Category Archives: Materials and Equipment

Plasma-Therm, the manufacturer of plasma etch, deposition, and advanced packaging equipment for the production of specialty semiconductor devices, announced today the successful acquisition of CORIAL, a France-based plasma processing equipment supplier.

“This transaction is expected to produce significant cost savings from operational synergies while increasing the group’s top line revenue by leveraging the combined sales and service network. This acquisition enforces Plasma- Therm’s commitment to the European market by further enhancing our support infrastructure for the European customer base” stated Abdul Lateef, Plasma-Therm CEO. “With this acquisition we take one more step in the execution of our vision of a Technology Center of Excellence and Research in the Grenoble ecosystem” further emphasized Abdul Lateef.

Thierry Lazerand, Plasma-Therm Director of Marketing said, “CORIAL is a strategic acquisition that strengthens our presence in the R&D market space and for all other markets requiring small footprint and technology-rich equipment. We are also excited about the addition of the experienced team of Engineers with differentiated know-how for product development. The combination will leverage Plasma-Therm’s award-winning service, as recognized by the VLSIresearch Customer Satisfaction Survey”.

“We are excited to become a subsidiary of Plasma-Therm”, comments Andrei Uvarov, CORIAL’s Chief Research Officer. “It is a great opportunity for CORIAL to consolidate its future and accelerate the development of innovative stand-alone equipment based on joined CORIAL and Plasma-Therm expertise and advance our commercialization initiatives globally”.

IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for humanity, and the IEEE Electronics Packaging Society (EPS) today announced Dr. William Chen as the recipient of the 2018 IEEE Electronics Packaging Award. The IEEE Electronics Packaging Award and the society’s other annual awards were presented on 31 May in San Diego, California, at the 2018 IEEE Electronic Components and Technology Conference (ECTC), the society’s flagship event.

Dr. Chen is an IEEE Life Fellow and Fellow of ASE Group in Sunnyvale, California. He is a former president of the IEEE Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technology (CPMT) Society, as which the IEEE EPS was formerly known, and a prominent leader in the packaging community since his early years at IBM. He was recognized for his pioneering contributions to electronic packaging—from research and development through industrialization—and for his leadership in strategic roadmapping efforts in heterogeneous integration. Dr. Chen has been instrumental in the industrialization of game-changing packaging technologies which enabled miniaturization, cost reduction and performance enhancements for today’s pervasive, all-powerful electronic devices. He has been previously recognized for his work in the field and was the recipient of the IEEE CPMT David Feldman Outstanding Contribution Award in 2010.

At the IEEE Electronic Components and Technology Conference, IEEE EPS also honored other packaging leaders and innovators driving the research, design and development of revolutionary electronic microsystem packaging and integration technology:

In addition, Annette Teng of Promex Industries Inc., Gilles Poupon of CEA-LETI in France and Yoshitaka Fukuoka of Worldwide Electronic Integrated Substrate Technology Inc. in Japan received the 2018 IEEE EPS Regional Contributions Awards.

“The electronics industry is experiencing tremendous expansion and revolutionary change, repositioning electronic packaging as a value creator and product differentiator for broad domains of the semiconductor industry. Our members are at the forefront of this transformation, driving innovation in microsystem packaging in key areas such as heterogeneous integration, 3D packaging and the IoT (Internet of Things),” said Avram Bar-Cohen, IEEE EPS president. “This ECTC EPS luncheon showcased their efforts and the outstanding leadership of William Chen, to strengthen and expand the society as the leading global authority on packaging and integration and to help define the future of the electronics industry.”

IEEE EPS (https://eps.ieee.org) represents current and future technologists in electronics packaging, spanning every nuance from earliest-stage research, through design and prototyping, to assembly and manufacturing, and ultimately to ensuring safe and reliable operation. IEEE EPS is also increasingly serving as a focal point for information transfer and collaboration for other IEEE societies, as technologists in those technology areas seek to derive value from microsystem packaging.

Without any doubt, the advanced packaging industry is on the move. Emerging applications are bringing many new challenges. Packaging experts from all over the world are deeply involved in the development of innovative solutions to answer to the market demand dominated by megatrends. “Megatrend will probably be the key word for the next 10-years within the advanced packaging industry, and more generally in the semiconductor industry”, comments Emilie Jolivet, Semiconductor & Software Division Director at Yole Développement (Yole).“AI , IoT , 5G, mobility, and more… all major applications of our century are today the new drivers of these industries.”

What exactly is the impact of the megatrends on the advanced packaging industry? Could we expect a strong move of the advanced packaging companies: from their traditional activities to innovative services/products to answer to the specificities of the mega market segments? How will the advanced packaging supply chain evolve?

NCAP China, part of JITRI, and Yole today invite you to discover the 4th Advanced Packaging & System Integration Technology Symposium. The 2018 edition takes place in Wuxi, China, on June 20&21. It is a 2-day conference to answer strategic questions and get the opportunity to meet the leaders in the advanced packaging industry. After the last four successful events, Yole Développement & NCAP have decided to continue and strengthen their collaboration to once again provide a powerful program including Panel Level, FO , SiP , advanced substrates, 3D technology. Megatrends will be at the heart of the conference hosted by NCAP CHINA. Advanced packaging is on the move. Don’t miss it!
• Click program & registration to see the schedule, list of speakers, abstracts, and much more.
• The 2018 symposium is sponsored by DIPSOL, ERS, Nordson, SPTS (An Orbotech Company), and SEMSYSCO.

First held in 2014, the Advanced Packaging & System Integration Technology Symposium attracts more than 180 worldwide executive attendees each year. The program, designed by both partners Yole and NCAP China, brings together numerous valuable discussions, short courses, meetings and business collaborations. The list of executive speakers is impressive (Full list of speakers). The 2018 program welcomes two keynotes, among the numerous presentations: 
• Impact of the industry trends on advanced packaging – Jean-Christophe Eloy, President, Yole Group of Companies. Yole Group of Companies includes Yole Développement, System Plus Consulting, KnowMade and PISEO. 
• The industrialization road of innovative Wafer Level Fan-Out technology: eSiFO – Dr. Daquan Yu, VP, Huatian Technology Electronic … And much more. The list of speakers, biographies and abstracts are available on i-micronews.com. To download the PDF version, click Program – Abstracts.

Amongst the numerous sessions of the Advanced Packaging & System Integration Technology, 2018 edition, FOWLP will be deeply covered by a significant list of speakers: Klemens Reitinger, CEO, ERS electronic, Stephen Hiebert, Sr Director of Marketing, KLA-Tencor and David Butler, EVP General Manager, SPTS Technologies. Currently FOWLP is the fastest growing packaging platform and is directly impacted by the megatrends. From mobile to automotive to medical, for both low-end (e.g. audio codecs) and high-end devices (e.g. APU), Yole analyzes daily the technology evolution and market drivers. “Today, cost is still a concern compared to other more mature packaging platforms”, assert Yole’s Sr Analyst, Santosh Kumar (1). Market trends and technical challenges will be detailed in a presentation proposed by Santosh Kumar in the dedicated session. Santosh also recently invited Albert Koller, Head of Advanced Packaging Business Unit at Evatec, to discuss its activities and present its vision of the advanced packaging industry. This interview is available on i-micronews.com, advanced packaging news section.

Dr Cao LiQiang, NCAP’s CEO asserts: “In recent years, many aspects of advanced packaging worldwide remained focused on FI, FO, TSV and WLP… As for China, we have identified major changes to FO technology development and commercialization in the next five years. Potential packaging houses will be established here, in China. NCAP is preparing FI & FO manufacturing mass production, together with our partners of several years…With Yole, NCAP is exploring possible collaborations with worldwide equipment and material suppliers. The symposium is a real opportunity to interact with OSAT and end-users as well. At NCAP, we believe the NCAP- Yole collaboration will positively influence the advanced packaging industry and encourage its development. During the symposium, we especially expect many debates on the numerous challenges facing the domestic packaging materials and equipment market, the 5G requirements, the development of innovative technologies by OSATs and much more.”

The symposium represents an exciting opportunity for advanced packaging companies to expand their activities in China and in all other countries. NCAP and Yole are very enthusiastic about this 2018 edition. Make sure you attend the symposium and book your place immediately on i-micronews.com or click: Registration.
To see the full schedule, please click here: Program.

Technavio’s latest market research report on the global substrate-like PCB market provides an analysis of the most important trends expected to impact the market outlook from 2018-2022. Technavio predicts an emerging trend as a major factor that has the potential to significantly impact the market and contribute to its growth or decline.

The global substrate-like PCB market will grow at a CAGR of over 7% during the forecast period, according to Technavio analysts. A key factor driving the market’s growth is the need for miniaturization and more efficient interconnect solutions. In the recent years, the size of electronic packages has decreased to reduce power consumption and increase the functionality and the number of embedded components. The size of mobile phone PCBs decreased by over 75% between 2004 and 2017, with the inclusion of a growing number of sensors and processors.

In this report, Technavio highlights the increasing outsourcing of activities in the semiconductor industry as one of the key emerging trends in the global substrate-like PCB market:

Increasing outsourcing of activities in the semiconductor industry

Previously, the semiconductor industry was characterized by the presence of companies that designed, fabricated, packaged, and tested ICs in-house. But, at present, most semiconductor companies are going fabless by only designing chips while outsourcing fabrication, packaging, and testing to other companies. An increasing number of semiconductor and electronics manufacturing companies are outsourcing their manufacturing processes to foundries and (semiconductor and testing services) SATS providers.

“Semiconductor vendors that do not own fabrication facilities outsource the expensive process of semiconductor manufacturing to dedicated third-party manufacturers that have large-scale manufacturing plants, thereby cutting down on capital investments, operational costs, and complexity,” says a senior analyst at Technavio for research on semiconductor equipment.

Global substrate-like PCB market segmentation

This market research report segments the global substrate-like PCB market into the following applications (communication and IoT) and key regions (the Americas, APAC, and EMEA).

The communication segment held the largest market share in 2017, accounting for more than 73% of the market. This application segment is expected to demonstrate steady growth during the forecast period.

APAC was the leading region for the global substrate-like PCB market in 2017, accounting for a market share of approximately 85%. The market share of this region is anticipated to increase significantly during the period 2018-2022.

Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) and Xcerra Corporation (NASDAQ:XCRA) today announced they have entered into a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which Cohu will acquire Xcerra for a combination of cash and stock. The acquisition is expected to make Cohu a global leader in semiconductor test, with combined sales for Cohu and Xcerra in excess of $800 million for the last twelve months.

Upon the closing of the transaction, Xcerra shareholders will be entitled to receive $9.00 in cash and 0.2109 of a share of Cohu common stock, subject to the terms of the definitive agreement. Based on the closing price of Cohu common stock as of May 7, 2018, the transaction values Xcerra at $13.92 per share, or approximately $796 million in equity value, with a total enterprise value of approximately $627 million, after excluding Xcerra’s cash and marketable securities net of the debt on its balance sheet as of January 31, 2018. The transaction value represents a premium of 8.4% to Xcerra’s closing price on May 7, 2018, and a premium of 15.4% to Xcerra’s 30-day average closing price.

“This proposed acquisition is a powerful combination of two complementary companies that will accelerate our strategy to diversify our product offerings and strengthen Cohu’s position as a global leader in back-end semiconductor equipment. The depth and breadth of the combined product portfolios, engineering and product development resources, as well as the global customer support platforms will enable us to deliver comprehensive semiconductor back-end solutions that better meet the future needs of our customers,” commented Luis Müller, Cohu’s President and CEO.

Mr. Müller continued, “The acquisition of Xcerra increases our addressable market to approximately $5 billion across handlers, contactors, test and inspection, further strengthening our ability to fully capitalize on the secular growth opportunities in the automotive, IoT, industrial and mobility markets. We are excited to welcome the Xcerra team to Cohu and look forward to an efficient completion of the transaction, with a focus on delivering long-term value to our customers, employees and shareholders.”

Commenting on the proposed acquisition, David Tacelli, Xcerra’s President and CEO, stated, “We are very pleased to be joining forces with Cohu to create a global leader in back-end semiconductor test. Together, we will be an even stronger and more competitive company with far reaching long-term benefits to our customers and employees. I am extremely proud of what the Xcerra team has accomplished over the past several years and look forward to the exciting possibilities we can achieve together with Cohu.”

The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to non-GAAP earnings per share and generate over $20 million of annual run-rate cost synergies within 2 years of closing, excluding stock-based compensation and other charges.

 

Graphene has many properties; it is e.g. an extremely good conductor. But it does not absorb light very well. To remedy this limiting aspect of what is an otherwise amazing material, physicists resort to embedding a sheet of graphene in a flat photonic crystal, which is excellent for controlling the flow of light. The combination endows graphene with substantially enhanced light-absorbing capabilities. In a new study published in EPJ B, Arezou Rashidi and Abdolrahman Namdar from the University of Tabriz, Iran demonstrate that, by altering the temperature in such a hybrid cavity structure, they can tune its capacity for optical absorption. They explain that it is the thermal expansion and thermo-optical effects which give the graphene these optical characteristics. Potential applications include light sensors, ultra-fast lasers, and systems capable of modulating incoming optical beams.

The authors study the light absorption of the material as a function of temperature, the chemical energy potential, the light polarisation and its incidence angles. To do so, they use a modelling method called the transfer matrix method. They find that for normal light incidence, there is enhanced absorption at room temperature, while the absorption peak is shifted toward the red as the temperature increases.

Absorption on the plane of incident angle and wavelength. Credit: Springer

Absorption on the plane of incident angle and wavelength. Credit: Springer

As light comes in at an angle, the authors show that the absorption peaks are sensitive to the incident angles as well as the polarisation state of the light. They also find that by increasing the incident angle, the peak wavelength is shifted toward the blue.

They conclude that the peak wavelength can be controlled by varying either the temperature or incident angle, as well as the chemical energy potential of graphene. This shows that there are a number of tunable features that could be exploited for the design of graphene-based nano-devices, such as temperature-sensitive absorbers and sensors.

SPTS Technologies, an Orbotech company and a supplier of advanced wafer processing solutions for the global semiconductor and related industries, announced today that it has been awarded the coveted Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation 2018. The award recognizes SPTS’s development of novel physical vapor deposition (PVD) process solutions for Fan-Out Wafer Level Packaging (FOWLP) of semiconductor devices. Some of the advanced features and functionality developed for SPTS’s 300mm Sigma®fxP PVD system was made possible with funding assistance from a Welsh Government R&D grant. In addition to assessing the degree of innovation, the judging panel also evaluated SPTS on its corporate responsibility, which included employee affairs, customer and supplier relationships, and its impact on the environment and contribution to society.

“We are extremely proud to be recognized with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation,” stated Kevin Crofton, Corporate Executive Vice President at Orbotech and President of SPTS Technologies. “We provide advanced wafer processing equipment to the world’s leading semiconductor and microelectronics manufacturers, and an ongoing program of research and development coupled with our ability to commercialize our innovation has been key to building and sustaining a profitable business. This award belongs to our entire global organization – from those directly involved in the development of our advanced PVD solutions for the fast growing FOWLP application sector, to those who sold, manufactured, installed and supported the many 300mm Sigma systems that we’ve shipped into our customer base.”

Mr Crofton added, “The success of our wafer processing solutions for advanced packaging is a testament to the quality and competitiveness of UK developed technologies and products in the global markets. We are also very pleased to share credit for this award with the Welsh Government who demonstrated their commitment with the R&D grant that helped fund this and other advanced packaging development programs here at SPTS.”

Economy Secretary, Ken Skates said: “Huge congratulations to SPTS on winning another Queens Award for Enterprise and Innovation. SPTS is a prominent global business in South East Wales and an increasingly successful exporter, and this prestigious award is a well-deserved recognition of the company’s hard work and innovation.”

“The Welsh Government is proud to work with dynamic and forward thinking companies such as SPTS and we are pleased to have supported the company’s project to design and develop advanced packaging processes for semiconductors. There is no doubt that companies like SPTS are increasingly vital to our economy which is why my Economic Action Plan, which was published in December, seeks to support businesses to innovate, introduce new products and services and rise to the challenges of the future.”

The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the UK’s most prestigious business awards, given only to companies or individuals who are outstanding in their field. Previously known as the Queen’s Awards to Industry, the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise were introduced in 1966 to acknowledge businesses with outstanding performance in three categories – International Trade, Innovation and Sustainable Development.  The awards are open to any company operating in the UK and are announced annually on 21 April, The Queen’s birthday.

Technavio market research analysts forecast the global semiconductor assembly and packaging services market to grow at a CAGR of close to 5% during the period 2018-2022, according to their latest report.

In this report, Technavio highlights the advances in wafer size as one of the key emerging trends in the global semiconductor assembly and packaging services market. Since 2010, the semiconductor industry has seen a drastic transition in wafer size. To cut down costs by almost 20%-25%, the industry has shifted to large diameter wafers. Currently, the industry uses 300-mm wafers to manufacture ICs. As companies are investing a substantial amount in the construction and upgrading of fabs to manufacture 300-mm wafers, this trend is expected to continue during the forecast period.

However, the demand for 200-mm wafers will continue during the forecast period because semiconductor devices such as image sensors, microcontrollers, display drivers, and a few MEMS-based products like accelerometers still use 200-mm wafers for manufacturing. At the same time, the industry is planning to develop 450-mm wafer technology, which is expected to start during 2018-2019. This constant change in the wafer size will create the need for assembly and packaging services in the semiconductor industry.

In this report, Technavio analysts highlight the rising number of fabs as a key factor contributing to the growth of the global semiconductor assembly and packaging services market:

Rising number of fabs

Semiconductor fabs manufacture an array of semiconductor devices and components. These components are either designed in-house by IDMs or manufactured as per designs provided by the client to foundries. The need for silicon wafers to manufacture semiconductor components is increasing due to the rising application of these components in various emerging technologies such as IoT and AI. This will increase the need to develop more number of fabs. As the semiconductor foundry market is highly competitive, several companies are building new fabs.

According to a senior analyst at Technavio for semiconductor equipment, “The need for assembly and packaging services required for the timely manufacture of ICs is growing, due to the increasing demand for ICs in various emerging applications such as autonomous cars and robotics. Major foundries have announced various plans of constructing new fabs, which will be operational by 2019 onward.”

Global semiconductor assembly and packaging services market segmentation

This market research report segments the global semiconductor assembly and packaging services market into the following applications, including communication sector, computing and networking sector, industrial and automotive sector, and consumer electronics sector and key regions, including the Americas, APAC, and EMEA.

Of the four major applications, the communication sector held the largest market share in 2017, accounting for nearly 40% of the market. The market share for this application is expected to increase nearly 2% by 2022. The fastest growing application is industrial and automotive sector, which will account for nearly 24% of the total market share by 2022.

APAC was the leading region for the global semiconductor assembly and packaging services market in 2017, accounting for a market share of nearly 76%. By 2022, APAC is expected to continue dominating the market.

SEMI, the industry association representing the global electronics manufacturing supply chain, and TechSearch International today reported that the global semiconductor packaging materials market reached $16.7 billion in 2017. While slower growth of smartphones and personal computers – the industry’s traditional drivers – is reducing material consumption, the slowdown was offset by strong unit growth in the cryptocurrency market in 2017 and early 2018. Flip chip package shipments into the cryptocurrency market, while providing a windfall to many suppliers, are not expected to remain at high levels.

The Global Semiconductor Packaging Materials Outlook shows that, despite growth in automotive electronics and high-performance computing, continuing price pressure and declining material consumption will constrain future material revenue growth to steady single-digits, with the materials market forecast to reach $17.8 billion in 2021. IC leadframes, underfill, and copper wire are among the materials segments that will see single-digit unit volume growth through 2021.

Laminate substrate suppliers participating in the sale of flip chip substrates for cryptocurrency saw volume increases in 2017, but this segment continues to be battered by increased use of multi-die solutions and the shift to wafer level packages (WLPs), including fan-out WLP, slowing growth. Wafer-level packaging (WLP) dielectrics and plating chemistry suppliers will experience stronger revenue growth as the adoption of advanced packaging continues.

Over the next several years, advances in the semiconductor materials market will present a number of opportunities driven by trends including:

  • Continued adoption of FO-WLP including FO-on-substrate solutions with high density geometries down to 2µm lines and spaces
  • Liquid crystal polymer (LCP) under consideration as a possible material option because of its good electrical performance and low moisture absorption, especially for mmWave applications such as 5G
  • Adoption of low-cost package solutions such as MIS and other routable-QFN technologies
  • PPF QFN volumes are rising with automotive applications, driving a requirement for roughened plating to deliver needed reliability
  • Expansion of photoresist plating capability for selective plating of leadframes
  • Thermally enhanced and high-voltage mold compounds for power and automotive devices
  • Thermally conductive die attach materials other than solder die attach for power applications

Report highlights include:

  • Laminate substrates represent the largest revenue segment of the materials market with more than $6 billion in sales for 2017.
  • Overall leadframe shipments are forecast to grow at a 3.9 percent CAGR from 2017 through to 2021, with LFCSP (QFN type) experiencing the strongest unit growth, an 8 percent CAGR.
  • Following five years of decline, gold wire shipments increased in both 2016 and 2017 though represent just 37 percent of the total bonding wire shipments in 2017.
  • Liquid encapsulant revenues totaled $1.3 billion in 2017 with single-digit expected through 2021. LED packaging applications are driving the revenue growth over the forecast period though downward pricing pressures are a constant in the market.
  • Die attach material revenues reached $741 million in 2017 with single digit growth to 2021. DAF materials will experience higher unit growth, though downward pricing trends continue.
  • Solder ball revenues reached $231 million in 2017. The revenue outlook depends on fluctuations in metal pricing.
  • The wafer-level plating chemical market was put at $263 million in 2017 with strong growth through 2021. RDL and Cu pillar will be the key growth segments.

SEMI and TechSearch International, Inc. teamed up again to develop the 8th edition of the Global Semiconductor Packaging Materials Outlook, a comprehensive market research study on the semiconductor packaging materials market. Interviews were conducted with more than 130 semiconductor manufacturers, packaging subcontractors, fabless semiconductor companies, and packaging material suppliers to gather information for the report. The report covers the following semiconductor packaging materials segments: substrates, leadframes, bonding wire, mold compounds, underfill materials, liquid encapsulants, die attach materials, solder balls, wafer level package dielectrics, and wafer-level plating chemicals.

Amkor Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMKR), a provider of semiconductor packaging and test services, today announced that multiple factories have passed certification audits for IATF 16949:2016, a key certification required for manufacturers who supply products to the automotive market. IATF 16949:2016 replaces and supersedes the older ISO/TS 16949 standard.

Included in the list of factories that achieved certification is Amkor’s newest, K5 ― a facility with 2.3 million square feet of floor space located in Incheon, South Korea. K5 combines automation, world class particle control and automotive processes to meet stringent quality and reliability requirements.

“This certification is a testament to Amkor’s significant automotive experience, as well as our exacting quality standards,” said YongChul Park, Amkor’s executive vice president, Worldwide Manufacturing. “Semiconductors are the foundation for automotive electronic systems that help keep passengers connected and safe. Certifying our factories for automotive applications offers significant growth opportunities for Amkor and enables us to deliver the leading-edge solutions our customers and automotive OEMs require.”

Automotive ICs must perform reliably under harsh conditions for extended periods of time. To deliver the durability and accuracy expected by automakers, IC suppliers are required to use specialized packaging techniques with additional process steps and controls. Amkor has factories in several countries that have achieved IATF 16949:2016 certification, including ATK, ATP, ATM, ATT, and ATC; IATF 16949:2016 certifications for J-Devices and Amkor Technology Portugal are in process. For more information, visit https://amkor.com/quality-management/.