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SEMI Announces Results of Board Elections and Leadership Appointments

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SEMI today announced that Martin Anstice, president and CEO, Lam Research Corporation; Kevin Crofton, president and COO, SPTS Technologies; Tien Wu, COO, ASE Group; and Guoming Zhang, executive vice president, Sevenstar Electronics, were elected as new directors to the SEMI International Board of Directors in accordance with the association’s by-laws.

Six current board members were re-elected for a two-year term:  Nobu Koshiba, president and representative director, JSR Corporation; Yong Han Lee, chairman, Wonik; Sue Lin, vice chairman, Hermes Epitek; Toshio Maruyama, chairman, Advantest Corporation; Tetsuo Tsuneishi, vice-chairman of the board, Tokyo Electron, Ltd.; Natsunosuke Yago, president and representative director, chairman of the board, Ebara Corporation.

Additionally, the SEMI Executive Committee confirmed the continued leadership by André-Jacques Auberton-Hervé, chairman, CEO and president of Soitec, as SEMI chairman and Yong Han Lee, chairman of Wonik, as SEMI vice-chairman.

The leadership appointments and elected board members’ tenure becomes effective at the annual SEMI membership meeting, to be held Wednesday, July 9, during the SEMICON West 2014 exposition in San Francisco, California.

“We are honored to have four distinguished industry leaders joining the SEMI Board and appreciate the continued service of those that have been reelected,” said Denny McGuirk, president and CEO of SEMI. “The SEMI Board reflects the regional and market diversity of our worldwide membership. Their service, commitment and leadership are tremendous assets for our association and our industry.”

SEMI’s 20 voting directors and 11 emeritus directors represent companies from Europe, China, Japan, Korea, North America, and Taiwan, reflecting the global scope of the association’s activities. SEMI directors are elected by the general membership as voting members of the board and can serve a total of five two-year terms.

SEMI Forecasts Back-to-Back Years of Double-Digit Growth in Chip Equipment Spending

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SEMI projects back-to-back years of double-digit growth in worldwide semiconductor equipment sales according to the mid-year edition of the SEMI Capital Equipment Forecast, released here today at the annual SEMICON West exposition. The SEMI outlook calls for the total semiconductor equipment market to grow 20.8 percent in 2014 to reach $38.4 billion and to expand another 10.8 percent in 2015 to exceed $42.6 billion.

Following two years of spending declines, key drivers for equipment spending are investments by foundry and logic fabs for sub 20nm technology, NAND flash makers for leading edge technology (including 3D NAND) and capacity, DRAM technology upgrades for mobile applications, and expansion of advanced packaging capacity for flip chip, wafer bumping, and wafer-level packaging.  All regions of the world are projected to see equipment spending increases in 2015.  Front-end wafer processing equipment is forecast to grow 11.9 percent in 2015 to $34.8 billion, up from $31.1 billion in 2014.  Test equipment and assembly and packaging equipment is forecast to experience growth next year, rising to $3.1 billion (+1.6 percent) and $2.6 billion (+1.2 percent), respectively. The forecast indicates that next year is on track to be the second largest spending year ever, surpassed only by $47.7 billion spent in 2000.

“Mobility and interconnectivity require leading–edge process technologies, both at the fab level and in packaging, and are key factors for growth in equipment spending,” said Denny McGuirk, president and CEO of SEMI. “We expect capital spending to increase throughout the remainder of 2014 and into 2015.”

Growth is forecast in all regions except ROW in 2014 and all regions in 2015. Taiwan is forecast to continue to be the world’s largest spender with $11.6 billion estimated for 2014 and $12.3 billion for 2015. In 2014, North America is second at $7.2 billion, followed by South Korea at $6.9 billion. For 2015, South Korea is in second ($8.0 billion) in spending, followed by North America ($7.3 billion).

In 2014, year-over-year increases are expected to be largest for China (47.3 percent), North America (35.7 percent), South Korea (33.0 percent), and Europe (29.7 percent). Year-over-year percentage increases for 2015 are largest for Europe (47.8 percent increase), ROW (23.5 percent), Japan (15.6 percent), and South Korea (15.0 percent).

The following results are given in terms of market size in billions of U.S. dollars and percentage growth over the prior year:

SEMI 2014 Mid-Year Equipment Forecast by Market Region

By Equipment Type

yr-over-yr

yr-over-yr

 

2013

2014F

% Chg

2015F

%Chg
Wafer Processing

25.36

31.12

22.7%

34.81

11.9%
Test

2.72

3.06

12.5%

3.11

1.6%
Assembly & Packaging

2.32

2.52

8.6%

2.55

1.2%
Other

1.42

1.74

22.5%

2.12

21.8%

Total Equipment

31.82

38.44

20.8%

42.59

10.8%
By Region

yr-over-yr

yr-over-yr
 

2013

2014F

% Chg

2015F

%Chg
Taiwan

10.57

11.57

9.5%

12.27

6.1%
South Korea

5.22

6.94

33.0%

7.98

15.0%
North  America

5.27

7.15

35.7%

7.33

2.5%
China

3.38

4.98

47.3%

5.06

1.6%
Japan

3.38

3.65

8.0%

4.22

15.6%
Europe

1.92

2.49

29.7%

3.68

47.8%
ROW

2.08

1.66

-20.2%

2.05

23.5%

Total

31.82

38.44

20.8%

42.59

10.8%

Source: SEMI, July 2014; Equipment Market Data Subscription (EMDS)

Panasonic Flip Chip Bonder to Make North American Debut at Semicon

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Panasonic Factory Solutions Company of America will debut a process-flexible flip chip bonder at this year’s SEMICON West as part of its high-speed, low-cost manufacturing solutions for highly advanced devices.

MDP-300, Panasonic’s latest bonder combines flip chip, thermosonic, and thermocompression bonding in a single, small footprint solution. It includes a synchronous head motion that enables the bond head and the dispenser to work in parallel. This unique process immediately increases bond quality and enhances overall throughput.

Supporting up to 300mm (12”) wafer substrates, it can even connect to a SMT machine. Visitors can see the MDP-300 up-close and learn more about Panasonic’s microelectronic solutions to dice, prep, bond, and more in Panasonic’s booth – #6251 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco on July 8 – 10, 2014.

Koh Young Unveils New HORUS 3D Measurement for Semiconductor Applications at SEMICON West 2014

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Koh Young Technology and Koh Young America will effectively enter the semiconductor market with the unveiling of HORUS, Koh Young’s exciting new high-powered 3D measurement system, at SEMICON West in San Francisco. This innovative new inspection system, featuring breakthrough technologies, will be exhibited in Booth #5544 in the North Hall at the Moscone Center.

Koh Young’s HORUS, like the ancient Egyptian god it is named for, commands unexpected capabilities and special powers. For example, HORUS can measure the volume and dimension of virtually any type of substance, part, component, die, including very small features, very quickly and with astonishing accuracy. HORUS can also precisely measure transparent and shiny materials with high speed and accuracy, something that no other inspection systems currently available can do.

HORUS will help customers realize higher yields in semiconductor and advanced packaging applications by measuring objects that have been considered difficult to measure with appreciable speed, without sacrificing accuracy. But HORUS boasts speed faster than any other inspection machine out in the market today. HORUS’ primary advantage over current systems is that HORUS can measure virtually any object, and is particularly capable of precisely measuring transparent ones at production speeds. HORUS is the first machine with this capability to enter the market.

HORUS excels at semiconductor applications, but it is ideal for the full range of electronics manufacturing and assembly applications including board-level SMT. HORUS can measure shiny objects including flux and solder balls using its very wide Field of View (FOV) optics. The combination of wide FOV and quick inspection speed allows HORUS to be used as an in-line inspection machine. This will also facilitate lot testing on all products, rather than traditional sampling inspection due to slow inspection speeds.

In addition to the new HORUS, Koh Young will demonstrate its other patented full 3D Measurement-based inspection solutions for AOI applications in booth #5544. Koh Young’s patented technology enables inspection based on the 3D profilometric shape of semiconductor components in flip chip packaging at in-line speed.

Leti to Present Technological Platforms Targeting Industry’s Needs for the Future at Semicon West Workshop

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CEA-Leti will highlight advanced technologies to meet future challenges for microelectronics designers and manufacturers at its annual LetiDay San Francisco workshop during SEMICON West in San Francisco, Calif., July 8-10.

In addition, Leti experts will present on lithography developments at the Semiconductor Technology Symposium and on silicon photonics at TechXPOT North on July 9.
This year, LetiDay San Francisco will focus on its technological platforms targeting future industry demands. The event will be from 5-7 p.m. on July 8 in the W Hotel Great Room, 181 3rd St.

Workshop topics include:

  • “CEA-Leti, a unique set of technical platforms and expertise to address future industrial challenges”. Leti CEO Laurent Malier
  • “M3D, a disruptive approach for further scaling”. Olivier Faynot, Devices Department Director
  • “New Non-Volatile Memory Technologies”. Luca Perniola, Advanced Memory Technology Laboratory Manager
  • “Generic MEMS Platform”. Philippe Robert, MEMS Department Director
  • “Cost-effective lithography solutions for the future”. Laurent Pain, Lithography Laboratory Manager, and
  • “Wafer bonding solutions for new applications”. Chrystel Deguet, Surface and Interfaces Department Director

Leti presentations:

Semiconductor Technology Symposium, 2:15-2:35 p.m., July 9, Moscone North, Hall E, Room 131. Leti Lithography Program Manager Serge Tedesco will present at the session on “Readiness of Advanced Lithography Technologies for HVM.” His topic is “Leti Lithography Programs Toward Cost-effective Solutions for 1X Nodes.”

TechXPOT North, 11:50-12:10 p.m., July 9. Leti Vice President of Strategic Partnerships Hughes Metras will present at the session on “Bringing Silicon Photonics to Market”. His topic is “Scaling the Silicon Photonics Toolbox for Optical Communications with Denser Integration Requirements.”