Category Archives: Device Architecture

Two-dimensional materials are a sort of a rookie phenom in the scientific community. They are atomically thin and can exhibit radically different electronic and light-based properties than their thicker, more conventional forms, so researchers are flocking to this fledgling field to find ways to tap these exotic traits.

Applications for 2-D materials range from microchip components to superthin and flexible solar panels and display screens, among a growing list of possible uses. But because their fundamental structure is inherently tiny, they can be tricky to manufacture and measure, and to match with other materials. So while 2-D materials R&D is on the rise, there are still many unknowns about how to isolate, enhance, and manipulate their most desirable qualities.

Now, a science team at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has precisely measured some previously obscured properties of moly sulfide, a 2-D semiconducting material also known as molybdenum disulfide or MoS2. The team also revealed a powerful tuning mechanism and an interrelationship between its electronic and optical, or light-related, properties.

To best incorporate such monolayer materials into electronic devices, engineers want to know the “band gap,” which is the minimum energy level it takes to jolt electrons away from the atoms they are coupled to, so that they flow freely through the material as electric current flows through a copper wire. Supplying sufficient energy to the electrons by absorbing light, for example, converts the material into an electrically conducting state.

As reported in the Aug. 25 issue of Physical Review Letters, researchers measured the band gap for a monolayer of moly sulfide, which has proved difficult to accurately predict theoretically, and found it to be about 30 percent higher than expected based on previous experiments. They also quantified how the band gap changes with electron density – a phenomenon known as “band gap renormalization.”

“The most critical significance of this work was in finding the band gap,” said Kaiyuan Yao, a graduate student researcher at Berkeley Lab and the University of California, Berkeley, who served as the lead author of the research paper.

“That provides very important guidance to all of the optoelectronic device engineers. They need to know what the band gap is” in orderly to properly connect the 2-D material with other materials and components in a device, Yao said.

Obtaining the direct band gap measurement is challenged by the so-called “exciton effect” in 2-D materials that is produced by a strong pairing between electrons and electron “holes” ¬- vacant positions around an atom where an electron can exist. The strength of this effect can mask measurements of the band gap.

Nicholas Borys, a project scientist at Berkeley Lab’s Molecular Foundry who also participated in the study, said the study also resolves how to tune optical and electronic properties in a 2-D material.

“The real power of our technique, and an important milestone for the physics community, is to discern between these optical and electronic properties,” Borys said.

The team used several tools at the Molecular Foundry, a facility that is open to the scientific community and specializes in the creation and exploration of nanoscale materials.

The Molecular Foundry technique that researchers adapted for use in studying monolayer moly sulfide, known as photoluminescence excitation (PLE) spectroscopy, promises to bring new applications for the material within reach, such as ultrasensitive biosensors and tinier transistors, and also shows promise for similarly pinpointing and manipulating properties in other 2-D materials, researchers said.

The research team measured both the exciton and band gap signals, and then detangled these separate signals. Scientists observed how light was absorbed by electrons in the moly sulfide sample as they adjusted the density of electrons crammed into the sample by changing the electrical voltage on a layer of charged silicon that sat below the moly sulfide monolayer.

Researchers noticed a slight “bump” in their measurements that they realized was a direct measurement of the band gap, and through a slew of other experiments used their discovery to study how the band gap was readily tunable by simply adjusting the density of electrons in the material.

“The large degree of tunability really opens people’s eyes,” said P. James Schuck, who was director of the Imaging and Manipulation of Nanostructures facility at the Molecular Foundry during this study.

“And because we could see both the band gap’s edge and the excitons simultaneously, we could understand each independently and also understand the relationship between them,” said Schuck, now at Columbia University. “It turns out all of these properties are dependent on one another.”

Moly sulfide, Schuck also noted, is “extremely sensitive to its local environment,” which makes it a prime candidate for use in a range of sensors. Because it is highly sensitive to both optical and electronic effects, it could translate incoming light into electronic signals and vice versa.

Schuck said the team hopes to use a suite of techniques at the Molecular Foundry to create other types of monolayer materials and samples of stacked 2-D layers, and to obtain definitive band gap measurements for these, too. “It turns out no one yet knows the band gaps for some of these other materials,” he said.

The team also has expertise in the use of a nanoscale probe to map the electronic behavior across a given sample.

Borys added, “We certainly hope this work seeds further studies on other 2-D semiconductor systems.”

The Molecular Foundry is a DOE Office of Science User Facility that provides free access to state-of-the-art equipment and multidisciplinary expertise in nanoscale science to visiting scientists.

Researchers from the Kavli Energy NanoSciences Institute at UC Berkeley and Berkeley Lab, and from Arizona State University also participated in this study, which was supported by the National Science Foundation.

While lithium-ion batteries, widely used in mobile devices from cell phones to laptops, have one of the longest lifespans of commercial batteries today, they also have been behind a number of recent meltdowns and fires due to short-circuiting in mobile devices. In hopes of preventing more of these hazardous malfunctions researchers at Drexel University have developed a recipe that can turn electrolyte solution — a key component of most batteries — into a safeguard against the chemical process that leads to battery-related disasters.

Yury Gogotsi, PhD, Distinguished University and Bach professor in the College of Engineering, and his research team from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, recently published their work — entitled “Nanodiamonds Suppress Growth of Lithium Dendrites” — in the journal Nature Communications. In it, they describe a process by which nanodiamonds — tiny diamond particles 10,000 times smaller than the diameter of a hair — curtail the electrochemical deposition, called plating, that can lead to hazardous short-circuiting of lithium ion batteries.

As batteries are used and charged, the electrochemical reaction results in the movement of ions between the two electrodes of a battery, which is the essence of an electrical current. Over time, this repositioning of ions can create tendril-like buildups — almost like stalactites forming inside a cave. These battery buildups, called dendrites, are one of the main causes of lithium battery malfunction. As dendrites form inside the battery over time, they can reach the point where they push through the separator, a porous polymer film that prevents the positively charged part of a battery from touching the negatively charged part. When the separator is breached, a short-circuit can occur, which can also lead to a fire since the electrolyte solution in most lithium-ion batteries is highly flammable.

To avoid dendrite formation and minimize the probability of fire, current battery designs include one electrode made of graphite filled with lithium instead of pure lithium. The use of graphite as the host for lithium prevents the formation of dendrites. But lithium intercalated graphite also stores about 10 times less energy than pure lithium. The breakthrough made by Gogotsi’s team means that a great increase in energy storage is possible because dendrite formation can be eliminated in pure lithium electrodes.

“Battery safety is a key issue for this research,” Gogotsi said. “Small primary batteries in watches use lithium anodes, but they are only discharged once. When you start charging them again and again, dendrites start growing. There may be several safe cycles, but sooner or later a short-circuit will happen. We want to eliminate or, at least, minimize that possibility.”

Gogotsi and his collaborators from Tsinghua University in Beijing, and Hauzhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, China, focused their work on making lithium anodes more stable and lithium plating more uniform so that dendrites won’t grow.

They’re doing this by adding nanodiamonds to the electrolyte solution in a battery. Nanodiamonds have been used in the electroplating industry for some time as a way of making metal coatings more uniform. While they are much, much smaller — and cheaper — than the diamonds you’d find in a jeweler’s case, nanodiamonds still retain the regular structure and shape of their pricey progenitors. When they are deposited, they naturally slide together to form a smooth surface.

The researchers found this property to be exceedingly useful for eliminating dendrite formation. In the paper, they explain that lithium ions can easily attach to nanodiamonds, so when they are plating the electrode they do so in the same orderly manner as the nanodiamond particles to which they’re linked. They report in the paper that mixing nanodiamonds into the electrolyte solution of a lithium ion battery slows dendrite formation to nil through 100 charge-discharge cycles.

If you think about it like a game of Tetris, that pile of mismatched blocks inching perilously close to “game over” is the equivalent of a dendrite. Adding nanodiamonds to the mix is kind of like using a cheat code that slides each new block into the proper place to complete a line and prevent a menacing tower from forming.

Gogotsi notes that his group’s discovery is just the beginning of a process that could eventually see electrolyte additives, like nanodiamonds, widely used to produce safe lithium batteries with a high energy density. Initial results already show stable charge-discharge cycling for as long as 200 hours, which is long enough for use in some industrial or military applications, but not nearly adequate for batteries used in laptops or cell phones. Researchers also need to test a large number of battery cells over a long enough period of time under various physical conditions and temperatures to ensure that dendrites will never grow.

“It’s potentially game-changing, but it is difficult to be 100 percent certain that dendrites will never grow,” Gogotsi said. “We anticipate the first use of our proposed technology will be in less critical applications — not in cell phones or car batteries. To ensure safety, additives to electrolytes, such as nanodiamonds, need to be combined with other precautions, such as using non-flammable electrolytes, safer electrode materials and stronger separators.”

 

nLIGHT, Inc., a U.S. company in high-power semiconductor and fiber lasers, today announced the appointment of Gary Locke to its board of directors effective immediately.

The experience that Locke brings will help nLIGHT continuing its growth and expansion, including the addition of key manufacturing jobs at its locations in Vancouver, Washington, and Hillsboro, Oregon. With more than $100 million in sales in 2016, the company has experienced over 30 percent growth, more than half of which comes in the form of U.S. exports.

“Gary’s broad experience in both the public and private sector will add a valuable perspective to our board of directors,” said Scott Keeney, co-founder and chief executive officer. “We are honored to have him serve as a director and look forward to benefiting from his judgment and counsel.”

As two-term Governor of Washington State from 1997 to 2005, Locke fostered economic relations between China and the state, helping to more than double Washington’s exports to China. Under his leadership, the State of Washingtonranked as one of the nation’s four best-managed states.

From 2009 to 2011, Locke served as Secretary of Commerce of the United States where he led export control reform effort that both strengthened national security and eased licensing burdens for high-tech exports to partners, allowing U.S. companies to be more competitive in the global market.

As U.S. Ambassador to China from 2011 to 2014, Locke worked to open markets for U.S.-made goods and services.

 

Since leaving public office, Locke has remained steadfastly committed to facilitating American business and trade. As legal counsel for the Seattle-based international law firm Davis Wright Tremaine, Locke currently consults clients on issues regarding international trade, regulatory and investment policies.

Locke holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Yale University and a Juris Doctor degree from Boston University.

“I am excited to join the board of nLIGHT,” said Locke. “nLIGHT has a long track record of innovation in lasers and is well positioned for continued strong growth in global markets.”

North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $2.27 billion in billings worldwide in July 2017 (three-month average basis), according to the July Equipment Market Data Subscription (EMDS) Billings Report published today by SEMI.

SEMI reports that the three-month average of worldwide billings of North American equipment manufacturers in July 2017 was $2.27 billion. The billings figure is 1.4 percent lower than the final June 2017 level of $2.30 billion, and is 32.8 percent higher than the July 2016 billings level of $1.71 billion.

“We observed softening in the equipment billings in July following the strong surge in the first half of the year,” said Ajit Manocha, president and CEO of SEMI. “However, overall, equipment billings remain significantly up year-over-year, with 2017 on-track to be a record spending year.”

The SEMI Billings report uses three-month moving averages of worldwide billings for North American-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers. Billings figures are in millions of U.S. dollars.

Billings
(3-mo. avg)
Year-Over-Year
February 2017
$1,974.0
63.9%
March 2017
$2,079.7
73.7%
April 2017
$2,136.4
46.3%
May 2017
$2,270.5
41.8%
June 2017 (final)
$2,300.3
34.1%
July 2017 (prelim)
$2,268.4
32.8%

Source: SEMI (www.semi.org), August 2017

SiFive, the first fabless provider of customized, open-source-enabled semiconductors, today announced it will partner with Rambus, (NASDAQ: RMBS) to make Rambus cryptography technology available for the SiFive Freedom platforms. To speed time to market and remove the barriers that traditionally have blocked smaller players from developing custom silicon, leading companies in the semiconductor ecosystem have developed a new DesignShare concept, which offers IP at a reduced cost.

The DesignShare model gives any company, inventor or maker the ability to harness the power of custom silicon, enabling an entirely new range of applications. Companies like SiFive, Rambus and other ecosystem partners provide low- or no-cost IP to emerging companies, lowering the upfront engineering costs required to bring a custom chip design based on the SiFive Freedom platform to realization.

“To fulfill our mission to democratize access to custom silicon and upend the stagnant semiconductor industry, SiFive is committed to recruiting leading-edge companies like Rambus to help us revolutionize SoC design,” said Naveed Sherwani, CEO of SiFive. “The growing ecosystem of DesignShare IP providers ensures that aspiring system designers have a catalog of IP from which to choose when designing their SoC. We’re thrilled that Rambus has joined us in enabling innovation through DesignShare, and we look forward to future success together.”

Rambus will collaborate with SiFive to provide critical security components such as cryptographic cores, hardware root-of-trust, key provisioning and high-value services that are enabled by design.

“Rambus and SiFive share a similar philosophy of easing the path to designing innovative and cost-effective SoCs,” said Martin Scott, senior vice president and general manager of Rambus Security Division. “SiFive and Rambus have agreed to partner with an intent of providing chip-to-cloud-to-crowd security solutions that easily integrate with the SiFive Freedom platform and support the open and growing RISC-V hardware ecosystem. Our security cores embedded in Freedom Platform SOCs will enable secure in-field device connection and attestation for updates and diagnostics.”

SiFive was founded by the inventors of RISC-V – Yunsup Lee, Andrew Waterman and Krste Asanovic – with a mission to democratize access to custom silicon. In its first six months of availability, more than 1,000 HiFive1 software development boards have been purchased and delivered to developers in over 40 countries. Additionally, the company has engaged with multiple customers across its IP and SoC products, started shipping the industry’s first RISC-V SoC in November 2016 and announced the availability of its Coreplex RISC-V based IP earlier this month. SiFive’s innovative “study, evaluate, buy” licensing model dramatically simplifies the IP licensing process, and removes traditional road blocks that have limited access to customized, leading edge silicon.

SiFive is located in Silicon Valley and has venture backing from Sutter Hill Ventures, Spark Capital and Osage University Partners.

Silego Technology today announced shipping three billion units since its introduction of the pioneering Configurable Mixed-signal ICs (CMICs). In addition, Silego announced it shipped more than one hundred million units in the month of July.

Silego created not only the world’s first family of Configurable Mixed-signal ICs but also enabled a paradigm shift for designers. Reaching these dual milestones are further validation of the Configurable Mixed-signal IC category and how enthusiastically customers have embraced this novel approach to Mixed-signal design for volume applications.

John Teegen, Silego’s CEO, remarked, “Reaching these milestones was made possible by the innovative Silego team and our dedicated manufacturing and channel partners. It also demonstrates the trust our customers have put in Silego’s world-class operations team to get them to market quickly with quality and volume.”

Mike Noonen, Silego’s VP of WW Sales and Business Development added, “Over the past year, we have grown our business with existing customers and introduced CMICs to many new customers. These customers have discovered Silego’s clever combination of analog, digital, Non-Volatile Memory and software tools and are benefiting from a better way to design, prototype and go to production.”

Silego’s CMICs use Non-Volatile Memory to configure each device and integrate analog, digital logic, and power functions, which allows design engineers to eliminate traditional standard linear, passive and discrete components from their system. CMICs enable original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, in high-volume applications to cost-effectively deliver their products to market faster and with greater design flexibility.

Since the introduction of the CMIC, Silego has developed five generations of CMIC silicon and design tools.

Recently Silego announced the new SLG46580, further expanding the GreenPAK™ (GPAK) family of Configurable Mixed-signal Integrated Circuits (CMICs). This newest GPAK is targeted to support power systems in wearable and handheld market segments. This device is both highly integrated and highly flexible, and can provide a rich set of features, including voltage monitoring, power sequencing, reset functions and low drop-out regulators (LDOs), that are configurable in settings and interconnect. This device is the second in the series of parts designed to create “Flexible Power Islands” (FPI).

 

 

 

IC Insights has revised its outlook for semiconductor industry capital spending and presented its new findings in the August Update to The McClean Report 2017.  IC Insights’ latest forecast is for semiconductor industry capital spending to climb 20% this year.

Figure 1 shows the steep upward trend of quarterly capital spending in the semiconductor industry since 1Q16. Although there was a slight pause in the upward trajectory in 1Q17, 2Q17 set a new record for quarterly spending outlays.   Moreover, 1H17 semiconductor industry spending was 48% greater than in 1H16.  IC Insights believes that whether industry-wide capital spending in the second half of 2017 can match the first half of the year is greatly dependent upon the level of Samsung’s 2H17 spending outlays.

Not only has Samsung Semiconductor been on a tear with regard to its semiconductor sales, surging into the number one ranking in 2Q17, but the company has also been on a tremendous capital spending spree for its semiconductor division this year.  As depicted in Figure 2, Samsung spent a whopping $11.0 billion in capital outlays for its semiconductor group in 1H17, more than 3x greater than the company spent in 1H16 and only $300 million less than the company spent in all of 2016!   In fact, Samsung’s capital expenditures in 1H17 represented 25% of the total semiconductor industry capital spending and 28% of the outlays in 2Q17.

While the company has publicly reported that it spent $11.0 billion in capital outlays for its semiconductor division in 1H17 (a $22.0 billion annual run-rate), Samsung has been very secretive about revealing its full-year 2017 budget for its semiconductor group (it might be afraid of shocking the industry with such a big number!).  In 2012, the year of Samsung’s previous first half spending surge before 1H17, the company cut its second half capital outlays by more than 50%, from $8.5 billion in 1H12 to $3.7 billion in 2H12.  Will the company follow the same pattern in 2017?  At this point, it is impossible to tell.  IC Insights believes that Samsung’s full-year 2017 capital expenditures could range from $15.0 billion to $22.0 billion!

Figure 1

Figure 1

If Samsung spends $22.0 billion in capital outlays this year, total semiconductor industry capital spending could reach $85.4 billion, which would represent a 27% increase over the $67.3 billion the industry spent in 2016.

It is interesting to note that two of the major spenders, TSMC and Intel, are expected to move in opposite directions with regard to their 2H17 capital spending plans. TSMC spent about $6.8 billion in capital outlays in 1H17. If it sticks to its $10.0 billion budget this year, which it reiterated in its second quarter results, it would only spend about $3.2 billion in 2H17, less than half its outlays in 1H17. In contrast, Intel spent only about $4.7 billion in 1H17, leaving the company to spend about $7.3 billion in 2H17 in order to reach its stated full-year 2017 spending budget of $12.0 billion.

Figure 2

Figure 2

TowerJazz, the global specialty foundry, and Tacoma Technology Ltd and Tacoma (Nanjing) Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd (collectively known as “Tacoma”) announced today that Tower has received a first payment of $18 million net, rendering phase one of the framework agreement with Tacoma binding. This agreement maps the establishment of a new 8-inch semiconductor fabrication facility in Nanjing, China. According to the terms of the framework agreement, TowerJazz will provide technological expertise together with operational and integration consultation, for which the Company shall receive additional payments based on milestones during the next few years, subject to a definitive agreement specifying all terms and conditions.

In addition, from the start of production at the facility, TowerJazz will be entitled to capacity allocation of up to 50% of the targeted 40,000 wafer per month fab capacity, which it may decide to use at its discretion. This capacity will provide TowerJazz with additional manufacturing capability and flexibility to address its growing global demand.

Tacoma will be responsible to source funds for all activities, milestones and deliverables of the entire project, including the construction, commissioning and ramp of this facility, with the project being fully supported by Nanjing Economic and Technology Development Zone through its Administration Committee, Credito Capital as well as through potential funding from other third party investors and entities.

“This agreement with Tacoma is in line with our business strategy to focus on growing markets such as China. The fabless business in China has grown rapidly in the past years. The new 8-inch fabrication facility in Nanjing will provide us with a strategic footprint in China and the opportunity to extend our offerings in advanced specialty process technologies by enabling customers in China to optimize their product performance and time to market,” said Dr. Itzhak Edrei, TowerJazz President.

Russell Ellwanger, TowerJazz Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are exploring multiple opportunities in China, and determined this agreement with Tacoma to be a good fit for TowerJazz, providing a roadmap for a meaningful long-term strategic partnership. China’s focus to develop its domestic semiconductor industry with full infrastructure presents additional opportunities for TowerJazz, as a global analog leader, to expand our served markets and geographic presence. This partnership will enable us to further fulfill our customers’ needs through additional available capacity as well as to be an active player in the growing Chinese market.”

Joseph Lee, Tacoma Chairman, stated: “Deeply engraved in the corporate culture of both Tacoma and TowerJazz is the core belief in working ‘SMART’ with ‘PASSION.’ Our people are committed to contributing to our business partners, the global semiconductor industry and society with the best endeavor and integrity. Tacoma will fully fund this project together with Credito Capital and other entities. This venture will become a dominant player in Asia and will raise the standard in the semiconductor industry to another level.”

A groundbreaking and signing ceremony took place in Nanjing, China, attended by TowerJazz Chairman Mr. Amir Elstein, President Dr. Itzhak Edrei, Business Development Vice President Mr. Erez Imberman, as well as the then Israeli Ambassador to China the Honorable Mr. Matan Vilnai. Pictured, the signing between Tacoma Chairman, Mr. Joseph Lee and TowerJazz CEO Mr. Russell Ellwanger, with among others the above cited attendees.

The SEMI Foundation today announced that it will be celebrating its 10th anniversary of partnership with New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) on August 22-23 in Latham, New York at the NYSUT headquarters.  The Foundation and NYSUT will culminate a two-day SEMI High Tech U program for teachers on Wednesday, August 23rd with a reception recognizing industry instructors from Applied Materials and KLA-Tencor for leadership in volunteerism and STEM education.

The SEMI Foundation’s acclaimed STEM program, SEMI High Tech U – Teacher Edition has reached more than 600 teachers in upstate New York since 2007.  The two-day teacher program provides industry led, hands-on activities and curriculum that teachers can take back to the classroom in addition to unique opportunities to network with high-tech industry professionals.  Teachers-turned-students also tour the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering for a first-hand look at how relevant STEM skills are utilized in a high-tech workplace.  This fall, the teachers’ new knowledge will be passed along to their students in the classroom. A retrospective survey of past SEMI High Tech U teacher participants showed that 95 percent of teachers who attend SEMI High Tech U – Teacher Edition gain an increased understanding of the relevance of STEM skills in today’s workplace.

This year’s program at NYSUT is supported by Applied Materials, GLOBALFOUNDRIES and KLA-Tencor.

Leslie Tugman, executive director of the SEMI Foundation, states, “NYSUT is a premier model of how education and industry partnerships can work together for the benefit of all in their region.  Through NYSUT’s High Tech U programs for teachers, we have exponentially reached thousands of students to help fill the high-tech talent pipeline.”

All SEMI High Tech U modules are taught by industry professionals and two legacy volunteer instructors, Vincent Villaume of Applied Materials and Jeff Barnum of KLA-Tencor, will be honored at a reception at NYSUT on August 23.

Global DRAM revenue reached a new historical high in the second quarter of 2017, reports DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce. Compared with the first quarter, the undersupply situation was not as severe, and OEM clients in the downstream were able to gradually extend their inventories. Nevertheless, the global ASPs of PC and server DRAM products rose by more than 10% sequentially in the second quarter, while the global ASP of mobile DRAM products showed a less than 5% gain. The smaller price increase for mobile DRAM was due to Chinese smartphone brands lowering than annual shipment targets.

“The DRAM market benefitted from the upswing in ASPs and continuing progress in suppliers’ technology migrations,” said Avril Wu, research manager of DRAMeXchange. “At the same time, suppliers do not appear to have plans to expand their production capacities in a significant scale between now and the end of the year.” The global DRAM revenue has thus kept growing, registering a 16.9% sequential increase for this second quarter.

In the third quarter, the releases of new flagship devices from first-tier smartphone brands, together with the traditional peak sales season, will trigger another wave of mobile DRAM demand. DRAM prices in general will stay on an upward trend for the remainder of 2017.

DRAMQ22017

The second-quarter revenue ranking shows Samsung firmly in its first place position. Samsung’s revenue for the second quarter came to another historical high, growing by 20.7% sequentially to US$7.6 billion. Second-place SK Hynix also posted an impressive sequential increase of 11.2%, totaling US$4.5 billion. Samsung’s and SK Hynix’s global market shares for the second quarter were 46.2% and 27.3%, respectively. Together, the two South Korean suppliers accounted for 73.5% of the world’s DRAM market. Third-place Micron’s second-quarter revenue totaled US$3.6 billion, an increase of 20.2% versus the first quarter and representing 21.6% of the global market.

In terms of operating margins, Samsung had the highest in the industry for the second quarter at 59%. Samsung benefitted from rising DRAM prices and its lead in manufacturing technology. Likewise, SK Hynix raised its operating margin from 47% in the first quarter to 54% in the second. Micron too increased its operating margin from 32.5% to 44.3% between the quarters. Since DRAM prices will keep rising and the production capacity expansion will be limited in the second half of 2017, suppliers can expect further increases in their operating margins.

In the aspect of technology migration, Samsung remains focused on developing its 18nm process. With the increase and stabilization of the yield rate, Samsung expects the 18nm to represent nearly half of its total DRAM output by the end of 2017. As for SK Hynix, the supplier is raising the yield rate and output share of its 21nm process. However, SK Hynix has also arranged for the mass production its 18nm process at the end of 2017. By the first half of 2018, SK Hynix wants to significant expand the DRAM production based on its 18nm technology.

Micron’s Taiwanese subsidiaries Micron Memory Taiwan and Micron Technology Taiwan (formerly known as Inotera) are respectively on the 17nm and the 20nm technology. Micron Memory Taiwan has steadily increased the yield rate for its 17nm process and expects at least 80% of its total DRAM output by the end of this year will be based on this technology. Micron Technology Taiwan, on the other hand, has no plan to transition to a more cutting edge technology this year. However, this subsidiary has set the target of attaining at least 50% output share for the 17nm process in 2018.

Regarding the Taiwanese DRAM suppliers, Nanya’s second-quarter revenue grew by 5.9% sequentially on the back of rising prices for specialty DRAM products. Nanya has formally begun mass producing DRAM on its 20nm process and is on track to achieve a total DRAM capacity of 30,000 wafer starts per month by the end of 2017.

Powerchip’s DRAM revenue for the second quarter fell by 2.5% compared with the prior quarter because of wafer loss caused by the moving of its 25nm processing equipment.

Winbond’s second-quarter DRAM revenue rose by 3.7% sequentially as the supplier also profited from rising prices for specialty DRAM products. Winbond has no immediate plan to increase DRAM wafer starts as it is focused on meeting the strong NOR Flash demand. However, the supplier has scheduled the mass production of DRAM on its 38nm technology for the second half of 2017. The increase in output due to the ramp-up of the 38nm process will make a positive contribution to Winbond’s future DRAM revenue results.