Category Archives: MEMS

By Bettina Weiss, VP, Business Development and Product Management, SEMI

Leading industry experts participated in the joint SEMI-MEMS Industry Group (MIG) workshop during SEMICON West 2015 to discuss industry challenges – and potential solutions and collaborative approaches – in the MEMS, sensors and semiconductor industries. The group discussed commonalities, lessons learned, and tried-and-true solutions such as standardization, best known methods (BKMs) and other pre- or non-competitive platforms to tackle some of the more vexing technology challenges in MEMS, sensors, and semiconductors. Disucssions covered heterogeneous integration, system-level packaging and a likely  move to 300mm wafers for MEMS devices.

The joint workshop was a direct result of a survey from both SEMI and MIG, conducted in parallel among their respective members in the spring.  SEMI and MIG members were asked to respond to and rank issues and challenges they see coming in the next 5-10 years, from product development and ramping to testing, packaging, and the need for Standards and broader platforms for collaboration. As an example, the chart below shows a strong indication on both the semiconductor as well as the MEMS/sensor side for the importance of higher integration devices, which makes it a natural topic for SEMI and MIG members to collaborate.

Alissa Fitzgerald of AM Fitzgerald & Associates, Dave Thomas of STPS Technologies, and Michael Nagib of Si-Ware Systems kicked off the workshop with presentations highlighting their perspective of overarching industry challenges and how innovative solutions create smarter products. Fitzgerald spoke specifically to “The Business Case for MEMS Standardization,” providing concrete examples – SOI wafer specifications and DRIE test pattern and recipe performance ─ where Standards could provide immediate benefits to the MEMS industry. She encouraged executives to study the financial benefits derived from standards and to send their engineers to actively contribute to new standards development.

The panel discussion following the presentations provided substance for the subsequent Q&A and open discussion. Moderated by Steve Whalley of MEMS Industry Group, Mike Rosa of Applied Materials, Bill Chen of ASE Group, Nim Tea of InvenSense, Inc. and Claire Troadec of Yole Developpment discussed “Manufacturing for the Internet of Things” from their vantage points and then participated in the open discussion. MEMS, sensors and semiconductor devices are headed to the Internet of Things – and that means the IoT will also require Standards. Participants talked about a variety of topics where Standards can be beneficial, from specifications for thin wafer handling and novel materials to FOLWP, monolithic integration between CMOS and MEMS and optimization of volume production processes.

Are supply chain stakeholders really collaborating, though, to leverage existing Standards, as well as jointly prioritize the need for new specifications and test methods? Are there other platforms for achieving shared objectives aside from Standards? How can we drive solutions with speed and agility? SEMI and MIG will take up these issues with the formation of a Joint Task Force to address these and other critical issues. And as a first step, both organizations will put together a landscape document of Standards Developing Organizations (SDOs) and a list of available Standards for each one, to assess what Standards already exists, which ones are applicable to both the MEMS/sensor and semiconductor industries, and then identify gaps and opportunities for new, industry-wide solutions. This is an exciting time. Become part of this activity and help shape the future!

For more information, please contact Bettina Weiss at [email protected]. Upcoming MEMS events include: SEMI European MEMS Summit and MEMS Executive Congress US 2015

MagnaChip Semiconductor Corporation, a Korea-based designer and manufacturer of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products, announced today it is hosting its first Foundry Technology Symposium at the Grand Hyatt in Shanghai, China, on September 22, 2015.

MagnaChip plans to discuss its current and future semiconductor foundry business roadmap, specialty technology processes, target applications and end-markets. This symposium is a direct response to the increased interest and demand coming from our Chinese fabless customers for advanced analog and mixed-signal specialized foundry technologies.

During the symposium in Shanghai, MagnaChip, which is the largest Korea-based analog and mixed-signal foundry service provider, will highlight its technology portfolio with discussions focused on mixed-signal, low power technologies in the Internet of Things (IoT) sector, Bipolar-CMOS-DMOS (BCD) for high-performance analog and power management applications, Ultra-High Voltage (UHV) and Non-Volatile Memory (NVM). In addition, MagnaChip will present technologies used in applications including smartphones, tablet PCs, automotive, LED lighting, consumer wearables and IoT. MagnaChip will also review its customer-friendly design environment and on-line customer service tool known as “iFoundry”.

“We are very pleased to host our first Foundry Technology Symposium in Shanghai and intend to provide a beneficial and an educational event for all of our participants,” said YJ Kim, Chief Executive Officer of MagnaChip. “Through our technology symposiums in Taiwan, the United States and now in Shanghai, we are better able to serve our global customers with our long history of successful foundry service and expertise.

A multitude of fabless companies, IDMs (Integrated Device Manufacturers) and other semiconductor companies are expected to attend MagnaChip’s Shanghai technology symposium. To sign up for the event, and to receive more detailed information regarding the symposium, please visit www.magnachip.com or ifoundry.magnachip.com.

Easily manufactured, low cost, lightweight, flexible dielectric polymers that can operate at high temperatures may be the solution to energy storage and power conversion in electric vehicles and other high temperature applications, according to a team of Penn State engineers.

Researcher holds flexible dielectric material. Pull out shows boron nitride nano sheets. Credit: Qing Wang, Penn State

Researcher holds flexible dielectric material. Pull out shows boron nitride nano sheets. Credit: Qing Wang, Penn State

“Ceramics are usually the choice for energy storage dielectrics for high temperature applications, but they are heavy, weight is a consideration and they are often also brittle,” said Qing Wang, professor of materials science and engineering, Penn State. “Polymers have a low working temperature and so you need to add a cooling system, increasing the volume so system efficiency decreases and so does reliability.”

Dielectrics are materials that do not conduct electricity, but when exposed to an electric field, store electricity. They can release energy very quickly to satisfy engine start-ups or to convert the direct current in batteries to the alternating current needed to drive motors.

Applications like hybrid and electric vehicles, aerospace power electronics and underground gas and oil exploration equipment require materials to withstand high temperatures. The researchers developed a cross-linked polymer nanocomposite containing boron nitride nanosheets. This material has high-voltage capacity for energy storage at elevated temperatures and can also be photo patterned and is flexible. The researchers report their results in a recent issue of Nature.

This boron nitride polymer composite can withstand temperatures of more than 480 degrees Fahrenheit under the application of high voltages. The material is easily manufactured by mixing the polymer and the nanosheets and then curing the polymer either with heat or light to create crosslinks. Because the nanosheets are tiny — about 2 nanometers in thickness and 400 nanometers in lateral size, the material remains flexible, but the combination provides unique dielectric properties, which include higher voltage capability, heat resistance and bendability.

“Our next step is to try to make this material in large scale and put it into a real application,” said Wang. “Theoretically, there is no exact scalability limit.”

IC Insights will release its August Update to the 2015 McClean Report later this month.  The August Update will include an in-depth analysis of the IC foundry market and a look at the top 25 1H15 semiconductor suppliers’ sales results and their outlooks for 3Q15 (the top 20 1H15 semiconductor suppliers are covered in this research bulletin).

The top-20 worldwide semiconductor (IC and O S D—optoelectronic, sensor, and discrete) sales ranking for 1H15 is depicted in Figure 1.  As shown, it took just over $2.2 billion in sales just to make it into the 1H15 top-20 ranking and eight of the top 20 companies had 1H15 sales of at least $5.0 billion. The ranking includes seven suppliers headquartered in the U.S., four in Japan, three in Taiwan, three in Europe, two in South Korea, and one in Singapore.  The top-20 supplier list includes three pure-play foundries (TSMC, GlobalFoundries, and UMC) and four fabless companies.

IC Insights includes foundries in the top 20 semiconductor supplier ranking since it has always viewed the ranking as a top supplier list, not a marketshare ranking, and realizes that in some cases the semiconductor sales are double counted.

It should be noted that not all foundry sales should be excluded when attempting to create marketshare data. For example, although Samsung had a large amount of foundry sales in 1H15, some of its foundry sales were to Apple and other electronic system suppliers.  Since the electronic system suppliers do not resell these devices, counting these foundry sales as Samsung IC sales does not introduce double counting.  Overall, the top-20 list in Figure 1 is provided as a guideline to identify which companies are the leading semiconductor suppliers, whether they are IDMs, fabless companies, or foundries.

semi sales 2q15 fig 1

In total, the top 20 semiconductor companies’ sales increased by only 1% in 2Q15/1Q15, the same growth rate as the total worldwide semiconductor industry.  Although the top-20 semiconductor companies registered a 1% sequential increase in 2Q15, there was a 23-point spread between Samsung, the fastest growing company on the list (10 percent growth), and Qualcomm, the worst performing supplier (13 percent decline) in the ranking.  Moreover, given Qualcomm’s currently dismal guidance for 3Q15, the company is on pace to post a semiconductor sales decline of 20 percent in calendar year 2015.

Samsung’s excellent growth rate in 2Q15 put the company closer to catching Intel and becoming the world’s leading semiconductor supplier.  In 2014, Intel’s semiconductor sales were 36 percent greater than Samsung’s.  In 2Q15, the delta dropped by a whopping 20 percentage points to only 16 percent.  However, with Intel providing guidance for a 3Q15/2Q15 sales increase of 8 percent and Samsung facing a lackluster DRAM market (primarily due to pricing pressures), additional gains toward the number one position may be difficult for Samsung to achieve in the near future.

There were two new entrants into the top 20 ranking in 1H15—Japan-based Sharp and Taiwan-based pure-play foundry UMC, which replaced U.S.-based Nvidia and AMD.  AMD had a particularly rough 2Q15 and saw its sales drop 35 percent year-over-year.  In fact, in 2Q15, the company’s sales fell below $1.0 billion for the first time since 3Q03, almost 12 years ago.  It currently appears that AMD’s 2013 restructuring and new strategy programs to focus on non-PC end-use segments have yet to pay off (in addition to its sales decline, AMD lost $361 million in 1H15 after losing $403 million in 2014).

IC Insights has recently lowered its 2015 worldwide semiconductor market forecast from 5 percent to 2 percent.  As was shown in Figure 1, the top 20 semiconductor suppliers in total had $128.3 billion in sales in 1H15.  This figure was just under 50 percent of the top 20 companies’ full year 2014 sales of $259.1 billion.  With only modest growth expected in the second half of this year for the worldwide semiconductor market, the top 20 semiconductor suppliers’ combined sales in 2015 are expected to be only about 1-2 percent greater than in 2014.

Figure 2 shows how the 1H15 top 20 ranking would have looked if the Avago/Broadcom and NXP/Freescale mergers were in place.  As shown, Avago/Broadcom would have been ranked 7th and NXP/Freescale would have moved into the 10th spot.  IC Insights believes that additional acquisitions and mergers over the next few years are likely to continue to shake up the future top 20 semiconductor company rankings.

semi sales 2q15 fig 2

Today, Intel Corporation announced it will invest $5 million over the next five years to deepen its engineering pipeline partnership with the Georgia Institute of Technology and deploy research-driven solutions to inspire and retain women and underrepresented minorities to start and complete computer science and engineering degrees.

The Intel and Georgia Tech program, announced in conjunction with the first-ever White House Demo Day, builds on Intel’s ongoing commitment to improve diversity in the technology industry. Earlier this year, Intel announced a new goal in diversity and inclusion: to achieve full representation of underrepresented minorities and women by the year 2020 in its U.S. workforce, along with a $300 million Diversity in Technology initiative to help build a pipeline of underrepresented engineers and computer scientists, to foster hiring and inclusion of women and underrepresented minorities at Intel, and to fund programs to support a more positive representation of women and underrepresented minorities in technology and gaming.

“Filling the tech industry pipeline with diverse students is critical to increasing the number of diverse engineers and computer scientists in the field,” said Rosalind Hudnell, vice president of Human Resources and Chief Diversity Officer at Intel. “The goal of this program is to inspire and support more women and underrepresented minorities to earn technical degrees so we can hire them down the road – we want to foster those future tech innovators.”

The program will support and expand several existing Georgia Tech initiatives, including:

  • Summer Engineering Institute: The three-week Summer Engineering Institute hosts rising 11th- and 12th-graders from around the country. Students learn basic engineering and computer science techniques and gain hands-on experience through working in teams to solve real-world engineering problems.
  • RISE: Retaining Inspirational Scholars in Technology and Engineering (RISE) provides financial support to talented underrepresented minority and non-traditional students. Intel’s existing Diversity Scholars program will provide scholarships with priority going to those whose majors align with Intel’s interests: electrical engineering, computer science and computer engineering.
  • Peer-2-Peer Mentoring: The mentoring program provides specialized guidance and support to undergraduate students majoring in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), while also helping them adjust to the climate and culture at Georgia Tech. Mentors and mentees develop leadership, communication and networking skills.
  • SURE: The Summer Undergraduate Research in Engineering (SURE) is a 10-week research program to attract qualified minority students from across the country into graduate school in the fields of engineering and science. In addition to conducting research, participants receive mentoring from faculty and graduate students and participate in professional development and technical seminars.
  • Focus: The Focus program invites college juniors and seniors from around the country to attend a three-day event designed to raise awareness of graduate education among underrepresented students. Participants learn about financial resources, visit research laboratories, network with other scholars and receive help with the graduate school application process.

The Intel and Georgia Tech program is anticipated to result in retaining more than 1,000 underrepresented minority students and improve access to thousands more students.

“It is a national imperative that the U.S. continue to enhance the engagement of students of all backgrounds in STEM fields to create a more robust economy,” said Gary May, dean and Southern Company Chair in the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech. “The higher education and private sectors must combine forces to achieve the impact that is necessary. As a national leader in producing outstanding underrepresented engineering graduates, Georgia Tech is pleased to partner with Intel in this transformative initiative.”

The Intel and Georgia Tech program was announced in conjunction with the first-ever White House Demo Day, which celebrates the important role entrepreneurship plays in America’s economy. Unlike a private-sector demo day, where entrepreneurs and startups pitch their ideas to funders, this new event invites innovators from around the country to “demo” their individual stories in Washington, D.C.

Earlier this year, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich announced that Intel is entering into a memorandum of understanding with the Oakland Unified School District and will invest $5 million over the next five years to improve access to computer science and engineering careers as early as high school. As part of Intel’s new collaboration with Georgia Tech, many of the Oakland students will have the opportunity to participate in Georgia Tech’s Summer Engineering Institute.

MEMS Industry Group (MIG) will gather the world’s leading providers of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and sensors technology for its second annual MEMS Industry Group Conference Asia in Shanghai, China on September 8-11, 2015. Held in partnership with Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology (SIMIT) and Shanghai Industrial Technology Research(SITRI), this four-day event blends a two-day conference focused on the challenges and opportunities for MEMS and sensors in the Internet of Things (IoT) with exclusive tours of top R&D labs and commercial companies.

“MEMS Industry Group Conference Asia merges real-world exploration with a conference and networking event to give attendees a rare inside view of MEMS/sensors innovation engines in China,” said Karen Lightman, executive director, MEMS Industry Group. “From our tours of Nanopolis and SITRI Innovation Centers to interactive salon sessions with commercial industry and R&D — as well as presentations from the world’s most successful global suppliers of MEMS/sensors — conference attendees will engage with startup companies, researchers and multinational companies to learn firsthand about MEMS/sensors in Asia. Attendees will also gain valuable insight into the skyrocketing importance of MEMS/sensors in the IoT.”

Pre-conference Tour of Nanopolis

MIG will host a pre-conference tour of Nanopolis, called “the world’s largest hub of nanotech innovation and commercialization,” on September 8, 2015. Pre-conference attendees will visit Nanopolis-based MEMS and sensors companies: China Wafer Level CSP Co., Ltd. (WLCSP), the MEMS fab at MEMSRIGHT and SINANO laboratory (Suzhou Institute of Nano-tech and Nano-bionics).

The conference agenda features:

o   Moderator: George Hsu, chairman of the board, PNI Sensor

o   Panelist: David Allan, president, Virtuix

o   Panelist: Xianfeng (Sean) Ding, director of sensing – chief scientist, Huawei

o   Panelist: Andrew Kung, general manager, Colt Advance International Limited

o   Panelist: Gary Yao, advanced technology manager, HTC America

o   Moderator: Doug Sparks, executive vice president, Hanking Electronics

o   Panelist: George Liu, director, TSMC

o   Panelist: Ian Wright, marketing director, SPTS

o   Panelist: Zheng Yuan, vice president and general manager of the 200mm Equipment Product Group, Applied Materials

MIG Conference Asia also features a Dinner Cruise on September 10 with MIG, SITRI and SIMIT aboard the yacht, The Happy Captain.

Chinese Innovation Experience

On September 11, conference attendees will take an “innovation tour” of the SITRI fab and Shangahi Simgui Technology Co., Ltd as well as other SITRI facilities, including the IoT Innovation Center, QST and SITRI labs. Attendees will visit the InnoSpring Innovation Center, where they will experience demos from SITRI IoT Systems Group and SITRI Executive Information System (EIS) R-CAD.

They will also participate in salon sessions with industry/academia to discuss trends in China spanning agriculture, environment, 3D printing, automotive electronics, monitoring cameras and electronic tags.

About MEMS Industry Group Conference Asia

MEMS Industry Group Conference Asia attracts product managers, business development professionals, and product/engineering managers from the MEMS and sensors supply chain including: integrators, device manufacturers, foundries, equipment and material suppliers, researchers, developers and end-users. The majority of the audience is from Asia, with additional attendees from Europe and North America representing multinational corporations.

Microchip Technology Incorporated, a provider of microcontroller, mixed-signal, analog and Flash-IP solutions, and Micrel, Incorporated today announced that Microchip has completed its previously announced acquisition of Micrel.  Shareholders of Micrel overwhelmingly approved the merger with 98.95 percent of the Micrel shares that voted in favor of the merger.  As a result of the completion of the transaction, trading in Micrel common stock on the NASDAQ Stock Market will cease today.

“We are very pleased to have completed our acquisition of Micrel,” said Steve Sanghi, President and CEO.  “I welcome the Micrel employees into the Microchip family and look forward to building a combined organization that will bring the capabilities of both organizations to bear in the marketplace.”

Under the terms of the merger agreement, Micrel shareholders were able to elect to receive the $14.00 per share purchase price in either cash or shares of Microchip common stock.  Based on the results of the shareholder elections, Microchip will pay an aggregate of approximately $430 million in cash and issue an aggregate of 8,626,795 shares of its common stock to Micrel shareholders.  The number of shares of Microchip common stock that a Micrel shareholder will receive is based on a conversion ratio of $14.00divided by the average of the Microchip closing stock price for the ten most recent trading days ending on the second to last trading day prior to August 3, 2015, which is $42.888 per share.

Microchip Technology Inc. is a provider of microcontroller, mixed-signal, analog and Flash-IP solutions, providing low-risk product development, lower total system cost and faster time to market for thousands of diverse customer applications worldwide.

ON Semiconductor has introduced an array of new AEC-Q100-compliant integrated circuits (ICs) optimized for implementation into next generation automobile designs.

The NBA3N200/1/6S multi-point low voltage differential signaling (M−LVDS) line driver/receiver family of devices operates off a 3.3 volt (V) power supply. The NBA3N200S and NBA3N201S both support signaling rates of up to 200 megabits per second (Mbps) and have a common-mode voltage range -1 V to 3.4 V. These devices have Type-1 receivers that detect the bus state with as little as 50 millivolt (mV) of differential input voltage over the common-mode voltage range. A differential input voltage hysteresis of 25mV on the receiver prevents oscillations at the output due to slow changing input signals or loss of input. The NBA3N206S also supports 200 Mbps signaling rates with a Type-2 receiver that has a 0.1 V threshold. The offset voltage threshold function of the Type-2 receiver can detect open-circuit, idle bus and various other fault conditions that could harm the system. These devices are targeted for use in automotive applications such as headlamp pixel lighting, specifically for data transmission between the LED front light control unit and the headlight.

The NCV8154 140 mV rated dual output linear voltage regulator has an input voltage range covering 1.9 V to 5.25 V and two independent input voltage pins. Highly optimized for powering the RF blocks within automotive infotainment systems, this device is capable of providing a very stable and highly accurate voltage, with ultra-low noise plus elevated power supply rejection ratio (PSRR). The NCV8170 low drop-out (LDO) regulator is designed specifically for portable battery-powered applications, such as vehicle keyless entry systems, with a typical current consumption of just 500 nanoamperes (nA). Furthermore, a dynamic transient boost feature augments this device’s transient response characteristics. The NCV8715 is a high stability 50 milliamp (mA) LDO with an input voltage range that reaches up to 24 V and a ground current consumption of 4.7 microamperes (µA) over the full output load range. This device is very well suited to use with automotive grade microcontroller units. The NCV8154 / NCV8715 / NCV8170 devices each feature thermal shutdown and current limit protection mechanisms that ensure reliable operation.

Also introduced are single N-channel MOSFET devices capable of delivering incredibly low on-state resistance RDS(on) figures, minimizing conduction losses and improving overall operational efficiency levels. The NVMFS5C404NL, NVMFS5C410NL, NVMFS5C423NL and NVMFS5C442NL 40 V rated MOSFETs have typical RDS(on) values at 10 V of 0.56 mΩ, 0.71 mΩ, 1.6 mΩ and 2.2 mΩ respectively. These are supplemented by the 60 V NVMFS5C604NL, NVMFS5C612NL, NVMFS5C646NL and NVMFS5C670NL devices, which have typical RDS(on) values at 10 V of 0.93 mΩ, 1.2 mΩ, 3.8mΩ and 5.1 mΩ respectively. These devices expand the extensive ON Semiconductor portfolio of MOSFETs for use in power switching, load switching, motor control, and other automotive applications.

OMRON Corporation announced its entry into a stock purchase agreement to acquire a 100 percent stake in Delta Tau Data Systems, Inc. of California (DT), which will result in DT becoming a member of the OMRON Group. The acquisition is subject to customary conditions to closing. Omron expects the acquisition to close in early September, 2015.

With headquarters in Chatsworth, California, DT is a control device company in the United States. This acquisition is part of OMRON’s strategy to promote its development of factory automation technology and strengthen its sales capability in the control device business. Through the acquisition of DT, OMRON aims to reinforce its technology development and engineering capabilities in the field of motion control designed to drive manufacturing equipment. Merging products and technologies of both companies will also enable delivery of optimized motion control solutions globally through combined distribution networks.

OMRON has extensive lines of control components and equipment, ranging from image-processing sensors and other input devices through various controllers to output devices such as servo drives and servo motors, along with a range of safety devices and in-panel controllers. Combining these products, OMRON continues to offer a wide range of advanced automation solutions to manufacturers worldwide.

DT, as a specialist manufacturer of motion controllers, boasts renowned and powerful development and systems integration capabilities that enabled the company to develop, manufacture, and market what is widely recognized as the world’s highest level motion controller, dubbed “PMAC.” This product is now used mainly by US and Korean producers of semiconductor and LCD manufacturing equipment, machine tools, packaging machines, among others.

This acquisition will allow OMRON to combine DT’s PMAC motion controller with its wide range of products and offer new solutions to its customers globally. By leveraging DT’s sales network, equipped with highly skilled engineering capability, OMRON will provide DT’s customers with high-performance solutions comprising OMRON’s control devices and DT’s PMAC. OMRON will also aim to expand applications of its solutions by adopting the high-performance motion control technology that DT has accumulated over many years.

Through the acquisition of DT, OMRON will further advance its leading automation technology. In addition, by promoting manufacturing innovation together with its customers, OMRON will steadily reinforce its industrial automation business, one of the pivotal strategies of OMRON Group’s long-term management strategy, called “Value Generation 2020,” as it works to drive further growth for the future.

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today announced worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $84.0 billion during the second quarter of 2015, an increase of 1.0 percent over the previous quarter and 2.0 percent compared to the second quarter of 2014. Global sales for the month of June 2015 reached $28.0 billion, an uptick of 2.0 percent over the June 2014 total of $27.4 billion and a decrease of 0.4 percent from last month’s total of $28.1 billion. Year-to-date sales during the first half of 2015 were 3.9 percent higher than they were at the same point in 2014. All monthly sales numbers are compiled by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization and represent a three-month moving average.

“Macroeconomic headwinds and softening demand have slowed global semiconductor market growth somewhat, but the industry still posted its highest-ever second-quarter sales and remains ahead of the pace of sales set in 2014, which was a record year for semiconductor revenues,” said John Neuffer, president and CEO, Semiconductor Industry Association. “The Americas market continues to post solid year-to-year sales increases, and the global market has now grown on a year-to-year basis for 26 consecutive months.”

Regionally, sales increased compared to June 2014 in China (7.8 percent), the Americas (5.6 percent), and Asia Pacific/All Other (5.2 percent), but fell in Europe (-11.5 percent) and Japan (-13.6 percent). Sales were up slightly compared to last month in Japan (1.0 percent) and China (0.6 percent), but down somewhat in Asia Pacific/All Other (-0.6 percent), the Americas (-1.6 percent), and Europe (-1.7 percent). Sales figures in Europeand Japan have been impacted somewhat by currency devaluation.

“Global semiconductor sales are one indicator of the strength of the U.S. industry, which accounts for more than half of total global sales,” Neuffer said. “Policymakers in Washington should enact policies that do more to promote innovation and allow our industry to compete more effectively globally. We applaud the newly formed Congressional Semiconductor Caucus – led by Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho), Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) – for working to advance pro-growth policies that will strengthen the U.S. semiconductor industry and our economy.”

June 2015

Billions

Month-to-Month Sales                               

Market

Last Month

Current Month

% Change

Americas

5.62

5.53

-1.6%

Europe

2.87

2.83

-1.7%

Japan

2.54

2.57

1.0%

China

8.08

8.13

0.6%

Asia Pacific/All Other

9.00

8.94

-0.6%

Total

28.11

27.99

-0.4%

Year-to-Year Sales                          

Market

Last Year

Current Month

% Change

Americas

5.24

5.53

5.6%

Europe

3.19

2.83

-11.5%

Japan

2.97

2.57

-13.6%

China

7.54

8.13

7.8%

Asia Pacific/All Other

8.50

8.94

5.2%

Total

27.44

27.99

2.0%

Three-Month-Moving Average Sales

Market

Jan/Feb/Mar

Apr/May/Jun

% Change

Americas

5.81

5.53

-4.7%

Europe

2.96

2.83

-4.4%

Japan

2.55

2.57

0.8%

China

7.83

8.13

3.8%

Asia Pacific/All Other

8.57

8.94

4.4%

Total

27.70

27.99

1.0%