Press Release | ASTRI - Hong Kong Applied Science And Technology Research Institute Company Limited

Rohde & Schwarz and ASTRI to jointly demonstrate carrier aggregation solution on Sunnada LTE-Advanced small cells at Mobile World Congress

(2 March 2015, Hong Kong) Rohde & Schwarz (R&S), together with Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI), will perform a live demonstration on Sunnada’s LTE-Advanced Carrier Aggregation (CA) base station at the Mobile World Congress 2015 in Barcelona, Spain.

ASTRI has partnered with Fujian Sunnada Communication Co. Ltd (SHE: 002417) to develop LTE-Advanced small cell as the device under test. The small cell is loaded with ASTRI’s latest LTE- Advanced small cell physical layer supporting TDD/FDD, 40MHz, two components CA, and 2×2 MIMO signal for category 6 UE with up to 300Mbps data rate. ASTRI’s commercial LTE-Advanced small cell physical layer solutions are also scalable to support 4×4 MIMO, three-component CA and 450Mbps downlink for pico/microcell applications. What makes this demonstration special is that the MIMO downlink signal generated by the device is analyzed using a single R&S signal analysis instrument.

CA is the key feature in LTE-Advanced standard for increasing the peak data throughput. Combining with MIMO technology, CA enabled base stations and terminals can communicate through multiple frequency bands and multiple spatial channels simultaneously to increase peak data rate. For this reason, efficiency testing of LTE-Advanced MIMO and CA signals on a single testing equipment is crucial for the development of the next generation wireless infrastructure equipment such as LTE-Advanced small cells.

The test setup from Rohde & Schwarz and ASTRI includes an R&S RTO digital oscilloscope and a signal analysis PC. The R&S RTO acquires the TD-LTE 40MHz, two-component CA, 2×2 MIMO downlink signal output from the Sunnada LTE-Advanced small cell. The signal is analyzed on a PC installed R&S FS-K102PC EUTRA/LTE downlink MIMO software.

ASTRI provides the DUT (device under test) for the test set up. The company commenced its LTE research and development in 2008 and has become a leader in LTE and LTE-Advanced small cell and terminal technologies, providing the first market-ready reference design for small cell and terminal baseband cores supporting both TD-LTE and LTE FDD. ASTRI’s LTE technologies have been employed in partners’ chips and system solutions serving public and private network markets. ASTRI core network technology was also successfully transferred to multiple companies. For development, ASTRI relies on Rohde & Schwarz test solutions. For example, ASTRI has already characterized 4×4 MIMO antenna configurations with the help of an R&S RTO oscilloscope and R&S SMW200A vector signal generators.

The live demonstration will be carried out at Sunnada booth (hall 5, Stand 5G70) at Mobile World Congress which will take place at Fira Gran Via exhibition center in Barcelona, Spain from 2 to 5 March 2015. Mobile World Congress is the largest annual event for the mobile industry featuring cutting-edge technologies and prominent executives in an exhibition and conference. The show has been a major industry focus drawing an attendance between 70,000-80,000 people every year.

ASTRI to demonstrate MIMO signal analysis solution with Keysight Technologies on Sunnada LTE small cell with distributed antenna system at Mobile World Congress

(2 March 2015, Hong Kong) Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) will deliver a live demonstration of a MIMO signal analysis solution with Keysight Technologies (Keysight) (NYSE：KEYS) on Sunnada LTE small cell with distributed antenna system (DAS) at the Mobile World Congress 2015 in Barcelona, Spain. ASTRI has partnered with Fujian Sunnada Communication Co. Ltd (SHE: 002417) to provide the LTE physical layer solution for the small cell system.

The demonstration consists of a TD-LTE small cell fiber connected to a DAS with two MIMO remote radio units (RRU), performing live end-to-end video streaming and FTP applications with maximum throughput of >100Mbps in TDD UL/DL configuration 1. The MIMO LTE signals from the two RRUs are analyzed by the Keysight 89600 VSA software using a multi-channel Keysight M9391A PXIe vector signal analyzer.

Sunnada LTE small cell with DAS developed based on ASTRI technologies not only provides capacities, but also LTE coverage extension on isolated spots in both indoor and outdoor environments. The DAS is very low cost and is heavily used in the 4G network deployment, where the LTE signals are distributed/combined by fiber based on CPRI or Category 5 Ethernet cables. A single small cell can support up to 64 RRUs. Keysight M9391A PXIe vector signal analyzer together with the Keysight 89600 VSA software form a perfect solution for testing DAS. It is low cost and scalable for analyzing massive MIMO antenna devices.

The MIMO signal analysis solution demonstration will be carried out at Sunnada booth (hall 5, Stand 5G70) at Mobile World Congress which will take place at Fira Gran Via exhibition center in Barcelona, Spain from 2 to 5 March, 2015. Mobile World Congress is the largest annual event for the mobile industry featuring cutting-edge technologies and prominent executives in an exhibition and conference. The show has been a major industry focus drawing an attendance between 70,000-80,000 people every year.

ASTRI provides the DUT (Device under test) for the test set up. The company commenced its LTE research and development in 2008 and has become a leader in LTE and LTE-Advanced small cell and terminal technologies, providing the first market-ready reference design for small cell and terminal baseband cores supporting both TD-LTE and LTE FDD. ASTRI’s LTE technologies have been employed in partners’ chips and system solutions serving public and private network markets. ASTRI core network technology was also successfully transferred to multiple companies. For development, ASTRI utilizes Keysight test solutions. For example, ASTRI has already characterized 4×4 MIMO antenna configurations using a Keysight N7109A multi-channel signal analyzer, N5182A MXG vector signal generators and N9020A MXA signal analyzers.

Sunnada and ASTRI to showcase x86 based networking solutions and next generation small cells at Mobile World Congress

(2 March 2015, Hong Kong) Fujian Sunnada Communication Co. Ltd (Sunnada) (SHE:002417) and Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) will showcase the latest LTE technologies jointly developed by the two companies in a series of end-to-end LTE live demonstrations at the Mobile World Congress 2015 in Barcelona, Spain. These new products and solutions include x86 based networking solution, the latest LTE-advanced small cells and distributed antenna systems (DAS).

Sunnada and ASTRI jointly developed the latest LTE small cell gateway and security gateway that support x86 based hardware platforms. They form the integral part of x86 based networking solution. They can achieve over 80% cost reduction and 100% increase in system processing capability in comparison with the previous generation system based on the ATCA hardware. Their network functions are also virtualization ready. It can deliver outstanding performance with 40Gbps throughput and support High Availability (HA) for security gateway to meet mobile operators’ needs. It can also be used in developing network virtualization technology and gateway product.

For the next generation small cells and DAS, Sunnada’s LTE and LTE-A small cells with distributed antenna technologies not only provide capacities, but also expand coverage in a very cost efficient way. Sunnada’s small cells support TDD or FDD, 40MHz, 2 components Carrier Aggregation (CA) and up to 300Mbps for a Category 6 user equipment (UE) while ASTRI’s small cell physical layer solutions are scalable to support Category 9 UE, i.e. 60MHz, 450Mbps and 3 component carriers. When they are combined with DAS technology, Sunnada’s small cell solution can link up with 64 remote radio units (RRU). This would be perfect for low cost indoor coverage and large coverage deployments such as railway.

Sunnada’s Vice President Mr Haven Huang said, “We are very happy to see our new products based on ASTRI’s technologies are successfully commercialized and are starting to be deployed by mobile operators. The introduction of low cost, high capability and large coverage small cells and the low cost, high performance x86 based gateway will enrich our product portfolios and greatly enhance our product competitiveness. We strongly believe this win-win collaboration will continue to create new opportunities and expand our market.”

Dr Justin Chuang, ASTRI’s Vice President and Group Director of Communications Technologies said, “Sunnada is a valued partner of ASTRI. We are glad that this collaboration has succeeded in leveraging expertise between both parties and accomplished in finding new solutions for mobile operators in this highly competitive market. We envision our future collaboration on the next generation mobile network technologies will bring further achievements in the months ahead.”

End-to-end LTE demonstrations will be carried out at Sunnada booth (hall 5, booth 5G70) at Mobile World Congress which will take place at Fira Gran Via exhibition center in Barcelona, Spain from 2 to 5 March 2015. Mobile World Congress is the largest annual event for the mobile industry featuring cutting-edge technologies and prominent executives in an exhibition and conference. The show has been a major industry focus drawing an attendance between 70,000-80,000 people every year.

ASTRI commenced its LTE and networking software research and development in 2008 and has become a leader in LTE and LTE-Advanced small cell, terminal and gateway technologies. ASTRI’s reference design for small cell and terminal baseband cores supporting both TD-LTE and LTE FDD has been employed in partners’ chips and system solutions serving public and private network markets. ASTRI’s networking software provides networking protocol stacks and has enabled a number of WiFi and LTE commercial gateway products.

China Mobile, ASTRI and Sunnada to jointly demonstrate Network Function Virtualization for LTE Nanocell at Mobile World Congress

(2 March 2015, Hong Kong) China Mobile will perform live demonstrations of network functions virtualization (NFV) based LTE Nanocell network infrastructure at Mobile World Congress 2015 in Barcelona, Spain. The demonstration is supported jointly by Fujian Sunnada Communication Co. Ltd (Sunnada) (SHE:002417) and Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI):

ASTRI’s Nanocell Gateway, with Network Function Virtualized capability, provides authentications to Nanocells and offload the LTE core network
Nanocell Gateway’s High Availability (HA) capability under virtualized environment
Sunnada’s Nanocell, powered by ASTRI LTE technologies, providing network front-haul serving VoIP voice and video services

NFV is getting much attention by mobile operators and is becoming an industry trend for increasing flexibility of network deployment and reducing cost. However, there are technical challenges in delivering the performance and ensuring service availability required by mobile operators like China Mobile. ASTRI has developed LTE IPSec security gateway and Nanocell gateway and is now capable to demonstrate NFV support with HA features and high performance. For instance, in the demonstration, when there is a critical failure, ASTRI’s innovative FastGate protocol stacks and HA systems framework in virtualized gateways can ensure the sessions in different layers (e.g. service, IPSec, SCTP and GTP-U) are taken over seamlessly by the standby virtual instance without affecting the service.

China Mobile Research Institute Deputy General Manager Zhiqiang Yang said, “China Mobile sees network virtualization an important technology evolution in mobile network infrastructure and is working actively to promote and develop the ecosystem. Support of high performance and high availability in dataplane VNFs marks an important milestone for NFV.”

Dr Justin Chuang, Vice President and Group Director, Communications Technologies at ASTRI said, “ASTRI has achieved a significant milestone and is being recognized by China Mobile. ASTRI is committed to developing technologies and solutions for the next generation networks.”

The NFV demonstration will be carried out at China Mobile booth (hall 3, booth 3A10) at Mobile World Congress which will take place at Fira Gran Via exhibition centre in Barcelona, Spain from 2 to 5 March 2015. Mobile World Congress is the largest annual event for the mobile industry featuring cutting-edge technologies and prominent executives in an exhibition and conference. The show has been a major industry focus drawing an attendance between 70,000-80,000 people every year.

ASTRI to showcase latest LTE Technologies with industry leaders at Mobile World Congress

(27 February 2015, Hong Kong) Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) will collaborate with key industry leaders including Fujian Sunnada Communication Co. Ltd, Rohde & Schwarz, Keysight Technologies Inc and Wind River to showcase its latest series of LTE technologies at the upcoming Mobile World Congress 2015, to be held at Fira Gran Via exhibition centre in Barcelona, Spain from 2 to 5 March 2015.

Mobile World Congress is the largest annual event for the mobile industry featuring cutting-edge technologies and prominent executives in an exhibition and conference. It has been a major industry focus drawing an attendance between 70,000-80,000 people every year.

ASTRI started LTE R&D since 2008 and has developed multiple core technologies by working with industry partners under the support of Innovation Technology Fund (ITF) provided by the Hong Kong SAR Government and industry funding contributions.

ASTRI will perform live demonstrations of the following technologies jointly with industry partners during the show:
a) x86 based high performance LTE small cell gateway solution
b) LTE-Advanced small cell technology
c) LTE small cell coverage extension with Distributed Antenna System (DAS)
d) Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) of LTE small cell Gateway and Security (IPSec) Gateway

At Sunnada’s booth in Hall 5, Stand 5G70, ASTRI will showcase (a) the latest x86-based LTE small cell gateway and security gateway. In comparison with previous system based on ATCA hardware, it can achieve over 80% cost reduction and 100% increase in system processing capability with outstanding 40Gbps throughput and High Availability (HA). It is also NFV architecture ready. ASTRI will also showcase (b) the Carrier Aggregation (CA) solution on LTE-Advanced small cell with ASTRI’s LTE-Advanced small cell physical layer, combining with MIMO technology, it provides even higher peak data rate; and (c) LTE small cell with Distributed Antenna System (DAS) for extended LTE signal coverage extension on isolated spots in both indoor and outdoor environments.

At China Mobile’s booth in Hall 3, Stand 3A10, a live demonstration of (d) ASTRI’s NFV based LTE IPSec security gateway and Nanocell gateway will be performed, with HA and high performance. NFV is getting much attention by mobile operators because of its network deployment flexibility and it is cost saving.

In Hall 8 District Stand 8.0D57, ASTRI’s LTE technology portfolio is showcased in the exhibition area hosted by Hong Kong Science Park.

ASTRI collaborates with Wind River to support Small Cell and Security Gateway VNF in NFV Environments

(27 February 2015, Hong Kong) Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) has been successful in running its LTE Small Cell Gateway and Security Gateway as Virtualized Network Functions (VNF) on Wind River^® Titanium Server. A joint demonstration will be held at the forthcoming Mobile World Congress 2015.

Through its membership in the Wind River^® Titanium Cloud ecosystem program, ASTRI is now able to provide its Small Cell Gateway Solution to run as a VNF on Wind River^® Titanium Server. ASTRI worked closely with Wind River experts to pre-validate their LTE Small Cell Gateway Solution functionality and performance with the Titanium Server Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) infrastructure platform. Through the Wind River^® Titanium Cloud program, Wind River works with partners on optimized, interoperable solutions that accelerate time-to-market for service providers and telecom equipment manufacturers (TEM) deploying NFV infrastructure.

ASTRI’s LTE Small Cell Gateway Solution comprises a high performance IPSec Security Gateway and Small Cell Gateway. Enabled by ASTRI’s Fastgate Networking Stack and Wind River^® Titanium Server, the IPSec Security Gateway can deliver over 20Gbps IPSec throughput in a virtualized environment. With the VNF support, the solution can be deployed flexibly on a single compute node or distributed onto multiple compute nodes.

“By working through the Titanium Cloud program, ASTRI was able to get to the market faster with a cloud based 4G network gateway running on a Carrier Grade platform,” said Dr Justin Chuang, Vice President and Group Director, Communications Technologies at ASTRI, “Since network virtualization is an important element in the next generation networks, ASTRI has made the first and important step forward on our network virtualization roadmap by validating functionality and performance on NFV infrastructure.”

“We are excited to see ASTRI introduce VNF that are supported by our NFV infrastructure platform, Titanium Server,” said Charlie Ashton, Senior Director, Business Development for Networking Solutions, Wind River, “Titanium Server includes critical and powerful elements to enable an NFV infrastructure, and by leveraging other pre-validated NFV elements such as the VNF from ASTRI, service providers can easily and quickly achieve their goals such as reducing costs while introducing new high value services.”

Wind River^® Titanium Server is a carrier grade NFV infrastructure software solution that is designed to meet the stringent “always on” requirements of the telecom industry. With Titanium Server as the NFV infrastructure software foundation, the telecom industry can take full advantage of rapid service deployment along with the carrier grade uptime and strict reliability mandated by telecom networks. Titanium Server is based on technologies using open standards including carrier grade Wind River^® Linux, real-time Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM), carrier grade enhancements to OpenStack^®, Intel^® data Plane Development Kit (Intel DPDK) and accelerated vSwitch technologies, and it is optimized for Intel® architecture.

ASTRI and Wind River will carry out joint demonstration at Hall 3, Stand 3A10 at Mobile World Congress which will take place at Fira Gran Via exhibition centre in Barcelona, Spain from 2 to 5 March 2015. Mobile World Congress is the largest annual event for the mobile industry featuring cutting-edge technologies and prominent executives in an exhibition and conference. The show has been a major industry focus drawing an attendance between 70,000-80,000 people every year.

ASTRI commenced its LTE research and development in 2008 and has become a leader in LTE and LTE-Advanced small cell and terminal technologies, providing the first market-ready reference design for small cell and terminal baseband cores supporting both TD-LTE and LTE FDD. ASTRI’s LTE technologies have been employed in partners’ chips and system solutions serving public and private network markets. ASTRI core network technology was also successfully transferred to multiple companies.

ASTRI and INRIA form partnership on ICT research

[29 January 2015, Hong Kong] Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) has recently formed an international partnership with the French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation (Institut national de recherche en informatique et en automatique, or INRIA) in the area of information and communication technologies (ICT).

Under the INRIA International Partnership, ASTRI’s Embedded Systems group and INRIA’s TEA (Time, Events and Architectures) team will have active international collaboration on “Virtual Prototyping of Embedded Software Architectures.”

“According to the European Commission, the embedded ICT market has an estimated value of more than €850 billion world-wide. The next generation of embedded systems will be more intelligent and deeply connected with the information and physical worlds. These embedded systems, also known as Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), will be deployed in the domains of automotive, aerospace, health and energy as well as smart city. However, in order to enable the vision, it would require the evolution and even disruption in the process of how a system should be architectured and built,” said Dr T. John Koo, Director of Embedded Systems group. “Our group at ASTRI will work closely with Dr Jean-Pierre Talpin’s team at INRIA to serve the innovation needs of the industry, while saving the time and cost, in the development of the next generation of embedded systems.”

The collaboration will start with mutual exchange of knowledge and expertise in CPS and Embedded Architecture Design through actual case studies and mutual visits. The long-term goal of the collaboration is to set up a joint laboratory between the two parties to disseminate formal methods for embedded system design, steaming from fundamental research at INRIA into the network of applied research projects coordinated by ASTRI and its industrial partners. It also aims to jointly contribute to an open-source system design platform for ASTRI’s industrial partners in Europe and Asia.

ASTRI CEO Dr Frank Tong said, “I feel very much delighted that ASTRI has entered into partnership with such a prestigious institution like INRIA at the highest international level. I have full confidence that the collaboration will be fruitful by merging the best of expertise and people of both parties. I also look very much forward to seeing the ICT disseminated through this joint effort will drive significant and positive changes in the economy as well as society.”

Founded in 1967 in France, INRIA is the country’s only established public science and technology institution fully committed to computational sciences. Combining computer sciences with mathematics, INRIA’s more than 3,400 researchers strive to become inventors for the digital world. They are also the driving force behind over 340 patents and 110 start-ups. More information about INRIA can be accessed at http://www.inria.fr/en.

ASTRI was founded by the HKSAR Government in 2000 with the mission to enhance Hong Kong’s competitiveness in technology-based industries through applied research. Since inception, ASTRI has built a rich portfolio of intellectual properties and succeeded in creating economic impact by transferring new technologies to its customers in Hong Kong, the Mainland and the region.

According to the terms of INRIA International Partnerships, collaboration between INRIA and ASTRI has been endorsed for a period of four years on renewable basis.

ASTRI licences batch process auto-focus camera technologies to Sunming Technologies

(Hong Kong, 20 January 2015) Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) and Sunming Technologies (HK) Limited jointly hold a special ceremony today (20 January) to officially mark the transfer of ASTRI’s batch process auto-focus camera technologies to Sunming, a company specializing in R&D and manufacturing of auto-focus, optical imaging stabilization (OIS) voice coil motor (VCM) and related products.

The agreement was signed by Dr Frank Tong, Chief Executive Officer of ASTRI, and Dr Lam Sio-Kuan, Chief Executive Officer of Sunming. The signing was witnessed by ASTRI Chairman Mr Wong Ming-yam, Sunming Board Director Mr Zhu Jia, Assistant Commissioner (Infrastructure and Quality Services) of Innovation and Technology Commission Mr Vincent Tang, and Secretary General of Zhongshan Science and Technology Bureau Mr Yin Ming, among other guests.

The transfer involves the licensing of 12 patents of ASTRI’s batch-processed chip scale auto-focus camera technologies to Sunming on a non-exclusive basis for 10 years. These disruptive technologies constitute a low-cost and highly efficient solution for Sunming to produce miniaturized auto-focus camera modules tailored for smart phones, tablets and other portable consumer electronic products.

It revolutionizes the manufacturing process by allowing a batch of VCM to be assembled at the same time in contrast to the traditional way of unit-by-unit assembly by hand. As a result, production throughput can be greatly multiplied while high quality is maintained. This will empower manufacturers with new capacities to meet surging demands in this highly competitive yet promising imaging market. It is estimated that global shipment of smart phones could reach 1.7 billion by 2018, suggesting huge market potentials for sophisticated compact camera modules.

Established in 2013, Sunming Technologies is a Hong Kong based company with manufacturing facilities in Torch High-tech Industrial Development Zone in Zhongshan. Its founding member and CEO Dr S.K. Lam obtained his PhD degree from Chinese University of Hong Kong, and was formerly an R&D leader at ASTRI. He worked with his ASTRI teammates to invent a series of compact camera technologies, some of which were subsequently commercialized in a spin-off business led by Dr Lam in 2010. The licensing of batch process auto-focus technologies is the second time that Dr Lam is involved in commercializing ASTRI’s technologies of which he is an inventor.

Mr Wong Ming-yam said in his address at the ceremony, “I am much delighted in seeing that ASTRI has entered into collaboration with Sunming Technologies whose founder was once a key member of our research team and has been our long-term business partner. I am sure with ASTRI’s groundbreaking technologies, Sunming will be able to lead the trend in the industry and mark new milestones in the manufacturing of camera modules.”

Dr Lam said, “The batch process technologies will enable Sunming to achieve both high quality and high volume of production unmatched by any predominant method. I am fully confident that this disruptive innovation will significantly influence the global market. This proves once again Hong Kong has the capabilities to produce world-class technologies that could change the world.”

ASTRI started its R&D endeavour in compact camera technologies in 2007 with anti-shaking, auto focus and optical zoom modules consequently developed. These advanced and market leading technologies were successfully commercialized by manufacturers in both Hong Kong and the Mainland and have been embedded in many leading brands of mobile phones in the world.

ASTRI CEO Dr Frank Tong (left) and Sunming CEO Dr Lam Sio-Kuan exchange a warm hand shake after signing the agreement. (Second row from the left) Assistant Commissioner (Infrastructure and Quality Services) of Innovation and Technology Commission Mr Vincent Tang, ASTRI Chairman Mr Wong Ming-yam, Sunming Board Member Mr Zhu Jia , and Secretary General of Zhongshan Science and Technology Bureau Mr Yin Ming witness the signing

ASTRI Chairman Mr Wong Ming-yam addresses the audience at the ceremony

Sunming CEO Dr Lam Sio-Kuan introduces the benefits of the breakthrough batch process camera technologies

OmniVision and ASTRI collaborate to produce heads-up display for next generation automobile applications

OVP7200 and OVP921 enable compact design and deliver 720P HD video to ASTRI’s new heads-up display

[Hong Kong/LAS VEGAS, January 7, 2015] OmniVision Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI), a leading developer of advanced digital imaging solutions, today announced from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, that its high definition (HD) OVP7200 and OVP921 liquid-crystal on silicon (LCOS) chipset will be used in an advanced heads-up display (HUD) developed by the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI). The new HUD is specifically designed for use in next-generation automobiles.

“Heads-up displays are already popular among premier automobile manufacturers. As the technology becomes more accessible, we expect to begin to see these displays being deployed in mainstream automotive designs,” said Mr. Kenny Chan, Senior Manager at ASTRI. “OmniVision’s complete LCOS chipset gives us a competitive advantage in this growing market segment by enabling us to deliver a cost-effective and high-performance heads-up display solution that meets the high standards of automobile manufacturers.”

OmniVision’s OVP7200 is a single panel, color field sequential LCOS device with native HD resolution of 1280 x 720 and a diagonal measurement of 0.37 inches. The cost-effective, low-power consumption OVP7200 uses an all-digital technology to drive the liquid crystal to deliver a stable and reproducible image.

Working in tandem with the OVP7200, the OVP921 is a companion chip that provides advanced image processing and a host of other features that simplify system design, save space, and reduce power consumption. The OVP921 provides optimized system performance without the need for an external image processor or memory component.

Infineon Partners with ASTRI and HKSTP in Thermal Management Solutions

To enhance system performance and energy efficiency in high power density applications
Solutions tailored to the requirements of the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong markets

[Hong Kong, 4 December 2014] Infineon Technologies today announced that it has reached a memorandum of understanding (“an agreement”) with Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (“ASTRI”) and Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (“HKSTP”) to establish long term collaboration to advance thermal management solutions for high power density applications tailored to the local requirements of the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong markets.

The strategic collaboration will initially leverage on research, testing and package development capabilities in ASTRI and HKSTP and the product to system know how of Infineon to develop effectivethermal management solutionssupporting applications across different industries such as telecommunications, energy storage system and solar conversion. Infineon customers in the telecom and motor drive industries can expect to benefit from one-stop solution and shorter time-to-market.

The agreement was signed by Andrew Chong, Regional President and Managing Director of Infineon Technologies Asia Pacific Pte Ltd., Frank Tong, Chief Executive Officer of ASTRI, and Allen Ma, Chief Executive Officer of HKSTP.

From left: Dr Frank Tong, Mr Andrew Chong and Mr Allen Ma

“We strongly believe in the value added to our business through this partnership between Infineon, ASTRI and HKSTP. Our establishment in the research and development community of the Science Park will enhance our ability to further develop technological innovations that will raise the bar forserving customer and market needs. This will establish our R&D activities in Hong Kong as an essential element of our power management capability in the region,” said Andrew Chong, Regional President and Managing Director of Infineon Technologies Asia Pacific Pte Ltd.

“ASTRI is pleased and privileged to enter into a long-term collaborative relationship with Infineon, a world leader in the semi-conductor manufacturing field. We are well prepared to render technical support for Infineon on its development of innovative products and applications to capture new business opportunities in the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong. The partnership is indeed a validation of ASTRI’s technological competence, and will without doubt reinforce ASTRI’s position as one of the premier R&D centres in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Frank Tong, Chief Executive Officer of ASTRI.

Allen Ma, Chief Executive Officer of HKSTP said, “Our focus is to provide a vibrant ecosystem at Hong Kong Science Park where our partner companies may connect and collaborate with relevant technology partners to catalyse technological innovations. We are glad to facilitate the partnership between Infineon and ASTRI, both residing at the Science Park; and to offer support to them with our stateoftheart equipment and laboratory facilities for product testing that will lead to exciting new solutions that will benefit the community.”

According to IHS Technology – Power Semiconductor Discretes and Modules Report 2014, the global power semiconductor market will reach a total market value of just under€15.6 billion in 2018.Major growth is expected inpower discretes for cellular Infrastructure and cellular headset with a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.9 percentexpected.

While initial focus is on the thermal management solution, the partnership will be further expanded to other power management and multi-market products and solutions. The partnership will enable Infineon to engage the technology talents and facilities at the Park through commercial and technical engagement, and the joint development of other applications in the long run.