co-creation of ideas and product development, as well as partnerships with academia, industry, and government in the U.K. to develop a pipeline of talent.