World News
04/01/2005
BUSINESS TRENDS
SIA toasts record 2004, stays modest about early ‘05
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Worldwide chip sales posted a record $213 billion in sales, 28% growth from 2003 and surpassing the previous mark of $205 billion in 2000, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). Sales in December dropped 3.5% sequentially to $18.4 billion.
High gasoline prices did not gouge holiday sales of consumer electronics, noted SIA president George Scalise. In fact, “a moderation of gas prices coupled with good economic growth appears to have bolstered consumer confidence” - an important factor for the semiconductor industry, which has become increasingly reliant on consumer sales.
The SIA predicts 1Q05 sales to decline by 4%-6% sequentially after an essentially flat $55.1 billion in 4Q04, as more excess inventory is worked off, and consumer spending trends down in a post-holiday seasonal pattern. Capacity utilization rates also are expected to decline modestly.
WORLDWIDE HIGHLIGHTS
Nine semiconductor makers, representing 500,000 200mm-equivalent wafers/month capacity and $7 billion in combined annual revenues, have formed the Fab Owners Association (FOA) to identify problems and potential solutions for common manufacturing issues. The new group, which includes AMI Semiconductor, Cypress Semiconductor, Delphi Electronics, Fairchild Semiconductor, Intersil, LSI Logic, Micrel Semiconductor, ON Semiconductor, and ZME AG, aims to promote cooperative efforts among members to solve common manufacturing problems, improve efficiencies, and publish statistics related to semiconductor and MEMS manufacturing.
EV Group, Schärding, Austria, and Korean partners Jinsan Scientific Co. Ltd. and Jinsan Micro-Engineering Ltd., are opening a joint cleanroom facility at the Technology Innovation Center of Sung Kyun Kwan U. in Suwon, in the northwestern Kyonggi Province near Seoul. The lab will host research into MEMS and advanced-packaging processes as well as nanoimprint lithography.
USA
Intel Corp. is reforming its product lines into three pillars targeting business and consumer applications, as well as two groups serving a vertical market and the distribution channel. The five groups, each with autonomy to allocate computing and communications resources, are mobility, digital enterprise, digital home, digital health, and channel products.
ASIAFOCUS
China
Semiconductor International Manufacturing Corp. (SMIC) has lowered its spending plans for 2005 from $1.37 billion to $1.0 billion, according to a Reuters report. SMIC also has adjusted its planned production ramp for the year to a range of 140,000-155,000 wafers/month, down from a previous target of 185,000 wafers/month.
Japan
Fujitsu Ltd. plans to sell the semiconductor and LCD manufacturing operations of subsidiary Fujitsu VLSI to vacuum-equipment maker Ulvac Inc. for an undisclosed amount, according to several Japanese news sources. Fujitsu VLSI will focus on designing and developing ICs. Fujitsu already has unloaded its LCD business to Sharp and most of its ownership in a plasma-display panel manufacturing JV to partner Hitachi Ltd.
Singapore
Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing has begun prototyping at its Fab 7 300mm facility for customers including AMD and PDF Solutions. The ramp-up involves 0.13µm and 90nm technology codeveloped with IBM, as well as a 90nm silicon-on-insulator process specifically for IBM.
EUROFOCUS
A new group has been formed in the UK to represent small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) involved in micro- and nanotechnologies. Micro & Nano UK SMEs Together (MUST) seeks to fill a niche between a perceived lack of representation compared to academia and large companies, and other SME organizations not specifically targeting their needs.
Crolles2 Alliance partners Freescale Semiconductor, Philips, and STMicroelectronics are adding a backend program to their sub-100nm CMOS process technology R&D. A new lab will be established in Grenoble, France, targeting post-fabrication 300mm wafer processing for devices that use 90-65nm technologies and beyond, as well as specification requirements for next-generation assembly and test equipment.
STEAG HamaTech and Sematech will work with material suppliers, research institutes, and other equipment suppliers to develop cleaning technology for 30nm soft defect removal, concentrating on EUV masks and advanced phase-shift masks for 193nm immersion lithography.