Yearly Archives: 2016

As a provider of process solutions for a broad range of applications, Oxford Instruments announced the development and launch of the SiC via plasma etch process using its high performance PlasmaPro100Polaris etch system. SiC is becoming an increasingly important material, particularly in the arena of high performance GaN RF devices using SiC as a substrate. A smooth via etch through the SiC is essential to enable these devices, and Oxford Instruments has developed the ideal solution for etching high quality SiC vias efficiently. Combined with a low damage GaN etch within the same hardware, the PlasmaPro100 Polaris offers a unique capability for GaN based RF device plasma etch processing requirements.

The technology developed offers several process capabilities suited to the SiC via application:

  • High SiC etch rate enabling maximum throughput
  • Smooth sidewalls for problem free post etch metallisation
  • High selectivity to underlying GaN layer giving a smooth, low damage stop onto the GaN device layers
  • Clamping of sapphire carriers using Oxford Instruments’ unique patented Electrostatic Clamp technology ensuring excellent sample temperature control and maximum yield
  • Capability of etching SiC and GaN in the same tool through advanced plasma source technology
  • High utilisation provided by long Mean Time Between Cleans (MTBC)

Dr Mark Dineen, Optoelectronics Product Manager at Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology says, “Our Applications specialists have spent significant time developing this SiC via etch process on the PlasmaPro100 Polaris etch system, enabling high selectivity and throughput amongst other benefits. These benefits will enable our customers to etch both SiC and GaN in the same tool through advanced plasma source technology.”

Oxford Instruments delivers plasma processing systems, and offers a library of over 6,000 process recipes, all backed by a global support and service network.

SEM showing smooth via etch through SiC

SEM showing smooth via etch through SiC

Leti, an institute of CEA Tech, and the Institute for Information Industry of Taiwan (III), a non-profit non-governmental technology development organization, today announced an agreement for mutual exploration of a wide range of information and communications technology (ICT) related to the Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G wireless connectivity.

The five-year collaboration will include, but is not limited to, joint development and implementation of IoT and 5G based Smart ICT solutions for the EU and Taiwan, and scientific information exchanges.  Also envisioned are cross-invitations to scientific events, joint implementation of international collaborative projects and partnerships, and work on experimental platforms and test beds that can be used to provide real-world validation of solutions.

Leti’s background in IoT and 5G systems, including spectrum management, radio access technologies and protocols, as well as IoT open platforms for large-scale systems, will be a primary contribution, along with its technological roadmaps. In addition to its expertise in IoT systems, III will provide access to Taiwanese technology platforms, as well as industry-driven requirements and use cases.

“Our two organizations have very complementary skills and ecosystems, and it’s a pleasure to launch our collaboration. Together we have an excellent opportunity to pilot and demonstrate innovative 5G and IoT-related solutions that will be useful for industries and individuals in Taiwan and the EU,” said Leti CEO Marie Semeria at the official signing ceremony in Taipei, held during a Leti workshop event there.

“Taiwan is currently supporting and promoting IoT and smart city. The service and platform that based on IoT technology will be the key factor for industrial development. III and Leti’s collaboration will significantly enhance our ability to pursue our mission of promoting industrial applications, R&D technologies, and IoT infrastructures,” commented III Executive Vice President Pao-Chung Ho. “We look forward to our information exchange and collaboration, and to building a creative and effective long-term research partnership between our teams.”

imec and Holst Centre (established by imec and TNO), today announced a new sensor hub integrated as a system-on-chip (SoC) intended for a broad range of wearable health devices and applications. The SoC combines an unprecedented number of biomedical analog interfaces into a single chip, on-board digital signal processing, high fidelity operation, and multi-day monitoring capability with a single battery.  Thanks to its small form factor, the SoC can be easily integrated in new innovative designs enabling maximum user comfort. This new SoC is an enabler towards the transformation of today’s mainly curative approach to healthcare to one that is preventative, predictive and personalized.

biomed hub

The biomedical analog interfaces include three ECG channels, photo-plethysmography (PPG), galvanic skin response (GSR), two multi-frequency bio-impedance (BIO-Z) channels to support new applications such as impedance-tomography, body fluid analysis and stroke volume measurements, and three reconfigurable channels.

While high performance multi-modal analog readouts have been demonstrated, they lack on-board signal processing capabilities, or are too large in size. Alternatively, existing reconfigurable readouts are smaller, but have limited performance. Imec’s and Holst Centre’s SoC moves beyond current solutions and combines advanced biomedical readouts, supported by an ARM Cortex M0+ controller and accelerators for sample-rate conversion, matrix processing, data compaction, and power management circuitry (PMIC).  The PMIC operates from a battery source (2.9- 4.5V) and generates the required voltages for the readout IC. It supports dynamic voltage scaling optimized for, but not limited to, low power and high performance applications, and can be fully customized for specific healthcare applications.

“There is a clear need for accurate and reliable bio-sensing in wearables, and we are working on the building blocks to enable this,” stated Chris Van Hoof, program director wearable health at imec. “Our new SoC sensor hub underscores patient-centric capabilities and can be integrated in numerous wearable fitness and healthcare applications such as patch monitors, chest band heart rate monitors, respiration or hydration monitors and devices for blood-pressure calculation.”

Silicon Labs (NASDAQ: SLAB) today announced the acquisition of Micrium, a supplier of real-time operating system (RTOS) software for the Internet of Things (IoT). This strategic acquisition helps simplify IoT design for all developers by combining a commercial-grade embedded RTOS with Silicon Labs’ IoT expertise and solutions. Micrium’s RTOS and software tools will continue to be available to all silicon partners worldwide, giving customers a wide range of options, even when using non-Silicon Labs hardware. Micrium will continue to fully support existing as well as new customers.

Founded in 1999, Micrium has consistently held a leadership position in embedded software components. The company’s flagship µC/OS RTOS family is recognized for reliability, performance, dependability, impeccable source code and extensive documentation.

“With an installed base of millions of devices, Micrium’s RTOS software has established itself as one of the most reliable and trusted platforms over the last 10 years,” said Jean-Michel Orsat, Chief Technology Officer, ICT Standards and Connectivity Solutions at Somfy. “Micrium has been a rock-solid RTOS solution partner for Somfy, and we look forward to using Micrium’s RTOS software family for years to come, delivering the reliability and performance we need for our IoT applications.”

Micrium’s widely deployed RTOS software has been ported to more than 50 microcontroller architectures and has a global footprint with more than 250,000 downloads across all embedded vertical markets, with solutions certified to meet safety-critical standards for medical electronics, avionics, communications, consumer electronics and industrial control.

“By combining forces with Silicon Labs, the Micrium team will drive advances in embedded connectivity for the IoT while giving customers a flexible choice of hardware platforms, wireless stacks and development tools based on the industry’s foremost embedded RTOS,” said Jean J. Labrosse, Founder, CEO and President of Micrium. “We will continue to provide our customers with an exceptional level of support, which is a Micrium hallmark.”

The combination of Micrium’s RTOS and Silicon Labs’ multiprotocol SoCs, wireless modules, wireless stacks and Simplicity Studio development tools gives customers a faster, easier on-ramp from connected devices to the cloud with end-to-end solutions for embedded IoT design.

“IoT products are increasingly defined by software. Explosive growth of memory/processor capabilities in low-end embedded products is driving a greater need for RTOS software in connected device applications,” said Daniel Cooley, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Silicon Labs’ IoT products. “The acquisition of Micrium means that connected device makers will have easier access to a proven embedded RTOS geared toward multiprotocol silicon, software and solutions from Silicon Labs.”

Kulicke & Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC), announced today that it has named Fusen Chen as President and Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) effective October 31, 2016. He was also elected to the Board of Directors of K&S, effective October 3, 2016. Jonathan Chou, Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) and interim CEO, will continue to serve as the CFO of the Company.

“Fusen is the ideal person to lead K&S at this exciting and critical time for the Company,” said Garrett E. Pierce, Chairman of the Board of Directors. “The semiconductor equipment industry is experiencing rapid change. The need for form-factor reductions, performance improvements and energy efficiency result in greater semiconductor complexity requiring comprehensive Advanced Packaging solutions. While K&S continues to be the market leader in wire bonding, by leveraging its strong technological platform and strategically investing in R&D, the Company is now well positioned to take advantage of these new Advanced Packaging growth opportunities. With his deep familiarity of the semiconductor equipment industry, strong understanding of the enabling technologies, proven track record in developing new products and driving revenue and profitability growth, Fusen has the experience, intellect and determination essential to further drive K&S growth and expansion. I would also like to thank Jonathan for his strong stewardship of the Company over the last year.”

“I’m incredibly excited and honored to join K&S,” said Fusen Chen. “K&S has a proud history as a market and technology leader in the semiconductor equipment industry. I look forward to working with the highly talented employees of the Company as we focus on executing new business growth and accelerating innovation of both new and core products to continue delivering maximum value to our customers, partners, employees and shareholders.”

Fusen joins K&S from Mattson Technology, Inc. where he was the President and CEO. Under his leadership the company turned around years of losses to generate significant revenue growth and achieved sustained profitability.

Fusen previously served as an executive vice president at Novellus Systems, with the responsibility for all semiconductor business units. Prior to this position, he was the chief technology officer (“CTO”) at Novellus, with the responsibility for defining the company’s technology strategy and direction. As the CTO, Fusen was Novellus’s primary executive interface with customers in Asia.

Prior to Novellus, Fusen spent 10 years at Applied Materials, most recently as the group vice president and general manager for the company’s copper physical vapor deposition and interconnect product business group. Before joining Applied Materials, he worked at LSI Logic and SGS-Thomson Microelectronics.

Fusen earned his Ph.D. degree in materials science and engineering from the State University of New York and a B.S. degree in material science and engineering from the Tsing Hua University (Hsinchu, Taiwan).

Mentor Graphics Corporation (NASDAQ:  MENT) today announced that it has joined the Wide Band Gap integration (WBGi) power electronics consortium to participate in thermal management and power cycling initiatives. The WBGi Consortium, established in 2013 by Professors Katsuaki Suganuma and Tsuyoshi Fuaki of OsakaUniversity in Japan, assembles academics and industrialists worldwide to leverage the possibilities of wide-bandgap technology and its challenges. Wideband-gap semiconductors are comprised of materials such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium arsenide (GaN), enabling devices to operate at much higher voltages, frequencies and temperatures than conventional silicon materials.

Mentor Graphics is already an active member of the US-based Center for Power Electronics Systems (CPES) and European Centre for Power Electronics Consortium (ECPE). This is the third power electronics consortium that Mentor Graphics has joined, offering its expertise in the field and proven technologies to advance the power and performance of semiconductors, IGBTs, MOSFETS, and other devices.

“We are glad that Mentor Graphics is joining WBGi. One of the key issues for SiC- and Ga- based power electronics is thermal dissipation,” said Katsuaki Suganuma, professor at the Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research at Osaka University. “Mentor’s T3Ster® transient thermal tester hardware is the most advanced technology in its field and can contribute to understanding what is going on in WBG semiconductors. There are standards for power LEDs already and we believe that MicReD® technology in the Mentor Graphics Power Tester can help in developing power cycling standards for WBG power electronics.”

The WBGi Consortium is addressing all aspects of packaging and reliability in the next generation of power electronics with 34 industrial company members, and several work groups, workshops, and meetings in place. The WBGi is also involved with the ECPE in Europe, U.S. and Asian partner organizations to establish itself as a global consortium.

“Being a member of the WBGi Consortium in Japan is extremely valuable and important to us and the semiconductor industry,” stated Roland Feldhinkel, general manager of Mentor Graphics Mechanical Analysis Division. “Our proven technologies and our team of researchers, educators and scientists are eager to contribute to WBGi’s initiatives and working groups. Our collaboration with the WGBi and its members can help result in tremendous advancements for the power electronics systems industry worldwide.”

MagnaChip Semiconductor Corporation (“MagnaChip”) (NYSE:  MX), a Korea-based designer and manufacturer of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products, announced today the availability of a new 0.13 micron Slim Flash process technology, based on 0.13 micron EEPROM.  While maintaining the same performance characteristics of the existing EEPROM process, Slim Flash process technology is highly cost competitive because it reduces the number of layers to be embedded by 20 percent and cuts the manufacturing turnaround time by 15 percent.

The embedded NVM (Non-Volatile Memory) EEPROM process, integrates logic, analog, and memory into one chip, and has been adopted in a wide range of applications such as automotive, MCU, touch IC and Auto Focus IC.

Qualification test for 0.13 micron Slim Flash process technology was completed in both device performance and yield categories.  All devices passed the WLR (Wafer Level Reliability) test, SRAM, and reliability test of standard cell library.  In particular, high density EEPROM IP satisfied all categories related to endurance and data retention test.

In addition to the existing 0.13 micron EEPROM, MagnaChip plans to build a Slim Flash portfolio by merging Slim Flash into various technologies, including BCD and High Voltage.  MagnaChip is currently engaging with customers using the new technology, with several products currently in development. Volume production of the Slim Flash process technology is expected to begin as early as the fourth quarter of 2016.

“With the introduction of our 0.13 micron Slim Flash process technology, customers now have access to a cost-saving and time-saving manufacturing process that will improve their overall time to market,” said YJ Kim, Chief Executive Officer of MagnaChip.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) today revealed its contributions to an intelligent toothbrush system from Oral-B. ST’s motion-sensing and control chip inside the toothbrush help develop healthier brushing habits.

Brushing incorrectly can negatively affect oral health. To help people brush like their dental professional recommends and avoid these common oral-health issues, the Oral-B GENIUS intelligent toothbrush system combines revolutionary Position Detection technology with Triple Pressure Control and a Professional Timer.

ST’s low-power 3-axis accelerometer captures permanently the orientation of the toothbrush handle while the user is brushing. ST’s 8-bit STM8 microcontroller performs pre-processing of the accelerometer data and other housekeeping functions on the GENIUS toothbrush and leverages ST’s advanced packaging technologies for miniaturization.

“Our contribution to improving personal healthcare through an electronic toothbrush that brushes like your dental professional recommends is yet another example of how semiconductor technologies help people get more from life,” said Kevin Gagnon, Vice President of Central Sales, Americas Region, STMicroelectronics. “A powerful demonstration of the exceptional creativity of the Oral-B technology team, the GENIUS smart electronic toothbrush is a testament to the variety of highly innovative products that ST’s solutions can be used to develop and bring to market.”

Leti, an institute of CEA Tech, announced today it has joined the Stanford SystemX Alliance, a network of 100 renowned Stanford University professors and 27 world-class companies, joining forces in a pre-competitive environment to define tomorrow’s research strategies. Leti’s participation bridges the gap between two worlds – academia and industry. 

The alliance is a collaboration between Stanford researchers and over two-dozen leading global technology companies – such as Google, Huawei, Xilinx, Intel, Qualcomm, Toshiba, Infineon, and many more – that focuses on hardware and software at all levels of the system stack. Topics range from materials and devices to systems and applications in electronics, networks, energy, mobility, bio-interfaces, sensors and other technological domains.

Together, the SystemX partners are working on research strategies that should lead to a wide range of next generation applications, including the highly anticipated self-driving car and future artificial-intelligence systems that will improve performance and operation of our mobile, medical, smart-home solutions and devices.

Following his recent visit to Leti, Stanford System X Director Rick Bahr said, “Leti’s extensive, advanced clean room facilities and expertise are truly impressive, and I can see now that Stanford and Leti are very complementary. It makes real sense for us to find more ways to work together on developing new technologies and their demonstrators.”

“The alliance provides an avenue for worldwide strategic discussions and, more importantly, allows both research partners and industry leaders to stay ahead of the game,” said Barbara De Salvo, Leti’s scientific director.

“Leti brings its scientific excellence and expertise on technology transfer, and will have access to Stanford’s top-notch upstream research and network,” she added. “Stanford’s dynamic culture will inspire Leti on the road to new scientific territories and lead to strong programs with the Silicon Valley ecosystem.”

Leti will share its innovative research results during several SystemX events and explore ambitious, innovative and collaborative projects together with other partners of the Alliance.

Gigaphoton Inc., a manufacturer of light sources used in lithography, has announced that its helium-free technology has made it possible to achieve a 10,000 kiloliter annual reduction of helium gas consumed by high-output ArF immersion excimer lasers (hereinafter, “ArF lasers”).

In line with its EcoPhoton program, Gigaphoton has continued to initiate “Green Innovation” activities since 2013, which are designed to reduce environmental impact for customers. Through such efforts, the company has built up an extensive record of achievements and experience, which it draws on to realize cost reductions for its customers. In July of this year, Gigaphoton also announced a new roadmap for green innovation. Among its multiple efforts, the company’s “helium-free” technology not only provides a solution to concerns over helium gas supply, but also makes a massive contribution to semiconductor and other industries.

Helium gas is used as a purging gas in ArF lasers, and this technology replaces helium gas with nitrogen gas, making it the world’s first technology to reduce helium consumption by 99%. A notable characteristic of this technology is that, even though helium is replaced with nitrogen, it still achieves higher reliability without sacrificing any optical properties. Even major manufacturers with mass production lines consisting of over 90% lasers who have adopted this technology have found that they are able to continue stable operations with no negative impact on the exposure process. The average amount of helium gas currently consumed per ArF laser is about 80 kiloliters per year. Due to this technology being applied to the majority of lasers in the market, a total of 10,000 kiloliters of helium gas consumption has been reduced on a global basis per year.

Hitoshi Tomaru, President & CEO of Gigaphoton says, “There is a dire need for helium not just in the semiconductor industry, but as an essential element in other fields as well, such as for MRIs in the medical field and for maglev trains. Another major concern has been demand which continues to grow in emerging economies while supply capacity remains essentially flat. Adoption of this helium-free technology will allow helium to be better supplied to sectors that need it most. Gigaphoton is committed to continuing to be the kind of company that can drive such contributions to industry.”