Category Archives: Wafer Processing

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDNS) today announced that its full-flow digital tool suite has achieved certification for the GLOBALFOUNDRIES (GF) 22FDX® process technology. The GF certification process was completed using the Cadence® Tensilica® Fusion F1 DSP, which targets internet of things (IoT) and wearables applications. Through the certification process, the Cadence tools have been confirmed to meet all of GF’s accuracy criteria for its fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) architecture, and customers using the Cadence digital tool suite on the GF 22FDX process technology can optimize power, performance and area (PPA) and reduce time-to-market.

For more information on the GF-certified Cadence digital tool suite, please visit www.cadence.com/go/dandsgfcert22fdx. For more information on the Tensilica Fusion F1 DSP, visit www.cadence.com/go/tensilicafusiongf22fdx.

To facilitate the adoption of GF’s 22FDX process technology, the following Cadence tools that offer 22FDX body bias support are supported in the GF design flow:

  • Innovus™ Implementation System: An advanced physical implementation tool, incorporating a massively parallel architecture that helps designers deliver high-quality SoCs in less time with best-in-class PPA
  • Genus™ Synthesis Solution: An RTL synthesis and physical synthesis engine that improves productivity challenges faced by RTL designers, delivering up to 5X faster synthesis turnaround times
  • Tempus™ Timing Signoff Solution: A complete timing analysis tool that improves signoff timing closure via massively parallel processing and physically aware timing optimization
  • Voltus™ IC Power Integrity Solution: A cell-level power integrity solution that supports comprehensive electromigration and IR drop (EM/IR) design rules and requirements while providing full-chip SoC power signoff accuracy
  • Voltus-Fi Custom Power Integrity Solution: A transistor-level power integrity solution that supports comprehensive EM/IR design rules and requirements while providing SPICE-level power signoff accuracy for analog, memory and custom digital IP blocks
  • Quantus™ Extraction Solution: A single, unified parasitic extraction tool that supports cell-level and transistor-level extractions during design implementation and signoff and provides best-in-class accuracy versus foundry golden
  • Physical Verification System: Includes advanced technologies and rule decks to support design rule checks (DRCs), layout versus schematic (LVS), advanced metal fill, voltage-dependent checks and in-design verification
  • Litho Physical Analyzer: Signoff solution that enables designers to detect and automatically fix process hotspots to improve design manufacturability and yield of digital, custom and mixed-signal designs, libraries and IP
  • Litho Electrical Analyzer: Allows layout-dependent effect- (LDE-) aware re-simulation, layout analysis, matching constraint checking, reporting on LDE contributions and the generation of fixing guidelines from partial layout to accelerate analog design convergence

GF chose the Fusion F1 DSP to demonstrate the compelling PPA results with the 22FDX node, which is designed for low-cost, low-energy IoT sensing and connectivity applications. The Fusion F1 DSP provides the power-efficient control and signal processing demanded by emerging IoT applications like NB-IoT-based modems and other battery-powered products.

“Through our collaboration with Cadence, we’ve verified that the Cadence methodology meets our accuracy, frequency, power and cell utilization requirements,” said Richard Trihy, senior director, design enablement at GF. “The certification of the Cadence digital tool suite allows our mutual customers to reach their PPA targets and to experience the benefits associated with the GF 22FDX body bias techniques that are key differentiators with our process technology.”

“Through the integration and innovation offered by our full-flow digital tool suite that was certified using the Tensilica Fusion F1 DSP, customers designing with the GF 22FDX process technology can converge on PPA targets faster,” said KT Moore, vice president, product management in the Digital & Signoff Group at Cadence. “GF performed thorough correlation checks on the Cadence flow, thereby giving users added confidence that they can successfully implement robust designs quickly and stay ahead of the competition in their respective markets.”

The Micron Foundation announced that it will commit $1 million to higher education institutions in Virginia as it invests in the next generation of technicians, scientists and engineers with a focus on women and underrepresented minorities in these fields. The investment will provide grants and funding at select community colleges and universities for several types of programs, organizations and individuals that inspire and enable future innovators.

“Today we are proud to expand our commitment with education partners across Virginia, which share our focus on developing a strong, vibrant and talented workforce,” said Micron Foundation Executive Director Dee Mooney. “These efforts reflect our company’s focus on investing in students and embracing diversity, as well as our long-term commitment to our Manassas facility and its team members. We look forward to working with community and education leaders to identify and support programs that will make a difference for decades to come.”

The $1 million fund will support programs in the area of cleanroom and nanotechnology labs, unmanned and autonomous automotive systems, robotics, big data, embedded systems and networking applications. Faculty members, program directors and student groups from universities and community colleges in the Commonwealth of Virginia will be eligible. With a focus on women and underrepresented minorities, programs that support low income and first-time college student programs will also receive special consideration.

Micron Technology, Inc., (NASDAQ:MU) today announced plans to invest $3 billion by 2030 to increase memory production at its plant in Manassas, Virginia, creating 1,100 new jobs roughly over the next decade. These investments are contemplated in Micron’s long-term model to invest capital expenditure in the low thirties as a percent of revenue. The expansion will position the Manassas site — located about 40 miles west of Washington, D.C. — to support Micron’s leadership in the rapidly growing market for high quality, high reliability memory products.

Source: Micron

“Micron’s Manassas site manufactures our long-lifecycle products that are built using our mature process technologies, and primarily sold into the automotive, networking and industrial markets,” said Micron President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra. “These products support a diverse set of applications such as industrial automation, drones, the IoT (Internet of Things) and in-vehicle experience applications for automotive. This business delivers strong profitability and stable, growing free cash flow. Micron is grateful for the extensive engagement of state and local officials since early this year to help bring our Manassas expansion to fruition. We are excited to increase our commitment to the community through the creation of new highly skilled jobs, expanded facilities and education initiatives.”

“Micron’s expansion in the City of Manassas represents one of the largest manufacturing investments in the history of Virginia and will position the Commonwealth as a leader in unmanned systems and Internet of Things,” said Governor Northam. “This $3 billion investment will have a tremendous impact on our economy by creating 1,100 high-demand jobs, and solidifies Micron as one of the Commonwealth’s largest exporters. We thank Micron for choosing to deepen their roots in Virginia and look forward to partnering in their next chapter of major growth.”

The initial clean room expansion is expected to be completed in the fall of 2019 with production ramp in the first half of 2020. This expansion will add less than 5% to Micron’s global clean room space footprint and will primarily support enablement of DRAM and NAND technology transitions as well as modest capacity increase at the site, in-line with growing customer demand for Micron’s long-lifecycle products.

“As a leading global supplier of automotive electronics systems and components, ZF appreciates the long-standing support of Micron to our business,” said Karsten Mueller, vice president, Corporate Materials Management, Global Commodity Electronics at ZF Friedrichshafen AG. “Meeting the ever-increasing demands for automotive applications will require significantly greater memory as the dual trends of advanced safety and autonomy drive the industry forward. Micron’s decision to expand the manufacturing and R&D capabilities at this IATF-certified facility is another indication that this growth should only accelerate in the future.”

As part of this expansion, Micron will also establish a global research development center in Manassas for the development of memory and storage solutions focused mainly on the automotive, industrial and networking markets. The research and development center will include laboratories, test equipment and a staff of approximately 100 engineers.

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) worked with the City of Manassas and the General Assembly’s Major Employment and Investment (MEI) Project Approval Commission to secure the project for Virginia. Micron will be eligible to receive an MEI custom performance grant of $70 million for site preparation and facility costs, subject to approval by the Virginia General Assembly. Additionally, the City of Manassas and utility partners are providing a broader, comprehensive support package to enable the expansion, including substantial infrastructure upgrades and additional incentives.

Atlas Copco Group has announced its agreement to acquire the cryogenic business of Brooks Automation, Inc through its wholly owned US entity Edwards Vacuum LLC. Once the deal is complete, which is expected to be in the first quarter of 2019, it will significantly expand Edwards’ offering to the global semiconductor industry.

Brooks Automation, headquartered in Chelmsford, USA is a market leader in the provision of advanced cryopumps and associated products for the semiconductor industry through its CTI-Cryogenics and Polycold brands.

The acquisition includes cryopump operations in Chelmsford, MA and Monterrey, Mexico as well as a worldwide network of sales and service centres. Brooks Automation’s 50% shareholding in Japan-based joint venture company Ulvac Cryogenics Inc is also part of the deal.

The acquired business will become part of the Semiconductor and Semiconductor Service divisions within Atlas Copco’s Vacuum Technique business area and will significantly expand Edwards’ chamber solutions offering to customers in the semiconductor industry.

Paul Rawlings, President of the Semiconductor division, said: “The acquisition of Brooks Automation’s cryogenic business will help us cement our position as a trusted partner to the world’s leading semiconductor OEMs by enabling the expansion of our current chamber solutions offering through the addition of new technologies and products.”  The planned acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals.

Further information about Edwards can be found at www.edwardsvacuum.com

GLOBALFOUNDRIES today announced an important step in its transformation, continuing the trajectory launched with the appointment of Tom Caulfield as CEO earlier this year. In line with the strategic direction Caulfield has articulated, GF is reshaping its technology portfolio to intensify its focus on delivering truly differentiated offerings for clients in high-growth markets.

GF is realigning its leading-edge FinFET roadmap to serve the next wave of clients that will adopt the technology in the coming years. The company will shift development resources to make its 14/12nm FinFET platform more relevant to these clients, delivering a range of innovative IP and features including RF, embedded memory, low power and more. To support this transition, GF is putting its 7nm FinFET program on hold indefinitely and restructuring its research and development teams to support its enhanced portfolio initiatives. This will require a workforce reduction, however a significant number of top technologists will be redeployed on 14/12nm FinFET derivatives and other differentiated offerings.

“Demand for semiconductors has never been higher, and clients are asking us to play an ever-increasing role in enabling tomorrow’s technology innovations,” Caulfield said. “The vast majority of today’s fabless customers are looking to get more value out of each technology generation to leverage the substantial investments required to design into each technology node. Essentially, these nodes are transitioning to design platforms serving multiple waves of applications, giving each node greater longevity. This industry dynamic has resulted in fewer fabless clients designing into the outer limits of Moore’s Law. We are shifting our resources and focus by doubling down on our investments in differentiated technologies across our entire portfolio that are most relevant to our clients in growing market segments.”

In addition, to better leverage GF’s strong heritage and significant investments in ASIC design and IP, the company is establishing its ASIC business as a wholly-owned subsidiary, independent from the foundry business. A relevant ASIC business requires continued access to leading-edge technology. This independent ASIC entity will provide clients with access to alternative foundry options at 7nm and beyond, while allowing the ASIC business to engage with a broader set of clients, especially the growing number of systems companies that need ASIC capabilities and more manufacturing scale than GF can provide alone.

GF is intensifying investment in areas where it has clear differentiation and adds true value for clients, with an emphasis on delivering feature-rich offerings across its portfolio. This includes continued focus on its FDXTM platform, leading RF offerings (including RF SOI and high-performance SiGe), analog/mixed signal, and other technologies designed for a growing number of applications that require low power, real-time connectivity, and on-board intelligence. GF is uniquely positioned to serve this burgeoning market for “connected intelligence,” with strong demand in new areas such as autonomous driving, IoT and the global transition to 5G.

“Lifting the burden of investing at the leading edge will allow GF to make more targeted investments in technologies that really matter to the majority of chip designers in fast-growing markets such as RF, IoT, 5G, industrial and automotive,” said Samuel Wang, research vice president at Gartner. “While the leading edge gets most of the headlines, fewer customers can afford the transition to 7nm and finer geometries.  14nm and above technologies will continue to be the important demand driver for the foundry business for many years to come. There is significant room for innovation on these nodes to fuel the next wave of technology.”

By Jay Chittooran

In testimony last week before a U.S. government interagency panel considering tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, SEMI called for the removal of nearly 100 tariff lines, all of which cover items critical to the semiconductor manufacturing process, including materials and machines.

Jonathan Davis, global vice president of advocacy at SEMI, explained in his testimony that while SEMI strongly supports efforts to better protect valuable intellectual property (IP), tariffs will not help address Chinese trade practices, and will ultimately have significant and unintended consequences. SEMI asserts that these tariffs will harm companies in the semiconductor supply chain by increasing business costs, introducing uncertainty, and stifling innovation. Collectively, SEMI estimates that this round of tariffs will cost its 400 U.S. members more than tens of millions annually in additional duties. All told, SEMI estimates that all U.S. and Chinese retaliatory tariffs will cost members nearly $700 million in annual duties.

SEMI’s full written comments note that these tariffs, on top of those already in force and the retaliatory tariffs, will hamstring the industry. The tariffs seem to target U.S. firms for simply operating in China. Given that tools and materials are extremely complex, precise, and difficult to manufacture, it is unreasonable to believe that a constituent component can simply be replaced with a part from another source. Further, this U.S. government approach does not take into account that many items  subject to these tariffs are not available, at sufficient quality and cost, from domestic sources, or even non-Chinese sources. We stand steadfast in our belief that this trade action will raise prices, put thousands of high-paying and high skill jobs at risk, and curb growth.

Over the past four months, SEMI submitted written comments and offered testimony on the two previous rounds of tariffs, citing the damaging impact tariffs would have on the U.S. semiconductor industry. The first round of tariffs – on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods – took effect July 6, and the second round – targeting $16 billion in Chinese imports – will be imposed on August 23. The tariffs hit machines and tools central to the semiconductor industry, including equipment used to manufacture wafers, boules, and chips as well as test, inspection and sensing equipment.

We urge SEMI members to review the $200 billion U.S. tariff list to determine the level, if any, of impact. We also strongly encourage members to review Chinese retaliatory lists as well. Any SEMI members who have questions, should contact Jay Chittooran, Public Policy Manager at SEMI, at [email protected].

Originally published on the SEMI blog.

By Christopher Morales, Head of Security Analytics, Vectra

On August 3, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC), the largest chip fabricator globally introduced a WannaCry Ransomware cryptowormvariant onto its information technology/operational technology (IT/OT) networks. A TSMC supplier installed infected software on a new fabrication tool and connected it to the network, facilitating the malware infestation.

The infection spread quickly, taking out 10,000+ unpatched Windows 7 machines that run the chip fab company’s tool automation interface. The crypto worm crashed and rebooted systems endlessly, forcing several plants in Taichung, Hsinchu andTainan to shut down through much of the weekend.

The infection crippled materials handling systems and production equipment as well as Windows 7 computers. Some of the plants were producing SoC chips for the AppleiPhone 8 and X models. The incident’s connection to Apple and the iPhone heightened its visibility in the news media.

According to TSMC CEO C.C. Wei, patching for the Windows 7 machines requires computer downtime and collaboration with equipment suppliers. The absence of currentpatches created an environment where WannaCry could easily propagate.

The 2018 Spotlight Report on Manufacturing published by Vectra a few weeks before the incident foretold TSMC’s infection, which could cost the company as much as $255 million.

Smart manufacturer cybersecurity risks are increasing

According to the TSMC website, the company had “introduced new applications such as IoT, intelligent mobile devices and mobile robots to consolidate data collection, yield traceability, workflow efficiency, and material transportation to continuously enhance fab operation efficiency.” Further, TSMC had “integrated automatic manufacturing systems,” according to its website.

These innovations are typical in the evolution of Industry 4.0, which has increased the risk of cyber attacks against manufacturers.

But as manufacturers moved from air-gapped industrial systems to cloud-connectedsystems as part of the IT/OT convergence – using unpartitioned networks and insufficient access controls for proliferating IIoT devices – they created a massive, vulnerable attack surface, according to the Vectra report.

While air-gapped systems such as industrial controls have no connections by design to guard against malicious tampering, IT/OT convergence has connected these systems to information technologynetworks with little accounting for security vulnerabilities.

Many factories connect IIoT devices to flat, unpartitioned networks that rely on communication with general computing devices and enterprise applications. Since IIoT devices support few if any native cybersecurity measures, connecting them to easily infected applications, computers and unsegregated IP networks only invites trouble.

In the past, manufacturers relied on more customized, proprietary protocols, which made mounting an attack more difficult for cybercriminals. The conversion from proprietary protocols to standard protocols makes it easier to infiltrate networks to spy, spread and steal.

Few if any cyberattackers know and understand the proprietary protocols those closed legacy systems used. But it’s easy for most criminal hackers and their exploits to access standard IP network protocols just as WannaCry abuses the SMB protocol where there is no patch.

Real-time network visibility is crucial 

Industry 4.0 brings with it a new operational risk for connected, smart manufacturers and digital supply networks. The interconnected nature of Industry 4.0-driven operations and the pace of digital transformation mean that cyber attacks can have far more damaging effects than ever before, and manufacturers and their supply networks may not be preparedfor the risks.

Wherever cyber attacks interfere business continuity for business and information processes, they can also disrupt operational technologies that render products and get them out the door.

For cyber-risk to be adequately addressedin the age of Industry 4.0, manufacturing organizations need to ensure that proper visibility and response capabilities are in place to detect and respond to events as they occur. As in the case of the TSMC ransomware debacle, anything less than real-time detection and response is too little, too late to avoid production downtime.

There is no visibility into these systems to enable real-time detection before cyber attacks spread. Visibility into these internal connected systems is necessary to curtail the extent of damage from a cyberattack.

Manufacturing security operations now require automated, real-time analysis of entire networks to proactively detect and respond to in-progress threats before they do damage.

The Vectra 2018 Spotlight Report on Manufacturing

The 2018 Spotlight Report on Manufacturing delineates the many attack types and behaviors that the Cognito platform captured. The Cognito threat-detection and hunting platform monitored traffic and collected rich metadata from more than 4million devices and workloads from customer cloud, data center, and enterprise environmentsto reveal the cyberattacker behaviors.

Cyber attacks on manufacturers increased in severity from January to June 2018 based on data that the Vectra Cognito platform collected. The Vectra report confirms that all manufacturing industries are at equal risk of cyberattacks.

To learn about other findings pertinent to your Industry 4.0 cybersecurity risk, download the 2018 Spotlight Report on Manufacturing.

Christopher Morales is the head of security analytics at Vectra, a San Jose, Calif. cybersecurity firm that detects hidden cyberattacks and helps threat hunters improve the efficiency of incident investigations.

North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $2.36 billion in billings worldwide in July 2018 (three-month average basis), according to the July Equipment Market Data Subscription (EMDS) Billings Report published today by SEMI. The billings figure is 4.9 percent lower than the final June 2018 level of $2.48 billion, and is 4.1 percent higher than the July 2017 billings level of $2.27 billion.

“Global billings declined for the second month in a row, indicative of customer push-outs,” said Ajit Manocha, president and CEO of SEMI. “We expect the industry to weather this soft patch and end the year overall with strong growth.”

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
February 2018
$2,417.8
22.5%
March 2018
$2,431.8
16.9%
April 2018
$2,689.9
25.9%
May 2018
$2,702.3
8.1%
June 2018 (final)
$2,484.3
8.0%
July 2018 (prelim)
$2,363.1
4.1%

Source: SEMI (www.semi.org), August 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. These powerful tools provide access to spending forecasts, capacity ramp, technology transitions, and other information for over 1,000 fabs worldwide. For an overview of available SEMI market data, please visit www.semi.org/en/MarketInfo.

ClassOne Technology, a supplier of new electroplating and wet process tools to the 200mm and smaller semiconductor manufacturing industry, today announced a multi-tool sale of its flagship Solstice® CopperMax™ electroplating system to China’s premier compound semiconductor manufacturer. As the largest such supplier in China—among the largest Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) fabs in the world—ClassOne’s new client will use CopperMax™ to anchor the production of highly-advanced power chips with breakthrough designs suitable for a variety of leading-edge semiconductor markets.

“ClassOne has emerged as the supplier of choice for the exacting requirements of the Compound Semiconductor industry,” says ClassOne CEO Byron Exarcos. “ClassOne has presence in each of the leading Compound Semiconductor fabs around the world, now including a global leader in the development and manufacture of semiconductors based on GaAs substrates. This sale further confirms ClassOne’s leadership status in electroplating technology worldwide.”

ClassOne expects multiple similar sales in the coming months, as semiconductor manufacturing facilities throughout Asia expand their processing capabilities for advanced applications such as 3D Sensing, Autonomous Vehicles, and 4G/5G Communications—applications that require highly-advanced Compound Semiconductor chip technology.

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.