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STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) announced today another milestone in its testing of its 28nm FD-SOI Technology Platform. Following the Company’s December announcement of the successful manufacturing of System on Chip (SoC) integrated circuits, ST today announced that application-processor engine devices manufactured at the Company’s Crolles, France fab, were capable of operating at 3GHz with even greater power efficiency at a given operating frequency than alternate technologies.

This announcement follows on the heels of recent announcements from other organizations to utilize FD-SOI technologies. Moore’s Law—the observation that the number of transistors on a chip doubled about every two years—has driven the semiconductor industry over the past 50 years to shrink the size of the transistors, which are essentially miniature on/off switches. The increased density from these size reductions have given consumers the explosion of new and more exciting features at lower-cost that we’ve come to expect. In parallel, these new features are able to operate at clock speeds that allow the phones to respond to your commands—by keypad, touchpad, and now voice—almost before you finish expressing the command.

Now, as those transistors shrink to nanoscale dimensions where about 450 transistors can fit within the diameter of a human hair, physics are challenging the traditional high-speed and low-power advantages of planar CMOS technology manufactured on bulk silicon wafers. FD-SOI technology is a major breakthrough in the pursuit of miniaturization of electronic circuits, and the achievement of 3GHz operating speed for an application-processor engine presages the adoption of FD-SOI in portable equipment, digital still cameras, gaming and ASICs for a range of applications. Of the next-generation process technologies, FD-SOI alone has proven its ability to meet the industry’s highest performance and lowest power demands that are vital to delivering graphics and multimedia that amaze without sacrificing battery life.

“As we had anticipated, FD-SOI is proving to be fast, simple and cool; we had fully expected to see 3GHz operating speeds, the design approach is very consistent with what we had been doing in bulk CMOS, and, with the benefits of fully depleted channels and back biasing, the low-power requirements are also meeting our expectations,” said Jean-Marc Chery, Executive Vice President, General Manager Digital Sector, and Chief Technology and Manufacturing Officer of STMicroelectronics.

Reinforcing the point of simplicity, ST has found porting Libraries and Physical IPs from 28nm Bulk CMOS to 28nm FD-SOI to be straightforward, and the process of designing digital SoCs with conventional CAD tools and methods in FD-SOI to be identical to Bulk, due to the absence of MOS-history-effect. FD-SOI enables production of highly energy-efficient devices, with the dynamic body-bias allowing instant switch to high-performance mode when needed and return to a very-low-leakage state for the rest of the time – all in a totally transparent fashion for the application software, operating system, and the cache systems. Finally, FD-SOI can operate at significant performance at low voltage with superior energy efficiency versus Bulk CMOS.

FlexTech Alliance, a developer of the flexible and printed electronics industry supply chain, announced today that Dr. Keith Rollins has been elected chairman of the Governing Board.  Dr. Rollins has more than 30 years of experience in the advanced materials and specialty chemical industries, and currently serves as Chief Innovation Officer at DuPont Teijin Films US Ltd.  He will serve a two year term, succeeding Dr. John Batey, formerly of Qualcomm MEMS Technologies, Inc., who was the consortium’s chairman since 2011.  

As FlexTech Alliance chairman, Rollins will lead the governing board and all FlexTech Alliance stakeholders to further the organization’s development, continue to build membership, and increase its value through the provision of quality business and technical services.  The chairman’s role is to guide the board as it oversees the consortium’s decisions on policy, program content, and disposition of funds available for sponsoring technology-related research and development projects. 

“We are grateful for John’s Batey’s leadership over the past two years and now warmly welcome Keith Rollins as our new chairman,” said FlexTech Alliance President Michael Ciesinski. “Keith has a tremendous background in emerging technology and in assessing new business opportunities.  Previously, he led the U.K.’s Plastic Electronics Strategy Group, which produced an outstanding report on the opportunities presented by this industry.  With an impressive technical background and an extensive set of business contacts, Keith is well-positioned to strengthen FlexTech’s worldwide outreach.”

Over the last few years, Dr. Rollins has focused on technology development, strategic planning and business development in the displays and flexible electronics industries. Currently, his focus is on the development and widespread use of the DuPont Teijin Films range of polyester PET and PEN materials in flexible displays and electronics applications. Dr. Rollins received his Bachelor of Technology degree with honors in Applied Chemistry in 1979 and his Doctorate in Catalysis Chemistry in 1985 from Brunel University in London, UK.

“Successful deployment of flexible, printed electronics requires a multi-disciplinary approach, spanning materials development to electronics fabrication to conventional printing techniques,” explained Dr. Rollins. “FlexTech Alliance plays a pivotal role in bringing these diverse industries together.  I am honored to represent the industry and look forward to expanding FlexTech’s programs and services.”

Worldwide LED component market grows 9%

Strategies Unlimited has issued new figures since the first edition of this article. Solid State Technology now brings you updated figures and additional information on the worldwide LED market.

LED component revenue for lighting applications reached $3.11 billion in 2012, narrowly dethroning the large area display backlight segment at $3.06 billion, according to Strategies Unlimited, a market research firm covering the LED industry.  The worldwide market for LED components was $13.7 billion and is expected to grow to $15 billion in 2017, for a CAGR of 1.8%.

The total illumination market for 2012 is estimated at $14.52 billion. LED lighting includes LED replacement lamps and luminaires is estimated at $11.72 billion—an increase of 26% between 2011 and 2012—and it is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 12% over 2012-2017.

The 2012 estimate for revenues for the illumination market, not addressed by the LED replacement lamps and luminaires is $2.75 billion revenue.  These other applications include: decorative/festive/Christmas light strings; tube lights that go into many untraceable applications including signs; flexible tape and strips of LEDs sold in applications ranging from step lighting to lighting stairs to DIY cove lighting; and all other miscellaneous.

Commercial applications are the largest segment and grew the fastest—72%—in the LED lighting market followed by replacement lamps. Japanese market was the primary driver for the 22% growth in replacement lamp revenues from 2011 to 2012. The slower growing segments such as emergency and industrial lighting depend on the overall economic activity; entertainment lighting was a victim of slow down in European financial crisis, after the frenzy for the Olympics.

LEDs used in large display (TV and monitors) backlights also reached a new record at $3.06 billion in 2012. This is chiefly due to the success in penetrating the CCFL stronghold of the 32-inch TV. Low cost direct technology, also known as “chubby TV” technology because the TVs are thicker than edge-lit ones and narrows the price gap between CCFL and LED backlit TV to an insignificant level.  Both Samsung and LG have announced they will stop making CCFL TVs.

Chubby TVs will spread from 32 inches in both directions in size. It is expected to reach TVs 42 to 50 inches size in 2013-2014.  With drastic reduction in number of LEDs used and rapid price erosion, the large display market for LEDs is expected to decline to $1.7 billion in 2017.

The total market for LEDs in the automotive segment was $1.4 billion in 2012 and is projected to grow to $2.1 billion in 2017. The number of cars with LED headlights nearly doubled in 2012. Revenue for 2012 was $97 million and the five-year CAGR is projected to be 36%.

The number of cars with LED headlights nearly doubled in 2012. Revenue for 2012 was $97 million and the five-year CAGR is projected to be 36%.  Revenue derived from daytime running lights (DRL) grew 31% to $200 million in 2012.  DRL growth is expected to slow down as the penetration rate is forecast to reach 45% in 2017.  The total market for LEDs in the automotive segment was $1.4 billion in 2012, and is projected to grow to $2.1 billion in 2017.

While LED revenue from tablets grew 54% to $578 million, the overall mobile segment dropped 3%.  The drop in notebook backlight demand, the OLED success in smart phone display, and the general demand decline for other small and medium display will take the segment down to $958 million in 2017, for a 5 year CAGR of -7%.

Use of LEDs in signage and channel letters grew 7% to $1.7 billion in 2012.  Full-color signs contributed more than 80% of the revenue. The most popular pixel densities for indoor displays are expected to be 3mm and 4mm in 2013, meaning more LEDs will be needed.  The signage segment is expected to grow to $2.4 billion in 2017, for a CAGR of 7%. 

Breakdown of worldwide LED market by countryOn the supply side, 11 companies accounted for more than 72% of the LED market. Strategies Unlimited arrived at these figures after analyzing market demand as well as the supply-side activity of more than 54 LED component suppliers. The rank order of the top 11 suppliers in the LED market for 2012, by revenue of packaged LED components, is:

1. Nichia     

2. Samsung LED         

3. Osram Opto Semiconductors        

4. LG Innotek       

5. Seoul Semiconductor*       

6. Philips Lumileds*        

7. Cree         

8. TG      

9. Sharp       

10. Everlight*     

11. Lumens*

(*Companies have the same ranking when the difference in revenue is within the margin of error. Revenue includes sales of packaged LEDs of 30 lm/W or more.)

Samsung LED was absorbed into Samsung Electronics in 2012. By going vertical and successfully attacking the low cost direct TV market, LED sales soared at Samsung and at its chief supplier, Lumens. TG’s success in the tablet backlight market and the Japanese lighting market brought high growth to the company. Cree and Philips Lumileds rode the rise of LED lighting and achieved record revenues.

Chinese packaging companies grew from 6% of worldwide sales to 8%. Major consolidation is expected in China as the pricing war is forcing out many players. Taiwanese market share dropped from 19% to 15% as there is an increase of OEM packaging activities.  Only final sale is counted in this study.

The LED packaging industry is expected to grow modestly at a CAGR of 1.8% in the next five years. 2013 should see less severe price drops as excess capacity is slowly absorbed by the rise of lighting applications.  Consolidation—both vertical and horizontal—can help improve margins. 

Breakdown of worldwide LED market by technology

 

It is a fact that semiconductor industry capital spending is becoming more concentrated with a greater percentage of spending coming from a shrinking number of companies.  As a result, IC industry capacity is also becoming more concentrated and this trend is especially prevalent in 300mm wafer technology.  The figure below lists the 300mm installed capacity leaders for 2012 and IC Insights’ forecast for 2013.  The list was compiled and included in IC Insights’ updated report titled, Global Wafer Capacity 2013—Detailed Analysis and Forecast of the IC Industry’s Wafer Fab Capacity.    As shown, Samsung was by far the leader in 2012 having about 61% more 300mm capacity than second-place SK Hynix. Intel was the only other company that held a double-digit share of 300mm capacity at the end of 2012.  Assuming Micron is successful in acquiring Elpida in 1H13, the combined 300mm wafer capacity of the two companies will make the merged company the second-largest holder of 300mm capacity in the world behind Samsung.

 Of the top 10 companies on the list, half are primarily memory suppliers, two are pure-play foundries, and one company, Intel, is focused on MPUs.  Samsung is expected to maintain its lead in installed capacity through 2017, with aggressive capital spending plans seen over the past few years continuing over the next five years.  However, in terms of growth rate, IC Insights expects the largest increase in 300mm capacity to come from the pure-play foundries—TSMC, GlobalFoundries, UMC, and SMIC.  In total, IC Insights expects these four companies to more than double their collective 300mm wafer starts per month by 2017.

 IC Insights believes that the companies listed will represent essentially all the advanced 300mm IC production and capacity in the future.  IC Insights believes that the top seven or eight companies—Samsung, “Micron-Elpida,” TSMC, SK Hynix, Intel, Toshiba/SanDisk, and GlobalFoundries—can be considered an “elite” group that is just about guaranteed to be a driving force in 300mm capacity additions.  The remaining companies are likely to participate in future 300mm capacity expansion, but all have varying degrees of risk associated with fully realizing their long-term 300mm IC production capacity goals.

Meanwhile, there is still much uncertainty as to when the industry will make the next wafer-size transition—from 300mm to 450mm—and how much it will cost to do so, but momentum continues to build and the transition can now be considered certain to happen.  IC manufacturers have yet to fully optimize the high-volume manufacturing cost structure for the 300mm wafer size.  However, the potential per-die cost savings that the larger wafer can provide is enough of a motivating factor to make the transition happen.

3-D integration with nanostructuresResearchers at North Carolina State University have developed a new type of nanoscale structure that resembles a “nano-shish-kebab,” consisting of multiple two-dimensional nanosheets that appear to be impaled upon a one-dimensional nanowire. However, the nanowire and nanosheets are actually a single, three-dimensional structure consisting of a seamless series of germanium sulfide (GeS) crystals. The structure holds promise for use in the creation of new, three-dimensional (3-D) technologies.

The researchers believe this is the first engineered nanomaterial to combine one-dimensional and two-dimensional structures in which all of the components have a shared crystalline structure.

Combining the nanowire and nanosheets into a single “heterostructure” creates a material with both a large surface area and the ability to transfer electric charges efficiently. The nanosheets provide a very large surface area, and the nanowire acts as a channel that can transmit charges between the nanosheets or from the nanosheets to another surface. This combination of features means it could be used to develop 3-D devices, such as next-generation sensors, photodetectors or solar cells. This 3-D structure could also be useful for developing new energy storage technologies, such as next-generation supercapacitors.

“We think this approach could also be used to create heterostructures like these using other materials whose molecules form similar crystalline layers, such as molybdenum sulfide (MoS2),” says Dr. Linyou Cao, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at NC State and co-author of a paper on the research. “And, while germanium sulfide has excellent photonic properties, MoS2 holds more promise for electronic applications.”

The process, Cao says, is also attractive because “it is inexpensive and could be scaled up for industrial processes.”

To create the nano-shish-kebabs, the researchers begin by creating a GeS nanowire approximately 100 nanometers in width. The nanowire is then exposed to air, creating nucleation sites on the wire surface through weak oxidation. The nanowire is then exposed to GeS vapor, which forms into two-dimensional nanosheets at each of the nucleation sites.

“Our next step is to see if we can create these heterostructures in other materials, such as MoS2,” Cao says. “We think we can, but we need to prove it.”

The paper, Epitaxial Nanosheet–Nanowire Heterostructures, was published online Feb. 18 in Nano Letters. The lead author is Dr. Chun Li, a former postdoctoral researcher at NC State. Co-authors are Yifei Yu, a Ph.D. student at NC State; Cao; and Dr. Miaofang Chi of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The research was supported by the U.S. Army Research Office.

Stretched-out clothing might not be a great practice for laundry day, but in the case of microprocessor manufacture, stretching out the atomic structure of the silicon in the critical components of a device can be a good way to increase a processor’s performance.

Creating "stretched" semiconductors with larger spaces between silicon atoms, commonly referred to as "strained silicon," allows electrons to move more easily through the material. Historically, the semiconductor industry has used strained silicon to squeeze a bit more efficiency and performance out of the conventional microprocessors that power the desktop and laptop computers we use each day.

However, manufacturers’ inability to introduce strained silicon into flexible electronics has limited their theoretical speed and power to, at most, approximately 15GHz. Thanks to a new production process being pioneered by University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers, that cap could be lifted.

Professor develops flexible electronics"This new design is still pretty conservative," says Zhenqiang (Jack) Ma, a professor of electrical and computer engineering. "If we were more aggressive, it could get up to 30 or 40GHz, easily."

Ma and his collaborators reported their new process in Nature Scientific Reports on Feb. 18, 2013.

Ma endeavored to address a paradox for straining and doping silicon electronics built on a flexible substrate. The straining process is similar to stretching out a t-shirt: the researchers pull a layer of silicon over a layer of atomically larger silicon germanium alloy, which stretches out the silicon and forces spaces between atoms to widen. This allows electrons to flow between atoms more freely, moving through the material with ease-just as a t-shirt stretched over a dummy will have more space between threads, allowing it to breathe.

The problem comes during the doping process. This necessary step in semiconductor manufacturing introduces impurities that provide electrons that ultimately flow through the circuit. Doping a stand-alone sheet of strained silicon is like ironing a decal onto a stretched t-shirt. Just as an ironed-on design cracks when the t-shirt is stretched and unstretched, the act of doping distorts the flexible free-standing silicon sheet, limiting its stability and usefulness as a material for integrated circuits.

Ma believes that using the material to design next-generation flexible circuits will yield flexible electronics that offer much higher clock speeds at a fraction of the energy cost.

"We needed to dope this material in a way that the lattice structure within would not be distorted, allowing for silicon that is both strained and doped," says Ma.

The solution is akin to dying a pattern into the fabric of a shirt, rather than ironing it on after the fact. Ma and his UW-Madison collaborators — Max Lagally, the Erwin W. Mueller Professor and Bascom Professor of Surface Science and Materials Science and Engineering; and Paul Voyles, an associate professor of materials science and engineering — have developed a process through which they dope a layer of silicon, then grow a layer of silicon germanium on top of the silicon, then grow a final layer of silicon over that. Now, the doping pattern stretches along with the silicon.

"The structure is maintained, and the doping is still there," says Ma.

The researchers call the new structure a "constrained sharing structure." Ma believes that using the material to design next-generation flexible circuits will yield flexible electronics that offer much higher clock speeds at a fraction of the energy cost.

The next step will be to realize processors, radio frequency amplifiers, and other components that would benefit from being built on flexible materials, but previously have required more advanced processors to be feasible. "We can continue to increase the speed and refine the use of the chips in a wide array of components," says Ma. "At this point, the only limit is the lithography equipment used to make the high-speed devices."

Research and Markets announced the addition of the Global SiC Semiconductor Devices Market 2012-2016 report to their offering.

One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the high demand of SiC in industrial applications. The global SiC semiconductor devices market has also been witnessing rapid technological advancement. However, the fluctuations in demand and supply could pose a challenge to the growth of this market.

Commenting on the report, an analyst from TechNavio’s Hardware team said: ”Rapid technological advancement is a fast-growing trend in the global silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor devices market. The overall technological advancement in the electronics industry is growing at a faster rate, which has set the trends for technological advancement in SiC semiconductor devices. The fast-growing demands and changing end-user preferences over SiC semiconductor devices is leading to the trend of rapid technological advancement. Vendors need to continuously upgrade the technology and also implement new technologies.”

According to the report, the high demand for SiC semiconductors in industrial applications is one of the major growth drivers in the global SiC semiconductor devices market. Some of the industrial applications where SiC semiconductor usage is generating more interest for the vendors are in motor control and power conversion devices. This interest is mainly because of the low power loss properties of SiC semiconductors, which enhances the power conversion efficiency of electronic devices and also reduces carbon dioxide emissions. These benefits have replaced the usage of silicon in the above-mentioned applications. Furthermore, the application of SiC semiconductors has significantly reduced the size and weight of motors and power devices.

The key vendors dominating this market space are Cree Inc., GeneSiC Semiconductor Inc, Infineon Technologies AG., and ROHM Semiconductor

ISSCC, the International Solid-State Circuits Conference, is being held on February 17-21, 2013, at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis Hotel. This year, in honor of the conference’s 60th anniversary, we have assembled highlights of the topics and trends that are being discussed. Click through to learn more about the trends and challenges facing the solid-state integrated circuits industry in 2013.

David Su, subcommittee chair of ISSCC 2013, wrote on data rates of modern wireless standards, which are increasing rapidly, as is shown in the table above. The data rate has increased 100x over in the last decade and another 10x is projected in the next five years. Read more.

MORE HIGHLIGHTS FROM ISSCC 2013   >>>

CRS Electronics Inc., a developer and manufacturer of LED lighting, today announced the appointment of Mr. Travis Jones to the position of Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Scott Riesebosch, founder and former CEO will assume the role of Chief Technology Officer.

Prior to joining CRS Electronics, Jones worked for Lighting Science Group as vice president of National Accounts where he created a new division that secured a record 60 new national accounts in 14 months. Before joining Lighting Science Group, Jones worked for some of the largest lighting companies in North America. While at Acuity Brands he served as vice president of sales and marketing in the Austin Division where he was responsible for a 52-person staff that managed 4 brands and 3 sales channels, leading them from $73MM to $100MM in revenue over two years. Jones is based in Texas where he serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Lakehills Church in Cedar Park, Texas. He also serves on the board of directors for the Lakeland College Alumni Association in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, where he earned his B.A. in Philosophy and Business Administration.

"We are very excited to welcome Mr. Jones to the executive management team," said Mr. Chang Jiang Wu, executive chairman of CRS Electronics. "Mr. Jones has many years of experience in the LED lighting industry and has proven his ability to be an effective leader in establishing market strategies, growing revenue, and being responsible for achieving profitable results. Throughout his career in the lighting industry, Travis has repeatedly built successful sales teams with a proven track record of leadership, has always exceeded sales and profitability targets, and has a solid reputation in the lighting industry.”

Mr. Jones’ appointment is subject to receipt of the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

DRS Technologies, Inc., a Finmeccanica Company, and Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: CY) today announced that DRS will transfer its Microbolometer technology for uncooled infrared detectors to Cypress for high-volume manufacturing.

The proprietary production process, developed by the Network and Imaging Systems (NIS) division of DRS Technologies, will be transferred to Cypress’s 65nm Class 10 eight-inch wafer fabrication facility in Bloomington, Minnesota. The exclusive agreement will allow DRS Technologies to continue to improve sensor production by taking advantage of Cypress’s advanced manufacturing for significantly reduced wafer costs.

Cypress operates its own wafer fabrication facility in Bloomington, Minnesota, and offers access to this facility as a Specialty Foundry Solutions provider. This 8-inch wafer fab manufactures in high volume down to the 90-nm node with 65nm capability. It offers process technologies that integrate SONOS-based non-volatile memory and precision analog/mixed signal capabilities. The facility can handle ITAR material, and has been accredited as a Category 1A Trusted Fab for fabrication, design, and testing of U.S. DoD Trusted Microelectronics.

“The partnership with Cypress will allow us to better meet the growing demands of the thermal imaging market,” said NIS President Mike Sarrica. “With our advanced, proprietary microbolometer production process and Cypress’s proven technology and manufacturing expertise, we can achieve the high-volume, high yield and low-cost capabilities that have become requirements of both the commercial and military markets.”

DRS and Cypress expect to have qualified product by early 2014.

“This partnership validates Cypress’s commitment to high-quality, low-cost manufacturing in the United States”, said Minh Pham, executive vice president of Worldwide Manufacturing at Cypress. “This partnership expands our base of foundry customers for our Minnesota wafer fab, and will add new MEMS processing capabilities to support fabrication of Microbolometers. We expect growth in our wafer foundry business as more companies see the value and service we can offer.”