Category Archives: Applications

Microcontrollers are in the middle of an incredible wave of unit growth, but unprecedented price erosion is keeping a lid on the increase of revenues, according to IC Insights’ Mid-Year Update to its 2015 McClean Report on the integrated circuit industry.  The mid-year forecast shows microcontroller shipments rising 33 percent in 2015 to 25.4 billion MCUs worldwide as a result of a tremendous upsurge in units for smartcards and 32-bit applications—many of which are aimed at the Internet of Things (IoT) market.

Despite the blistering pace of unit growth, dollar-volume sales of MCUs are now expected to rise by just 4 percent in 2015, reaching a new record high of $16.6 billion from about $15.9 billion in 2014, when total MCU revenues also increased 4 percent.  As seen in Figure 1, average selling prices for microcontrollers are expected to continue plunging with ASPs nose-diving 21 percent in 2015 to $0.65 compared to $0.83 in 2014, when the ASP for MCUs fell 12 percent.  IC Insights’ Mid-Year Update forecasts a 14 percent drop in MCU ASPs in 2016 with microcontroller revenue growing 7 percent to $17.7 billion and unit shipments climbing 25 percent to 31.6 billion worldwide.

Starting in 2014, microcontroller unit growth accelerated, driven by rocketing shipments of low-cost MCUs used in smartcards for protection in electronic banking and credit-card transactions, mass-transit fares, government IDs (such as electronic passports), medical records, and security applications.  After a 26 percent increase in 2014, smartcard MCU shipments are now expected to surge by 41 percent in 2015 to 12.9 billion units worldwide, followed by 25 percent growth in 2016 to 16.1 billion.

The mid-year forecast significantly raises the projection for smartcard MCU shipments through 2019 as U.S. credit card companies, banks, retailers, government agencies, and other industry sectors begin to broadly adopt secure “chip-card” technology, much like Europe and other country markets have done since the 1990s. In the U.S., massive data breaches in credit card transactions at retail stores and growing concerns about identity theft have finally resulted a major move to smartcards for higher levels of security, anti-fraud encryption, and greater protection of lost or stolen debit and credit cards.

mcu unit shipments

While price erosion weighs on total MCU sales growth, total microcontroller shipments are also accelerating because of strong demand for 32-bit designs and other single-chip solutions that can serve the explosion of sensors in wireless systems and connection to the Internet of Things. IoT-related MCU sales are forecast to grow 16 percent in 2015 to $405 million with unit shipments climbing 40 percent to 431 million.

The global market for semiconductors used in smart meters that provide two-way communications between meters and utilities will continue to expand in the coming years, providing significant growth opportunities semiconductor manufacturers. Shipments of communicating meters are forecast to reach 132 million units in 2015 and 150 million units in 2019, according to IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS), a global source of critical information and insight.

Global revenues for semiconductors used in water, gas and electric meters reached $1.2 billion in 2014, with a year-over-year growth of 11 percent and a five-year compound annual growth rate of 8 percent. The average semiconductor cost in two-way meters was approximately $11 in 2014. Average selling prices (ASPs) are expected to increase over time, as industry needs increase for 32-bit micro-controller units (MCUs), memory chips, single system-on-chip (SoC) solutions and other components used in secured communications and other applications.

Based on the latest information from the IHS Industrial Semiconductor Market Tracker, the demand for precise energy measurement and communication has increased the penetration of micro-component integrated circuits (ICs), along with analog ICs. In fact, two thirds of meter semiconductor revenue comes from microcontroller and analog components.

“The semiconductor industry for electric meters is moving toward a single-chip solution for measuring and communicating with the grid station, which is an important industry trend to watch,” said Robbie Galoso, associate director, semiconductor market shares and industrial electronics for IHS Technology. “Water and gas meters require fewer semiconductor components; however, they need extra semiconductors for sensing and battery management.”

Meters installed in the latter half of this decade will require greater application complexity, better security, improved communication ability, enhanced remote control ability and higher resolution. That means increased need for memory and system-on-chip (SoC) solutions with greater capabilities in a smaller package than in the past.

Meters are evolving from those that merely register end-user usage, into complicated machines that can be queried for on-demand data, upgraded remotely, shut off in case of emergency or non-payment and used for variable pricing. “The movement from 8-bit MCUs to higher margin 32-bit MCUs is a key industry trend,” said Noman Akhtar, analyst for IHS Technology. “The integration of these higher function microcontroller units also requires additional capabilities, such as increased memory, which further increases manufacturing costs.”

Smart_Semis_Chart

MEMS Industry Group (MIG)’s next MEMS Executive Congress US 2015 — the annual business conference and networking event for the MEMS and sensors industry, November 4-6, 2015 in Napa, CA — will explore the market drivers behind the double-digit growth propelling MEMS and sensors to more than $20+ billion by 2020.

“From the smart home and the highway to the factory floor and the hospital, tens of billions of MEMS and sensors add greater intelligence to the ways we live our lives and do our work,” said Karen Lightman, executive director, MEMS Industry Group. “As the year’s ‘touchpoint’ event for the sellers and buyers of MEMS/sensors technology, MEMS Executive Congress US attracts forward-thinking executives who want to interact with innovative speakers, business partners, and even competitors, all involved in using MEMS/sensors to transform the human experience.”

Ms. Lightman pointed out that the dramatic growth in the MEMS market alone should reach nearly 25 billion units annually by 2019, according to the market research firm IHS2. “And if we add a selection of sensors — magnetic sensors, light sensors and emerging sensors for consumer applications, such as fingerprint sensors — we are looking at an additional 5+ billion units by that time. That’s a massive number of MEMS/sensors adding product-differentiating value to commercial applications just four years from today.”

Keynotes

Featured Speakers

Panels

Featured Events
MIG’s fifth annual MEMS and Sensors Technology Showcase provides Congress attendees an up-close experience with some of the coolest new MEMS- and sensors-enabled products ever invented. After interactive demo sessions and conference-wide presentations, attendees will vote on a winner.

MIG’s third annual Elevator Pitch Session gives entrepreneurs and startups a forum for pitching their products and ideas to a seasoned panel of industry veterans and investors. It also offers exposure to the biggest gathering of MEMS and sensors executives in North America. Elevator Pitch Session finalists will try to impress Judges Silicon Catalyst CEO and Co-founder Dan Armbrust, Nasiri Ventures Principal Steve Nasiri, and Silicon Valley Band of Angels Member Kurt Petersen as they jockey for the top spot.

MIG’s annual Best in MEMS and Sensors Innovation Awards (MEMSies) will recognize outstanding achievements in the MEMS and sensors industry.

For the complete agenda, visit: http://us2015.memscongress.com/agenda/

Scientists at Rice University have created a solid-state memory technology that allows for high-density storage with a minimum incidence of computer errors.

The memories are based on tantalum oxide, a common insulator in electronics. Applying voltage to a 250-nanometer-thick sandwich of graphene, tantalum, nanoporous tantalum oxide and platinum creates addressable bits where the layers meet. Control voltages that shift oxygen ions and vacancies switch the bits between ones and zeroes.

The discovery by the Rice lab of chemist James Tour could allow for crossbar array memories that store up to 162 gigabits, much higher than other oxide-based memory systems under investigation by scientists. (Eight bits equal one byte; a 162-gigabit unit would store about 20 gigabytes of information.)

A schematic shows the layered structure of tantalum oxide, multilayer graphene and platinum used for a new type of memory developed at Rice University. The memory device overcomes crosstalk problems that cause read errors in other devices. Credit: Tour Group/Rice University

Details appear online in the American Chemical Society journal Nano Letters.

Like the Tour lab’s previous discovery of silicon oxide memories, the new devices require only two electrodes per circuit, making them simpler than present-day flash memories that use three. “But this is a new way to make ultradense, nonvolatile computer memory,” Tour said.

Nonvolatile memories hold their data even when the power is off, unlike volatile random-access computer memories that lose their contents when the machine is shut down.

Modern memory chips have many requirements: They have to read and write data at high speed and hold as much as possible. They must also be durable and show good retention of that data while using minimal power.

Tour said Rice’s new design, which requires 100 times less energy than present devices, has the potential to hit all the marks.

“This tantalum memory is based on two-terminal systems, so it’s all set for 3-D memory stacks,” he said. “And it doesn’t even need diodes or selectors, making it one of the easiest ultradense memories to construct. This will be a real competitor for the growing memory demands in high-definition video storage and server arrays.”

The layered structure consists of tantalum, nanoporous tantalum oxide and multilayer graphene between two platinum electrodes. In making the material, the researchers found the tantalum oxide gradually loses oxygen ions, changing from an oxygen-rich, nanoporous semiconductor at the top to oxygen-poor at the bottom. Where the oxygen disappears completely, it becomes pure tantalum, a metal.

The researchers determined three related factors give the memories their unique switching ability.

First, the control voltage mediates how electrons pass through a boundary that can flip from an ohmic (current flows in both directions) to a Schottky (current flows one way) contact and back.

Second, the boundary’s location can change based on oxygen vacancies. These are “holes” in atomic arrays where oxygen ions should exist, but don’t. The voltage-controlled movement of oxygen vacancies shifts the boundary from the tantalum/tantalum oxide interface to the tantalum oxide/graphene interface. “The exchange of contact barriers causes the bipolar switching,” said Gunuk Wang, lead author of the study and a former postdoctoral researcher at Rice.

Third, the flow of current draws oxygen ions from the tantalum oxide nanopores and stabilizes them. These negatively charged ions produce an electric field that effectively serves as a diode to hinder error-causing crosstalk. While researchers already knew the potential value of tantalum oxide for memories, such arrays have been limited to about a kilobyte because denser memories suffer from crosstalk that allows bits to be misread.

The graphene does double duty as a barrier that keeps platinum from migrating into the tantalum oxide and causing a short circuit.

Tour said tantalum oxide memories can be fabricated at room temperature. He noted the control voltage that writes and rewrites the bits is adjustable, which allows a wide range of switching characteristics.

Wang said the remaining hurdles to commercialization include the fabrication of a dense enough crossbar device to address individual bits and a way to control the size of the nanopores.

By Bettina Weiss, VP, Business Development and Product Management, SEMI

Leading industry experts participated in the joint SEMI-MEMS Industry Group (MIG) workshop during SEMICON West 2015 to discuss industry challenges – and potential solutions and collaborative approaches – in the MEMS, sensors and semiconductor industries. The group discussed commonalities, lessons learned, and tried-and-true solutions such as standardization, best known methods (BKMs) and other pre- or non-competitive platforms to tackle some of the more vexing technology challenges in MEMS, sensors, and semiconductors. Disucssions covered heterogeneous integration, system-level packaging and a likely  move to 300mm wafers for MEMS devices.

The joint workshop was a direct result of a survey from both SEMI and MIG, conducted in parallel among their respective members in the spring.  SEMI and MIG members were asked to respond to and rank issues and challenges they see coming in the next 5-10 years, from product development and ramping to testing, packaging, and the need for Standards and broader platforms for collaboration. As an example, the chart below shows a strong indication on both the semiconductor as well as the MEMS/sensor side for the importance of higher integration devices, which makes it a natural topic for SEMI and MIG members to collaborate.

Alissa Fitzgerald of AM Fitzgerald & Associates, Dave Thomas of STPS Technologies, and Michael Nagib of Si-Ware Systems kicked off the workshop with presentations highlighting their perspective of overarching industry challenges and how innovative solutions create smarter products. Fitzgerald spoke specifically to “The Business Case for MEMS Standardization,” providing concrete examples – SOI wafer specifications and DRIE test pattern and recipe performance ─ where Standards could provide immediate benefits to the MEMS industry. She encouraged executives to study the financial benefits derived from standards and to send their engineers to actively contribute to new standards development.

The panel discussion following the presentations provided substance for the subsequent Q&A and open discussion. Moderated by Steve Whalley of MEMS Industry Group, Mike Rosa of Applied Materials, Bill Chen of ASE Group, Nim Tea of InvenSense, Inc. and Claire Troadec of Yole Developpment discussed “Manufacturing for the Internet of Things” from their vantage points and then participated in the open discussion. MEMS, sensors and semiconductor devices are headed to the Internet of Things – and that means the IoT will also require Standards. Participants talked about a variety of topics where Standards can be beneficial, from specifications for thin wafer handling and novel materials to FOLWP, monolithic integration between CMOS and MEMS and optimization of volume production processes.

Are supply chain stakeholders really collaborating, though, to leverage existing Standards, as well as jointly prioritize the need for new specifications and test methods? Are there other platforms for achieving shared objectives aside from Standards? How can we drive solutions with speed and agility? SEMI and MIG will take up these issues with the formation of a Joint Task Force to address these and other critical issues. And as a first step, both organizations will put together a landscape document of Standards Developing Organizations (SDOs) and a list of available Standards for each one, to assess what Standards already exists, which ones are applicable to both the MEMS/sensor and semiconductor industries, and then identify gaps and opportunities for new, industry-wide solutions. This is an exciting time. Become part of this activity and help shape the future!

For more information, please contact Bettina Weiss at [email protected]. Upcoming MEMS events include: SEMI European MEMS Summit and MEMS Executive Congress US 2015

Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. today launched its first 16-megapixel (MP) CMOS image sensors: T4KC3 and T4KC3-121, which includes phase detection auto-focus (PDAF). Designed for use in smartphones and tablets, the backside-illuminated (BSI) chips are among the world’s smallest class of CMOS image sensors, and achieve both high-performance image capture and low power consumption.

The functional range of the new sensors supports users in capturing beautiful images and movies. The T4KC3-121 is the first Toshiba sensor to feature PDAF technology, which makes it easier for mobile devices to capture both still and moving objects. This approach to AF technology, also used in single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras, takes an incoming image and splits it between two pixels, allowing the camera to figure out exactly how out-of-focus a subject is, and then immediately hone in and track movement.

“Mobile device manufacturers are constantly striving to design and build the most powerful, power-efficient devices in the smallest possible form factors,” said Andrew Burt, vice president of the Image Sensor Business Unit, System LSI Group at TAEC. “To support this objective, both new 16MP CMOS sensors are housed in a small module (both area and height) and use Toshiba’s new low-power circuit design method to lengthen battery life when the smartphone or tablet is being used in video mode.”

Image brightness in both new sensors is boosted by up to 4x by Toshiba’s Bright Mode technology, which enables HD video capture at 240fps equivalent. They also support high dynamic range (HDR) to capture natural images of scenes with a high contrast ratio, ending the problem of over- and underexposed images.

The T4KC3 and T4KC3-121 achieve output speeds of up to 30fps at full 16MP-resolution (4624 x 3472pixels) with power consumption figures of just 240mW or lower. Full-HD outputs of 1920 x 1080 pixels are supported at frame rates of up to 60fps, and HD outputs (1280 x 720 pixels) are supported at 120fps in normal mode and 240fps in Bright Mode.

The new sensors have an optical size of 1/2.78 inch and pixel pitch of 1.12 micrometer BSI. Additionally, they incorporate16Kbit one time programmable memory that can store lens shading correction data for four conditions at maximum, such as indoors and outdoors, daylight and sunset. Settings can be switched by one simple command.

Easily manufactured, low cost, lightweight, flexible dielectric polymers that can operate at high temperatures may be the solution to energy storage and power conversion in electric vehicles and other high temperature applications, according to a team of Penn State engineers.

Researcher holds flexible dielectric material. Pull out shows boron nitride nano sheets. Credit: Qing Wang, Penn State

Researcher holds flexible dielectric material. Pull out shows boron nitride nano sheets. Credit: Qing Wang, Penn State

“Ceramics are usually the choice for energy storage dielectrics for high temperature applications, but they are heavy, weight is a consideration and they are often also brittle,” said Qing Wang, professor of materials science and engineering, Penn State. “Polymers have a low working temperature and so you need to add a cooling system, increasing the volume so system efficiency decreases and so does reliability.”

Dielectrics are materials that do not conduct electricity, but when exposed to an electric field, store electricity. They can release energy very quickly to satisfy engine start-ups or to convert the direct current in batteries to the alternating current needed to drive motors.

Applications like hybrid and electric vehicles, aerospace power electronics and underground gas and oil exploration equipment require materials to withstand high temperatures. The researchers developed a cross-linked polymer nanocomposite containing boron nitride nanosheets. This material has high-voltage capacity for energy storage at elevated temperatures and can also be photo patterned and is flexible. The researchers report their results in a recent issue of Nature.

This boron nitride polymer composite can withstand temperatures of more than 480 degrees Fahrenheit under the application of high voltages. The material is easily manufactured by mixing the polymer and the nanosheets and then curing the polymer either with heat or light to create crosslinks. Because the nanosheets are tiny — about 2 nanometers in thickness and 400 nanometers in lateral size, the material remains flexible, but the combination provides unique dielectric properties, which include higher voltage capability, heat resistance and bendability.

“Our next step is to try to make this material in large scale and put it into a real application,” said Wang. “Theoretically, there is no exact scalability limit.”

MEMS Industry Group (MIG) will gather the world’s leading providers of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and sensors technology for its second annual MEMS Industry Group Conference Asia in Shanghai, China on September 8-11, 2015. Held in partnership with Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology (SIMIT) and Shanghai Industrial Technology Research(SITRI), this four-day event blends a two-day conference focused on the challenges and opportunities for MEMS and sensors in the Internet of Things (IoT) with exclusive tours of top R&D labs and commercial companies.

“MEMS Industry Group Conference Asia merges real-world exploration with a conference and networking event to give attendees a rare inside view of MEMS/sensors innovation engines in China,” said Karen Lightman, executive director, MEMS Industry Group. “From our tours of Nanopolis and SITRI Innovation Centers to interactive salon sessions with commercial industry and R&D — as well as presentations from the world’s most successful global suppliers of MEMS/sensors — conference attendees will engage with startup companies, researchers and multinational companies to learn firsthand about MEMS/sensors in Asia. Attendees will also gain valuable insight into the skyrocketing importance of MEMS/sensors in the IoT.”

Pre-conference Tour of Nanopolis

MIG will host a pre-conference tour of Nanopolis, called “the world’s largest hub of nanotech innovation and commercialization,” on September 8, 2015. Pre-conference attendees will visit Nanopolis-based MEMS and sensors companies: China Wafer Level CSP Co., Ltd. (WLCSP), the MEMS fab at MEMSRIGHT and SINANO laboratory (Suzhou Institute of Nano-tech and Nano-bionics).

The conference agenda features:

o   Moderator: George Hsu, chairman of the board, PNI Sensor

o   Panelist: David Allan, president, Virtuix

o   Panelist: Xianfeng (Sean) Ding, director of sensing – chief scientist, Huawei

o   Panelist: Andrew Kung, general manager, Colt Advance International Limited

o   Panelist: Gary Yao, advanced technology manager, HTC America

o   Moderator: Doug Sparks, executive vice president, Hanking Electronics

o   Panelist: George Liu, director, TSMC

o   Panelist: Ian Wright, marketing director, SPTS

o   Panelist: Zheng Yuan, vice president and general manager of the 200mm Equipment Product Group, Applied Materials

MIG Conference Asia also features a Dinner Cruise on September 10 with MIG, SITRI and SIMIT aboard the yacht, The Happy Captain.

Chinese Innovation Experience

On September 11, conference attendees will take an “innovation tour” of the SITRI fab and Shangahi Simgui Technology Co., Ltd as well as other SITRI facilities, including the IoT Innovation Center, QST and SITRI labs. Attendees will visit the InnoSpring Innovation Center, where they will experience demos from SITRI IoT Systems Group and SITRI Executive Information System (EIS) R-CAD.

They will also participate in salon sessions with industry/academia to discuss trends in China spanning agriculture, environment, 3D printing, automotive electronics, monitoring cameras and electronic tags.

About MEMS Industry Group Conference Asia

MEMS Industry Group Conference Asia attracts product managers, business development professionals, and product/engineering managers from the MEMS and sensors supply chain including: integrators, device manufacturers, foundries, equipment and material suppliers, researchers, developers and end-users. The majority of the audience is from Asia, with additional attendees from Europe and North America representing multinational corporations.

Microchip Technology Incorporated, a provider of microcontroller, mixed-signal, analog and Flash-IP solutions, and Micrel, Incorporated today announced that Microchip has completed its previously announced acquisition of Micrel.  Shareholders of Micrel overwhelmingly approved the merger with 98.95 percent of the Micrel shares that voted in favor of the merger.  As a result of the completion of the transaction, trading in Micrel common stock on the NASDAQ Stock Market will cease today.

“We are very pleased to have completed our acquisition of Micrel,” said Steve Sanghi, President and CEO.  “I welcome the Micrel employees into the Microchip family and look forward to building a combined organization that will bring the capabilities of both organizations to bear in the marketplace.”

Under the terms of the merger agreement, Micrel shareholders were able to elect to receive the $14.00 per share purchase price in either cash or shares of Microchip common stock.  Based on the results of the shareholder elections, Microchip will pay an aggregate of approximately $430 million in cash and issue an aggregate of 8,626,795 shares of its common stock to Micrel shareholders.  The number of shares of Microchip common stock that a Micrel shareholder will receive is based on a conversion ratio of $14.00divided by the average of the Microchip closing stock price for the ten most recent trading days ending on the second to last trading day prior to August 3, 2015, which is $42.888 per share.

Microchip Technology Inc. is a provider of microcontroller, mixed-signal, analog and Flash-IP solutions, providing low-risk product development, lower total system cost and faster time to market for thousands of diverse customer applications worldwide.

ON Semiconductor has introduced an array of new AEC-Q100-compliant integrated circuits (ICs) optimized for implementation into next generation automobile designs.

The NBA3N200/1/6S multi-point low voltage differential signaling (M−LVDS) line driver/receiver family of devices operates off a 3.3 volt (V) power supply. The NBA3N200S and NBA3N201S both support signaling rates of up to 200 megabits per second (Mbps) and have a common-mode voltage range -1 V to 3.4 V. These devices have Type-1 receivers that detect the bus state with as little as 50 millivolt (mV) of differential input voltage over the common-mode voltage range. A differential input voltage hysteresis of 25mV on the receiver prevents oscillations at the output due to slow changing input signals or loss of input. The NBA3N206S also supports 200 Mbps signaling rates with a Type-2 receiver that has a 0.1 V threshold. The offset voltage threshold function of the Type-2 receiver can detect open-circuit, idle bus and various other fault conditions that could harm the system. These devices are targeted for use in automotive applications such as headlamp pixel lighting, specifically for data transmission between the LED front light control unit and the headlight.

The NCV8154 140 mV rated dual output linear voltage regulator has an input voltage range covering 1.9 V to 5.25 V and two independent input voltage pins. Highly optimized for powering the RF blocks within automotive infotainment systems, this device is capable of providing a very stable and highly accurate voltage, with ultra-low noise plus elevated power supply rejection ratio (PSRR). The NCV8170 low drop-out (LDO) regulator is designed specifically for portable battery-powered applications, such as vehicle keyless entry systems, with a typical current consumption of just 500 nanoamperes (nA). Furthermore, a dynamic transient boost feature augments this device’s transient response characteristics. The NCV8715 is a high stability 50 milliamp (mA) LDO with an input voltage range that reaches up to 24 V and a ground current consumption of 4.7 microamperes (µA) over the full output load range. This device is very well suited to use with automotive grade microcontroller units. The NCV8154 / NCV8715 / NCV8170 devices each feature thermal shutdown and current limit protection mechanisms that ensure reliable operation.

Also introduced are single N-channel MOSFET devices capable of delivering incredibly low on-state resistance RDS(on) figures, minimizing conduction losses and improving overall operational efficiency levels. The NVMFS5C404NL, NVMFS5C410NL, NVMFS5C423NL and NVMFS5C442NL 40 V rated MOSFETs have typical RDS(on) values at 10 V of 0.56 mΩ, 0.71 mΩ, 1.6 mΩ and 2.2 mΩ respectively. These are supplemented by the 60 V NVMFS5C604NL, NVMFS5C612NL, NVMFS5C646NL and NVMFS5C670NL devices, which have typical RDS(on) values at 10 V of 0.93 mΩ, 1.2 mΩ, 3.8mΩ and 5.1 mΩ respectively. These devices expand the extensive ON Semiconductor portfolio of MOSFETs for use in power switching, load switching, motor control, and other automotive applications.