Category Archives: Manufacturing

Tessera Technologies, Inc. (“Tessera”), a subsidiary of Xperi Corporation (the “Company”) (NASDAQ: XPER), today announced that it and certain of its affiliates entered into agreements with Broadcom Ltd. and certain of its affiliates (“Broadcom”), customers, and suppliers to settle and dismiss all pending litigation between them. In conjunction with the settlement, Broadcom entered into a new multi-year patent license agreement with Tessera.

“We are very pleased to have reached this settlement and license agreement with Broadcom,” said Jon Kirchner, CEO of Xperi Corporation. “This agreement validates the strength and breadth of our semiconductor portfolio, and provides us with a clear path to unlock the value of our innovations with other companies in the semiconductor industry.”

“The resolution of our dispute with Broadcom on mutually agreeable terms is a major milestone for Tessera’s IP licensing business. We look forward to a constructive relationship with Broadcom and thank the Broadcom team for their professional approach to reaching this resolution,” said Murali Dharan, president of Tessera.

The license agreement provides for an upfront payment in the fourth quarter of 2017 and recurring quarterly payments beginning in the first quarter of 2018. The other terms of the agreements are confidential.

Tessera and Invensas are subsidiaries of Xperi Corporation (NASDAQ: XPER). Over the past 27 years, research and development at both Tessera and Invensas has led to significant innovations in semiconductor packaging technology, which has been widely licensed and is found in billions of electronic devices globally.

Accelerometers and gyroscopes are fueling the robotic revolution, especially the drones’ market segment. However, these MEMS devices are not the only ones on the market place anymore, with environmental sensors penetrating this industry too.

InvenSense, today TDK, combined it: the US-based company, IMU leader and formerly Apple’s supplier during many years, released last month the world’s 1st 7-axis motion tracking device combining accelerometer, gyroscope and pressure sensor. InvenSense announces the ICM-20789 7-axis combo sensor dedicated to mainly drones and flying toys as well as smart watches, wearables, activity monitoring, floor and stair counting etc.

The reverse costing company, System Plus Company has investigated the 7-axis component and technologies selected by InvenSense. Aim of this analysis was to identify the technologies selected by the leading company as well as to understand the impacts on the manufacturing costs.

What are the technical choices made by InvenSense? What are the benefits for the device in term of performances? What is the impact on the manufacturing process flow?

System Plus Consulting’s team proposes today a comprehensive technology and cost analysis, including as well a detailed comparison with the previous generation of combo sensors from InvenSense.

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The drone’s market segment dedicated to consumer applications confirms its attractiveness with 23% CAGR between 2016 and 2021. According to Yole Développement, sister company of System Plus Consulting, the market should reach almost US$ 3.4 billion in 2023 (Source : Sensors for drones and robots: market opportunities and technology revolution report, Yole Développement, 2016). Under this dynamic context, System Plus Consulting’s experts are following the technical advances and the evolution of the manufacturing costs of the combo devices. InvenSense’s device is a good example of this technology breakthrough: indeed, for the 1st time, a company presents a 7-axis component combining accelerometer, gyroscope and barometric pressure sensor, integrated on the same package. Innovation clearly is not in the selection of the components, comments the reverse engineering & costing company, but more in the smart combination of the three devices in the same package.

Stéphane Elisabeth, RF and Advanced Packaging Cost Engineer from System Plus Consulting explains: “Using single package integration, the US company merged a 6-axis inertial sensor already identified in iPhone 6 with a barometric pressure sensor based on a design coming from the barometric division of Sensirion. Therefore, InvenSense took benefits of Sensirion’s partial acquisition, taking place in 2016, by developing a specific approach eliminating a package and minimizing board area requirements.”

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InvenSense was able to integrate its own barometric pressure sensor thanks to the knowledge reached with the acquisition of Sensirion’s barometric division. This device is shipped in a 4 mm x 4 mm x 1.37 mm land grid array (LGA) package.

InvenSense acquired the pressure sensor business from Sensirion Holding AG and its affiliates used in the development of capacitive-type monolithic digital pressure-sensor technology platform.

InvenSense’s financial report highlights the details of this acquisition: the purchase price associated with the acquisition was approximately US$9.8 million, of which US$5.7 million was allocated to developed technology with an estimated useful life of six years and US$4.1 million was allocated to goodwill.

Faced with this simple but impressive technical innovation, what will be the answer of other MEMS & Sensors manufacturers? Will this combination of IMU with barometric pressure sensor be followed by competitors? The selling prices of IMUs have fell in recent years and adding new functions is a way to keep a profitable ASP.

ProPlus Design Solutions Inc. and MPI Corporation today announced a strategic partnership agreement and immediate availability of a characterization and modeling solution that integrates ProPlus’ SPICE modeling and noise characterization solution with MPI’s advanced probing technologies.

The integrated solution offers seamless support of the MPI probe stations to perform automated measurement of DC, CV and noise characteristics, enabling MPI users easy access to the most accurate ProPlus SPICE modeling and noise characterization offerings. The advanced probing technologies developed by MPI are optimized for the latest ProPlus 9812DX noise analyzer with improved grounding and shielding technologies critical to wafer-level noise characterization.

Under the partnership agreement, ProPlus users are able to integrate MPI’s advanced semi-automatic probe stations in their characterization and modeling flow for better noise measurement quality. The close collaboration also proved that probe card wafer-level noise characterization is possible using the 9812DX noise analyzer. Previously, these measurements were performed using manipulators and easily introducing RF interferences and oscillations. The advanced probe card technology specially developed for noise measurement provides better data quality and stability, as well as improves flexibility of wafer-level noise characterization for higher throughput.

“ProPlus Design Solutions continues to invest on improving the technologies that made wafer-level noise characterization possible 20 years ago,” remarks Dr. Zhihong Liu, chairman and chief executive officer of ProPlus Design Solutions. “We brought it to the next level with a specially designed probe card for a tightly integrated noise system thus delivering the fastest and most accurate noise characterization of the highest quality. We’re pleased to work with MPI on this effort.”

“The collaboration with ProPlus Design Solutions has enabled a seamlessly integrated wafer level low-frequency noise measurement capability with guaranteed system configuration and performance,” says Dr. Stojan Kanev, general manager of Advanced Semiconductor Test Division at MPI Corporation. “We now offer the most advanced high throughput noise characterization and modeling system. MPI’s exceptional shielding technology provides world class 1/f noise measurement capability. Customers may now rest assured these systems are validated to provide reliable and accurate noise measurement capability while enjoying a reduced cost of test.”

The integrated solution has been adopted by leading semiconductor companies. ProPlus and MPI Corporation will demonstrate the joint solution globally throughout 2018.

Today, SEMI, the global industry association representing the electronics manufacturing supply chain, released its Year-end Forecast at the annual SEMICON Japan exposition. SEMI projects that worldwide sales of new semiconductor manufacturing equipment will increase 35.6 percent to US$55.9 billion in 2017, marking the first time that the semiconductor equipment market has exceeded the previous market high of US$47.7 billion set in 2000. In 2018, 7.5 percent growth is expected to result in sales of US$60.1 billion for the global semiconductor equipment market – another record-breaking year.

The SEMI Year-end Forecast predicts a 37.5 percent increase in 2017, to $45.0 billion, for wafer processing equipment. The other front-end segment, which consists of fab facilities equipment, wafer manufacturing, and mask/reticle equipment, is expected to increase 45.8 percent to $2.6 billion. The assembly and packaging equipment segment is projected to grow by 25.8 percent to $3.8 billion in 2017, while semiconductor test equipment is forecast to increase by 22.0 percent to $4.5 billion this year.

In 2017, South Korea will be the largest equipment market for the first time. After maintaining the top spot for five years, Taiwan will place second, while China will come in third. All regions tracked will experience growth, with the exception of Rest of World (primarily Southeast Asia). South Korea will lead in growth with 132.6 percent, followed by Europe at 57.2 percent, and Japan at 29.9 percent.

SEMI forecasts that in 2018, equipment sales in China will climb the most, 49.3 percent, to $11.3 billion, following 17.5 percent growth in 2017. In 2018, South Korea, China, and Taiwan are forecast to remain the top three markets, with South Korea maintaining the top spot at $16.9 billion. China is forecast to become the second largest market at $11.3 billion, while equipment sales to Taiwan are expected to approach $11.3 billion.

The following results are in terms of market size in billions of U.S. dollars:

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Quantenna Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq:QTNA), a developer of high performance Wi-Fi solutions, today announced that Dr. Nambi Seshadri, Quantenna’s chief technologist has been selected as the 2018 IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal recipient for exceptional contributions to wireless, networking and engineering. In addition to this highest honor, Seshadri’s prize consists of a gold medal, a bronze replica, a certificate, and an honorarium.

“The innovations by Nambi form the basis for some of today’s Wi-Fi and other wireless networking standards and systems, now in use by billions of Wi-Fi users,” said Dr. Sam Heidari, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Quantenna. “We are honored to have such a distinguished and accomplished chief technologist on our team. The process is extraordinarily competitive, this is a great lifetime accomplishment and one of the most prestigious honors that one may receive in our field.”

Every year, the IEEE board of directors selects a SINGLE individual to receive the IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal. The selection criteria used include weighing the value of the individual’s contribution to communication among people as well as to communication sciences and engineering, and an evaluation of the contributor, nominator and references. The timeliness of the recognition, and quality of the nomination also are considered.

The IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal was established in 1976 by the IEEE Board of Directors, in commemoration of the centennial of the telephone’s invention, to provide recognition for outstanding contributions to telecommunications. The invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 was a major event in electrotechnology. It was instrumental in stimulating the broad telecommunications industry that has dramatically improved life throughout the world. As an individual, Bell himself exemplified the contributions that scientists and engineers have made to the betterment of mankind.

In addition to serving as chief technologist to Quantenna, Seshadri is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) for the University of California, San Diego. Prior to Quantenna, Seshadri held multiple senior positions at Broadcom Corporation where he helped Broadcom’s wireless initiatives, including it’s foray into cellular, mobile multimedia, low power wireless connectivity, GPS and others. During 2011-2014, he also served as the General Manager of the Mobile Platforms Business Unit. Prior to joining Broadcom Corporation, he was a Member of Technical Staff at with AT&T Bell Lab Laboratories and Head of Communications Research at AT&T Shannon Labs where he contributed to fundamental advances in wireless communication theory and practice.

Seshadri was elected Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) in 2000 and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering (USA) in 2012 and as a Foreign Member of the Indian National Academy of Engineering in the year 2013. He holds approximately 200 patents. He was a co-recipient of the IEEE Information Theory Paper Award in 1999 for his paper with Tarokh and Calderbank on space-time codes, and his IEEE Journal on Selected Areas In Communications (JSAC) paper on space-time coding modems with Naguib, Tarokh, and Calderbank was selected by IEEE Communication Society for publication in, “The Best of the Best: Fifty Years of Communications and Networking Research,” for 2003.

The ConFab 2018, to be held at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on May 21-23, is thrilled to announce the newest opening day Keynote speaker, Professor John M. Martinis. John is a Research Scientist who heads up Google’s Quantum AI Lab. He also holds the Worster Chair of Experimental Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The lab is particularly interested in applying quantum computing to artificial intelligence and machine learning, and as one of Google’s quantum computing gurus, John shared the company’s “stretch goal”. That is to build and test a 49-qubit (“quantum bit”) quantum computer by the end of this year. The test will be a milestone in quantum computer technology.

The conference team is also very excited to have IBM distinguished Engineer, Rama Divakaruni – who is responsible for IBM Advanced Process Technology Research – present his Keynote Address: How Artificial Intelligence is driving the “New” Semiconductor Era. Both Keynotes, set for May 21, promise to be outstanding presentations.

Additional outstanding speakers at The ConFab 2018 include:

  • Dan Armbrust, CEO and Co-founder of Silicon Catalyst will present: “Enabling a Startup Ecosystem for Semiconductors” describing the current environment for semiconductor startups.
  • George Gomba, GLOBALFOUNDRIES VP of Technology Research will discuss the EUV lithography project with SUNY Polytechnic Institute now finding its way into advanced semiconductor manufacturing.
  • John Hu, Director of Advanced Technology for Nvidia – John heads up R&D of Advanced IC Process Technologies and programs, Design For Manufacturing, Testchips, and New technology/ IC product.
  • Tom Sonderman, President of Sky Water Technology Foundry will focus on smart manufacturing ecosystems based on big data platform, predictive analytics and IoT.
  • Kou Kuo Suu of ULVAC Japan will delve into manufacturing various types of NVM memory chips, including Phase-Change memory (PCRAM).

More industry experts adding to the conference will be announced soon.  Further event details are available at: www.theconfab.com.

InfinityQS International, Inc. (InfinityQS), the global authority on data-driven manufacturing quality, announces TEL NEXX, a metallization solutions provider to chip designers and manufacturers, is using its software to modernize shop floor data collection and quality control. Moving from a manual, paper-based system to an accessible database, the company has installed InfinityQS’ Quality Intelligence solution ProFicient on tablets for shop floor operators to directly enter data. This has improved the accuracy and timeliness of data capture and enabled rapid response to production issues. With access to historical data at the management level, TEL NEXX can also identify opportunities for quality and process improvements.

Brian Hart, Manufacturing Engineer, TEL NEXX, said, “ProFicient has made accessing a history for each product easy. As our database grows, we can extract information to drive continuous improvement projects and eliminate bottlenecks. What’s more, moving from a paper-based system to an accessible database has made us more efficient. As the projects and operators advance, we only expect to move faster and faster—with the same integrity.”

Historically, TEL NEXX collected data almost entirely manually, which required operators to duplicate data-entry steps by recording data on paper and then entering them into spreadsheets. These processes were time consuming and required rechecking to avoid errors. But now, operators are entering data once into ProFicient, and the data immediately becomes available for managers and administrators to review and provide feedback in real time. Direct data entry has also improved morale on the shop floor, with operators seeing the importance of data collection and taking greater ownership of the work.

Michael Lyle, President and CEO, InfinityQS, said, “When manufacturers rely on manual data entry, it creates inefficiencies that prevent them from responding to variations and other shop floor issues properly and in a timely manner. Instead, modern technologies are available that can create visibility for organizations into their quality data. This transparency enables them to not only make prompt corrections to ensure problems don’t compound, but also perform proactive analysis for continuous improvement.”

To support operator adoption, Hart is leading an incremental rollout of ProFicient and also gradually integrating the solution with TEL NEXX’s existing shop-floor systems. Notably, within just weeks of deploying ProFicient, Hart was able to detect equipment settings that had been inadvertently altered from the original specifications and in a few hours make adjustments so that the machine operated correctly moving forward.

For the first time ever, SEMICON Southeast Asia (SEMICON SEA), the region’s premier gathering of the industry connecting people, products, technologies and solutions across the electronics manufacturing supply chain, will be held in Kuala Lumpur. Taking place 8 to 10 May 2018, the conference will debut in the newly constructed Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC). With more than 85 percent of the exhibition space already sold, SEMICON SEA 2018 will represent companies from Southeast Asia, China, Taiwan, Europe and the U.S.  More than 300 companies will exhibit and as many as 8,000 visitors from 15 countries are expected to participate in SEMICON SEA. Organised by SEMI, SEMICON SEA 2018 theme will be “Think Smart Make Smart.”

The Southeast Asia region is a world-class electronics manufacturing hub with end-to-end R&D capabilities, and SEMICON SEA 2018 is the comprehensive platform for the electronics industry in the region. The event will feature three themed pavilions, five country pavilions, keynote presentations, and forums that will address critical trending topics within the semiconductor eco-system. The show will connect decision makers from the industry, demonstrate the most advanced products, and provide the most up-to-date market and technology trends.

Ng Kai Fai, president of SEMI Southeast Asia says, “The growth of SEMICON Southeast Asia is attributed to the rapid expansion and robust growth of the Electrical & Electronics (E&E) sector across Southeast Asia, with companies emerging as world leaders in mobile, automotive, medical and Internet of Things (IoT) supply chains. As one of the high-growth markets in the region, Malaysia contributes 44 percent of the total manufacturing output and 26 percent of the total Gross Domestic Product of the region and is forecasted to generate approximately US$ 382 billion in exports in 2018.”

Over the past three years, SEMICON SEA has become the annual gathering of the full regional supply chain. SEMICON SEA 2018 will feature a supplier search programme to encourage cross-border business matching as well as a technology start-up platform which will bring together Southeast Asia technology entrepreneurial resources. In conjunction with SEMICON SEA 2018, this event will also include the SEMICON University Programme which aims to encourage and promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) interest amongst young talent and will also include a job fair.

Leti, a research institute of CEA Tech and coordinator of the pan-European consortium FED4SAE, today announced that the 14 project partners have launched a three-year European Commission program to facilitate the acceleration of European cyber-physical-system (CPS) solutions to market. This project will boost digitization of European industry by strengthening companies’ competitiveness in the CPS market.

Cyber-physical systems link the physical world (e.g., through sensors or actuators) with the virtual world of information processing. They are comprised of diverse constituent parts that function together to create some global behavior. These constituents may include software systems, communications technology, and sensors/actuators that interact with the real world, often including embedded technologies.

The FED4SAE project, launched in September in Grenoble, will create a pan-European network of Digital Innovation Hubs (DIH) by leveraging existing regional tech or businesses ecosystems across complete value chains and multiple competencies. The network of DIHs will enable startups, SMEs and midcap companies in all sectors to build and create new digital products, smart applications and services. The project mission also includes innovation management – linking these companies to suppliers and investors to create innovative CPS solutions and accelerate their development and industrialization.

“FED4SAE will give birth to a competitive ecosystem that will help European startups, SMEs and midcaps innovate and thrive as they access leading technology sources, competencies and industrial platforms,” said Leti project coordinator, Isabelle Dor. “The network will also effectively link them to well-connected business infrastructures, such as banks, investors and business accelerators, and existing regional innovation hubs.

“Bottom line: the expanded adoption of CPS solutions offered by the network is expected to lead to quantifiable increases in the participating companies’ market share, productivity and industrial capacities,” Dor said.

The FED4SAE project will fund industrial projects thanks to the cascade-funding process set by the European Commission. There will be three open calls over the course of the project. The first call, which opens Nov. 14, will support the best projects based on their innovation potential and technical expertise, the maturity of the solution, with technology-readiness levels between 3 and 6, and their efficient management of the innovation to create a lasting impact with the developed solution.

This pan-European network will enable companies to use CPS platforms combined with expertise and knowhow from the R&D advanced platforms. The ultimate goal of each industrial project within FED4SAE is to develop a complete solution that can get to market and scale.

This includes combining hardware and software components and deploying them in a range of testbeds prior to deployment into the targeted market, as well as support in business modeling and market insights through guidance from conceptual design through market launch. Application experiments will be funded for developing innovative CPS products that will increase the competitiveness of European innovative companies.

Proposals can be submitted from Nov. 14 to Feb. 6, 2018, for the first open call. The expected average funding per applicant is €50,000 with a maximum of €60,000 for one application experiment.

With 7% CAGR between 2016 and 2022, the magnetic sensor market should reach almost US$ 2.5 billion in 2022. Driven by the automotive applications and the introduction of the magnetoresistive technologies, it is showing a steady growth. The industry is step by step undergoing a consolidation process. According to Yole Développement (Yole), future mergers and acquisitions are expected to allow companies to ensure their market positioning and penetrate new market segments.

The “More than More” market research and strategy consulting company, proposes today a dedicated technology & market report related to semiconductor magnetic sensors industry: Magnetic Sensors Market & Technologies. Magnetic sensors functions included in this new analysis are switches/latches, position (angle/linear), speed, current and electronic compass. With this new report, Yole’s analysts are offering a comprehensive overview of the magnetic technologies such as Hall Effect, magneto resistive (AMR, GMR and TMR) and others, combined with market data and competitive landscape. Based on its strong knowledge of the semiconductor industry and its technical expertise, Yole’s team investigated the magnetic sensor ecosystem, conducted numerous interviews with leading players and gathered lot of strategic information. This report presents the key driving forces and restraints for each magnetic sensor market and provides accurate market forecasts in dollars, units and number of wafers.

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Magnetic sensors is becoming a key enabling technology for the growing automotive and IoT industries, announces the consulting company.

“Automotive market is the 1st magnetic sensors business thanks to a huge number of magnetic sensors per vehicle, as well as the large volume showed by the automotive sector,” said Yann de Charentenay, Technology & Market Analyst at Yole.

Therefore automotive is the biggest magnetic sensor business by far, accounting for more than 50% of the overall market’s US$1.64 billion value in 2016. Today, 20-30 magnetic sensors are used in a traditional ICE car. This could rise to 35 in hybrid cars, which require additional current sensors. Magnetic sensors can be used for position and speed sensing, switching, current sensing, and have the advantage of being contactless and thus very robust. Thus magnetic sensors already contribute significantly to car electrification. This will continue in coming years, in both powertrain and auxiliary brushless motors, and as reliability requirements increase for autonomous cars.

In parallel, Yole’s analysts consider a 2nd market segment including industrial plants, transportation, homes, appliances and consumer electronics. “The market is clearly very fragmented, with smaller volumes and more dedicated products than in automotive, which are thus also higher priced”, details Yann de Charentenay from Yole. But similar trends as in automotive are currently driving the market growth. And the transition to brushless motors and IoT are boosting the market by providing intelligence and connectivity to objects either for ‘industry 4.0’ or for consumer smart homes. “At Yole, we therefore expect this business will have double digit growth, the highest in the magnetic sensor market,” added Yann de Charentenay.

The ‘ecompass’ electronic compass market is stabilizing after several years of shrinkage due to rapid price erosion and smartphone market saturation. Ecompasses that use 3D magnetic sensors equip a majority of smartphones to precisely give pedestrians directions in digital maps, and for a few years have assisted GPS when satellite signals are unavailable. Market growth will come back thanks to new applications such as wearable, robots and drones, but will be moderate compared to other businesses.

The magnetic sensors market evolution is also pushed by a dynamic technology landscape. Indeed, the presence of magnetoresistive technologies, named xMR grows and reinforces the increasing complexity of the technology environment. It includes AMR, GMR, and more recently TMR. Their growth comes at the expense of, or combination with, historical Hall Effect technology.
xMR technologies’ main advantage is better sensitivity and thus they are mainly used for position measurement, especially for precise angles. Most big Hall players have introduced xMR technologies into their product portfolios and intend to grow this business. Yole’s analysis identified: AKM, Infineon Technologies, Allegro Microsystems, Melexis, TDK (especially with the acquisition of Micronas end of 2015), Diodes and Honeywell. According to Yole, xMR technologies will increase their market share from 27% to 33% from 2016 to 2022.