Category Archives: Packaging

The SiC power market is now on the road, asserts Yole Développement (Yole). Therefore, since 2017, the market research and strategy consulting company identified more than 20 strategic announcements, showing the dynamism of this market and attractiveness of the technology. Rohm, Bombardier, Cree, SDK, STMicroelectronics, Infineon Technologies, Littelfuse, Ascatron and more are part of the powerful ecosystem, presenting innovative products and revealing key partnerships and/or M&A .

Today, SiC transistors are clearly being adopted, penetrating smoothly into different applications. Yole’s analysts forecast a US$1.4 billion SiC power semiconductor market by 2023. According to the Power & Wireless team at Yole, this market is showing a 29% CAGR between 2017 and 2023.
Power SiC report, 2018 edition presents Yole’s deep understanding of SiC penetration in different applications including xEV, xEV charging infrastructure, PFC/power supply, PV, UPS, motor drives, wind and rail. In addition, it highlights the state-of-the-art SiC-based devices, modules, and power stacks. Yole’s analysts also describe the SiC power industrial landscape from materials to systems, and analyze of SiC power market dynamics. This report proposes a detailed quantification of the SiC power device market until 2023, in value and volume.

SiC adoption is accelerating: is the supply chain ready? Yole’s analysts reveal today their vision of the SiC industry.

SiC market is still being driven by diodes used in PFC and PV applications. However Yole expects that in five years from now the main SiC device market driver will be transistors, with an impressive 50% CAGR for 2017-2023.

This adoption is partially thanks to the improvement of the transistor performance and reliability compared to the first generation of products, which gives confidence to customers for implementation.

Another key trend revealed by Yole’s analysts is the SiC adoption by automotive players, over the next 5-10 years. “Its implementation rate differs depending on where SiC is being used,” comments Dr. Hong Lin, Technology and Market Analyst, Compound Semiconductors at Yole. “That could be in the main inverter, in OBC or in the DC/DC converter. By 2018, more than 20 automotive companies are already using SiC SBDs or SiC MOSFET transistors for OBC, which will lead to 44% CAGR through to 2023.”

Yole expects SiC adoption in the main inverter by some pioneers, with an inspiring 108% market CAGR for 2017-2023. This will be possible because nearly all carmakers have projects to implement SiC in the main inverter in coming years. In particular, Chinese automotive players are strongly considering the adoption of SiC.

The recent SiC module developed by STMicroelectronics for Tesla and its Model 3 is a good example of this early adoption. The SiC-based inverter, analyzed by System Plus Consulting, Yole’s sister company is composed of 24 1-in-1 power modules. Each module contains two SiC MOSFETs with an innovative die attach solution and connected directly on the terminals with copper clips and thermally dissipated by copper baseplates. The thermal dissipation of the modules is performed thanks to a specifically designed pin-fin heatsink.

“SiC MOSFET is manufactured with the latest STMicroelectronics technology design,” explains Dr. Elena Barbarini, Head of Department Devices at System Plus Consulting. “This technical choice allows reduction of conduction losses and switching losses”. STMicroelectronics is strongly involved in the development of SiC-based modules for the automotive industry. During its recent Capital Markets Day, the leading player details its activities in this field (Source: Automotive & Discrete Group presentation – May 2018). STMicroelectronics is also commited in the development of innovative packaging solutions. . System Plus Consulting proposes today a complete teardown analysis including a detailed estimation of the production cost of the module and its package.

PV has also caught the attention of Yole’s analysts during recent months. China claimed almost the half of the world’s installations in the last year. However due to new governmental regulations, Yole sees a slow down of the PV market in short term and has lowered its expectation of SiC penetration for the segment.

In general, system manufacturers are interested in implementing cost effective systems which are reliable, without any technology choice, either silicon or SiC. “Today, even if it’s certified that SiC performs better than silicon, system manufacturers still get questions about long term reliability and the total cost of the SiC inverter”, comments Ana Villamor, Technology & Market Analyst, Power Electronics & Compound Semiconductors at Yole.

Yole and System Plus Consulting teams will attend SEMICON Europa 2018 (Munich, Germany – November 13-16). During the leading trade show, Dr. Milan Rosina, Senior Technology & Market Analyst, Power Electronics & Batteries at Yole proposes a dedicated WBG presentation on November 15 at 2:30 PM.

SiC and GaN devices have demonstrated their large potential for power electronic applications. During the presentation “GaN and SiC power device: market overview” taken place during the Power Electronics Session, Dr. Rosina proposes an overview of the market, technology and the industrial supply chain. More information available on i-micronews.com, Conferences & Trade Shows section.

ROHM today announced the availability of a CMOS op-amp featuring the lowest noise in the industry optimized for industrial applications requiring high-accuracy sensing, such as accelerometers used in sonar systems, and optical sensors that handle ultra-small signals.

In recent years, in addition to IoT devices, sensors are being adopted in a variety of applications from portables and vehicle systems to industrial equipment, to improve functionality and provide advanced control. Used to detect and convert various environmental and physical changes into signals, sensors demand high accuracy, but at the same time peripheral sensor circuitry is trending towards lower voltages to achieve greater power savings.

Op-amps are configured at the rear stage to amplify the analog sensor output, but because sensor signals are so weak it is necessary to implement noise countermeasures to ensure high-accuracy transmission. In response, ROHM developed a high noise tolerant op-amp for the automotive market utilizing a vertically integrated production system that leverages original analog design technologies and processes. ROHM has introduced an op-amp that delivers the industry’s best performance against external noise optimized for consumer devices and industrial equipment.

The LMR1802G-LB, developed utilizing ROHM’s analog technology covering circuit design, processes, and layout, reduces input equivalent noise voltage density by half (2.9nV/√Hz at 1kHz, 7.8nV/√Hz at 10Hz) compared to conventional products, significantly improving the detection performance of sensor signals. In addition, best-in-class phase margin (68°) and capacitive load tolerance (500pF) provide excellent stability (difficult to oscillate, easy to handle). This enables accurate amplification of voltages in the order of µV, ensuring support for industrial and consumer applications requiring high-precision sensing.

EV Group (EVG), a supplier of wafer bonding and lithography equipment for the MEMS, nanotechnology and semiconductor markets, today unveiled the new SmartView® NT3 aligner, which is available on the company’s industry benchmark GEMINI® FB XT integrated fusion bonding system for high-volume manufacturing (HVM) applications. Developed specifically for fusion and hybrid wafer bonding, the SmartView NT3 aligner provides sub-50-nm wafer-to-wafer alignment accuracy — a 2-3X improvement — as well as significantly higher throughput (up to 20 wafers per hour) compared to the previous-generation platform.

With the new SmartView NT3 aligner, the GEMINI FB XT provides integrated device manufacturers, foundries and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test providers (OSATs) with wafer bonding performance that is unmatched in the industry and can meet their future 3D-IC packaging requirements. Applications enabled by the enhanced GEMINI FB XT include memory stacking, 3D systems on chip (SoC), backside illuminated CMOS image sensor stacking, and die partitioning.

The new SmartView® NT3 aligner on EV Group’s GEMINI® FB XT fusion bonder enables a 2-3X improvement in wafer-to-wafer alignment accuracy over EVG’s previous-generation aligner.

Wafer Bonding an Enabling Process for 3D Device Stacking

Vertical stacking of semiconductor devices has become an increasingly viable approach to enabling continuous improvements in device density and performance. Wafer-to-wafer bonding is an essential process step to enable 3D stacked devices. However, tight alignment and overlay accuracy between the wafers is required to achieve good electrical contact between the interconnected devices on the bonded wafers, as well as to minimize the interconnect area at the bond interface so that more space can be made available on the wafer for producing devices. The constant reduction in pitches that are needed to support component roadmaps is fueling tighter wafer-to-wafer bonding specifications with each new product generation.

“At imec, we believe in the power of 3D technology to create new opportunities and possibilities for the semiconductor industry, and we are devoting a great deal of energy into improving it,” stated Eric Beyne, imec fellow and program director 3D system integration. “One area of particular focus is wafer-to-wafer bonding, where we are achieving excellent results in part through our work with industry partners such as EV Group. Last year, we succeeded in reducing the distance between the chip connections, or pitch, in hybrid wafer-to-wafer bonding to 1.4 microns, which is four times smaller than the current standard pitch in the industry. This year we are working to reduce the pitch by at least half again.”

“EVG’s GEMINI FB XT fusion bonding system has consistently led the industry in not only meeting but exceeding performance requirements for advanced packaging applications, with key overlay accuracy milestones achieved with several industry partners within the last year alone,” stated Paul Lindner, executive technology director, EV Group. “With the new SmartView NT3 aligner specifically engineered for the direct bonding market and added to our widely adopted GEMINI FB XT fusion bonder, EVG once again redefines what is possible in wafer bonding — helping the industry to continue to push the envelope in enabling stacked devices with increasing density and performance, lower power consumption and smaller footprint.”

The GEMINI FB XT fusion bonder with new SmartView NT3 aligner is available for customer demonstrations and testing. More information on the product can be found on EVG’s website at https://www.evgroup.com/en/products/bonding/integrated_bonding/geminifb/.

EVG will showcase the GEMINI FB XT with new SmartView NT3 aligner, along with its complete suite of wafer bonding, lithography and resist processing solutions for advanced packaging applications, at SEMICON West, to be held July 10-12 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, Calif. Attendees interested in learning more can visit EVG at Booth #623 in the South Hall.

In addition, Dr. Thomas Uhrmann, director of business development at EV Group, will highlight the GEMINI FB XT and other developments in wafer bonding in his presentation “Collective Bonding for Heterogeneous Integration in Advanced Packaging” at the Meet the Experts Theater Smart Manufacturing Pavilion at SEMICON West on Thursday, July 12 from 3:00-3:30 p.m. in the South Hall.

Alta Devices has today announced that its most recent single junction solar cell has been certified by NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) as being 28.9% efficient. This certification confirms that Alta has set a new record and continues to hold the world record efficiency for this type of solar cell. This breakthrough, combined with the unique thinness and flexibility of Alta’s cells, redefines how solar technology can be used to empower autonomy in many applications.

“Alta Devices goal is to continue to lead the industry in solar technology and to enable a broad range of autonomous systems. We believe this is the best way to support the innovations of our customers,” said Jian Ding, Alta Devices CEO.

Autonomous systems are predicted to become a part of daily life – often operating without human intervention. However, every time an autonomous system or vehicle has to stop to refuel or recharge, it requires intervention and is no longer truly autonomous. Alta focuses on developing the world’s best solar technology specifically for autonomous power, allowing vehicles to seamlessly recharge while in motion.

Alta Devices has held continuous world records for solar efficiency for most of the last decade. Alta Devices Founders, Professor Harry Atwater of Caltech and Professor Eli Yablonovitch of the University of California Berkeley explained the significance of this record:

Prof. Atwater said, “Achieving a new record for this class of devices is a landmark because a 1-sun, 1-junction cell is the archetypal solar cell. The fact that Alta is breaking its own record is also significant since many other teams have been actively attempting to break this record.”

Elaborating on the fundamental technical understanding that has driven this achievement, Professor Yablonovitch said, “Alta has the first solar cell based on Internal Luminescence Extraction, which has enabled Alta to remain ahead of others. This scientific principle will be in all future high efficiency solar cells.”

The company has recently launched its Gen4 AnyLight™ commercial technology, demonstrating a significant weight reduction from the previous version, resulting in an improved power to weight ratio of 160 percent. This is critical for tomorrow’s autonomous UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), electric vehicles, and sensors. It can be used to generate substantial power over small surfaces without compromising design criteria.

By Paula Doe, SEMI

For medtech applications to flourish, sensors need a supporting infrastructure that translates the data they harvest into actionable insights, says Qualcomm Life director of business development Gene Dantsker, who will speak about the future of digital healthcare in the Medtech program at SEMICON West. “Rarely can one device give a complete diagnosis,” he notes. “What’s missing is the integration of all the sensor data into prescriptive information.”

The maturing medtech sector has developed to the point where sensors can now capture massive amounts of data, conveniently collected from people via mobile devices. The sector now has higher compute capacity to process the data, and improving software can produce actionable insight from the information. The next challenge is to seamlessly integrate these components into legacy medical systems without disrupting existing workflow. “Doctors and nurses don’t have time for disruptive technology – a new system has to be invisible and frictionless to use, with one or fewer buttons, no training and truly automatic Bluetooth-like pairing,” he says. “So device makers need to pack all system intelligence into the circuits and software.”

Getting actionable healthcare information from sensors requires integration into the existing medical infrastructure. Source: Qualcomm Life

One interesting example is United Healthcare’s use of the Qualcomm Life infrastructure to collect data from the fitness trackers of 350,000 patients. The insurance company then pays users $4 a day, or ~$1500 a year, for standing, walking six times a day and other behaviors that clinical evidence shows will both improve patient health and reduce healthcare costs. “It’s a perfect storm of motivations for all stakeholders,” he says.

Next hot MEMS topics: Piezoelectric devices, environmental sensors, near-zero power standby

With sensor technology continuing to evolve, look for coming innovations in MEMS in piezoelectric devices, environmental sensors and near zero-power standby devices, says Alissa Fitzgerald, Founder and Managing Member of A.M. Fitzgerald and Associates, who will provide an update on emerging sensor technologies in the MEMS program at SEMICON West.

Piezoelectric devices can potentially be more stable and perhaps even easier to ramp to volume than capacitive ones, with AlN devices for microphones and ultrasonic sensors finding quick success. Now the maturing infrastructure for lead zirconate titantate (PZT) is enabling the scaling of production of higher performing piezo material with thin film deposition equipment from suppliers like Ulvac Technologies and Solmates and in foundry processes at Silex and STMicroelectronics, she notes.

In academic research, where most new MEMS emerge, market interest is driving development of environmental sensors and zero-power standby devices. With demand for environmental monitoring growing, much work is focusing on technologies that improve the sensitivity, selectivity and time of response of gas and particulate sensors. Research and funding is also focusing on zero or near-zero power standby sensors, using open circuits that draw no power until a physical stimulus such as vibration or heat wakes them up.

MEMS, however, likely won’t find as much of a market in autonomous vehicles as once thought. “While the automotive sensor market will need many optical sensors, MEMS players are competing with other optical and mechanical solutions,” says Fitzgerald. “And here the usual MEMS advantage of small size may not matter much, and the devices will have to meet the challenging automotive requirements for extreme ruggedness.”

Each year at SEMICON West, the “Best of West” awards are presented by Solid State Technology and SEMI. More than 26,000 professionals from the electronics manufacturing supply chain attend SEMICON West and the co-located Intersolar. The “Best of West” award was established to recognize new products moving the industry forward with technological developments in the electronics supply chain.

Selected from over 600 exhibitors, SEMI announced today that the following Best of West 2018 Finalists will be displaying their products on the show floor at Moscone Center from July 10-12:

  • Advantest: T5503HS2 Memory Tester— The T5503HS2 memory tester is the industry’s most productive test solution for the fastest memory devices available today as well as next-generation, super-high-speed DRAMs.  The new system’s flexibility extends the capabilities of the T5503 product family in the current “super cycle,” in which global demand for memories is skyrocketing. (South Hall Booth #1105)
  • BISTel: Dynamic Fault Detection (DFD®) – The DFD system offers full trace data coverage and eliminating the need for timely and costly modeling and set up. DFD® is also a bridge to smart factory manufacturing because it integrates seamlessly to legacy FDC systems meaning customers can access the most comprehensive, and accurate fault detection system on the market. (South Hall Booth 1811)
  • Rudolph Technologies: Dragonfly System with Truebump Technology– Rudolph’s Dragonfly System with Truebump Technology was designed to provide a complete solution for “total bump process control.” Using a unique approach, Truebump Technology combines 2D inspection and measurement information from image-based techniques with 3D data from separate high-precision and high-throughput laser-based techniques to deliver accurate and complete characterization at production-capable throughputs. (North Hall Booth #6170)

Congratulations to each of the Finalists. The Best of West Award winner will be announced during SEMICON West (www.semiconwest.org) on Wednesday, July 11, 2018.

About SEMI

SEMI® connects over 2,000 member companies and 1.3 million professionals worldwide to advance the technology and business of electronics manufacturing. SEMI members are responsible for the innovations in materials, design, equipment, software, devices, and services that enable smarter, faster, more powerful, and more affordable electronic products. FlexTech, the Fab Owners Alliance (FOA) and the MEMS & Sensors Industry Group (MSIG) are SEMI Strategic Association Partners, defined communities within SEMI focused on specific technologies. Since 1970, SEMI has built connections that have helped its members prosper, create new markets, and address common industry challenges together. SEMI maintains offices in Bangalore, Berlin, Brussels, Grenoble, Hsinchu, Seoul, Shanghai, Silicon Valley (Milpitas, Calif.), Singapore, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C.  For more information, visit www.semi.org and follow SEMI on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About Extension Media

Extension Media is a publisher of over 20 business-to-business magazines (including Solid State Technology), resource catalogs, newsletters and web sites that address high-technology industry platforms and emerging technologies such as chip design, embedded systems, software and infrastructure, intellectual property, architectures, operating systems and industry standards. Extension Media publications serve several markets including Electronics, Software/IT and Mobile/Wireless. Extension Media is a privately held company based in San Francisco, Calif. For more information, visit www.extensionmedia.com

TowerJazz, the global specialty foundry, today announced details on its 13th annual Technical Global Symposium (TGS) being held in China, Japan, and the United States. This year, TowerJazz TGS will focus on the Company’s leading analog technology offerings, advanced manufacturing solutions and commitment to customer partnerships. All TGS events will commence with a keynote from TowerJazz CEO, Mr. Russell Ellwanger focusing on the Company’s performance, business strategy and industry leadership through alignment with customer roadmaps, innovative and superior technology, and worldwide manufacturing capabilities.

During TGS, speakers will discuss market directions and the latest TowerJazz plans, developments and activities for strategic growth in its specialty process technologies such as Radio Frequency (RF) & High Performance Analog (HPA), power management, and CMOS image sensors (CIS), as well as its process transfer offering (TOPS) for the rising markets of automotive, sensors, the IoT, and 5G, among others. In addition, TowerJazz will present the latest design enablement tools and solutions jointly developed with its EDA partners as well as the Company’s expanded manufacturing capacity and multi-sourcing capabilities.

The global TGS events facilitate customer and partner interaction with TowerJazz team members and industry executives to exchange information on the latest unique and advanced solutions for next-generation analog ICs. TowerJazz focuses on strong roadmap alignment and long-term partnerships with its customers to meet their current and future needs with the most innovative process platforms, addressing the requirements of the fastest growing markets.

As the leading analog pure play foundry, TowerJazz continues to be committed and passionate toward creating value for its customers. The Company offers the most advanced analog technology and best-in-class design enablement while providing global capacity assurance and flexibility to enable customers with competitive advantage and fast time to market.

This year, TowerJazz TGS events will be hosted in the following locations:

Sponsors at TowerJazz TGS events include the industry’s leading EDA vendors and tool providers who will share the latest design capabilities offered in collaboration with TowerJazz: Cadence, HES, Integra Tech, Keysight Technologies, Magwel, Mentor, PacTech, Photronics, Presto, Silvaco, Synkom and Synopsis.

For more information about TowerJazz TGS and registration please visit:
http://www.towerjazz.com/events.html#tgs

Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq:MU) today announced volume production on its 8Gb GDDR6 memory. Built on experience and execution for several generations of GDDR memory, GDDR6 – Micron’s fastest and most powerful graphics memory designed in Micron’s Munich Development Center – is optimized for a variety of applications that require high performance memory, including artificial intelligence (AI), networking, automotive and graphics processing units (GPUs). Additionally, Micron has worked with core ecosystem partners to ramp GDDR6 documentation and interoperability, enabling faster time to market for designs.

“Micron is a pioneer in developing advanced high bandwidth memory solutions and continues that leadership with GDDR6. Micron demonstrated this leadership by recently achieving throughput up to 20 Gb/s on our GDDR6 solutions,” said Andreas Schlapka, director, Compute Networking Business Unit, Micron. “In addition to performance increases, Micron has developed a deep partner ecosystem to enable rapid creation of GDDR6 designs, enabling faster time to market for customers looking to leverage this powerful new memory technology.”

The need for high performance GDDR6 memory has grown as end-users demand advanced applications. GDDR6 enables advanced performance with lower power consumption in a number of segments including:

  • Artificial Intelligence – Artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning are memory intensive applications that require more bandwidth from memory solutions. GDDR6 delivers the higher bandwidth required to accelerate AI in applications like computer vision, autonomous driving and the many other applications that require this higher bandwidth.
  • Graphics – Enabling significant performance improvements for today’s top GPUs, GDDR6 delivers enhanced graphic memory speeds to enable higher application bandwidth. Micron GDDR6 will be a core enabling technology of advanced GPU applications, including acceleration, 4K video and improved rendering, VR/AR and crypto mining applications.
  • Networking – Advanced networking technologies require access to high speed/high bandwidth memory. GDDR6-powered smart Network Interface Cards (NIC) enable significant improvements in network bandwidth. Additionally, high bandwidth RAID controllers featuring GDDR6 memory deliver dramatic enhancements to data access and protection.
  • Automotive – As auto manufacturers push for autonomous vehicles, high performance memory is required to process the vast amounts of real-time data required to make this technology a reality. Micron GDDR6 delivers 448 GB/s auto qualified memory solutions, that deliver more than double the bandwidth of LPDDR5 automotive memory solutions.

“As demand for advanced automotive applications such as ADAS and other autonomous driving solutions grows, the need for high bandwidth memory in automotive will grow as well. Advanced high bandwidth GDDR6 memory solutions are a key enabling technology for autonomous vehicles and will be an important tool for the automotive industry as they develop next generation transportation initiatives,” said Kris Baxter, vice president, Marketing, Micron’s Embedded Business Unit.

Targeting up to 64GB/s in one package, GDDR6 brings a significant improvement over the fastest available GDDR5. This unprecedented level of single-chip performance, using proven, industry-standard BGA packaging provides designers a powerful, cost-efficient and low-risk solution using the most scalable, high-speed discrete memory available to the market.

In order to deliver this leading edge high bandwidth memory technology to customers, Micron is working directly with ecosystem partners in order to enable learning on both pre-silicon verification as well as validation. Prior to mass production of GDDR6 memory, Micron shipped early validation silicon to our ecosystem partners to accelerate engineering efforts behind validating intellectual property and build robust models and toolsets in the ecosystem and deliver board layout validation. This ensures that engineers are able to implement GDDR6 in designs at a faster rate and bring bandwidth intensive applications to the marketplace. These ecosystem partners include Rambus and more.

“With nearly 30 years’ experience in implementing designs for high-speed interfaces, Rambus is the first IP provider to launch a comprehensive GDDR6 PHY solution for next-generation AI, ADAS, networking and graphics applications and continues to be at the leading edge of implementing industry standards. We are proud to work with Micron and other ecosystem partners to help customers accelerate time to market for GDDR6 designs and deliver the most advanced solutions based on GDDR6 memory,” said Frank Ferro, senior director of product marketing, Rambus.

Micron GDDR6 memory solutions will be on display in booth B-1340 at ISC 2018, June 24-28, in Frankfurt, Germany. For more information, visit www.micron.com.

According to a recent report published by Allied Market Research, titled, Global Organic CMOS Image Sensor Market by Image Processing, Array Type, Industry Vertical and Application: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2025, the global organic CMOS image sensor market is expected to value at $696.0 million in 2020, and is projected to reach $1,750.0 million by 2025, registering a CAGR of 20.9% from 2021 to 2025.

At present, North America dominates the market, followed by Europe. In 2020, U.S dominated the North America market and rest of Europe led the overall market in Europe. However, in North America, the U.S. currently dominates the market.

The high photoelectric conversion property, better low-light performance and richer colors & textures drive of the organic CMOS image sensor make way for the growth of the market. In addition, introduction of technologies such as 8K resolution and global shutter technology also contribute to the market growth. However, excessive generation of heat in the organic sensor technology hampers this stated growth.

Key Findings of the Organic CMOS Image Sensor Market:

  • The linear image sensors segment generated the highest revenue in the global organic CMOS image sensor market in 2020.
  • In 2020, the 2D Sensors segment was the highest revenue contributor in the image processing segment.
  • Asia Pacific is anticipated to exhibit the highest CAGR during the forecast period.
  • In 2020, North America contributed the highest market share, followed by Europe, Asia Pacific and LAMEA.

The key players profiled in the report include are Fujifilm Corporation, Panasonic Corporation, Sony Corporation, Samsung Electronics, Siemens AG, NikkoIA SAS, Xenics NV, AMS AG, Canon, and OmniVision Technologies, Inc.

IC Insights recently released its Update to its 2018 IC Market Drivers Report.  The Update includes IC Insights’ latest outlooks on the smartphone, automotive, PC/tablet and Internet of Things (IoT) markets.

The Update shows a final 2017 ranking of the top smartphone leaders in terms of unit shipments.  As shown in Figure 1, 9 of the top 12 smartphone suppliers were headquartered in China.  Two South Korean companies (Samsung and LG) and one U.S. supplier (Apple) were the other leaders.

Figure 1

Samsung and Apple dominated the smartphone market from 2015 through 2017.  In total, these two companies shipped 526 million smartphones and held a combined 35% share of the total smartphone market in 2016. Moreover, these two companies shipped over one-half billion smartphones (533 million) in 2017 with their combined smartphone unit marketshare increasing one point to 36%.

Samsung’s total smartphone unit sales were up by 2% in 2017 to 317 million units, slightly outpacing the total smartphone market that grew by 1%.  Meanwhile, orders for new Apple iPhones fell 7% in 2016, much worse than the 4% growth rate exhibited for the worldwide smartphone market.  However, Apple rebounded somewhat in 2017 with its total smartphone unit shipments being flat last year.

It appears that the up-and-coming Chinese producers like Huawei, OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi are giving a serious challenge to Samsung and Apple for smartphone marketshare.  It should be noted, however, that Samsung and Apple still hold a commanding share of the high-end smartphone segment—that is, smartphones priced more than $200.

The number four and five ranked smartphone suppliers on the list are owned by the same China-based parent company—BBK Electronics.  Combined handset unit shipments from these two companies were 213.1 million in 2017, just 2.7 million less than second-ranked Apple.

Overall, there was very little middle ground with regard to smartphone shipment growth rates among the top 12 suppliers in 2017.  As shown, four of the top 12 companies registered double-digit unit growth while the other eight companies logged 2% or less increases and four of those displayed a double-digit decline.  Three Chinese smartphone suppliers (Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo) saw their shipments surge at least 24% in 2017.  Xiaomi displayed the highest growth rate of any of the top-12 smartphone suppliers (73%). Meanwhile, another three Chinese suppliers (LeEco/Coolpad, ZTE, and TCL) saw their smartphone shipments fall by more than 20% last year.

Combined, the nine leading smartphone suppliers based in China shipped 626 million smartphones in 2017, an 11% increase from 565 million smartphones that these nine companies shipped in 2016. The top nine Chinese smartphone suppliers together held a 42% share of the worldwide smartphone market in 2017, up four points from the 38% share these companies held in 2016 and eight points better than the 34% combined share these companies held in 2015.

IC Insights projects smartphone shipments in 2018 will rise 2%, to 1.53 billion units.  Moreover, smartphone unit shipments are forecast to grow at low single-digit annual rates through 2021.