Category Archives: MEMS

SMIC, Shaoxing Government, and Shengyang Group together announced today the founding of the Semiconductor Manufacturing Electronics (Shaoxing) Corporation (planned) with joint capital contributions. The signing of the joint venture agreement marks the start of a project to bring the manufacture of MEMS and power devices to Shaoxing. The Secretary of the Shaoxing Municipal Party Committee, Mr. Ma Weiguang, the Deputy Secretary and Deputy Mayor, Mr. Sheng Yuechun, the Member of the Standing Committee and Secretary General, Mr. Zhong Hongjiang, the Chairman of SMIC, Dr. Zhou Zixue, the Chief Financial Officer of SMIC, Dr. Gao Yonggang, and Senior Vice President of Strategic Development at SMIC, Ms. Ge Hong, attended the signing ceremony.

Application fields such as Artificial Intelligence, mobile communications, the Internet of Things, automotive electronics, and industrial controls are thriving and growing in pace with the growth of our intelligent society. Specialty MEMS technologies are at the core of the intelligentization of our industry and society, while the advanced manufacturing base for MEMS and power device chips is still relatively weak in China’s domestic semiconductor ecosystem. The investment of this signed joint venture amounts to ¥5.88 Billion RMB. The joint venture will focus on the fields of MEMS and power devices with a wafer and module foundry that will continue to grow and develop with sustained R&D investment. A comprehensive foundry for specialty technologies will be achieved to win leadership in China’s domestic market.

The Chairman of SMIC, Dr. Zhou Zixue indicated in his speech, “SMIC has worked on the specialty technologies of MEMS and power devices for almost ten years. This joint venture project with Shaoxing meets our strategic objectives to build an advanced manufacturing industrial cluster in the Yangtze River Delta region. We have confidence that we will create a leading first-class semiconductor corporation focused on specialty technologies.”

The Secretary of the Shaoxing Municipal Party Committee, Mr. Ma Weiguang said, “In the 1980s, Shaoxing used to be one of the most important towns for China’s IC manufacturing industry. After 40 years the smooth landing of this project will accelerate the transformation and upgrading of the phrase ‘Made in Shaoxing’ into ‘Intelligent Manufacturing in Shaoxing’. Meanwhile, seizing the opportunity to cooperate with SMIC will help to build the IC industry for specialty technologies in Shaoxing and make contributions to Intelligent Manufacturing in China.”

Researchers have, for the first time, integrated two technologies widely used in applications such as optical communications, bio-imaging and Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) systems that scan the surroundings of self-driving cars and trucks.

In the collaborative effort between the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and Harvard University, researchers successfully crafted a metasurface-based lens atop a Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) platform. The result is a new infrared light-focusing system that combines the best features of both technologies while reducing the size of the optical system.

This image gives a close-up view of a metasurface-based flat lens (square piece) integrated onto a MEMS scanner. Integration of MEMS devices with metalenses will help manipulate light in sensors by combining the strengths of high-speed dynamic control and precise spatial manipulation of wave fronts.This image was taken with an optical microscope at Argonne's Center for Nanoscale Materials. Credit: Argonne National Laboratory

This image gives a close-up view of a metasurface-based flat lens (square piece) integrated onto a MEMS scanner. Integration of MEMS devices with metalenses will help manipulate light in sensors by combining the strengths of high-speed dynamic control and precise spatial manipulation of wave fronts.This image was taken with an optical microscope at Argonne’s Center for Nanoscale Materials. Credit: Argonne National Laboratory

Metasurfaces can be structured at the nanoscale to work like lenses. These metalenses were pioneered by Federico Capasso, Harvard’s Robert L. Wallace Professor of Applied Physics, and his group at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). The lenses are rapidly finding applications because they are much thinner and less bulky than existing lenses, and can be made with the same technology used to fabricate computer chips. The MEMSs, meanwhile, are small mechanical devices that consist of tiny, movable mirrors.

“These devices are key today for many technologies. They have become technologically pervasive and have been adopted for everything from activating automobile air bags to the global positioning systems of smart phones,” said Daniel Lopez, Nanofabrication and Devices Group Leader at Argonne’s Center for Nanoscale Materials, a DOE Office of Science User Facility.

Lopez, Capasso and four co-authors describe how they fabricated and tested their new device in an article in APL Photonics, titled “Dynamic metasurface lens based on MEMS technology.” The device measures 900 microns in diameter and 10 microns in thickness (a human hair is approximately 50 microns thick).

The collaboration’s ongoing work to further develop novel applications for the two technologies is conducted at Argonne’s Center for Nanoscale Materials, SEAS and the Harvard Center for Nanoscale Systems, which is part of the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure.

In the technologically merged optical system, MEMS mirrors reflect scanned light, which the metalens then focuses without the need for an additional optical component such as a focusing lens. The challenge that the Argonne/Harvard team overcame was to integrate the two technologies without hurting their performance.

The eventual goal would be to fabricate all components of an optical system — the MEMS, the light source and the metasurface-based optics — with the same technology used to manufacture electronics today.

“Then, in principle, optical systems could be made as thin as credit cards,” Lopez said.

These lens-on-MEMS devices could advance the LIDAR systems used to guide self-driving cars. Current LIDAR systems, which scan for obstacles in their immediate proximity, are, by contrast, several feet in diameter.

“You need specific, big, bulky lenses, and you need mechanical objects to move them around, which is slow and expensive,” said Lopez.

“This first successful integration of metalenses and MEMS, made possible by their highly compatible technologies, will bring high speed and agility to optical systems, as well unprecedented functionalities,” said Capasso.

By Emmy Yi, SEMI Taiwan

Since 2010, 474 companies have poured $51 billion into developing products enabled by artificial intelligence (AI), with the bulk of these investments targeting autonomous driving and in-vehicle experiences, according to the McKinsey reports. With AI and automotive electronics promising massive growth potential, it’s no surprise that IHS Market predicts the Advance Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) market will reach $67.43 billion by 2025 and that, by 2040, 33 million AI-enabled autonomous vehicles will be on the road worldwide.

Lured by this immense business opportunity, many key semiconductor industry players are jumping into the automotive market. Their ICs, however, will face far more stringent reliability requirements than most consumer products, making testing crucial to accelerating the realization of level 5 autonomous driving – a fully autonomous system that rivals the behind-the-wheel performance of a human driver even in extreme road conditions like snow and ice.

With testing such a vital aspect of autonomous driving, SEMI Taiwan recently connected industry experts from IC design and testing-related fields to facilitate cross-discipline collaboration and help inspire innovative solutions to current testing challenges. The early February AI IC and Automotive IC Test Seminar is part of a series of SEMI Taiwan events focused on hot topics including like AI, IoT, smart automotive, smart data and smart MedTech. Following are a few key takeaways from the seminar.

A Paradigm Shift is Needed in Automotive Electronics Testing Strategies

Designers of automotive electronics need to transform their test strategies to match the technical rigors of autonomous driving. The traditional process of build, test, and then fix-for-compliance must be changed in the era of self-driving vehicles. Adding AI to already electronically complex automotive systems will dramatically increase the number of ICs and sensors in vehicles.

The process of testing component points of failure falls well short of the requirement to test under countless driving scenarios during a which a device might fail. Testing, therefore, must be holistic. Starting in the development phase of their own electronics systems, automotive electronics designers must work closely with component and other technology suppliers to ensure that designs are well-integrated and rigorously tested for interoperability and points of failure under any conditions a human driver would face.

Wafer-level Test is A Trend

The cost and time for IC testing have steadily increased to meet the relentless scaling requirements of highly integrated advanced technologies, placing immense pressure on current wafer-level packaging and testing methodologies to maintain cost efficiencies, chip yields and time-to-market speed. The challenges will intensify with the multiple-component parallel testing required for autonomous vehicles. Demands on automotive electronics manufacturers to maintain DDPM quality levels key to smart functionalities, powertrain operation, safety and reliability will also complicate current IC testing methodologies.

Beyond Technology

To fulfill the promise of autonomous automobiles and other AI applications, industry, academia, and government in Taiwan must work together to solve underlying technical challenges, create profitable business models and develop a strong programming and system integration workforce. Taiwan has a solid foundation to build on. With its strong semiconductor manufacturing industry and advanced IC testing capabilities, Taiwan is well-positioned as a growth engine for the advanced automotive electronics needed for autonomous vehicles.

 

 

STMicroelectronics and Sigfox have announced a collaboration agreement to support and accelerate the growing demand for connected devices for a broad range of applications, including supply-chain management, building and equipment maintenance, water and gas metering, security, transportation, agriculture, mining and home automation. ST will include the Sigfox networking software in its development tools that enable developers to bring their LPWAN-based products and solutions to market faster.

To speed customer adoption of Sigfox as a standard low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) for securely connecting physical devices to the Cloud and the IoT, ST will now offer the Sigfox networking software as part of ST’s MCU software package, including STM32 tool compatibility. The collaboration agreement ensures tool compatibility for the industry-leading STM32 family of general-purpose microcontrollers, as well as with ST’s unique portfolio of technologies and products suitable for Sigfox technology. These include the S2-LP, a high performance and ultra-low-power sub-GHz radio transceiver, the highly secure, Sigfox-compatible STSAFE-A1SX secure element, a wide range of motion, environmental, and audio sensors, and power and power-management devices.

 

Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq: MSCC), a provider of semiconductor solutions differentiated by power, security, reliability and performance, today announced the ZL70123, a new radio frequency (RF) base station module for implantable devices utilizing the Medical Implant Communication Service (MICS) RF band. The new module was developed specifically for external controllers and monitors of implantable medical devices.

Microsemi’s ZL70123 base station module, when combined with the company’s existing ZL70323 implant module, provides a complete solution for achieving the highest performance in next-generation medical networks (Med-Net). Both modules are based on the latest generation of Microsemi’s ultralow power (ULP), MICS-band, radio transceiver chip, which has been deployed in more than three million implantable devices over the last 10 years.

Radio frequency technology is increasingly being used in a wide variety of medical implantable applications, including cardiac care, physiological monitoring (e.g., insulin monitoring), pain management and obesity treatments. According to a recent report from P&S Research, the market for active implantable devices, which includes pacemakers, defibrillators and neurostimulators, is expected to grow at an eight percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the next five years, reaching nearly $29 billion by 2023. Microsemi’s new ZL70123 base station module is ideally suited for the unique needs of this growing market.

“RF engineering is a highly specialized discipline, and leveraging Microsemi’s deep expertise in this area allows our customers to reduce design times and minimize project risk,” said Martin McHugh, Microsemi’s product line manager for implant modules. “With Microsemi’s two-module radio link, companies can now focus research dollars and development efforts on new therapies that enable a better quality of life.”

Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI) today announced that it has expanded its Silicon Valley Headquarters to over two million square feet of facilities with the grand opening of its new Building 22.

The Corporate Headquarters includes engineering, manufacturing and customer service making Supermicro the only Tier 1 systems vendor to build its servers in Silicon Valley and worldwide.  Supermicro is ranked as the third largest server systems supplier in the world (Source: IDC).  In addition to the branded solution business used in the ranking, Supermicro also services large OEM and system integrator customers and shipped over 1.2 million units in 2017.

This latest building is the second of five facilities that the company plans to build on the 36-acre property formerly owned by the San Jose Mercury News. Additionally, the company continues to expand its other facilities worldwide.

“Having our design, engineering, manufacturing and service teams all here at our Silicon Valley campus gives Supermicro the agility to quickly respond to the newest technologies in the industry and to our customer’s needs and unique requirements, which is a major advantage that we have over the competition,” said Charles Liang, President and CEO of Supermicro.  “As our business continues to rapidly scale with over 1.2 million server and storage systems shipped globally last year, increasing our production capacity and capabilities is vital to keeping up with our rapid growth.  The opening of Building 22, along with the opening of two new facilities at our technology campus in Taiwan, provides the additional capacity and rack scale integration plug and play capabilities to ensure that we can provide the best possible service to our enterprise, datacenter, channel and cloud customers.”

“We’re thrilled to see an innovative, sustainable, and community-minded leader like Supermicro continuing to invest and grow in San Jose, and we look forward to their continued success now and for years to come!” said San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo.

“The Corporation for Manufacturing Excellence – Manex would like to congratulate Supermicro for its continued growth through design and engineering excellence,” said Gene Russell, President and CEO of Manex.  “Its investments in workforce, physical plant and equipment are crucial to the Silicon Valley Ecosystem and to its global client base.  Manex, as a network member of the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership and the CMTC California network is a proud partner of Supermicro.”

Working closely with key partners like Intel, Supermicro leverages its strength in design and engineering to lead the way with first-to-market server and storage technology innovations. The company offers the industry’s broadest portfolio of advanced server and storage solutions including the popular BigTwin™ and SuperBlade® product lines and provides rack scale integration with rack plug and play capabilities.

Creating the perfect wearable device to monitor muscle movement, heart rate and other tiny bio-signals without breaking the bank has inspired scientists to look for a simpler and more affordable tool.

Now, a team of researchers at UBC’s Okanagan campus have developed a practical way to monitor and interpret human motion, in what may be the missing piece of the puzzle when it comes to wearable technology.

What started as research to create an ultra-stretchable sensor transformed into a sophisticated inter-disciplinary project resulting in a smart wearable device that is capable of sensing and understanding complex human motion, explains School of Engineering Professor Homayoun Najjaran.

The sensor is made by infusing graphene nano-flakes (GNF) into a rubber-like adhesive pad. Najjaran says they then tested the durability of the tiny sensor by stretching it to see if it can maintain accuracy under strains of up to 350 per cent of its original state. The device went through more than 10,000 cycles of stretching and relaxing while maintaining its electrical stability.

“We tested this sensor vigorously,” says Najjaran. “Not only did it maintain its form but more importantly it retained its sensory functionality. We have further demonstrated the efficacy of GNF-Pad as a haptic technology in real-time applications by precisely replicating the human finger gestures using a three-joint robotic finger.”

The goal was to make something that could stretch, be flexible and a reasonable size, and have the required sensitivity, performance, production cost, and robustness. Unlike an inertial measurement unit–an electronic unit that measures force and movement and is used in most step-based wearable technologies–Najjaran says the sensors need to be sensitive enough to respond to different and complex body motions. That includes infinitesimal movements like a heartbeat or a twitch of a finger, to large muscle movements from walking and running.

School of Engineering Professor and study co-author Mina Hoorfar says their results may help manufacturers create the next level of health monitoring and biomedical devices.

“We have introduced an easy and highly repeatable fabrication method to create a highly sensitive sensor with outstanding mechanical and electrical properties at a very low cost,” says Hoorfar.

To demonstrate its practicality, researchers built three wearable devices including a knee band, a wristband and a glove. The wristband monitored heartbeats by sensing the pulse of the artery. In an entirely different range of motion, the finger and knee bands monitored finger gestures and larger scale muscle movements during walking, running, sitting down and standing up. The results, says Hoorfar, indicate an inexpensive device that has a high-level of sensitivity, selectivity and durability.

Global sales of smartphones to end users totaled nearly 408 million units in the fourth quarter of 2017, a 5.6 percent decline over the fourth quarter of 2016, according to Gartner, Inc. This is the first year-on-year decline since Gartner started tracking the global smartphone market in 2004.

“Two main factors led to the fall in the fourth quarter of 2017,” said Anshul Gupta, research director at Gartner. “First, upgrades from feature phones to smartphones have slowed down due to a lack of quality “ultra-low-cost” smartphones and users preferring to buy quality feature phones. Second, replacement smartphone users are choosing quality models and keeping them longer, lengthening the replacement cycle of smartphones. Moreover, while demand for high quality, 4G connectivity and better camera features remained strong, high expectations and few incremental benefits during replacement weakened smartphone sales.”

Samsung Retains No. 1 Spot in Fourth Quarter of 2017

Samsung saw a year-on-year unit decline of 3.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017, but this did not prevent it from defending its No. 1 global smartphone vendor position against Apple (see Table 1).

Table 1

Worldwide Smartphone Sales to End Users by Vendor in 4Q17 (Thousands of Units)

Vendor

4Q17

Units

4Q17 Market Share (%)

4Q16

Units

4Q16 Market Share (%)

Samsung

74,026.6

18.2

76,782.6

17.8

Apple

73,175.2

17.9

77,038.9

17.8

Huawei

43,887.0

10.8

40,803.7

9.4

Xiaomi

28,187.8

6.9

15,751.3

3.6

OPPO

25,660.1

6.3

26,704.7

6.2

Others

162,908.8

39.9

195,059.1

45.1

Total

407,845.4

100.0

432,140.3

100.0

Source: Gartner (February 2018)

Despite the start of a slowdown in sales of Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and S8+, the overall success of those models has helped Samsung improve overall average selling price. Samsung is poised to announce the successors to its Galaxy series of smartphones at Mobile World Congress (MWC) this year. The launches of its next flagship devices are likely to boost Samsung’s smartphone sales in the first quarter of 2018. Although Samsung’s significant sales volumes lean toward midprice and entry-level models, which now face extreme competition and reducing contribution, its profit and average selling price may further improve if these next flagship smartphones are successful.

While Apple’s market share stabilized in the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to the same quarter in 2016, iPhone sales fell 5 percent. “Apple was in a different position this quarter than it was 12 months before,” said Mr. Gupta. “It had three new smartphones — the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X — yet its performance in the quarter was overshadowed by two factors. First, the later availability of the iPhone X led to slow upgrades to iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, as users waited to try the more-expensive model. Second, component shortages and manufacturing capacity constraints preceded a long delivery cycle for the iPhone X, which returned to normal by early December 2017. We expect good demand for the iPhone X to likely bring a delayed sales boost for Apple in the first quarter of 2018,” added Mr. Gupta.

Huawei and Xiaomi — The Big Winners in Fourth Quarter of 2017

Huawei and Xiaomi were the only smartphone vendors to achieve year-on-year unit growth (7.6 and 79 percent, respectively) and grew market share in the quarter. With Huawei’s new smartphone additions in the quarter, including Mate 10 Lite, Honor 6C Pro and Enjoy 7S, the vendor broadened the appeal of its smartphones.

Xiaomi’s competitive smartphone portfolio, consisting of its Mi and Redmi models, helped accelerate its growth in the emerging Asia/Pacific (APAC) market. It also helped Xiaomi win back lost share in China.

“Future growth opportunities for Huawei will reside in winning market share in emerging APAC and the U.S.,” said Mr. Gupta. “Xiaomi’s biggest market outside China is India, where it will continue to see high growth. Increasing sales in Indonesia and other markets in emerging APAC will position Xiaomi as a strong global brand.”

In 2017 as a whole, smartphone sales to end users totaled over 1.5 billion units, an increase of 2.7 percent from 2016 (see Table 2). Huawei, ranked No. 3, raised its share in 2017, continuing to gain on Apple. At the same time, the combined market share of the Chinese vendors in the top five increased by 4.2 percentage points, while the market share of top two, Samsung and Apple, remained unchanged.

Table 2

Worldwide Smartphone Sales to End Users by Vendor in 2017 (Thousands of Units)

Vendor

2017

Units

2017 Market Share (%)

2016

Units

2016 Market Share (%)

Samsung

321,263.3

20.9

306,446.6

20.5

Apple

214,924.4

14.0

216,064.0

14.4

Huawei

150,534.3

9.8

132,824.9

8.9

OPPO

112,124.0

7.3

85,299.5

5.7

Vivo

99,684.8

6.5

72,408.6

4.8

Others

638,004.7

41.5

682,915.3

45.7

Total

1,536,535.5

100.0

1,495,959.0

100.0

Source: Gartner (February 2018)

In the smartphone operating system (OS) market, Google’s Android extended its lead by capturing 86 percent of the total market in 2017 (see Table 3). This is up 1.1 percentage points from a year ago. “The competition in the smartphone market is unabated at this time of the year,” said Mr. Gupta. “Ahead of MWC, several phone manufacturers such as Samsung, HMD (Nokia), Asus and LG have announced that they will launch new Android smartphones.”

Table 3

Worldwide Smartphone Sales to End Users by Operating System in 2017 (Thousands of Units)

Operating System

2017

Units

2017 Market Share (%)

2016

Units

2016 Market Share (%)

Android

1,320,118.1

85.9

1,268,562.7

84.8

iOS

214,924.4

14.0

216,064.0

14.4

Other OS

1,493.0

0.1

11,332.2

0.8

Total

1,536,535.5

100.0

1,495,959.0

100.0

Source: Gartner (February 2018)

Further information is available in the Gartner report titled “Market Share: Final PCs, Ultramobiles and Mobile Phones, All Countries, 4Q17.”

A global gathering of more than 650 industry and academic experts, including 140 speakers and 56 exhibitors, shared the latest advancements in both flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) and in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and sensors at 2018FLEX and MEMS & Sensors Technical Congress (MSTC). Hosted by SEMI strategic association partners, FlexTech and MEMS & Sensors Industry Group (MSIG), the events presented technologies, integration strategies and packaging/process methodologies that are advancing human-machine interaction in health monitoring and the treatment of illness, automotive systems, consumer electronics, Internet of Things (IoT) and industrial applications.

Speakers offered fascinating views of emerging FHE applications, including:

  • Cortera Neurotechnologies Co-founder and CTO Rikky Muller described how her company is replacing existing large wired sensors with small, minimally invasive thin biomaterials that interact more naturally with the neural cortex. Cortera Neurotechnologies’ devices will be used to treat neurological disease and psychiatric illnesses such as major depressive disorder. “I think we need biological invisibility,” said Muller. “We need materials and form factors that cause no reaction in the human body at all. We need stability and longevity, since we need these devices to outlive us.”
  • Auburn University MacFarlane Endowed Professor & Director Pradeep Lall called his department’s AU-CAVE3 Biometric Sensor Band with LifeSaver App a “guardian angel” that autonomously monitors patients without human interaction and can even call 9-1-1.
  • NASA Ames Research Center Chief Scientist for Exploration Technology Meyya Meyyappansaid that 3D printed electronics will support a multi-material “FabLab” on the International Space Station for repairing or replacing failed devices. “This will free scientists from having to send living supplies back and forth between the ISS and earth at a cost savings of up to $10,000 per pound,” he said.

Synergies and Integration Potential

SEMI for the first time co-located 2018FLEX with MSTC, which allowed attendees to explore potential synergies between the component-level technologies of MEMS/sensors and the more wide-reaching integration technologies of FHE. Longtime MSIG Members Mary Ann Maher, CEO of SoftMEMS, and Chip Spangler, president of Aspen Microsystems, offered a popular short-course on the integration of MEMS sensors and actuators with FHE electronics (FHE). “MEMS integrated with FHE offers distinct advantages for wearables and implantable devices, for example, which require conformal and flexible substrates and interconnections and small, accurate form-factor sensors,” said Maher.

Spangler gave the example of a prosthetic eye, saying, “Because the device must fit the form factor of an eyeball, flex circuits are used to make the antenna that connects to an external camera — which is outside the field of view — as well as to the optic nerve. FHE both facilitates the manufacture of the prosthetic eye and allows it to fit within the confined space of the eye socket.”

Awards and Recognitions

SEMI announced the recipients of its annual FLEXI Awards on February 13, 2018, lauding innovators in categories of R&D Achievements, Product Innovation and Commercialization, Education Leadership, and Industry Leadership. (See press release, “2018 FLEXI Awards Innovation and Leadership in Flexible Hybrid Electronics, February 13, 2018.)

SEMI announced the appointment of Frank A. Shemansky, Jr., Ph.D., as executive director and chief technology officer (CTO) of MSIG. Shemansky brings more than 25 years’ experience in microelectronics to MSIG, where he will now direct global activities. (See press release, Frank Shemansky to Lead SEMI’s MEMS & Sensors Industry Group, February 13, 2018.)

SEMI also recognized the “Innovators of Tomorrow” with its student poster session competition: Jonathan Ting, UC Berkeley: “Fully Screen-printed NiO Thermister Arrays;” Telha Alcagyazi, North Carolina State University: “Multi-modal Array Sensing with Textiles;” and Levent E. Ayguh, Princeton University: “Sound Identification Using Physically Expansive Sensing System.”

Entering 2018 on solid ground


February 22, 2018

By Walt Custer, Custer Consulting Group

2017 finished on an upturn – both in the USA and globally.  Based on consolidated fourth-quarter actual and estimated revenues of 213 large, global electronic manufactures, sales rose in excess of 7 percent in 4Q’17 vs. 4Q’16 (Chart 1).  This was the highest global electronic equipment sales growth rate since the third quarter of 2011. Because some companies in our sample didn’t close their financial quarter until the end of January, final results will take a few more weeks – but all evidence points to a very strong fourth quarter of last year.

Custer1-Electronic-Equipment

 

Using regional (country specific) data (Chart 2), the normal, consumer electronics driven seasonal downturn began again in January.  However the recent year-over-year growth is still substantial.  On a total electronic equipment revenue basis, January 2018 was up almost 19.5 percent over January 2017.

Custer2-World-Electronic

Because this regional data in local currencies was converted to U.S. dollars at fluctuating exchange, the dollar denominated-growth was amplified by currency exchange effects.  At constant exchange the January growth was only 14 percent.   That is, when the stronger non-U.S. currencies were converted to weakening dollars, the dollar-denominated January 2018 fluctuating exchange growth was amplified by 5.5 percent.

Chart 3 shows 4Q’17/4Q’16 growth of the domestic electronic supply chain.  U.S. electronic equipment shipments were up 9.1 percent.  Only computer equipment and non-defense aircraft sales declined in the fourth quarter.  And of note, SEMI equipment shipments to North America rose almost 31 percent!

Custer3-US-Electronic-Supply

 

Chart 4 shows estimated fourth-quarter growth for the world electronic supply chain.  Only “Business & Office” equipment revenues declined in 4Q’17 vs. 4Q’16.

Custer4-Global-Electronic

Total global electronic equipment sales increased more than 7 percent in the fourth quarter and SEMI equipment revenues rose 32 percent.

2017 was a strong year and 2018 is off to a good start!  The 2017 lofty growth rates will temper, but this current expansion will likely continue.  Watch the monthly numbers!

Originally published on the SEMI blog.