Category Archives: Materials and Equipment

Graphene has generally been described as a two-dimensional structure — a single sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a regular structure — but the reality is not so simple. In reality, graphene can form wrinkles which make the structure more complicated, potentially being applied to device systems. The graphene can also interact with the substrate upon which it is laid, adding further complexity. In research published in Nature Communications, RIKEN scientists have now discovered that wrinkles in graphene can restrict the motion of electrons to one dimension, forming a junction-like structure that changes from zero-gap conductor to semiconductor back to zero-gap conductor. Moreover, they have used the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope to manipulate the formation of wrinkles, opening the way to the construction of graphene semiconductors not through chemical means — by adding other elements — but by manipulating the carbon structure itself in a form of “graphene engineering.”

The tip of the scanning tunneling microscope (in yellow-orange) is moved over the graphene and the nanowrinkle.

The tip of the scanning tunneling microscope (in yellow-orange) is moved over the graphene and the nanowrinkle.

The discovery began when the group was experimenting with creating graphene films using chemical vapor deposition, which is considered the most reliable method. They were working to form graphene on a nickel substrate, but the success of this method depends heavily on the temperature and cooling speed.

According to Hyunseob Lim, the first author of the paper, “We were attempting to grow graphene on a single crystalline nickel substrate, but in many cases we ended up creating a compound of nickel and carbon, Ni2C, rather than graphene. In order to resolve the problem, we tried quickly cooling the sample after the dosing with acetylene, and during that process we accidentally found small nanowrinkles, just five nanometers wide, in the sample.”

They were able to image these tiny wrinkles using scanning tunneling microscopy, and discovered that there were band gap openings within them, indicating that the wrinkles could act as semiconductors. Normally electrons and electron holes flow freely through a conductor without a band gap, but when it is a semiconductor there are band gaps between the permitted electron states, and the electrons can only pass through these gaps under certain conditions. This indicates that the graphene could, depending on the wrinkles, become a semiconductor. Initially they considered two possibilities for the emergence of this band gap. One is that the mechanical strain could cause a magnetic phenomenon, but they ruled this out, and concluded that the phenomenon was caused by the confinement of electrons in a single dimension due to “quantum confinement.”

According to Yousoo Kim, head of the Surface and Interface Science Laboratory, who led the team, “Up until now, efforts to manipulate the electronic properties of graphene have principally been done through chemical means, but the downside of this is that it can lead to degraded electronic properties due to chemical defects. Here we have shown that the electronic properties can be manipulated merely by changing the shape of the carbon structure. It will be exciting to see if this could lead to ways to find new uses for graphene.”

Reference

Hyunseob Lim, Jaehoon Jung, Rodney S. Ruoff & Yousoo Kim, “Structurally driven one-dimensional electron confinement in sub-5-nm graphene nanowrinkles”, Nature Communications (2015), 10.1038/ncomms9601

Western Digital Corporation and SanDisk Corporation today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Western Digital will acquire all of the outstanding shares of SanDisk for a combination of cash and stock. The offer values SanDisk common stock at $86.50 per share or a total equity value of approximately $19 billion, using a five-day volume weighted average price ending on October 20, 2015 of $79.60 per share of Western Digital common stock. If the previously announced investment in Western Digital by Unisplendour Corporation Limited closes prior to this acquisition, Western Digital will pay $85.10 per share in cash and 0.0176 shares of Western Digital common stock per share of SanDisk common stock; and if the Unisplendour transaction has not closed or has been terminated, $67.50 in cash and 0.2387 shares of Western Digital common stock per share of SanDisk common stock. The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies.

The combination is the next step in the transformation of Western Digital into a storage solutions company with global scale, extensive product and technology assets, and deep expertise in non-volatile memory (NVM). With this transaction, Western Digital will double its addressable market and expand its participation in higher-growth segments. SanDisk brings a 27-year history of innovation and expertise in NVM, systems solutions and manufacturing. The combination also enables Western Digital to vertically integrate into NAND, securing long-term access to solid state technology at lower cost.

The proposed combination creates significant value for both SanDisk and Western Digital shareholders. Western Digital brings a successful track record of M&A with a number of acquisitions over the last several years helping to fuel innovation, create value and strongly position the company to capture higher-growth opportunities. In addition, Western Digital’s operational excellence, coupled with the recently announced decision by China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) allowing Western Digital to integrate substantial portions of its WD and HGST businesses, is expected to generate additional cost synergies.

“This transformational acquisition aligns with our long-term strategy to be an innovative leader in the storage industry by providing compelling, high-quality products with leading technology,” said Steve Milligan, chief executive officer, Western Digital. “The combined company will be ideally positioned to capture the growth opportunities created by the rapidly evolving storage industry. I’m excited to welcome the SanDisk team as we look to create additional value for all of our stakeholders, including our customers, shareholders and employees.”

“Western Digital is globally recognized as a leading provider of storage solutions and has a 45-year legacy of developing and manufacturing cutting-edge solutions, making the company the ideal strategic partner for SanDisk,” said Sanjay Mehrotra, president and chief executive officer, SanDisk. “Importantly, this combination also creates an even stronger partner for our customers. Joining forces with Western Digital will enable the combined company to offer the broadest portfolio of industry-leading, innovative storage solutions to customers across a wide range of markets and applications.”

Western Digital and SanDisk’s complementary product lines, including hard disk drives (“HDDs”), solid-state drives (“SSDs”), cloud datacenter storage solutions and flash storage solutions, will provide the foundation for a broader set of products and technologies from consumer to datacenter. Both companies have strong R&D and engineering capabilities and a rich base of fundamental technologies with over 15,000 combined patents issued or pending worldwide.

Toshiba has been a long-term strategic partner to SanDisk for 15 years. The joint venture (JV) with Toshiba will be ongoing, enabling vertical integration through a technology partnership driven by deep collaboration across design and process capabilities. The JV provides stable NAND supply at scale through a time-tested business model and extends across NVM technologies such as 3D NAND.

Steve Milligan will continue to serve as chief executive officer of the combined company, and the company will remain headquartered in Irvine, California. Upon closing, Sanjay Mehrotra is expected to join the Western Digital Board of Directors.

Led by a seasoned management team, Western Digital has a strong track record of integrating acquisitions to create value. The company expects to achieve full annual run-rate synergies of $500 million within 18 months post-closing. The transaction is expected to be EPS accretive on a non-GAAP basis within 12 months of the transaction close. Pending the closing of the transaction, Western Digital expects to continue paying its quarterly dividend and plans to suspend its share buyback program.

The transaction will be financed by a mix of cash, new debt financing and Western Digital stock.  In connection with the transaction, Western Digital expects to enter into new debt facilities totaling $18.4 billion, including a $1.0 billion revolving credit facility. The proceeds from the new debt facilities are expected to be used to pay part of the purchase price, refinance existing debt of Western Digital and SanDisk and pay transaction related fees and expenses. If SanDisk’s cash balance falls below certain thresholds at the time of transaction close, the merger agreement provides for an adjustment to the mix of cash and stock consideration.

The transaction is subject to approval by SanDisk shareholders and, in the event that the Unisplendor transaction does not close, Western Digital shareholders, receipt of regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to close in the third calendar quarter of 2016.

Today’s device manufacturers must piece together disparate, component-level software to create sensor-based wearable devices–often at the expense of accuracy and power consumption. Manufacturers of wearable devices are looking for cost-effective, turnkey solutions that function as a system to provide faster time to market, increased functionality, superior performance, and supply-chain flexibility. In response, Hillcrest Labs today unveiled its MotionEngine (TM) Wear software with always-on, sensor-enabled features optimized for the latest generation of wearable devices.

According to industry research firm IDC, the worldwide wearables market will reach a total of 76.1 million units in 2015, up 163.6% from 2014, and 173.4 million units by 2019, resulting in a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.9%. Hillcrest’s MotionEngine Wear offers device makers the ability to quickly create differentiated wearable products across the health, fitness, and lifestyle segments of this growing market. MotionEngine Wear is designed for smartwatches, activity and fitness bands, health and sleep monitors, and smart clothing. The small software footprint and low power profile make it a match for devices targeted to the mass market, active or sports segment, commercial and industrial markets, or for fashion accessories.

“Sensors play a key role in wearable devices but how these sensors are used to deliver a compelling and convenient user experience is even more critical to the success of a wearable product today,” said Chad Lucien, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Hillcrest Labs. “We are proud to offer our MotionEngine Wear software to manage and enhance the performance of sensors found in wearable devices–enabling high performance, low power motion-based applications, and providing the foundation for new user experiences.”

MotionEngine Wear provides high quality context awareness; tracks users’ daily activities such as walking, running, and sleeping; and simplifies the user experience with intuitive gesture controls. Unique power reduction algorithms provide always-on sensing without compromising the accuracy, reliability, or functionality of a wearable device. MotionEngine Wear is compatible with today’s widely used system architectures, including ARM Cortex-M, Cadence Tensilica Fusion DSP, and Synopsys ARC EM. It is OS independent, so it can be deployed when using platforms with Android, Android Wear, Tizen, WebOS, and RTOS, or others. Furthermore, it supports sensors from the leading suppliers to ensure lower costs, flexible implementations, and faster time to market.

Lucien continued: “With MotionEngine Wear, manufacturers are not locked into any one component supplier or system architecture. MotionEngine Wear therefore provides manufacturers with a highly flexible solution that enables faster time to market, product line diversity and lower costs.”

“Wearable devices are rapidly becoming more sophisticated, moving beyond simple health and fitness tracking devices to support a myriad of advanced features, from sleep monitoring to gesture recognition,” said Ramon Llamas, Research Manager with IDC’s Wearables Program. “For the next generation of wearable devices, manufacturers need simple, cost-effective solutions to meet consumers’ expectations for a consistent and accurate user experience. Solutions like Hillcrest’s MotionEngine Wear, that are compatible with a variety of low power MCUs and support sensors from leading suppliers, offer manufacturers maximum flexibility to innovate as new technologies are introduced in the wearables market.

There are many uses and applications for wearable devices, including Health and Fitness, Lifestyle, Augmented and Virtual Reality, and Motion Capture. These categories of devices each have distinct feature requirements but share in the need to maintain low costs, minimize power consumption, and extract maximum performance out of the available sensors. Hillcrest has developed a portfolio of products to address these needs. MotionEngine Wear offers the foundation for a variety of wearable device applications, including:

  • Accurate Activity Tracking: Algorithms specifically tuned for wearable devices can automatically track a variety of users’ daily physical activities, such as walking and running steps taken and stairs climbed, to provide an assessment of exercise program effectiveness.
  • Advanced Sleep Monitoring: The proprietary sleep-state algorithm uses a low power method to capture motion data related to users’ sleep quality and present results.
  • Context Awareness: Automatic detection of when the user is in a vehicle, such as a car, or if the user is riding a bicycle to allow the user interface to adapt to different modes of use.
  • Precise Compass Heading and Orientation: Hillcrest’s calibration and sensor fusion algorithms ensure precise, drift- and jitter-free device orientation and compass heading to provide the foundation for navigation applications.
  • Intuitive Gesture Controls: Users can perform motion gestures to interact naturally with devices, such as the “glance” gesture, which is used to detect when a user looks at the front-facing screen.

ULVAC, Inc. announced that the company has developed G-TRAN series multi ionization gauge ST2, a transducer-type ionization vacuum gauge with a long product life that maintains high measurement accuracy even under harsh conditions, and will start selling the product in October 2015.

A variety of gas molecules may exist in a vacuum space under certain conditions. Therefore, it is not uncommon that vacuum measurements are performed under conditions that are severe for a vacuum gauge. As a result, we often hear that users encounter problems regarding lifetime of vacuum gauges (a short product life due to contamination, problems in electrical discharge, an increase in sensor head replacement frequency, etc.) and measurement accuracy (variation in sensitivity, errors, etc.). Major reasons for these difficulties are the following:

  • Outgassing released during various vacuum processes
  • Outgassing released from test pieces (samples)
  • Residue of cutting oil or cleaning fluid used during processing vacuum
    chambers
  • Outgassing released from wiring materials, moving mechanisms, motors,
    etc. inside vacuum chambers

These elements contaminate sensor heads causing problems such as a reduction in the length of life of filaments, a decrease in sensitivity, and failures in emission current and electric discharge. To avoid such problems, it is necessary to replace sensor heads periodically. More frequent replacement of sensor heads leads to:

  • An increase in running costs for sensor heads, which are consumables
  • Losses caused by suspension of production lines (systems) during
    replacement of sensor heads
  • An increase in time and effort required to replace them

To resolve these difficulties, ULVAC has developed an ionization vacuum gauge with a structure designed to lighten the load on ion collectors by reducing the ion current value per area and to make electric potential in ionized space uniform. This gauge enables the performance of accurate measurements for a longer period of time (more than 30 times longer compared to our conventional models) even under harsh conditions for ionization vacuum gauges. We believe our new product will greatly contribute to reducing running costs and downtime of your various vacuum systems and improving yield ratio.

Features of the new ionization vacuum gauge G-TRANS series ST2 are:

  • ULVAC’s unique electrode structure: Stable sensitivity, high precision, long product life (more than 30 times longer compared to our conventional models) and low running costs.
  • Compact metal tube: Smaller install space and lower risk of sensor head damage.
  • Multi-ion gauge-type sensor unit: Connecting the Pirani vacuum gauge unit and the atmospheric pressure sensor enables a reduction in control signals.

September 30 – October 2, 2015, Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino, Chandler, AZ, USA

Chandler, AZ – September 8, 2015 – ICPT 2015 provides the largest forum for academic researchers, industrial practitioners and engineers from around the world dedicated to the exchange of information on the state-of-the-art in Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) and other planarization technologies. It represents the collaborative effort of CMP Users Groups from all six major semiconductor technology regions of the world (USA, Japan, South Korea, Europe, Taiwan and China). This year’s conference includes over 100 technical presentations and poster papers, with 10 invited talks and 2 keynote speakers. A total of 36 sponsors and exhibitors will also be participating, which represents the majority of major consumables vendors and tool suppliers in the industry. To date, we have over 300 registered attendees and the list is still growing.

Technical topic areas include:

  • Front end and back end CMP applications
  • Process integration, control & reliability
  • Consumables, equipment and metrology
  • Defects and Post CMP cleaning
  • CMP fundamentals, modeling and simulation
  • 3D ICs/TSV applications
  • CMP for MEMS
  • Environmental issues related to CMP
  • Emerging technologies in CMP
  • Alternative planarization technologies

ICPT 2015 is jointly hosted by CMP User’s Group of the Northern California Chapter of the American Vacuum Society, Clarkson University Center for Advanced Materials Processing (CAMP), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The format for Thursday morning of this year’s conference has been adapted to be all invited talks similar to the traditional CAMP format. The speakers were selected by Professor Babu and the organizing committee from top-tier suppliers and major semiconductor manufacturers in the industry.

Semiconductor equipment manufacturer ClassOne Technology has today announced the appointment of Kevin Witt to the position of Chief Technology Officer. Part of the company’s initial executive team, Witt has served as ClassOne’s Vice President of Technology since 2013.

“I’m delighted to announce Kevin’s promotion,” said Byron Exarcos, President of ClassOne Technology. “He has more than 25 years in the industry, and the depth and breadth of his experience have contributed significantly to the rapid success we’ve enjoyed to date. His strengths will be even more important as he spearheads the development of our coming generations of cost-efficient, high-performance systems.”

Prior to joining ClassOne Technology Witt had been Director of Disruptive Technology at Semitool and was on the executive team that sold the company to Applied Materials. Witt has also held global marketing positions at Rodel and Solution Technology as well as engineering positions at AMD and Perkin Elmer. Subsequent to this, he cofounded and served as CTO/COO of Zinc Air, an energy storage company. He holds an MS degree in Materials Science and Engineering and a BS in Physics, both from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Witt has been a key contributor in the development of ClassOne’s popular Solstice family of electroplating systems, which includes models for development and volume production. The Solstice S4 was recently given the BEST OF WEST Award at the SEMICON West 2015 Conference in San Francisco. ClassOne also provides the innovative Trident families of Spin Rinse Dryers (SRDs) and Spray Solvent Tools (SSTs). All are designed to deliver high-performance wet processing at an affordable price, aimed primarily at MEMS, Sensors, LEDs, RF, Interposers and other ≤200mm emerging markets. Described as providing “Advanced Wet Processing for the Rest of Us,” ClassOne systems are generally priced at less than half of what similarly configured tools from the larger manufacturers would cost.

Jason Chang, chairman of Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc. has formally received the SEMI award at the 2015 SEMICON Taiwan Leadership Gala Dinner held in Taipei, Taiwan. The SEMI award recognizes Jason’s significant achievements in the development and commercialization of copper wire in the IC assembly process. This year, SEMICON also celebrates its 20th anniversary in Taiwan and Jason had the honor of receiving his award from President Ma Ying-jeou, who was the guest-of-honor at the event.

In early 2005, anticipating a steep increase in gold price, Jason embarked on a bold move to encourage the use of copper wire bonding as an alternative to gold wire bonding. When the price of gold soared in 2007 and to all-time highs in 2011 and 2012, ASE was able to offer a proven and viable alternative to customers. The transition from gold to copper, however, was not without challenge. Customers were initially skeptical about the thermal and electrical performance of copper versus gold and whether cost savings would ultimately be worthwhile. The ASE engineering team went through years of laborious studies, evaluations, and qualification lots, and with each successful production run, customers become increasingly confident with the process. By 2011, ASE was shipping more than four billion chips using copper wire bonding processes.

“It is a huge honor to receive the SEMI Award and be recognized amongst so many of our peers,” said Jason Chang. “In a dynamic industry where change and advancement is our lifeline, it is ASE’s mission to innovate and integrate the latest technologies, the newest materials, and the most advanced production methods to enable the success of our customers’ IC designs.”

The SEMI Award was established in 1979 to recognize outstanding technical achievement and meritorious contribution in the areas of Semiconductor Materials, Wafer Fabrication, Assembly and Packaging, Process Control, Test and Inspection, Robotics and Automation, Quality Enhancement, and Process Integration. The award is the highest honor conferred by SEMI. It is open to individuals or teams from industry or academia whose specific accomplishments have broad commercial impact and widespread technical significance for the entire semiconductor industry.

Nordson Corporation today announced it has acquired Munich, Germany-based MatriX Technologies GmbH, a manufacturer of automated X-ray inspection (AXI) equipment used to ensure the quality of electronic printed circuit boards, critical electronic devices and fully assembled products in consumer, automotive and other industrial end markets worldwide.

MatriX employs approximately 100 people at its German headquarters and branch offices in Singapore, China and the USA. The business will operate as part of Nordson’s Advanced Technology Systems segment and will be integrated into the company’s existing test and inspection platform which includes the Nordson DAGE X-ray and bond test and YESTECH automated optical inspection product lines. MatriX revenues for 2014 were approximately €26 million. Nordson expects the acquisition of MatriX to be accretive to earnings in the first full year of operation. Terms of the deal and financial details of the business were not disclosed.

“MatriX solutions are aligned with the market trend towards X-ray inspection of critical electronic parts, advanced components and final product assemblies manufactured in high-volume series production,” said Michael F. Hilton, Nordson President and Chief Executive Officer. “Key drivers for AXI inspection equipment include increased board complexity from further product miniaturizations and the growing trend towards fast and fully automated, less labor intensive production lines requiring high-speed in-line AXI solutions for a 100% process control and yield protection. By adding MatriX to our strong existing test and inspection platform, Nordson can now offer customers a full range of automated and manual, in-line and batch X-ray inspection solutions (AXI and MXI), automated optical inspection systems (AOI), and bond testers.”

MatriX serves a wide range of leading customers in the automotive, consumer electronics, EMS and other industrials manufacturing space. The Company’s proven business model is based on profitable revenue streams from the sale of high-end X-ray inspection system solutions and the offering of integrated after-sales services over the entire equipment lifecycle.

MatriX Managing Director Eckhard Sperschneider said, “With the combination of Nordson DAGE’s and MatriX’s complementary X-ray inspection system product lines in the area of MXI and AXI, we can now offer our industrial customers a complete range of X-ray inspection system solutions for the entire product development and manufacturing cycle, starting from high-resolution X-ray inspection equipment for sample tests in lab and R&D environments up to high-speed AXI in-line solutions for a 100% inspection of critical parts and components in high-volume series production.” MatriX Managing Director Marc Sperschneider added, “We are looking forward to joining Nordson and capitalizing on the wide range of synergies in core X-ray technologies, joint R&D and new product development which will further strengthen our leading position in the AXI market.”

Nordson Corporation engineers, manufactures and markets differentiated products and systems used for the precision dispensing of adhesives, coatings, sealants, biomaterials, polymers, plastics and other materials, fluid management, test and inspection, UV curing and plasma surface treatment, all supported by application expertise and direct global sales and service.

QEOS, Inc., a designer of connectivity and sensing CMOS millimeter-wave (mmWave) solutions, and GLOBALFOUNDRIES, a provider of advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology, today announced they are partnering to co-develop the industry’s first mmW CMOS platform.

Leveraging GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ 45nm and 40nm low-power process technologies, the mmW platform includes support for the higher data rates required in future mobile broadband access networks, while enabling customers to integrate mixers, Low Noise Amplifiers (LNAs), Power Amplifiers (PAs), and Inter-Frequency (IF) amplifiers, all in a single package. The co-designed platform will leverage GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ production-proven expertise in advanced silicon RF technologies and QEOS’ next-generation design environment and IP to expand the mmWave wireless technology offerings to enable gigabit interactivity everywhere—from centimeters to hundreds of meters—at a cost of less than $500 per link.

Demonstrations of a 77GHz CMOS Design Library and an adaptive 60GHz CMOS link for gigabit wireless outdoor connectivity can be seen during European Microwave Week, to be held September 6 – 11, 2015 in Paris, France.

The available mmW IP includes:

  • Low-power Bits In/Out architecture
  • BIST/BIOS for digital die sort
  • Beam Steering
  • Integrated Transceiver
  • Frequency Synthesizer
  • Co-designed System in Package with Antenna

“MmW technology is a key pillar for next-generation wireless markets including IoT, 5G and automotive,” said Ted Letavic, department leader of strategic applications and product segments at GLOBALFOUNDRIES. “Our expanded partnership with QEOS enables our customers to address the challenging requirements for adaptive next-generation gigabit wireless sensing and connectivity, and lays the foundation for accelerating market adoption of mmW products and solutions in high-growth markets.”

“We are honored to partner with one of the world’s leading advanced silicon manufacturers to create the industry’s first mmW CMOS platform. We look forward to supporting our customers in the rapidly growing mmWave markets,” said Ara Chakrabarti, Chief Operating Officer of QEOS, Inc.

“GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ and QEOS’ partnership is a key milestone for enabling the next generation of low-power mmWave CMOS,” said Rob Shaddock, Chief Technology Officer of TE Connectivity. “TE Connectivity has been watching the developments in this field closely, and we believe that this is going to have a major impact across the connectivity and sensing markets.”

As part of the GLOBALSOLUTIONS partnership, QEOS 45/40nm based mmWave CMOS IP will be available in two forms. Basic block level IP will be available from GLOBALFOUNDRIES, while more complex subsystem IP will be licensable directly from QEOS. QEOS will provide support and design services for all IP.

In 2014, the automotive sector significantly outperformed the overall market average for semiconductors. In fact, the automotive market overtook data processing to become the third largest end market for power semiconductor applications, according to IHS Inc., a global source of critical information and insight.

Based on information from the IHS Power Management Market Share and Supplier Analysis report, demand for semiconductors by the automotive industry was particularly strong in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and infotainment systems. In the power management semiconductor market, power integrated circuits (ICs) grew much faster than traditional power discrete solutions. The automotive power IC category in 2015 is forecast to grow 8 percent, year over year, while discrete revenue is projected to remain flat during the same time period.

Fig 1

Fig 1

“One strategy that automakers are undertaking to control research and development costs is to develop shared designs, components, engineering, and production platforms, and using the same electronic control units (ECUs)  for many different platforms with the same features,” said Jonathan Liao, senior analyst of power semiconductors for IHS. “While over time modern cars have increased in size, suppliers prefer small and interchangeable electronic control units that can fit on various platforms, which help lower overall development costs, and expand the universe of target customers, for an improved return on investment.”

As a result of this approach, automotive power ICs are growing faster than discrete solutions. For example, Texas Instruments – the market leader in voltage regulators — controlled 8 percent of voltage regulators used by the automotive industry in 2011 and increased its voltage regulator revenues by 150 percent by the end of 2014. By comparison, Infineon — the leading automotive-market supplier of discrete power solutions — increased their power management revenues, at roughly half of Texas Instruments’ growth rate, during the same time period.

Growing demand for luxury features in non-luxury vehicles

Increased consumer demand has caused many luxury car features to find their way into the non-luxury car market, which is causing an increase in overall demand for power ICs. Adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, connected traffic updates, sophisticated infotainment systems with voice command and other advanced features are being integrated, as both options and upgrades, into mass-produced mid-range vehicles, like the Ford Fusion, which has a suggested price of $22,000. “Features that were originally designed for Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Lexus and other luxury cars have very quickly found their way into the non-luxury market,” Liao said

There are several key features that will encourage further power IC adoption, including Internet-connected cars, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, autonomous cars, Apple’s CarPlay and Android Auto. For all of these features, application processing speed and software are critical components.

“It is crucial for the ECUs to gather, process and respond to information in real time, for the safety and convenience of the driver,” Liao said. “Sophisticated power management solutions for power-intensive multi-core processors, baseband chipsets and sensor arrays can be implemented much more easily with power ICs.”

All of these advanced features are expected help power ICs to grow faster than discrete solutions.

The overall trend of power ICs outperforming power discrete solutions in the automotive semiconductor sector is expected to continue. Switch regulators, low-dropout (LDO) regulators and power management integrated circuits (PMICs) are examples of fast-growing power IC components with better integration, efficiency and smaller footprints –especially for low voltage applications in automotive electronics.