Category Archives: LEDs

Dynamic changes to R&D processes, tools, technical challenges, and funding/business models will be highlighted at SEMICON West 2013, along with product displays of the latest semiconductor manufacturing technology, components and subsystems. SEMICON West, the Western Hemisphere’s largest micro- and nano-electronics exhibition and conference, will be held July 9-11 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. The event will feature over 500 exhibitors, 50 hours of conference programs and more than 30,000 industry attendees.  Registration is now open at www.semiconwest.org without charge until May 15; registration fees apply starting May 16.

The semiconductor industry is simultaneously addressing the most complex challenges in its history: EUV lithography, new transistor architectures, stacked 3D-ICs, and 450mm wafer transition.  At the same time, adjacent markets in LED, MEMS and printed/flexible electronics are approaching technology crossroads — and new, post-CMOS alternatives to extend Moore’s Law are in the early stages of development.  Reconciling these multiple R&D demands are transforming old R&D strategies and accelerating new organizational models, skill set requirements, consortia options, partnership strategies, global sourcing tactics, and other approaches to managed innovation.

SEMICON West addresses these new R&D approaches through a variety of keynote presentations, panel discussions, technical presentations, and collaboration sessions including:

  • Silicon Innovation Forum: Organized by the industry’s leading strategic investment groups, this first-time forum provides a platform to connect new and emerging companies with strategic investors, venture capitalists and industry leaders.
  • Consortia Views:  For the first time anywhere, leaders from the industry’s top consortia — SEMATECH, imec and CEA-Leti — will share their views on collaborative R&D and the future of semiconductor technology.
  • Keynote Perspectives:  Ajit Manocha, CEO, GLOBALFOUNDRIES
  • Essential R&D Process Sessions:  Nano-Defect Detection and Lab-to-Fab Solutions
  • Latest Technology Updates:  Industry leaders will share the latest updates on lithography scaling and productivity, processing requirements for nonplanar transistors, 2.5/3D stacked ICs, and 450mm wafer processing.
  • ITRS Public Sessions:  The most critical technology innovation targets as identified the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors.
  • New Technology Sessions:  Learn about the latest R&D opportunities and challenges in LEDs, MEMS, printed/flexible electronics, silicon photonics, and more.

SEMICON West is the annual tradeshow for the micro- and nano-electronics manufacturing industries. Last year, over 30,000 attended the event and over 500 companies exhibited the latest innovations and solutions for advanced manufacturing.  For the sixth year, SEMICON West will be co-located with Intersolar North America, the leading solar technology conference and exhibition in the U.S. Every major semiconductor manufacturer, foundry, fabless company, equipment and materials supplier — plus leading companies in LEDs, MEMS, displays, printed/flexible electronics, PV, and other emerging technologies — attend SEMICON West.

SEMI is the global industry association serving the nano- and microelectronics manufacturing supply chains.  SEMI maintains offices in Beijing, Bengaluru, Berlin, Brussels, Grenoble, Hsinchu, Moscow, San Jose, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C. 

Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology has just announced an evolution in batch etch technology with the launch of the PlasmaPro 1000 Astrea etch system, a large batch etch solution for PSS, GaN and AlGaInP that will offer HBLED production manufacturers high throughput. The launch is being made at the LED China exhibition in Shanghai this week, where Dr. Mark Dineen, Oxford Instruments HBLED Product Manager will present the new system to the LED China Conference delegates.

“The PlasmaPro1000 Astrea is our ultimate batch etch tool, building on over fifteen years experience as a major supplier to the HBLED industry,” says Dr. Mark Dineen, Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology’s HBLED Product Manager. “Today’s HBLED manufacturers justifiably demand high yield, high throughput, optimum device quality and low cost of ownership.  Our PlasmaPro1000 Astrea large batch etch system offers solutions for all of these.”

With wafer batch sizes from 55 x 2” to 3 x 8”, the system has been designed specifically for the harsh chemistries required for HBLED materials. The PlasmaPro1000 Astrea delivers low damage, high yield processes ensuring the maximum light output from customers’ chips.  This is a highly configurable system, with process chambers that are available as standalone modules or in cluster configurations, available on a four sided cluster tool capable of supporting up to three process modules.

Designed to ensure high system availability and ease of serviceability, key system features and benefits include:

• >690mm large area source for highly uniform plasma

• 490mm electrode giving unparalleled throughput from batch sizes of 55×2”, 14×4”, 7×6” and 3×8”

• High conductance pumping system

• Dual entry gas inlet for ease of process tuning

• Maximized clamping for wafer cooling

• Z-movement electrode for ultimate uniformity

• Reliable hardware and ease of serviceability for excellent uptime

“This advanced and innovative system has been developed to address the exacting needs of HBLED Production users, who demand not only the very latest technological innovations, but also the superb customer support offered by our company,” Dan Ayres, Managing Director of Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology said.

Seven O-S-D product categories and device groups reached record-high sales in 2012 compared to 14 new records being set in 2011, according to data shown in the 2013 edition of IC Insights’ O-S-D Report, A Market Analysis and Forecast for Optoelectronics, Sensors/Actuators, and Discretes.  Figure 1 shows that in 2012, two sales records were achieved in optoelectronics, four in sensors/actuators (including total sensor sales), and one in discretes.  Ten new sales records are expected to be set in the O-S-D markets in 2013.  All the products shown in Figure 1 are forecast to grow by moderate percentages in 2013, which will lift them again to new record-high levels.  Total sales of MEMS-based products are expected in rise 9% in 2013 and reach a new annual record of $7.6 billion, surpassing the current peak of $7.1 billion set in 2011.

O-S-D products record sales 2012

With sales in the much larger IC segment falling 4% in 2012, O-S-D’s share of total semiconductor revenues grew to 19% in 2012 versus 18% in 2011 and 14% in 2002.  O-S-D’s marketshare of total semiconductor sales in 2012 was the highest it’s been since 1991.

Key findings and forecasts in the 2013 O-S-D Report include:

CMOS image sensors were the fastest growing O-S-D product category in 2012 with sales rising 22% to a new record-high $7.1 billion, blowing past the previous peak of $5.8 billion set in 2011. Since the 2009 downturn year, CMOS image sensor sales have climbed 85% due to the strong growth of embedded cameras used in smartphones and portable computers (including tablets) and the expansion of digital imaging into more systems applications. CMOS designs are now grabbing large chunks of marketshare from CCD image sensors, which are forecast to see revenues decline by a CAGR of 2.4% between 2012 and 2017.  Sales of CMOS imaging devices are projected to grow by a CAGR of about 12.0% in the forecast period and account for 85% of the total image sensor market versus 15% for CCDs in 2017.  This compares to a 60/40 split in 2009.

High-brightness LED revenues climbed 20% in 2012 to nearly $9.5 billion and are expected to hit the $20.0 billion level in 2017, with annual sales growing by a CAGR of 16% in the next five years. That’s the good news, but of immediate concern is whether new solid-state lighting applications are growing fast enough to consume the large amounts of production capacity being added worldwide in LED wafer fabs—especially in China.  Solid-state lighting’s main growth engine in recent years—backlighting in LCD televisions and computer screens—is slowing, and the multi-billion dollar question is whether the next wave of applications (e.g., LED light bulbs, new interior and exterior lighting systems, digital signs and billboards, automotive headlamps, long-lasting street lights, and other uses) can keep the industry ahead of a potential glut in high-brightness lamp devices.

About 81% of the sensor/actuator market’s sales in 2012 came from semiconductor products built with MEMS technology.  Sensors accounted for 52% of MEMS-based device sales in 2012, while actuators were 48% of the total.   A 10% drop in actuator sales in 2012 lowered total revenues for MEMS-based devices to $7.0 billion from the current peak of $7.1 billion in 2011.  By 2017, MEMS-based sensors and actuators are projected to reach $13.5 billion in sales, which will be a CAGR increase of 14.0% from 2012, and unit shipments are expected to grow by a CAGR of 17.4% in the next five years to 9.7 billion devices.  MEMS manufacturing continues to move into the mainstream IC foundry segment, which will open more capacity to fabless companies and larger suppliers. TSMC, GlobalFoundries, UMC, and SMIC all have increased investments to expand their presence in MEMS production using 200mm wafers.

Among the strongest growth drivers covered in the O-S-D Report are: high-brightness LEDs for solid-state lighting applications; laser transmitters for high-speed optical networks; MEMS-based acceleration/yaw sensors for highly adaptive embedded control in cellphones, tablet computers, and consumer products; CMOS imaging devices for automobiles, machine vision, medical, and new human-recognition interfaces; and a range of power transistors for energy-saving electronics and battery management.

 Now in its eighth annual edition, the 2013 O-S-D Report contains a detailed forecast of sales, unit shipments, and selling prices for more than 30 individual product types and categories through 2017.

 

Solid State Technology is proud to announce that Yoon-Woo Lee will be speaking at The ConFab 2013. The event will be held June 23-26, 2013 at The Encore at The Wynn in Las Vegas. Lee is the Executive Advisor of Samsung Electronics.

Lee’s presentation reviews what is currently happening in the IT industry and suggests strategies of collaboration within the industry. Technology is advancing rapidly in various sectors, basically driven by semiconductors that have strived toward greater performance, lower power, and smaller form through relentless migration, he says in his abstract.

“What is now important,” he writes, “is enriching the end user experience with a view on the entire value chain of the ecosystem. This is especially true as the IT revolution is now spilling over into other cutting edge fields like bio, nano, energy, and the environment. Collaboration is also critical in intra-regional trade and development. Countries will need to lower risk and boost efficiency through closer cooperation along the supply chain, forging alliances, devising common standards, and undertaking joint R&D.”

Prior to his current position Lee served as Vice Chairman and CEO from May 2008 to December 2009; Chairman of the Board of Directors from May 2008 to December 2010; and Vice Chairman from December 2010 to December 2011. An engineer and 40-year veteran of Samsung, Lee’s leadership and in-depth technology expertise have helped build Samsung into the world’s largest electronics company. He is widely credited with the success of Samsung’s Semiconductor Business and implementing policies and training programs that have earned Samsung the reputation of being the best company to work for in Korea.

Lee has been with Samsung since 1968. He served as the Managing Director of Giheung’s main semiconductor plant operations in 1987, and was appointed as the President of Samsung’s Semiconductor Business in 1996. Demonstrating his business acumen in a dynamic and fast-paced semiconductor industry, he successfully implemented diversification strategies that allowed the Semiconductor Business to navigate through cyclical market downturns while increasing market share, year after year. In 2004, Lee was promoted to Vice Chairman in charge of Global Collaboration, and also was appointed Head of the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology. In 2005, he became Chief Technology Officer, responsible for planning mid- to long-term strategies for promoting new business development based on cutting-edge technologies.

Lee serves in numerous industry leadership positions including Vice Chairman of Seoul Chamber Commerce & Industry, Vice Chairman of Korea-Japan Economic Association, and Vice Chairman of Korea Business Council for Sustainable Development. In 2005, he was honored by the Korea Management Institute as CEO of the Year. Mr. Lee graduated from Seoul National University with a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering.

For more information on or to register for The ConFab 2013, visit The ConFab section of our website.

Cree, Inc. announces the release of its second generation SiC MOSFET, enabling systems to have higher efficiency and smaller size at cost parity with silicon-based solutions. These new 1200V MOSFETs deliver power density and switching efficiency at half the cost per amp of Cree’s previous generation MOSFETs. At this price-performance point, they enable lower system costs for OEMs and provide additional savings to the end-user through increased efficiency and lower installation costs due to the lower size and weight of SiC-based systems.

“We have evaluated Cree’s second generation SiC MOSFET in our advanced solar circuits,” stated Prof. Dr. Bruno Burger, renowned industry expert at the Fraunhofer-Institute in Freiburg, Germany.  “They have state-of-the-art efficiency and enable system operation at higher switching frequencies that result in smaller passive components, especially smaller inductors. This substantially improves the cost-performance tradeoff in solar inverters in favor of smaller, lighter and more efficient systems.”

The superior performance of these new SiC MOSFETs enables the reduction of required current rating by 50-70% in some high power applications.  When properly optimized, customers can now get the performance benefits of SiC with the same or lower systems cost as with previous silicon solutions.  For solar inverters and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems, the efficiency improvement is accompanied by size and weight reductions.  In motor drive applications, the power density can be more than doubled while increasing efficiency and providing up to twice the maximum torque of similarly rated silicon solutions.  The product offering range has been extended to include a much larger 25 mOhm die aimed at the higher power module market for power levels above 30 kW. The 80 mOhm device is intended as a lower cost, higher performance upgrade to the first generation MOSFET.

“With our new MOSFET platform, we already have design wins in multiple segments,” explained Cengiz Balkas, vice president and general manager, Cree Power and RF.  “Due to the rapid acceptance of this second generation of SiC MOSFETs, we are shipping pre-production volumes to several customers ahead of schedule and we are ramping volume production in-line with customer demand.”

Die are available with ratings of 25 mOhms, intended as a 50 amp building block for high power modules, and 80 mOhm.  The 80 mOhm MOSFET in a TO-247 package is intended as a higher performance, lower cost replacement for Cree’s first-generation CMF20120D. Packaged parts are available immediately from DigiKey, Mouser and Farnell. 

Yole Développement announced today its new report “UV LEDs: Technology & Application Trends” which presents UV LED new applications and associated market metrics for the period 2012-2020, and a deep analysis of UV LED technology and UV LED lighting industry.

Thanks to UV curing, UV LEDs should become a $270M business by 2017, and could hit $300M if new applications boom

Thanks to its compactness, low cost of ownership and environmentally-friendly composition, UV LED continues to replace incumbent technologies like mercury. Hence, the UV LED business is expected to grow from $45M in 2012 to nearly $270M by 2017, at a CAGR of 43% — whereas the traditional UV lamps market will grow at a CAGR of 10% during the same time period.

In 2012, UVA/UVB applications represented 89% of the overall UV LED market. Amongst these applications, UV curing is the most dynamic and most important market, due to significant advantages offered over traditional technologies (lower cost of ownership, system miniaturization, etc.). This trend is reinforced by the whole supply chain, which is pushing for the technology’s adoption: from UV LED module and system manufacturers to ink formulators and (of course) the associations created to promote the technology. And with Heraeus Noblelight’s recent acquisition of Fusion UV (Jan. 2013), all major UV curing system manufacturers are now involved in the UV LED technology transition.

Concerning UVC applications, they are still in their infancy and their sales are mainly for R&D purposes and analytic instruments like spectrophotometers. But given some newly published results (increase of EQE over 10%, etc.) and the recent commercialization of the world’s first UVC LED-based disinfection system (2012), the market should kick into gear within the next two years.

In addition to traditional applications (UV lamps replacement), and due to their unique properties (compactness, higher lifetime, robustness, etc.), UV LEDs are also creating new applications that aren’t accessible to traditional UV lamps, i.e. apps that are miniaturized and portable.

“In 2012, several new UV LED based products were launched, including cell phone disinfection systems, nail gel curing systems and miniaturized counterfeit money detectors – and this is likely to continue!” explains announced Pars Mukish, Technology & Market Analyst, LED, at Yole Développement. “We estimate that if new UV LED applications continue emerging, the associated business could represent nearly $30M by 2017, which would increase the overall UV LED market size to nearly $300M,” he adds.

This market and technology analysis is a comprehensive review of every UV application (including a deep analysis of UV curing and UV disinfection purification), highlighting: UV working principle, market structure, UV LED market drivers and the challenges/characteristics associated, time-to-market, penetration rate & Total Accessible Market (TAM) for UV LEDs, and much more. Additionally, Yole Développement details the market metrics for traditional UV lamps and UV LEDs over the period 2012 – 2017, with splits by application for each technology (volume & market size, etc.).

The report also presents an analysis of emerging UV LED applications, detailing: short-term applications that have already begun emerging, UV LED Concept Knowledge theory, and more.

Once UVC LED performance is sufficient, the supply chain battle will intensify

The booming UVA/UVB market (mostly UV curing) has attracted several new players from different backgrounds over the past few years: traditional UV lamp suppliers, traditional UV system suppliers, pure UV LED system suppliers, and others. Each player employs a different strategy for capturing the maximum value created by this disruptive technology: horizontal integration (from UV lamp to UV LED), vertical integration (from UV LED device to UV LED system and vice-versa) or both (from UV lamp to UV LED system). We should point out that traditional UV lamp manufacturers are under the most pressure since they have to compensate for the waning lamp replacement market by diversifying their activities in higher supply chain levels.

In the end, every UV LED device/system manufacturer faces the same technical issues when it comes to integrating UV LEDs into a system (thermal management, optics, etc.), but experience is gained with each passing year. Once UVC LEDs achieve sufficient performance, there’s no way a manufacturer will allow the opportunity to pass them by. When that moment comes, the whole supply chain will become a mess due to an increasingly competitive environment, and consolidation will be necessary. Yole Développement analysis covers the UV LED industry, detailing: main players & associated strategies/business models, 2012 industrial value & supply chains, key players’ revenue and market share, and much more.

Bulk AlN vs. AlN on sapphire template: no current winner

AlN on sapphire templates are definitely the substrate of choice for UVA applications, as they provide the right mix between cost and performance. However, for UVC applications (and some UVB applications) the competition with bulk AlN substrate is strong, since such material could allow for improvement at the device level in terms of lifetime, efficiency (IQE and EQE) and power output.

Right now, the debate is still on. And even if bulk AlN’s superior performance has been demonstrated by companies such as Crystal-IS and HexaTech, the associated cost (2.5x to 4x more compared to AlN on Sapphire template) still remains an obstacle to developing UVC LEDs at a reasonable price.

Indeed, such a situation has already occurred with GaN substrate for visible LEDs. Bulk GaN was the ideal technical candidate, but cost was too high and sapphire was widely adopted instead. Will UV LEDs meet the same fate?

In addition to substrate issues for UVC LED development, epitaxy represents another challenge for increasing device performance. Such barriers will have to be surpassed before we see commercialized UV LED-based disinfection/purification systems.

researcher Ma Ming developes brighter, smarter, more efficient LEDsRensselaer Polytechnic Institute student Ming Ma has developed a new method to manufacture light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that are brighter, more energy efficient, and have superior technical properties than those on the market today. His patent-pending invention holds the promise of hastening the global adoption of LEDs and reducing the overall cost and environmental impact of illuminating our homes and businesses.

For this innovation, Ma, a doctoral student in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, has been named the winner of the prestigious 2013 $30,000 Lemelson-Rensselaer Student Prize. He is among the three 2013 $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Collegiate Student Prize winners announced today.

“For more than 175 years, Rensselaer has produced some of the world’s most successful engineers and scientists, explorers and scholars, innovators and entrepreneurs. Doctoral student Ming Ma, with his groundbreaking invention of GRIN LEDs, honors and continues this tradition of excellence,” said David Rosowsky, dean of the School of Engineering at Rensselaer. “Rensselaer and the School of Engineering offer a hearty congratulations to Ming for his achievement. We also applaud all of the winners, finalists, and entrants of the Lemelson-MIT Collegiate Student Prize for using their talent and passion to engineer a better world and a better tomorrow.”

Ma is the seventh recipient of the Lemelson-Rensselaer Student Prize. First given in 2007, the prize is awarded annually to a Rensselaer senior or graduate student who has created or improved a product or process, applied a technology in a new way, redesigned a system, or demonstrated remarkable inventiveness in other ways.

“Invention is critical to the U.S. economy. It is imperative we instill a passion for invention in today’s youth, while rewarding those who are inspiring role models,” said Joshua Schuler, executive director of the Lemelson-MIT Program. “This year’s Lemelson-MIT Collegiate Student Prize winners and finalists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign prove that inventions and inventive ideas have the power to impact countless individuals and entire industries for the better.”

Seeking Brighter, Smarter LEDs

Conventional incandescent and fluorescent light sources are increasingly being replaced by more energy-efficient, longer-lived, and environmentally friendlier LEDs, but LEDs still suffer from challenges related to brightness, efficiency, and performance  With his project, “Graded-refractive-index (GRIN) Structures for Brighter and Smarter Light-Emitting Diodes,” Ma faced these problems head-on and tackled a fundamental, well-known technical shortcoming of LED materials.

LEDs are hampered by low light-extraction efficiency—or the percentage of produced light that actually escapes from the LED chip. Currently, most unprocessed LEDs have a light-extraction efficiency of only 25 percent, which means 75 percent of light produced gets trapped within the device itself.

One solution that has emerged is to roughen the surface of LEDs, in order to create nanoscale gaps and valleys that enable more light to escape. While surface roughening leads to brighter and more efficient light emission, the roughening process creates random features on the LED’s surface that do not allow for a complete control over other critical device properties such as surface structure and refractive index.

Freeing Trapped Light with GRIN LEDs

Ma’s solution to this problem was to create an LED with well-structured features on the surface to minimize the amount of light that gets reflected back into the device, and thus boost the amount of light emitted. He invented a process for creating LEDs with many tiny star-shaped pillars on the surface. Each pillar is made up of five nanolayers specifically engineered to help “carry” the light out of the LED material and into the surrounding air.

new brighter smart more efficient LEDMa’s patent-pending technology, called GRIN (graded-refractive-index) LEDs, has demonstrated a light-extraction efficiency of 70 percent, meaning 70 percent of light escaped and only 30 percent was left trapped inside the device—a huge improvement over the 25 percent light-extraction efficiency of most of today’s unprocessed LEDs. In addition, GRIN LEDs also have controllable emission patterns, and enable a more uniform illumination than today’s LEDs.

Overall, Ma’s innovation could lead to entirely new methods for manufacturing LEDs with increased light output, greater efficiency, and more controllable properties than both surface-roughened LEDs and the LEDs currently available in the marketplace.

               

AIXTRON SE, a provider of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry, last week announced revenues and minimal EBIT loss for the fiscal year 2012.

A slow recovery of revenues but a virtually flat order intake throughout the year reflects a reluctant investment attitude by customers and a continuation of macroeconomic uncertainty, said AIXTRON officials. Despite an improving market consensus on the potential outlook for the back end of 2013, management is unable at this stage to offer a precise revenue and EBIT margin guidance for the year, due to the prevailing low visibility.

Management expects demand for MOCVD production equipment to potentially improve as demand for LEDs increases later in the current year. On the same timeline, management also foresees incremental equipment demand coming from non-LED emerging MOCVD applications and other technology markets, including silicon and organic semiconductor applications. Nevertheless, the exact timing of that order intake pickup is difficult to predict whilst order visibility remains so low.

“2012 proved to be an exceptionally challenging year for AIXTRON, largely due to the severe and extended macroeconomic headwinds that the whole world has been suffering from,” said Paul Hyland, President and Chief Executive Officer of AIXTRON. “Our original expectation that 2012 would develop into a transitory year with the prospect of a significantly better second half has evidently not materialized.

However, the ongoing, albeit low level of demand seen in the second half of 2012 and into 2013, has AIXTRON’s management believing they have reached the bottom of the current cycle. Officials from AIXTRON say it is reasonable to expect to see further market recovery at some point during 2013, driven by increasing demand for LED manufacturing equipment.

AIXTRON also believes they will see an increased demand for the equipment for non-LED applications. AIXTRON management plans to focus now on cost control and cash flow, while continuing R&D investments into future market opportunities.

The European Photonics Industry Consortium recently embarked on an ambitious project to map all the companies in Europe active in photonics, which amounts to over 3000 companies. This includes companies based in Europe, a headquarter or regional office, and companies who manufacture or extensively use photonics components, or provide services to the European photonics ecosystem. This could also include software developers, engineers, consultants, resellers and distributors, as well as academia and research organizations, clusters or other players in the photonics industry in Europe. The result will be a spreadsheet and interactive map that will be available to everyone.

To achieve this goal, EPIC is asking companies to participate in an open survey, which can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PhotonicsMapping

The survey will be available online until April 13, 2013 for companies to fill out.

Membership in EPIC is open to companies, research institutes, universities, and financial partners having operations in the European economic area. EPIC is owned and operated by its members. The annual budget is supported by subscription fees which are scaled to encourage participation of SMEs, R&D laboratories and universities, as well as larger companies. EPIC members encompass the entire value chain from LED lighting, PV solar energy, silicon photonics, optical components, lasers, sensors, displays, projectors, optic fiber, and other photonic related technologies.

Fab equipment spending for Front End facilities is expected to be flat in 2013, remaining around $31.7 billion, increasing to $39.3 billion in 2014 — a 24% increase. The SEMI World Fab Forecast also reveals that in 2013 increases for fab equipment spending will vary by technology node and that fab construction spending will increase an overall 6.7% with major spending in China. The report tracks equipment spending at over 180 facilities in 2013. 

More than 262 updates have been made since the last publication of the SEMI World Fab Forecast. Updates are based on announced spending plans, including major changes for TSMC, Samsung, Intel, SK Hynix, Globalfoundries, UMC, and for some Japanese facilities and LED facilities.  Despite these adjustments, the overall forecast for equipment spending for 2013 has remained about the same. Depending on macro-economic risk factors, possible scenarios project a range of -3% to +3% change rate for fab equipment spending in 2013; in other words, hovering around flat.

Though the overall outlook has improved some, fewer players in the market can afford the rising costs for research and development and upgrading facilities as the amount of money needed to upgrade facilities at the leading edge technologies is immense.  The World Fab Forecast report shows increases for fab equipment spending, varying by technology node.  Fab equipment spending for 17nm and below is expected to kick off in 2013 and increase by a factor of 2.4 to about $25 billion from 2013 to 2014.

Fab construction spending is now expected to increase 6.7% with construction spending to reach almost $6 billion. In 2014, however, construction project spending is expected to contract by about 18%. Construction spending is led by TSMC, with seven different projects for the year; followed by Intel. Fab construction spending in China will increase by a factor of four due to Samsung’s Mega fab in Xian.

Capacity is now forecasted to expand by just 2.8% for this year and to improve to 5.4% growth in 2014.  Excluding 2009, the years 2012 and 2013 show the lowest growth rate for new capacity over the past ten years.   However, pent-up demand is expected for some product types because capacity additions have been cut to minimum levels while chip demand keeps increasing. Capacity additions and equipment spending are expected to pick up in the second half of 2013. In 2014, at least 5% in new capacity will be added and fab equipment spending will increase by 2%. The World Fab Forecast gives detailed capacity information by industry segment and by individual company and fab.

Since the last fab database publication at the end November 2012 SEMI’s worldwide dedicated analysis team has made 262 updates to more than 210 facilities (including Opto/LED fabs) in the database. The latest edition of the World Fab Forecast lists 1,146 facilities (including 310 Opto/LED facilities), with 58 facilities starting production this year and in the near future.

The SEMI World Fab Forecast uses a bottom-up approach methodology, providing high-level summaries and graphs; and in-depth analyses of capital expenditures, capacities, technology and products by fab. Additionally, the database provides forecasts for the next 18 months by quarter. These tools are invaluable for understanding how the semiconductor manufacturing will look in 2013 and 2014, and learning more about capex for construction projects, fab equipping, technology levels, and products.

SEMI’s Worldwide Semiconductor Equipment Market Subscription (WWSEMS) data tracks only new equipment for fabs and test and assembly and packaging houses.  The SEMI World Fab Forecast and its related Fab Database reports track any equipment needed to ramp fabs, upgrade technology nodes, and expand or change wafer size, including new equipment, used equipment, or in-house equipment.