Category Archives: Materials and Equipment

BY DR. PHIL GARROU, Contributing Editor

Earlier this year, a Taipei Times headline read “New packaging may spur TSMC growth” adding that despite its weak revenue growth guidance for this quarter, TSMC, might see stronger growth from next quarter thanks to its InFO (integrated fan out) packaging technology (see FIGURE).

The Times reports that InFO could help TSMC beat rival Samsung and win more A10 application processor orders from Apple, because the technology offers “…lower costs, higher speed and thinner form factor when compared to conventional flip chip packaging.” TSMC is preparing a complete InFO portfolio aimed at different package sizes and applications. In a conference call with investors in April, TSMC CEO C.C. Wei stated that they have almost completed equipment installation and expect to complete customer product qualification shortly. They plan to ship volume production shortly. Estimates are that the revenue contri- bution from InFO packaging could total US$300 million this year.

Screen Shot 2017-04-21 at 11.00.21 AM

I have previously reported that TSMC had purchased a facility in Longtan, Taiwan (from Qualcomm for $85MM) and was turning it into a facility devoted to the manufac- turing of integrated fan-out wafer-level packaging (InFO- WLP) technology.

Apple is expected to unveil its new iPhone in the second half of this year. Daiwa Capital Markets analysts estimates that Apple’s order split for A9 processors (last generation) was 45% for TSMC and 55% for Samsung, but projects TSMC could take more than 50% of the A10 processor business, due in part to the superior packaging technology now being offered by TSMC. Other smartphone chip vendors are reportedly looking at adopting TSMC InFO packaging technology in the near future.

Screen Shot 2017-04-21 at 11.00.25 AM

I have also previously reported that TSMC lost the chance for making Apple A3 processors to Samsung because it lacked the capability to package and test the chips.

YSIC (Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting) claims the InFO technology is at least 20 percent cheaper than flip chip packaging. YSIC notes that “… it is becoming more difficult to solely rely on front-end tech node migration to drive better performance and cost,” a statement that should be very familiar to readers of this column.

In 2014, I discussed TSMCs announced ambition of becoming a major player in full back-end packaging services with their plans to ramp IC packaging revenues to US $1 billion in 2015 and $2B in 2016 Based on this roadmap, TSMC would become the 3rd leading packaging company in Taiwan by 2016, trailing only ASE and SPIL.

Driven by a strong semiconductor market outlook and aggressive investment in advanced packaging capability fueled by strong government support, advanced packaging revenue in China is expected to reach US$ 4.6 billion in 2020, against US$ 2.2 billion in 2015, announces Yole Développement (Yole). This market is showing an impressive 16% CAGR during this period. China has the world’s largest population, and its economy will continue to grow at a high pace: the economists predict a 6% growth, reaching around US$16 trillion by 2020. Also, an increase in per capita income (more purchasing power) will ensure China remains a dominant market in the coming years. Today, no business can afford to ignore China.

advpackaging_china_waferforecastyole_june2016_373x280

Under this context, the “More than Moore” market research and strategy consulting company, Yole explores the advanced packaging industry in China and details, in its latest advanced packaging report entitled “Status & Prospects for the Advanced Packaging Industry in China”, the status of this industry, its market drivers and key market data and technology trends. Yole’s analysts propose a clear vision of the Chinese government commitment within the advanced packaging industry in China and point out the huge China’s IC investments fund. Business opportunities, technical challenges and more are also part of Yole’s market & technology analysis.

China commands a significant market for key electronic products. In fact, over half of all key electronic products are consumed in China. In 2014, the Chinese smartphone, LCD, notebook/tablet, and wearable markets were around 81%, 63%, 71%, and 47% of the global market, respectively. The global IC market will grow by a CAGR of 4% from 2014 – 2020, while the Chinese IC market will grow by 7% over the same period. According to Yole, the Chinese IC market is expected to reach about US$149 billion by 2020, around 40% of the total IC market.

“There is a huge gap between China’s IC consumption and its manufacturing,” commented Santosh Kumar, Senior Technology & Market Analyst at Yole. And he details: “In 2015, China produced only 12.5% roughly of the IC it consumes, and the gap between IC consumption and production is about US$91 billion. Currently, IC is China’s #1 import commodity, exceeding oil.”

China considers the IC industry to be a key strategic sector. The Chinese government is making a significant effort through funding and a national IC policy, with an aggressive growth strategy to make China an IC design and manufacturing hub. The goal by 2030 is to become the global leader in all primary IC industrial supply chain segments.

The Chinese government has employed a multi-pronged strategy to support domestic IC industry development in order to achieve the goal of becoming the global leader in all primary IC industrial supply chain segments by 2030. Over the last few decades the Chinese government has supported the domestic IC industry, but with limited success. One key reason for failure was the bureaucratic approach to resource allocation, which was by nature inefficient. This time around, the government is adopting a market-based approach where funding is available for investment in the form of equity investments rather than subsidies in invested companies. The goal is to generate return on investment while simultaneously aligning with government policy.

Out of more than 200 firms, there are 128 companies having significant advanced packaging & assembly (A&P) operations in China. Yole’s analysts identified around 147 plants all over China, mostly based in Jiangsu (43), Guangdong (30) and Shanghai (22) regions. In this part of the globe, more than 50% of A&P plants belongs to IDMs . A number of Taiwan-HQ OSAT plants are concentrated in Jiangsu, especially in the Suzhou Industry Park. Indeed global OSATs such as Amkor Technology and SPIL are investing in advanced packaging capability of their own Chinese operations: China (Shanghai) operation is the Amkor’s second-largest factory by revenue. The advanced packaging market growth is led by JCET/STATSChipPAC, Huatian, NFME & China WLCSP. And the Chinese advanced packaging market is offering a wide range of platforms including:

  •  Flip-chip technology is the largest advanced packaging market segment in China reaching US$ 1,8 billion in 2015. The Flip-chip market is covering bumping and assembly steps. “We see a huge ramping of bumping capacity in China, especially by Chinese players with 12” Cu pillar process,” comments Santosh Kumar from Yole. “This growth is mainly supported by the Flip-chip industry in China showing a 16% CAGR between 2015 and 2020”. Flip-chip platform is followed by WLCSP technology with US$ 343 million in 2015 as well.
•  Fan-out and 2.5/3D platforms are only emerging in China and will have less than 1% market share by 2020.

Under its latest advanced packaging report, Yole’s advanced packaging team points out the key market drivers of this industry. They list:
•  Long-term growth in China IC industry
•  Aggressive mergers & acquisitions
•  Numerous Chinese government initiatives
•  Investments led by global OSATs
This analysis also gives an overview of China’s semiconductor ecosystem and discusses in detail the country’s advanced packaging market.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics, an electronic parts affiliate of Samsung Group, is preparing to dive into the integrated circuit packaging industry, according to news reports on Monday.

Joining hands with Samsung Electronics, the electronic components firm will likely plan to win new supply contracts of chips for smartphone makers, including U.S.-based Apple.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics will transform Samsung Displays two liquid crystal display assembly lines in Cheonnan into ones for IC packaging.

The Samsung Group affiliate will package power management ICs, which control the flow of electricity, by utilizing Fan-out Wafer Level Package (FoWLP) technology

Such technology is said to have played a core role in Taiwanese chip maker TSMC winning a deal to supply its chips for Apple’s next flagship smartphone. It enables chip makers to pack multiple chips in one package, a technology often dubbed as system in package.

The workforces of Samsung Electronics system LSI — a division in charge of producing non-memory chips — and Samsung Electro-Mechanics will join the project to launch the IC packing business.

Following a series of tests, the IC packaging factories will go into full operation in the first half of next year.

Today, SEMI announced that the latest packaging solutions will be the topic of an in-depth session at the SEMICON West 2016 Advanced Packaging Forum – and on display on the exhibition floor. Rapidly changing technologies and accelerated product life cycles are driving the need for new assembly and packaging solutions suited for next-generation products such as Internet of Things (IoT) devices and wearables. To meet these packaging needs, semiconductor technologies with smaller form factors, lower power consumption, and flexible designs are increasingly in demand.

Advanced Packaging Forum 

Six complimentary packaging sessions are offered at the Advanced Packaging Forum at SEMICON West’s TechXPOT North stage. Pre-registration is required. Sessions explore what’s ahead in the world of packaging and assembly. The three-day forum will explore the challenges posed by new and emerging devices and offer solutions capable of enabling them. Technical sessions include:

  • SiP Next 1: Processor – Memory/Analog Integration
  • SiP Next 2:  IoT & Smart Things – SiP Integration
  • Sensing the Future: Enabling Applications for a Smarter World
  • Packaging Developments for Flexible, Hybrid Electronics
  • Packaging Power: Enabling a Variety of Applications and Efficiency
  • Packaging Photonics for Speed & Bandwidth

Sessions feature speakers from Cisco, Mentor Graphics, Texas Instruments, and more.  Attendees will learn about the latest in electronic packaging, thermal management, additive manufacturing, simulation, and reliability assessment; system optimization and differentiation through heterogeneous integration and SiP; sensor technologies for monitoring and analyzing complex data streams; and other advanced developments.

Packaging and Assembly Equipment Exhibitors

This year’s SEMICON West exposition also features packaging solutions on the show floor. Attendees can view more than sixty new products from some 200 exhibitors.

The industry is seeing dramatic changes and SEMICON West 2016 has expanded its technical programming by nearly 50 percent to help attendees get a clear view of the road ahead. To learn more about SEMICON West 2016’s eight new forums (Extended Supply Chain, Advanced Manufacturing, Advanced Packaging, Test, Silicon Innovation, Flexible Hybrid Electronics, and World of IoT), visit www.semiconwest.org.

In the 2015 movie “The Martian,” stranded astronaut Matt Damon turns to the chemistry of rocket fuel, hydrazine and hydrogen, to create lifesaving water and nearly blows himself up. But if you turn the process around and get the hydrazine to help, you create hydrogen from water by changing conductivity in a semiconductor, a transformation with wide potential applications in energy and electronics.

New research from Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers, "Efficient Hydrogen Evolution in Transition Metal Dichalcogenides via a Simple One-Step Hydrazine Reaction," not only presents one of the best hydrogen water splitting electrocatalysts to date, but also opens up a whole new direction for research in electrochemistry and semiconductor device physics. Credit: Los Alamos National Laboratory

New research from Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers, “Efficient Hydrogen Evolution in Transition Metal Dichalcogenides via a Simple One-Step Hydrazine Reaction,” not only presents one of the best hydrogen water splitting electrocatalysts to date, but also opens up a whole new direction for research in electrochemistry and semiconductor device physics. Credit: Los Alamos National Laboratory

“We demonstrate in our study that a simple chemical treatment, in this case a drop of dilute hydrazine (N2H4) in water, can dope electrons directly to a semiconductor, creating one of the best hydrogen-evolution electrocatalysts,” said Gautam Gupta, project leader at Los Alamos National Laboratory in the Light to Energy team of the Lab’s Materials Synthesis and Integrated Devices group. The research was published in Nature Communications.

Understanding how to use a simple, room-temperature treatment to drastically change the properties of materials could lead to a revolution in renewable fuels production and electronic applications. As part of the Los Alamos mission, the Laboratory conducts multidisciplinary research to strengthen the security of energy for the nation, work that includes exploring alternative energy sources.

In recent years, the materials science community has grown more interested in the electrical and catalytic properties of layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). TMDs are primarily metal sulfides and selenides (e.g., MoS2) with a layered structure, similar to graphite; this layered structure allows for unique opportunities, and challenges, in modifying electrical properties and functionality.

Gupta and Aditya Mohite, a physicist with a doctorate in electrical engineering, have been pioneering work at Los Alamos seeking to understand the electrical properties of TMDs and use that knowledge to optimize these semiconductors for renewable fuels production.

In this work, MoS2 shell — MoOx core nanowires, as well as pure MoS2 particles and 2D sheets — are tested for electrocatalysis of the hydrogen evolution reaction. The addition of dilute hydrazine to MoS2 significantly improves the electrocatalytic performance. Further characterization shows that the MoS2 changes from semiconducting behavior to having more metallic properties following the hydrazine exposure.

“The most interesting thing about this result is that it is different than conventional doping, where actual chemicals are added to a semiconductor to change its charge carrier concentration. In the case of hydrazine treatment, we are ‘doping’ electrons directly to the material, without modifying the original chemistry,” said Dustin Cummins, first author on this project, currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Laboratory’s Sigma Division working on the DOE/NNSA CONVERT Program, exploring fuel fabrication for next-generation reactors.

Cummins first found the hydrogen-production result working with Gupta at Los Alamos as a graduate student research affiliate from the University of Louisville (advisor: Dr. Mahendra Sunkara) and he continued to conduct experiments and refine discussion while working as a postdoc.

“Hydrazine acting as an electron dopant in inorganic semiconductors has been observed since the 1970s, but there is limited understanding of the process,” Cummins noted. “Our biggest hurdle was to prove to that hydrazine was actually changing the conductivity of the MoS2 system, and that is what results in increased catalytic activity,” which was demonstrated on single-flake devices, he said.

Multiple areas of Los Alamos staff expertise in layered semiconductors, chemistry, spectroscopy, electrical device fabrication and more all came together to provide some of the best understanding and mechanism to date for hydrazine acting as an electron dopant.

This paper, “Efficient Hydrogen Evolution in Transition Metal Dichalcogenides via a Simple One-Step Hydrazine Reaction,” not only presents one of the best hydrogen water splitting electrocatalysts to date, but also “it opens up a whole new direction for research in electrochemistry and semiconductor device physics in general,” said Gupta.

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) this week announced worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $25.8 billion for the month of April 2016, a decrease of 1.0 percent from last month’s total of $26.1 billion and 6.2 percent lower than the April 2015 total of $27.6 billion. All monthly sales numbers are compiled by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization and represent a three-month moving average. Additionally, a new WSTS industry forecast projects decreased annual semiconductor sales in 2016, followed by slight market growth in 2017 and 2018.

“Global semiconductor sales decreased marginally in April, continuing a recent trend of market sluggishness driven by soft demand and a range of macroeconomic headwinds,” said John Neuffer, president and CEO, Semiconductor Industry Association. “Despite a cumulative decrease across all product categories, year-to-year sales of microprocessors and analog products increased modestly, perhaps foreshadowing stronger sales ahead. The latest industry forecast suggests global sales may indeed rebound somewhat in the second half of 2016, but still fall short of last year’s total. The global market is projected to grow slightly in 2017 and 2018.”

Regionally, year-to-year sales increased in Japan (2.2 percent) and China (0.3 percent), but decreased in Asia Pacific/All Other (-8.2 percent), Europe (-8.6 percent), and the Americas (-14.8 percent). Compared with last month, sales were up slightly Japan(0.2 percent) and Asia Pacific/All Other (0.1 percent), but down in Europe (-0.8 percent), China (-1.8 percent), and the Americas (-2.2 percent).

Additionally, SIA today endorsed the WSTS Spring 2016 global semiconductor sales forecast, which projects the industry’s worldwide sales will be $327.2 billion in 2016, a 2.4 percent decrease from the 2015 sales total. WSTS projects year-to-year decreases across all regional markets for 2016: Europe (-0.1 percent), Asia Pacific (-1.2 percent), Japan (-1.7 percent), and the Americas (-7.3 percent). On the positive side, WSTS predicts growth in 2016 for several semiconductor product categories, including discretes, analog, and MCU products.

Beyond 2016, the semiconductor market is expected to grow at a modest pace across all regions. WSTS forecasts 2.0 percent growth globally for 2017 ($333.7 billion in total sales) and 2.2 percent growth for 2018 ($340.9 billion). WSTS tabulates its semi-annual industry forecast by convening an extensive group of global semiconductor companies that provide accurate and timely indicators of semiconductor trends.

April 2016

Billions

Month-to-Month Sales                               

Market

Last Month

Current Month

% Change

Americas

4.89

4.78

-2.2%

Europe

2.66

2.64

-0.8%

Japan

2.59

2.60

0.2%

China

7.93

7.79

-1.8%

Asia Pacific/All Other

8.02

8.03

0.1%

Total

26.09

25.84

-1.0%

Year-to-Year Sales                          

Market

Last Year

Current Month

% Change

Americas

5.61

4.78

-14.8%

Europe

2.89

2.64

-8.6%

Japan

2.54

2.60

2.2%

China

7.77

7.79

0.3%

Asia Pacific/All Other

8.74

8.03

-8.2%

Total

27.56

25.84

-6.2%

Three-Month-Moving Average Sales

Market

Nov/Dec/Jan

Feb/Mar/Apr

% Change

Americas

5.41

4.78

-11.7%

Europe

2.70

2.64

-2.4%

Japan

2.49

2.60

4.3%

China

8.42

7.79

-7.4%

Asia Pacific/All Other

7.87

8.03

2.0%

Total

26.89

25.84

-3.9%

Media Contact 

By Dr. Phil Garrou, Contributing Editor

Dongkai ShangguanDr. Dongkai Shangguan is currently the Chief Marketing Officer of STATS ChipPAC. Previously, Dongkai served as the founding CEO of the National Center for Advanced Packaging Co., Ltd. (“NCAP China”), worked for 10 years at Ford Motor Company in various technical and management functions, and for 11 years at Flextronics as Corporate Vice President of Global Advanced Technology.

SST: In 2015, STATS ChipPAC was acquired by JCET (Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Technology Co., Ltd.) and organized as a business unit. Can you describe some of the personnel changes that have taken place?

DS: Following the acquisition, STATS ChipPAC became a business unit under the JCET Group with the same organizational structure as what we had prior to the completion of the deal. Dr. Han Byung Joon (BJ) was appointed to be Co-President and Chief Executive Officer with Tan Lay Koon. Dr. Han had served as our Chief Technology Officer since 1999. He and Lay Koon had worked very closely over the years and together led the company through the first three months following the acquisition. After the initial transition period, Dr. Han became the President and CEO for the company. Reporting directly to JCET Group Chairman Wang XinChao, Dr. Han has full responsibility for the business results of STATS ChipPAC. He also serves as Chairman of the Technology Strategy Council for the JCET Group.

In August of last year, there were two additional executive appointments. Woo Kwek Kiong (KK) was appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the Company. Prior to joining us, KK was Chief Financial Officer at Advanpack Solutions Pte Ltd and ASTI Holdings Limited. Il Kwon (IK) Shim was promoted to Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. IK has been with STATS ChipPAC since 2000 and prior to his promotion served as Head of Research and Development.

In December, Cindy Palar was appointed as Managing Director of STATS ChipPAC Singapore (SCS), where our FlexLineTM manufacturing is located. Cindy has been with the Company since 1999 and has held a number of senior management positions in Strategic Marketing, Pricing, Product Line Management and Demand/Capacity Planning.

JCET chose a light integration strategy for the acquisition in order to keep the focus on our customers and minimize any disruptions with our service and support. The organizational structure and operating systems for STATS ChipPAC have remained the same as before the acquisition, providing a smooth transition following the deal completion. 

SST: We know that JCET is the largest semiconductor packaging and test provider in China through JCAP (Jiangyin Changdian Advanced Packaging Co., Ltd. ) a subsidiary of JCET which provides wafer bump (solder bump, gold bump, pillar bump), Wafer Level Chip Scale Packaging, assembly and test. Can you differentiate between what JCET SCP and JCET JCAP will offer the customer as divisions of JCET?

DS: JCET has extremely solid credentials in turnkey wirebond packaging, servicing a broad range of applications with very good relationship with a large number of customers, particularly in China. JCET focuses primarily on leaded wirebond and flip chip packaging including assembly of discrete packages.

JCAP provides turnkey services including wafer bump, probe and assembly. JCAP is a leader in advanced wafer bump technology (solder bump, gold bump, copper pillar bump) and Wafer Level Chip Scale Packaging (WLCSP).

STATS ChipPAC, with the strongest IP portfolio in the OSAT industry for many years, clearly brings very strong advanced packaging technologies to the JCET Group, particularly in Fan-out Wafer Level Packaging (FOWLP), laminate-based Flip Chip, package-on-package (PoP), and System-in-Package (SiP) capabilities. STATS ChipPAC will continue to be the FOWLP and SiP center of competency for the JCET Group, and all laminate based flip chip activities are being consolidated into STATS ChipPAC factories.

As a combined Group, the JCET Group is now able to address a much broader total available market (TAM). While each JCET Business Unit has its area of expertise, we are already seeing benefits of cross-selling services to our customers, particularly in China.

SST:. Will the SCP product focus change any in the coming years? Can you share any packaging roadmaps?

DS: No, the merger does not change STATS ChipPAC’s focus or roadmap at all. Our focus for the coming years continues to be on expanding our SiP and FOWLP business, in addition to our core turnkey wirebond, flip chip and PoP packaging business areas. STATS ChipPAC is firmly committed to our industry leading eWLB technology as supported by our eWLB line expansion occurring throughout this year. While we will continue to develop advanced 2.5D and 3D FOWLP package designs, we will be implementing further process optimizations, such as panel manufacturing, which will drive significantly better capital intensity and a lower unit cost for larger body sizes.

SST: Have/will SCP manufacturing facilities in Singapore moved/move to China?

DS: There is currently no plan for any relocation. Our STATS ChipPAC Singapore (SCS) facility remains the hub of the JCET Group’s effort in FOWLP as well as being our largest Test site. SCS is an important location for several Tier 1 customers who prefer having Singapore as part of their supply chain for regional diversity and other commercial reasons.

SST: What is JCET relationship to SMIC? We noticed with interest that SMIC recently increased its ownership position to 14.25% making it the single largest owner of JCET.

DS: JCET has entered into asset purchase transaction whereby it will acquire the remaining shareholding in STATS ChipPAC from the National Integrated Circuit Fund and SMIC. Concurrent to the asset purchase transaction, JCET has entered into a subscription agreement with SMIC whereby SMIC will subscribe for approximately 150 million JCET shares for a consideration of about US$400 million. After the proposed transaction, SMIC will have a 14.25% stake in JCET Group, resulting in JCET owning 100% of STATS ChipPAC. This transaction will strengthen the equity base of JCET with stronger shareholders, and create better operational synergies. These transactions have no significant impact to STATS ChipPAC’s organizational structure or management team, and will not impact our service to our customers.

SST: China’s government policy “National Guidelines for Development and Promotion of the IC Industry,” which was released in June of 2014 calls for expansion and vertical integration of the domestic semiconductor value chain with domestic sales revenue targets of $56B by 2020. How does packaging fit into these overall goals?

DS: The Chinese government correctly identifies packaging and test as critical parts of the overall semiconductor ecosystem and, therefore, packaging is an integral part of these goals. As the largest OSAT in China, the JCET Group is uniquely positioned to participate in and capitalize on the emergence and growth of the Chinese semiconductor ecosystem. With the addition of the advanced packaging technologies from STATS ChipPAC, the JCET Group is well positioned to help enable this growth.

SST: What new products or technologies would you like to share with our readers?

DS: We are very proud to have passed a significant milestone for 1B units shipped for our industry leading eWLB FOWLP product. The eWLB platform has an incredible amount of traction now and the technology roadmap around this platform is resonating with an increasingly diverse range of customers, from its traditional base in mobile communications into areas such as Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) in automobiles and bio-processors in the wearables market. Furthermore, as a platform for system integration, enabled by finer L/S and multiple RDL’s, eWLB SiP in various configurations (such as multi-die with passives, PoP, 2.5D, etc) has a tremendous future.

SiP capabilities are incredibly important to those customers driving miniaturization as well as integration and modularization of functionality. This represents a major new source of TAM for the OSAT industry. We feel we are extremely well positioned in this area, as we have developed comprehensive capabilities, including design and simulation, advanced packaging technologies, high density SMT component placement, advanced molding for complex topographies, conformal shielding, and system level test, for a wide variety of SiPs/modules in multiple market segments. Depending on the application requirements and product complexity, we have developed various SiP configurations ranging from conventional 2D modules with multiple active and passive components, interconnected through flip chip, wire bonding, and SMT, to more complex modules such as Package-in-Package (PiP), eWLB Package-on-Package (eWLB PoP), 2.5D and 3D solutions.

We anticipate that our strength in these areas coupled with our unique position in the highest growth region, China, will propel our growth well beyond the industry average going forward.

BioMEMS have been used for years, for plenty of applications. Some are linked to solid, mature, slow-growing industries, while others are part of booming applications that are adding new fuel to the bioMEMS market. According to Yole Développement (Yole) analysts, this market will triple from US$2.7 billion in 2015 to US$7.6 billion in 2021. Indeed, with the barrier between consumer and healthcare blurring, an increasing number of healthcare-related applications are using MEMS components, resulting in impressive market growth. Why is MEMS technology increasingly finding a sweet spot within the healthcare sector? What is the added-value of this technology? What are the drivers of this market? Who is developing what?…

Yole’s analysts propose today a high added-value survey of the BioMEMS components and their applications within the healthcare industry.

biomems_market_yole_april2016_433x280

Analysts from the “More than Moore” market research and strategy consulting company, Yole propose a comprehensive technology and market review of the microsystems for healthcare applications. Entitled BioMEMS: Microsytems for Healthcare Applications, this report provides an overview of the diverse bioMEMS components and applications, along with a detailed key players’ description at each level of the supply chain with market shares and related activities. It highlights threats and opportunities related to BioMEMS components along with market and technology trends. Yole’s analysis also details the challenges related to implantable devices and highlights the emergence of consumer healthcare with promising and booming applications.

Faced with an aging “baby boomer” population, healthcare is more important than ever. In-vitro diagnostics, pharmaceutical research, patient monitoring, drug delivery, and implantable devices: all of these fields is growing and system integrators need new innovative technologies. Adopting bioMEMS including accelerometers, pressure sensors, flow sensors, micropumps and others bring improved sensing and actuating functions for all of these healthcare fields. “MEMS components are increasingly used by healthcare system integrators,” says Sébastien Clerc, Technology & Market Analyst at Yole. “Indeed BioMEMS are used to bring new functionalities, improve performances and costs and enable miniaturized devices.”

And Yole details:
• Microfluidic devices will cover the largest part of the BioMEMS market in 2021 representing 86% of the total market. Microfluidic chips are increasingly used in life sciences applications. These components will enjoy a 19.2% every year between 2015 and 2021, driven by applications such as Point-of-Care testing.
• In parallel, silicon microphones and flow meters are showing a double digit growth during the 2015 – 2021 period (in value): respectively +23.3% and 18.3%. Though silicon microphones are still an emerging and small market, Yole’s analysts confirm the attractiveness of this MEMS technology for hearing aids application, where it brings higher performance than former technologies. They expect a fast penetration into these devices over the next five years. The trend is also positive for flow sensors: indeed the consulting company Yole highlights an increasing adoption of MEMS disposable devices for drug delivery applications. These disposable BioMEMS components are expected to take an important part of the MEMS flow sensor market in a near future. Until recently, flowmeters were relatively expensive devices and did not suit to drug delivery devices. However today the adoption of disposable sensors for this application opens new high-volumes opportunities for MEMS players. Price reduction was mandatory and MEMS technology successfully addressed the industry needs.

Many other bioMEMS components are also active within the healthcare industry. Yole’s analysts identified pressure sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, microdispensers, temperature sensors and more… Their market dynamics highly depend on the related applications and on the ability of MEMS makers to innovate. Lack of strong technical innovations and emerging applications are the characteristics of certain BioMEMS markets. Yole’s analysts give some examples below:
• The pressure sensors market for healthcare applications is showing a slowly growth. 75% of the market is dedicated to the blood monitoring applications. Established for decades, this market is mature with no real disruptive technologies. Reduction of the number of players and attempt to increase volumes are the main trends of this sector for the next years, analyzes Yole in its bioMEMS report. • Accelerometers market is also showing slow growth opportunities. Such devices are today mainly used for CRM applications (implantable pacemakers and defibrillators) which are growing slowly. New applications such as ballistocardiography or fall detection have the potential to boost this market but still represent very low volumes right now.

However the emergence of consumer could change the game and become a real opportunity for MEMS manufacturers with huge volumes. MEMS companies, involved within the consumer market are already considering the consumer healthcare sector. In the meantime, consumer giants acquire promising healthcare and biotech startups and are positioning themselves to address this market. Despite the great promises of consumer healthcare, it will take some time to reach its full potential, highlights the consulting company in its bioMEMS report. Performance, consumer acceptance, reimbursement, reliability, data security… Yole identified numerous barriers preventing rapid explosion of consumer healthcare. Various players have to sit around the table and discuss to find solutions and thus knock down these barriers: Yole expects it will take a few years until consumer healthcare devices are widely adopted.

MACOM Technology Solutions reported the newest entries in its MAGb series of GaN on Silicon power transistors for use in macro wireless basestations.

According to a media release, based on MACOM’s Gen4 GaN technology, the new MAGb-101822-240B0P and MAGb-101822-120B0P power transistors harness the clear performance benefits of GaN in rugged, low-cost plastic packaging, enabling improved cost efficiencies that further distinguish MACOM’s GaN power transistors as the natural successors to legacy LDMOS offerings for basestation applications.

The Company noted that the new plastic TO-272-packaged MAGb-101822-240B0P and MAGb-101822-120B0P power transistors provide 320 W and 160 W output peak power, respectively, in the load-pull system with fundamental tuning only, and cover all cellular bands and power levels within the 1.8 – 2.2 GHz frequency range. These transistors’ ability to operate over 400 MHz of bandwidth precludes the need to use multiple LDMOS-based products, further optimizing cost and design efficiencies.

MACOM said that plastic-packaged MAGb power transistors deliver power efficiency up to 79 percent – an improvement of up to 10 percent compared to LDMOS offerings – with only fundamental tuning across the 400 MHz RF bandwidth, and with linear gain of up to 20 dB. These transistors provide an alternative to ceramic-packaged devices without compromising RF performance or reliability – thermal behavior is improved by 10 percent compared to ceramic-packaged MAGb offerings.

“DPD is critical to increase the efficiency of power amplifiers for 4G and 5G basestation applications and has a significant impact on network operators’ operating expenses and capital expenditures,” said Dr. Chris Dick, Chief DSP Architect at Xilinx. “Our joint demonstration with MACOM at IMS 2016 will showcase the combined DPD capabilities of MACOM’s Gen4 GaN-based MAGb power transistors and Xilinx’s complementary DPD technologies on our 28 nm Zynq SoC and 16 nm UltraScale+ MPSoCs. This joint solution highlights the time-to-market advantages that can be achieved with a proven, interoperable DPD solution.”

“Our collaboration with Xilinx demonstrates the linearity and ease of correction of our MAGb, especially with signals that are known to be challenging to correct using GaN-based solutions like multi-carrier GSM and TDD-LTE signals,” said Preet Virk, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Carrier Networks, at MACOM. “We believe that with the introduction of our new plastic-packaged MAGb power transistors, we’re further extending this price/performance advantage over competiting LDMOS and other GaN technologies, and accelerating the evolution to GaN-based PAs for wireless basestations.”

Tessera Technologies, Inc. announced today that it and certain of its subsidiaries filed legal proceedings for patent infringement in both domestic and international jurisdictions against Broadcom and, in some cases, against certain of Broadcom’s customers and distributors.

The proceedings are in the United States International Trade Commission, the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, and courts in Germany and the Netherlands, alleging infringement of a total of eight patents.

Tessera first reached out to Broadcom several years ago to explore technical collaboration on semiconductor technology development, and subsequently to discuss licensing Tessera’s intellectual property. Following a series of in-depth licensing discussions, the parties were unable to reach a licensing arrangement.

“Today’s actions were not taken lightly and are made only after years of effort to reach a fair and equitable resolution without litigation,” said Tom Lacey, CEO of Tessera. “At this point, we believe that litigation is necessary to defend our intellectual property rights. As we have said in connection with other legal matters, we remain willing to negotiate a resolution that fairly compensates Tessera and its shareholders for our valuable intellectual property. However, we are also fully prepared to proceed through the entirety of the legal process, and we remain very confident in our ability to achieve a positive outcome.”

Broadcom is not an existing Tessera customer, and as such the proceedings announced today do not impact Tessera’s second quarter revenue or earnings per share guidance or 2016 full-year revenue guidance. The company expects 2016 litigation expense will remain within its current target operating model based on anticipated case activity for the remainder of the year.

Tessera researches and develops semiconductor and imaging technology that is used in billions of electronic devices. Tessera has a portfolio of over 4,000 patent assets protecting its technologies that it licenses to its customers. The company develops computational imaging and photography, as well as semiconductor packaging and interconnects.