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NuMat Technologies, a pioneer in the design and integration of atomically engineered materials into gas delivery, separation and purification systems, and The Linde Group, a gases and engineering company, have announced a collaborative partnership focused on the development of next generation separation and storage technologies that critically depend on material performance. The first of its kind partnership will pursue commercial applications that leverage NuMat’s innovations in Metal-Organic Frameworks (“MOFs”), an emerging class of ultra-high surface area materials which can be programmed to selectively interact with targeted gases and chemicals.

“We are excited to partner with Linde, a global leader in the gas industry, to develop cutting-edge solutions for the most demanding customer requirements,” commented NuMat CEO Ben Hernandez. “We see enormous potential to pair our respective material and system technologies to unlock cost-advantaged production economics, packaging innovations and improved environmental outcomes across the full gas life-cycle.”

The companies have formed joint teams to work on multiple projects on an on-going basis, including opportunities which address both near-term market needs and those which could be transformative.

“As a leading global technology company, sustained research and development is vital to Linde’s long-term business success and the success of our customers. In order to ensure we have availability to state-of-the-art technologies it is important that we work with partners who are leading in their field, such as NuMat. With this agreement we welcome NuMat into our global research network and look forward to collaborating to deliver MOF based technology solutions that provide value to our customers,” says Carl Jackson, Head of Electronics Technology and Innovation, The Linde Group.

“The sapphire industry is still plagued by overcapacity and rapid price declines,” asserts Yole Développement (Yole) in its latest report Sapphire Applications & Market 2016: LED & Consumer Electronics. Demand for LED is increasing but will not provide enough volumes to sustain the close to one hundred sapphire makers competing in the market. Yole estimates that up to 30 companies have stopped sapphire-related activities over the last 18 months. The most prominent were OCI, DK-Aztek, HQC, Shangcheng etc. Many more have frozen most of their capacity and China counts dozens of “zombie” companies only alive by political will.

sapphire market

This autumn is showing a new interest for sapphire and its numerous applications. Under this context, the “More than Moore” market research and strategy consulting company presents its latest report entitled Sapphire Applications & Market 2016: LED & Consumer Electronics report.
Moreover, in collaboration with CIOE, Yole also announces the Sapphire Forum, 2nd edition: 2nd International Forum on Sapphire Market & Technologies, taking place in Shenzhen, China, on Sept. 6 & 7. More information & Registration.

Is there still a future for sapphire display covers? How much can LED demand sustain the industry? Is China going to completely dominate this industry? Save the date and learn more about the sapphire industry with Yole’s analysts.

“Capacity increased again over the last 12 months, although the pace is abating, thanks to a reduction in the number of new projects and significant attrition,” explains Dr Eric Virey, Senior Market and Technology Analyst, LED & Sapphire at Yole. And he adds: “But continuous excess supply combined with the significant drop in LED wafer demand in Q3 and Q4-2015 led to an acceleration of ASP decrease over the last 12 months. Prices for cores and wafers have dropped 50 to 70% over the last 2 years. Four inch wafers have been hard hit and 2” cores now sell for no profits, as a fall-off of 4” and 6” manufacturing and for the sole purpose of absorbing fixed cost.”

The 2” core market is disappearing as the LED industry transitions to larger diameters and optical wafers are now a captive market. Suppliers need to find new applications for the parts of the boules that are left over after extracting 4” or 6” cores. For now, those are often sold by the kg at low prices for the manufacturing of small optical and mechanical parts.

With strong price pressure and an increasing fraction of the market being captive, revenue of sapphire companies have dropped 20% in 2015 despite a volume increase of 20% across all applications.

Unless strong signals emerge soon to indicate that the display cover opportunity could finally materialize in 2017, many more companies will disappear within the next 12-18 months. While this situation is critical for many players, on the longer term, the market will finally be weeded out of its weakest players. The survivors could emerge stronger and the overall industry healthier. “Despite a slight reshuffle in the ranking, the top 5 companies by revenue in 2015 remained the same as in 2014. But 2 newcomers from China, TDG and JeShine appeared in the top 20,” asserts Eric Virey from Yole.

On the way to industry maturity, new applications such as µLED displays could emerge. While they won’t represent an opportunity of the same scale as display covers, they could offer nice upsides to the companies that can capture them.

In Yole’s sapphire report, a detailed analysis of company revenues per region and product type as well as the update on capacity for crystal growth, finished and PSS wafers with all major changes and information on dozens of existing and emerging players have been detailed. More information is available on i-micronews.com, LED reports section.

Fujitsu Semiconductor Limited and Mie Fujitsu Semiconductor Limited today announced that they have reached an agreement with US-based Nantero, Inc. to license that company’s technology for NRAM, non-volatile RAM using carbon nanotubes, and to conduct joint development towards releasing a product based on 55nm process technology.

Three companies are aiming to develop a product using NRAM non-volatile RAM that achieves several 1000 times faster rewrites and many thousands of times more rewrite cycles than embedded flash memory, making it potentially capable of replacing DRAM with non-volatile memory. Fujitsu Semiconductor plans to develop an NRAM-embedded custom LSI product by the end of 2018, with the goal of expanding the product line-up into stand-alone NRAM product after that. Mie Fujitsu Semiconductor, which is a pure-play foundry, plans to offer NRAM-based technology to its foundry customers.

“Non-volatile memory using Nantero’s carbon-nanotube technology is a marked advance beyond conventional technology,” said Masato Matsumiya, System Memory VP, Fujitsu Semiconductor. “Fujitsu Semiconductor has been designing and producing FRAM, a type of non-volatile RAM, since the late 90s, and is one of the few companies to have integrated FRAM design and production capabilities. We will be able to build on our experience and skill in this field to develop and produce NRAM as well. The combination of Nantero’s technology with our design and production capabilities promises to meet the longstanding needs of our customers for non-volatile memory that is higher density, faster, more energy efficiency, and with a higher rewrite cycle.”

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the “China Semiconductor Industry: Expansion Plans Analysis and Trends (Government Policies and Guidelines, Import and Export Impact on Trade Partners, Key Concepts, Case Study, Key Strategies Adopted, Future Plans, and Recommendation to Players)” report to their offering.

The China semiconductor industry is expected to reach $157.66 billion by 2020, at a CAGR of 12.8% between 2016 and 2020, according to this report. The major driving factors for the China semiconductor industry are the growing demand for semiconductors from major verticals and favorable government initiatives. There are also various opportunities available for the growth of the China semiconductor industry such as investment from foreign players and emerging new concepts.

Integrated Circuit (IC) is expected to hold the largest market share by 2020. The IC segment accounted for almost two-thirds of the total semiconductor industry in China in 2015.

Key topics covered:

  • Market Penetration: Comprehensive information on semiconductor products and services offered by the top players in the China semiconductor industry
  • Mergers & Acquisitions: Detailed insights on latest merger and acquisition activities and expansion in the semiconductor industry
  • Market Diversification: Exhaustive information about mergers and acquisitions, contracts, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments in the China semiconductor industry
  • Competitive Assessment: In-depth assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players in the China semiconductor industry

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), representing U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, design, and research, today announced worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $79.1 billion during the second quarter of 2016, an increase of 1.0 percent over the previous quarter and a decrease of 5.8 percent compared to the second quarter of 2015. Global sales for the month of June 2016 reached $26.4 billion, an uptick of 1.1 percent over last month’s total of $26.1 billion, but down 5.8 percent from the June 2015 total of $28.0 billion. Cumulatively, year-to-date sales during the first half of 2016 were 5.8 percent lower than they were at the same point in 2015. All monthly sales numbers are compiled by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization and represent a three-month moving average.

“Global semiconductor sales increased slightly from Q1 to Q2 but remain behind the pace from last year, due largely to global economic uncertainty and sluggish demand,” said John Neuffer, president and CEO, Semiconductor Industry Association. “Sales into Japan and China have been a bright spot midway through 2016, and a modest rebound in sales is projected during the second half of the year.”

Regionally, sales increased compared to June 2015 in China (1.7 percent), but fell in Asia Pacific/All Other (-11.0 percent), the Americas (-10.8 percent), Europe (-5.5 percent), and Japan (-1.3 percent). Sales were up slightly compared to last month in the Americas (3.0 percent), China (2.2 percent) and Europe (1.7 percent), but down somewhat in Japan (-1.0 percent) and Asia Pacific/All Other (-0.6 percent).

sales graph sales table

The gallium nitride (GaN) substrates market is set to cross $4 billion USD by 2020, according to the market research report “Gallium Nitride (GaN) Substrates Market Analysis: By Type (GaN on sapphire, GaN on Si, GaN on SiC, GaN on GaN); By Products (Blu-ray Disc (BD), LEDs, UV LEDs) By Industry (Consumer Electronics, Telecom, Industrial, Power, Solar, Wind)-Forecast(2015-2020)”, published by IndustryARC.

Gallium Nitride (GaN) is a semiconductor compound material which has proved to be advantageous in comparison to the other conventional materials such as Silicon, Silicon Carbide, Aluminum, and so on. GaN substrates are essential materials which are deployed across blue-violet laser diodes in recorders or BD players and the power control elements. GaN materials are also used across optoelectronic products such as lasers, LEDs, Power Electronics and Radio Frequency amplifiers.

Optoelectronics are the key devices that employ GaN substrates, among which, LEDs account for over 70% share. Traditionally, these devices are grown on GaN on Sapphire, GaN on Si, and GaN on Sic substrates with GaN on Sapphire being the most utilized substrate. However, these substrates contain GaN layers grown by epitaxial methods leading to lattice mismatches and defects. In this context, the gallium nitride substrates are presented as the potential substitute for the foreign substrates. The GaN epitaxy if performed on the native substrates has several technical advantages and also improves the performance of the devices.

According to recent study by IndustryARC, the GaN substrates market is dominated by sapphire which is nearing maturity. The market for sapphire substrates was around $ 1.4 billion in 2014 and estimated to grow at 7% CAGR in 2015-2020. The market is estimated to showcase normal growth rates and grow predictably till 2020 and if any disrupting market developments are expected from the silicon and bulk GaN substrate areas. There is only company, Cree Inc. manufacturing GaN on SiC products and very few players adopting GaN on Si. Acquisitions and partnerships are going to be the key in these segments to showcase significant growth in the next five years.

Asia-Pacific is the key region for both substrates and devices market. LEDs, with demand in particular from automotive and lighting industry, are estimated to drive the GaN market in the period 2015-2020. In this, region, Japan, China, and Korea are the key regions where majority of the players are located and demand emerges. The less labor and production costs in these countries are aiding manufacturers to set up production facilities. In 2015, Panasonic Corporation has shifted its LED production to Japan from Indonesia to capitalize these advantages in the country and further grow its share in the LED market. Besides that, the substrate suppliers are also strongly distributed in the region. With these players significantly scaling up their global market position, the prices are estimated to be affected significantly. In countries such as China, the substrates are offered at cheaper prices which will not only attract LED producers significantly but also intensify demand for cheaper products.

The bulk GaN or GaN on GaN substrates hold lot of promise in the LED, Power Electronics, and RF products. Particularly in power electronics, the bulk gallium nitride substrates are proven to be very useful. There is significant research underway to realize the GaN material potential into these industries and very recently, MIT researchers have successfully enabled GaN power transistors at low cost. Due to huge power saving nature of the components made from them, the billion dollar markets such as internet of things and electric vehicles market are only ready to embrace bulk GaN substrates. Thus, with encouraging developments in the market and potential billion markets, bulk GaN is projected as the game changer. But, to realize the same, there are substantial obstacles in terms of production and capital. Therefore, even in 2020, the market is estimated to be dominated by foreign substrates where bulk GaN will account for smaller share.

Photoresist manufacturers had reason to smile as fiscal 2015 closed, with sales growing nicely to $1.37B, a 6.2% increase over 2014. That bump has to sustain them through 2020, according to a new report from Techcet Group, “Critical Materials Report: Photoresists and Extensions and Ancillaries 2016.” Total volumes for photoresist and extension materials continue to grow with wafer starts, although revenues are expected to hover around $1.4B for the next 4 years. Growth from wafer starts in partially offset by reductions in photoresist thicknesses for critical layers in leading edge devices.

Virtually all of the growth in lithography materials can be attributed to volume growth in advanced nodes. While the 5 year CAGR outlook for silicon wafer starts is -2% for the 45nm node and larger, that same outlook is +10% for the 28nm node and smaller. ArF (193nm wavelength) resists already comprise over 40% of the total market. Extreme ultra-violent lithography (EUVL @ ~13nm wavelength) remains in the forecast for 2020, but it will be limited to mix-and-match implementation at the 10nm node due to its premium cost and low throughput. Nano-Imprint Lithography (NIL) is in limited use by one Asian memory fab. Multi-patterning with 193nm immersion will remain the workhorse for all leading edge IC fabs.

The category of resolution “extension” materials to enable finer feature patterning grows out of the segment for bottom anti-reflection coatings (BARC) and spin-on hard-masks (HM), which can be combined with a top layer of photoresist in a so-called “Tri-Layer Resist” (TLR) approach. Extensions also include specialty chemical formations to “trim” lines by removing photoresist material, or to “shrink” holes by adding material to sidewalls. The extension materials market is now the fastest growing segment, already at $650M in 2015 it is forecast to reach $790M by 2020, as detailed in TECHCET’s Report.

The photoresist ancillary segment that includes strippers/removers, developers, edge-bead removers (EBR) and specialty solvents is expected to suffer a slow decline from today’s $600M to $575M by 2020, primarily due to volume reductions associated with thinner photoresists. Also, ancillaries are generally sourced in large quantities from local suppliers, and regional pricing pressures further depress revenues in this sub-market.

There are six major suppliers controlling 90% of the global resist market, with a total of eleven key manufacturers offering standard and advanced photoresist products and critical ancillaries. JSR and TOK share 53% of the market, with others at 12% or less. In addition to market analysis, critical supply chain issues and technical trends, the report includes profiles and updates for major suppliers of photoresist and related materials to the global semiconductor industry.

Today, SiC benefits are not a secret anymore and progressively lot of industries are considering the development of new products including SiC technologies.

”The SiC power business is concrete and real, with a promising outlook,” announced Yole Développement (Yole) in its latest compound semiconductor report, Power SiC 2016: Materials, Devices, Modules & Applications. The SiC power market, diode and transistor included is estimated to be more than $200 million in 2015 and forecasted to be more than $550 million in 2021, with a 2015 – 2021 CAGR of 19%. SiC diodes still dominate the overall SiC market with 85% market share. According to Yole, this leading position will not change for several years. In parallel, SiC transistors are more and more present and should reach 27% market share in 2021. SiC solutions are diffusing step by step into multiple application segments: “We are at the opening stage of the SiC industry for power electronics applications,” confirmed Yole’s analysts.

This SiC technology & market analysis is not the first edition for Yole. Therefore, the “More than Moore” market research and strategy consulting company has been working for fifteen years on SiC technologies, associated markets and more globally within the WBG area. This year, this report is probably the most successful achievement with a global comprehension of the market needs and technology challenges.

Yole’s analysis details a relevant description of the SiC power industry landscape and lists the key related market data. It also proposes a detailed review per market segment, a full analysis of the SiC supply chain including new entrants, mergers and acquisitions and a technology roadmap. A special section has been also performed by Yole’s analysts to understand the current issues in China and identify business opportunities. With this 2016 edition, Yole confirms its leadership within the analysis of the WBG industry, its technologies and market trends.

Not surprisingly, the PFC power supply market is still the leading application with almost 50% market share (in revenue), consuming a large volume of diodes in 2015. However this market share is expected to decrease little by little after 2016. So far behind, PV inverters are close behind. Indeed SiC diodes and MOSFETs are now used by various PV inverter manufacturers in their products. It has been confirmed that SiC implementation provides several performance benefits including increased efficiency, reduced size and weight. In addition, it allows to low cost at the system level in certain power range. “At Yole, we have received increasingly positive feedback from the market”, said Dr. Hong Ling, Technology & Market Analyst at Yole. “And we expect other manufacturers to follow in the footsteps of the early adopters, leading to a rapid expansion of the PV segment in the coming years.”

Other SiC applications include UPS , motor drive, wind, EV/HEV and rail, all with different levels of adoption. Within the rail sector, SiC penetration continues. For EV/HEV applications, OEMs and Ter1 are testing SiC devices but qualification time is long…

The benefits enabled by SiC, the continuous performance improvement, and the cost erosion of SiC power devices will clearly fuel the implementation of SiC in different applications. “Under this new SiC edition, we propose a deep understanding of SiC implementation in different segments”, comments Dr Ling at Yole. Indeed this analysis offers a comprehensive summary of SiC power device market data (split by application), including PFC/power supply, PV, EV/HEV, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), motor drives, wind, and rail.

SiC power is creating many opportunities for many different types of suppliers. Indeed, attracted by the market’s potential, more and more players are entering at different levels of the value chain:
•  At the module packaging level, Starpower just showed their SiC module in May 2016.
•  At the device level, after investing in Monolith Semiconductors in 2015, Littlefuse released its SiC diode products in May this year, with the intention to develop a full product range. Yole has also identified other newcomers including Brückewell, YangJie Technology, Gengol, each with different backgrounds and different business models.
•  On the materials side, Aymont, the SiC growth furnace supplier, has started to supply SiC wafers.

Furthermore, existing players will expand their products. For example, Infineon Technologies just released its 1200V SiC MOSFET and plans to go into mass production in 2017. Also, Fuji’s full SiC module will be available. As more and more products reach the market, Yole expects an acceleration of SiC. This growing market is generating plenty of opportunities for different types of suppliers: passive components, materials suppliers, test equipment suppliers, and more.

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), representing U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, design, and research, commended congressional approval of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, bipartisan legislation that updates the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, the primary federal law pertaining to the production and use of chemicals. The Senate passed the legislation last night on a voice vote, and the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved it on May 24. President Obama is expected to sign the legislation into law.

“The sound regulation of chemicals is critically important to the U.S. semiconductor industry, which relies on certain chemicals and materials to manufacture the semiconductors that underpin modern technology,” said John Neuffer, president and CEO, Semiconductor Industry Association. “This legislation improves chemical safety, protects the environment, and provides the semiconductor industry and other sectors with needed certainty in manufacturing products that drive economic growth.”

The legislation would strengthen the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to evaluate, prioritize, and take action on chemicals that pose risks to health and the environment, while providing industry with increased assurance in their selection of chemicals. The bill directs EPA to assess chemicals based on their conditions of use and potential for exposure, and where EPA takes action on chemicals that pose an unreasonable risk, the bill would allow EPA to consider costs and the feasibility and safety of alternatives in setting a safety standard.

“TSCA was first passed when Gerald Ford was president, “Rocky” won the Academy Award, and Apple was still operating out of a garage,” Neuffer said. “We applaud Congress for approving this much-needed and long-overdue legislation, and especially appreciate Senators Inhofe, Vitter, and Udall, and Congressmen Shimkus and Pallone for introducing the legislation and moving it forward. We urge President Obama to quickly sign it into law.”

Almost two years after GTAT’s bankruptcy, the sapphire industry is still there. Its decor and characters have, of course, changed but the story is still unfolding. Survival strategies, emerging applications and niche markets, mergers and acquisitions. All the protagonists are contributing to altering the landscape, trying to identify new business opportunities to absorb the sapphire overcapacity. China is a major contributor to the story with new investments and emerging companies in this already saturated industry. What is the impact on the sapphire supply chain? What are the strategies to be adopted to succeed? What are the long-term perspectives?

Figure 1

Figure 1

In this tense economic environment, Yole Développement (Yole) and its partner CIOE are organizing a 1.5 day conference to learn more about the status of the sapphire industry. The event will provide an opportunity for all the participants to discuss the future of this industry and to find answers. Sapphire is now more affordable than ever and new capabilities have enabled the manufacturing of components for very diverse applications. The 2nd International Forum on Sapphire Market & Technologies is the place to be to understand today’s economic and technical challenges and build tomorrow’s industry.

The Yole & CIOE Forum will take place from September 6 to 7 in Shenzhen, China, alongside the 18th China International Optoelectronic Expo 2016. To find out more about this event, visit: Sapphire Forum Agenda – Sapphire Forum Registration.

Figure 2

Figure 2

 The LED sector still has the highest demand for sapphire, but the expected volumes cannot sustain the one hundred or so sapphire producers currently competing in the industry.
Some sapphire companies are leaving the most commoditized markets and shifting their development strategies toward niche markets with higher added-value such as medical, industrial and military applications. Other business opportunities could materialize, including microLED arrays and other consumer applications.

Most sapphire companies are chasing any opportunity to survive and optimize their cost structure within a market which is currently characterized by a relentless price war. In Q1- 2016, the sapphire price plunged to its lowest ever level and most companies experienced a drastic decrease in revenue.

In this highly competitive market with significant economic constraints, Yole and CIOE are organizing the 2nd International Forum on Sapphire Market & Technologies (Shenzhen, China – September 6&7, 2016).

“The Sapphire Forum is an opportunity for the entire supply chain to come together to assess the current status of the industry, understand what lies ahead and determine the best strategies to make it through the crisis”, comments Dr. Eric Virey, Senior Technology & Market Analyst, Yole.