Micron seeks funds to enter LED, solar markets

The state of Idaho is batting on Micron's behalf and seeking U.S. Department of Energy approval to distribute $5 million of stimulus funds from the Idaho Office of Energy Resources, the report said.

Micron has been cutting staff and closing down DRAM production for some time and has also moved flash memory manufacture into a joint venture with Intel called IM Flash Technologies LLC.

But Micron has also been diversifying out of memory manufacture and towards other applications that have the same high volume standard product attributes while being simpler to make and with higher market values and margins. Micron has formed a subsidiary company, Aptina Imaging Corp., to market CMOS image sensors, and last week announced it was moving into the microdisplay panel market through the acquisition of technology and products from Displaytech Inc.

However, Micron's desire to get into more profitable areas of semiconductor manufacturing is not limited to image sensors and displays, according to the IdahoStatesman.com.

Micron is seeking to get into the high brightness LED market, the article stated, beginning with the manufacture of prototype LED lighting modules within three months and moving on to volume production in the first half of 2010 and fully-ramped production in 2011.

The $5 million injection is aimed at Micron's LED business, but the company is also working on a proposal to for additional stimulus money from the U.S. Department of Energy for a separate solar panel business, the report said quoting Paul Kjellander, director of the Office of Energy Resources.

- Peter Clarke
EE Times Europe