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SEMI, the global industry association for companies that supply manufacturing technology and materials to the world’’s chip makers, today reported that worldwide semiconductor manufacturing equipment billings reached US$ 9.62 billion in the second quarter of 2014. The billings figure is 5 percent lower than the first quarter of 2014 and 28 percent higher than the same quarter a year ago. The data is gathered jointly with the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ) from over 100 global equipment companies that provide data on a monthly basis.

Worldwide semiconductor equipment bookings were $9.96 billion in the second quarter of 2014. The figure is 9 percent higher than the same quarter a year ago and 1 percent higher than the bookings figure for the first quarter of 2014.

The quarterly billings data by region in billions of U.S. dollars, quarter-over-quarter growth and year-over-year rates by region are as follows:


Region


2Q2014


1Q2014


2Q2013

2Q14/1Q14
(Qtr-over-Qtr)

2Q14/2Q13
(Year-over-Year)
Taiwan

2.48

2.59

2.73

-5%

-9%
North America

2.32

1.85

1.16

25%

101%
Korea

1.73

2.03

1.22

-15%

42%
China

1.03

1.71

0.84

-40%

23%
Japan

1.00

0.96

0.74

4%

35%
Europe

0.57

0.58

0.36

-3%

58%
ROW

0.50

0.42

0.51

18%

-2%
Total

9.62

10.15

7.54

-5%

28%

Source: SEMI/SEAJ September 2014

Note: Figures may not add due to rounding.

SEMI today announced the keynotes for the 2nd Vietnam Semiconductor Strategy Summit(September 16-17), an executive conference focused on Vietnam’’s growing role in the global semiconductor industry. The executive event held at the InterContinental Asiana Saigon Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, brings together key decision-makers shaping the future of the industry in Vietnam, and international participants from major companies in the semiconductor manufacturing supply chain.  Keynote presentations include Sherry Boger, Vietnam general manager, Intel Corporation, and Pham B Tuan, CNS, who will both provide their perspectives on current and future industry development in Vietnam.

In total for 2014 and 2015, SEMI estimates a spending of almost $4 billion on front-end and back-end equipment in the Southeast Asia region, and another $13 billion in spending on materials including $3 billion on fab related materials. In addition, according to the SEMI World Fab Forecast, Southeast Asia is home to over 35 production fabs covering Foundry, Compound Semiconductors, MEMS, Power, LED, and other devices. Specific to backend manufacturing, Gartner reports that the Southeast Asia microelectronics manufacturing market accounts for 27 percent of the world’s assembly, packaging, and test production square footage.

At this year’s summit, executives from leading microelectronics companies —and semiconductor equipment and materials companies — will meet with delegates representing Vietnamese government, academia, research, and industry to explore and discuss the key strategies and opportunities in the growing Vietnam semiconductor industry. The event includes:

  • Market Overviews: Presentations by Bettina Weiss, SEMI Headquarters and Clark Tseng, SEMI Taiwan
  • Semiconductor Manufacturing in Vietnam: Presentations by: Sherry Boger, Intel; Pham B Tuan, CNS; Solomon Ng, STMicroelectronics; Todd Curtis, Fab-Finder; and Cor Claeys, imec
  • Two Panel Discussions: Investor Perspectives (moderated by Eduard Hoeberichts, FabMax) and Education and Workforce Development (moderated by Bettina Weiss, SEMI)
  • Tabletop exhibition and discussions

“Vietnam is committed to the global microelectronics world and moving beyond backend,” said Kai Fai Ng, president SEMI Southeast Asia. As the first major new fab project in Vietnam, many challenges still remain, from infrastructure and process technology to device design and IP creation and protection. The SEMI Vietnam event provides a key platform to advance important discussions and decision-making in this promising and growing market.”

The connections and relationships forged during the Summit are expected to drive further growth over the next decade and beyond. Global stakeholders with an interest in Vietnam’’s semiconductor market, including those from the equipment, materials, and device and R&D communities, are invited to share their vision, insights and outlook with Vietnam’s local business, technology and educational communities.

The 2nd SEMI Vietnam Semiconductor Strategy Summit is organized by SEMI and co-organized by Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP) and Ho Chi Minh City Semiconductor Industry Association (HSIA).  The premier sponsor is FabMax. Individual registration costs US$750 for SEMI members and US$950 for non-members. Registration and additional information is available online at www.semi.org/vietnam.

The Plastics Electronics Conference and Exposition will co-locate with SEMICON Europa. Plastic Electronics 2014 (PE 2014) is themed “Enabling Applications beyond Limits in Electronics” and will be held at Alpexpo in Grenoble on 7-9 October. PE2014 is an ideal forum to meet technology leaders and professionals from industry, academia, and research organizations focused on developing the next-generation of plastic and organic electronics.

According to analysts, the plastics electronics market is growing rapidly and is expected to reach $13 billion by 2020 driven by increasing applications in the semiconductor and electronics market. Applications like large area displays, solar panels and printed electronics are now responsible for a substantial portion of the PE market, and emerging applications like OLED, thin-film batteries, and sensors are emerging growth opportunities.

Manufacturability of Plastic Electronics has made major steps in the last year, moving from research level to industrial relevance.  Still, numerous barriers to commercialization must be overcome — from material development to integration, manufacturing, processing, and assembly issues. PE2014 covers these issues currently driving development and impeding progress.

Plastic electronics’ imminent transition from the R&D phase to the industrialization stage is highlighted by several keynote presentations at the PE2014 (www.plastic-electronics.org).  Fiddian Warman, founder and managing director, SODA, will present on, “How design type approaches can be effective in facilitating innovative technological development and open up new markets and opportunities,” and John Heitzinger, president, Soligie, Inc., will delve into “Advances in Additive Manufacturing of Electronics.”

The exposition and conference cover the entire span of Plastic Electronics —Hybrid and Heterogeneous Integration; Organic Electronics; OLEDs, Displays, and Lighting; and Flexible Photovoltaics — offering the latest developments for engineers, material experts, manufacturing professionals and industry strategists. Highlights are:

  • Business Case session —  speakers from imec, ISORG, Nokia, Philips Research, Plastic Logic, SODA, STMicroelectronics, Valeo, and Yole Developpement.
  • Manufacturing Panel Discussion on “Building a Leadership Position in PE” — panelists from Bosch, Cambridge, CEA, Joanneum Research, and Ynvisible.
  • Manufacturing Session — presenters from Applied Materials, Beneque, CEA Tech, Dupont Teijin Films UK Ltd, Joanneum Research, NovaCentrix, Roth and Rau B.V.,  Soligie, Universal Laser Systems, Ynvisible — as well as Cambridge University, the European Commission, and VTT (Finland).
  • Technologies/Materials Session — features speakers from Arkema, Arizona State University, CEA-LITEN, Corning, Fraunhofer, imec, and Sunchon National University.

The Plastic Electronics Exhibition & Conference 2014 is hosted by SEMI and representatives of leading industry companies, research centers and institutes. SEMI focuses its activities on roadmaps, standardization, research and statistics, conferences, exhibitions and public policy worldwide.  For more information on the conference, presenters, topics, events and exhibitors, visit www.plastic-electronics.org.

During the three days of SEMICON Europa 2014 (www.semiconeuropa.org), more than 8,000 visitors from all over the world are expected at the trade fair. The combination of SEMICON Europa with Plastic Electronics offers visitors and exhibitors excellent synergies and opportunities.

FlexTech Alliance announced the conference theme, Call for Papers, and the industry chairs for the 14th Annual Flexible & Printed Electronics Conference & Exhibition — 2015FLEX — set for February 23 – 26, 2015 at the Monterey Conference Center, Monterey, California.   “Bringing Technology & Products to Markets” as a theme reflects the steadily growing integration of flexible and printed electronics components in a wide-array of products and processes. The theme will be used to focus on how flexible electronics are demonstrating the value of light weight, low power products to non-traditional electronics markets, and thereby by delivering on the true promise of making lives healthier, safer, simpler and smarter.

The Flex Conference relies on a strong group of industry members to ensure leading edge business and technical content. This year’s committee is led by key industry veterans Ross Bringans of PARC, a Xerox Company; Michael Idacavage of Esstech; Thomas Kolbusch of Coatema Corp.; and Robert Praino of Chasm Technologies. The chairs guide the committee in identifying thought leaders for invited and keynote presentations, and in searching the industry for breakthroughs and advancements that spur market growth and partnerships.

The conference Call for Papers and Posters outlines the categories noted by the committee to be of highest interest for event attendees. Researchers from industry and academia, as well as national institutes, are encouraged to submit an abstract by October 17, 2014 to be considered for presentation in one of 24 different technical sessions. This year’s topics include the emerging, exciting sector of nano-bio devices, as well as manufacturing technologies that underpin the popularity of wearable electronics.

Quantum Materials Corp today announced achieving a calculated 95% Quantum Yield (QY) for Green Tetrapod Quantum Dots (TQD) manufactured by QMC’s proprietary automated mass-production system. The Full-Width Half-Maximum achieved was a narrow 36 nanometers with tunable emission from 530 to 550nm. Potential clients are currently evaluating these high-performance TQD.

QMC is pleased to offer high quantum yield quantum dots with reproducible FWHM uniformity, reliable system redundancy, and the ability to scale production to any quantity necessary for industrial purposes with modest capital expense (CAPEX) and low ongoing manufacturing costs. QMC’s ability to achieve economies of scale with automated production is unmatched and offers supply security and dependable cost forecasting in joint ventures planning very large quantum dot product rollouts.  QMC is planning additional capacity on the order of multi-kilograms per day to meet project needs that are being defined. QMC previously stated that capacity could be expanded sufficient to support the entire display industry converted to quantum dot 4K and 8K displays.

According to market researcher IHS, demand for QD-LCD displays is projected to jump to 87.3 million units by 2020 (a CAGR of 109% between 2013 and 2020) as QD prices decrease and a reliable and uniform quantum dot supply is assured for large production runs.

In solar photovoltaics, Solterra Renewable Technologies, a QMC wholly owned subsidiary, calculates just one Solterra Quantum Dot Solar Cells (QDSC) Plant can be scaled up to produce 1000 Megawatts per year of printed solar cells using its own dedicated production of QMC quantum dots.  A Solterra QDSC facility would rely on low CAPEX for both the QD production as well as low startup costs for the solar cell equipment.  Combined automated production of QD and QDSC allow a cost goal of under 12¢ per kWh, the present estimated residential electricity rate in the U.S. In comparison, the four largest solar projects in 2012 in the U.S. are planning to produce 1788Mw at a CAPEX of $11.5B ($6.5MM/MW) with Federal Subsidies of $5.7B and U.S. taxpayer liability in loan guarantees. Typically, due to the need to pay down the loan, a purchase agreement by a Public Utility or local government must require a higher rate to be paid than 12¢ per kWH, which is passed on to the public in the form of higher bills. Solterra’s goal is to establish regional or national QDSC plants at a fraction of the above CAPEX entirely by the private sector, without federal subsidies, and a cost goal of under 12¢ per kWh.

BY BYRON EXARCOS, President, CLASSONE TECHNOLOGY

Historically, the major semiconductor capital equipment manufacturers have focused on supporting the bigger semiconductor companies at the expense of the smaller ones. The last decade’s round of consolidations in the manufacturing and equipment sectors has only exacerbated this trend. This approach may make good business sense for the large equipment companies, but it’s created a serious challenge for smaller IC manufacturers. Even worse, it now threatens to stifle the continuing innovation on which the high tech industry depends.

It’s hard to fault the big equipment players for their business model. It’s much more cost-effective and profitable to dedicate the bulk of your resources to those customers who want to buy multiple process tools featuring “bleeding edge” technology on highly automated, volume production platforms. In many cases, it’s simply not as profitable to engage with smaller customers.

So what choice do the manufacturers have for populating their fabs if they’re running 200mm or smaller wafers? One alternative is to buy refurbished tools, assuming they can find a tool that meets their needs, which is not always easy. Another is to buy a bigger tool with more performance capabilities than they need, which busts their equipment budget. There aren’t many other options.

Now, one could dismiss this issue by simply saying, that’s the way this market works. Continued growth in our industry has always depended on a certain path of continual innovation. “Smaller, faster, cheaper” — producing smaller, more powerful chips in ever greater volume on larger wafers was a highly successful means of turning computers and subsequent mobile computing and communication devices into household items. It’s hard to fault a business/technology model that has been successful for so many years.

On the other hand, every emerging market eventually matures. We’ve all experi- enced the boom-and-bust cycles that roil our industry and what happens when the “last big thing” plateaus or dries up. Today, the capital equipment market is at a cusp. We need to examine whether the traditional smaller-design-rules/bigger-wafers/faster-throughput approach is helping or hindering the introduction of new technologies.

Today’s emerging technologies include devices such as smart sensors, power and RF wireless devices. The fact is, many of these chips can be made quite well and quite profitably using larger design rules on 200mm or even smaller substrates. However, many of the companies developing these devices are not huge enterprises, and they’re hampered by the unavailability of tools delivering the appropriate levels of process technology, automation and throughput — at a price they can afford. Ironically, our industry is in a phase where the equipment companies that once drove significant innovations, such as the introduction of copper deposition and low-k dielectrics, have become so large and narrowly focused that they’re impeding the development of many other emerging technologies.

I have some understanding of the needs of smaller device manufacturers because one of our companies, ClassOne Equipment, has been selling refurbished equipment to them for over a decade. That is why we’ve now created a whole new company, ClassOne Technology, to provide new equipment at substantially lower prices specifically for 200mm and smaller substrates. We are introducing new electroplating systems, spin rinse dryers and spray solvent tools; and some of them are literally half the cost of high-end competitive units. We’re particularly interested in serving all those small- to mid-sized companies who are making MEMS, power devices, RF, LEDs, photonics, sensors, microfluidics and other emerging-technology devices.

However, no single company can solve the entire problem. There is a glaring need for equipment manufacturers to bring the price/performance ratio of their tools back in line with the needs of more of the equipment users, not just those at the bleeding edge. If the tool manufacturers persist in trying to only sell the equivalent of sports cars to customers who just need pickup trucks, America’s high tech industry may soon find itself trailing, rather than leading the innovation curve.

Harnessing big data


July 28, 2014

Addressing the analytics challenges in supply chain management. 

BY NORD SAMUELSON, CHRISTOPHER POCEK and CHRIS LANMAN, AlixPartners, San Francisco, CA 

A changing workforce and lack of convergence between information technology (IT) and business may be preventing many companies from joining the big-data revolution. Defined as very large sets of data but more commonly used in reference to the rapid increase in amounts of data in recent years, big data will divide companies into two groups in the next decade: those able to benefit from big data’s potential and those unable. Companies that create capabilities for capturing, processing, analyzing, and distributing data in order to make better decisions in real time will likely be able to outperform their competition and respond more quickly to their customers’ needs. The data avalanche is coming from a number of sources, such as enterprise resource planning, orders, shipments, Weblogs, GPS data, radio-frequency identification, mobile devices, and social channels; and there is value to be created in all areas of a business by adopting a data-driven culture.

However, in discussions about big data’s arrival, we sometimes forget to ask how effectively we’re converting the data into value. Too often, huge investments in IT infrastructure coupled with sophisticated analytical and reporting software have delivered little value. Why? We often find it’s because companies are understaffed, or they may lack the analytics talent who know how to build links between the data and the value drivers. There is also a gap between finding insights from data and then applying the insights to create value. That is where the levels of training and experience of a company’s analysts enter the equation.

One area of particular concern is supply chain management (SCM). A company’s SCM organization makes decisions about build plans, stocking locations, inventory levels, and so forth based on the conversion of raw data about demand, sales, and inventory on hand. And when there’s a shortage of analytics talent, SCM is typically one of the first areas affected. Traditionally, analytical innovation happens in two ways: either through an internal-pipeline process of developing junior analysts into senior analysts or by periodically bringing in external experts to seed knowledge. But big data is challenging both approaches.

The internal pipeline is challenged by a workforce marked by shorter tenures. Shorter tenures result
in more generalists in the workforce, often in place of the specialists needed for analytical innovation. For example, younger workers, such as millennials, are significantly less likely to settle into a long career at a company. According to a survey by Future Workplace, 91% of millennials (born in the 1980s and ’90s) expect to stay in a job for less than three years (Meister 2012), meaning that those in analytical roles are usually in the job only long enough to execute established analytics—and not long enough to develop a holistic understanding of how data can be applied to drive business value. As a result, those on the business side and those on the IT side don’t always learn to make the end-to-end connections between raw data and measurable value. The internal-pipeline approach is further challenged by companies themselves: frustrated by high turnover, companies are less likely to invest in developing their people— only to watch the people leave for higher-paying positions.

The second approach—that of periodically bringing in external experts to rebuild a process or implement the latest software package—is also starting to show wear. The evolution cycle of new analytical techniques is rapidly slowing down as big data brings opportunities to better integrate internal and external data sources. Traditionally, companies have been able to implement software solutions or bring in experts to install the latest offering and then profit from that investment for five or seven years. The initial cost was justified by the continued value for years to come. But now, the volume, variety, and velocity of the new data being generated are changing the business landscape by calling for a more rapid cycle of analytical-tool introduction. And that landscape itself usually changes every two or three years. So, as a result, the days of big-bang projects appear to be coming to an end.

What can be done? Companies should look across the entire supply chain—or across any function,
for that matter—and measure the amount of data being generated. Then they should weigh that measurement against the value actually realized. If data volumes are growing more rapidly than the corresponding increase in value, there may be an analytics talent challenge.

Three methods of creating value have proved effective in today’s rapidly changing market.

1. Outsourcing portions of analytic requirements

Companies can approach analytics outsourcing in a variety of ways, ranging from a data prep model—in which a company hires a third party to process raw data to the point where an analyst can consume it— all the way to a fully outsourced model, in which a third party processes and analyzes the data, poten- tially adds other proprietary data, and sends back fully actionable information. The data prep model enables a company to focus a limited pool of analysts on the critical knowledge-capture portion of the process and thereby free up time spent on non-value- added processes. The fully outsourced model enables companies to stay up-to-date on the latest technol- ogies and software without having to make up-front investments to purchase the latest software and technology.

2. Creating central analytics teams

Companies that rely heavily on converting data to knowledge can set up an analytic group focused solely on solving analytical issues across the company. Such companies have adopted analytics
as a core differentiator and encourage analysts to develop the holistic view that facilitates insight. Central analytics groups seem to perform better than embedded groups—and especially when they report through the business side. Of course, maintaining a group dedicated to analytics is an investment that some companies may hesitate to make, but there is tremendous value in having such in-house expertise.

3. Partnering with academic or not-for-profit institutions

Academic and nonprofit organizations are often-overlooked resources. For instance, the brand-new Center for Supply Chain Management at the University of Pittsburgh intends to provide student and faculty interactions with industry representatives who will promote experience-based learning activities within the university’s supply chain management courses. To improve the center’s effectiveness, the university plans to create a Supply Chain Management Industry Council composed of member companies dedicated to SCM. The council members, along with tenured faculty specializing in teaching SCM, will foster interest and excellence in SCM and analysis. Other institutions offer training, certifications, and conferences that encourage and enable analysts to further develop and share ideas. The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences recently introduced the Certified Analytics Profes- sional certification to give companies an option for developing their people without having to make hefty investments in training organizations.

Big data is fundamentally transforming the way business operates. It is enabling management to track the previously untrackable, forecast the previ- ously unpredictable, and understand interactions between suppliers and customers—all of it with unprecedented clarity. And winning organizations will invest in the necessary infrastructure and people to harness the transformative power of data.

By Zvi Or-Bach, President & CEO of MonolithIC 3D Inc.

Our blog Paradigm shift: Semi equipment tells the future, was focused on the quote: “Now more money is spent on upgrading existing facilities, while new capacity additions are occurring at a lower pace.” And now, just prior to Semicon West, we have the conclusion of the recent SEMI’s World Fab Forecast — Technology Node Transitions Slowing Below 32 nm. 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. The following chart illustrates this new paradigm:

1

 

The report states: “The cost per wafer has become an increasing concern below the 32nm node.   The expected cost reduction benefit of production at smaller nodes is diminishing and is not keeping pace with the scaling benefits in many cases.  This has widespread and fundamental implications for an industry long following the cadences of Moore’s Law… These may be contributing factors as to why some volume fabs are exhibiting a lag in beginning production of new technology node.  Now evident quantitatively for the first time, there is evidence of a clear slowdown in volume production scaling of leading technology node transitions.” (emphasis added)

It is fitting to point to the comment made to EE Times coverage on Semicon West – 13 Things I Heard at Semicon West: “No matter what Intel says, Moore’s Law is slowing down,” said Bob Johnson, a semiconductor analyst for Gartner. “Only a few high-volume, high-performance apps can justify 20 nm and beyond.” He sees problems ahead for logic chips in general,” and to follow with quotes from another EE Times article – Silicon Highway Narrows, Twists: “Most foundries have yet to start buying the capital equipment needed for the 14/16 nm node, which for many will be the first to support FinFETs, says Trafas of KLA-Tencor. Gear companies hope the orders start coming in the fall…Indeed, he says, one of the big questions many capital equipment execs will bring to this year’s Semicon West event on July 7 is, “When will the 16/14 nm investments begin?”

Since the 65 nm node, escalating costs of fab and process technology development and design, as illustrated in the chart below, put a huge pressure on the industry.

2

 

These escalating costs drove consolidation in the industry, cutting down to a handful the vendors who are still pursuing the leading edge.

At the recent (2014) SST ConFab in Las Vegas Bill McClean shared his annual report on Major trends shaping the future IC Industry. Bill reports: “Over the last two decades, the percentage of capex being spent by the top 5 has steadily increased to its current 70% with the big three of Samsung, Intel and TSMC being responsible for over 50%.” This is illustrated by the following chart.

3

 

Clearly the escalating costs drove out most but the largest vendor, but now we are facing the ”second punch” – the diminishing returns.

In the recent ITC conference Harry J. Levinson of GlobalFoundries in his talk: Lithography Issues for High Volume Manufacturing” presented the following chart:

4

 

The dramatic increase of lithography cost eats away the historical transistor cost reduction resulting from reduced dimensions, as we reported in our blog Qualcomm: Scaling down is not cost-economic anymore – so we are looking at true monolithic 3D. Quoting Qualcomm “One of the biggest problems is cost. We are very cost sensitive. Moore’s Law has been great. Now, although we are still scaling down it’s not cost-economic anymore. It’s creating a big problem for us.” Accordingly we detailed in our blog that Moore’s Law has stopped at 28nm and following nodes would not provide lower transistor cost, and for most application will result in higher SoC costs.

We should not be surprised that the production ramp up below 28 nm is extremely slow. There is too much money involved to put it into the wrong place.

Going back to the SEMI World Fab Forecast, the authors ask “What’s next?” and respond: “Many in our industry are grappling with what to do as they have perceived the coming slowdown in technology node transitions.  IC manufacturers are now increasingly looking outside of conventional lithography and wafer size scaling approaches to pick up the pace of cost reduction while increasing transistor density and performance. Using memory as an example, to cope with increasing challenges in continuing to scale 2D, memory companies are looking into 3D.”

So the memory vendors already started shifting their Capex budget to scaling up with 3D NAND, instead of scaling to smaller dimension. Recently Qualcomm announced their collaboration with SMIC – China’s SMIC-Qualcomm 28-nm Deal: Why Now? – indicating more capacity build-up for 28 nm with looking forward to scaling up with monolithic 3D for logic as well. Quoting: “Going forward, SMIC will also extend its technology offerings on 3DIC and RF front-end wafer manufacturing in support of Qualcomm”.

It is clear now that we are seeing a paradigm shift in the semiconductor equipment industry. After many decades of relentless dimensional scaling every two years, there is a change coming and we see a lower rate of dimensional scaling and exploration of other paths, to keep industry’s march on. We do believe that the next few decades will be about scaling with 3D Integration and we are pleased to see many others thinking the same.

The 2014 S3S Conference is scheduled for October 6-9, 2014, at the Westin San Francisco Airport, and would be a great opportunity to learn more about monolithic 3D technology, with five invited presentations covering topics from design tools to monolithic 3D NAND and other 3D memories. CEA Leti will present their work on CMOS monolithic 3D IC. Researchers from MIT and Stanford will present manufacturing monolithic 3D devices with materials other than silicon.

By Jeff Dorsch

The worldwide semiconductor capital equipment market is forecast to increase 20.8 percent this year to $38.44 billion, compared with 2013’s $31.82 billion, and another 10.8 percent in 2015 to $42.6 billion, according to Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International.

Also on Monday, the Semiconductor Industry Association reported that global sales of semiconductors were $26.86 billion in May, an 8.8 percent increase from a year earlier and a 2 percent improvement from April of this year.

Jonathan Davis, SEMI’s global vice president of advocacy, said Monday that the semiconductor industry is seen growing 5 percent to 10 percent in 2014, and noted that all world regions posted growth in sales during May, a statistical factor not recorded since August 2010.

Discussing expenditures on capital equipment, Davis said, “The nature of the spending is changing.” The number of new wafer fabs has dwindled in recent years, and more spending is directed these days to upgrading existing fabs.

2015 promises to be the biggest year for semiconductor equipment spending since 2000, Davis said. While the equipment market is growing more than 20 percent this year, the semiconductor materials market will see more modest growth in 2014, at 6 percent, he added.

Karen Savala, the president of SEMI Americas, reviewed economic and technology trends in the equipment and materials business during Monday’s SEMI press conference. The industry has gone through “one of the largest consolidation periods in our history,” including the pending blockbuster merger between Applied Materials and Tokyo Electron Ltd. (TEL), she noted.

The longstanding economics of Moore’s Law is being challenged, she added. The Internet of Things is a tremendous opportunity for the chip-making business, yet it doesn’t involve leading-edge technology, Savala said. “Traditional node scaling seems to be slowing,” she observed. Scaling is apparently decelerating below the 32-nanometer process node, according to Savala, but it may be advanced with the introduction of new materials, new substrates, and 2.5D/3D packaging.

“The ecosystem is changing,” Savala said.

SEMI now forecasts that wafer processing equipment will grow 22.7 percent in 2014 to $31.12 billion, from $25.36 billion in 2013, and advance 11.9 percent more in 2015 to $34.81 billion. Test equipment is expected to see a 12.5 percent increase this year to $3.06 billion and pick up by 1.6 percent next year to $3.11 billion. Assembly and packaging equipment is forecast to reach $2.52 billion in 2014, an 8.6 percent improvement from last year, and growing 1.2% in 2015 to $2.55 billion. Other equipment categories will be up 22.5 percent this year to $1.74 billion and up 21.8 percent next year to $2.12 billion.

All global regions except one, the rest of the world, are forecast to post increased sales in 2014, according to SEMI. Taiwan will remain the largest region with $11.57 billion in equipment sales this year, up 11.57 percent from 2013, while higher growth rates will be seen in China, North America, South Korea, Japan, and Europe. All regions are expected to show growth in 2015, ranging from 1.6 percent in China up to 47.8 percent in Europe.

SEMI 2014 mid-year equipment forecast.

SEMI 2014 mid-year equipment forecast.

James C. Morgan, chairman emeritus, Applied Materials, Inc., today announced his commitment to match up to $500,000 in donations to the SEMI Foundation. The SEMI Foundation supports STEM education and promotes career awareness in the areas of semiconductor and high-tech manufacturing and technology. Morgan announced the “challenge grant” — to secure $1 million of funding support for workforce development — during the SEMI Press Conference at SEMICON West 2014, the largest microelectronics manufacturing event in North America.

Morgan committed to pledging up to $500,000 to the SEMI Foundation and invited others in the high-tech industry to join him in contributing in blocks of $50,000 or more. Over the next three months, Morgan will match every contribution of $50,000 or more.  A “success” party is planned in October at Ferrari Silicon Valley, hosted by Art Zafiropoulo, CEO of Ultratech.

“Today, we all have a role in supporting students’ success in their academic and career goals,” said James Morgan. “The SEMI Foundation has gotten thousands of young people excited about the importance of math, science and the opportunities in high-tech careers through its dynamic High Tech U program. It is time for the industry to take the High Tech U program to the next level and achieve even greater impact. I encourage you to commit qualifying contributions during the challenge period to the SEMI Foundation.”

Through High Tech U, the SEMI Foundation has conducted more than 170 programs for both students and teachers with a combined impact on more than 350,000 individuals.  High Tech U programs consist of a three-day “hands-on” science-based curricula and interactive professional skills development program. SEMI held 20 programs in 2013 in Europe, Japan, Korea and the United States.  The Foundation plans to expand the impact of the High Tech U franchise through enhanced program development, portal-based student engagement and tracking, industry employment information assistance and other improvements.

“Jim and Becky Morgan epitomize leadership and generosity through their tireless work to foster education,” said Denny McGuirk, president and CEO of SEMI.  “We commend his numerous contributions to SEMI, our industry, and the youth who will occupy high-tech careers in the future. We also encourage others to accept the challenge and to support the SEMI Foundation.”

Morgan has an extensive history in business and philanthropy. He is chairman emeritus of Applied Materials. He previously served as chairman of the board from 1987 to 2009, and as chief executive officer from 1977 to 2003. Morgan is the recipient of the 1996 National Medal of Technology, IEEE Robert N. Noyce Medal, and Silicon Valley Leadership Group’s “Spirit of Silicon Valley Lifetime Achievement Award.” Morgan was vice chairman of the President’s Export Council in 2003. He was appointed to the 2002 U.S.-Japan private Sector Government Commission. From 1996 to 1997, Morgan served on the Commission on U.S. Pacific Trade and Investment Policy. From 1988 to 1992, he served on the National Advisory Committee on Semiconductors.