Category Archives: Top Story Right

April 30, 2012 — Analog semiconductor maker SiTime Corporation has shipped 100 million units of its micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS), including oscillators, clock generators and resonators. More than 800 electronics companies have adopted SiTime’s silicon MEMS timing components, in more than 100 applications.

MEMS oscillators currently represent <1% of the total ($6.3 billion) timing market, but potential growth in this sector is attracting new entrants and investment, said research firm Semico. Semico reports that MEMS oscillator growth is driven by increased penetration into high-growth applications.

MEMS oscillators are an alternative to the established quartz crystal oscillator technology, offering performance and reliability improvements, smaller form factor, lower cost, and lower power usage than quartz devices, adds Semico. Silicon-based timing technology enables better performance than conventional quartz-based components, as well as more flexibility and higher reliability, said Rajesh Vashist, CEO of SiTime. “SiTime’s MEMS timing products are up to 500 times more reliable than quartz oscillators.”

The company’s MEMS components today offer 250x better stability and jitter than its first product in 2007, Vashist added. SiTime’s initial research and technology came from Bosch labs and Stanford University.

Also read: MEMS resonators vs. crystal oscillators for IC timing circuits

SiTime Corporation, an analog semiconductor company, offers MEMS-based silicon timing solutions that replace legacy quartz. SiTime uses standard semiconductor processes and high volume plastic packaging. Internet: http://www.sitime.com.

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April 27, 2012 — Active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) displays manufacturing is virtually 100% concentrated in Korea, according to Displaybank, with Samsung Mobile Display (SMD) and LG Display (LGD) scaling up capacity.

SMD began large-scale AMOLED production in 2008, and the market has expanded under SMD’s leadership, gaining adopters for smartphone displays and other 3”-4” displays.

AMOLED shipments are increasing dramatically, shows Displaybank’s report, “Korea AMOLED Light-Emitting Material Industry Analysis.” In 2011, SMD ramped a Gen-5.5 line. LGD nearly quadrupled its AMOLED production capacity since 2010, with a Gen-4.5 line coming fully on-line. In H1 2012, both companies plan to commercialize 55” AMOLED TVs. They are accelerating development with deposition equipment of 4~10K.

Also read: AMOLED displays draw attention on smartphone adoption

Figure. Korea’s AMOLED light-emitting materials market size. Includes HIL, HTL, R’, G’, EML(RGB) dopant/host, ETL, EIL, and CPL materials. SOURCE: Korea AMOLED Light-Emitting Material Industry Analysis, Displaybank, Nov 2011.

With the growth in AMOLEDs, related material markets — especially light-emitting materials — are seeing significant increases.

Displaybank’s “Korea AMOLED Light-Emitting Material Industry Analysis” report analyzes equipment trends, development trends, and the supply chains of Korean AMOLED panel makers. It analyzes the current state of Korea’s AMOLED light-emitting material industry through the analysis of domestic AMOLED common layer materials and market size of light-emitting materials, and competition analysis of each material. Learn more at http://www.displaybank.com/_eng/research/report_view.html?id=865&cate=10.

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April 26, 2012 — At its Fab 8 in Saratoga County, NY, GLOBALFOUNDRIES is installing a special set of semiconductor production tools to create through-silicon vias (TSV) in 20nm node semiconductor wafers. 3D die stacking of leading-edge chips will enable mobile and consumer electronics. The first full-flow silicon with TSVs is expected to start running at Fab 8 in Q3 2012.

GLOBALFOUNDRIES is working with partners to develop packaging processes on advanced silicon nodes, said Gregg Bartlett, CTO, GLOBALFOUNDRIES, noting the complexity of chip/package interactions in next-generation nodes and the scaling alternative offered by 3D integration. The 20nm TSV capabilities at Fab 8 are supplemented by GLOBALFOUNDRIES

April 25, 2012 — Touch sensors for displays grew to 66% to 9.6 million square meters in 2011, according to the NPD DisplaySearch Touch Sensor Manufacturing Capacity report. This includes resistive, projected capacitive, sensor-on-cover (SOC), and on-cell touch sensors. Touch sensors will continue growing, with 13.0 million square meters in 2012, and 16.4 million in 2014, says NPD DisplaySearch.

Figure. Touch sensor supply and demand. SOURCE: NPD DisplaySearch, April 2012.

By revenues, the touch panel industry grew from $4 billion in 2009 to over $13 billion in 2011. The market for touchscreen displays is strong, driven by mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs, as well as PCs and point-of-information applications.

New display and color filter manufacturers, among other companies, are grabbing up market share in this rapidly growing display sector.

With rapid growth in resistive, projected capacitive, sensor-on-cover, and on-cell touch sensors, the industry’s development is under scrutiny, including the balance of supply and demand, how quickly sensor-on-cover projected capacitive touch can take share from conventional projected capacitive, and how on-cell and in-cell touch will impact add-on type touch screens, NPD DisplaySearch reports.

“Capacity in 2010 and 2011 was slightly higher — 13% — than demand, but this level of oversupply is healthy, given the rapid pace of growth in the touch industry,” said Jennifer Colegrove, Ph.D., VP, emerging display technologies for NPD DisplaySearch. “However, the glut is expected to more than double in 2012, to 27%, causing touch sensor prices to reduce rapidly. The oversupply will also force touch suppliers to move to larger size applications to utilize capacity, such as notebook and all-in-one PCs, ATM/finance and point of information,” Dr. Colegrove noted.

Resistive touch sensors were in oversupply in 2010. In 2011, most resistive touch manufacturers dramatically reduced their capacity; some converted their lines to projected capacitive touch. In 2012, resistive touch manufacturers continue to minimize capacity, leading to a balanced supply/demand outlook. While resistive continues to be strong in applications such as automotive, education/training, and industrial, it will slowly decline.

Projected capacitive touch manufacturing has increased dramatically, from 27 companies in 2009 to over 80 companies in 2011. Many projected capacitive suppliers are also establishing sensor-on-cover fabs.

SOC is forecast to grow fivefold (by area) in 2012. Due to its light weight and thinness, SOC is likely to be adopted in tablet and notebook PCs, including form factors such as sliding and convertible devices. Many leading touch module makers increased their cover glass capacity in 2011 in preparation for SOC production. NPD DisplaySearch forecasts SOC will capture an 8.6% share in 2012.

On-cell touch sensors are mainly used in AMOLED displays. In 2013, as large AMOLED fabs enter full production, there will be a significant oversupply (52%) of on-cell.

In-cell touch has been researched and demonstrated for many years, and in 2012, mass production will begin. Sony announced it is producing 4.3” in-cell LCDs. Synaptics is producing controller ICs for in-cell touch designs. As yield rates improve and tier one smartphone brands adopt the technology in 2013-2014, in-cell will experience strong growth.

Production of transparent conductive substrates (mostly ITO) for the four types of touch covered in the report will grow from 20.8 million square meters in 2011 to 30.9 million in 2014.

The Touch Sensor Manufacturing Capacity report includes information on nearly 100 fabs, including glass substrate generation, substrate size, substrate allocation, substrate input, yield rate, and yielded touch sensor area (in square meters). Transparent conductive substrate (ITO and ITO replacements) input information is also provided, and supply and demand for each of the four types of touch sensor is analyzed. NPD DisplaySearch surveyed over 60 suppliers of projected capacitive, sensor-on-cover, on-cell, and resistive touch sensors. The Touch Sensor Manufacturing Capacity report is a companion to the NPD DisplaySearch Touch Panel Market Analysis report, which profiles over 190 touch screen suppliers and analyzes each touch technology. NPD DisplaySearch is a leading global market research and consulting firm specializing in the display supply chain, as well as the emerging photovoltaic/solar cell industries. The NPD Group is the leading provider of reliable and comprehensive consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries. For more information on NPD DisplaySearch analysts, reports and industry events, visit http://www.displaysearch.com/.

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April 25, 2012 — Nordson ASYMTEK, a fluid dispensing, coating, and jetting technology supplier, uncrated the NexJet System for jetting, with a newly designed jet cartridge and new software control for semiconductor packaging applications such as flip chip underfill, chip scale packages (CSP), ball grid arrays (BGA), package-on-package (PoP) underfill, precise coating, and adhesive dispensing.

The Genius Jet Cartridge one-piece jet is quickly and easily removed without tools, much like an ink jet cartridge. The cartridge dispenses up to 50 million cycles before a replacement is necessary, depending upon the application. It has built-in memory to store usage data like the number of cycles and cartridge type, which is communicated to the jetting tool and compared to the recipe for process control.

The NexJet System

April 23, 2012 — KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) debuted the CIRCL suite high-throughput defect inspection/metrology/review system for implementation at lithography, outgoing quality control (OQC) and other process modules in semiconductor manufacturing lines.

The cluster tool monitors the wafer’s front and back side, and edge for defects. In parallel it measures wafer edge profile, edge bead concentricity, and macro overlay error. Data collection is governed by DirectedSampling, which uses results from one measurement to trigger other types of measurements as needed.

Advanced memory and logic devices require monitoring of increasing numbers of process parameters, said Oreste Donzella, GM of the SWIFT division at KLA-Tencor. By considering all wafer surfaces in parallel, measurements are made more efficiently. Several defect, inspection, metrology and review technologies are implemented in concert.

Also read: KLA-Tencor uncrates metrology line-up for leading-edge semiconductor wafers

The tool detects and bins macro defect types on the front side of the wafer, from particles to defocus defects spanning several die, to full-wafer defects such as missing resist. It catches low percentages of non-critical defects. A reticle ID check verifies that the correct reticle was used for printing. Macro overlay error monitoring checks layer-to-layer pattern registration. Back-side inspection finds particles and scratches, while edge defects are detected and binned. Edge Bead Removal (EBR) metrology monitors film concentricity and edge integrity to prevent possible delamination defects. Edge profile measurements are automated and calibrated to identify excursions that can result in water bead leakage or film delamination during immersion lithography. Automated high-resolution optical defect review and automated classification of front-side, back-side and edge defects, aid in defect source identification.

The CIRCL suite uses a new generation of KLA-Tencor’s LDS front side macro defect inspection module; a new, modular edge inspection, profile and metrology module based on KLA-Tencor’s VisEdge technology; a dedicated wafer back-side inspection module; and a flexible optical defect review and classification module. The modular architecture enables tailoring for a fab’s needs and reduces footprint in the facility. Upgrades are kept at a lower cost.

The modules comprising the CIRCL suite can be matched to like modules in other CIRCL tools, to facilitate flexible routing of work in progress and to promote baseline stability.

CIRCL modules have been shipped to leading foundry, logic and memory chip manufacturers for use in advanced development and production lines.

KLA-Tencor Corporation provides process control and yield management products, including state-of-the-art inspection and metrology technologies for the semiconductor, data storage, LED, photovoltaic, and other related nanoelectronics industries. Additional information may be found at www.kla-tencor.com (KLAC-P).

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April 20, 2012 — Metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) represent essentially 100% of the epitaxial tools used in the commercial production of compound or III-V semiconductor devices. “The corresponding combined revenue opportunity for MBE and MOCVD is estimated to be around US $6.1 billion for the 2012-2020 periods,” says Dr Philippe Roussel, business unit manager, Compound Semiconductors at Yole Développement.

Light-emitting diode (LED) manufacturing is by far the single largest application for MOCVD. In 2010 and 2011, the MOCVD market experienced the largest investment cycle in its history driven by a combination of demand for LED-backlit LCD TVs and subsidies by the Chinese central and local governments.

This has put the market into a significant overcapacity situation that could take 12-18 months to absorb. The next investment cycle driven by lighting applications and expected to start in 2013 will be more limited than the previous cycle due to improvements in equipment throughput and yields. Following this cycle, further cost of ownership (COO) improvements offered by the next generation of MOCVD reactors should justify the replacement of 2-generation-old reactors installed during the 2010-2011 boom and drive a last small equipment cycle in the second half of the decade. By then, power gallium nitride (GaN) devices will also represent a substantial upside for reactor makers.

Figure. 2010-2020 annual new epi-reactor sales in units (Including Power GaN – MOCVF, RF GaAs – MBE, RF GaAs – MOCVD, HCPV MBE, HCPV – MOCVD, LED GaAs – MOCVD, LED GaN – MOCVD). SOURCE: III-V Epitaxy Equipment & Applications Market report, April 2012, Yole Développement.

Overall MBE use is heavily driven by R&D systems (>50% of the total market) and laser applications (telecom, industrial, medical, research) that are not covered in this Yole Développement’s report. “For the applications covered in this report, the MBE market will be essentially driven by the continuous growth in the cell phone and wireless applications that are making heavy use of [gallium arsenide] GaAs-based RF components,” explains Dr Roussel. Emerging applications like smart grid and the trend toward increasing connectivity and “intelligence” incorporated in many consumer products will provide further opportunities. However, alternative technologies (Si CMOS, LDMOS, SoS, HR SOI etc.) represent a potential threat and could capture shares of the GaAs RF market and reduce the opportunity for MBE. In addition, MOCVD is making progress in HEMT manufacturing. Highly concentrated photovoltaics (HCPV) however could provide a small potential upside for MBE makers.

Aixtron and Veeco are leading in MOCVD, together representing 96% of the market in 2011. Production MOCVD tools are complex systems. Design and optimization require expertise in multiple fields including flow dynamics, thermodynamics, chemistry, mechanical and electrical engineering. Technological barriers to entry are fairly high. More than 15 emerging players have been identified but so far have been struggling to capture any sizeable share of the market. But the pressure is mounting and established MOCVD makers will need to maintain that technology gap to keep emerging competitors at bay. The main battlefield is that of total cost of ownership. Established MOCVD makers all have technology roadmaps to enable COO reduction of 3X – 4X within the next 5 years through a combination of improved yields, throughputs and precursor utilization efficiency.

For MBE, Riber and Veeco are the only 2 players offering large capacity / large throughput MBE production tools for volume manufacturing. Yole Développement’s analysts expect they will maintain this dominant position. However, there are about 10 other MBE manufacturers offering R&D , pilot or smaller scale production systems that also have a strong presence on the general MBE market (DCA, SVT, Eiko).

The metal organic precursor market will also be essentially driven by LED applications. But MOCVD reactor technology improvements (yield, consumption, wafer size) will lower the amount of TMGa and TMIn needed per cm² of epiwafer.

The 2010 metal organic shortage ended mid 2011 thanks to aggressive capacity expansion by leading suppliers. Further capacity expansion plans from established and emerging suppliers could come online within the next 3 years. “If executed as announced, we expect significant oversupply starting from 2012 that could continue through 2016 and beyond. This situation could put pressure on prices,” explains Eric Virey, senior analyst, LED, Yole Développement. Further MO synthesis technology improvements could provide opportunity for cost reductions. However, the usually volatile prices of raw Indium and Gallium also have a significant impact on cost.

Companies cited in the report:

Acco, Addon, Aixtron, Akzo Nobel, Albermarle, Altatech, Amalfi, AMEC, Anadigic, Applied Materials, Arima, ATMI, ATTO Wonik IPS , Avago, AW SC, AXT, Azur Space, Azzurro, BAE Systems, Bay Zu Precision (BZPC), Black Sand, Bluglass, BluSolar, Boyu, Cambridge Chemicals, CamGan, Century Epitech, CESI, Chemtura, Chi Mei Lighting, China Crystal Technology, Compsolar, Createc, Cree, CV Technology, CVD Equipment Corporation, Cyprium, Daystar Materials, DCA Instruments, Dow Chemical, Dowa Electronics Materials, Eiko, Elmos, Emcore, EMF Semiconductor systems, EpiBlu, EpiGaN, Epilight, Epistar, Epiworks First Nano, Formosa Epitaxy, Freiberger, Fujiepi, Furukawa, GCS, Genesis Photonics, Guangdon Real Faith Semiconductor Equipments, Hitachi Cable, Hittite, Huga, II-V Lab, Infineon, IntelliEPI, International Rectifier, IQE, Javelin, JDSU Quantasol, Jusung engineering, Kopin, Koyo Thermo systems, Lake LED, Laytech, Lextar, LG Electronic ARI, LG Innotek, LG Siltron, LIG-ADP, Luminus Device, M/A-Com, Mantis, MBE Components, Meaglow, Microlink Devices, Mimix Broadband, Mitsubishi chemical, Mitsubishi Electric, Nanomaster, Nata, Neosemitech, NGK Insulator, Nichia, Nitronex, NTT, Omicron, Ommic, Osaka University, Osram, Oxford Instrument, Panasonic, PB Technik AG, Philips Lumileds, Picogiga/Soitec, Plessey, Powdec, Power Integration, Qingdao Jason Electronic, Rfaxis, RFMD, RFMD, Ribber, Rubicon, SA FC, Samsung LED, Sanan, Sandia, Sanken, SEDI, SEMES, Semprius, Seoul Optodevice / Semiconductor, Sharp, Sheng Optical Equipment, Shinetsu, Skyworks, Solapoint, Solar Junction, SPECS, Spectrolab, Spire Semiconductor, Structured Materials Industries, Sumika, Sumitomo SEI, SVT Associate, Sylarus Technologies, Sysnex, Taiyo Nippon Senso, Tanlong Photoeelctric, Tectra, Tekcore, Top engineering, Toshiba, Tosoh FineChem, Toyoda Gosei, Toyota, Transphorm, Triquint, UBE, ULVAC, Umicore, UMS, UP Chemical, Valence Process Equipment, Veeco, VG Semicon, VPE C, Win Semi, Xiamen Powerway, Yangzhou Longvao, Yongsheng Semiconductor Equipment.

Authors: Philippe Roussel, Ph.D leads the Compound Semiconductors, LED,Power Electronics and Photovoltaic departments at Yole. Eric Virey, Ph.D is senior analyst, LEDs, at Yole.

Yole Développement’s report “III-V Epitaxy Equipment & Applications Market,” covers established and emerging epitaxy technology for III-V semiconductors used in several applications. It provides quantifications for tools and wafer starts per application, an in depth analysis of recent technology trends and their impact on cost of ownership and a comprehensive company profile of the main players in MOCVD and MBE business.

Yole Développement is a group of companies providing market research, technology analysis, strategy consulting, media in addition to finance services. Internet: www.yole.fr.

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April 19, 2012 — The NAND flash memory market will grow 8% in 2012 to $22.9 billion, thanks to major sales drivers such as solid-state-drive (SSD) equipped ultrabooks, according to the IHS iSuppli Data Flash Market Tracker.

NAND flash consumption is increasing in 3 principal markets: smartphones, tablets and ultrabooks, bringing NAND revenue continuously higher during the next few years, hitting approximately $30.9 billion by 2016.

Figure. Worldwide NAND flash revenue forecast ($B). SOURCE: IHS iSuppli Research, April 2012.

  2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Billions of US Dollars $21.2 $22.9 $24.2 $27.7 $28.1 $30.9

“Even though most NAND manufacturers had planned to be on the fast track in 2012 to increase production at newly built fabs, each supplier has since reduced capital spending compared to its original plans, electing to moderate supply expansions to allow demand to catch up. Such a strategy will avoid a precipitous price decline that the industry won’t be able to withstand, leading to more optimism for a stronger 2012,” said Michael Yang, senior principal analyst for memory & storage at IHS.

2011 numbers were not as high as expected for NAND, due to temperate tablet demand in Q4 2011, especially excluding Apple’s iPad. Lower-cost tablets also saw modest success, though these models use low amounts of NAND memory. The Kindle Fire from Amazon offers 8 gigabytes of NAND flash, compared to the iPad’s maximum 64 gigabytes of storage. If competitive tablets had similar NAND densities to the iPad, overall NAND flash consumption would be higher. On its own, Apple will consume about 25% of the overall NAND supply in 2012, equivalent to some 8 billion gigabytes. The iPad will be responsible for 74% of NAND consumption in the tablet segment this year, accounting for 2.8 billion gigabytes out of a total 3.8 billion gigabytes in tablets.

NAND flash suppliers have been pushing for the adoption of SSDs in ultrabooks, which attract corporate and consumer customers due to their light weight, long battery life and fast boot-up times. Ultrabook integration will push total NAND consumption in the PC segment to more than 15% of total NAND flash supply. SSDs will account for some 3.3 billion gigabytes of NAND flash consumption this year, up from 1.7 billion gigabytes in 2011.

Cell phones, namely smartphones, will grow the NAND flash market in 2012. Smartphone shipments this year will hit 626 million units, with an average NAND flash content of 9.0 gigabytes per unit. Overall NAND flash consumption in 2012 for smartphones is forecast to reach 5.7 billion gigabytes, up from 3.1 billion gigabytes in 2011. The iPhone, with an average density that is more than two times that of other smartphones, will consume more than 3.2 billion gigabytes in 2012. By 2016, NAND memory content in smartphones will amount to 18.9 gigabytes, representing 16% of total NAND bit shipments.

Other Apple products that will use NAND flash in significant quantities are the Mac Book Air and iPod Touch.

Get the IHS iSuppli Data Flash Market Tracker report at http://www.isuppli.com/Memory-and-Storage/Pages/NAND-Looks-to-UltraBooks-to-Drive-Growth-in-2012.aspx

IHS (NYSE: IHS) provides information, insight and analytics in critical areas that shape today’s business landscape. Internet: www.ihs.com.

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April 19, 2012 — Pure-play MEMS foundry Silex Microsystems brought its Met-Via full-wafer-thickness through silicon via (TSV) technology into Chip Architectures by Joint Associated Labs for European Diagnostics (CAJAL4EU), where it is being used to create cost-effective molded chip-level packaging with through metal vias (TMV).

Figure 1. Cross section of final product, showing Biosensor from NXP (Netherlands), TSV interposers from Silex, and epoxy mold to be performed by Frauenhofer (Germany) and gold (Au) bumping by Pactec (Germany). Frontside RDL to be processed by Bosch (Germany), and backside RDL to be processed by Frauenhofer (Germany).

The program is developing nanoelectronics-based biosensor technology platforms for in-vitro diagnostic test manufacturers to rapidly build various new multi-parameter test applications cost-effectively. CAJAL4EU will develop a generalized platform for low cost biofluidic sensing. Biosensing allows for rapid detection of unique biological markers (proteins, antibodies, and other biomarkers for infectious diseases) from microliter fluid samples in an extremely controlled environment. The biosensors will consist of a nanoelectronics-based transducer with an interface chemistry, which makes the connection to the clinical sample to be analyzed. With on-chip detection electronics, small electrical changes can be detected within milliseconds, enabling massively parallel real-time monitoring of bio-molecule binding events. Besides the transducers, interface chemistry and spotting technologies, microfluidics, software and hardware developments (and their integration) will play a crucial role to realize fully integrated biosensor systems and lab-on-chip devices. Therefore, the main deliverables of this project are the different developed technologies: sensor technology including bio-chemical functionalization, microfluidics and related hardware and software drivers.

Figure 2. Actual TSV interposer die from Silex.

Silex