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It can be very time-consuming for engineers to measure the various features of an X-SEM image of a semiconductor device. These manual measurements of trenches, pillars, lines and spaces can also be inaccurate and there is frequently inconsistency between how engineers do the manual measurements. The collection of data is often very time-consuming as well.

With the new PCI-AM (Automated Measurement) module engineers simply click inside the feature and the measurement is done automatically with increased accuracy and consistency among all engineers. The measurement results are displayed on the image and in a spreadsheet grid. The data in the grid can be easily exported into a CSV file suitable for importation into other software such as Microsoft Excel. The images and data can also be easily included in standard Quartz PCI reports with just a few clicks.

Quartz Imaging has worked closely with semiconductor companies since it was founded in 1993, including the development of the Failure Analysis LIMS system (FA-LIMS) and is in the process of developing a LIMS system for semiconductor Reliability Labs (REL-LIMS). Quartz Imaging has more than 2,000 customers in 38 countries utilizing our industry leading solutions for Digital Image Acquisition and Processing (for most image producing instruments including SEMs, TEMs, STEMs, Tabletop SEMs, Cameras, PC Based Instruments, Scanners); 21 CFR Part 11 Compliance; Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS); Instrument Access Control; Instrument Remote Control; Automated Inspection Systems for Nanotechnology; X-ray Microanalysis (EDX/EDS) Systems and more.

 

The most popular storage medium this year for superthin Ultrabooks and similarly built laptops won’t be the pricey solid state drives (SSD) that initially created a buzz for their astonishing speeds. Instead, they will be the so-called cache SSD storage consisting of NAND flash memory running outside a hard disk drive (HDD) that will be more economically priced for users, according to an IHS iSuppli Storage Space brief from information and analytics provider IHS.

Shipments this year of cache SSD solutions for Ultrabooks and ultrathins are projected to amount to 23.8 million units, up nearly 360 percent from just 5.2 million units in 2012. This year, cache SSD shipments for the first time jump over pure SSD storage, expected to ship 18.7 million units for Ultrabooks and ultrathins.

Overall, cache SSD shipments will represent 53 percent of the storage solution for Ultrabook/ultrathins, versus 42 percent for pure-SSD types. The remaining 5 percent will come from shipments of a third solution more commonly known as hybrid HDD—one that employs embedded NAND flash inside a hard disk drive in an integrated form factor.

Cache SSD solutions will continue to maintain their lead in the Ultrabook/ultrathin market until at least 2017. By that time, cache SSD shipments will reach 49.2 million units, compared to 44.6 million pure-SSD shipment units for Ultrabooks and ultrathins. Markets also exist for cache SSD and pure SSD solutions to non-Ultrabooks and non-ultrathins, but shipments here are smaller than for counterpart solutions to the superthin laptops.

The use of solid state drives or a component of it—either as cache SSD or as embedded NAND in hybrids—is an important weapon being deployed by Ultrabooks and ultrathins to revitalize the PC space as a whole. PCs have suffered badly ever since consumers started gravitating toward more nimble and fashionable mobile devices with PC-like functions, such as media tablets and smartphones.

The PC market dipped last year for the first time in 10 years, and sales of mobile PCs including Ultrabooks and ultrathins are likely to see flat growth or even a slight decline this year, even though superthins are projected to take off in the second half of 2013. In their fight against tablets and smartphones, Ultrabooks and ultrathins could marshal their storage solutions as one factor that could help sway consumers to reconsider the laptops in a new light. Flash memories help PCs hasten boot-up times, delivering greatly improved speeds over their rotating-head HDD rivals.

While both standalone SSD and cache SSD solutions will deliver fast performance, cache SSDs will enjoy more rapid adoption in Ultrabooks and ultrathins because of their lower cost. The consistently high price of solid state drives will prove no match for the lower-density NAND flash used in cache SSDs, combined with already economically priced hard disk drives. In turn, the savings obtained by laptop brands from such a solution can be passed on to consumers, with cache SSD mechanisms driving total Ultrabook and ultrathin costs down to about $700 this year, compared to a thousand-dollar price tag for pure-SSD-fueled notebooks.

Meanwhile, hybrid HDD solutions will grow more than fiftyfold in the next four years even though they possess a much smaller market at present than either cache SSD or pure SSD solutions. Shipments of hybrid HDD storage will surge from 2.6 million units this year to 20.5 million units by 2017.

Hybrid solutions to take off this year too

While hybrid HDD solutions have the smallest market share at present compared to the two other storage solutions for Ultrabooks and ultrathins, all three hard drive manufacturers have announced new hybrid HDD solutions for the super-thin laptop market.

In March, Seagate Technology said it will begin shipping its third-generation solid state hybrid, or SSHD, products at 7-millimeter and 9.5-mm. thickness. The new SSHD drives contain 8 gigabytes of flash memory with either a 500-gigabyte or 1-terabyte hard drive. The 500-GB version costs $79 while the 1-TB version costs $99—approximately $20 to $25 more than a conventional 500-GB or 1-TB hard disk drive. The markup on price could be much more, however, once PC brands and original equipment manufacturers put the drives into computers and once those computers get sold in retail.

Seagate archrival Western Digital is also working on a hybrid HDD in 7- and 5-mm. versions, with the 7-mm. version expected to ship in the second half this year. Western Digital is currently working with Taiwanese makers Acer and Asus, and California-based SanDisk is believed to be one of its flash memory providers.

Toshiba, the third manufacturer, announced a 9.5-mm. hybrid drive in January, but adoption by the market is not expected because of its overly large size. Toshiba, however, could make a 7-mm. version available by the second half this year to compete with similar offerings from Seagate and Western Digital.

Ultrabooks and ultrathins will continue to deepen their penetration of the PC market, IHS believes, despite a slower-than-expected uptake last year that appears to be continuing to some extent in 2013. But going forward, two out of three notebooks will be a super-thin PC by 2017, and two out of three of Ultrabooks and ultrathins will sport either cache SSD or a hybrid HDD storage solution. As such, both SSD and HDD industries stand to reap substantial benefits for providing the appropriate storage solutions.

What would happen if half of all global production for dynamic random access memory (DRAM), two-thirds of NAND flash manufacturing and 70 percent of the world’s tablet display supply suddenly disappeared from the market?

The answer would be chaos, with the worldwide electronics supply chain grinding to a halt and stopping major market product segments in their tracks, including smartphones, media tablets and PCs.

For high-tech companies, this could be the outcome if current tensions escalate to the point of war on the Korean peninsula, resulting in the disruption of South Korea’s technology manufacturing base. While IHS regards such a major conflagration and disruption as unlikely, forward-thinking technology firms are planning for such a contingency, just as they are preparing for other natural and man-made disasters that could impact their businesses in the future.

“However, South Korea now plays a more important role than ever in the global electronics business. And with the supply chain having become more entwined and connected, a significant disruption in any region will impact the entire world. Because of this, it is important for companies to understand the magnitude of South Korea’s role in the global electronics market—and to prepare for any contingencies,” said Mike Howard, senior principal analyst for DRAM and memory at IHS.

Leading technology firms Samsung and SK Hynix are headquartered close to Seoul, the capital of South Korea, which lies only about 30 miles from the border with North Korea. Both companies have major manufacturing operations in the area as well.

“Any type of manufacturing disruption of six months would prevent the shipment of hundreds of millions of mobile phones and tens of millions of PCs and media tablets,” Howard warned.

Memory loss

Fully 66 percent of industry revenue for the dynamic random access memory (DRAM) market, as well as 48 percent of total NAND flash revenue, belonged in 2012 to the two South Korean memory titans Samsung and SK Hynix. While their combined share of both in the NAND market has remained fairly level for the last three years, the collective portion in DRAM of the two entities has been steadily rising.

Such a high proportion of global production could not be easily or quickly replaced by manufacturers in other regions.

The Icheon facility of SK Hynix is located approximately 30 miles southwest of Seoul, while Samsung’s massive manufacturing complex at Hwaseong is within 24 miles of the capital.

DRAM plays an essential role in products including PCs, media tablets and smartphones.

While some gadgets could have their amount of memory reduced—a smartphone with 32 gigabytes (GB) of NAND could be downsized to 8GB, or an 8GB laptop reduced to 4GB—other devices must have the memory for which they were originally designed, especially where DRAM is involved.

“A server with only half its intended DRAM is essentially half a server—and a smartphone cannot have its DRAM quantity changed, as it needs the original amount for which it was designed,” Howard noted.

Display disaster

An equally bad situation could occur in the large-sized display market, which is heavily dependent on South Korean suppliers, especially in the media tablet market.

LG Display and Samsung Display of South Korea together held a 49.6 percent share of unit shipments of large-sized liquid crystal display (LCD) panels in the fourth quarter of 2012. Large-sized panels are defined as those that are 10-inches or larger in the diagonal dimension and are used in products including televisions, notebook PCs and desktop monitors. Also included in the category are and 7-inch and larger displays used in media tablets.

South Korea accounts for 70 percent of global supply of tablet display unit shipments, as presented in the figure attached.

“Inventory and production capacity for media tablet displays currently are at a high level,” said Sweta Dash, senior director, display research & strategy, for IHS. “Because of this, a short-term disruption of South Korean production would have a minimal impact. However, a long-term stoppage or reduction of production would have a major effect and dramatically reduce global tablet supply.”

Media Tablet Display Production by Country in Q4 2012

(Share of Global Unit Shipments

global tablet display makers

Phone hangup

Samsung at present is the global leader in smartphones as well as in total handsets, while fellow South Korean manufacturer LG Electronics ranks No. 6 in both categories. Together, the two companies account for more than a 30 percent market share for cellphones and smartphones.

University of Manchester researchers reported to Nature Communications that they have developed the first graphene-based transistor with bistable characteristics, which means that the device can spontaneously switch between two electronic states. Such devices are in great demand as emitters of electromagnetic waves in the high-frequency range between radar and infrared, relevant for applications such as security systems and medical imaging.

Bistability is a common phenomenon – a seesaw-like system has two equivalent states and small perturbations can trigger spontaneous switching between them. The way in which charge-carrying electrons in graphene transistors move makes this switching incredibly fast – trillions of switches per second.

Wonder material graphene is the world’s thinnest, strongest and most conductive material, and has the potential to revolutionize a huge number of diverse applications; from smartphones and ultrafast broadband to drug delivery and computer chips. It was first isolated at The University of Manchester in 2004.

The device consists of two layers of graphene separated by an insulating layer of boron nitride just a few atomic layers thick. The electron clouds in each graphene layer can be tuned by applying a small voltage. This can induce the electrons into a state where they move spontaneously at high speed between the layers.

Because the insulating layer separating the two graphene sheets is ultra-thin, electrons are able to move through this barrier by ‘quantum tunneling’. This process induces a rapid motion of electrical charge which can lead to the emission of high-frequency electromagnetic waves.

These new transistors exhibit the essential signature of a quantum seesaw, called negative differential conductance, whereby the same electrical current flows at two different applied voltages. The next step for researchers is to learn how to optimize the transistor as a detector and emitter.

One of the researchers, Professor Laurence Eaves, said: "In addition to its potential in medical imaging and security screening, the graphene devices could also be integrated on a chip with conventional, or other graphene-based, electronic components to provide new architectures and functionality.

"For more than 40 years, technology has led to ever-smaller transistors; a tour de force of engineering that has provided us with today’s state-of-the-art silicon chips which contain billions of transistors. Scientists are searching for an alternative to silicon-based technology, which is likely to hit the buffers in a few years’ time, and graphene may be an answer."

"Graphene research is relatively mature but multi-layered devices made of different atomically-thin materials such as graphene were first reported only a year ago. This architecture can bring many more surprises", adds Dr Liam Britnell, University of Manchester, the first author of the paper.

Read more semiconductor news.

IMT, the largest pure-play MEMS foundry in the US, announced today the appointment of MEMS industry pioneer and technology visionary Dr. Kurt Petersen to the IMT board of directors. Dr. Petersen is recognized as an expert and a voice of the MEMS industry having created fundamental MEMS technology from inception. He has co-founded six successful MEMS companies and acted as a consultant to more than 50 MEMS enterprises.

"MEMS are transitioning from primarily highly specialized applications to the mainstream, increasing production from millions of devices to billions of devices, a shift that is as significant as the development of wireless was to phones," said Dr. Petersen. "The industry needs strong wafer foundries to support this immense growth, and IMT has a solid track record of tackling the most challenging MEMS development projects with technical excellence and innovation, while also delivering devices in volume."

Dr. Petersen has significantly influenced the flourishing MEMS industry. With more than 30 years of expertise, Petersen co-founded Verreon, acquired by Qualcomm; SiTime, a successful MEMS producer; Cepheid, now public with a market cap over $2.5B; and NovaSensor, now owned by General Electric. Serving in a variety of roles at those companies from CTO to president and CEO, Petersen’s work has influenced the development of millions of MEMS parts that are still in production today.

"Dr. Petersen is a fantastic addition to the IMT board. We look forward to leveraging his valuable technical and strategic expertise as we grow the company into the next decade," said Craig Ensley, president and CEO. "Being located near Silicon Valley, the center of MEMS innovation, combined with our strong scientific and engineering expertise and state-of-the-art fabrication facility, IMT is perfectly positioned to lead the next phase of MEMS technology."

With a bachelor of science degree cum laude in Electrical Engineering from UC Berkeley and a PhD in EE from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dr. Petersen went on to establish the micromachining research group at IBM in 1975, where he wrote the seminal review paper "Silicon as a Mechanical Material," published in the IEEE Proceedings (May 1982). This paper is still the most frequently referenced work in the field of MEMS. Since then he has published more than 100 papers and has been granted 35 patents in the field of MEMS. He has been awarded the IEEE Simon Ramo Medal for his contributions to MEMS, is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and is a Fellow of the IEEE in recognition of his contributions to "the commercialization of MEMS technology."

"I look forward to my advisory role at IMT, because they have one of the most talented MEMS process development teams in the world," added Dr. Petersen. "When it comes to MEMS, IMT is the company to watch."

Additionally, visit IMT next week at the M2M Forum 2013 in Cambridge, Mass. On May 9 at 1:00pm, IMT sales manager Brian O’Loughlin and other panelists will explore the use of MEMS in medical devices and the supply chain challenges associated with "Incorporating End-User Experience into MEMS-Powered Design through Human Factors Engineering."

Innovative Micro Technology, Inc. is the largest pure-play MEMS foundry in the US. With a 30,000-square-foot class 100 clean room in Santa Barbara, Calif., IMT is easily accessible to Silicon Valley, the heart of MEMS innovation. IMT employs scientists and engineers with expertise in magnetics, micro-mirrors, microfluidics, sensors, wafer-level packaging, through silicon-VIAs and planar lightwave circuits.

For more than twelve years, IMT has been working closely to develop and mass produce breakthrough MEMS products for Fortune 500 companies and startups in the optical communications, biotechnology, infrared, RF, and navigation industries.

Axcelis Technologies, Inc. today announced the introduction of the Purion XE next generation single wafer high energy implanter, the second tool in its expanding family of Purion ion implanters.  The Purion XE is an evolution of the industry leading Optima XEx, combining the process and productivity advantages of the Optima XEx linear accelerator and beamline technology with the reliability, precision, process flexibility, and performance options that define the Purion platform. The Axcelis single wafer LINAC technology is the industry benchmark for high energy productivity and lowest cost of ownership, while providing customers remarkable manufacturing flexibility with true medium current capability. Each member of the Purion family shares a common, powerful 500+ wafers per hour end station, industry leading source technology and an innovative and productive ultra-pure beam line.

"The Purion platform redefines what chipmakers have come to expect from an ion implanter,” Bill Bintz, senior vice president of marketing said.  “It represents the most significant advance in next generation ion implanter platform design, and we’re excited to expand the Purion into the high energy segment. We developed the Purion platform in response to customer requirements for absolute beam purity and the most precise dopant placement possible, while ensuring the highest levels of productivity and capital efficiency.  Each product in the platform is designed to be the leader in its segment, in every measurable way, and together provide a powerful solution to chip manufacturers’ challenges in the sub 16nm era and beyond."

The Purion Platform enables high yield manufacture of sub 16nm planar and 3-D devices.  All Purion implanters incorporate industry leading advanced filtration systems, for unsurpassed beam purity, so even the most sensitive devices are implanted for optimized device performance.  The platform’s industry leading angle control system and constant focal length scanning deliver the most precise and repeatable dopant placement available today.  The scanned spot beam architecture designed into the platform enables control of damage engineering as well as other advanced process enabling implants using materials modification techniques required in leading edge device processes.

The common elements of the Purion platform were designed to drive manufacturing flexibility and lower the total cost of fab operations.  Common platform architecture and system options enable ease of process transfer between systems, simplified maintenance, and improved reliability.

Axcelis Purion high energy implanter

Spansion Inc., a developer of Flash memory solutions, and Fujitsu Semiconductor Limited today announced they have executed a definitive agreement for Spansion to acquire the Microcontroller and Analog Business of Fujitsu Semiconductor for approximately $110 million, plus approximately $65 million for inventory. The net impact is expected to be accretive for Spansion in 2013.

"This acquisition provides incremental revenue and aligns with our strategy to expand into system-on-chip solutions that require leadership in embedded Flash technology," said John Kispert, president and CEO of Spansion. "We will gain valuable people and intellectual property as well as microcontroller and analog products that will enable us to expand our customer base, addressing complete embedded systems requirements in automotive, industrial and consumer markets. We have been strategic partners with Fujitsu Semiconductor for decades and share many of the same customers. We expect a seamless transition for all of the employees and customers."

"In our pursuit of maximized corporate value, together with Fujitsu Semiconductor Limited, we have executed a management decision based on the restructuring initiatives we are taking in our semiconductor business," said Masami Yamamoto, president of Fujitsu Limited. "We are confident that our customers will benefit from the enormous synergies anticipated. Our employees will also benefit by being a part of Spansion, which has a complementary and differentiated product portfolio based on its world-leading nonvolatile memory technologies."

Embedded nonvolatile memory has become one of the most important differentiators within the microcontroller market and addresses customers’ needs for faster and more intelligent devices for a range of embedded applications. Spansion’s Flash technology along with the acquired microcontroller and analog products and talent accelerates a portfolio of high-performance system-on-chip solutions for use in the development of faster, more intelligent and energy-efficient products as well as next generation of the "Internet of everything" in automotive, industrial and consumer applications.

The acquisition is subject to various customary closing conditions and is expected to be complete between July and September of 2013. 

Fujitsu Limited reported consolidated revenues of 4.4 trillion yen (US$47 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced the industry’s first production of ultra-high-speed four gigabit (Gb) low power double data rate 3 (LPDDR3) mobile DRAM, which is being produced at a 20nm-class process node.

The new 4Gb LPDDR3 mobile DRAM enables performance levels comparable to the standard DRAM utilized in personal computers, making it an attractive solution for demanding multimedia-intensive features on next-generation mobile devices such as high-performance smartphones and tablets.

“By providing the most efficient next-generation mobile memory with a very large data capacity, we are now enabling OEMs to introduce even more innovative designs in the marketplace,” said Young-Hyun Jun, executive vice president, memory sales & marketing, Samsung Electronics. “Our 20nm-class four gigabit mobile DRAM provides another example of our ability to deliver well-differentiated, high-performance, high-density memory to customers in a timely manner.”

The 4Gb LPDDR3 can transmit data at up to 2,133 megabits per second (Mbps) per pin, which is more than double the performance of the preceding memory standard mobile DRAM (LPDDR2) with a data transmission speed of 800Mbps. This makes it possible to transmit three full HD videos, collectively 17GBs in length, in one second over the new Samsung chip embedded in a mobile device.  

Samsung’s 20nm-class LPDDR3 mobile DRAM enables seamless display of full HD video on smartphones with five inch-or-larger screens. In comparison to a 30nm-class LPDDR3 DRAM, the new device generates more than a 30 percent improvement in performance and 20 percent savings in power consumption.

While mobile gadgets continue to scale down in height, battery packs have been increasing in size. By adopting Samsung’s 4Gb LPDDR3 mobile DRAM, OEMs can have a 2GB package that includes four of Samsung’s new chips in a single package that meets the memory package height of 0.8mm.

Representing a major growth factor in the DRAM market, Samsung plans to increase production of its advanced 20nm-class mobile DRAM later this year, solidifying its competitiveness as a memory industry leader.

According to market research firm, Gartner, the DRAM market is forecast to grow by 13 percent year-over-year to reach $29.6 billion USD in 2013, with mobile DRAM to exceed $10 billion in sales, for 35 percent of the total DRAM market.

China rose to the top of the PC market for the first time ever on an annual basis last year, relegating the United States to second place with a lead of more than 3 million units, according to an IHS iSuppli PC Dynamics Market Brief from information and analytics provider IHS.

PC shipments in 2012 to China amounted to 69 million units, exceeding the 66 million total reached by the United States. Only a year earlier in 2011, the United States was the leading global destination for PCs.

Beyond its large size, China’s PC market exhibits distinct characteristics that set it apart from the computer trade elsewhere, possessing a vast untapped rural market and unique consumer-purchasing patterns. While desktop PC shipments lagged notebooks around the world, the two PC segments were on par in China in 2012, with an even 50-50 split, as shown in the table below.

China PC shipments

“The equal share of shipments for desktops and notebooks in China is unusual, since consumers in most regions today tend to prefer more agile mobile PCs, rather than the bulky, stationary desktops,” said Peter Lin, senior analyst for compute platforms at IHS. “The relatively large percentage of desktop PC shipments in China is due to huge demand in the country’s rural areas, which account for a major segment of the country’s 1.34 billion citizens. These consumers tend to prefer the desktop form factor.”

The market will change gradually as desktop PCs face rising competition from the high value proposition presented by notebooks. Notebooks will then surpass desktops in the country by 2014, tracking more closely with the worldwide desktop-to-notebook PC ratio of 36 to 64 percent.

The desktop vs. notebook pattern of consumption in China is only one example of the distinctive hallmarks of the country’s dynamic PC market. In another indicator, China also has approximately a 50-50 proportion in consumer vs. commercial PCs, compared to the 65-35 percent ratio for the rest of the world.

A third pattern unique to the China PC market is the preferred notebook display size of 14 inches, which accounts for more than 70 percent of notebook PC shipments in the country. For the rest of the world, the 14-inch makes up less than 30 percent.

A fourth pattern of note is the attach rate of PCs with a pre-installed operating system, especially for notebooks. While mature PC markets in other parts of the world claim a 90 percent attach rate, the proportion for China comes out to lower than 50 percent, with the ratio even lower in the desktop PC market.

Despite such exclusive behavior, the China PC space shares one common trait with the worldwide PC market. Like the rest of the world, demand in China remains weak as consumers migrate to using mobile devices like cellphones. China’s PC market is projected to grow only by 3 to 4 percent this year.

Even so, a vast market opportunity continues to exist for PCs in the country, in the form of potential first-time buyers mostly residing in the countryside. The government already plans this year to invest some 40 trillion yuan—equivalent to some $6.4 trillion—to build rural infrastructure in the next 10 years, and PC original equipment manufacturers can take advantage of the initiative to build out and expand from the cities, IHS believes.

China is also on track to retain its position as the largest PC market in the world for the foreseeable future unchallenged and alone—further providing PC brands a rare opportunity for expansion, counter to the myriad travails they face in the rest of the world.

SEMI today announced that Philip Yeo, chairman of SPRING Singapore, and Lee Kok Choy, country manager of Micron Technology Inc. Singapore, have been voted by the SEMI Singapore Regional Advisory Board as recipients of two prestigious awards recognizing their contributions to the development and success of the Southeast Asian semiconductor industry. The awards will be presented during festivities held at SEMICON Singapore 2013 on 7 May, 2013.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to Yeo for his pioneering and significant contributions to Singapore’s economic development, especially in the promotion and growth of the semiconductor industry. During his tenure as Chairman of the EDB, Yeo was instrumental in leading Singapore’s strategic growth and investment into the semiconductor industry, which today boasts an annual output of over $49 billion, hires over 42,000 employees and has 14 wafer fabrication plants. Yeo was also the former chairman of A*STAR and former special advisor for Economic Development in the Singapore Prime Minister’s Office.

The Industry Contribution Award will be presented to Lee for his work in advancing the competitiveness of the wafer fabrication industry in Singapore. Lee’s career in the Singapore semiconductor industry spans more than four decades, including positions at Texas Instruments, TECH and Micron. During his tenure at TECH and Micron, Lee was instrumental in growing their Singapore presence and maintaining Singapore’s competitiveness in the midst of competition from Korean and Taiwanese manufacturers. Lee also led the world’s first factory conversion from 200mm to 300mm technology while simultaneously maintaining production, and was instrumental into making Singapore into a base of Flash memory production that started in partnership with Intel.

"The contributions and accomplishments of both Yeo and Lee are well known within the Singapore and Southeast Asian semiconductor industry and these awards are a worthy recognition of their achievements on behalf of our industry," said Denny McGuirk, president and CEO of SEMI.

Terry Tsao, president of SEMI Southeast Asia added: "Yeo and Lee’s dedication to advancing the establishment and growth of the industry here has helped build Singapore into a globally recognized center of microelectronics innovation and manufacturing."

The award recipients were voted by the SEMI Singapore Regional Advisory Board (RAB), an advisory group of industry executives focused on advancing SEMI’s mission in Southeast Asia through the development and support of programs and initiatives designed to accelerate the growth and increase the visibility of the semiconductor industry in the region. The advisory board is led by newly elected executive directors including chairman KC Ang, senior vice president and general manager of GLOBALFOUNDRIES Singapore; vice-chairman Russell Tham, regional president, Applied Materials South East Asia and corporate vice president, Global Continuous Improvement, Applied Materials Inc.; and vice-chairman Jen Kwong Hwa, site director, Micron Semiconductor Asia.

"On behalf of SEMI and the industry, the SEMI Singapore RAB is proud to honor Yeo and Lee with these awards that acknowledge the key roles they have played in growing the Singapore semiconductor industry over the last two decades,” said KC Ang. “From a public and private sector perspective, their contributions have resulted in a robust semiconductor ecosystem in the region, where we continue to see this industry driving the global economic growth and now even enabling the explosive growth of the mobility markets that we are witnessing today."

The awards will be presented during two separate events held as part of SEMICON Singapore 2013. The Industry Achievement Award will be presented to Lee during the event opening ceremony on May 7 from 9:30am-10:00 a.m. at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Center, and the Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Yeo during the SEMI Singapore VIP Dinner, also on 7 May, at the Fullerton Hotel.