Category Archives: Metrology

By Emmy Yi, SEMI Taiwan 

Driven by emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning and big data, the digital transformation has become an irreversible trend for the electronics manufacturing industry. The global market for smart manufacturing and smart factory technologies is expected to reach US$250 billion in 2018.

“The semiconductor manufacturing process has reached its downscaling limit, making outstanding manufacturing capabilities indispensable for corporations to stay competitive,” said Ana Li, Director of Outreach and Member Service at SEMI. “Advances in cloud computing, data processing, and system integration technologies will be key to driving the broad adoption of smart manufacturing.”

ompany representatives shared insights and successes in manufacturing digitalization.

ompany representatives shared insights and successes in manufacturing digitalization.

To help semiconductor manufacturing companies navigate the digital transformation, SEMI recently held the AI and Smart Manufacturing Forum, a gathering of industry professionals from Microsoft, Stark Technology, Advantech, ISCOM, and Tectura to examine technology trends and smart manufacturing opportunities and challenges. The nearly 100 guests at the forum also included industry veterans from TSMC, ASE, Siliconware, Micron, and AUO. Following are key takeaways from the forum:

1)    Smart manufacturing is the key for digital transformation
Industry 4.0 is all about using automation to better understand customer needs and help drive efficiency improvements that enable better strategic manufacturing decisions. For electronics manufacturers, thriving in the digital transformation should begin with research and development focused on optimizing processes, developing innovative business models, and analyzing data in ways that support their customers’ business values and objectives. Digitization is also crucial for manufacturers to target the right client base, increase productivity, optimize operations and create new revenue opportunities.

2)    Powerful data analysis capabilities will enable manufacturing digitalization

As product development focuses more on smaller production volumes, companies need a powerful data analysis software to accelerate decision-making and problem-solving processes, enhance integration across different types of equipment, and improve management efficiency across enterprise resources including business operations, marketing, and customer service.

3)    The digital transformation will fuel revenue growth
Connectivity and data analysis, the two essential concepts of smart manufacturing, are not only essential for companies to improve facility management efficiency and production line planning but also key for maintaining healthy revenue growth.

“With our more than 130 semiconductor manufacturers and long fab history, Taiwan is in a strong position to help the industry evolve manufacturing to support the explosion of new data-intensive technologies,” said Chen-Wei Chiang, the Senior Specialist at the Taichung City Government’s Economic Development Bureau. “We look forward to working with SEMI to help manufacturers realize the full potential of smart manufacturing.”

With the advent of new data-intensive technologies including AI and IoT, advanced manufacturing processes that improve product yield rates and reduce production costs will become even more important for manufacturers to remain competitive. SEMI Taiwan will continue to assemble representatives from the industry, government, academia and research to examine critical topics in smart manufacturing. To learn more, please contact Emmy Yi, SEMI Taiwan, at
[email protected] or +886.3.560.1777 #205.

 

SEMICON Korea 2018 opens at COEX in Seoul today with its largest-ever exhibition and an expected 50,000 attendees at the premier event for the Korean semiconductor and electronics manufacturing supply chain. January 31 to February 2, SEMICON Korea features a sold-out exhibition with 1,913 booths, the most in its history, 436 exhibitors from 20 countries, and forums on Smart Manufacturing and Smart Automotive, two key industry growth drivers.

SEMICON Korea kicks off with Korea, logging the highest semiconductor capital expenditures of any region in 2017, at the top of the semiconductor market. Last year, Korea-based Samsung and SK Hynix were ranked the number one and three semiconductor suppliers, respectively, and together accounted for more than 20 percent of total semiconductor revenue. Additionally, Samsung’s semiconductor investment totaled $27 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $28 billion in 2018 – both records.

In a SEMICON Korea press conference this morning, SEMI, the global industry association representing more than 2,000 companies in the electronics manufacturing supply chain and organizer of the event, reported that strong semiconductor industry growth will continue. Dan Tracy, Senior Director Industry Research & Statistics of SEMI, revealed that2017 was a record-setting year with semiconductor revenues increasing more than 20 percent and equipment spending over 30 percent. Positive growth is expected in 2018, with high-performance computing, Internet of Things (IoT) and automotive as key drivers. In 2018, the Korea market is expected to win the largest share in equipment spending and remain the largest region in terms of installed 300mm capacity and memory production.

Highlights of SEMICON Korea:

  • At today’s opening ceremony, Ajit Manocha, SEMI president of CEO, and Yong-Han Lee, member of SEMI’s Board of Directors, will address the gathering before joining HD Cho, President of SEMI Korea; HK Kang, Chairman of SEMICON Korea STS Committee; Tetsuo Tuneishi, Chairman of SEMI Board; and Korean industry leaders to cut the ceremonial ribbon.
  • Four industry thought leaders – from Samsung Electronics, IBM, Xilinx and imec – will present keynote insights on the future of the global semiconductor industry, immediately following the opening ceremony.
  • SMART Automotive Forum – New at SEMICON Korea this year is the Smart Automotive Forum, highlighting the new market opportunities for semiconductors. The forum will explore how smart automobiles are changing the driving experience and examine how chips will power connected cars and autonomous driving systems. Close collaboration with semiconductor manufacturers is essential as automobile manufacturers expect to introduce fully autonomous cars before 2030.
  • SMART Manufacturing Forum – Top experts will share their insights on the latest trends and emerging technologies in Smart Manufacturing areas such as IoT, Cloud Computing, Big Data, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The experts will also examine how the industry can realize the promise of Smart Manufacturing through the adoption of new methods, systems and solutions.
  • The Industry Leadership Dinner, an exclusive VIP networking event tonight, will gather more than 450 global industry executives to connect and build relationships.
  • Through the Supplier Search Program, expanded this year to 90 meetings, eight of the world’s leading companies (Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Intel, Micron, SONY, Toshiba and Lam Research) will look for new suppliers.
  • SEMICON Korea attracts top companies to connect with customers and decision makers and to demonstrate product and technology leadership. The exposition includes deep technical networking and business programs that give insight into the full Korean electronics manufacturing ecosystem.

SEMICON Korea 2018 is the leading semiconductor technology event for market trends and breaking technology developments, featuring technical forums, business programs and standards activities. The event is an opportunity to meet and learn from more 100 global experts.

 

efabless corporation, the world’s first crowd sourcing platform for electronics solutions, today announced Mike Noonen joined its advisory board.

Noonen, a creative entrepreneur well-known throughout the semiconductor industry, will work with efabless management to help shape and refine the commercialization strategy for its platform and marketplace. “Mike shares the efabless vision of a connected community and marketplace that will bring open innovation to electronics and enable custom solutions for IoT devices,” says Mike Wishart, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of efabless.

“Mike was instrumental in kicking off the successful efabless and Dialog Semiconductor Go Configure Design Challenge Series where the global community created designs for Dialog’s unique Configurable Mixed Signal IC,” adds Mohamed Kassem, efabless co-founder and chief technical officer. “We are thrilled that he has joined our advisory board,”

“efabless brings the proven benefits of crowd sourcing and connected community to the semiconductor industry, something that is welcome and long overdue,” notes Noonen. “It’s only a matter of time before the global efabless on-line community invigorates innovation and opens large new market opportunities. I am excited and delighted to be part of it.”

In addition to efabless, Noonen currently serves as an advisor or a member of the board of directors for a range of companies, including Maja Systems, Mythic AI, Qromis Technology and LocatorX.

Most recently, he was vice president of sales, marketing and business development for Silego Technology, now Dialog Semiconductor, and Ambiq Micro’s CEO and a member of the board directors. Noonen was founder and chairman of Silicon Catalyst, the world’s first incubator for semiconductor start-ups. At GLOBALFOUNDRIES, Noonen was executive vice president of global products, quality, design, sales and marketing. While at GLOBALFOUNDRIES, he was elected to the Global Semiconductor Alliance Board of Directors.

Prior experience includes senior executive positions at NXP Semiconductors, National Semiconductor (now Texas Instruments), Cisco Systems and 8×8. He began his career as a field applications engineer teaching mixed-signal IC design at NCR Microelectronics.

Noonen was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colo., and serves on its College of Engineering Advisory Board. In 2012, he was named the College of Engineering Distinguished Alumni of the Year.

 

The research team that announced the first optical rectenna in 2015 is now reporting a two-fold efficiency improvement in the devices — and a switch to air-stable diode materials. The improvements could allow the rectennas – which convert electromagnetic fields at optical frequencies directly to electrical current – to operate low-power devices such as temperature sensors.

Ultimately, the researchers believe their device design – a combination of a carbon nanotube antenna and diode rectifier – could compete with conventional photovoltaic technologies for producing electricity from sunlight and other sources. The same technology used in the rectennas could also directly convert thermal energy to electricity.

Georgia Tech researchers have developed a new higher efficiency rectenna design. Here, the device’s ability to convert blue light to electricity is tested. (Credit: Christopher Moore, Georgia Tech)

Georgia Tech researchers have developed a new higher efficiency rectenna design. Here, the device’s ability to convert blue light to electricity is tested. (Credit: Christopher Moore, Georgia Tech)

“This work takes a significant leap forward in both fundamental understanding and practical efficiency for the optical rectenna device,” said Baratunde Cola, an associate professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “It opens up this technology to many more researchers who can join forces with us to advance the optical rectenna technology to help power a range of applications, including space flight.”

The research was reported January 26 in the journal Advanced Electronic Materials. The work has been supported by the U.S. Army Research Office under the Young Investigator Program, and by the National Science Foundation.

Optical rectennas operate by coupling the light’s electromagnetic field to an antenna, in this case an array of multiwall carbon nanotubes whose ends have been opened. The electromagnetic field creates an oscillation in the antenna, producing an alternating flow of electrons. When the electron flow reaches a peak at one end of the antenna, the diode closes, trapping the electrons, then re-opens to capture the next oscillation, creating a current flow.

The switching must occur at terahertz frequencies to match the light. The junction between the antenna and diode must provide minimal resistance to electrons flowing through it while open, yet prevent leakage while closed.

“The name of the game is maximizing the number of electrons that get excited in the carbon nanotube, and then having a switch that is fast enough to capture them at their peak,” Cola explained. “The faster you switch, the more electrons you can catch on one side of the oscillation.”

To provide a low work function – ease of electron flow – the researchers initially used calcium as the metal in their oxide insulator – metal diode junction. But calcium breaks down rapidly in air, meaning the device had to be encapsulated during operation – and fabricated in a glovebox. That made the optical rectenna both impractical for most applications and difficult to fabricate.

So Cola, NSF Graduate Research Fellow Erik Anderson and Research Engineer Thomas Bougher replaced the calcium with aluminum and tried a variety of oxide materials on the carbon nanotubes before settling on a bilayer material composed of alumina (Al2O3) and hafnium dioxide (HfO2). The combination coating for the carbon nanotube junction, created through an atomic deposition process, provides the quantum mechanical electron tunneling properties required by engineering the oxide electronic properties instead of the metals, which allows air stable metals with higher work functions than calcium to be used.

Rectennas fabricated with the new combination have remained functional for as long as a year. Other metal oxides could also be used, Cola said.

The researchers also engineered the slope of the hill down which the electrons fall in the tunneling process. That also helped increase the efficiency, and allows the use of a variety of oxide materials. The new design also increased the asymmetry of the diodes, which boosted efficiency.

“By working with the oxide electron affinity, we were able to increase the asymmetry by more than ten-fold, making this diode design more attractive,” said Cola. “That’s really where we got the efficiency gain in this new version of the device.”

Optical rectennas could theoretically compete with photovoltaic materials for converting sunlight into electricity. PV materials operate using a different principle, in which photons knock electrons from the atoms of certain materials. The electrons are collected into electrical current.

In September 2015 in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, Cola and Bougher reported the first optical rectenna – a device that had been proposed theoretically for more than 40 years, but never demonstrated.

The early version reported in the journal produced power at microvolt levels. The rectenna now produces power in the millivolt range and conversion efficiency has gone from 10-5 to 10-3 – still very low, but a significant gain.

“Though there still is room for significant improvement, this puts the voltage in the range where you could see optical rectennas operating low-power sensors,” Cola said. “There are a lot of device geometry steps you could take to do something useful with the optical rectenna today in voltage-driven devices that don’t require significant current.”

Cola believes the rectennas could be useful for powering internet of things devices, especially if they can be used to produce electricity from scavenged thermal energy. For converting heat to electricity, the principle is the same as for light – capturing oscillations in a field with the broadband carbon nanotube antenna.

“People have been excited about thermoelectric generators, but there are many limitations on getting a system that works effectively,” he said. “We believe that the rectenna technology will be the best approach for harvesting heat economically.”

In future work, the research team hopes to optimize the antenna operation, and improve their theoretical understanding of how the rectenna works, allowing further optimization. One day, Cola hopes the devices will help accelerate space travel, producing power for electric thrusters that will boost spacecraft.

“Our end game is to see carbon nanotube optical rectennas working on Mars and in the spacecraft that takes us to Mars,” he said.

This work was supported by the Army Research Office under the Young Investigator Program agreement W911NF-13-1-0491 and the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship program under grant DGE-1650044. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsoring organizations.

SEMI, the global industry association representing the electronics manufacturing supply chain, today announced an urgent call to action to overcome the pressing semiconductor industry challenge of recruiting new talent. In a letter to the CEOs of more than 2,000 global SEMI member companies, Ajit Manocha, SEMI’s president and CEO, called on the executives to act together to attract workers and develop the workforce vital to industry growth.

New talent is key to sustaining robust growth that has broken all semiconductor industry records. Industry analysts at SEMI’s Industry Strategy Symposium (ISS) last week reported that semiconductor device (chip) revenues jumped 22 percent for the year to nearly $450 billion.  Semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales rose 36 percent and, with materials, topped $104 billion.  In 2018, chip revenues are forecast to increase 7 percent and semiconductor equipment more than 11 percent.

“Talent has become a pinch point,” Manocha said. “In Silicon Valley alone, SEMI member companies have thousands of open positions. Globally there are more than 10,000 open positions.  Attracting new candidates and developing a global work force are critical to sustain the pace of innovation and growth. If we do not act together quickly, we will choke our own growth.”

SEMI recently developed a comprehensive roadmap to attract and develop talent across regional, diversity and skill set needs. Manocha’s letter urges SEMI member CEOs to support a collective workforce development roadmap aimed at building and sustaining a talent pipeline for SEMI’s global membership. Workforce development is a pillar of SEMI 2.0, outlined in Manocha’s recent article Work to Do to Keep the Good Times Rolling.

As part of its workforce development initiatives, over the past 17 years SEMI has delivered a hands-on, STEM-based career exploration program to encourage high-school students to pursue STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) educations and careers. Through its award-winning High Tech U (HTU), SEMI has touched more than 6,000 high school students at SEMI member industry facilities in 11 U.S. states and nine countries. Over 70 percent of high school students attending HTU have pursued STEM educations and careers.

Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ:LRCX), a global supplier of advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment, today announced the promotion of Tim Archer to the position of president, effective immediately. Mr. Archer will continue to serve as chief operating officer of the company, a position he has held since June 2012. Martin Anstice, Lam’s chief executive officer and current president, will continue as CEO.

“Tim has played a key role in leading the company through a period of transformational growth,” said Mr. Anstice. “The promotion to president is a natural evolution which recognizes Tim’s significant leadership to the success of Lam Research and the high-quality and complementary partnership that we share. It is wonderful to recognize his contributions and potential in the Office of the CEO with me; we have the privilege of working alongside an outstanding global leadership community at Lam.”

Mr. Archer was appointed chief operating officer of Lam Research in June 2012 when the company completed its acquisition of Novellus Systems, Inc. Mr. Archer was previously the chief operating officer of Novellus. He joined Novellus in 1994 and held a number of positions at that company, including executive vice president of Sales, Marketing, and Customer Satisfaction; executive vice president of the PECVD and Electrofill Business Units; and senior director of technology for Novellus Systems Japan.

As president and COO, Mr. Archer will focus on driving the operational priorities of the organization and be accountable for delivery of results across the entire company. His key focus will include ensuring that Lam continues to deliver enabling products and services to customers in a differentiated manner.  As CEO, Mr. Anstice will continue to focus on the strategic agenda and have comprehensive engagement with the full community of stakeholders, including customers, employees, suppliers, partners, and investors.

By Jay Chittooran, Manager, Public Policy, SEMI

International trade is one of the best tools to spur growth and create high-skill and high-paying jobs. Over 40 million American jobs rely on trade, and this is particularly true in the semiconductor supply chain. Over the past three decades, the semiconductor industry has averaged nearly double-digit growth rates in revenue and, by 2030, the semiconductor supply chain is forecast to reach $1 trillion. Trade paves the way for this growth.

Unfortunately, despite its importance to the industry, trade has been transformed from an economic issue into a political one, raising many new trade challenges to companies throughout the semiconductor industry.

GHz-ChinaChina’s investments in the industry will continue to anchor the country as a major force in the semiconductor supply chain. China’s outsized spending has spawned concern among other countries about the implications of these investments. According to SEMI’s World Fab Forecast, 20 fabs are being built in China – and construction on 14 more is rumored to begin in the near term – compared to the 10 fabs under construction in the rest of the world. China is clearly outpacing the pack.

The Trump Administration has levied intense criticism of China, citing unfair trade practices, especially related to intellectual property issues. The U.S. Trade Representative has launched a Section 301 investigation into whether China’s practice of forced technology transfer has discriminated against U.S. consumers. Even as the probe unfolds, expectations are growing that the United States will take action against China, raising fears of not only possible retaliation in time but rising animosity between two trading partners that rely deeply on each other.

A number of other open investigations also cloud the future. The Administration launched two separate Section 232 investigations into steel and aluminum industry practices by China, claiming Chinese overproduction of both items are a threat to national security. The findings from these investigations will be submitted to the President, who, in the coming weeks, will decide an appropriate response, which could include imposing tariffs and quotas.

Another high priority area is Korea. While U.S. threats to withdraw from the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) reached a fever pitch in August, rhetoric has since tempered. Informal discussions between the countries on how best to amend the trade deal are ongoing. The number of KORUS implementation issues aside, continued engagement with Korea – instead of scrapping a comprehensive, bilateral trade deal – will be critically important for the industry.

Lastly, negotiations to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will continue this year. The United States wants to conclude talks by the end of March, but with the deadline fast approaching and the promise of resolution waning, tensions are running high. Notably, the outcome of the NAFTA talks will inform and set the tone for other trade action.

What’s more, a number of other actions on trade will take place this year. As we wrote recently, Congress has moved to reform the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a government body designed to review sales and transfer of ownership of U.S. companies to foreign entities. Efforts have also started to revise the export control regime – a key component to improving global market access and making international trade more equitable.

SEMI will continue its work on behalf of its members around the globe to open up new markets and lessen the burden of regulations on cross-border trade and commerce. In addition, SEMI will continue to educate policymakers on the critical importance of unobstructed trade in continuing to push the rapid advance of semiconductors and the emerging technologies they enable into the future. If you are interested in more information on trade, or how to be involved in SEMI’s public policy program, please contact Jay Chittooran, Manager, Public Policy, at [email protected].

Year End Wow!


January 24, 2018

By Walt Custer, Custer Consulting Group

Strong year-end 2017 electronic equipment sales

2017 ended on a high note from an end market perspective thanks to:

  • Geographically broad economic strength and new products
  • Record high December electronic equipment production and shipments in China/Taiwan
  • Peak electronic equipment production in the Eurozone in November
  • A 4Q upturn in U.S. bookings and shipments of electronic equipment

Custer1-World-Electronic-Equipment-Monthly-Shipments

Based upon preliminary data, mobile phones including the Apple iPhone X were major contributors to the fourth-quarter 2017 strength in Asia/Pacific. Foxconn registered all-time record sales in December.

By comparison, personal computer sales were flat when adjusted for normal seasonality.

Early information indicates that December global equipment revenues were up almost 24 percent over December 2016 and up 3 percent sequentially over November 2017.

Resilient semiconductor supply chain

Semiconductors and SEMI equipment have a strong growth in this current business cycle (Chart 2), mainly due to strong memory demand and price increases for chips, and also robust capital equipment spending to increase memory chip capacity.

Custer2-World-Semiconductor-SEMI-Equipement-Shipments

 

By November this sales growth appeared to be plateauing (but at record levels).

On a 3/12 basis (Chart 3) world growth was:

Semiconductors +21.5% November
SEMI equipment +28.4% November
Taiwan Chip Foundries +6.1% December
Electronic Equipment +4.9% September

Custer3-Supply-Chain-Dynamics
Despite a likely moderation of the current SEMI equipment and chip growth rates, this current business cycle has been robust and prolonged. End market electronic equipment demand remains strong and new volume markets are emerging. However SEMI equipment and semiconductor sales are much more volatile than electronic equipment, so the current landscape could change quickly.

Looking forward

The global PMI is an excellent short-term leading indicator. It was at an all-time record high in December, pointing to an unseasonably strong first quarter of 2018. Keep watching the business cycles for any signs of abrupt change. Currently we are on a high plateau but conditions could change quickly.

Custer4-Purchasing-Managers-Index

Originally published on the SEMI blog.

North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $2.39 billion in billings worldwide in December 2017 (three-month average basis), according to the November Equipment Market Data Subscription (EMDS) Billings Report published today by SEMI.  The billings figure is 16.3 percent higher than the final November 2017 level of $2.05 billion, and is 27.7 percent higher than the December 2016 billings level of $1.87 billion.

“December 2017 monthly billings for North American equipment manufacturers ended the year at the highest levels in this record-breaking year,” said Ajit Manocha, president and CEO of SEMI. “For 2017, total billings for North American equipment companies soared over 40 percent compared to 2016.”

The SEMI Billings report uses three-month moving averages of worldwide billings for North American-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers. Billings figures are in millions of U.S. dollars.

Billings
(3-mo. avg)
Year-Over-Year
July 2017
$2,269.7
32.9%
August 2017
$2,181.8
27.7%
September 2017
$2,054.8
37.6%
October 2017
$2,019.3
23.9%
November 2017 (final)
$2,052.3
27.2%
December 2017 (prelim)
$2,387.8
27.7%

Source: SEMI (www.semi.org), January 2018

SEMI publishes a monthly North American Billings report and issues the Worldwide Semiconductor Equipment Market Statistics (WWSEMS) report in collaboration with the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ). The WWSEMS report currently reports billings by 24 equipment segments and by seven end market regions. SEMI also has a long history of tracking semiconductor industry fab investments in detail on a company-by-company and fab-by-fab basis in its World Fab Forecast and SEMI FabView databases.

 

Worldwide semiconductor revenue is forecast to total $451 billion in 2018, an increase of 7.5 percent from $419 billion in 2017, according to Gartner, Inc. This represents a near doubling of Gartner’s previous estimate of 4 percent growth for 2018.

“Favorable market conditions for memory sectors that gained momentum in the second half of 2016 prevailed through 2017 and look set to continue in 2018, providing a significant boost to semiconductor revenue,” said Ben Lee, principal research analyst at Gartner. “Gartner has increased the outlook for 2018 by $23.6 billion compared with the previous forecast, of which the memory market accounts for $19.5 billion. Price increases for both DRAM and NAND flash memory are raising the outlook for the overall semiconductor market.”

However, these price increases will put pressure on margins for system vendors of key semiconductor demand drivers, including smartphones, PCs and servers. Gartner predicts that component shortages, a rising bill of materials (BOM) and the resulting prospect of having to raise average selling prices (ASPs) will create a volatile market through 2018.

Despite the upward revision for 2018, the quarterly growth profile for 2018 is expected to fall back to a more normal pattern with a mid-single-digit sequential decline in the first quarter of the year, followed by a recovery and buildup in both the second and third quarters of 2018, and a slight decline in the fourth quarter.

On January 3, a security vulnerability that spans all microprocessor vendors was revealed, impacting nearly all types of personal and data center computing devices. While this is an obscure security vulnerability that is difficult to achieve, the potential of a high-impact security issue cannot be ignored and must be mitigated.

“The current mitigation solution is via firmware and software updates, and has a potential processor performance impact. This may result in an increased demand for high-performance data center processors in the short term, but Gartner expects that in the longer term, microprocessor architectures will be redesigned, reducing the performance impact of the software mitigations and limiting the long-term forecast impact,” said Alan Priestley, research director at Gartner.

Taking the memory sectors out of the equation, the semiconductor market is forecast to grow 4.6 percent in 2018 (compared with 9.4 percent in 2017) with field-programmable gate array (FPGA), optoelectronics, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and nonoptical sensors leading the semiconductor device categories.

The other significant device category driving the 2018 forecast higher is application-specific standard products (ASSPs). The predicted growth in ASSPs was influenced by an improved outlook for graphics cards used in gaming PCs and high-performance computing applications, a broad increase in automotive content and a stronger wired communications forecast.

The mixed fortunes of semiconductor vendors in recent years serves as a reminder of the fickleness of the memory market,” said Mr. Lee. “After growing by 22.2 percent in 2017, worldwide semiconductor revenue will revert back to single-figure growth in 2018 before a correction in the memory market results in revenue declining slightly in 2019.”