Category Archives: Device Architecture

IBM (NYSE: IBM), its Research Alliance partners GLOBALFOUNDRIES and Samsung, and equipment suppliers have developed an industry-first process to build silicon nanosheet transistors that will enable 5 nanometer (nm) chips. The details of the process will be presented at the 2017 Symposia on VLSI Technology and Circuits conference in Kyoto, Japan. In less than two years since developing a 7nm test node chip with 20 billion transistors, scientists have paved the way for 30 billion switches on a fingernail-sized chip.

The resulting increase in performance will help accelerate cognitive computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), and other data-intensive applications delivered in the cloud. The power savings could also mean that the batteries in smartphones and other mobile products could last two to three times longer than today’s devices, before needing to be charged.

Scientists working as part of the IBM-led Research Alliance at the SUNY Polytechnic Institute Colleges of Nanoscale Science and Engineering’s NanoTech Complex in Albany, NY achieved the breakthrough by using stacks of silicon nanosheets as the device structure of the transistor, instead of the standard FinFET architecture, which is the blueprint for the semiconductor industry up through 7nm node technology.

“For business and society to meet the demands of cognitive and cloud computing in the coming years, advancement in semiconductor technology is essential,” said Arvind Krishna, senior vice president, Hybrid Cloud, and director, IBM Research. “That’s why IBM aggressively pursues new and different architectures and materials that push the limits of this industry, and brings them to market in technologies like mainframes and our cognitive systems.”

The silicon nanosheet transistor demonstration, as detailed in the Research Alliance paper Stacked Nanosheet Gate-All-Around Transistor to Enable Scaling Beyond FinFET, and published by VLSI, proves that 5nm chips are possible, more powerful, and not too far off in the future.

Compared to the leading edge 10nm technology available in the market, a nanosheet-based 5nm technology can deliver 40 percent performance enhancement at fixed power, or 75 percent power savings at matched performance. This improvement enables a significant boost to meeting the future demands of artificial intelligence (AI) systems, virtual reality and mobile devices.

Building a new switch

“This announcement is the latest example of the world-class research that continues to emerge from our groundbreaking public-private partnership in New York,” said Gary Patton, CTO and Head of Worldwide R&D at GLOBALFOUNDRIES. “As we make progress toward commercializing 7nm in 2018 at our Fab 8 manufacturing facility, we are actively pursuing next-generation technologies at 5nm and beyond to maintain technology leadership and enable our customers to produce a smaller, faster, and more cost efficient generation of semiconductors.”

IBM Research has explored nanosheet semiconductor technology for more than 10 years. This work is the first in the industry to demonstrate the feasibility to design and fabricate stacked nanosheet devices with electrical properties superior to FinFET architecture.

This same Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography approach used to produce the 7nm test node and its 20 billion transistors was applied to the nanosheet transistor architecture. Using EUV lithography, the width of the nanosheets can be adjusted continuously, all within a single manufacturing process or chip design. This adjustability permits the fine-tuning of performance and power for specific circuits – something not possible with today’s FinFET transistor architecture production, which is limited by its current-carrying fin height. Therefore, while FinFET chips can scale to 5nm, simply reducing the amount of space between fins does not provide increased current flow for additional performance.

“Today’s announcement continues the public-private model collaboration with IBM that is energizing SUNY-Polytechnic’s, Albany’s, and New York State’s leadership and innovation in developing next generation technologies,” said Dr. Bahgat Sammakia, Interim President, SUNY Polytechnic Institute. “We believe that enabling the first 5nm transistor is a significant milestone for the entire semiconductor industry as we continue to push beyond the limitations of our current capabilities. SUNY Poly’s partnership with IBM and Empire State Development is a perfect example of how Industry, Government and Academia can successfully collaborate and have a broad and positive impact on society.”

Part of IBM’s $3 billion, five-year investment in chip R&D (announced in 2014), the proof of nanosheet architecture scaling to a 5nm node continues IBM’s legacy of historic contributions to silicon and semiconductor innovation. They include the invention or first implementation of the single cell DRAM, the Dennard Scaling Laws, chemically amplified photoresists, copper interconnect wiring, Silicon on Insulator, strained engineering, multi core microprocessors, immersion lithography, high speed SiGe, High-k gate dielectrics, embedded DRAM, 3D chip stacking and Air gap insulators.

Graphene and related two dimensional (2D) materials have raised massive interest and investment during the last years. However, the amount of 2D-materials-based commercial devices available in the market is still very low.

This image shows resistive random access memory made of graphene electrodes and hexagonal boron nitride dielectric. Credit: American Institute of Physics 2017.

This image shows resistive random access memory made of graphene electrodes and hexagonal boron nitride dielectric. Credit: American Institute of Physics 2017.

The research group led by Dr. Mario Lanza, a Young 1000 Talent Professor born in Barcelona (Spain) and based in Soochow University (China), is leading a global effort to investigate the properties of layered dielectrics. In their recent investigation, published in the journal 2D Materials, Prof. Lanza and co-workers synthesized a resistive random access memory (RRAM) using graphene/hexagonal-boron-nitride/graphene (G/h-BN/G) van der Waals structures. Furthermore, they developed a compact model to accurately describe its functioning. The model is based on the nonlinear Landauer approach for mesoscopic conductors, in this case atomic-sized filaments formed within the 2D materials system. Besides providing excellent overall fitting results (which have been corroborated in log-log, log-linear and linear-linear plots), the model is able to explain the dispersion of the data obtained from cycle-to-cycle in terms of the particular features of the filamentary paths, mainly their confinement potential barrier height.

The development of theoretical models to describe the functioning of electronic devices is one essential step enabling device/systems simulation, which is essential before device mass production. The device selected in this case, the RRAM device, is the most promising technology for future high-density information storage.

IC Insights recently released its May Update to the 2017 McClean Report. This Update included IC Insights’ latest 2017 IC market forecast, a discussion of the 1Q17 semiconductor industry market results, a review of the IC market by electronic system type, a look at the top-25 1Q17 semiconductor suppliers, and an update of the capital spending forecast by company.

Figure 1 shows the “Billion-Dollar Club” list from 2007 through IC Insights’ forecast in 2017. In total, there are 15 companies that are forecast to have semiconductor capital expenditures of ≥$1.0 billion in 2017, up from 11 in 2016 and only 8 in 2013. Infineon and Renesas are expected to move into the major spending ranking this year as each company is aggressively targeting the fast rising automotive semiconductor market. Other companies expected to be added to the ranking this year include Nanya and ST. Moreover, IC Insights believes that a few Chinese companies are likely to break into the “major spenders” ranking over the next couple of years as they ramp up their new fabs. The 15 companies listed, which include four pure-play foundries, are forecast to represent 83% of total worldwide semiconductor industry capital spending in 2017, the highest percentage over the timeperiod shown.

This year, four companies—Intel, Samsung, GlobalFoundries, and SK Hynix— are expected to represent the bulk of the increase in spending. Samsung is forecast to spend $3,200 million more in capital outlays this year than in 2016, Intel $2,375 million more, GlobalFoundries $865 million more, and SK Hynix an additional $812 million. Combined, these four companies are expected to increase their spending by $7,252 million in 2017, or about 90% of the total $8,021 million net jump in total semiconductor industry capital expenditures forecast for this year.

With a 31% increase, the DRAM/SRAM segment is expected to display the largest percentage increase in capital expenditures of the major products types listed this year. With DRAM ASPs surging since the third quarter of 2016, DRAM manufacturers are once again stepping up spending for this segment.

Capital spending for flash memory in 2016 ($14.6 billion) was significantly higher than spending allocated for DRAM ($8.5 billion). Overall, IC Insights believes that essentially all of the spending for flash memory in 2016 and 2017 was and will be dedicated to 3D NAND flash memory process technology as opposed to planar flash memory. A big jump in NAND flash capital spending in 2017 is expected to come from Samsung as it ramps its 3D NAND production in its giant new fab in Pyeongtaek, South Korea.

Figure 1

Figure 1

By Walt Custer, Custer Consulting Group, and Dan Tracy, SEMI

SEMI’s year-to-date worldwide semiconductor equipment billings year-to-date through March show a 59.6 percent gain to the same period last year.

Understanding volatility in the electronic equipment supply chain can be valuable in forecasting future business activity.  A useful way to compare relevant electronic industry data series is by using 3/12 growth rates.  The 3/12 growth is the ratio of three months of data, compared to the same three months a year earlier.

Chart 1 compares the 3/12 growth rates of four data series:

  • World semiconductor equipment shipments (SEMI; www.semi.org)
  • Taiwan chip foundry sales (company composite maintained by Custer Consulting Group)
  • World semiconductor shipments (SIA, www.semiconductors.org & WSTS, www.wsts.org)
  • World electronic equipment sales (composite of 238 global OEMS maintained by Custer Consulting Group).

supply-chain-dynamics

Highlights

  • Semiconductor capital equipment sales are by far the most volatile of the four series in Chart 1, followed by foundry sales.
  • Foundry sales are a good leading indicator for semiconductor equipment shipments ─ leading SEMI equipment by 3-4 months on a 3/12 growth basis.
  • Foundry growth peaked in November 2016.
  • SEMI equipment growth appears to have peaked in February 2017.
  • Semiconductor shipments may have peaked in March 2017. March semiconductor revenues were up 18.5 percent in 1Q’17 vs 1Q’16 and, although still very strong, their rate of growth appears to have plateaued.

Note that 3/12 values greater than 1.0 indicate growth.  Declining 3/12 values (but greater than 1.0) indicate growth but at a slower rate.  Values below 1.0 indicate contraction.

Based upon Chart 1, semiconductor equipment 3/12 growth will likely reach zero in August or September of this year. Considering the unstable world geopolitical situation, uncertainty clearly exists.

SEMI members can access member-only market data and information at www.semi.org/en/free-market-data-semi-members.

Custer Consulting Group (www.custerconsulting.com) provides market research, business analyses and forecasts for the electronic equipment and solar/photovoltaic supply chains including semiconductors, printed circuit boards & other passive components, photovoltaic cells & modules, EMS, ODM & related assembly activities and materials & process equipment.

The 63rd annual IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM), to be held at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square hotel December 2-6, 2017, has issued a Call for Papers seeking the world’s best original work in all areas of microelectronics research and development.

The paper submission deadline this year is Wednesday, August 2, 2017. For the second year in a row the IEDM submission deadline is about 1½ months later than what had been the norm, reducing the time between paper submissions and publication of the cutting-edge research results for which the conference is known. Authors are asked to submit four-page camera-ready abstracts (instead of the traditional three pages), which will be published as-is in the proceedings.

Only a very limited number of late-news papers will be accepted. Authors are asked to submit late-news abstracts announcing only the most recent and noteworthy developments. The late-news submission deadline is September 11, 2017.

“Based on the success of the later paper-submission deadline last year, we have decided to make it an IEDM tradition,” said Dr. Barbara DeSalvo, Chief Scientist at Leti. “This helps ensure a rich and unique technical program.”

At IEDM each year, the world’s best scientists and engineers in the field of microelectronics gather to participate in a technical program consisting of more than 220 presentations, along with special luncheon presentations and a variety of panels, special sessions, Short Courses, IEEE/EDS award presentations and other events highlighting leading work in more areas of the field than any other conference.

This year special emphasis is placed on the following topics:
Advanced memory technologies
More-than-Moore device concepts
Neuromorphic computing/machine learning
Optoelectronics, photonics, displays and imaging systems
Package-device level interactions
Sensors and MEMS devices for biological/medical applications
Spin for memory and logic
Steep subthreshold devices
Technologies for 5nm and beyond

Overall, papers in the following areas of technology are encouraged:

  • Circuit and Device Interaction
  • Characterization, Reliability and Yield
  • Compound Semiconductor and High-Speed Devices
  • Memory Technology
  • Modeling and Simulation
  • Nano Device Technology
  • Optoelectronics, Displays and Imagers
  • Power Devices
  • Process and Manufacturing Technology
  • Sensors, MEMS and BioMEMS

North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $2.17 billion in billings worldwide in April 2017 (three-month average basis), according to the April 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 April 2017 was $2.17 billion. The billings figure is 4.6 percent higher than the final March 2017 level of $2.08 billion, and is 48.9 percent higher than the April 2016 billings level of $1.46 billion.

“Semiconductor equipment billings levels exceed two billion dollars for the second month in a row,” said Ajit Manocha, president and CEO of SEMI.  “Solid market fundamentals, coupled with strong demand for memory for data storage and processors for smartphones, are fueling significant investments.”

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
November 2016
$1,613.3
25.2%
December 2016
$1,869.8
38.5%
January 2017
$1,859.4
52.3%
February 2017
$1,974.0
63.9%
March 2017 (final)
$2,079.7
73.7%
April 2017 (prelim)
$2,174.5
48.9%

Source: SEMI (www.semi.org), May 2017
SEMI ceased publishing the monthly North America Book-to-Bill report in January 2017. SEMI will continue publish a monthly North American Billings report and issue the Worldwide Semiconductor Equipment Market Statistics (WWSEMS) report in collaboration with the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ).

GLOBALFOUNDRIES and the Chengdu municipality today announced an investment to spur innovation in China’s semiconductor industry. The partners plan to build a world-class FD-SOI ecosystem including multiple design centers in Chengdu and university programs across China. The investment of more than $100 million is expected to attract leading semiconductor companies to Chengdu, making it a center of excellence for designing next-generation chips in mobile, Internet-of-Things (IoT), automotive and other high-growth markets.

GF and Chengdu recently launched a joint venture to build a 300mm fab to meet accelerating global demand for GF’s 22FDX FD-SOI technology. Connected to this manufacturing partnership, Chengdu is now focusing on developing the city as a center of excellence for 22FDX design. The partners plan to establish multiple centers focused on IP development, IC design and incubating fabless companies in Chengdu, with the expectation of hiring more than 500 engineers to support semiconductor and systems companies in developing products using 22FDX for mobile, connectivity, 5G, IoT, and automotive. There will also be a focus on creating partnerships with universities across China to develop relevant FD-SOI coursework, research programs and design contests.

“China is the largest semiconductor market and is leading the way with a nationwide commitment to smart cities, IoT, smart vision and other advanced, mobile or battery-powered connected systems” said Alain Mutricy, senior vice president of product management at GF. “FDX is especially well suited for Chinese customers, and the FD-SOI ecosystem in Chengdu will provide the support system necessary to help chip designers take full advantage of the technology’s capabilities. We are committed to extend our partnership with Chengdu to accelerate adoption of FDX in China.”

“Following the ribbon cutting marking the signing of our Investment Cooperation Agreement, and to deepen our cooperation and attract more best-in-class semiconductor companies to Chengdu, the Chengdu Municipal Government is delighted to cooperate with GlobalFoundries on this FD-SOI ecosystem action plan,” said Gou Zheng Li, Vice Mayor of City of Chengdu. “Over the next six years, we aim to build a world-class ecosystem for FD-SOI and make Chengdu a Center of Excellence for the design and manufacturing of integrated circuits.”

GF’s 22FDX technology employs a 22nm Fully-Depleted Silicon-On-Insulator (FD-SOI) transistor architecture to deliver the industry’s best combination of performance, power and area for wireless, battery-powered intelligent systems. Construction of the new Chengdu fab has commenced and is on schedule with an expected completion date in early 2018. The fab will begin production of mainstream process technologies in 2018 and then focus on manufacturing 22FDX, with volume production expected to start in 2019.

SEMI today announced its plans to deliver specialized programs at SEMICON West 2017 (July 11-13 at Moscone Center in San Francisco, Calif.) in partnership with IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), Society of Automotive Engineers International (SAE), and imec. The programs will focus on key growth and innovation drivers for the industry, including advances in semiconductor scaling, autonomous motoring, and IoT (Internet of Things).  Register for SEMICON West now.

In recent years, IoT devices and applications have seen explosive growth, as have the microcontrollers, MEMS, sensors, and actuators underpinning IoT device architecture. In conjunction with IEEE, SEMI will offer two World of IoT sessions focusing on Understanding Risks and Opportunities in Transformative Technologies (the future of advanced IoT device architectures and emerging applications):

The sessions will feature presentations from: Ramesh Ramadoss,  IEEE Santa Clara Valley Section (Calif.); Ryan O’Leary, Threat Research Center at WhiteHat Security;  Phil Hummel, Dell EMC;  Todd Miller, General Electric Global Research; and Oleg Logvinov, IEEE Internet Initiative and IoTecha Corp.  Maciej Kranz, Cisco’s VP of Strategic Innovations, and author of the New York Times bestseller Building the Internet of Things, will also present.

On the automotive front, SEMI has partnered with SAE International to create two dynamic SMART Automotive sessions:

SMART Automotive attendees will get an insider’s view from Timothy Cavanaugh of SAE International, Luca De Ambroggi of IHS Markit, and key influencers from Qualcomm, NVIDIA, Mentor Graphics, and Continental Automotive Systems.

SEMI maintains a long-standing partnership with imec, a nanoelectronics research institute and organizer of an annual conference on emerging opportunities in semiconductor technology and smart electronics systems. This year’s event — Semiconductor and System Scaling Beyond Tomorrow — will be held July 10 in San Francisco, and feature a presentation from Dave Anderson, president, SEMI Americas, plus presentations from Luc Van den Hove, president and CEO, imec; An Steegen, SVP, imec; and Martin van den Brink, president and CTO, ASML.

In addition, recognizing the growing need for training and education, IEEE will be hosting a training workshop “Introduction to Embedded Systems/IoT Development“ for $149. Instructor Rob Oshana of Freescale will share practical techniques and guidelines for developing embedded system software.

By Lung Chu, President of SEMI China

Lung250As China embarks on the Made in China 2025 plan with electronics and semiconductor technology as one of the Top 10 focus areas, China’s semiconductor industry has an unprecedented growth opportunity.  However, besides the huge investment required, China IC industry is faced with strong competition in terms of technology, products, talent, and supply chain access from many leading global layers in an increasingly interconnected world and a highly global semiconductor market.

To be successful, it is critical that China’s semiconductor industry speed up its integration into the global industry supply chain. The goal is to achieve sustainable growth through “win-win” collaboration with global partners and leveraging industry platforms to become a significant player and partner in the international semiconductor manufacturing industry ecosystem.

China semiconductor industry growth

In recent years, many new 12-inch fab projects have been announced, started construction, or in ramp-up stage in China, including UMC in Xiamen, PSC in Hefei, TSMC in Nanjing, YMTC in Wuhan and Nanjing, as well as GLOBALFOUNDRIES in Chengdu.  Many China-based foundries are adding 12-inch capacity including SMIC fabs in Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen, and HLMC in Shanghai area. The production capacity of these ~20 new fabs is expected to come online in the next three to five years.

SEMI has seen active interest in several local cities in attracting global and China-based companies to set up semiconductor fabrication facilities.  The strong trend for expansion and investment shows no signs of slowdown in China. The current investment fever in semiconductors in China is a balancing act ─ it will lead both to the development of a regional industry supply chain and the demand for capital investment in China. However, as with any expansion bubble, new production capacity in some mature nodes might create overcapacity and raises questions of sustainability paired with the severe shortage of skilled workers/engineers and uncertainty of future fund availability for continuing operations and investment.

Rise of China

China’s expansion in semiconductor manufacturing should be viewed through a global context.  SEMI advocates for free trade and open markets, international cooperation for intellectual property (IP) rights protection, industry Standards, and environmental protection. SEMI promotes the global electronics manufacturing supply chain and works to positively influence the growth and prosperity of its members.

In 2016, before stepping down, the U.S. Obama administration delivered a report from the Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Part of the report addressed the rise of China’s semiconductor industry and recommended the United States should improve its environment for development of the semiconductor and high-tech industry and continue to invest in advanced technologies.

Each country will evaluate their own course as the China market expands. However, the rise of the semiconductor industry in China need not be viewed simply as a threat to the world; instead, it is a significant growth driver and business opportunity for global suppliers.  IC chips top the list of all Chinese bulk imports in terms of dollar value. China desires to develop its IC chip industry to better fulfill its inherent demand. China currently has low market share and limited technical capability in four major areas identified in the China National IC Development Guideline: IC design, manufacturing, package/testing, and equipment/material.

China is clear about its intentions with regard to growing its own semiconductor supply chain. In the short term, heavy dependency on foreign suppliers (especially equipment and material) is inevitable.  Going forward, cooperation with foreign semiconductor suppliers/partners with an open-minded and “win-win” attitude is an imperative strategy in solving the development bottleneck issues concerning equipment/materials and other key areas in China’s semiconductor industry.

SEMI China focuses on member value

China is the world’s largest manufacturing base for electronics products, as well as the world’s largest market for demand of IC chips. Now, as China’s semiconductor industry experiences a transformation in development, SEMI China is working to provide more value to its local and global members as the industry is rapidly changing. SEMI China promotes Chinese enterprises for industry growth and prosperity, and helps outstanding local companies advance in the international market. SEMI China is also using its global, specialized, and localized industry association platform to promote the development of the semiconductor industry in China.

SEMI China has 11 industry committees and is committed to SEMI global values and the China region. All the SEMI China committees have the strong connections needed to communicate and collaborate not only with China’s semiconductor industry, but with the global ecosystem.

SEMI, the global trade association that advances the growth and prosperity of electronics manufacturing, was the world’s first semiconductor industry group, established in 1970. It has witnessed the flourishing development of the semiconductor industry over the last 47 years and continues to be devoted to promoting the healthy development of the industry. SEMI is keeping pace with the industry and offering specialized and global platform services to the entire industry ecosystem. In the last two years, SEMI became a strategic partner with both FlexTech Alliance and the MEMS & Sensors Industry Group (MSIG). In the future, SEMI is also providing association services for the Fab Owner Association (FOA) to continue expanding collaboration along the electronics manufacturing supply chain. The intent is to include a wider span of the interdependent electronics manufacturing supply chain and the key adjacent opportunities that drive global growth opportunities.

SEMICON China is an industry event platform organized in partnership with major chip manufacturers, packaging and testing companies in China, and suppliers of equipment and materials worldwide. The world’s leaders come to discuss global industry trends, cutting-edge technologies and market opportunities on the same stage, as well as the development of global and Chinese semiconductor industries. This year, the importance of SEMICON China was validated ─ with over 69,000 attendees and a record number of exhibitors ─ the largest SEMICON show ever.

Global competition in semiconductor manufacturing has long been a part of the environment with growth starting in the U.S. and spreading to Europe, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and China. Global competition has resulted in new innovations and a global march to the demanding cadence of Moore’s Law. Compared to other countries, China’s semiconductor industry is relatively weak and the barriers to entry for leading-node production remain challenging. Despite this, China is moving forward ─ with a focus to increase domestic semiconductor chip demand. The Chinese M&A wave is another growth driver for the industry. I hope that going forward we can all embrace the industry’s growth, and not fear China’s advancement.

 

Worldwide semiconductor revenue totaled $343.5 billion in 2016, a 2.6 percent increase from 2015 revenue of $334.9 billion, according to final results by Gartner, Inc. The top 25 semiconductor vendors’ combined revenue increased 10.5 percent, a significantly better performance than the overall industry’s growth; however, most of this growth resulted from merger and acquisition (M&A) activity.

“The semiconductor industry rebounded in 2016, with a weak start to the year, characterized by inventory correction, giving way to strengthening demand and an improving pricing environment in the second half,” said James Hines research director at Gartner. “Worldwide semiconductor revenue growth was supported by increasing production in many electronic equipment segments, improving NAND flash memory pricing and relatively benign currency movements.”

Intel retained its No. 1 position as the largest semiconductor manufacturer and grew its semiconductor revenue 4.6 percent in 2016 (see Table 1). Samsung Electronics continued to maintain the No. 2 spot with 11.7 percent market share.

Table 1. Top 10 Semiconductor Vendors by Revenue, Worldwide, 2016 (Millions of Dollars)

2015 Rank

2016 Rank

Vendor

2016 Revenue

2016
Market Share (%)

2015 Revenue

2015-2016 Growth (%)

1

1

Intel

54,091

15.7

51,690

4.6

2

2

Samsung Electronics

40,104

11.7

37,852

5.9

4

3

Qualcomm

15,415

4.5

16,079

-4.1

3

4

SK hynix

14,700

4.3

16,374

-10.2

17

5

Broadcom Ltd. (formerly Avago)

13,223

3.8

4,543

191.1

5

6

Micron Technology

12,950

3.8

13,816

-6.3

6

7

Texas Instruments

11,901

3.5

11,635

2.3

7

8

Toshiba

9,918

2.9

9,162

8.3

12

9

NXP Semiconductors

9,306

2.7

6,517

42.8

10

10

Media Tek

8,725

2.5

6,704

30.1

Others

153,181

44.6

160,562

-4.6

Total Market

343,514

100.0

334,934

2.6

Source: Gartner (May 2017)

Consolidation continued to play a major role in the market share rankings, with several large companies growing through acquisitions. Merger and acquisition activity among the major vendors in 2016 included Avago Technologies’ acquisition of Broadcom Corp. to become Broadcom Ltd., On Semiconductor’s acquisition of Fairchild Semiconductor, and Western Digital’s acquisition of SanDisk. The largest mover in the top 25 was Broadcom Ltd., which moved up 12 places in the market share ranking.

“The combined revenue of the top 25 semiconductor vendors increased by 10.5 percent during 2016 and accounted for a 74.9 percent share, outperforming the rest of the market, which saw a 15.6 percent revenue decline,” said Mr. Hines. “However, these results are skewed by the large amount of M&A activity during 2015 and 2016. If we adjust for this M&A activity by adding the revenue of each acquired company to the revenue of the acquirer for both 2015 and 2016 where necessary, then the top 25 vendors would have experienced a 1.9 percent revenue increase, and the rest of the market would have increased by 4.6 percent.”