New semicon tech to boost Cirtek’s sales

Laguna-based electronics manufacturer Cirtek Philippines Holdings Corp. (CHPC) seeks to unlock higher revenues from the roll-out of a new semiconductor product using a new wafer technology and a mobile point-of-sale (POS) terminal.

In a press statement, Cirtek announced that it had pioneered the use of GaN wafer technology, referring to the use of Gallium Nitride as a semiconductor material—a move seen to significantly increase revenues.

The technology uses Gallium Nitride as a semiconductor material that offers high level of mechanical stability, hardness, heat capacity and thermal conductivity and very low sensitivity to ionizing radiation, thereby permitting devices to operate at much higher voltages, frequencies and temperature.

This is used in various applications such as telecoms, wifi, data, network, satcom, broadband, and consumer radio frequency applications.

“We are working with several customers in various stages of development; we expect initial product release late this year,” said Citek’s subsidiary Cirtek Electronics Corp. (CEC) vice president Antonio Callueng.

This will be produced by CEC, which is an independent subcontractor for semiconductor assembly, test and packaging services.

“To be one of the pioneers to utilize GaN technology puts CEC in an advantageous position, allowing it to quickly acquire valuable market share,” said CEC president Jorge Aguilar.

Meanwhile, Cirtek’s radio frequency, microwave and millimeterwave division also recently launched a new mobile point-of-sale (POS) terminal. This mobile POS has multi-function features and is compact and portable.

Seen as an ideal solution for payment processing anywhere, the mobile POS terminal is seen to offer huge application potential in diverse businesses such as utility billing, financing, inventory management, distribution, ticketing, food stalls/kiosk, among others. The product has an LCD with resistive touch-screen and numeric keypad which provides a flexible platform for the design of an easy-to-use user interface.

The mobile POS’ GPRS modem and wifi interface allows for real-time data transfer, minimizing the risk of fraud and pilferage. When wireless communication is not available, data can be stored in a microSD card and later uploaded to a PC via the USB synch feature.

Additional features such as contactless and magnetic card reader can be used for cashless payments which are currently being deployed in different countries, the company said.

Cirtek said its mobile POS terminal had a longer rechargeable lithium-ion battery life.