Category Archives: Manufacturing

Electrical physicists from Czech Technical University have provided additional evidence that new current sensors introduce errors when assessing current through iron conductors. It’s crucial to correct this flaw in the new sensors so that operators of the electrical grid can correctly respond to threats to the system. The researchers show how a difference in a conductor’s magnetic permeability, the degree of material’s magnetization response in a magnetic field, affects the precision of new sensors. They also provide recommendations for improving sensor accuracy. The results are published this week in AIP Advances, from AIP Publishing.

With the addition of new renewable energy sources and smart homes demanding more information, the electrical grid is becoming more complex. Author Pavel Ripka said, “If you have [a] grid at the edge of capacity, you have to be careful to monitor all the transients (power surges).” Surges are overloads or failures to the system, which can be caused by something as simple as a broken power line, or more dramatic events like lightning strikes or geomagnetic storms.

Ripka explained the importance of monitoring electrical currents: “Every day you get a lot of these small events (surges) within a big power grid, and sometimes it is difficult to interpret them. If it is something really serious, you should switch off parts of the grid to prevent catastrophic damage, but if it’s a short transient which will finish fast there is no need to disconnect the grid. It’s a risky business to distinguish between these events, because if you underestimate the danger then parts of the distribution installations can be damaged causing serious blackouts. But if you overestimate and disconnect, it is a problem because connecting these grids back together is quite complicated,” he said.

To address the increasing complexity of the grid and power outage threats, there has been an increase in use of ground current sensors in the past couple of years. New yokeless current sensors are popular because of their low cost and compact size. These sensors are good for assessing currents in nonmagnetic conductors such as copper and aluminum. However, ground conductors are usually iron due to its mechanical strength, and iron has a high magnetic permeability.

Using these new sensors to measure ground currents when iron is present is a bit like using a thermometer to assess if the heating needs to be switched on, not taking into account where exactly the thermometer is placed. Near a door or window, the thermometer’s reading can be affected differently than elsewhere. In the same way, this study has shown that not taking into account the magnetic permeability of a conductor distorts the accuracy of a reading with a yokeless sensor.

Ripka and his team matched experimental measurements with theoretical simulations to highlight the difference in yokeless sensor readings between nonmagnetic and magnetic conductors.

“We can show how to design (yokeless) current sensors so that they are not so susceptible to this type of error,” Ripka said. “[This study is] just a small reminder to make [engineers] design sensors safely.”

To further prove the point, Ripka’s group is starting to take long-term readings at power stations, comparing results to commercial uncalibrated sensors. In the future, Ripka envisions cooperating with geophysicists to correlate ground currents and geomagnetic activity, to better understand how these currents are distributed within the earth and even predict future disruptions to the grid.

SEMICON Europa is quickly approaching on 14-17 November.  As the premier platform in Europe for discovering new technologies, finding solutions to electronics design and manufacturing challenges, and meeting the people and companies who are advancing electronics innovation, SEMICON Europa features over 60 presentations covering the entire electronics manufacturing supply chain.

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SEMI interviewed one of the four keynotes presenting on November 14 during the Opening Ceremony, Dr. Stefan Finkbeiner, CEO of Bosch Sensortec, about topics about developments and trends in IoT, Environmental Sensing, and Value Chain as well as the role of Europe.

SEMI:  IoT growth is slower than expected. Possible reasons are relatively high costs and lack of silicon integration and interoperable standards. However, expected progress over the next two years on all those fronts will fuel a market that “will very quickly double” its shipment rates. What do you see as key factors for a success of IoT solutions and what are today’s roadblocks?

Finkbeiner: Today, the IoT market is fragmented. The lack of standardization is limiting the implementation of new solutions, and only a cooperation of different competencies will bring us closer to a better result. Key success factors for doing so are customization, standardization and cooperation between different parties along the ecosystems and the value chain: all those elements will contribute to the progress of the IoT. In the end, it is the use case that really counts. If you have to pay for a solution, you will only do so if you are sure you will really benefit from it.  Some applications, which are already in the market, include the possibility of detecting the indoor air quality. When and where shall I open the window to get fresh air in order to improve the work environment? If a room is empty, there is no need to use the sensors to heat up or cool down. We can calculate the benefits – and those in charge of operation can measure how much it pays off.

SEMI:  Which role does the cooperation along the value chain play here?

Finkbeiner:  Cooperation is the key, and when we talk about the value chain, there are different competencies, e.g. hardware, software and collaboration with partners to generate smart sensors. These smart sensors accumulate and evaluate sensor signals and dates. Only valuable data is transferred via gateways into a cloud. It is not only about “making the value chain happen,” but also about having access to the market. No company on its own is able to access all markets, but with a net of partners we can. It is crucial to combine competencies in order to get access to the IoT market and accelerate penetration in different applications.

SEMI:  Smart buildings represent the second largest target of the IoT market. This is followed by connected vehicles and smart farms at about a billion devices each. Let’s take the automotive industry and major changes of today’s new players such as Tesla, Google or Uber entering the market. Do you expect or see already similar trends for in the field of Smart buildings or Smart Cities?

Finkbeiner: If we talk about environmental sensing, the answer will be “no.” Still, companies with competencies in the field of sensors or microcontrollers are the ones providing sensor solutions. However, if you talk about making use out of the data, companies like Google, Apple, or Amazon, will also be involved in the IoT market’s data business.

SEMI:   What are typical examples of Environmental Sensing you are referring to?

Finkbeiner: A typical example of environmental sensing is measuring the indoor air quality for energy management in a smart home or smart factory. Let´s take, for example, a fitness application: you can use an app to measure the humidity rate and the air quality. If the results do not show favorable conditions for doing sports, you will most probably decide not to exercise in that specific area, or during a specific time, or period. One of the first products on the market is a smart case for the smartphone developed by i-BLADES, which turns into a portable air quality monitor, thanks to the integrated gas sensor BME680. We currently see many such smart applications emerging on the market.  But there are also other applications: let´s take, for example, food watching. If food is aging, our sensor can recognize it – and an app can show it on your smart phone.

SEMI: The solutions available on the market are very fragmented today and adopting various often-interoperable standards. How do you think it will evolve?

Finkbeiner: There are applications with more obvious benefits than others. The best practices should be leveraged to develop standards. In fact, nobody wants to work with three or four different ecosystems and thus more standardization will be required. For instance, to run applications coming from different companies with just one app is a must. As soon as applications will grow, the standardization will grow, too. The growing number of applications increasingly drives up the number of use cases and as a result, more standardization will occur. It is a slow process, but it is indeed happening.

SEMI:  Bosch invested in a new 300mm Fab in Dresden, which is the biggest single investment in Bosch’s 130-year history. The fab will satisfy the demand generated by the growing number of internet of things (IoT) and mobility applications; the new location should manufacture chips on the basis of 12-inch wafers.  Bosch is one of the largest players in Dresden. This new investment is marking a big step: how important is it for you, as a global player, to belong to such an important innovation hub in Europe?

Finkbeiner: For Bosch, it is essential to be part of this microelectronics cluster in Dresden and to utilize the synergies around it. For the semiconductor industry, it is important to leverage the synergies of the different players in Dresden. Beyond this, if we talk about ecosystems for IoT applications and collaborations, it is also important to go to innovation hubs driving IoT products and solutions such as Berlin, Singapore and other places with a rich start-up ecosystem. Furthermore, a global footprint is also very important: a worldwide IoT community and a larger ecosystem, a connection with America and Asia. But then again: Europe is a very good place to be! In Europe, all competencies to make the IoT applications happen are available.

SEMI:   Which key areas will enhance the cooperation within innovation hubs across different innovation hubs in Europe?

Finkbeiner: When talking about hardware, Dresden comes into play. Dresden certainly brings the necessary competencies, for instance with universities and industry collaboration. Think about Silicon Saxony in Dresden or clusters around the Stuttgart region in Baden-Wurttemberg. Also presence on global hubs and markets, such as Silicon Valley in the U.S. West Coast or Shanghai in China, are important.

SEMI:  What do you expect from SEMICON Europa 2017 and why do you recommend attending in Munich?

Finkbeiner: SEMICON Europa is a very important platform for us. It is an opportunity to meet partners, customers, industry leaders, to exchange ideas and to get new insights. In addition, together with Stuttgart and Dresden, the Munich region as a location of significant electronics companies and technical universities is particularly important for us. We, at Bosch Sensortec also have a development site in Munich.

A transfer technique based on thin sacrificial layers of boron nitride could allow high-performance gallium nitride gas sensors to be grown on sapphire substrates and then transferred to metallic or flexible polymer support materials. The technique could facilitate the production of low-cost wearable, mobile and disposable sensing devices for a wide range of environmental applications.

Transferring the gallium nitride sensors to metallic foils and flexible polymers doubles their sensitivity to nitrogen dioxide gas, and boosts response time by a factor of six. The simple production steps, based on metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE), could also lower the cost of producing the sensors and other optoelectronic devices.

Sensors produced with the new process can detect ammonia at parts-per-billion levels and differentiate between nitrogen-containing gases. The gas sensor fabrication technique was reported November 9 in the journal Scientific Reports.

Abdallah Ougazzaden, director of Georgia Tech Lorraine in Metz, France and Chris Bishop, a researcher at Institut Lafayette, example a sample being processed in a lab at Georgia Tech Lorraine. (Credit: Rob Felt, Georgia Tech).

Abdallah Ougazzaden, director of Georgia Tech Lorraine in Metz, France and Chris Bishop, a researcher at Institut Lafayette, example a sample being processed in a lab at Georgia Tech Lorraine. (Credit: Rob Felt, Georgia Tech).

“Mechanically, we just peel the devices off the substrate, like peeling the layers of an onion,” explained Abdallah Ougazzaden, director of Georgia Tech Lorraine in Metz, France and a professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE). “We can put the layer on another support that could be flexible, metallic or plastic. This technique really opens up a lot of opportunity for new functionality, new devices – and commercializing them.”

The researchers begin the process by growing monolayers of boron nitride on two-inch sapphire wafers using an MOVPE process at approximately 1,300 degrees Celsius. The boron nitride surface coating is only a few nanometers thick, and produces crystalline structures that have strong planar surface connections, but weak vertical connections.

Image shows wafer-scale processed AlGaN/GaN sensors being tested. (Credit: Georgia Tech Lorraine).

Image shows wafer-scale processed AlGaN/GaN sensors being tested. (Credit: Georgia Tech Lorraine).

Aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN/GaN) devices are then grown atop the monolayers at a temperature of about 1,100 degrees Celsius, also using an MOVPE process. Because of the boron nitride crystalline properties, the devices are attached to the substrate only by weak Van der Waals forces, which can be overcome mechanically. The devices can be transferred to other substrates without inducing cracks or other defects. The sapphire wafers can be reused for additional device growth.

“This approach for engineering GaN-based sensors is a key step in the pathway towards economically viable, flexible sensors with improved performances that could be integrated into wearable applications,” the authors wrote in their paper.

So far, the researchers have transferred the sensors to copper foil, aluminum foil and polymeric materials. In operation, the devices can differentiate between nitrogen oxide, nitrogen dioxide, and ammonia. Because the devices are approximately 100 by 100 microns, sensors for multiple gases can be produced on a single integrated device.

“Not only can we differentiate between these gases, but because the sensor is very small, we can detect them all at the same time with an array of sensors,” said Ougazzaden, who expects that the devices could be modified to also detect ozone, carbon dioxide and other gases.

The gallium nitride sensors could have a wide range of applications from industry to vehicle engines – and for wearable sensing devices. The devices are attractive because of their advantageous materials properties, which include high thermal and chemical stability.

“The devices are small and flexible, which will allow us to put them onto many different types of support,” said Ougazzaden, who also directs the International Joint Research Lab at Georgia Tech CNRS.

To assess the effects of transferring the devices to a different substrate, the researchers measured device performance on the original sapphire wafer and compared that to performance on the new metallic and polymer substrates. They were surprised to see a doubling of the sensor sensitivity and a six-fold increase in response time, changes beyond what could be expected by a simple thermal change in the devices.

“Not only can we have flexibility in the substrate, but we can also improve the performance of the devices just by moving them to a different support with appropriate properties,” he said. “Properties of the substrate alone makes the different in the performance.”

In future work, the researchers hope to boost the quality of the devices and demonstrate other sensing applications. “One of the challenges ahead is to improve the quality of the materials so we can extend this to other applications that are very sensitive to the substrates, such as high-performance electronics.”

The Georgia Tech researchers have previously used a similar technique to produce light-emitting diodes and ultraviolet detectors that were transferred to different substrates, and they believe the process could also be used to produce high-power electronics. For those applications, transferring the devices from sapphire to substrates with better thermal conductivity could provide a significant advantage in device operation.

Ougazzaden and his research team have been working on boron-based semiconductors since 2005. Their work has attracted visits from several industrial companies interested in exploring the technology, he said.

“I am very excited and lucky to work on such hot topic and top-notch technology at GT-Lorraine,” said Taha Ayari, a Ph.D. student in the Georgia Tech School of ECE and the paper’s first author.

In addition to Ougazzaden, the research team includes Georgia Tech Ph.D. students Taha Ayari, Matthew Jordan, Xin Li and Saiful Alam; Chris Bishop and Youssef ElGmili, researchers at Institut Lafayette; Suresh Sundaram, a researcher at Georgia Tech Lorraine; Gilles Patriarche, a researcher at the Centre de Nanosciences et de Nanotechnologies (C2N) at CNRS; Paul Voss, an associate professor in the Georgia Tech School of ECE; and Jean Paul Salvestrini, a professor at Georgia Tech Lorraine and adjunct professor in the Georgia Tech School of ECE.

The research was supported by ANR (Agence Nationale de Recherche), the National Agency of Research in France through the “GANEX” Project.

CITATION: Taha Ayari, et al., “Gas sensors boosted by two-dimensional h-BN enabled transfer on thin substrate foils: towards wearable and portable applications,” (Scientific Reports, 2017). http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-15065-6

Leti announced today that a team of its researchers is participating in a U.S.-funded project to develop a safe, implantable neural interface system to restore vision by stimulating the visual cortex.

Funded by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Neural Engineering System Design program (NESD) sets out to expand neurotechnology capabilities and provide a foundation for future treatments of sensory deficits.

Scientists from Leti and Clinatec, Leti’s biomedical research center focused on applying micro- and nanotechnology innovations to health care, are part of a consortium conducted by the Paris Vision Institute under the leadership of Prof. José-Alain Sahel and Dr. Serge Picaud. The Vision Institute is a leading European research center in eye diseases, and is part of the Seeing and Hearing Foundation (Fondation Voir et Entendre, FVE), which was awarded the DARPA grant.

The FVE team project, called CorticalSight, is part of the six projects selected by DARPA to participate in the groundbreaking NESD program. CorticalSight will apply techniques from the field of optogenetics to enable communication between neurons in the visual cortex and a camera-based, high-definition artificial retina worn over the eyes. Leti will lead the development of the active implantable medical device that will interface with the visual cortex.

Clinatec and its Leti partners will focus on developing a safe, wireless, implantable system that restores vision through light stimulation of optogenetically modified neurons in the visual cortex. Leti is tasked with designing an implantable device, as well as creating hermetic packaging and radiofrequency links for the implantable system, and subsequently conducting technical test benches. The Leti implant will enable visual cortex optical-stimulation patterns, and integrate the underlying control electronics within a minimally invasive cortical implant.

“Clinatec’s integrated approach to high-tech, medical-device R&D, extending from Leti’s technological development to in-house clinical expertise and testing capabilities, allows our teams to address cutting-edge medtech development challenges,” said Prof. Alim-Louis Benabid, Clinatec’s chairman of the board, and co-investigator of the CorticalSight project. “This contribution to the CorticalSight consortium will pave the way to new therapeutic devices for vision restoration thanks to the NESD program.”

Partners of the CorticalSight project also include the French companies Chronocam and Gensight®, Stanford University, Inscopix and the Friedrich Miescher Institute of Switzerland.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) is powering up wireless charging for mobile devices by introducing one of the world’s first chips to support the latest industry standard for faster charging.

Nowadays, people are using their smartphones and tablets so intensively that many need to top up battery power several times a day. With wireless charging, users don’t need to carry the charger or a bulky power bank, and can charge their electronic devices as fast as with a cable. Major mobile manufacturers are committing to wireless charging by joining the industry alliances and launching compatible products.

Users on the move, who put their mobiles down to charge for a few minutes – say, during a break or in a meeting — need the device to be ready to go again when they are. To enable this, the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) that manages the Qi specification — a widely adopted industry standard — has introduced the Extended Power profile for faster charging. By raising the maximum charging power from 5W to 15W, this new profile enables devices to be charged up to three times more quickly.

One of the market’s first wireless-charging controllers to support Qi Extended Power, ST’s STWBC-EP combines best-in-class energy efficiency, consuming just 16mW in standby and able to wirelessly transfer more than 80% of the total input power, with unique features created by ST to enhance the user experience. These include a patented solution enhancing active presence detection to wake the system quickly when a compatible object is presented for charging. The patented technology also enhances the performance of Foreign Object Detection (FOD), to cut power and prevent overheating if objects containing metals are brought too close to the charger. Other unique innovations enhance power control and energy transfer to maximize efficiency and ease of use.

“ST’s Advanced Wireless-Charging chip enables manufacturers to create new, high-power products that offer superior features and efficiency,” said Domenico Arrigo, General Manager, Industrial and Power Conversion Division, STMicroelectronics. “The Qi Extended Power support dramatically shortens charging time and our patented detection and safety innovations greatly improve safety and ease of use.”

The STWBC-EP provides the level of integration allowing to simplify charger design while providing the flexibility to work with supply voltages ranging from 5V USB power up to 12V.

To help accelerate time to market for product developers, ST has created an associated reference design with a Qi 15W ready-built transmitter board and documentation to get started. ST also has a 15W receiver chip (STWLC33) for use in high-speed chargeable devices, which developers can use to complete their applications.

ST’s new wireless-charging chip will be showcased at the Qi Wireless Power Developers Conference and Tradeshow held in San Francisco on November 16-17.

The STWBC-EP is available now, as a 32-lead QFN (5mm x 5mm) device, priced from $3.175 for 1000 pieces.

 

Automotive electronic system sales are forecast to rise by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.4% from 2016 through 2021, which is the highest among six major end-use system categories (Figure 1), according to data presented in the 2018 edition of the IC Insights’ IC Market Drivers—A Study of Key System Applications Fueling Demand for Integrated Circuits that will be released later this year.

worldwide electronic systems 1

Demand is rising for electronic systems in new cars with increasing attention focused on self-driving (autonomous) vehicles, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications, as well as on-board safety, convenience, and environmental features, and growing interest in electric vehicles.  Automotive electronics is growing as technology becomes more widely available on mid-range and entry-level cars and as consumers purchase technology-based aftermarket products.  For semiconductor suppliers, this is good news as analog ICs, MCUs, and a great number of sensors are required for many of these automotive systems.

The automotive segment is expected to account for an estimated 9.1% of the $1.49 trillion total worldwide electronic systems market in 2017 (Figure 2), a slight increase from 8.9% in 2015, and 9.0% in 2016. Automotive’s share of global electronic system production has increased only incrementally through the years, and is forecast to show only marginal gains as a percent of total electronic systems market through 2021, when automotive electronics are forecast to account for 9.8% of global electronic systems sales.  Though many electronics systems are being added in new vehicles, IC Insights believes pricing pressures on both ICs and electronic systems will keep the automotive end-use application from accounting for much more than its current share of total electronic systems through the forecast period.

worldwide electronic systems 2

Other electronic system and IC market highlights from the 2018 IC Market Drivers Report include the following.

• The automotive segment is forecast to be the fastest growing electronic system market through 2021. This is good news for the total automotive IC market, which is forecast to surge 22% in 2017 and 16% in 2018.

• Industrial electronic systems are forecast to enjoy the second-fastest growth rate (4.6%) through 2021 as robotics, wearable health devices, and systems promoting the Internet of Things help drive growth in this segment. Analog ICs are forecast to hold 45% of the industrial IC market in 2017.

• The 2016-2021 communication systems CAGR is projected to be 4.2% as global sales of smartphones and other mobile devices reach saturation.  Asia-Pacific is forecast to show the strongest regional growth of communication systems and account for 69% of the total communications IC market in 2017.

• The consumer electronic systems market is forecast to display a CAGR of 2.8% through 2021.  The logic segment is forecast to be the largest consumer IC market throughout the forecast.  In total, the consumer IC market is expected to register a 2.4% CAGR across the 2016-2021 time period.

• Flat or marginal demand for personal computing devices (desktops, notebooks, tablets) is expected to result in the computer systems market showing the weakest CAGR through 2021. The total computer IC market is forecast to increase 25% in 2017 driven by much higher average selling prices for computer DRAM and NAND flash memory.

 

By Ajit Manocha, president and CEO, SEMI

Artificial intelligence (AI) may be a hot topic today, but SEMI has helped to incubate Big Data and AI since its founding. Early in SEMI’s history, SEMI’s always intelligent members worked together to introduce International Standards that enabled different pieces of equipment to collect and later pass data.  At first, it was for basic interoperability and equipment state analysis.  Later, SEMI data protocol Standards allowed process and metrology data to be used locally and across the fab to approach the goals of Smart Manufacturing and AI – for the equipment itself to make adjustments based on incoming wafer data.

Ajit--photo 1--sample.e.XL3A5483 (from pdg)As a part of this evolution, SEMI members developed the latest sensors and computational hardware that could ever better sense, analyze and act on the environment. Often first to use its own newly developed hardware, progress in this area was critical toward improving the likelihood of success for one of the world’s most complicated production processes – and coping with the breakneck speed of Moore’s Law – by accelerating capabilities that would later be regarded as the basis for machine learning and “thinking” systems.

Since then, process steps have increased from about 175 to as many as 1,000 for the leading technology nodes. By the time 300mm wafers were introduced, manufacturing intelligence and automation sharply increased productivity while reducing fab labor by more than 25 percent. Employing adaptive models, modern leading-edge factories are fully automated and operate at nearly 60 percent autonomous control.

Today, AI is akin to where IoT was yesterday in the hype cycle – popping up everywhere as a major consideration for the future. Neither IoT nor AI is hype, though – they’re the future.  There is ever more at stake for SEMI members with AI.  AI appears to be the next wave helping to maintain double-digit growth for the foreseeable future.

As part of its appeal for the global supply chain, AI can be a key silicon driver for three inflections that should benefit society. First, there is a massive increase in the amount of compute needed. Half of all the compute architectures shipping in 2021 will be supporting and processing AI.

Second, the Cloud will flourish and the Edge will bloom. By 2021, 50 percent of enterprise infrastructure will employ cognitive and artificial intelligence.

Third, new species of chips will emerge, such as the devices fueling IC content and electronics for the rapid growth of disruptive capabilities in vehicles and autonomous cars (as well as medical and agricultural applications, for example). There are also many more advantages created with and for AI as SEMI members enable new materials and advanced packaging.

What results can be measured from these changes for the global electronics manufacturing supply chain? More apps, more electronics, more silicon and more manufacturing.

On the other hand, the technologies alone create relatively little business value if the problems in our factories and markets are not well understood. There’s a great need to anticipate and guide AI. This requires a new kind of collaboration.

To address this need, SEMI’s vertical application platforms have been created for Smart Data (which is all about AI), and also for Smart MedTech, Smart Transportation, Smart Manufacturing and IoT. This higher degree of facilitated collaboration serves to cultivate multiple “smart communities” that accelerate progress for AI, better directing how connected networks and data mining can step up the pace for advancement of global prosperity. This process also provides members with access to untapped business opportunities and new players.​​

Ajit--photo 2 (panel)_D512959

We at SEMI are learning right along with our members. If you attended SEMICON West in July, several lessons about AI were presented by the Executive Panel (“Meeting the Challenges of the 4th Industrial Revolutions along the Microelectronics Supply Chain”) with Mary Puma (Axcelis), Shaheen Dayal (Intel), Lori Ciano (Brooks Automation) and Regenia Sanders (Ernst & Young). This very timely and excellent panel discussed how and where predictive analytics can have the biggest impact and the implications of sharing (and not sharing) data for problem solving and process optimization.

Ensuring that the SEMI staff gleans everything possible from the experts, we hosted an “encore” of the Executive Panel in October in our headquarters for an even more in-depth discussion about how to enhance collaboration across the supply chain in support of AI.

Going forward, these SEMI vertical platform communities will help to simplify and accelerate supply chain engagement for member value. Collaboration will play an ever greater role for using AI to master the making of advanced node semiconductor devices and enabling limitless cognitive computing. As a result, AI as we know it today, has a big head start over the previous pace of evolution for one of our great trendsetters, Moore’s Law.

Join the conversation.  Find out how you can work with SEMI to advance the AI – and especially AI in semiconductor manufacturing.  Frank Shemansky Jr., Ph.D., is heading up SEMI’s formation of SEMI’s Smart Data vertical application platform.  Let Frank know ([email protected]) you’re interested and he’ll give you more information on what’s to come.  As always, please let me know your thoughts.

 

The technologies to watch identified by TechInsights analysts at the beginning of the year have not been disappointing.

BY STACY WEGNER, Ottawa, Canada, and JEONGDONG CHOE, Ottawa, Canada

TechInsights analysts have been keeping an intent watch on where technology has progressed, how it’s changing, and what new developments are emerging. At the end of the first quarter, our analysts shared their insights and thoughts about what to keep an eye on as the year unfolds. In this article, they provide an update on what 2017 has delivered so far.

Intelligent, connected devices

As we wrote earlier this year, in 2016, wearables were extremely interesting mainly because there was so much uncertainty around whether or not the market would be viable. Some, no, many, say the wearables market will cool off and possibly just expire. At TechInsights, we do will not speculate about whether this market is going to survive. We will report what we find and analyze what is currently being sold. Apple, Samsung, and Huawei have all released smartwatches for what would parallel a “flagship” in the mobile market (FIGURE 1). Fitness bands are becoming even ”smarter” and combining sensors where possible. Perhaps one of the most notable developments is Nokia’s acquisition and complete integration of Withings into its existing brands.

Screen Shot 2017-11-07 at 12.24.01 PM

We are witnessing the “rise of the machines,” in products from scales and hair brushes to rice cookers. Primarily these devices offer consumers convenience. For example, with a connected scale, instead of recording your weight manually, the smart scales do the job for you, syncing with various health apps so you can track your weight over time. The connected hair brush provides insights into your hair’s manageability, frizziness, dryness, split ends and breakage to provide a hair quality score. Brushing patterns, pressure applied and brush stroke counts are analyzed to measure effectiveness of brushing habits and a personal diagnosis is provided with tips and real-time product recommendations. The most common connected devices include refrigerators, lights, washing machines, thermostats, and televisions.

One dominant example is the ever-popular Amazon Echo, which has taken on a life of its own and is generating spin-off markets and competition. In July, it was reported that Amazon’s Alexa voice platform passed 15,000 skills — the voice-powered apps that run on devices like the Echo speaker, Echo Dot, newer Echo Show and others. The figure is up from the 10,000 skills Amazon officially announced in February. Amazon’s Alexa is building out an entire voice app ecosystem putting it much further ahead than its nearest competitor. The success seen with Echo has motivated other companies like Google, Lenovo, LG, Samsung and Apple to release compet- itive speakers, however it is estimated that Amazon is expected to control 70 percent of the market this year. In addition, Amazon and Microsoft recently announced a partnership to better integrate their digital assistants. This cross-platform integration provides users with access to Cortana features that Alexa is missing, and vice versa. Finally, the high- performance far-field microphones found in Amazon Echo products may soon find their way to other hardware companies as Amazon announced that the technology is available to those who want to integrate into the Alexa Experience. With its new reference solution, it’s never been easier for device makers to integrate Alexa and offer their customers the same voice experiences.

In the mobile market overall, we are seeing a strong emergence of devices targeted for the very hot market of India. The mobile devices for this market range from supporting 15 or more cellular bands to as few as five cellular bands, and that is for smart- phones. At TechInsights, we will be analyzing OEMs in India like Micromax, Intex, and Lava to see how they approach dealing with strong competitors like Samsung and Xiaomi.

Memory devices

In early 2017, 32L and 48L 3D NAND products were common and all the NAND players were eager to develop next generation 3D NAND products such as 64L and 128L. 3D NAND has been jumping into 64L (FIGURE 2). Samsung, Western Digital, Toshiba, Intel, and Micron already revealed CS or mass-products on the market. SK Hynix also showed their 72L NAND die as a CS product. In the second half of this year, we will see 64L and 72L NAND products on the commercial market. For n+1 generation with 96L or 128L, we expect that two-stacked cell array architecture for 3D NAND would be adopted in 2018. Micron/Intel will keep their own FG based 3D NAND cell structure for the next generation.

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Referring to DRAM, all the major players already used their advanced process technology for cell array integration such as an advanced ALD for high-k dielectrics, low damage plasma etching and honeycomb capacitor structure. Buried WL, landing pad and plug for a capacitor node, and MESH structure are still main stream. Samsung 18nm DRAM products for DDR4 and LPDDR4X are on the market. SK Hynix and Micron will reveal the same tech node DRAM products in this year. n+1 gener- ation with 15nm or 16nm node will be next in 2018. Once 6F2 15nm DRAM cell technology is successful, 4F2 DRAM products such as a capacitorless DRAM might be delayed. In 2018, 18nm and 15nm DRAM technology will be used for GDDR6 and LPDDR5.

When it comes to emerging memory, 3D XPoint memory technology is a hot potato (FIGURE 3). The XPoint products from Intel are on the market as an Optane SSD with 16GB and 32GB. Performance including retention, reliability and speed are not matched as expected, but they used a double stacked memory cell between M4 and M5 on the memory array. It’s a PCM with GST based material. An OTS with Se-As-Ge-Si is added between the PCM and the electrode (WL or BL). We expect to see multiple (triple or quadruple) stacked XPoint memory architecture within a couple years. For other emerging memory such as STT-MRAM, PCRAM and ReRAM, we’re waiting on some commercial products from Adesto (CBRAM 45nm, RM33 series) and Everspin (STT-MRAM pMTJ 256Mb, AUP-AXL-M128).

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Conclusion

The technologies to watch identified by TechInsights analysts at the beginning of the year have not been disappointing. As our analysts continue to examine and reveal the innovations others can’t inside advanced technology, we will continue to share our findings on these and new technologies as they emerge, including how they are used, how they impact the market, and how they will be changed by the next discovery or invention.

SEMI-MSIG’s MEMS & Sensors Executive Congress (MSEC) held November 1-2 in San Jose, CA, challenged industry executives to see beyond traditional dividing lines of human-machine interaction. MEMS and sensors were hailed as the enablers for pervasive, connected and contextually aware computing and seen as drivers for an explosion of new applications and possibilities. Securing autonomous vehicles from hackers and improving crop yields to feed the 10 billion people we will have on the planet by 2050 were two popular examples of new applications.

Keynote Speaker Intel’'s Lama Nachman discussed contextually aware systems.

Keynote Speaker Intel’’s Lama Nachman discussed contextually aware systems.

Lama Nachman, Intel fellow and director of the company’s Anticipatory Computing Lab, explored contextually aware systems during her keynote. Lachman said that technology needs to be more proactive, anticipating our needs, e.g., Google Now. One challenge lies in using sensors to measure things for which they were not designed, such as emotions and physiology. Lachman exhorted MSEC attendees to develop more configurable systems and sensors so that they can be used for other applications and possibly drive the next “killer app.”

Lars Reger, CTO, NXP Automotive Business Unit, described the essential and extensive use of MEMS and sensors in automotive connectivity, autonomy, electrification, and safe and secure mobility during his keynote. Reger noted that “motion sensors are the key to increasing security in keyless entry systems, reducing hacking.” He concluded that “entering a new era of automated driving requires functional safety and security,” telling MSEC attendees, “we need the best sensors to achieve a failure-free model in autonomous vehicles.”

Alissa Fitzgerald, founder and managing member, A.M. Fitzgerald & Associates, noted that the pipeline for emerging technologies generally begins with university labs turning out proof-of-concept devices. “The next $1B product is lurking in a lab somewhere,” said Fitzgerald. She also encouraged attendees to look for key trends in emerging technologies, citing “ultra-low power, a migration from capacitive MEMS to piezoelectric sensors and actuators, the stagnation of silicon sensors, and a movement toward paper and plastic sensors.” She drew her results from a review of more than 500 papers from academic conferences, filtered for commercial viability.

Henri Hekman, CEO and president of SoilCares BV, explained how his company is using MEMS near infrared (NIR) devices to scan soil samples. “To feed a surging global population, we cannot increase arable land so we must increase agricultural productivity. The place to start is in the soil.” Hekman said that SoilCares is conducting trials in Africa and North America as it launches in 20 countries in 2017.

SEMI-MSIG Executive Director Frank Shemansky expanded upon themes from MEMS & Sensors Executive Congress. “From device-makers to commercial application developers, there was a collective buzz around ubiquitous intelligent sensing,” said Shemansky. “Speakers explored the critical role of sensing in more natural and immersive user interfaces, including voice, in interpreting emotion, in anticipating needs, in managing medication, and in providing safer, more secure ways to build autonomous vehicles that will actually save human lives. As we look toward 2018 and beyond, the MEMS and sensors industry will continue to work closely with the consumers of our products, as we help them to further advance human-machine interaction in meaningful ways.”

Technology Showcase Winner and Hall of Fame Recognitions
A highly anticipated event at the Executive Congress, the Technology Showcase, was a forum where four finalists competed for attendees’ votes and the title of “winner.” The 2017 Technology Showcase winner, Menlo Digital-Micro-Switch Technology by Menlo Micro, demonstrates fundamental materials’ advancements that improve the size, speed, power handling and reliability of MEMS switches. Menlo Micro’s MEMS-based switching element is the width of a human hair, enabling RF switching 1,000 times faster and lasts 1,000 times longer than traditional mechanical switches.

SEMI-MSIG also inducted two new members into the SEMI-MSIG Hall of Fame: Raji Baskaran, pathfinding lead, Hardware and Software Co-optimization, Intel Corporation: Saffron Technology Group, and Kevin Crofton, executive vice president and COO, SPTS Technologies, an Orbotech Company.

 

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today announced worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $107.9 billion for the third quarter of 2017, marking the industry’s highest-ever quarterly sales and an increase of 10.2 percent compared to the previous quarter. Sales for the month of September 2017 were $36.0 billion, an increase of 22.2 percent over the September 2016 total of $29.4 billion and 2.8 percent more than the previous month’s total of $35.0 billion. All monthly sales numbers are compiled by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization and represent a three-month moving average.

highest ever sales

“Global semiconductor sales increased sharply year-to-year in September, and year-to-date sales through September are more than 20 percent higher than at the same point last year,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “The industry posted its highest-ever quarterly sales in Q3, and the global market is poised to reach its highest-ever annual revenue in 2017.”

Regionally, year-to-year and month-to-month sales increased in September across all markets: the Americas (40.7 percent year-to-year/5.9 percent month-to-month), China (19.9 percent/2.5 percent), Europe (19.0 percent/1.8 percent), Asia Pacific/All Other (16.8 percent/1.9 percent), and Japan (11.9 percent/0.5 percent).

“The Americas market continued to stand out, notching its largest year-to-year sales increase in more than seven years,” Neuffer said. “Standouts among semiconductor product categories included memory products like DRAM and NAND flash, both of which posted major year-to-year growth in September, as well as Logic products, which enjoyed double-digit growth year-to-year.”