Category Archives: Packaging and Testing

In its Mid-Year Update to the 2018 McClean Report, IC Insights updated its forecast of sales growth for each of the 33 major IC product categories defined by WSTS (Figure 1).  IC Insights now projects that seven product categories will exceed the 16% growth rate expected from the total IC market this year. For the second consecutive year, the DRAM market is forecast to top all IC product segments with 39% growth. Overall, 13 product categories are forecast to experience double-digit growth and 28 total IC product categories are expected to post positive growth this year, down slightly from 29 segments in 2017.

Rising average selling prices for DRAM continued to boost the DRAM market through the first half of the year and into August.  However, IC Insights believes the DRAM ASP (and subsequent market growth) is at or near its peak, as a big rise in DRAM capital expenditures for planned capacity upgrades and expansions is likely put the brakes on steep market growth beginning in 2019.

In second place with 29% growth is the Automotive—Special-Purpose Logic market, which is being lifted by the growing number of onboard electronic systems now found on new cars. Backup cameras, blind-spot (lane-departure) detectors, and other “intelligent” systems are mandated or are being added across all new vehicles—entry level to luxury—and are expected to contribute to the semiconductor content per new car growing to more than $540 per vehicle in 2018.

Wireless Comm—Application-Specific Analog is forecast to grow 23% in 2018, as the world becomes increasingly dependent on the Internet and demand for wireless connectivity continues to rise. Similarly, demand for medical/health electronics systems connectivity using the Internet will help the market for Industrial/Other Application-Specific Analog outpace total IC market growth in 2018.

Among the seven categories showing better than total IC market growth this year, three are forecast to be among the largest of all IC product categories in terms of dollar volume. DRAM (#1 with $101.6 billion in sales), NAND Flash (#2 with $62.6 billion), Computer and Peripherals—Special Purpose Logic (#4 with $27.6 billion) prove that big markets can still achieve exceptional percentage growth.

Figure 1

With the MEMS and sensors industry on the cusp of explosive growth, MITRE Corp. cyber security expert Cynthia Wright will urge industry executives to lay the groundwork for securing  hundreds of billions of autonomous mobility devices in her keynote at the 14th annual MEMS & Sensors Executive Congress (October 29-30, 2018 in Napa Valley, Calif.). Wright, a retired military officer with over 25 years of experience in national security and cyber strategy and policy, will highlight the critical importance of device security and privacy in ensuring reliability and end-user safety.

Hosted by MEMS & Sensors Industry Group (MSIG), a SEMI technology community, the event also features DARPA’s Ron Polcawich, who will introduce his agency’s innovation and production program, a government-industry collaboration that aims to dramatically speed design-to-development of MEMS.

Spurred by surging growth in autonomous mobility devices such as smartphones, smart speakers, autonomous cars, and fitness and healthcare wearables, the global market for MEMS and sensors is expected to double in the next five years, reaching $100B by 2023.[1] Featured speakers at MEMS & Sensors Executive Congress will examine the enabling role of MEMS and sensors in these diverse intelligent applications.

  • Autonomous and Electric Cars: What’s in for Conventional MEMS & Sensors? – Jérémie Bouchaud, IHS Markit
  • Status, Challenges and Opportunities of the 2018 MEMS & Sensors Industry – Guillaume Girardin, Yole Développement
  • Smart Ear: Will Innovation Lead to Technology with Human-like Audio Capabilities? – Andreas Kopetz, Infineon Technologies AG
  • Sensors in Food and Agriculture – David Mount, ULVAC
  • Environmental Sensor Systems Enabling Autonomous Mobility – Marcellino Gemelli, Bosch Sensortec
  • It’s Time for Wearables to Revolutionize Healthcare – Craig Easson and Sudir Mulpuru, Maxim Integrated

Special Events

  • Technology Showcase – Finalists will compete for audience votes as they demo their MEMS/sensors-enabled mobility products.
  • Alquimista Cellars Wine Tasting and Dinner on Monday, October 29

MSEC will take place October 29-30, 2018, at the Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa Valley, Calif.

The 35 must-watch technologies represented on the Gartner Inc. Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies, 2018 revealed five distinct emerging technology trends that will blur the lines between humans and machines. Emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), play a critical role in enabling companies to be ubiquitous, always available, and connected to business ecosystems to survive in the near future.

“Business and technology leaders will continue to face rapidly accelerating technology innovation that will profoundly impact the way they engage with their workforce, collaborate with their partners, and create products and services for their customers,” said Mike J. Walker, research vice president at Gartner. “CIOs and technology leaders should always be scanning the market along with assessing and piloting emerging technologies to identify new business opportunities with high impact potential and strategic relevance for their business.”

The Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies report is the longest-running annual Gartner Hype Cycle, providing a cross-industry perspective on the technologies and trends that business strategists, chief innovation officers, R&D leaders, entrepreneurs, global market developers and emerging-technology teams should consider in developing emerging-technology portfolios.

The Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies is unique among most Gartner Hype Cycles because it garners insights from more than 2,000 technologies into a succinct set of 35 emerging technologies and trends. This Hype Cycle specifically focuses on the set of technologies that is showing promise in delivering a high degree of competitive advantage over the next five to 10 years (see Figure 1).

Source: Gartner (August 2018)

Five Emerging Technology Trends

Democratized AI

AI technologies will be virtually everywhere over the next 10 years. While these technologies enable early adopters to adapt to new situations and solve problems that have not been encountered previously, these technologies will become available to the masses — democratized. Movements and trends like cloud computing, the “maker” community and open source will eventually propel AI into everyone’s hands.

This trend is enabled by the following technologies: AI Platform as a Service (PaaS), Artificial General Intelligence, Autonomous Driving (Levels 4 and 5), Autonomous Mobile Robots, Conversational AI Platform, Deep Neural Nets, Flying Autonomous Vehicles, Smart Robots, and Virtual Assistants.

“Technologies representing democratized AI populate three out of five sections on the Hype Cycle, and some of them, such as deep neural nets and virtual assistants, will reach mainstream adoption in the next two to five years,” said Mr. Walker. “Other emerging technologies of that category, such as smart robots or AI PaaS, are also moving rapidly through the Hype Cycle approaching the peak and will soon have crossed it.”

Digitalized Ecosystems

Emerging technologies require revolutionizing the enabling foundations that provide the volume of data needed, advanced compute power and ubiquity-enabling ecosystems. The shift from compartmentalized technical infrastructure to ecosystem-enabling platforms is laying the foundations for entirely new business models that are forming the bridge between humans and technology.

This trend is enabled by the following technologies: Blockchain, Blockchain for Data Security, Digital Twin, IoT Platform and Knowledge Graphs.

“Digitalized ecosystem technologies are making their way to the Hype Cycle fast,” said Walker. “Blockchain and IoT platforms have crossed the peak by now, and we believe that they will reach maturity in the next five to 10 years, with digital twins and knowledge graphs on their heels.”

Do-It-Yourself Biohacking

Over the next decade, humanity will begin its “transhuman” era: Biology can then be hacked, depending on lifestyle, interests and health needs. Biohacking falls into four categories: technology augmentation, nutrigenomics, experimental biology and grinder biohacking. However, questions remain about how far society is prepared to accept these kinds of applications and what ethical issues they create.

This trend is enabled by the following technologies: Biochips, Biotech — Cultured or Artificial Tissue, Brain-Computer Interface, Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality and Smart Fabrics.

Emerging technologies in do-it-yourself biohacking are moving rapidly through the Hype Cycle. Mixed reality is making its way to the Trough of Disillusionment, and augmented reality almost reached the bottom. Those pioneers will be followed by biochips, which have just reached the peak and will have moved on to the plateau in five to 10 years.

Transparently Immersive Experiences

Technology will continue to become more human-centric to the point where it will introduce transparency between people, businesses and things. These technologies extend and enable smarter living, work, and other spaces we encounter.

This trend is enabled by the following technologies: 4D Printing, Connected Home, Edge AI, Self-Healing System Technology, Silicon Anode Batteries, Smart Dust, Smart Workspace and Volumetric Displays.

“Emerging technologies representing transparently immersive experiences are mostly on their way to the peak or — in the case of silicon anode batteries — just crossed it,” said Mr. Walker. “The smart workspace has moved along quite a bit and is about to peak in the near future.”

Ubiquitous Infrastructure

Infrastructure is no longer in the way of obtaining an organization’s goals. The advent and mass popularity of cloud computing and its many variations have enabled an always-on, available and limitless infrastructure compute environment.

This trend is enabled by the following technologies: 5G, Carbon Nanotube, Deep Neural Network ASICs, Neuromorphic Hardware and Quantum Computing.

Technologies supporting ubiquitous infrastructure are on track to reach the peak and move fast along the Hype Cycle. 5G and deep neural network ASICs, in particular, are expected to reach the plateau in the next two to five years.

Gartner clients can read more in the report “Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies, 2018.” This research is part of the Gartner Trend Insight Report, “2018 Hype Cycles: Riding the Innovation Wave”. With profiles of technologies, services and disciplines spanning over 100 Hype Cycles, this Trend Insight Report is designed to help CIOs and IT leaders respond to the opportunities and threats affecting their businesses, take the lead in technology-enabled business innovations and help their organizations define an effective digital business strategy.

Additional analysis on emerging technologies will be presented during Gartner Symposium/ITxpo, the world’s most important gathering of CIOs and other senior IT executives. IT executives rely on these events to gain insight into how their organizations can use IT to overcome business challenges and improve operational efficiency. Follow news and updates from the events on Twitter using #GartnerSYM.

Upcoming dates and locations for Gartner Symposium/ITxpo include:

17-20 September 2018: Cape Town, South Africa

14-18 October 2018: Orlando, Florida

22-25 October 2018: Sao Paulo, Brazil

29 October-1 November 2018: Gold Coast, Australia

4-8 November 2018: Barcelona, Spain

12-14 November 2018: Tokyo, Japan

13-16 November 2018: Goa, India

4-6 March 2019: Dubai, UAE

3-6 June 2019: Toronto, Canada

Global semiconductor industry revenue grew 4.4 percent, quarter over quarter, in the second quarter of 2018, reaching a record $120.8 billion. Semiconductor growth occurred in all application markets and world regions, according to IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO).

“The explosive growth in enterprise and storage drove the market to new heights in the second quarter,” said Ron Ellwanger, senior analyst and component landscape tool manager, IHS Markit. “This growth contributed to record application revenue in data processing and wired communication markets as well as in the microcomponent and memory categories.”

Due to the ongoing growth in the enterprise and storage markets, sequential microcomponent sales grew 6.5 percent in the second quarter, while memory semiconductor revenue increased 6.4 percent. “Broadcom Limited experienced exceptional growth in its wired communication division, due to increased cloud and data-center demand,” Ellwanger said.

Memory component revenue continued to rise in the second quarter, compared to the previous quarter, reaching $42.0 billion dollars. “This is the ninth consecutive quarter of rising revenue from memory components, and growth in the second quarter of 2018 was driven by higher density in enterprise and storage,” Ellwanger said. “This latest uptick comes at a time of softening prices for NAND flash memory. However, more attractive pricing for NAND memory is pushing SSD demand and revenue higher.”

Semiconductor market share

Samsung Electronics continued to lead the overall semiconductor industry in the second quarter with 15.9 percent of the market, followed by Intel at 13.9 percent and SK Hynix at 7.9 percent. Quarter-over-quarter market shares were relatively flat, with no change in the top-three ranking. SK Hynix achieved the highest growth rate and record quarterly sales among the top three companies, recording 16.4 percent growth in the second quarter.

SEMI today announced that all legal requirements have been met for the ESD (Electronic Systems Design) Alliance to become a SEMI Strategic Association Partner.

Full integration of the Redwood City, California-based association representing the semiconductor design ecosystem is expected to be complete by the end of 2018. The integration will extend ESD Alliance’s global reach in the electronics manufacturing supply chain and strengthen engagement and collaboration between the semiconductor design and manufacturing communities worldwide.

As a SEMI Strategic Association Partner, the ESD Alliance will retain its own governance and continue its mission to represent and support companies in the semiconductor design ecosystem.

The ESD Alliance will lead its strategic goals and objectives as part of SEMI, leveraging SEMI’s robust global resources including seven regional offices, expositions and conferences, technology communities and activities in areas such as advocacy, international standards, environment, health and safety (EH&S) and market statistics.

With the integration, SEMI adds the design segment to its electronics manufacturing supply chain scope, connecting the full ecosystem. The integration is a key step in streamlining SEMI members’ collaboration and connection with the electronic system design, IP and fabless communities. The Strategic Association Partnership will also enhance collaboration and innovation across the collective SEMI membership as ESD Alliance members bring key capabilities to SEMI’s vertical application platforms such as Smart Transportation, Smart Manufacturing and Smart Data as well as applications including AI and Machine Learning.

“The addition of ESD Alliance as a SEMI Strategic Association Partner is a milestone in our mission to drive new efficiencies across the full global electronics design and manufacturing supply chain for greater collaboration and innovation,” said Ajit Manocha, president and CEO of SEMI. “This partnership provides opportunities for all SEMI members for accelerated growth and new business opportunities in end-market applications. We welcome ESD Alliance members to the SEMI family.”

“Our members are excited about becoming part of SEMI’s broad community that spans the electronics manufacturing supply chain,” said Bob Smith, executive director of the ESD Alliance. “Global collaboration between design and manufacturing is a requirement for success with today’s complex electronic products. Our new role at SEMI will help develop and strengthen the connections between the design and manufacturing communities.”

All ESD Alliance member companies, including global leaders ARM, Cadence, Mentor, a Siemens business, and Synopsys, will join SEMI’s global membership of more than 2,000 companies while retaining ESD Alliance’s distinct self-governed community within SEMI.

Xperi Corporation announced a partnership with global semiconductor foundry, UMC. This strategic partnership will enable the companies to support the growing demand for Invensas ZiBond and Invensas DBI 3D semiconductor technologies.

Together, Xperi and UMC will further optimize and commercialize the ZiBond and DBI technologies for a wide range of semiconductor devices including image sensors, radio frequency (RF), MEMS, display drivers, touch controllers, SoC, analog, power and mixed-signal devices. Wafer to wafer (W2W) and die to wafer (D2W) bonding and 3D interconnect implementations will be employed to address the requirements of a variety of applications within the mobile, consumer, automotive, communication, industrial and Internet of Things (IoT) industries.

“As a world-leading semiconductor foundry, we are committed to delivering leading-edge solutions to our customers,” said Wenchi Ting, vice president of specialty technologies at UMC. “By partnering with Xperi and the Invensas team, true pioneers in direct and hybrid bonding technologies, we continue to be well-positioned to meet our customers’ evolving requirements for advanced wafer bonding technologies.”

“We are excited to join forces with UMC, a premier global foundry engaged in every major sector of the electronics industry, to expand the production base for our ZiBond and DBI bonding and 3D interconnect platforms,” said Craig Mitchell, president, Invensas. “We look forward to working together to proliferate these enabling technologies into a wide range of high volume semiconductor applications.”

ZiBond is a low temperature homogenous direct bonding technology that forms strong bonds between semiconductor wafers or die with same or different coefficients of thermal expansion. This technology is used in image sensors, MEMS and various RF front-end devices.

DBI is a low temperature hybrid direct bonding technology that allows semiconductor wafers or die to be bonded with exceptionally fine pitch 3D electrical interconnect. This technology is suited for various semiconductor devices such as image sensors, DRAM, MEMS and RF devices.

Products employing these technologies are found in smartphones, tablets, laptops, cameras, televisions and gaming consoles, as well as in industrial, automotive and IoT electronic devices.

TheXcerra MT2168 XT pick-and-place handler was installed for a tri-temp module test application at a major player in global semiconductor manufacturing.  With its innovative features and highly flexible design the MT2168 XT meets the growing demand in high volume production for reliable and cost-efficient tri-temp test handling of multi-chip packages and modules in the automotive and consumer markets.

Today’s available equipment for module test handling are dedicated solutions with low throughput and limited temperature test capabilities. Xcerra’s MT2168 XT addresses the market need for a high volume production test solution for modules.  The MT2168 XT leverages the industry-known tri-temperature expertise of the Xcerra Handler Group specialists and provides advanced technical features of the latest generation of pick-and-place handler.  Additionally, the MT2168 XT is superior to traditional module test solutions when it comes to typical high volume production requirements such as the number of supported binning classes, small footprint, spare part and service support.

The MT2168 XT can be used for handling both package devices and modules.  Xcerra’s module test solution gives customers the greatest flexibility in high volume production with quick and easy change between different package types and different size modules.

Handling and testing modules can be challenging due to the physical dimensions and heterogeneous architecture of modules. The MT2168 XT independent plunger force and temperature control provides better ability to handle modules and precisely control power dissipation for high test yield.

Integrating contacting solutions from Xcerra’s Interface Product Group can be an additional advantage for module testing.  Extensive understanding of test contacting is beneficial for complex modules of different shapes and sizes.

Dr. Laurie Wright, Director Global Business Development, explains: “There is a growing demand in the semiconductor market for module test handling as customers seek to deliver greater value to their end customers.  The MT2168 XT brings the advantages from high volume package test to module test. Customers will benefit from this highly flexible and reliable tri-temperature test solution that can address a wide range of their high volume production requirements.”

To learn more about the Xcerra MT2168, please visit www.xcerra.com/MT2168.

Park Systems announced the opening of the Park Nanoscience Lab at the prestigious Indian Institute of Science (IISC) Bangalore India, which has been upgraded to the status of Institute of Eminence.

The Nanoscience Lab will be equipped with Park NX20 AFM at the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering (CeNSE) and will hold workshops and symposiums on the latest advancements in nanometrology and offer researchers a chance to experience the latest in AFM technology.

The official inauguration ceremony of the Park Nanoscience Lab in India will be held on Wednesday July 25, 2018 at 10 AM featuring a talk by Dr. San Joon Cho of Park Systems Corporation,who will make an official presentation, declaring the Park NanoScience Lab, a national facility where researchers will have access to Park Systems cutting-edge Atomic Force Microscopes with high resolution nanoscale imaging.The event will also include an AFM live demonstration and is open to the press and public. To register to attend go to: http://www.parksystems.com/iisc

“We are honored to have the Park Nanoscience Lab here at Indian Institute of Science,” The Director, CeNSE- Indian Institute of Science further added, “The partnership with Park Systems and their Atomic Force Microscope technology strengthens our academic and scientific community by bringing an exciting new research tool to a shared access location, supporting the growing demand for nanotechnology here in India.”

The Park Nanoscience Labwill showcase advanced atomic force microscopy systems, demonstrate a wide variety of applications ranging from materials, to chemical and biological to semiconductor and devices, and provide hands on experience, training and service, year-round.

“Increasingly, AFM is being selected for Nanotechnology research over other metrology techniques due to its non-destructive measurement and sub-nanometer accuracy,” states Dr. Sang-il Park, Park Systems Chairman and CEO. “The new Park Nanoscience Lab at Indian Institute is a tremendous step forward for researchers in India who work in the advancing fields of nano science and technology.”

Park Systems advanced AFM platform includes SmartScan, an innovative and pioneering AFM intelligence that produces high quality imaging with very few clicks. Park SmartScan’s unique design opens up the power of AFM to everyone and drastically boosts the productivity of all users.

Since going public and listing on KOSDAQ in 2016, Park Systems’ stock has quadrupled as they continue to lead the world in growing AFM market share. Park Systems, a global AFM manufacturer, has Nanoscience Centers in key cities world-wide including Santa Clara, CA, Albany NY, Tokyo, Japan, Singapore, Heidelberg, Germany, Suwon and Seoul.

Boston Semi Equipment (BSE), a global semiconductor test handler manufacturer and provider of test automation technical services, introduced today its Zeus gravity feed solution for handling pressure MEMS devices that require pressure and vacuum stimulus during testing. The system is an enhanced capability for BSE’s existing pressure MEMS handling solution and enables MEMS test cells to apply pressure and vacuum in a single test cycle.

“Our innovative design for applying a pressure stimulus to devices under test enabled us to easily integrate a vacuum stimulus,” said Kevin Brennan, vice president of marketing for BSE. “This solution is unique in the industry. Our customers can already test MEMS devices faster using the Zeus handler, and now they can test with both vacuum and pressure stimuli in a single pass through the handler. This capability is a significant boost to productivity, making Zeus-based MEMS test cells a highly cost-effective solution for pressure MEMS testing.”

The Zeus is a tri-temperature handler that can be configured with up to eight test sites. Cold temperature testing is achieved using LN2 or a BSE-designed, two-stage chiller, the MR2. The Zeus offers the features and performance needed by today’s test cells at a more affordable price point.

Bruker Corporation today announced that it has acquired JPK Instruments AG (JPK), located in Berlin, Germany. In 2017, JPK Instruments had revenue of approximately 10 million Euro. JPK provides microscopy instrumentation for biomolecular and cellular imaging, as well as force measurements on single molecules, cells and tissues. JPK adds in-depth expertise in live-cell imaging, cellular mechanics, adhesion, and molecular force measurements, optical trapping, and biological stimulus-response characterization to Bruker. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Over the past five years, Bruker has developed a life science microscopy business that specializes in advanced technologies for neuroscience, live-cell imaging, and molecular imaging, which will be further augmented by JPK’s advanced technologies and applications. Bruker’s existing fluorescence microscopy techniques include performance-leading multiphoton microscopy, swept-field confocal microscopy, super-resolution microscopy, and single-plane illumination microscopy.

“We have been making a substantial investment in advanced technologies for life science imaging, and have built up a portfolio of fluorescence microscopy products that enable biologists in research areas that require deep, fast imaging at high resolution and at low phototoxicity,” commented Dr. Mark R. Munch, President of the Bruker NANO Group. “JPK’s products and applications capabilities nicely augment our current techniques.”

Anthony Finbow, Chairman at JPK, added: “The combination of these two businesses will enable further significant advances in life science imaging and drive the state of the industry. I am delighted that we have been able to achieve this result for JPK and for Bruker.”

“The business we have built aligns well with the new strategic direction of Bruker in life science microscopy, and we are very pleased to join them,” said Dr. Torsten Jaehnke, a JPK founder and CTO. “We plan to realize a number of valuable synergies going forward.”

JPK’s BioAFM and optical tweezer product families span a range of techniques, from imaging of biological samples to characterizing biomolecular and cellular force interactions. Its NanoWizard 4 BioScience AFM combines atomic force imaging with advanced optical fluorescence imaging and super-resolution microscopy for the ultimate combination in image resolution for molecules, membranes, and live cells. In addition, the ForceRobot enables single-molecule force spectroscopy for investigating receptor-ligand interactions or small molecule-protein binding interactions. The CellHesion product brings quantitative force measurement to live cells and tissues, enabling insights in cell-substrate and cell-cell interactions. Lastly, JPK’s NanoTracker optical tweezer provides an all-optical means for molecular and cellular force experiments.

JPK’s offerings and life science applications expertise are synergistic with Bruker’s existing portfolio of advanced fluorescence microscopy products. Bruker’s Ultima family of multiphoton microscopes features proprietary photoactivation and photostimulation capabilities and deeper penetration into biological tissues, enabling advanced brain slice and intra-vital studies. Bruker’s Opterra swept-field scanning confocal fluorescence microscope provides unique live-cell imaging capabilities with unsurpassed dynamic observation of fast cellular events. Additionally, the Vutara super-resolution single-molecule localization (SML) microscope utilizes patented Biplane Imaging technology to provide high-speed, 3D super resolution for multicolor live-cell imaging and visualization of chromosome conformation. With a leading series of single plane illumination products, such as the MuVi SPIM and InVi SPIM, Bruker offers unique performance and easiest-to-use light sheet instruments featuring the combination of low phototoxicity and high-speed imaging. The combined microscopy portfolio of the two companies will enable a unique range of correlative measurements for emerging life science applications.