Yearly Archives: 2016

Although shipments of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensors used in automotive applications grew 8.4 percent in 2015, revenues were flat compared to the previous year, reaching $2.7 billion. In contrast, the value of this market is expected to recover this year, rising 4.3 percent to reach $2.8 billion in 2016, according to IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO).

The automotive MEMS market is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.9 percent from 2015 to 2022, to reach $3.2 billion in 2022. Global shipments will exceed two billion units for the first time at the end of this period, according to the IHS Markit Automotive Sensor Intelligence Service.

“Just three types of MEMS devices used in the automotive industry account for more than 95 percent of market value: pressure sensors, accelerometers and gyroscopes,” said Richard Dixon, principal analyst, automotive sensors, IHS Markit. “The primary systems relying on these devices are electronic stability control systems, airbags, tire-pressure monitors and manifold absolute-pressure sensors, although IHS tracks 34 other automotive MEMS applications.”

While these markets will remain, by their nature, still relatively small by 2022, the fastest growing volume applications in the coming years will include the detection of pedestrians, air-intake humidity measurement, microphones for hands-free calling in infotainment systems and microbolometers for night-vision systems used in driver assistance. New sensor areas on the horizon include scanning mirrors for head-up displays and adaptive LED headlights.

Top 10 automotive MEMS sensor suppliers

For second-tier suppliers of automotive sensors, 2015 was a good year. However, significant devaluations of the Euro and Yen affected the businesses of several companies. Leading Germany-based sensor supplier Robert Bosch was among the companies hit by exchange rate weakness, but its business continues to soar in local currency and shipments.

Sensata followed Bosch in the second-ranked position, exhibiting subdued 2015 revenue growth, despite last year’s acquisition of CST, including the sensor business of Kavlico. Along with its strong position in powertrain pressure sensors, Sensata benefits from its high-profile acquisition of Schrader, which made it the leading supplier of tire pressure monitors.

A name new to the MEMS sensor business is NXP, whose acquisition of Freescale last year catapulted the company into third-ranked position. NXP is known for its automotive magnetic sensors, while pressure sensors and accelerometers are the key sensors brought to the company via the Freescale acquisition.

The remaining seven companies also showed subdued results, with Japanese companies like Denso (ranked fourth) and Panasonic (ranked sixth). Both companies were adversely affected by the continued softness of the Yen.

Top_MEMS_Suppliers_IHS

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) announced the release of the 2015 International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS), a collaborative report that surveys the technological challenges and opportunities for the semiconductor industry through 2030. The ITRS seeks to identify future technical obstacles and shortfalls, so the industry and research community can collaborate effectively to overcome them and build the next generation of semiconductors – the enabling technology of modern electronics. The current report marks the final installment of the ITRS.

“For a quarter-century, the Roadmap has been an important guidepost for evaluating and advancing semiconductor innovation,” said John Neuffer, president and CEO, Semiconductor Industry Association. “The latest and final installment provides key findings about the future of semiconductor technology and serves as a useful bridge to the next wave of semiconductor research initiatives.”

Faced with ever-evolving research needs and technology challenges, industry leaders have decided to conclude the ITRS and transition to new ways to advance semiconductor research and bring about the next generation of semiconductor innovations. While the final ITRS report charts a path for existing technology research, additional research is needed as we transition to an even more connected world, enabled by innovations like the Internet of Things. Some of these technology challenges were outlined in a recent SIA-Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) report, “Rebooting the IT Revolution,” but work continues to define research gaps and implement new research programs.

The ITRS is sponsored by five regions of the world – Europe, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the United States. Through the cooperative efforts of the global chip manufacturers and equipment suppliers, research communities and consortia, the ITRS has identified critical gaps, technical needs, and potential solutions related to semiconductor technology.

“SIA appreciates the hard work, dedication, and expertise of those involved with the ITRS over the years and looks forward to continuing the industry’s work to strengthen semiconductor research and maintain the pipeline of semiconductor innovations that fuel the digital economy,” Neuffer said.

Researchers from North Carolina State University and the U.S. Army Research Office have developed a way to integrate novel functional materials onto a computer chip, allowing the creation of new smart devices and systems.

The novel functional materials are oxides, including several types of materials that, until now, could not be integrated onto silicon chips: multiferroic materials, which have both ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties; topological insulators, which act as insulators in bulk but have conductive properties on their surface; and novel ferroelectric materials. These materials are thought to hold promise for applications including sensors, non-volatile computer memory and microelectromechanical systems, which are better known as MEMS.

“These novel oxides are normally grown on materials that are not compatible with computing devices,” says Jay Narayan, the John C. Fan Distinguished Chair Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the work. “We are now able to integrate these materials onto a silicon chip, allowing us to incorporate their functions into electronic devices.”

The approach developed by the researchers allows them to integrate the materials onto two platforms, both of which are compatible with silicon: a titanium nitride platform, for use with nitride-based electronics; and yttria-stabilized zirconia, for use with oxide-based electronics.

Specifically, the researchers developed a suite of thin films that serve as a buffer, connecting the silicon chip to the relevant novel materials. The exact combination of thin films varies, depending on which novel materials are being used.

For example, if using multiferroic materials, researchers use a combination of four different thin films: titanium nitride, magnesium oxide, strontium oxide and lanthanum strontium manganese oxide. But for topological insulators, they would use a combination of only two thin films: magnesium oxide and titanium nitride.

These thin film buffers align with the planes of the crystalline structure in the novel oxide materials, as well as with the planes of the underlying substrate – effectively serving as a communicating layer between the materials.

This approach, called thin film epitaxy, is based on the concept of domain-matching epitaxy, and was first proposed by Narayan in a 2003 paper.

“Integrating these novel materials onto silicon chips makes many things possible,” Narayan says. “For example, this allows us to sense or collect data; to manipulate that data; and to calculate a response – all on one compact chip. This makes for faster, more efficient, lighter devices.”

Another possible application, Narayan says, is the creation of LEDs on silicon chips, to make “smart lights.” Currently, LEDs are made using sapphire substrates, which aren’t directly compatible with computing devices.

“We’ve already patented this integration technology, and are currently looking for industry partners to license it,” Narayan says.

Contributing editor and blogger Phil Garrou received the 3D InCites “Device of the Year” award during the 2016 SEMICON West conference for “Excellence in 3D Packaging Technologies.” The awards were a result of industry voting for individuals, companies and products exhibiting excellence in 3D packaging expertise and contributing to the commercialization of game-changing technologies such as: fan-out wafer level packaging (FOWLP), interposer-based packages, 3D stacks and 3D System-in-Package (SiP).

  • Since his retirement from Dow Chemical in 2004, Dr. Garrou has provided information as a consultant, expert witness and reporter on high end packaging with a focus on 2.5 / 3D Integration.
  • His weekly Solid State Technology packaging blog “Insights From the Leading Edge” (IFTLE) is now approaching its 300th post.
  • He has written 130 articles for Yole Developpement’s iMicronews that took “A Closer Look” at advanced packaging technologies focusing on 3DIC.
  • He co-edited Vol. 1-3 of the Wiley VCH series “Handbook of 3D Integration” in 2008 and 2014 and co-edited the first MRS Proceedings on 3DIC (2006 & 2008).
  • Garrou helped create and chaired the 1st and 4th “IEEE 3D System Integration Conference” that is now entering its 7th year and has been Technical Chair of the RTI “3D Architectures for Semiconductor Integration & Packaging” Conference (3D ASIP) for the past 9 years.
Phil Garrou accepts the award for "Excellence in 3D Packaging Technologies" from 3D InCites Francoise von Trapp.

Phil Garrou accepts the award for “Excellence in 3D Packaging Technologies” from 3D InCites Francoise von Trapp.

Amkor Technology, Inc. recently received the 3D InCites “Device of the Year” award during SEMICON West for its’ SWIFT semiconductor package. The awards were a result of industry voting for individuals, companies and products exhibiting excellence in 3D packaging expertise and contributing to the commercialization of game-changing technologies such as: fan-out wafer level packaging (FOWLP), interposer-based packages, 3D stacks and 3D System-in-Package (SiP).

Amkor’s SWIFT product was uniquely developed to deliver a high yielding, high-performance package with the thinnest profile in the industry. This package can deliver 2 µm line/space lithography with up to 4 layers of RDL and a very dense network of memory interface vias from bottom package to the top package at a very cost competitive price.

Jon Woodyard, Amkor's VP of Technical Programs accepts the 3D InCites award for "Device of the Year" from Francoise von Trapp and Stephen Hiebert, KLA-Tencor.

Jon Woodyard, Amkor’s VP of Technical Programs accepts the 3D InCites award for “Device of the Year” from Francoise von Trapp and Stephen Hiebert, KLA-Tencor.

Quantum drag


July 20, 2016

Friction and drag are commonplace in nature. You experience these phenomena when riding in an airplane, pairing electrical wiring, or rubbing pieces of sandpaper together.

Friction and drag also exist at the quantum level, the realm of atoms and molecules invisible to the naked eye. But how these forces interact across materials and energy sources remain in doubt.

In a new study, University of Iowa theoretical physicist Michael Flatté proposes that a magnetic current flowing through a magnetic iron sheet will cause a current in a second, nearby magnetic iron sheet, even though the sheets aren’t connected. The movement is created, Flatté and his team say, when electrons whose magnetic spin is disturbed by the current on the first sheet exert a force, through electromagnetic radiation, to create magnetic spin in the second sheet.

The findings may prove beneficial in the emerging field of spintronics, which seeks to channel the energy from spin waves generated by electrons to create smaller, more energy-efficient computers and electronic devices.

“It means there are more ways to manipulate through magnetic currents than we thought, and that’s a good thing,” says Flatté, senior author and team leader on the paper published June 9 in the journal Physical Review Letters.

Flatté has been studying how currents in magnetic materials might be used to build electronic circuits at the nanoscale, where dimensions are measured in billionths of a meter, or roughly 1/50,000 the width of a human hair. Scientists knew that an electrical current introduced in a wire will drag a current in another nearby wire. Flatté’s team reasoned that the same effects may hold true for magnetic currents in magnetic layers.

In a magnetic substance, such as iron, each atom acts as a small, individual magnet. These atomic magnets tend to point in the same direction, like an array of tiny compasses fixated on a common magnetic point. But the slightest disturbance to the direction of just one of these atomic magnets throws the entire group into disarray: The collective magnetic strength in the group decreases. The smallest individual disturbance is called a magnon.

Flatté and his team report that a steady magnon current introduced into one iron magnetic layer will produce a magnon current in a second layer–in the same plane of the layer but at an angle to the introduced current. They propose that the electron spins disturbed in the layer where the current was introduced engage in a sort of “cross talk” with spins in the other layer, exerting a force that drags the spins along for the ride.

“What’s exciting is you get this response (in the layer with no introduced current), even though there’s no physical connection between the layers,” says Flatté, professor in the physics department and director of the Optical Science and Technology Center at the UI. “This is a physical reaction through electromagnetic radiation.”

How electrons in one layer communicate and dictate action to electrons in a separate layer is somewhat bizarre.

Take electricity: When an electrical current flows in one wire, a mutual friction drags current in a nearby wire. At the quantum level, the physical dynamics appear to be different. Imagine that each electron in a solid has an internal bar magnet, a tiny compass of sorts. In a magnetic material, those internal bar magnets are aligned. When heat or a current is applied to the solid, the electrons’ compasses get repositioned, creating a magnetic spin wave that ripples through the solid. In the theoretical case studied by Flatté, the disturbance to the solid excites magnons in one layer that then exert influence on the other layer, creating a spin wave in the other layer, even though it is physically separate.

“It turns out there is the same effect with spin waves,” Flatté says.

Contributing authors include Tianyu Liu with the physics and astronomy department at the UI and Giovanni Vignale at the University of Missouri, Columbia.

The U.S. National Science Foundation funded the research through grants to the Center for Emergent Materials.

It looks like a small piece of transparent film with tiny engravings on it, and is flexible enough to be bent into a tube. Yet, this piece of “smart” plastic demonstrates excellent performance in terms of data storage and processing capabilities. This novel invention, developed by researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS), hails a breakthrough in the flexible electronics revolution, and brings researchers a step closer towards making flexible, wearable electronics a reality in the near future.

Associate Professor Yang Hyunsoo from the National University of Singapore, who led a research team to successfully embed a powerful magnetic memory chip on a plastic material, demonstrating the flexibility of the memory chip. Credit: National University of Singapore

Associate Professor Yang Hyunsoo from the National University of Singapore, who led a research team to successfully embed a powerful magnetic memory chip on a plastic material, demonstrating the flexibility of the memory chip. Credit: National University of Singapore

The technological advancement is achieved in collaboration with researchers from Yonsei University, Ghent University and Singapore’s Institute of Materials Research and Engineering. The research team has successfully embedded a powerful magnetic memory chip on a flexible plastic material, and this malleable memory chip will be a critical component for the design and development of flexible and lightweight devices. Such devices have great potential in applications such as automotive, healthcare electronics, industrial motor control and robotics, industrial power and energy management, as well as military and avionics systems.

The research team, led by Associate Professor Yang Hyunsoo of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the NUS Faculty of Engineering, published their findings in the journal Advanced Materials on 6 July 2016.

Flexible, high-performance memory devices a key enabler for flexible electronics 

Flexible electronics has become the subject of active research in recent times. In particular, flexible magnetic memory devices have attracted a lot of attention as they are the fundamental component required for data storage and processing in wearable electronics and biomedical devices, which require various functions such as wireless communication, information storage and code processing.

Although a substantial amount of research has been conducted on different types of memory chips and materials, there are still significant challenges in fabricating high performance memory chips on soft substrates that are flexible, without sacrificing performance.

To address the current technological challenges, the research team, led by Assoc Prof Yang, developed a novel technique to implant a high-performance magnetic memory chip on a flexible plastic surface.

The novel device operates on magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), which uses a magnesium oxide (MgO)-based magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) to store data. MRAM outperforms conventional random access memory (RAM) computer chips in many aspects, including the ability to retain data after a power supply is cut off, high processing speed, and low power consumption.

Novel technique to implant MRAM chip on a flexible plastic surface

The research team first grew the MgO-based MTJ on a silicon surface, and then etched away the underlying silicon. Using a transfer printing approach, the team implanted the magnetic memory chip on a ?exible plastic surface made of polyethylene terephthalate while controlling the amount of strain caused by placing the memory chip on the plastic surface.

Assoc Prof Yang said, “Our experiments showed that our device’s tunneling magnetoresistance could reach up to 300 per cent – it’s like a car having extraordinary levels of horsepower. We have also managed to achieve improved abruptness of switching. With all these enhanced features, the flexible magnetic chip is able to transfer data faster.”

Commenting on the significance of the breakthrough, Assoc Prof Yang said, “Flexible electronics will become the norm in the near future, and all new electronic components should be compatible with flexible electronics. We are the first team to fabricate magnetic memory on a flexible surface, and this significant milestone gives us the impetus to further enhance the performance of flexible memory devices and contribute towards the flexible electronics revolution.”

Assoc Prof Yang and his team were recently granted United States and South Korea patents for their technology. They are conducting experiments to improve the magnetoresistance of the device by fine-tuning the level of strain in its magnetic structure, and they are also planning to apply their technique in various other electronic components. The team is also interested to work with industry partners to explore further applications of this novel technology.

STMicroelectronics has introduced a new line up of world’s smallest single-chip motor drivers for the portable and wearable applications. With the combination of low power consumption and small form factor, the ST’s new motor driver plans to contribute to the battery powered IoT device adoption.

The 3mm by 3mm motor drivers will focus on combining logic and power components in a single chip while taking care of power budgets and tight space. The drivers will operate from a supply voltage of 1.8V with the standby current of less than 80nA for a zero-power state. The drivers can also be used in a wide range of applications including robotic positioning systems, printer motors, camera-autofocus mechanisms, toothbrush motors or syringe pumps.

The existence of portable devices in everyday life is becoming more significant with the considerable increase in the use of well-developed battery-powered equipment with extended run-time that becomes smaller day by day.

“Our latest STSPIN single-chip devices are proven to simplify precision motor control and cut time to market for new products,” said Domenico Arrigo, General Manager Industrial and Power Conversion Division, STMicroelectronics. “The ultra-low power consumption extends runtime in battery-operated applications and enables designers to enhance portable and mobile devices with high-added-value motorized functions.”

ST’s new STSPIN motor devices are in production and are priced from $0.75 and $0.96 for order of 1,000 pieces.

The gallium nitride (GaN) substrates market is set to cross $4 billion USD by 2020, according to the market research report “Gallium Nitride (GaN) Substrates Market Analysis: By Type (GaN on sapphire, GaN on Si, GaN on SiC, GaN on GaN); By Products (Blu-ray Disc (BD), LEDs, UV LEDs) By Industry (Consumer Electronics, Telecom, Industrial, Power, Solar, Wind)-Forecast(2015-2020)”, published by IndustryARC.

Gallium Nitride (GaN) is a semiconductor compound material which has proved to be advantageous in comparison to the other conventional materials such as Silicon, Silicon Carbide, Aluminum, and so on. GaN substrates are essential materials which are deployed across blue-violet laser diodes in recorders or BD players and the power control elements. GaN materials are also used across optoelectronic products such as lasers, LEDs, Power Electronics and Radio Frequency amplifiers.

Optoelectronics are the key devices that employ GaN substrates, among which, LEDs account for over 70% share. Traditionally, these devices are grown on GaN on Sapphire, GaN on Si, and GaN on Sic substrates with GaN on Sapphire being the most utilized substrate. However, these substrates contain GaN layers grown by epitaxial methods leading to lattice mismatches and defects. In this context, the gallium nitride substrates are presented as the potential substitute for the foreign substrates. The GaN epitaxy if performed on the native substrates has several technical advantages and also improves the performance of the devices.

According to recent study by IndustryARC, the GaN substrates market is dominated by sapphire which is nearing maturity. The market for sapphire substrates was around $ 1.4 billion in 2014 and estimated to grow at 7% CAGR in 2015-2020. The market is estimated to showcase normal growth rates and grow predictably till 2020 and if any disrupting market developments are expected from the silicon and bulk GaN substrate areas. There is only company, Cree Inc. manufacturing GaN on SiC products and very few players adopting GaN on Si. Acquisitions and partnerships are going to be the key in these segments to showcase significant growth in the next five years.

Asia-Pacific is the key region for both substrates and devices market. LEDs, with demand in particular from automotive and lighting industry, are estimated to drive the GaN market in the period 2015-2020. In this, region, Japan, China, and Korea are the key regions where majority of the players are located and demand emerges. The less labor and production costs in these countries are aiding manufacturers to set up production facilities. In 2015, Panasonic Corporation has shifted its LED production to Japan from Indonesia to capitalize these advantages in the country and further grow its share in the LED market. Besides that, the substrate suppliers are also strongly distributed in the region. With these players significantly scaling up their global market position, the prices are estimated to be affected significantly. In countries such as China, the substrates are offered at cheaper prices which will not only attract LED producers significantly but also intensify demand for cheaper products.

The bulk GaN or GaN on GaN substrates hold lot of promise in the LED, Power Electronics, and RF products. Particularly in power electronics, the bulk gallium nitride substrates are proven to be very useful. There is significant research underway to realize the GaN material potential into these industries and very recently, MIT researchers have successfully enabled GaN power transistors at low cost. Due to huge power saving nature of the components made from them, the billion dollar markets such as internet of things and electric vehicles market are only ready to embrace bulk GaN substrates. Thus, with encouraging developments in the market and potential billion markets, bulk GaN is projected as the game changer. But, to realize the same, there are substantial obstacles in terms of production and capital. Therefore, even in 2020, the market is estimated to be dominated by foreign substrates where bulk GaN will account for smaller share.

Unisem reported it recently shipped its one billionth packaged MEMS device and continues to invest capex in both MEMS assembly equipment and the development of additional factory floor space for this expanding market.

With MEMS device revenues forecasted to grow from 11.9 Billion USD in 2015 to 20 Billion USD by 2021 (Yole), Unisem sees MEMS as a strategic part of their technology and growth plans moving forward. With over 9 years of experience developing MEMS packaging solutions, Unisem estimates that their MEMS unit volumes will grow by over 50 percent over the next 12 months.
Part of Unisem’s growth strategy for MEMS packaging includes the dedication of additional factory floor space. In its factory in Chengdu, China, the company has recently completed the installation and certification of a 1200 sq. meter class 100 clean room to support the assembly needs of MEMS microphones, combination cavity packages, and other devices that either require or benefit from this level of controlled environment.

In addition to the new class 100 clean room, Unisem also has brought in Film Assisted Molding capability to support the expansion of their MEMS molded cavity package offerings. Film Assisted Molding allows Unisem to target both the automotive and industrial MEMS pressure sensor market as well as the growing market for consumer pressure, humidity, temperature, gas sensors and combinations of these. This technology enables Unisem to use leadframe based packages and to mold the sensor device itself leaving only the sensing area exposed in the cavity.

Unisem continues to make MEMS packaging a key component to its growth moving forward with continued investments in technology, equipment and factory floor space to meet their demands as they move into their next billion units of MEMS devices assembled.

Unisem is a global provider of semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) services for electronics companies.