Category Archives: LEDs

Stiff competition in sensors for high-volume design wins and a recovery in actuator growth shuffled the ranking of suppliers in the $9.2 billion market for sensors and actuators in 2014, according to IC Insights’ new 2015 O-S-D Report—A Market Analysis and Forecast for Optoelectronics, Sensors/Actuators, and Discretes. The new O-S-D Report says the overall trend in sensors and actuators is for the largest suppliers to keep getting bigger, gaining marketshare because more high-volume applications—such as smartphones and the huge potential of the Internet of Things (IoT)—and automotive systems require well-established track records for quality, long-term reliability, and on-time delivery of semiconductors.

Sensor leader Robert Bosch in Germany extended its lead in this market with a 16 percent sales increase in 2014 to nearly $1.2 billion. The German company became the first sensor maker to reach $1.0 billion in 2013 when its sales climbed 29 percent, reflecting continued strong growth in its automotive base and expansion into high-volume consumer and mobile applications. Bosch’s marketshare in sensor-only sales grew to 20 percent in 2014 from 18 percent in 2013 and 15 percent in 2012, according to the 10th edition of IC Insights’ annual O-S-D Report.

Meanwhile, STMicroelectronics saw its sensor/actuator sales volume fall 19 percent in 2014 to $630 million, which caused it to drop to fourth place among the market’s top suppliers from second in 2013. ST’s drop was partly caused by marketshare gains by Bosch and U.S.-based InvenSense, which climbed from 14th in 2013 to ninth in the 2014 sensor/actuator ranking with a 33 percent increase in sensor sales to $332 million last year. Bosch and InvenSense sensors—which are made with microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology—have knocked ST’s MEMS-based sensors from a number of high-volume smartphones, including Apple’s newest iPhone handsets.

ST’s drop in sensor revenues and modest sales increases in MEMS-based actuators at Texas Instruments (micro-mirror devices for digital projectors and displays) and Hewlett-Packard (mostly inkjet-printer nozzle devices) moved TI and HP up one position in IC Insights’ 2014 ranking to second and third place, respectively (as shown in Figure 1). Infineon remained in fifth place in the sensors/actuator ranking with an 8 percent sales increase to $520 million last year. The 2015 O-S-D Report provides top 10 rankings of suppliers in sensors/actuators, optoelectronics, and discrete semiconductors in addition to a top 30 O-S-D list of companies, based on combined revenue in optoelectronics, sensors/actuators and discretes.

Figure 1

Figure 1

The new O-S-D Report forecasts worldwide sensor sales to increase 7 percent in 2015 to reach a record-high $6.1 billion after growing 5 percent in 2014 to $5.7 billion and rising just 3 percent in 2013.  Total actuator sales are expected to increase 7 percent in 2015 to $3.7 billion, which will tie the record high set in 2011. Actuator sales fell 10 percent in 2012 and dropped another 4 percent in 2013 before recovering in 2014 with a 7 percent increase to $3.5 billion.  MEMS technology was used in about 34 percent of the 11.1 billion sensors shipped in 2014 and essentially all of the 999 million actuators sold last year, based on an analysis in the new O-S-D Report.  Tiny MEMS structures are used in these devices to perform transducer functions (i.e., detecting and measuring changes around sensors for inputs in electronic systems, and initiating physical actions in actuators from electronic signals).

Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a novel cellular sensing platform that promises to expand the use of semiconductor technology in the development of next-generation bioscience and biotech applications.

The research is part of the Semiconductor Synthetic Biology (SSB) program sponsored and managed by Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC). Launched in 2013, the SSB program concentrates on synergies between synthetic biology and semiconductor technology that can foster exploratory, multi-disciplinary, longer-term university research leading to novel, breakthrough solutions for a wide range of industries.

The Georgia Tech research proposes and demonstrates the world’s first multi-modality cellular sensor arranged in a standard low-cost CMOS process. Each sensor pixel can concurrently monitor multiple different physiological parameters of the same cell and tissue samples to achieve holistic and real-time physiological characterizations.

“Our research is intended to fundamentally revolutionize how biologists and bioengineers can interface with living cells and tissues and obtain useful information,” said Hua Wang, an assistant professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at Georgia Tech. “Fully understanding the physiological behaviors of living cells or tissues is a prerequisite to further advance the frontiers of bioscience and biotechnology.”

Wang explains that the Georgia Tech research can have positive impact on semiconductors being used in the development of healthcare applications including the more cost-effective development of pharmaceuticals and point-of-care devices and low-cost home-based diagnostics and drug testing systems. The research could also benefit defense and environmental monitoring applications for low-cost field-deployable sensors for hazard detections.

Specifically, in the case of the more cost-effective development of pharmaceuticals, the increasing cost of new medicine is largely due to the high risks involved in the drug development. As a major sector of the healthcare market, the global pharmaceutical industry is expected to reach more than $1.2 trillion this year. However, on average, only one out of every ten thousand tested chemical compounds eventually become an approved drug product.

In the early phases of drug development (when thousands of chemical candidates are screened), in vitro cultured cells and tissues are widely used to identify and quantify the efficacy and potency of drug candidates by recording their cellular physiology responses to the tested compounds, according to the research.

Moreover, patient-to-patient variations often exist even under the administration of the same type of drugs at the same dosage. If the cell samples are derived from a particular patient, patient-specific drug responses then can be tested, which opens the door to future personalized medicine.

“Therefore, there is a tremendous need for low-cost sensing platforms to perform fast, efficient and massively parallel screening of in vitro cells and tissues, so that the promising chemical candidates can be selected efficiently,” said Wang, who also holds the Demetrius T. Paris Junior Professorship in the Georgia Tech School of ECE. “This existing need can be addressed directly by our CMOS multi-modality cellular sensor array research.”

Among the benefits enabled by the CMOS sensor array chips are that they provide built-in computation circuits for in-situ signal processing and sensor fusion on multi-modality sensor data. The chips also eliminate the need of external electronic equipment and allow their use in general biology labs without dedicated electronic or optical setups.

Additionally, thousands of sensor array chips can operate in parallel to achieve high-throughput scanning of chemicals or drug candidates and real-time monitoring of their efficacy and toxicity. Compared with sequential scanning through limited fluorescent scanners, this parallel scanning approach can achieve more than 1,000 times throughput enhancement.

The Georgia Tech research team just wrapped its first year of research under the 3-year project, with the sensor array being demonstrated at the close of 2014 and presented at the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) in February 2015. In the next year, the team plans to further increase the sensor array pixel density while helping improve packaging solutions compatible with existing drug testing solutions. 

“Georgia Tech’s research combines semiconductor integrated circuits and living cells to create an electronics-biology hybrid platform, which has tremendous societal and technological implications that can potentially lead to better and cheaper healthcare solutions,” said Victor Zhirnov, director of Cross-Disciplinary Research and Special Projects at SRC.

While volumes are expected to more than double between 2015 and 2020, LED phosphor prices have declined dramatically, leading to a flat revenue outlook. Low technology barriers of entrance on the most mature compositions have prompted companies to procure turnkey manufacturing equipment and enter the market. With little to no quality control and R&D expenses, some have achieved low cost comparable to that of the tri-phosphors used in fluorescent lamps. In a bid to capture market shares, they triggered an intense price war. But is the situation so critical for the LED downconverters players?

Indeed the analysis cannot be stopped at this point. And Yole Développement (Yole), the “More than Moore” market research and strategy consulting company, proposes today a deep analysis of the market challenges and technology trends with its LED downconverters technology & market report, entitled “Phosphors & Quantum Dots 2015: LED Downconverters for Lighting & Displays”. Under this report, Yole’s team proposes a comprehensive review of the LED downconverters market and competitive landscape. This analysis presents the requirements for lighting and displays; configurations and dispensing methods; trends in phosphor compositions …

“With major YAG IP expiring from 2017, leading Chinese LED makers will have easier access to overseas markets, and domestic Phosphor suppliers such as Yuji, Grirem, YT Shield, Illuma or Sunfor will expand their markets, further increasing YAG commoditization,” explained Dr. Eric Virey, Senior Analyst, LEDs at Yole. And he adds: “Phosphor makers are therefore shifting their efforts toward higher added value materials such as nitrides, which, while prices have also decreased significantly during the period, have maintained better margins.”

But both emerging and established vendors such as Intematix will face Mitsubishi’s will to enforce its IP and maintain leadership on this segment.

Despite a difficult environment, some companies will strive. As illustrated by very wide price ranges, despite commoditization on the low end, LED phosphors remain a specialty market on the high end. Leading suppliers still commend significant price premiums and will strive to create value to maintain margins. This can be achieved through improved performance and consistency, customization, and innovative products. Solid IP shielding their customers from the risk of a patent lawsuit is also a strong element of differentiation. The LED phosphor market will remains technology and IP driven. While China-based suppliers are winning the price war, they now need to fight the patent war.

Moreover, in its LED downconverters’ technology & market analysis, Yole announces: “Garnets will keep dominating the market in volume but innovation will pay off and new compositions will capture most of the revenue.”

Indeed, YAG remains the best broadband yellow phosphor for generating white light. But its use is restricted by strong IP owned by Nichia. Silicates are the best substitute, although still lagging slightly in term of cost and performance. With critical IP to start expiring from 1997 and prices now significantly lower than any alternative, Yole expects YAG to become the ubiquitous yellow phosphor by the end of the decade while silicate essentially disappear. For green phosphors, LuAG, silicates and the emerging, cost-efficient GaYAG are the best broadband emitters for high CRI lighting. For high color gamut displays, β-SiAlON is favored due to its high stability and narrow band emission.
Over the last 3 years, nitrides prices have decreased 3x to 10x and the composition family has risen to become the dominant red phosphors for high CRI lighting and wide color gamut displays. Suppliers have proliferated despite IP restrictions. But a new material, Mn4+ doped PFS (potassium fluorosilicate) developed by GE and already manufactured by Denka, Nichia and GE could challenge the nitride dominance in display applications thanks to its extremely narrow band and despite its low absorption. Many other phosphor manufacturers such as Intematix are developing PFS and Yole’s team expects the competition to intensify. However, GE holds strong patents and it remains to be seen how much leverage this will provide the conglomerate in controlling this emerging segment.

It’s big, it’s blue, and it’s preventing approximately 30 tons of waste materials from winding up in a landfill every year. Brewer Science today announced its latest initiative to achieve and maintain zero-landfill status: a giant blue trash compactor that turns garbage into electricity.

Visitors to Brewer Science may notice “Big Blue,” a large compactor located on its campus headquarters. Items that would normally go to the landfill are now placed in the compactor and the contents taken to a waste-to-energy facility where it is used as fuel to make electricity. Generating electricity from items that would otherwise be discarded is another effort by Brewer Science to be a good corporate citizen that shares the values of its customers, employees, and community who want a stronger and healthier environment.

“We know ‘Big Blue’ will prevent approximately 30 tons of waste materials from going to the landfill each year. In simpler terms, it means that each compactor box will fuel approximately four houses or power 480 light bulbs for a month,” said Dr. Terry Brewer, President and CEO of Brewer Science. “Strong environmental stewardship has always been an important value for Brewer Science.  In 2002, Brewer Science began our mini-bin recycling program, which has resulted in recycling nearly 538 tons of waste. With the installation of more efficient water and electrical fixtures, we have reduced our water, electricity, and natural gas consumption. We have continued to challenge ourselves to find additional opportunities that make a positive difference in our environment and our community. With the addition of ‘Big Blue,’ we are not only reducing waste, we are harnessing a new energy source.”

Brewer Science has continued a partnership with the community by helping stakeholders properly dispose of waste and adopting surrounding streets in our industrial park. By working with the City of Rolla, the Ozark Rivers Solid Waste Management District, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the Meramec Regional Planning Commission, and the Phelps County Commission, Brewer Science provides area residents with community collections that have enabled Phelps County to properly dispose of almost 811,000 pounds of waste over the past 11 years. This partnership has contracted disposal companies and provided volunteers who collected appliances, electronics, and tires from area residents, which would have otherwise been disposed of in a landfill.  Brewer Science continues to support these efforts and will host an annual Electronic Waste and Tire Collection on May 30, 2015, from 8 am to noon at the Rolla Campus.

Brewer Science is a developer and manufacturer of materials, processes, and equipment for the reliable fabrication of cutting-edge microdevices used in electronics such as tablet computers, smartphones, digital cameras, televisions, LED lighting, and flexible technology products.

SiVance, LLC, a subsidiary of Milliken & Company, today announced the opening of a new, 11,000 sq.ft. research and development (R&D) laboratory, on the company’s R&D and manufacturing campus in Gainesville, Fla., that will enhance its ability to quickly develop and scale new silane and silicone technologies. The new facility is part of a planned series of investments enabling SiVance to better address current and future customer needs in target markets such as electronic semiconductors, contact lenses, coatings and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The lab will also speed process development for custom manufacturing of speciality silanes, silicones and other chemistries.

“This…facility is a major milestone in our continuous investment strategy for the business, which was initiated following Milliken’s acquisition of SiVance in 2011,” said Saikat Joardar, vice president, SiVance, LLC. “The new lab was designed from the ground up to support customer needs. It enables us to accelerate product and process development and scale up to manufacturing, strengthen collaboration with customers and take advantage of new market opportunities for chemistries that fit our expertise and capabilities.”

The new building is outfitted with sophisticated equipment for research, process development and testing. Installations include eight benchtop hoods for small-scale research development and eight large walk-in fume hoods that enable large-scale development activities and the manufacturing of materials for sampling. A dedicated instrument lab houses an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) that allows laboratory staff to detect minute levels of trace elements, a capability that supports the high purity demands of semiconductor manufacturing. The facility is further equipped with video conferencing systems that simplify remote collaboration with customers and researchers at other Milliken sites. Customers are also encouraged to make onsite visits to observe running processes and conduct quality audits.

The Gainesville site has experienced steady capacity and infrastructure expansion since SiVance was acquired by Milliken to accommodate current and future growth. The new R&D lab will further propel growth in standard and custom products, while offering customers improved capabilities for developing innovative new solutions.

SiVance, LLC develops silicone chemistry, focusing on the development and manufacture of specialty silicone technologies and intermediates required to modify basic silicone polymers.

IHS Technology’s final market share results for 2014 reveal that worldwide semiconductor revenues grew by 9.2 percent in 2014 coming in just slightly below the growth projection of 9.4 percent based on preliminary market share data IHS published in December 2014. The year ended on a strong note with the fourth quarter showing 9.7 percent year-over-year growth.  IHS semiconductor market tracking and forecasts mark the fourth quarter of 2014 as the peak of the annualized growth cycle for the semiconductor industry.

Global revenue in 2014 totaled $354.5 billion, up from $324.7 billion in 2013, according to a final annual semiconductor market shares published by IHS Technology). The nearly double-digit percentage increase follows solid growth of 6.6 percent in 2013, a decline of 2.6 percent in 2012 and a marginal increase of 1.3 percent in 2011. The performance in 2014 represents the highest rate of annual growth since the 33 percent boom of 2010.

“While 2014 marked a peak year for semiconductor revenue growth, the health of both the semiconductor supply base and end-market demand, position the industry for another year of strong growth in 2015,” said Dale Ford, vice president and chief analyst at IHS Technology. “Overall semiconductor revenue growth will exceed 5 percent in 2015, and many component categories and markets will see improved growth over 2014.  The more moderate 2015 growth is due primarily to more modest increases in the memory and microcomponent categories.  The dominant share of semiconductor markets will continue to see vibrant growth in 2015.”

More information on this topic can be found in the latest release of the Competitive Landscaping Tool from the Semiconductors & Components service at IHS.

Top ten maneuvers

Intel maintained its strong position as the largest semiconductor supplier in the world followed by Samsung Electronics and Qualcomm at a strong number two and three position in the rankings.  On the strength of its acquisition of MStar, MediaTek jumped into the top 10 replacing Renesas Electronics at number 10.  The other big mover among the top 20, Avago Technologies, also was boosted by an acquisition, moving up nine places to number 14 with its acquisition of LSI in 2014.

Strategic acquisitions continue to play a major role in shaping both the overall semiconductor market rankings and establishing strong leaders in key semiconductor segments.  NXP and Infineon will be competing for positions among the top 10 semiconductor suppliers in 2015 with the boost from their mergers/acquisitions of Freescale Semiconductor and International Rectifier, respectively.

Among the top 25 semiconductor suppliers, 21 companies achieved growth in 2014.  Out of the four companies suffering declines, three are headquartered in Japan as the Japanese semiconductor market and suppliers continue to struggle.

Broad-based growth

As noted in the preliminary market share results, 2014 was one of the healthiest years in many years for the semiconductor industry.  Five of the seven major component segments achieved improved growth compared to 2013 growth. All of the major component markets saw positive growth in 2014.  Out of 128 categories and subcategories tracked by IHS, 73 percent achieved growth in 2014.  The combined total of the categories that did not grow in 2014 accounted for only 8.1 percent of the total semiconductor market.

Out of more than 300 companies included in IHS semiconductor research, nearly 64 percent achieved positive revenue growth in 2014.  The total combined revenues of all companies experiencing revenue declines accounted for only roughly 15 percent of total semiconductor revenues in 2014.

Semiconductor strength

Memory still delivered a strong performance driven by continued strength in DRAM ICs. However, memory market growth declined by a little more than 10 percent compared to the boom year of 2013 with over 28 percent growth in that year.  Growth in sensors & actuators came in only slightly lower than 2013.

Microcomponents achieved the strongest turn around in growth moving from a -1.6 percent decline in 2013 to 8.9 percent growth in 2014.  It also delivered the best growth among the major segments following memory ICs.  Even Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) achieved positive growth in 2014 following strong, double-digit declines in six of the last seven years.  MPUs lead the category with 10.7 percent growth followed by MCUs with 5.4 percent growth.

Every application market delivered strong growth in 2014 with the exception of Consumer Electronics.  Industrial Electronics lead all segments with 17.8 percent growth.  Data Processing accomplished the strongest improvement in growth as it grew 13.7 percent, up nearly 10 percent from 2014.  Of course, MPUs and DRAM played a key role in the strength of semiconductor growth in Data Processing.  The third-strongest segment was Automotive Electronics which was the third segment with double-digit growth at 10 percent.  Only Wireless Communications saw weaker growth in 2014 compared to 2013 as its growth fell by roughly half its 2013 level to 7.8 percent in 2014.

MagnaChip Semiconductor Corporation, a Korea-based designer and manufacturer of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products announced today that it has kicked-off an Internet of Things (IoT) task force and will offer diversified products with ultra-low power technology in anticipation of the fast growing IoT market. Gartner estimates that the processing, sensing and communications segments of the IoT market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 29.2 percent from $7B in 2013 to $43B by 2020. This rapid growth rate outpaces the rest of the semiconductor industry which is predicted to grow at a rate of 4.6 percent over the same period.

MagnaChip offers a 0.18 micron ultra-low power technology that enables System-on-a-Chip (SoC) applications with low active and low stand-by power consumption. This new process features very low start-up voltage and enables DC-DC Boost Converters to be suitable for IoT applications. Another important technology feature is operational efficiency. This process allows for low electrical current draw, which is suitable for IoT devices such as solar cells, thermoelectric generators, vibration energy harvesters and electromagnetic harvesters.

Based on its already developed 0.18 micron ultra-low power technology, MagnaChip also plans to provide a diversified portfolio within the ultra-low power sector. This includes 0.13 micron ultra-low power EEPROM, Bipolar-CMOS-DMOS (BCD) and mixed-signal technologies. Ultra-low power technology is a key element for conserving energy usage within IoT devices. IoT applications demand an always on, low-power energy source and long battery life which are requirements that MagnaChip’s ultra-low power technology enables.

MagnaChip also offers 0.18 micron and plans to offer 0.13 micron Silicon on Insulator (SOI) RF-CMOS technologies, which is suitable for use in antenna switching, tuner and Power Amplifier (PA) applications. Switches and tuners are core components of wireless Front-End-Modules (FEMs) for cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity in IoT devices. MagnaChip’s CMOS based FEMs reduce manufacturing cost and time to market while providing competitive performance for multiband and multimode smartphones, tablets and other IoT devices.

Furthermore, MagnaChip’s 0.13 and 0.18 micron BCD technologies support high-voltage (up to 100V) and high-efficiency power ICs such as voltage regulators and converters, Power-over-Ethernet and smart LED Lighting solutions, which are essential power elements in IoT applications. With the combination of power devices with lower Specific On-Resistance (Rsp, defined as drain-source resistance times device area, Rds*A), improved isolation and higher reliability, MagnaChip’s 0.13 and 0.18 micron BCD processes will help our foundry customers to design IoT products with smaller and more power efficient characteristics.

“We believe there is tremendous growth opportunity in the IoT market and our participation is part of our overall strategy to broaden our product portfolio in new markets,” said YJ Kim, MagnaChip’s interim Chief Executive Officer. “MagnaChip’s IoT task force and business consortium with key business partners will reinforce our position as a key manufacturing service provider in the expanding IoT market.”

San’an Optoelectronics Co., Ltd. today announced that it has licensed the United States patents of an LED patent portfolio it recently acquired from a major Japanese company to its subsidiary, Luminus Devices, Inc.

The portfolio comprises over 125 issued patents, including over thirty United States patents as well as issued patents in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Germany.  The earliest patents in the portfolio have priority dates reaching back to the mid-1990s, and more recent patents are from the mid-2000s.  These patents in the acquired portfolio are directed to a range of fundamental LED chip and wafer level technology, such as p-type branch electrodes (for example U.S. Patent Nos. 6,881,985 and 6,384,430), transparent ZnO layers, and reflecting electrodes, barrier layers (U.S. Patent No. 6,265,732), spacer layers, doped active layers (U.S. Patent No. 6,081,540), optimized MQWs (U.S. Patent No. 6,501,101), direct-bonded substrates, and GaInP current spreading layers.

According to San’an President Zhiqiang Lin, “We were quite pleased to acquire this well-respected LED patent portfolio as it complements the San’an patent portfolio nicely in time and subject matter and increases the San’an patent holdings to over 280 issued patents and published applications.  San’an recognizes the importance of a strong patent portfolio in the LED industry and we are committed to growing our patent base organically and by strategic acquisition.”

The license of the United States patents to Luminus Devices is exclusive, subject to prior issued licenses, with the right to enforce.  “The addition of the licensed patents to our existing patent portfolio further reinforces the position of Luminus Devices in the LED market,” said Decai Sun, the chief executive officer of Luminus Devices.  Luminus Devices has over eighty patents worldwide including fifty United States patents and is the exclusive licensee of key patents related to laser lift-off and patterned sapphire substrates.

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today applauded the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (TPA-2015), legislation introduced today by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). The SIA board of directors, led by Intel CEO and SIA chairman Brian Krzanich, sent a letter today to congressional leaders expressing support for the legislation and urging its swift passage. Additionally, SIA president and CEO John Neuffer released the following statement in support of the bill:

“SIA strongly supports Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and applauds the introduction of this bipartisan legislation. TPA paves the way for free trade by empowering U.S. negotiators to reach final trade agreements consistent with negotiating objectives laid out by Congress. Free trade is especially critical to the U.S. semiconductor industry, which designs and manufactures the chips that enable virtually all electronics. Our industry relies on a global ecosystem of materials and equipment suppliers, technology providers, services, R&D, and customers, so we depend on open access to international markets.

“In 2014, U.S. semiconductor company sales totaled $173 billion, representing over half the global market, and 82 percent of those sales were to customers outside the United States. The U.S. semiconductor industry employs nearly 250,000 people in high-skilled, high-wage jobs in America, and supports over one million additional U.S. jobs. Since most of the U.S. semiconductor industry’s customers are abroad, free trade is critical to creating and supporting these U.S. jobs.

“The United States is currently pursuing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), two important trade agreements that would result in billions of dollars in global trade of semiconductor products. Without TPA, these agreements may never see the light of day.

“TPA makes sense for America and for the future prosperity of Americans. We commend Chairman Ryan, Chairman Hatch and Ranking Member Wyden for introducing this pro-growth legislation and urge lawmakers to act swiftly to approve it.”

Today, KLA-Tencor Corporation announced two new systems that support advanced semiconductor packaging technologies: CIRCL-AP and ICOS T830. Designed for characterization and monitoring of the diverse processes used in wafer-level packaging, CIRCL-AP enables all-surface wafer defect inspection, review and metrology at high throughput. The ICOS T830 provides fully automated optical inspection of integrated circuit (IC) packages, leveraging high sensitivity with 2D and 3D measurements to determine final package quality for a wide range of device types and sizes. Both systems help IC manufacturers and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) facilities address challenges, such as finer feature sizes and tighter pitch requirements, as they adopt innovative packaging techniques.

“Consumer mobile electronics continue to drive production of smaller, faster and more powerful devices,” stated Brian Trafas, chief marketing officer of KLA-Tencor. “Advanced packaging technologies offer device performance advantages, such as increased bandwidth and improved energy efficiency. The packaging production methods, however, are more complex—involving the implementation of typical front-end IC manufacturing processes, such as chemical mechanical planarization and high aspect ratio etch, and unique processes, such as temporary bonding and wafer reconstitution. By combining our expertise in front-end semiconductor manufacturing process control with experience gained through collaborations at key R&D sites and industry consortia, we have developed flexible and efficient inspection solutions that can help address packaging challenges from wafer-level to final component.”

The CIRCL-AP includes multiple modules that utilize parallel data collection for fast, cost-efficient process control of advanced wafer-level packaging processes. It supports a range of packaging technologies, including wafer-level chip scale packaging, fan-out wafer-level packaging and 2.5D/3D IC integration using through silicon vias (TSVs). The industry-proven 8-Series serves as the CIRCL-AP’s front side defect inspection and metrology module, which couples LED scanning technology with automated defect binning to reduce nuisance and speed detection of critical packaging defects, such as TSV cracks and redistribution layer shorts. The CV350i module, based on KLA-Tencor’s VisEdge technology, enables leading detection, binning and automated review of wafer edge defects and metrology for critical edge trim and bonding steps in the TSV process flow. With multiple imaging and illumination modes, the Micro300 module can produce high precision 2D and 3D metrology for bump, redistribution and TSV processes. Utilizing a flexible architecture, the CIRCL-AP can be configured with one or more modules to address the requirements of specific packaging applications, while the handler supports bonded, thinned and warped substrates.

The ICOS T830 extends the industry-leading ICOS component inspection series to address yield challenges associated with advanced packaging types, including lead frame, fan-out wafer-level, flip-chip and stacked packages. Enhanced package visual inspection capability, xPVI, enables high sensitivity detection of top and bottom component surface defects, such as voids, scratches, pits, chips and exposed wires. To ensure quality standards are being met for leading-edge memory and logic packaged devices, the ICOS T830 offers high speed 3D ball, lead and capacitor metrology, package z-height measurement and component side inspection. The xCrack+ inspection station enables accurate detection of micro-crack defects—a key failure mechanism of thinner components used in mobile applications. The ICOS T830 incorporates high-throughput operation of four independent inspection stations and high-speed sorting of the inspected packaged components to achieve cost-effective component quality control.

Multiple CIRCL-AP systems in various configurations have been installed worldwide for use in development and production of TSV, fan-out wafer-level packaging and other wafer-level packaging technologies. ICOS T830 systems are in use at many worldwide IC packaging facilities, providing accurate feedback on package quality across a range of device types and sizes. To maintain the high performance and productivity demanded by semiconductor packaging providers, the CIRCL-AP and ICOS T830 systems are backed by KLA-Tencor’s global, comprehensive service network.