2011Q1Q2 M&A of Optoelectronics

• Bruker acquires Sigma ElectroOptics
  IR spectroscopy for instrument and security
  
• LumaSense Technologies acquires Infrared Vision Technology
  for security, aerospace, defense IR technology
  
• Kopin acquires Forth Dimension Display
  for Ferrolectric reflective microdisplay, night vision, defense
  
• Opto Diode acquires International Radiation Detectors (IRD)
  for UV, X-ray, high energy detection
  
• Samsung acquires Liquavista
  for electrowetting technology in display
  
• BAE acquires Fairchilding Imaging
  for high end image sensor, CCD/SiCMOS
  
• Rambus acquires Imagine Designs Inc.
  for lighting and display
  
• On Semi acquires Image Sensor BU of Cypress 
  for CMOS image sensor
  
• CSR acquires Zoran
  for image processor chip
  
• IDEX acquires CVI Melles Griot
  for optical components, instruments
  
• PerkinElmer acquires Dexela
  for CMOS X-ray detection
  
• Pixim acquires Advasense
  for feedback controlled pixel technology
  
• astriamicrosystems acquires TAOS
  for ambient/proximity sensor
  
• OmniVision acquires Visera
  for wafer-level optics
  
• Ricoh acquries Pentax
  for camera

Ranking of importance and attention : Red > Orange > Yellow

Mesa Imaging: SwissRanger

Mesa Imaging, spun from CSEM (Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology), specializes in commercializing 3D time-of-flight (TOF) depth camera. Their TOF device debuts for a long time so that those field had used SwissRanger for 3D information requirements, like robotics field.

Neonode: zForce

Recently, Neonode's optical touch solution - zForce hits ASUS portable device. The most possible is tablet such 5~13" display size. That's very interesting. Compared with iPad that use 9.7" (in diagonal) capacitive touch panel, ASUS pad-like product could use bigger size. Bigger size, higher cost for capacitive touch. Maybe it is the cost issue make zForce attractive.

HTC intelligent button

HTC Incredible S demos a very interesting function - intelligent button, which can switch direction of buttons when you rotate the phone.

Celluon - EVO Mouse

Celluon, a South Korean company, devotes to user interaction I/O interface, like virtual keyboard.

3DV systems : ZCam - depth camera

ZCam is the RGB and depth cameras for gesture application. 3DV systems joined Microsoft Natal project for gaming technology development, and later they were acquired by Microsoft in 2009.

Dyson Fan

Dyson invents a very amazing fan without blades and breaks our stereotype of fan.

Because of blades, problems of conventional fan is nonuniform air flow,and needs outside cage to protect user to touch but has side effect of dust accumulation. 

iDTI: in-cell optical touch panel

Integrated Digital Technologies, Inc (iDTI), Taiwan company, recently revealed its big step to touch panel - They can operate finger touch on in-cell optical touch panel. Compared with its previous generation - touch by pen, this is really a good news

Optical mount

Optical mount is a mechanical part of optical systems, determining the alignment, robust, and precision. Any variation would affect optical performance in geometric and these factors are vibration, temperature drift, acoustic fluctuation, shock, chemical corrosion...etc.

Mirror is particularly sensitive to any fluctuation because any geometric variation would amplify the change of optical path. For example, angle tilt of mirror causes reflection angle double.

How Kinect works with PrimeSense -2

Supplement for my article "How Kinect works with Prime Sense"
Here lists the reference patents of the diagram and pictures.

Pixel Qi and CPT

Pixel Qi corporates with Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT) in mass production of trans-reflective  LCD. Pixel Qi LCD, a E-ink killer, is really very impressing. But the market is not big. So the good news can't help CPT away from deficits.

Pixel Qi 與華映(CPT) 合作半穿反LCD

蠻有趣的消息, Pixel Qi這樣電子書E-ink殺手的產品是還蠻有吸引力的

可是這方面的市場還不大, 無助於岌岌可危的CPT

Nano Loa: PSS LCD

Nano Loa, Inc, started at US but people from Japan, devotes to develop fast and wide-view-angle liquid crystal display –Polarization Shield Smectic (PSS).

PSS is a very interesting technique in liquid crystal display. Nano Loa claims PSS faster more than 100 times than conventional LCD.

Toshiba 3CCD

Toshiba's IK-HD1 is a very small 3CCD camera, which dimension size is 32.6x38.6x41mm and 65g in weight. 3CCD uses three CCD image sensor chips to record R,G,B separately, unlike common demosaic type camera that each pixel contains three color filters.