Yearly Archives: 2016

Technavio analysts forecast the global silicon photonics market to grow at an impressive CAGR of over 48% during the forecast period, according to their latest report.

The research study covers the present scenario and growth prospects of the global silicon photonics market for 2016-2020. The report also segments the market on the basis of application into the three categories consisting of communications, consumer electronics and others, with communications accounting for 95% of the market. The use of silicon photonics components in the consumer electronics sector is limited to a mere 1% during the forecast period, however, this segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 48% during the forecast period. Other sectors such as medical, military, and robotics present considerable growth potential for this technology. The others sector will grow at a CAGR of close to 61% during the forecast period.

The silicon photonics technology can achieve speeds of up to 100 Gbps. The use of this technology will help increase power efficiency and improve the data transfer rate.

Silicon photonics technology is a novel approach to manufacturing optical devices from silicon and uses photons to transfer large volumes of data at very high speeds using extremely low power over thin optical interconnects instead of using electrical signals over a copper cable.

Technavio hardware and semiconductor analysts highlight the following four factors that are contributing to the growth of the global silicon photonics market:

  • Need for higher network bandwidth
  • Reduction in transportation costs and scalability beyond 40G
  • Huge investments through public funding
  • Silicon photonics will improve energy efficiency

Need for higher network bandwidth

According to Asif Gani, a lead analyst at Technavio for embedded systems research, “The growth in internet bandwidth is fueled by two factors which are the proliferation of smartphones, tablets, and wearables with increasing functionalities and the emergence of disruptive technologies that increase bandwidth use.

Silicon photonic devices are capable of transmitting data using far less power and of moving information much more quickly by achieving speeds of up to 40 Gbps. The primary reason a large number of companies are pushing to bring this technology to the market, is that silicon photonics is required for exascale-level computing.

Reduction in transportation costs and scalability beyond 40G

The adoption of silicon photonics has benefited the carriers largely. This network structure has allowed them to transport to multiple clients on a single wavelength and preserve their specific requirements. The overall cost of transportation has also fallen, as they don’t need separate wavelengths for separate clients, thereby ensuring efficient bandwidth utilization.

With silicon photonics, carriers are able to provide high-capacity services at speeds of 100G and above. The network architecture of silicon photonics is designed and optimized to support massive capacity services such as 400G or even terabit payloads. This was not possible with the previous generation technologies such as SONET or software-defined networking (SDN). This will create demand for silicon photonics devices in the global market.

Silicon photonics technology is also able to support the partitioning of the network into separate private networks. This allows the carriers to offer clients dedicated, specific, and configurable bandwidth with a guarantee on network capacity and enhanced performance for each client. This portioning does not affect the existing services or existing users in any way. Thus, clients can now have a dedicated and independent set of network resources.

Huge investments through public funding

Silicon photonics technology shows significant potential for increasing data transmission speeds at lower costs in the coming years. In 2015, IBM announced a breakthrough in the field of silicon photonics by introducing the first fully integrated wavelength multiplexed chip. This new device is designed to aid the production of 100 Gbps optical transceivers and permits electrical and optical components to function side-by-side in one package. This type of on-die integration will be important to the long-term deployment of optical technology over short distances.

Apart from IBM, companies like Intel, Luxtera, and many more are investing heavily in making silicon photonics more efficient and reliable. The efforts made by these companies have been noticed by government organizations and investors around the globe. The silicon photonics market is receiving support in the form of large investments. In July 2015, the US government announced an investment of over USD 600 million in the photonics industry as a step toward investment in US manufacturing. A large portion of this funding will be dedicated solely to the development of silicon photonics technology. “These investments, will help the rapid development of silicon photonics technology and thus will continue to drive the growth of the market during the forecast period,” says Asif.

Silicon photonics will improve energy efficiency

Photonics technologies form the core of today’s telecommunication and data infrastructure. They will be integrated into communications networks. The adoption of a range of photonic technologies in the communications sector will have a considerable impact on the energy efficiency of these networks. Industry experts have estimated that photonic transmitters, photonic tunable lasers, photonic receivers, and photonic multiplexing components will contribute to energy savings of almost 5%-10% by 2020 with the integration of photonics integrated circuits.

This is primarily because photonic components will reduce the need for cooling by allowing devices to operate at higher temperatures, as well as make electrical-to-optical conversion efficient by removing non-radiative recombination processes. The complete implementation of the photonics technology into the communications sector will increase the energy efficiency even further. In 2015, major players in the communications sector such as AT&T, Bell Labs, Huawei, and Chunghwa Telecom agreed to improve energy efficiency by adopting silicon photonics technology.

BY ALLYN JACKSON, CyberOptics Corp., Minneapolis, MN

Key IC fabrication steps are sensitive to moisture in semiconductor wafer environments. As the technology node advances, the need for characterizing and minimizing the exposure to relative humidity (RH) has become critical in all 29nm geometry fabs and below. These RH control requirements create a need for a wireless wafer-like humidity sensor which simultaneously measures RH at several points across the wafer as well as throughout the entire IC manufacturing environment.

Challenges with current methods for characterizing N2 FOUPS

Current methods for characterizing N2 Purge FOUPs have problems. These methods are typically not real time, are time consuming, are hard to use and are not able to take RH measurements under production conditions therefore are not reflective of these conditions. In addition, wired (FIGURE 1) hand-held RH meters (FIGURE 2) and single trace hand-held meters are limited to one area and cannot move throughout the process environment. Other options are hand-made alternatives (FIGURE 3) such as a wafer with RH sensors simply taped on. Lastly, they are often limited without data files generated so conse- quently statistics and quality standards cannot be established.

FIGURE 1. FOUP with Wired RH Sensors Attached

FIGURE 1. FOUP with Wired RH Sensors Attached

FIGURE 2. Hand-held RH Meter with Single Trace RH Reading

FIGURE 2. Hand-held RH Meter with Single Trace RH Reading

FIGURE 3. Silicon Wafer With 4 RH Recording Sensors Taped on.

FIGURE 3. Silicon Wafer With 4 RH Recording Sensors Taped on.

RH environment test target and goals

The test at the customer involved putting an RH meter inside the FOUP pointing around slot 13. The goal was to repeat the RH meter profile for testing a FOUP on one loadport without the need to open the FOUP. Starting at 40% RH (cleanroom environment), the first step was to run high purity, high volumnet N2 pre-purge for 4-5 minute and then take the reading. The second step is to conduct a maintenance purge to 5% and measure the results in 5 locations across the wafer. The next step was to run a process purge to 20% and take sample readings across various locations. The goal of the testing it to test the efficiency of the N2 purge FOUP diffusers to ensure that uniform purge levels are maintained.

In response to the need for a reliable easy to use method of qualifying N2 and XCDA environments, the WaferSense® Auto Multi-Sensor (AMS) by CyberOptics (FIGURE 4) was developed. Wafer- Sense AMS is a wireless wafer-like device with five RH sensors to measure the RH profile across the entire wafer surface.

FIGURE 4. WaferSense® Auto Multi Sensor Measurement Device.

FIGURE 4. WaferSense® Auto Multi Sensor Measurement Device.

FIGURE 5. N2 Purge FOUP with 3 Inlet and one Outlet Ports.

FIGURE 5. N2 Purge FOUP with 3 Inlet and one Outlet Ports.

AMS is a complete and easy-to-use system which communicates wirelessly via Bluetooth to the MultiViewTM application (FIGURE 6) and moves like a normal wafer to all locations in the wafer process environment providing a true characterization of the N2 purge uniformity. Such previously hard to accomplish tasks such as characterizing purge FOUP diffuser uniformity and measuring actual RH percentages are now easily accomplished with AMS. (FIGURE 5) AMS is a true multi-functional device which also measures vibration and can be used for leveling to ensure proper wafer handling.

FIGURE 6. Profile of N2 Purge Using MultiViewTM Software to Displays RH Measurements in 4 Sensor Locations across the Wafer Surface.

FIGURE 6. Profile of N2 Purge Using MultiViewTM Software to Displays RH Measurements in 4 Sensor Locations across the Wafer Surface.

29nm geometry fabs and smaller require well controlled N2 and XCDA purge environments to prevent defects and yield loss. AMS300 simultaneously measures RH in real-time at five locations on the wafer while it transfers like a wafer to qualify N2 and XCDA environments. The AMS device significantly shortens the task of qualifying these environments. In addition, the AMS300 provides and vibration and leveling measurement capabilities to ensure proper wafer handling and reduced particles. The overall result for the fab is improved N2 purge environment uniformity which results in reduced defects and reduced labor costs.

Reducing reticle haze effects

193nm Immersion scanners are adversely affected by a phenomenon called “Reticle Haze” when proper measures are not taken to measure and control it. There are three areas that need to be controlled to reduce this haze effect on reticles, one of which is controlling RH. Reticle haze is accelerated when H2O is present. (FIGURE 7).

FIGURE 7. Reticle Haze Formation Accelerated with H2O

FIGURE 7. Reticle Haze Formation Accelerated with H2O

There is a key need for a measurement device that will eliminate the inefficiencies of the current methods.

Challenges with current methods for monitoring RH in reticle environments

There are several limitations with the current reticle environment RH measurement methods, for example, hand-held RH sensors (FIGURE 9) are inconvenient and they can compromise the reticle environment. Plus, many areas are inaccessible by hand-held RH sensors, in-situ RH sensors or benchtop type RH sensors. (FIGURE 8)

FIGURE 8. Benchtop RH Sensor

FIGURE 8. Benchtop RH Sensor

Figure 9: Wired In-Situ RH Sensor

Figure 9: Wired In-Situ RH Sensor

Additionally, the importance of particle, leveling, vibration and RH control has rarely been overlooked in reticle environment. However, the need to maximize both yields and tool uptimes in reticle mask environments requires best-in-class practices.

Whether for diagnostics, qualification or preventative maintenance, equipment engineers need to efficiently and effectively make measurements and adjustments to the tools. Legacy particle, vibration, leveling and RH measurement methods are typically cumbersome, non-representative, not real time, compromise the production environment and are costly with downtime required to take the tool offline for these tasks.

By contrast, best practice methods involve collecting and displaying data in real-time, speeding equipment alignment or set-up. Real-time data also speeds equipment diagnostic processes, saving valuable time and resources. Equipment engineers can also make the right adjustments consistently by using objective and reproducible data that enhances process uniformity.

The ReticleSense® AMSR (FIGURE 10) is an actual glass reticle that measures H2O in the reticle environment and is compatible with ASML, Canon and Nikon scanners. AMSR is used to travel throughout the entire reticle environment and measures RH. (FIGURE 11) It helps locate the sources of the H2O which results in increased reticle lifetime. Two additional measurement capabilities of the device include measuring X, Y and X vibration (FIGURE 12) and inclination. (FIGURE 13).

FIGURE 10. ReticleSense® Auto Multi Sensor Measurement Device.

FIGURE 10. ReticleSense® Auto Multi Sensor Measurement Device.

FIGURE 11. RH Measurement

FIGURE 11. RH Measurement

FIGURE 12. Vibration Measurement

FIGURE 12. Vibration Measurement

FIGURE 13. Leveling Measurement

FIGURE 13. Leveling Measurement

Conclusion

The AMSR travels the entire path of the reticle and can measure humidity in all locations. In immersion scanner environments, monitoring humidity is critical in reticle reducing haze. Equipment qualifications can be done faster as the same device also measures vibration and leveling. Controlling inclination, RH and vibration are all important factors in increasing yield and reducing downtime.

For RH measurements in N2 and XCDA reticle mask environments, the use of a real-time measurement device, the Auto Multi Sensor, delivers on three compelling bottom lines for the fab – saving time, saving expense and improving yields.

IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO) today released its annual 2015 revenue-share ranking of the top LED suppliers in backlighting, automotive, lighting and other applications.

According to the 2016 edition of the IHS Markit Packaged LED Report, Nichia led in both lighting and mobile applications for 2015, with 12.9 percent share of the total packaged LED market. Nichia was followed by Osram and Lumileds with a combined share of 14.7 percent.

“It’s not a surprise that Nichia led in more than one application,” said Alice Tao, senior analyst, LEDs and lighting for IHS Markit. “In 2015, Nichia overtook Cree, which led the lighting category in 2014. Nichia was also very strong in mobile phone LEDs, since the company is a major supplier for Apple’s iPhone.”

Samsung was the leading supplier in backlighting, which includes LEDs used in TVs, monitors, notebook PCs and tablet PCs. Nichia followed in second position and LG Innotek ranked third.

Osram has been the leading supplier of automotive LEDs for many years. Its market share was 35 percent in 2015 for LEDs used in the total automotive market and 40 percent for those used in the automotive exterior market. It also led in the “other” application, which includes LEDs used for industrial, medical, security, projection, signage and off-specification applications.

Leading packaged LEDs suppliers
(Millions of Dollars)  
   
Category

Leading supplier
Lighting

Nichia
Backlighting

Samsung
Mobile phone

Nichia
Automotive

Osram
Other

Osram

 

The IHS Markit Packaged LED Report provides detailed quantitative market sizes and supplier shares by application, region and product type. For more information about purchasing IHS Markit information, contact the sales department at [email protected].

Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. (TAEC) today announced a new lineup of ultra-efficient, high-speed, high-voltage MOSFETs for switching voltage regulator designs. Available with 800V and 900V ratings, the four N-channel devices (TK4A80E, TK5A80E, TK3A90E, TK5A90E) are targeted to applications including flyback converters in LED lighting, supplementary power supplies and other circuits that require current switching below 5.0A.

The new enhancement mode MOSFETs are based on Toshiba’s π-MOS VIII (Pi-MOS-8), the company’s eighth generation planar semiconductor process, which combines high levels of cell integration with optimized cell design. This technology supports reduced gate charge and capacitance compared to prior generations, without losing the benefits of low RDS(ON).

These MOSFETs represent low-current supplements to Toshiba’s existing DTMOS IV line-up of 800V superjunction DTMOS IV devices. The 2.5A TK3A90E and 4.5A TK5A90E feature VDSS ratings of 900V and have typical RDS(ON)ratings of 3.7Ω and 2.5Ω, respectively. Both the 4.0A TK4A80E and 5.0A TK5A80E devices offer VDSS ratings of 800V with typical RDS(ON) ratings of 2.8Ω and 1.9Ω, respectively.

Toshiba’s new high-voltage MOSFETs offer an ultra-low maximum leakage current of only 10μA (VDS = 640V for the 800V device; VDS = 720V for the 900V device) and a gate threshold voltage range of 2.5V to 4.0V. All of the devices are supplied in a standard TO-220SIS form factor.

Today, KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ:  KLAC) introduced three advanced reticle inspection systems that address 10nm and below mask technologies: the Teron 640, Teron SL655 and Reticle Decision Center (RDC). All three systems are key to enabling both current and next-generation mask designs, so that mask shops and IC fabs can more efficiently identify lithographically significant and severe yield-damaging defects.

KLA-Tencor's new reticle inspection portfolio - Teron 640, Teron SL655 and RDC - provides high performance reticle quality control for mask shops and IC fabs

KLA-Tencor’s new reticle inspection portfolio – Teron 640, Teron SL655 and RDC – provides high performance reticle quality control for mask shops and IC fabs

Utilizing Dual Imaging technology, the Teron 640 inspection system offers the sensitivity necessary for mask shops to accurately qualify advanced optical masks. The Teron SL655 inspection system introduces new STARlightGold technology, helping IC manufacturers assess incoming reticle quality, monitor reticle degradation and detect yield-critical reticle defects. The comprehensive reticle quality measurements produced by the Teron inspectors are supported by RDC, a data analysis and management system that provides a wide array of capabilities that drive automated defect disposition decisions, improve cycle time and reduce the reticle-related patterning errors that can affect yield.

“Today’s complex patterning techniques, such as spacer assist quadruple patterning (SAQP), utilize increasingly complex masks, making it crucial to qualify and maintain the reticle state to achieve optimal wafer patterning,” stated Yalin Xiong, Ph.D., vice president and general manager of the Reticle Products Division (RAPID) at KLA-Tencor. “Our team has developed state-of-the-art reticle inspection and data analysis technologies that address both current and next-generation mask designs. By tying the rich datasets generated by the Teron 640 and Teron SL655 to RDC’s evaluation capabilities, mask shops and IC fabs can more efficiently identify lithographically significant reticle defects, thereby improving mask quality control and obtaining better production patterning.”

Built on the Teron reticle inspection platform for mask shops, the Teron 640 supports inspection of advanced optical masks through the utilization of 193nm illumination with Dual Imaging mode—a combination of high resolution inspection and aerial imaging with printability-based defect dispositioning. Additionally, the Teron 640 includes enhancements to advanced die-to-database inspection algorithms to further maximize defect sensitivity as well as a new higher throughput option to decrease time to results. Multiple Teron 640 reticle inspection systems have been installed at foundry and logic manufacturers where they are being used for high-performance reticle quality control.

The Teron SL655’s core technology, STARlightGold, generates a golden reference from the mask at incoming quality check and then uses this reference for mask re-qualification inspections. The unique technology enables full-field reticle coverage and maximizes the detection of defects, such as haze growth or contamination, on a full range of mask types, including those that utilize highly complicated optical proximity techniques. The Teron SL655’s production throughput supports the fast cycle times required to qualify the increased number of reticles associated with advanced multi-patterning techniques. In addition, the Teron SL655 is EUV-compatible, allowing collaboration with IC manufacturers on in-fab EUV reticle inspection requirements. Teron SL655 systems are under evaluation with IC manufacturers for incoming reticle quality control and reticle re-qualification during chip production.

RDC is a comprehensive data analysis and storage platform that supports multiple KLA-Tencor reticle inspection and metrology platforms for mask shops and IC fabs. RDC provides several applications including Automatic Defect Classification (ADC), which runs concurrently with the inspection station, and Lithography Plane Review (LPR), which analyzes the printability of defects detected by reticle inspectors. These applications automate defect disposition decisions, resulting in improved cycle time and reduction in critical errors. RDC has been adopted by multiple foundry and memory manufacturers for data management and analysis during mask qualification.

The Teron 640, Teron SL655 and RDC join the LMS IPRO6 reticle pattern placement metrology system and K-T Analyzer advanced data analysis system in providing a comprehensive reticle qualification solution for advanced mask and IC manufacturers. The Teron 640, Teron SL655 and RDC are also critical components in KLA-Tencor’s 5D Patterning Control Solution™, which helps IC manufacturers obtain better patterning performance through process monitoring and control throughout the fab and mask shop. To maintain the high performance and productivity demanded by leading-edge mask and IC manufacturing, the Teron 640, Teron SL655 and RDC are backed by KLA-Tencor’s global comprehensive service network. More information can be found on the 5D Patterning Control Solution web page.

If you’ve never had the plumber to your house, you’ve been lucky. Pipes can burst due to a catastrophic event, like subzero temperatures, or time and use can take a toll, wearing away at the materials with small dings and dents that aren’t evident until it’s too late.

But what if there were a way to identify those small, often microscopic failures before you had to call for help?

The Autonomous Materials Systems (AMS) Group at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology has recently found a new way to identify microscopic damage in polymers and composite materials before total failure occurs.

Colorless, non-fluorescent microcapsules use a type of fluorescence called aggregation-induced emission (AIE), which becomes brighter as the indicator solidifies from solution and is visible under ultraviolet (UV) light. Credit: Autonomous Materials Systems Group, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois

Colorless, non-fluorescent microcapsules use a type of fluorescence called aggregation-induced emission (AIE), which becomes brighter as the indicator solidifies from solution and is visible under ultraviolet (UV) light.
Credit: Autonomous Materials Systems Group, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois

“Autonomous indication of small cracks has exciting potential to make structures safer and more reliable by giving time to intervene and repair or replace the damaged region prior to catastrophic failure,” said Nancy Sottos, professor of materials science and engineering, and one of the authors of “A Robust Damage-Reporting Strategy for Polymeric Materials Enabled by Aggression-Induced Emission,” recently published in ACS Central Science. The paper is part of a research project selected as a finalist for the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) Global Awards 2016.

The researchers sequestered fluids containing turn-on fluorescence indicators in microcapsules, and then incorporated them into polymeric materials.

“We’ve developed microcapsules that are colorless and non-fluorescent when intact,” said Maxwell Robb, Beckman Institute Postdoctoral Fellow and a lead author on the paper. “We can embed them into materials, and when damage occurs, the microcapsules will release their payload and become fluorescent, indicating that repair is needed.”

Previous work led by Wenle Li, a postdoctoral research associate and co-first author of the study, had investigated another type of indicator within microcapsules, which underwent a chemical reaction upon release to produce a color change. However, the nature of the chemical reaction limited the system to a narrow range of materials.

The new method uses a type of fluorescence called aggregation-induced emission (AIE), which becomes brighter as the indicator solidifies from solution and is visible under ultraviolet (UV) light. The unique mechanism of indication, which relies on a physical change of state instead of a chemical reaction, enables excellent performance in a wide variety of materials and for visualizing different types of damage.

“The elegance of this system lies in its versatility as well as its sensitivity,” said Li. “We can easily visualize a fluorescence signal resulting from mechanical damage as small as two microns.”

The research is funded by BP, which is interested in coating oil and gas pipelines with a polymer coating that will be able to indicate damage. The goal is to target damage at its earliest stage to prevent further deterioration, improve safety and reliability, and reduce life cycle costs associated with regular maintenance and inspection.

Using instruments in Beckman’s Microscopy Suite, the group was able to study the microcapsules and coatings of various materials, image them, and correlate the fluorescence signals to 3D structures of the damaged coatings.

“This is incredibly interdisciplinary work,” said Robb. “Having knowledge about the aggregation-induced emission effect, and being able to design the chemistry of the microcapsule system was the starting point. Then there is the actual application of this technology into materials and coatings, which relies heavily on the expertise within materials science and engineering.”

The AMS Group includes Sottos, Jeffrey Moore, professor of chemistry, and Scott White, professor of aerospace engineering, who also co-authored the study. Their work has led to new discoveries in self-detecting and self-healing materials.

“To impact the coatings industry, materials with self-reporting capability must meet a few criteria: they must be simple, not change the way the materials are traditionally applied, and perform just as well,” said Moore. “Our approach hits this target – the new self-reporting function is realized by just one simple additive.”

The next steps for this research are to combine damage indication with self-healing materials.

“If you could couple this technology that lets you know that damage has occurred with a self-healing material that tells you when the damage has been healed, it could be really powerful,” said Robb.

“We have developed both turn-on fluorescence and color-changing indication systems. Our vision is to combine these multi-channel strategies to enable materials that monitor their mechanical integrity throughout the entire polymer lifecycle,” said Li.

SEMI announced today that over 43,000 visitors are expected to attend SEMICON Taiwan September 7-9 at the TWTC Nangang Exhibition Hall in Taipei. Over 550 exhibitors, 16 themed pavilions, and more than 20 international forums are being readied to connect attendees with companies, people, products, and information forming the future of advanced electronics, including a major focus on advanced packaging.

Douglas Yu, senior director of Integrated Interconnect and Packaging Technology at TSMC, recently announced that TSMC needs to transition – from the world’s leading IC foundry – to the industry’s first System in Package (SiP) foundry (SEMICON West; July 2016).  Yu stated, “We are a wafer foundry, but we are doing some packaging business to survive and grow . . . Moore’s law is becoming more challenging, so we are preparing for those days.”  Sources say that TSMC’s chip packaging changes have led to improvements of 20 percent in both speed and packaging thickness and 10 percent in thermal performance.

SEMICON Taiwan is an exceptional event to learn about the latest advances in packaging. On September 7, the SEMI Advanced Packaging Technology Symposium‘s theme is “Fan Out Solutions – Cost-effective FO Solutions, 3D/SiP FO Solutions, and Fine Patterning.” Industry experts from a wide range of companies will present, including: Amkor, APIC Yamada, ASE, ASM, IEK, Kulicke & Soffa, Lam Research, Protec, Senju, SPTS, SUSS MicroTec Photonic Systems, and Ueno SEIKI.

On September 8, SEMICON Taiwan’s SiP Global Summit begins with a 2.5/3D-IC Technology Forum with presentations from TSMC, Amkor, ANSYS, ASE Group, EVG, Fraunhofer IZM, Hitachi Chemical, IBM, IMEC, NMC, and SPIL.  On September 9, the SiP Summit features an Embedded and Wafer Level Package Technology Forum, with moderators from ASM Pacific Technology, ITRI, and SPIL.

Beyond packaging, many other innovation areas such as Smart Manufacturing, Semiconductor Materials and Executive Summit –Grand Opening Keynote session which always draws the most attention will be presented in technical and business programs, as well as on the show floor at the TechXPOTs, including:

  • High-Tech Facility TechXPOT: AccuDevice, Forbo Flooring, Hantech Engineering, Lumax International, Organo Technology, Particle Measuring, Rockwell Automation, Supenergy, Techgo Industrial, Trusval Technology, VIVOTEK, Wholetech Systems Hitech, and many more
  • Materials TechXPOT: AI Technology, Atotech Taiwan, CohPros International, CSI Chemical, Nippon Pulse Motor Trading (Taiwan), Tatsuta Electric Wire & Cable, and Uniwave Enterprise
  • New Product Launch TechXPOT: AblePrint Technology, Chemleader, Creating Nano Technologies, EVG-Jointech, First Elite Enterprise, SEIPI, Sigmatek, Sil-More Industrial, and YXLON/Teltec Semiconductor Pacific
  • Smart Manufacturing TechXPOT: Balluff Taiwan, Cimetrix, Dah Hsing Electric, and Gallant Precision Machining

For more information and registration for SEMICON Taiwan, please visit: www.semicontaiwan.org/en

Reno Sub-Systems, a developer of high-performance radio frequency (RF) matching networks, RF power generators and gas flow management systems for semiconductor manufacturing, today announced that it has secured its first platform design win for its Electronically Variable Capacitor (EVC) matching network. The order comes from a tier-one equipment manufacturer and will be installed as the default standard on its etch systems in a leading global semiconductor manufacturer’s high-volume production facility. Reno secured the design win following successful beta testing with the end customer.

Leading semiconductor manufacturers are driving semiconductor OEMs to improve film characteristics and process consistency between chambers and systems. These challenges are becoming greater as technology nodes shrink and move to multiple patterning, finFET logic gates, 3D NAND and through silicon via (TSV) devices.

“Our EVC matching network was specifically designed to address the most challenging plasma-related deposition and etch processes,” said Bob MacKnight, CEO of Reno Sub-Systems. “Microsecond RF tuning is essential for 14nm and below high volume manufacturing.”

The new, disruptive EVC technology enables unprecedented RF matching speeds not possible with vacuum variable capacitors (VVCs), which is the current industry standard. Reno’s patented EVC technology facilitates the speed, accuracy and plasma stability unachievable by RF matches being used for etch and deposition processes today.This run-to-run repeatable and accurate Instantaneous Match technology enables the precise, high-aspect ratio, selectively anisotropic sharp-edge plasma processing required for next-generation devices, including 3D structures.

“We recently completed our Series B round of funding to ramp to high-volume manufacturing,” said MacKnight. “Having received our first major production order validates our technology and we are proud to be shipping in volume.”

Imagine an electronic newspaper that you could roll up and spill your coffee on, even as it updated itself before your eyes.

It’s an example of the technological revolution that has been waiting to happen, except for one major problem that, until now, scientists have not been able to resolve.

Researchers at McMaster University have cleared that obstacle by developing a new way to purify carbon nanotubes – the smaller, nimbler semiconductors that are expected to replace silicon within computer chips and a wide array of electronics.

Artistic rendition of a metallic carbon nanotube being pulled into solution, in analogy to the work described by the Adronov group. Credit: Alex Adronov, McMaster University

Artistic rendition of a metallic carbon nanotube being pulled into solution, in analogy to the work described by the Adronov group. Credit: Alex Adronov, McMaster University

“Once we have a reliable source of pure nanotubes that are not very expensive, a lot can happen very quickly,” says Alex Adronov, a professor of Chemistry at McMaster whose research team has developed a new and potentially cost-efficient way to purify carbon nanotubes.

Carbon nanotubes – hair-like structures that are one billionth of a metre in diameter but thousands of times longer – are tiny, flexible conductive nano-scale materials, expected to revolutionize computers and electronics by replacing much larger silicon-based chips.

A major problem standing in the way of the new technology, however, has been untangling metallic and semiconducting carbon nanotubes, since both are created simultaneously in the process of producing the microscopic structures, which typically involves heating carbon-based gases to a point where mixed clusters of nanotubes form spontaneously as black soot.

Only pure semiconducting or metallic carbon nanotubes are effective in device applications, but efficiently isolating them has proven to be a challenging problem to overcome. Even when the nanotube soot is ground down, semiconducting and metallic nanotubes are knotted together within each grain of powder. Both components are valuable, but only when separated.

Researchers around the world have spent years trying to find effective and efficient ways to isolate carbon nanotubes and unleash their value.

While previous researchers had created polymers that could allow semiconducting carbon nanotubes to be dissolved and washed away, leaving metallic nanotubes behind, there was no such process for doing the opposite: dispersing the metallic nanotubes and leaving behind the semiconducting structures.

Now, Adronov’s research group has managed to reverse the electronic characteristics of a polymer known to disperse semiconducting nanotubes – while leaving the rest of the polymer’s structure intact. By so doing, they have reversed the process, leaving the semiconducting nanotubes behind while making it possible to disperse the metallic nanotubes.

The researchers worked closely with experts and equipment from McMaster’s Faculty of Engineering and the Canada Centre for Electron Microscopy, located on the university’s campus.

“There aren’t many places in the world where you can to this type of interdisciplinary work,” Adronov says.

The next step, he explains, is for his team or other researchers to exploit the discovery by finding a way to develop even more efficient polymers and scale up the process for commercial production.

One of the most critical issues the United States faces today is preventing terrorists from smuggling nuclear weapons into its ports. To this end, the U.S. Security and Accountability for Every Port Act mandates that all overseas cargo containers be scanned for possible nuclear materials or weapons.

Detecting neutron signals is an effective method to identify nuclear weapons and special nuclear materials. Helium-3 gas is used within detectors deployed in ports for this purpose.

The catch? While helium-3 gas works well for neutron detection, it’s extremely rare on Earth. Intense demand for helium-3 gas detectors has nearly depleted the supply, most of which was generated during the period of nuclear weapons production during the past 50 years. It isn’t easy to reproduce, and the scarcity of helium-3 gas has caused its cost to skyrocket recently — making it impossible to deploy enough neutron detectors to fulfill the requirement to scan all incoming overseas cargo containers.

Helium-4 is a more abundant form of helium gas, which is much less expensive, but can’t be used for neutron detection because it doesn’t interact with neutrons.

A group of Texas Tech University researchers led by Professors Hongxing Jiang and Jingyu Lin report this week in Applied Physics Letters, from AIP Publishing, that they have developed an alternative material — hexagonal boron nitride semiconductors — for neutron detection. This material fulfills many key requirements for helium gas detector replacements and can serve as a low-cost alternative in the future.

The group’s concept was first proposed to the Department of Homeland Security’s Domestic Nuclear Detection Office and received funding from its Academic Research Initiative program six years ago.

By using a 43-micron-thick hexagonal boron-10 enriched nitride layer, the group created a thermal neutron detector with 51.4 percent detection efficiency, which is a record high for semiconductor thermal neutron detectors.

“Higher detection efficiency is anticipated by further increasing the material thickness and improving materials quality,” explained Professor Jiang, Nanophotonics Center and Electrical & Computer Engineering, Whitacre College of Engineering, Texas Tech University.

“Our approach of using hexagonal boron nitride semiconductors for neutron detection centers on the fact that its boron-10 isotope has a very large interaction probability with thermal neutrons,” Jiang continued. “This makes it possible to create high-efficiency neutron detectors with relatively thin hexagonal boron nitride layers. And the very large energy bandgap of this semiconductor — 6.5 eV — gives these detectors inherently low leakage current densities.”

The key significance of the group’s work? This is a completely new material and technology that offers many advantages.

“Compared to helium gas detectors, boron nitride technology improves the performance of neutron detectors in terms of efficiency, sensitivity, ruggedness, versatile form factor, compactness, lightweight, no pressurization … and it’s inexpensive,” Jiang said.

This means that the material has the potential to revolutionize neutron detector technologies.

“Beyond special nuclear materials and weapons detection, solid-state neutron detectors also have medical, health, military, environment, and industrial applications,” he added. “The material also has applications in deep ultraviolet photonics and two-dimensional heterostructures. With the successful demonstration of high-efficiency neutron detectors, we expect it to perform well for other future applications.”

The main innovation behind this new type of neutron detector was developing hexagonal boron nitride with epitaxial layers of sufficient thickness — which previously didn’t exist.

“It took our group six years to find ways to produce this new material with a sufficient thickness and crystalline quality for neutron detection,” Jiang noted.

Based on their experience working with III-nitride wide bandgap semiconductors, the group knew at the outset that producing a material with high crystalline quality would be difficult.

“It’s surprising to us that the detector performs so well, despite the fact that there’s still a little room for improvement in terms of material quality,” he said.

One of the most important impacts of the group’s work is that “this new material and its potential should begin to be recognized by the semiconductor materials and radiation detection communities,” Jiang added.

Now that the group has solved the problem of producing hexagonal boron nitride with sufficient thickness, as well as crystalline quality to enable the demonstration of neutron detectors with high efficiency, the next step is to demonstrate high-sensitivity of large-size detectors.

“These devices must be capable of detecting nuclear weapons from distances tens of meters away, which requires large-size detectors,” Jiang added. “There are technical challenges to overcome, but we’re working toward this goal.”