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December 20, 2011 — Displays for pure-play e-book readers will see 108% increase in shipments in 2011 (27.1 million units), a strong year leading into slower growth ahead, with 37% growth forecast for 2012, and declining shipments forecast in 2015. E-reader suppliers will consider new ways to attract consumers in the near future, according to an IHS iSuppli Small & Medium Displays Market Tracker report.

Figure. Global e-book reader display market forecast.
SOURCE: IHS iSuppli, December 2011.

The vast majority of e-reader displays are monochrome. These products compete with color-display tablets, like Apple Inc.’s iPad, and the slower growth in e-readers from 2012 on will prompt many device makers to adopt color displays, says Vinita Jakhanwal, senior manager for small and medium displays at IHS, and to focus on vertical markets, such as education.

Alternatives to the e-book reader display standard — electrophoretic displays (EPD) — include a color display technology based on micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS). The mainstream example is known as Mirasol, from Qualcomm Inc.

Also read: Qualcomm MEMS display launched in Korean e-readers

Mirasol competes with EPD on common characteristics — wide viewing angle, readability in sunlight, low power consumption — and beats EPD with full color displays and fast response speeds. Kyobo ebook readers can hold a power charge for weeks, based on 30 minutes of reading per day on the device, according to the launch announcement.

Color e-reader displays fall behind monochromatic devices in cost. The Mirasol-based Kyobo costs 349,000 Korean won, (USD319), exceeding the price tags of many tablet devices, and nearly quadrupling the monochromatic Amazon Kindle ebook reader (USD79). Large volumes for color e-readers, as well as an aggressive consumer-focused strategy, could bring costs down, IHS predicts. However, given today’s limited manufacturing capacity and associated higher costs for producing the color display, this is a large challenge for alternatives to monochromatic displays.

e-readers could differentiate from media tablets with growth in vertical markets, where a single use case is preferable to the diverse functionality and features of a media tablet, IHS reports. Current e-reader features, like light weight and a battery life lasting weeks on a single charge, are attractive in these use cases, thought IHS notes that no companies have yet pursued this strategy.

Access IHS iSuppli’s report, Tablet PCs and Smartphones Buoy Demand in the Small/Medium Displays Market, at http://www.isuppli.com/Display-Materials-and-Systems/Pages/Tablet-PCs-and-Smartphones-Buoy-Demand-In-the-Small-Medium-Displays-Market.aspx

Visit our new Display Manufacturing Channel on ElectroIQ.com!

December 16, 2011 — North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $973.3 million in orders in November 2011, $1.17 billion in billings, and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.83, according to the November Book-to-Bill Report from SEMI.

See October’s N.A. semiconductor manufacturing equipment numbers here.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in November 2011 was $973.3 million. The bookings figure is 5.0% above October’s level, though 35.7% below November 2010.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in November 2011 was $1.17 billion. The billings figure is 6.7% below October 2011, and 25.1% less than November 2010 billings.

"We see improvement in the book-to-bill ratio due to a slight increase in bookings as we approach the end of 2011," said Denny McGuirk, president and CEO of SEMI. "The industry waits for definitive signs of stability in the worldwide economy, which will improve end market demand and help solidify investment plans for 2012."

 

Billings (3-mo. avg)

Bookings 3-mo. avg)

Book-to-Bill

Billings and bookings figures are in millions of U.S. dollars.
June 2011

1,640.2

1,540.4

0.94
July 2011

1,521.2

1,298.2

0.85
Aug 2011

1,457.7

1,162.4

0.80
Sept 2011

1,313.5

926.5

0.71
Oct 2011 (final)

1,258.3

926.8

0.74
Nov 2011 (prelim)

1,174.4

973.3

0.83

Source: SEMI December 2011

The SEMI book-to-bill is a ratio of three-month moving averages of worldwide bookings and billings for North American-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers. A book-to-bill of 0.83 means that $83 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

The data contained in this release were compiled by David Powell, Inc., an independent financial services firm, without audit, from data submitted directly by the participants. SEMI and David Powell, Inc. assume no responsibility for the accuracy of the underlying data.

The data are contained in a monthly Book-to-Bill Report published by SEMI. The report tracks billings and bookings worldwide of North American-headquartered manufacturers of equipment used to manufacture semiconductor devices, not billings and bookings of the chips themselves. The Book-to-Bill report is one of three reports included with the Equipment Market Data Subscription (EMDS).

SEMI is a global industry association serving the nano- and micro-electronic manufacturing supply chains. For more information, visit www.semi.org.

 

December 15, 2011 — Combo sensors, comprising micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) accelerometers, gyroscopes, or electronic compasses, are filling a need in consumer and automotive applications. These multi-sensor packages should see combined revenue from these sectors grow by a factor of 50 over 5 years, shows an IHS iSuppli MEMS market brief.

Combo sensor packages can vary in configuration, depending on the components contained in the package. In the consumer space, for instance, a 6 degree of freedom (DOF) compass module typically comprises a three-axis accelerometer plus a 3-axis compass; where inertial sensors are used, the device is called an inertial measurement unit (IMU). In comparison, a 9DOF is a combination of a 3-axis compass, 3-axis gyroscope and 3-axis accelerometer; while a 10DOF includes all of the components of the 9DOF along with a pressure sensor to measure altitude. Meanwhile, combo sensors in the form of 4DOF to 6DOF are emerging in automotive applications, principally in the form of IMUs without compasses.

Revenue for MEMS combo sensors saw $23.6 million in 2010, an estimated $70.9 million in 2011, and will approach $1.2 billion by 2015, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 120%. Triple-digit expansion percentages will occur 2011-2013.

Automotive applications saw $22.8 million in 2011 revenues, and should reach $131.8 million by 2015. Major combo sensor suppliers include Bosch (namely its stability control systems) and VTI Technologies (feeding Continental AG’s stability control systems).

Also read: 2012 sees automotive sensor market back to healthy growth track

The attraction of combo sensors in these applications comes from price and form factor advantages achieved when multiple MEMS are packaged together. Automotive safety systems, government-mandated in many countries, can be made smaller, more efficient, and less expensive in a combo format.

In 2011, consumer applications make up the majority of revenue ($48.1 million) and this trend is expected to continue through 2015 ($1.0 billion).

Also read: Sensor fusion drives mobile electronics’ future apps

In consumer applications, the majority of accelerometers are currently shipped as separate, discrete devices. These discrete devices are set to dominate in handsets during the next 4 years. Integration within a 6-axis IMU will take off starting in 2013, and will be the main format for combo sensors in 2015.

The same, however, cannot be said for integration within 6-axis compass modules, which will remain marginal because of diverging requirements for the location of the accelerometer and compass in handsets, leading to no obvious cost advantage. Here, a motion sensor needs to be near the center of the device, while a compass needs to be away from sources of disruptive electromagnetic interference.

Some 9-axis IMUs will appear among a few OEMs seduced by revenue opportunities for black-box solutions, but penetration will be limited because their large form factor is a disadvantage in handsets, where space for sensors and other semiconductors is at a premium.

Meanwhile, combo sensors are likely to be more prevalent in tablets because of the extra space that is available with a larger device. Here, 6-axis IMUs will dominate, with 6-axis compasses and 9-axis IMUs to be more popular in tablets than in handsets.

Other consumer applications for combo sensors include laptops, cameras, MP3 players and remote controllers.

So far, 6-axis compasses have been offered by Asahi Kasei Microdevices (AKM) Inc. and Aichi Steel Corp., STMicroelectronics, and Bosch Sensortec. 6-axis IMUs also are available from STMicroelectronics and from InvenSense Inc.

Worldwide MEMS combo sensor revenue forecast. SOURCE: IHS iSuppli Research, December 2011.

Access the IHS report, Combo Sensor: A Solution to Incessant Price Pressure, at http://www.isuppli.com/MEMS-and-Sensors/Pages/Combo-Sensor-a-Solution-to-Incessant-Price-Pressure.aspx

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Secember 14, 2011 — STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) produced a semiconductor wafer tested via electromagnetic waves rather than physical wafer probes.

ElectroMagnetic Wafer Sort (EMWS) was developed from Electrical Wafer Sort (EWS), performed at the end of wafer processing and before package assembly and final test. In EMWS, each die contains a tiny antenna. Automated test equipment (ATE) supplies power and communicates with the die via electromagnetic waves.

The ATE uses probes only to power-up the wafer in high-power products. Low-power products are tested with no contact at all.

EMWS is the result of UHF TAG Antenna Magnetically Coupled to Integrated Circuit (UTAMCIC), an R&D initiative led by Alberto Pagani, Giovanni Girlando and Alessandro Finocchiaro from STMicroelectronics and Professor Giuseppe Palmisano from the University of Catania.

The die, such as RFID ICs, can be tested with higher yields, shorter testing times, and lower product cost, under close-to-real-operation conditions, ST asserts. Die size can be reduced with fewer test pads required.

The biggest benefit will go to customers using ST’s low-power RF circuits, said Alberto Pagani, Test R&D and Competitive Intelligence, ST. "Because the RF circuits, anticollision protocol, and embedded antenna are tested under the same conditions they will operate under in the customer

December 13, 2011 — SEMI reports worldwide semiconductor manufacturing equipment bookings fell 38% year-over-year in Q3 2011; billings dropped 5% for the same quarter.

Worldwide semiconductor equipment bookings came in at $7.6 billion in Q3, a 29% plunge from Q2 2011, and 38% below Q3 2010.

Billings reached $10.6 billion: 11% less than the previous quarter and 5% below Q3 2010.

Table. Quarterly billings data by region in millions of US dollars, year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter growth rates by region. Source: SEMI/SEAJ December 2011 . Note: Figures may not add due to rounding.


Region


3Q2011


2Q 2011


3Q2010

3Q11/2Q11
(Q-o-Q)

3Q11/3Q10
(Y-o-Y)
Korea

2.27

2.17

2.62

4%

-13%
North America

2.11

2.21

1.53

-4%

38%
Japan

1.74

1.48

1.24

18%

40%
Taiwan

1.49

2.76

3.03

-46%

-51%
ROW

1.04

0.99

1.02

5%

2%
Europe

1.02

1.18

0.62

-13%

66%
China

0.94

1.13

1.13

-17%

-17%
Total

10.61

11.92

11.19

-11%

-5%

The data is gathered by SEMI and the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ) from over 100 global equipment companies that provide data on a monthly basis.

The Equipment Market Data Subscription (EMDS) from SEMI provides comprehensive market data for the global semiconductor equipment market, including the monthly SEMI Book-to-Bill Report, the monthly Worldwide Semiconductor Equipment Market Statistics (SEMS) report, and the SEMI Semiconductor Equipment Consensus Forecast. For more information or to subscribe, please contact SEMI customer service at 1.877.746.7788 (toll free in the U.S.) or 1.408.943.6901 (International Callers).

SEMI is a global industry association serving the nano- and micro-electronics manufacturing supply chains. For more information, visit www.semi.org.

December 4, 201 – Next week the researchers and practitioners of the electron device world will be gathering in Washington D.C. for the 2011 IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM). To quote the conference web front page: "IEDM is the world’s pre-eminent forum for reporting technological breakthroughs in the areas of semiconductor and electronic device technology, design, manufacturing, physics, and modeling. IEDM is the flagship conference for nanometer-scale CMOS transistor technology, advanced memory, displays, sensors, MEMS devices, novel quantum and nano-scale devices and phenomenology, optoelectronics, devices for power and energy harvesting, high-speed devices, as well as process technology and device modeling and simulation. The conference scope not only encompasses devices in silicon, compound and organic semiconductors, but also in emerging material systems."

From my perspective at Chipworks, focused on chips that have made it to production, it’s the conference where companies strut their technology, and post some of the research that may make it into real product in the next few years.

In the last few days I’ve gone through the advance program, and here are my picks of what I want to try and get to, in more or less chronological order. As usual there are overlapping sessions with interesting papers in parallel slots, but we’ll take the decision as to which to attend on the conference floor. For the first time the conference starts on the Saturday afternoon, with a set of six 90-minute tutorials on a range of leading-edge topics:

  • Microresonator Filters and Oscillators: Technology and Applications, Roy H. Olsson III, Sandia
  • Graphene Nanoelectronics, Walter De Heer, Georgia Tech
  • Modeling and Characterization of Noise in Advanced CMOS, Andries Scholten, NXP
  • Technology CAD for Modeling and Design of Bio-Devices, Yang Liu and Robert Dutton, Stanford University
  • Kinetic Energy Harvesting – Technologies and Applications, Tomasz Zawada, Meggitt
  • IGBT and Superjunction – Leading Power Device Technologies, Florin Udrea, University of Cambridge

The first three are from 2.45-4.15, and the remainder from 4.30-6.00. I won’t make it to any of them; dedicated nerd I may be, but I want at least some of my weekend!

On Sunday December 4th, we start with the short courses, "VLSI Technology Beyond 14nm Node" and "Advanced Memory Technology." Philip Wong of Stanford of has organised the former, and we have some impressive speakers: Jeff Sleight (IBM/Nanowires), Shinichi Takagi (U. Tokyo/High Mobility Materials), Alan Seabaugh (U/ Notre Dame/Tunnel FETs), Ian Young (Intel/MOSFET extrinsic R-C parasitics), and long-time attendee Bill Arnold (ASML/Lithography).

As I said last year, having started in the business on 10

November 16, 2011 — ICs developed at advanced technology nodes of 65nm and below exhibit an increased sensitivity to small manufacturing variations. New design-specific and feature-sensitive failure mechanisms are on the rise. Complex variability issues that involve interactions between process and layout features can mask systematic yield issues, as devices and structures get smaller and smaller. These factors make yield management a big challenge for wafer fabs. Data failure analysis (DFA), electrical failure analysis (EFA), and physical failure analysis (PFA) are three important methods for yield management. DFA is to analyze field failure data such as correctness and performance. EFA and PFA are to identify the physical location of the failure, find this physical failure in the chip, and then link it to a process step to fix in-line problems. However, traditional wafer-level EFA and PFA methods on advanced technology products are no longer sufficient. It is important to trace the implementation of the solution to ensure that no side effects from these actions have created new failures, and to make sure that the failure will not appear again.

Overview of yield management in fabrication

Yield management in the foundry involves many players. Technical development, process integration engineers, inline process engineers, and reliability engineers all have responsibility for meeting the expected yield. Technical development engineers in charge of process development and optimization give technical and design support for inline production wafer manufacturing. Process integration engineers monitor inline defect sources for defect reduction and control the quality of wafer acceptance test (WAT) results. Inline process engineers assure the machines are working smoothly and improve the process margin. Reliability engineers monitor inline production wafers reliability performance. But inline process always has variations, which will induce wafer low yield or reliability/quality issues. When the customer or test feedback finds a yield issue, the product engineer is in charge of yield analysis and will apply DFA, EFA and PFA. The traditional physical and electrical failure analysis is (EFA and PFA) shown in Fig. 1.

Figure 1. Traditional EFA and PFA methods.

When logic or memory products fail, DC test data analysis is the first step. From this we can determine whether bad dice have different DC currents and waveforms from good ones, which helps with fault localization. When the outliers are found, techniques to identify

October 17, 2011 — In its iPhone 4S teardown, IHS (NYSE:IHS) found "key changes" in the iPhone components. Jim Morrison, product manager at Chipworks, called the iPhone 4S "something of a hybrid" of the iPhone 4 and iPad 2, in his teardown analysis.

Notably, the iPhone 4S uses a 5-lens camera module, which is a first encountered in a smartphone during a IHS iSuppli Teardown Analysis. The 4S camera module is an autofocus device with an 8-megapixel (MP) resolution, compared to 5MP in the iPhone 4 models. Like the iPhone 4, the 4S employs backside illumination (BSI) technology.

Attend the free, on-demand webcast: Lens Tilt in Small Auto-Focus Cameras from DigitalOptics Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tessera Technologies.

The apps processor is the same dual-core A5 seen in the iPad 2, says IHS, likely along with the same SDRAM memory configuration at 4 Gigabits (Gb). Low memory density is evidence of Apple’s software + hardware efficiency approach to device design, IHS points out. Chipworks is investigating if the A5 is still made by Samsung, or if it has moved to TSMC for 40nm low-power production.

Chipworks is posting de-capsulated die-level images of the iPhone 4S components at http://www.chipworks.com/en/technical-competitive-analysis/resources/recent-teardowns.

A cellular radio makes the iPhone 4S a "true world phone," said Wayne Lam, senior analyst at IHS. iPhone 4S merges the HSPA and CDMA radio capabilities found separately in the two previous iPhone 4 models into a single product that can address global wireless networks. No other handset OEM produces a single device for multiple operators and for multiple geographies on this scale, making the phone operational with AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint carriers. Changes to the radio design include the use of an updated Qualcomm baseband processor, the MDM6610.

The baseband processor is now discrete, no longer integrated with the RF transceiver (which is a dual-mode Qualcomm RTR8605). The IHS iSuppli Teardown Analysis Service has seen this RF set-up in other handset designs, such as the Hewlett-Packard Veer and HTC Thunderbolt.

The 4S also likely makes use of three different power amplifier module (PAM) module suppliers: Avago, Skyworks and TriQuint, a jump from the iPhone 4 CDMA version where only Avago appeared. Both Skyworks and TriQuint were featured in the HSPA/GSM version of the iPhone.

See IHS’s table of iPhone 4S components here.

IHS iSuppli soon will reveal the results of its full physical teardown that will provide actual data on iPhone 4S components and features. IHS (NYSE: IHS) provides research and analysis on energy and power; design and supply chain; defense, risk and security; environmental, health and safety (EHS) and sustainability; country and industry forecasting; and commodities, pricing and cost. Learn more at www.ihs.com.

Chipworks provides reverse engineering and patent infringement analysis of semiconductors and electronic systems. Learn more at www.chipworks.com, or read Chipworks Real Chips by blogger Dick James.

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September 20, 2011 – BUSINESS WIRE — Micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) vendors comprise multi-national electronics corporations and MEMS-centric and small-portfolio companies. The market will grow as tablet/smartphone adoption increases, and MEMS makers co-opt the economies of scale that other semiconductor segments have used to reach maturity, according to ABI Research’s analysis.  

Large multi-national and multi-product MEMS suppliers include STMicroelectronics, Bosch, Texas Instruments (TI), and Freescale Semiconductors. The smaller-portfolio, focused suppliers list names VTI, InvenSense, and Memstech, among others.

The smartphone/tablet market for MEMS sensors and audio devices will be worth more than $1.5 billion in 2016, ABI Research reports. Certain segments of the market have emerged with continued strong growth potential, including MEMS inertial sensors and microphones. The smartphone and media tablet markets are the driving forces behind this growth.

"The MEMS market is going through a transition period, as many other semiconductor market segments have when approaching maturity," said Peter Cooney, practice director, semiconductors. "Leading vendors understand that to be successful in consumer electronics markets, you have to have economies of scale and be able to supply a broad range of solutions."

As markets mature, component integration is the key to success, reducing bill of materials (BOM) cost and board space while offering customers ease of design and reduced time to market. To this end, vendors are racing to diversify and increase product portfolios. This is driving M&A activity in the MEMS market. Over the next few years, the number of vendors addressing high-volume MEMS markets will shrink as larger suppliers acquire companies to increase product offerings and use their expanding portfolios to further integrate and achieve market dominance.

ABI Research’s latest report, "MEMS Vendors: A Competitive Analysis,"  is available at http://www.abiresearch.com/research/1007834. It provides overviews of 50 MEMS vendors and an in depth look at 15 major vendors, including SWOT analyses, product portfolios, and vendor profiles. It is part of the Automotive Technology, MEMS, and Mobile Device Semiconductors research services.

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