Category Archives: MEMS

AG Semiconductor Services, LLC (AGSS), one of the largest global suppliers of used electronics manufacturing equipment and the leader in managing large scale turnkey projects, today announced that Michael (Mike) Mardesich has joined the company in the role of senior director of sales. An industry veteran, Mardesich is tasked with developing sales strategies, managing sales and contract remarketing services and managing AGSS’ global sales force.

“Mike brings energy and intensity that are ideally suited to support the expansion of our global market presence," said Julian Gates, a Managing Director of AGSS. "He is well known throughout the electronics industry; this experience and his skill set will help solidify AGSS as the leading provider of used equipment and customer solutions to the electronics manufacturing industry."

The company also announced that former head of sales Tim Johnson will transition laterally to focus on growing AGSS’ turnkey services as well as spearhead development of future revenue channels including products and services that support non-traditional IC manufacturing such as MEMS, compound semiconductor, LED and photovoltaic. In his new role as Senior Director, Johnson will continue to support sales, remarketing and value added services as well.

Mardesich has over 30 years of experience in management, sales and equipment valuations in the electronics manufacturing used equipment industry. Prior to joining AGSS, Mardesich was the Senior Vice President of Sales with GE Capital Global Electronics Services. He also held similar positions with Comdisco Electronics Group where he was a founding member. He was an original Board Member of the SEC/N used equipment consortium.

AG Semiconductor Services, LLC is a provider of second-hand electronics manufacturing equipment and services. The company specializes in reselling pre-owned semiconductor manufacturing, IC test/assembly and printed circuit board assembly equipment acquired from leading electronics manufacturers around the world.

MEMSIC, Inc., a MEMS solution provider, today announced that it has agreed to be acquired by IDG-Accel China Capital II, L.P. and its affiliates MZ Investment Holdings Limited and MZ Investment Holdings Merger Sub Limited, for $4.225 per share in cash. Affiliates of IDG currently hold approximately 19.5 percent of the company’s outstanding common stock. IDG and its affiliates will acquire all the outstanding shares of common stock of MEMSIC that are not currently owned by them, including shares underlying outstanding in-the-money equity awards, for approximately $88.5 million.

The price of $4.225 per share in cash represents a premium of:

143 percent over the $1.74 closing price of MEMSIC’s common stock on November 20, 2012, the last trading day before the company announced that it had received a non-binding proposal from IDG-Accel China Growth Fund II L.P. to acquire the company for $4.00 per share;

144 percent over its average closing share price over the 90 calendar days ended on that date; and

56 percent over the company’s closing share price of $2.71 on April 22, 2013.

The Board of Directors of MEMSIC, in approving the transaction, acted at the unanimous recommendation of a special committee, consisting of the company’s three independent directors, that was appointed in November 2012 to consider the IDG proposal and the company’s other strategic alternatives.

“The Special Committee and its advisors conducted a disciplined and independent process intended to ensure the best available outcome for our stockholders,” said MEMSIC’s Lead Director and Chairman of the Special Committee, Roger Blethen. “The Board of Directors approved the IDG transaction because it strongly believes, after carefully considering the company’s strategic alternatives, that it is in the best interest of MEMSIC stockholders and the best of the available alternatives. We believe the $4.225 price is fair and that making that value available to our stockholders immediately in cash is more favorable to them than the other alternatives available, including remaining independent.”

The company’s Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Yang Zhao, and director Quan Zhou were not members of the Special Committee and did not participate in the deliberations of the Board of Directors approving the merger. Mr. Zhou is an affiliate of IDG. Dr. Zhao will remain employed by the company following the acquisition and will also participate as an equity investor in the acquiring company.

The merger agreement is subject to customary conditions, including a vote of the company’s stockholders. The transaction is expected to close during the third quarter of 2013.

Foley Hoag LLP acted as counsel to MEMSIC. RBC Capital Markets, LLC acted as financial advisor and Richards, Layton and Finger, P.A. acted as special legal counsel to the Special Committee. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP acted as counsel to IDG.

Headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, MEMSIC, Inc. provides advanced semiconductor sensor and integrated sensing system solutions based on MEMS technology and mixed signal circuit design. Its products include accelerometers, magnetic sensors and electronic compass solutions, integrated high performance inertial measurement units for industrial and avionics applications, MEMS flow sensing systems, and wireless sensing network systems.

SAMCO Inc, head quartered in Kyoto, Japan, has expanded its OPTO Films Research Laboratory in California’s Silicon Valley in order to strengthen its research structure and after-sale process support.

SAMCO relocate and expand Silicon Valley office

Placing an emphasis on interaction with cutting edge research SAMCO is expanding its research and development activities at its three global R&D centers – The ‘Kyoto Research and Development Center’; the Silicon Valley ‘OPTO Films Research Laboratory’; and ‘Cambridge Research Center’ located in England’s Cambridge University. 

SAMCO was the first Japanese venture company to open an R&D center in the Silicon Valley. The OPTO Films Research and Development Center in Silicon Valley was established in 1987 as SAMCO’s first overseas research and development center.  Since its establishment it has lead the research of carbon type materials such as diamond thin films, diamond like carbon (DLC), and materials for electrodes etc., as well as the development of thin film deposition systems.  Furthermore, the facility also plays an important role in joint research with universities.

Highlighting SAMCO’s plans for business expansion and the strengthening of its research and development structure, the new facility is about twice as large as the one it replaces. Furthermore, in order to maximize research efficiency, the laboratory is again located in the Silicon Valley, a hub of company research centers and ventures. 

The new laboratory is equipped with SAMCO CVD systems, dry etching systems, cleaning systems, and a suite of thin-film measurement systems.  Research will continue on thin films of carbon-based materials and new research will begin on MEMS fabrication for the bio-medical industries.  Recruitment of local researchers is also progressing, with plans for up to ten researchers to be based at the facility (currently six). 

Along with the expansion of the Silicon Valley facilities, SAMCO has also increased sales personnel in its East Coast sales and service office located in North Carolina’s ‘Research Triangle Park’.  The new OPTO films Laboratory will play an important role, as a demo laboratory, in supporting the expansion of North American sales.

Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) pressure sensors will achieve accelerated growth this year and become the leading type of MEMS device, driven by increasing use in automotive and the fast-growing handset space, according to insights from the IHS iSuppli MEMS & Sensors Service from information and analytics provider IHS.

Revenue for MEMS pressure sensors this year will reach a projected $1.71 billion, up 14 percent from $1.50 billion in 2012. This year’s growth improves on the already solid 11 percent increase of 2012, but even rosier prospects are in store next year when expansion peaks at 16 percent. Steady, uninterrupted growth will continue until at least 2017, by which time the market will be worth $2.49 billion, as shown in the figure below.

MEMS pressure sensors

Used for control and monitoring purposes in myriad applications, pressure sensors are set this year to become the biggest-selling MEMS device, displacing the incumbent leaders: accelerometers and gyroscopes.

“Pressure sensors play a key role in automotive safety,” said Richard Dixon, Ph.D., principal analyst for MEMS & sensors at IHS. “Because of this, the biggest market remains the automotive segment, where the sensors predominate in tire-pressure monitoring and braking systems. However, wireless applications—led by mobile handsets—will see the most explosive growth this year, up by 90 percent. Other important markets for pressure sensors are in medical electronics, industry, white goods and military/aerospace.”

Automotive rules the road

In automotive, MEMS pressure sensor revenue in 2013 is expected to amount to $1.26 billion, or fully 74 percent of total industry revenue for the year. At least 18 automotive applications will fuel the space, including tire pressure, brake sensors used in electronic stability control systems, side airbags, engine control related to increasingly stringent emissions regulations worldwide, barometric pressure and exhaust gas recirculation pressure.

A rapidly growing new application is in gasoline direct-injection systems using high-pressure sensors up to 200 bar. Gasoline engines, especially in Europe where diesels make up a large proportion of vehicle sales, are enjoying a renaissance in light of upcoming emissions legislation in the EU, due in 2015. Diesel engines already employ many pressure sensors in the engine and in after-treatment systems.

Though automotive will lose some steam in the years to come, the segment will continue to command the largest revenue compared to other markets, with up to two-thirds of total industry takings even by 2017.

Wireless grabs spotlight; other areas also prosper

A strong new contributor this year is the wireless segment, particularly handsets. Pressure sensors will support indoor navigation, measuring altitude and providing a fast lock on global positioning systems that identify with precision on which floor of a building a user is located. Samsung first started using pressure sensors in its Galaxy S III smartphone in 2012, and Apple will be following suit soon, IHS believes.

Subsequent growth here will be very fast as other manufacturers jump on the bandwagon to offer the same functionality in their phones, making wireless the second-largest market after automotive already by 2014. This growth will continue and in 2017, every other smart phone should feature a pressure sensor.

Military/aerospace is a big mover; other markets also expand

For the remaining four markets, revenue growth this year for MEMS pressure sensors will range from 4 to 11 percent.

In medical electronics, pressure sensors will find their most extensive use in the form of blood pressure devices utilized during medical operations. The medical electronics market this year will be the second-biggest after automotive, with revenue of $143.9 million.

MEMS pressure sensors will also find prominent use in industrial electronics, a market worth $112.6 million in 2013; and in consumer electronics, valued at $45.2 million in 2013.

The industrial segment is highly fragmented with many applications, such as in boilers, pumps, and food or semiconductor processing. In comparison, consumer electronics is a small market at present for the sensors, consisting mainly of dive and sport watches, pedometers and hiking altimeters, as well as appliances like washing machines.

Dedicated personal heath-monitoring devices and activity monitors with a watch form factor, for instance, will potentially drive an additional wave of positive movement for pressure sensors, IHS expects.

Other examples that will do the same are motion-tracking devices that measure height for accuracy in stair counting.

Another notable segment is military/aerospace, driven by the commercial aircraft boom at U.S. maker Boeing and at pan-European entity Airbus. Although the total number of aircraft, jets, turboprops and helicopters sold worldwide is less than 10,000 per year, the number of pressure sensors being used here can be significant. A large jet, for instance, needs as many as 130 pressure sensors for an array of applications.

Prices are also high, running from the hundred-dollar to the thousand-dollar range, due to exacting performance requirements. Although the military/aerospace market is currently the smallest this year for MEMS pressure sensors at $39.8 million, growth will be solid at 11 percent.

Recent progress in the engineering of plasmonic structures has enabled new kinds of nanometer-scale optoelectronic devices as well as high-resolution optical sensing. But until now, there has been a lack of tools for measuring nanometer-scale behavior in plasmonic structures which are needed to understand device performance and to confirm theoretical models.

semiconductor microparticles“For the first time, we have measured nanometer-scale infrared absorption in semiconductor plasmonic microparticles using a technique that combines atomic force microscopy with infrared spectroscopy,” explained William P. King, an Abel Bliss Professor in the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering (MechSE) at Illinois. “Atomic force microscope infrared spectroscopy allows us to directly observe the plasmonic behavior within microparticle infrared antennas.” 

The article describing the research, “Near-field infrared absorption of plasmonic semiconductor microparticles studied using atomic force microscope infrared spectroscopy,” appears in Applied Physics Letters.

“Highly-doped semiconductors can serve as wavelength flexible plasmonic metals in the infrared,” noted Daniel M. Wasserman, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Illinois. “However, without the ability to visualize the optical response in the vicinity of the plasmonic particles, we can only infer the near-field behavior of the structures from their far-field response. What this work gives us is a clear window into the optical behavior of this new class of materials on a length scale much smaller than the wavelength of light.”

The article compares near-field and far-field measurements with electromagnetic simulations to confirm the presence of localized plasmonic resonance. The article further reports high resolution maps of the spatial distribution of absorption within single plasmonic structures and variation across plasmonic arrays.

“The ability to measure near field behavior in plasmonic structures allows us to begin expanding our design parameters for plasmonic materials,” commented Jonathan Felts, a MechSE graduate student. "Now that we can measure the optical behavior of individual features, we can start to think about designing and testing more complex optical materials.”

The authors on the research are Jonathan Felts, Stephanie Law, Daniel M. Wasserman, and William P. King of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, along with Christopher M. Roberts and Viktor Podolskiy of the University of Massachusetts. The article is available online. This research was supported by the National Science Foundation.

STMicroelectronics has revealed that its Orly system-on-chip (SoC) is powering a new generation of advanced set-top boxes announced on April 17 from NTT Plala Inc., an Internet / IPTV service provider in Japan. This STB has been developed by Sumitomo Electric Networks, Inc., a Japanese equipment producer for home entertainment and broadband service providers, with operations around the world.

ST’s Orly was selected as the high-end SoC best fit for Sumitomo’s global set-top box middleware platform based on Linux, Android Ice Cream Sandwich and HTML5. In particular, the Orly’s dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore processor allows the set-top boxes to run the Android operating system and so connect easily to new marketplaces including mobile ecosystems. Moreover, the integrated ARM Mali 3D graphics processor has allowed Sumitomo to create a rich user interface for Android-based services.

By integrating a dedicated real-time multimedia processor, multi-standard video decoding engines, and high-performance video encoding with support for HD and 3DTV standards, ST’s Orly provides the ideal platform enabling operators to deliver high-quality, innovative broadcast and Internet-based services. Its high processing capabilities enable fast transcoding for true multi-screen experiences on PCs, televisions, tablets and mobile devices throughout the home. Other important features include a high-performance security engine supporting the latest conditional access specifications and Digital Rights Management (DRM) for IPTV, OTT (Over-The-Top) and multi-screen, multi-room services with DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance), ST’s proven Faroudja video-enhancement technology, media and data-driven applications, and support for Internet video standards.

ST’s Software Development Kit (SDK), created specifically for the SoC, supported Sumitomo’s efforts to simplify and accelerate the development of smart IPTV set-top boxes. The SDK provides components and tools needed to run Android on the set-top box and integrate proprietary IPTV middleware, while also supporting rich user-interface development leveraging native Android tools.

"By offering new smart IPTV STBs, we enhance user interface operability and deliver triple-tuner functionality," said Katsumi Nagata, Board Director, Executive Director, Technology and Engineering Division, NTT Plala Inc. "By supporting Japan’s first cloud game called ‘Hikari TV Game’ and various applications called ‘Hikari TV Apps’, we are offering more convenient smart TV services that perfectly fit the lifestyle of our customers."

"We are very proud to introduce our new generation of set-top boxes offering smart features for IPTV services and high performance for seamless end-user experiences," said Hiroaki Nishimoto, Director & Co-CTO, Sumitomo Electric Networks, Inc. "The new generation of our StreamCruiser SmartTV common STB platform middleware allows our customers to choose the SoC that is best suited for the strategic positioning and expected use-case of the STB, since our solution is independent of the architecture of the SoC while providing the APIs to allow Android, native Linux and HTML5 applications the secure access to the hardware engines and optimized usage of the multi-core."

ST’s Laurent Remont, Digital Convergence Group Vice President and Unified Platform Division General Manager, added, "We are delighted that NTT Plala and Sumitomo have chosen to work with ST, resulting in successful delivery of advanced set-top boxes capable of delivering seamless high-quality viewing and innovative services to multiple connected devices throughout the home.

The market for Bluetooth semiconductors is expected to boom by nearly 100 percent from 2011 to 2017, with the majority of the growth driven by demand for wireless combination integrated circuits (ICs) and mobile system-on-chip (MSoC) devices with integrated wireless connectivity that are used in mobile devices like smartphones and media tablets.

Worldwide shipments of ICs that include Bluetooth technology are set to rise to 3.1 billion units in 2017, up 91 percent from 1.6 billion in 2011, according to a new report entitled Bluetooth—Classic or Smart Ready  from IMS Research, now part of IHS. While shipments of standalone Bluetooth chips are substantial, the market is currently dominated by combination ICs that incorporate support for multiple wireless technologies in addition to Bluetooth. However, the fastest-growing segment of the Bluetooth chip market is MSoCs, whose shipments are expected to rise by a factor of 18 from 2012 to 2017.

The graph below presents the IHS forecast of global Bluetooth-enabled chip unit shipments.

Bluetooth semiconductor shipments to double

“Smartphones and media tablets are packing increasing capabilities into products that have a lower cost and a thinner form factor,” said Liam Quirke, connectivity analyst at IHS. “All this is driving demand for more highly integrated ICs, including Bluetooth-enabled connectivity chips and MSoCs. Most of the leading smartphone platforms already make use of integrated connectivity ICs, and increasingly will adopt Bluetooth-enabled MSoCs in the future.”

No blues for Bluetooth chips

Combination connectivity ICs accounted for 75 percent of total Bluetooth chip shipments in 2012. However, due to the rise of MSoCs, the combination chips will see their share of the Bluetooth market decline to 55 percent in 2017, although their shipments will continue to rise as the overall market expands.

By 2017, MSoCs will account for 23 percent of the market, up from just 2 percent in 2012 and zero in 2011.  Standalone devices’ share of the market largely will remain flat, declining to 21 percent in 2017, down from 24 percent in 2011.

Combo ICs at the cutting edge

Many of today’s most popular and advanced smartphones and tablets are employing combination connectivity ICs.

For example, Apple Inc.’s iPad Mini and iPhone 5 employ Broadcom Corp.’s BCM4334 single-chip, dual-band combo device, as revealed by a dissection of the products conducted by the IHS iSuppli Teardown Analysis Service. The BCM4334 includes support for Wi-Fi and an FM radio receiver, along with Bluetooth.

Based on a virtual teardown, IHS iSuppli believes that Samsung’s new Galaxy S4 smartphone includes the Broadcom BCM4335, which integrates Bluetooth, along with the FM radio and a complete 5G Wi-Fi system.

MSoCs multiply

The MSoC takes the integration of combination chips to the next level, forming a single chip that incorporates the cellular baseband, applications processor and wireless connectivity.

The release of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 family of processors in 2012 integrated these various elements, with many incorporating both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. In these components, the digital portion of the connectivity IC is integrated into the SoC, taking advantage of benefits such as less power being required by the more advanced manufacturing process. The analog counterpart is situated in a companion IC, which includes components for both Wi-Fi and FM radio.

“MSoCs benefit manufacturers by reducing design complexity while providing lower-cost mobile platform solutions,” Quirke noted. “IHS is projecting that lower-end smartphones will be quick to adopt such solutions.”

North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.14 billion in orders worldwide in March 2013 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.14, according to the March Book-to-Bill Report published today by SEMI.  A book-to-bill of 1.14 means that $114 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in March 2013 was $1.14 billion. The bookings figure is 5.9 percent higher than the final February 2013 level of $1.07 billion, and is 21.3  percent lower than the March 2012 order level of $1.45 billion.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in March 2013 was $1.00 billion. The billings figure is 2.8 percent higher than the final February 2013 level of $974.7 million, and is 22.2   percent lower than the March 2012 billings level of $1.29 billion.

“Continued improvement in three-month average bookings for new semiconductor manufacturing equipment is reflected in the March figures, which indicate a 23 percent improvement over the prior quarter," said Denny McGuirk, president and CEO of SEMI.  “While the overall expansion of new manufacturing capacity remains muted, we see continued investment in technology upgrades by the world’s chip makers.”

The SEMI book-to-bill is a ratio of three-month moving averages of worldwide bookings and billings for North American-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers. Billings and bookings figures are in millions of U.S. dollars.

  Billings
(3-mo. avg)		 Bookings
(3-mo. avg)		 Book-to-Bill
October 2012 985.5 742.8 0.75
November 2012 910.1 718.6 0.79
December 2012 1,006.1 927.4 0.92
January 2013 968.0 1,076.0 1.11
February 2013 (final) 974.7 1,073.5 1.10
March 2013 (prelim) 1,001.6 1,137.1 1.14

The data contained in SEMI’s release were compiled by David Powell, Inc., an independent financial services firm, without audit, from data submitted directly by the participants. SEMI and David Powell, Inc. assume no responsibility for the accuracy of the underlying data.

SEMI is the global industry association serving the nano- and micro-electronic manufacturing supply chains.

The fast growing market for sensors for smart phones is re-shuffling the ranks of MEMS suppliers. For the first time, suppliers of inertial sensors have surpassed the major makers of micro mirrors and inkjet heads that have long dominated the industry on Yole Développement’s annual ranking of the Top 30 MEMS companies.

 top 30 MEMS suppliers

STMicroelectronics increased MEMS sales by ~10 percent in 2012, to become the first company with $1 billion in MEMS revenue, moving past Texas Instruments to become the sector’s largest company. Robert Bosch saw 14 percent growth, to ~$842 million in MEMS sales, pushing ahead of both Texas Instruments and Hewlett Packard for the first time to become the second ranking player, according to Yole’s figures. Both ST and Bosch have been aggressively expanding their consumer product lines to offer customers a broad range of sensors, and increasingly also combinations of sensors in a single package for easier integration at lower cost. Their growing volumes also help keep their fabs running more efficiently, for the assured manufacturing capability that volume users demand.  ST, Bosch and other major inertial sensor suppliers saw strong revenue growth despite the 20 percent-30 percent drop in average selling prices for accelerometers and gyroscopes over the year–because of even bigger ramps in unit volume.

“ST increased unit production by 58 percent, to 1.3 billion MEMS devices in 2012, up to some 4 million units a day—not counting its foundry business,” notes Yole Market & Technology Analyst, Laurent Robin. “It’s hard for many companies to match that.”

Yole calculates the MEMS industry overall saw another ~10 percent growth in 2012 to become an ~$11 billion business– in a year when the semiconductor industry saw a ~2 percent decline. The Top 30 companies account for nearly 75 percent of that total MEMS market.

The traditional gap between the big four MEMS makers and the rest of the pack narrowed this year, as strong demand for more MEMS sensors in both consumer and automotive markets drove strong growth across a range of suppliers. Knowles Electronics saw better than 20 percent growth to climb into fourth place with some $440 million in revenues from MEMS microphones, closing in on HP. Panasonic and Denso were close behind with more than $350 million in MEMS sales in their largely automotive markets.

Mobile phones and tablets were the real sweet spot for big growth opportunities, though. Chinese electret microphone supplier AAC made the top companies ranking for the first time as its MEMS microphone sales jumped ~90 percent to ~$65 million, as it became the second source for the iPhone. InvenSense saw some 30 percent growth as it ramped up production of its inertial sensors. Triquint saw a 27% increase in revenues from its BAW filters.

Murata moved sharply up the ranking as its acquisition of VTI created ~$179 million in combined MEMS revenue.

Meanwhile, the traditional major MEMS markets for micromirrors and inkjet heads have matured and slowed, with demand for inkjet heads particularly hit by the consumer printer market’s rapid turn away from replaceable heads to page-wide and fixed-head technologies. That hit revenues at both the inkjet companies and their manufacturing partners.

Yole defines MEMS as three dimensional structures made by semiconductor-like processes, with primarily mechanical, not electronic, function. We also include magnetometers, as they are now so closely integrated with MEMS inertial sensors, and all microfluidics, including those on polymer. Yole figured MEMS units and value at the first level of packaged device. For companies that do not release MEMS revenues, Yole estimate the figures based on data for product market size, market share, product teardowns, reverse costing, and discussions with the companies.

Increasing HD video content, social networking, shared data via the cloud, low power consumption, and “instant on” features continue to drive growth of consumer, communication, and computing devices that use NAND flash memory. While applications are many, IC Insights forecasts smartphones, tablet computers, and solid-state drives (SSDs) to be among the biggest users of NAND flash memory in 2013 (see figure).

NAND flash memory

Smartphones are forecast to account for 26 percent of the $30.0 billion NAND flash memory market in 2013.  (The NAND flash market is forecast to grow 12 percent in 2013 from $26.8 billion in 2012).  According to data from IC Insights’ 2013 IC Market Drivers Report, approximately 56 percent of total cellphone shipments in 2013 (975 million of 1,745 total shipments) are forecast to be smartphones, up from 750 million or 42 percent in 2012 and 30 percent in 2011.  This is significant because smartphones contain as much as 9x more NAND flash than a basic or enhanced cellphone.

Another high-volume application for flash memory in 2013 is solid-state drives, which are built with high-density NAND flash chips and feature standard mass-storage interfaces that are found on hard-disk drives.  SSDs are forecast to account for 13 percent of NAND flash memory sales this year.

SSDs are built in form-factor sizes that are identical to hard-disk drives (such as 1.8- and 2.5-inch modules) so they can be easily plugged into existing PC and notebook designs.  In recent years, SSD-storage capacity has quadrupled annually, and now it appears that solid-state drives are becoming serious challengers to conventional hard-disk storage in portable computers.  Recently, SSD-storage solutions have gained favor in large server computers, which stand to benefit from the faster read/write speeds of flash-memory-built drives as well as reduced power consumption.  Notebook PCs, installed car navigation systems, industrial equipment, and digital video recorders (DVRs) are a few additional applications that are being targeted for SSDs.

Tablet PCs and HHP devices—handheld players such as music/video players and handheld game systems—are expected to be significant consumers of NAND flash in 2013 as well. Tablet PCs are the fastest growing segment of the PC market and represent one of the fastest-growing consumer devices of all time. Shipments of tablet PC devices like the iPad grew to 117 million units in 2012, almost double the 65 million shipped in 2011.  Tablet PC shipments are forecast to reach 167 million units in 2013.  Leading tablet PCs typically feature 16GB of NAND flash as a starting point.