Tag Archives: letter-materials-business

MACOM Technology Solutions reported the newest entries in its MAGb series of GaN on Silicon power transistors for use in macro wireless basestations.

According to a media release, based on MACOM’s Gen4 GaN technology, the new MAGb-101822-240B0P and MAGb-101822-120B0P power transistors harness the clear performance benefits of GaN in rugged, low-cost plastic packaging, enabling improved cost efficiencies that further distinguish MACOM’s GaN power transistors as the natural successors to legacy LDMOS offerings for basestation applications.

The Company noted that the new plastic TO-272-packaged MAGb-101822-240B0P and MAGb-101822-120B0P power transistors provide 320 W and 160 W output peak power, respectively, in the load-pull system with fundamental tuning only, and cover all cellular bands and power levels within the 1.8 – 2.2 GHz frequency range. These transistors’ ability to operate over 400 MHz of bandwidth precludes the need to use multiple LDMOS-based products, further optimizing cost and design efficiencies.

MACOM said that plastic-packaged MAGb power transistors deliver power efficiency up to 79 percent – an improvement of up to 10 percent compared to LDMOS offerings – with only fundamental tuning across the 400 MHz RF bandwidth, and with linear gain of up to 20 dB. These transistors provide an alternative to ceramic-packaged devices without compromising RF performance or reliability – thermal behavior is improved by 10 percent compared to ceramic-packaged MAGb offerings.

“DPD is critical to increase the efficiency of power amplifiers for 4G and 5G basestation applications and has a significant impact on network operators’ operating expenses and capital expenditures,” said Dr. Chris Dick, Chief DSP Architect at Xilinx. “Our joint demonstration with MACOM at IMS 2016 will showcase the combined DPD capabilities of MACOM’s Gen4 GaN-based MAGb power transistors and Xilinx’s complementary DPD technologies on our 28 nm Zynq SoC and 16 nm UltraScale+ MPSoCs. This joint solution highlights the time-to-market advantages that can be achieved with a proven, interoperable DPD solution.”

“Our collaboration with Xilinx demonstrates the linearity and ease of correction of our MAGb, especially with signals that are known to be challenging to correct using GaN-based solutions like multi-carrier GSM and TDD-LTE signals,” said Preet Virk, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Carrier Networks, at MACOM. “We believe that with the introduction of our new plastic-packaged MAGb power transistors, we’re further extending this price/performance advantage over competiting LDMOS and other GaN technologies, and accelerating the evolution to GaN-based PAs for wireless basestations.”

As the opening day of SEMICON West (July 12-14) approaches, the electronics manufacturing industry is experiencing disruptive changes, making “business as usual” a thing of the past. To help technical and business professionals navigate this fast-changing landscape, SEMICON West programming has been upgraded extensively ─ increased from 170 hours to 250 hours this year. New brand and deep programming provide insights into the latest megatrends and helps attendees identify new opportunities and refine sound strategic plans.

At this year’s expo, several new forums designed to enhance collaboration within shared communities of interest will debut. Lead by technical experts, top analysts, and leaders from some of the biggest names in electronics, the new forums are generating significant advance interest and buzz, key among them:

  • Advanced Manufacturing Forum: Twelve cutting-edge sessions — from What’s Next in MEMS and Sensors to Power Electronics and 3D Printing — will be presented by Samsung, Applied Materials, Texas Instruments, and more. Attendees will learn about new technologies on the horizon and how they impact semiconductor manufacturing.
  • Flexible Hybrid Electronics Forum: Flexible Hybrid Electronics is driving new processes and packages, providing innovative approaches for health-monitoring, wearables, soft robotics, and other next-generation products. Attendees will get details on thinned device processing, system design, reliability testing and modeling from experts at Qualcomm, PARC, and GE Global Research.
  • World of IoT Forum: Forecasters predict that IoT will soon become a $6 trillion market. The World of IoT Forum brings together leading suppliers, integrators, and solution providers at the forefront of innovations in mobility, network-connected devices, and automotive and healthcare applications, among others. Attendees will learn about the trends impacting the market, including big data and analytics, smart things, and MEMS and sensor manufacturing.

With so many disruptive trends driving the market, it is critical for industry professionals to have a clear view of the road ahead. With its vastly expanded technical and business programming, this year’s expo will deliver the strategic insights needed to survive and thrive. To learn more and to register, visit SEMICON West Forums.

Exagan, an innovator of gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor technology that enables smaller and more efficient electrical converters, has begun a strategic partnership to develop and commercialize GaN-on-silicon products with HIREX Engineering, a company of Alter Technology Group (TÜV NORD GROUP’s Aerospace and Electronics Business Unit). TÜV NORD is a multi-national technical services provider to aerospace, industrial, mobile communications and IT markets. The partnership’s goal is to establish the reliability of GaN-on-silicon while also demonstrating to users the performance improvements to be gained and the low risk of integrating the energy-efficient technology in their own products.

Exagan will work closely with HIREX Engineering, a leader in reliability testing and qualification of ICs and discrete semiconductors for aerospace and industrial high-reliability applications. HIREX Engineering is located near Toulouse, France. Together, the companies will test and qualify Exagan’s G-FET products, which are fabricated with standard 200mm silicon processing and proprietary G-Stack technology. G-FETs are used in making smaller, more efficient power converters that have a broad range of applications in high-growth markets including plug-in hybrid and full-electric vehicles, solar energy and industrial applications as well as efficient charging of all mobile electronic devices.

“This dynamic partnership will help to propel GaN market development by pioneering test methodologies and measurement processes that make it easier for makers of electrical converters to implement GaN in improving their products,” said Frédéric Dupont, president and CEO of Exagan. “This timing is perfect to combine Exagan’s strengths with those of the top European specialist in high-reliability testing. GaN technology has matured to deliver the high performance of SiC (silicon carbide) devices at silicon ICs’ price and quality levels, and our key markets are ready for this next-generation solution.”

“Through its participation, HIREX Engineering will expand its expertise and business portfolio to include advanced power GaN technology and the end products it enables. We hope to establish robust and easy-to-reference product parameters for GaN that will allow fast integration in electrical converters,” said Luis Gomez, Alter Technology Group CEO.

“We are confident that GaN’s bulletproof reliability will present remarkable advantages in the fast-growing power electronics market,” said Dr. Guido Rettig, TÜV NORD GROUP CEO.

Nanoelectronics research center imec today announced a strategic partnership on GaN-on-Si (Gallium Nitride-on-Silicon) technology with IQE, a designer and manufacturer of advanced semiconductor wafer products and services.

GaN technology offers faster switching-power devices with higher breakdown voltage and lower on-resistance than silicon, making it an ideal material for advanced power electronic components. The partnership builds on promising results achieved in a recent project, in which imec and IQE collaborated to fabricate GaN power diodes using imec’s proprietary diode architecture and IQE’s high voltage epiwafers.

IQE enters imec’s GaN-on-Si Industrial Affiliation Program that offers joint research and development on GaN-on-Si 200mm epitaxy and enhancement mode device technology to a variety of companies including IDMs, equipment and material suppliers, fabless design houses and packaging companies. The program includes research  on novel substrates to improve the quality of epitaxial layers, new isolation modules to enhance integration levels, and advanced vertical device development. As a GaN-on-Si Program partner, IQE gains access to next-generation epitaxy, devices and power electronics processes, including imec’s complete 200mm CMOS-compatible GaN process line.

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to extend our relationship with imec through the Industrial Affiliation Program,” Wayne Johnson, Head of IQE’s Power Business Unit, said. “The importance of GaN on Si for power devices cannot be understated, particularly as we enter an era of electrically propelled transportation and increasing demands for energy efficient power control systems that require high voltage and high power capabilities.

“IQE’s proven track record in developing and manufacturing GaN based epiwafers, coupled with imec’s unquestionable reputation for world-leading research in nanoelectronics makes for a powerful collaboration in this rapidly growing technology space.”

In its earlier collaborative project, imec worked with IQE to create state-of-the-art GaN power diodes. Imec has applied its proprietary Gated Edge Terminated (GET) Schottky diode device architecture to IQE’s high voltage GaN buffers on 200mm Si substrates. The main challenge on power diodes is to obtain devices that simultaneously show low leakage current and low turn on voltage. Thanks to the GET diode device architecture and to the low buffer leakage current of IQE wafers, the large GaN power diodes (10mm), that were fabricated in imec’s 200mm Si pilot line, showed a low leakage current (up to 650V) and low turn-on voltage. The power Schottky diodes reaches forward and reverse specifications across the full temperature range, spanning from 25˚C till 150˚C with a tight distribution.

“We are excited about this strategic partnership with IQE. Our joint results show that the IQE epiwafers are of excellent quality and are well-aligned to meet the specifications for power Schottky diodes. We look forward to collaborating with IQE to advance our promising results, which demonstrate that our proprietary GET Schottky diode device architecture and process technology can be transferred to external wafers like those provided by IQE,” stated Rudi Cartuyvels, executive vice president smart systems and energy technology at imec. “Our 200mm GaN-on-Si process is available to our program partners and is engineered to fit partner specific product needs.”

Indium Corporation has hired Andreas Karch as Regional Technical Manager, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Karch provides support, including sharing process knowledge and making technical recommendations for the use of Indium Corporation’s materials, including solder paste, solder preforms, fluxes, and thermal management materials.

Karch has more than 20 years of automotive industry experience, including the advanced development of customized electronics. He is an ECQA-certified integrated design engineer and has a Six Sigma Yellow Belt. He was recently the recipient of the top 10 innovative patents for an automotive LED assembly. Karch maintains a thorough understanding of process technologies and project management skills.

Indium Corporation is a premier materials manufacturer and supplier to the global electronics, semiconductor, thin-film, thermal management, and solar markets. Products include solders and fluxes; brazes; thermal interface materials; sputtering targets; indium, gallium, germanium, and tin metals and inorganic compounds; and NanoFoil. Founded in 1934, Indium has global technical support and factories located in China, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the USA.

By Rania Georgoutsakou, director of Public Policy for Europe, SEMI

In a global industry, monitoring regulatory developments across different regions can be a challenge. Add to that the additional complexity of communicating with a (global) supply chain, then consider that each company has to individually reach out to its suppliers and customers. This results in numerous communications on the same issue up and down the supply chain, and the benefits of industry collaboration within associations such as SEMI become clear.

To help companies keep up with the latest developments in the EU, here’s a list of recent and upcoming regulatory initiatives and how SEMI member companies are collectively addressing these:

  • SEMI FAQ – EU F-Gas regulation and semiconductor manufacturing equipment
  • Review of EU Machinery Directive now underway
  • EU PFOA restriction under discussion
  • 2016 EU Blue Guide is available

A SEMI webcast on EU regulatory developments (March 2016) provided a more detailed overview of these and other developments and how companies should prepare – the webcast is available to view for SEMI member companies only, please click here and select the “EU Regulation Webcast”.

Manufacturing equipment containing pre-charged chillers – new SEMI FAQ provides guidance on how to comply with EU F-Gas law

The EU F-Gas regulation that entered into force in January 2014 creates new restrictions on placing on the EU market pre-charged chillers containing certain fluorinated gases (F-gases).

A new SEMI FAQ on the EU F-Gas regulation provides guidance on what this law is about, how it impacts semiconductor manufacturing equipment and what steps companies importing affected equipment should be taking to ensure compliance.

If your company is importing semiconductor manufacturing equipment containing pre-charged chillers into the EU, then you need to make sure you can account for the f-gases in the chiller under the new F-Gas quota system that the law has established, by obtaining an ‘authorisation’ from a ‘quota holder’ and registering in the ‘EU HFC Register’.

For more details and compliance timelines, check out the SEMI FAQ.

EU Machinery Directive – review now underway – have your say!

The EU Machinery Directive sets out the basic requirements machines must satisfy in order to be placed on the EU market and is a major piece of EU law for semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

The review is part of the regular EU regulatory review process to ensure legislation is ‘fit for purpose’ and does not automatically imply that the Machinery Directive will be revised. It is being run by an external consultant and a final report is expected in April 2017.

The focus of the review will be on 9 product categories, including machines for metal working, engines and turbines, robotics and automation and will also explore whether there are discrepancies in the interpretation of the directive between various member states and to what extent it is aligned to other pieces of legislation.

SEMI is putting together a working group to contribute to review of the EU Machinery Directive. If you are a member company and want to get involved, please contact [email protected]

PFOA restriction under discussion – SEMI requests derogations for the industry

The EU is currently drafting a law to restrict the manufacture, use and placing on the market of PFOA, its salts and PFOA-related substances under EU REACH. The restriction would apply both to substances and mixtures and to articles containing these substances.

SEMI has been calling for a derogation for substances and mixtures used in photolithography processes and for articles contained in semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

SEMI has collected and submitted evidence to substantiate members’ recommendations for:

  • a derogation period of at least 10 years for semiconductor manufacturing equipment, to allow equipment manufacturers to communicate with their the supply chain, identify components potentially containing restricted substances, source substitute parts that are tested and validated and requalify the equipment.
  • non-time-limited derogation for spare parts for legacy semiconductor manufacturing equipment, i.e. equipment that was already on the EU market before the restriction entered into force and before the derogation for semiconductor manufacturing equipment expires.
  • non-time-limited derogation for second-hand semiconductor manufacturing equipment, to ensure that companies can still import used equipment from outside the EU or from another EU member state.

SEMI has also voiced its concerns around the proposed concentration limits and the non-availability today of standardized practicable analytical methods that can be applied to a variety of materials to test whether an article would comply with the restriction.

The EU proposed restriction will be published in the next month and the final decision on the restriction is expected by the end of 2016.

Product regulatory compliance in the EU – 2016 Blue Guide now published

The Blue Guide provides guidance on how to implement EU product rules, including for example the EU Machinery and EMC Directives. A 2016 revised version is now available to download – click here.

The Blue Guide addresses:

  • what constitutes placing a product on the EU market
  • obligations of the various actors in the supply chain (manufacturer, importer, authorized representative etc.)
  • product requirements
  • conformity assessment
  • accreditation
  • market surveillance carried out in the EU

For an overview of SEMI’s advocacy work in Europe, please click here.

To find out more and get involved, please contact [email protected]

Join us for the 10th SEMI Brussels Forum – the industry’s major annual event bringing together company executives and decision-makers to discuss opportunities for the micro/nano-electronics industry in Europe: www.semi.org/BrusselsForum

Samco, a Japan-based semiconductor process equipment developer and manufacturer, is employing around 20 more people at its locations in North America, China, Taiwan and Singapore, as well as its subsidiary Samco-UCP in Liechtenstein, in order to better provide services and support to overseas customers.

“Increasing the number of Samco employees abroad is part of the company’s larger strategy to optimize our current sales structure while actively growing our customer base across the globe,” says Osamu Tsuji, Samco’s President, Chairman and CEO.

Samco offers systems and services that revolve around three major technologies, namely thin film deposition with PECVD, MOCVD and ALD systems; microfabrication with ICP etching, RIE and DRIE systems; and surface treatment with plasma cleaning and UV ozone cleaning systems.

“We’ve seen an increase in laser diode, MEMS and power device-related inquiries from abroad,” says Tsuji. “Systems for research and development at universities and research institutions, which is an area Samco specializes in, are also in high demand.”

This includes India, where the growing economy is expected to accelerate in the future. The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay recently installed one of Samco’s DRIE systems and collaborated with Samco to host the company’s first thin-film technology workshop in the country.

Samco is currently considering offering internships to students at IIT Bombay and has started gathering a team that will focus on cultivating the Indian market, Tsuji adds.

Future goals include doubling its on-site staff by July 2018, discussing the possibility of new locations in the future, and ensuring its overseas sales encompass at least 50% of the company’s total net sales within the next two or three years.

“Semiconductor equipment manufacturers’ overseas sales generally account for around 70 or 80 percent of their total net sales,” Tsuji says. “Samco has great potential for growth in the future. With these markets, we’ll actively expand and reach our goal of at least 10 billion yen in total net sales.”

According to their latest report, Technavio analysts expect the global piezoelectric smart materials market for 2016-2020 to exceed USD 42 billion by 2020 growing at a CAGR of almost 13 percent.

According to Chandrakumar Badala Jaganathan, lead research analyst at Technavio for metals and minerals, “The global piezoelectric smart materials market is expected to be vibrant during the forecast period due to increasing investment in R&D for product innovation and the rising demand from the automotive industry. In addition, high demand from APAC is expected to further drive market growth.”

Technavio’s lead chemicals and materials market research analysts have identified the following three factors that will drive the global piezoelectric smart materials market:

-Increase in demand from military and aerospace sector
-Growing demand from construction industry
-Rise in R&D efforts

Increase in demand from military and aerospace sector

The spacecraft industry has provided a tremendous boost to the piezoelectric smart materials market globally. Materials with enhanced functional properties such as shape memory, electrochromism, and piezoelectricity, are gaining demand in the aerospace industries. These materials help in controlling the airflow across the wings of an aircraft, maintaining it in takeoff, flying, and landing it more efficiently with less noise.

Some applications for aircraft include wing morphing and flapping wing technologies. These materials are used to solve some common problems with the aircraft such as engine vibration, high cabin noise levels, ice formation on wings, flow separation due to turbulence, and control surfaces in cold climatic conditions.

In the military, piezoelectric materials are used in applications such as smart sensors, smart nanorobotics, smart combat suits, and smart skins. The majority of the demand from aerospace industry is expected to come from the US followed by Europe.

Growing demand from construction industry

The application of piezoelectric smart materials in the construction industry falls into three categories: structural health monitoring, vibration control, and environmental control. Structural health monitoring is where piezoelectric smart materials find their most widespread applications. The primary focus of structural health monitoring lies in the monitoring of loads and detection of damage in the structures. In addition, the trend toward longer and more slender cables has given rise to the demand for piezoelectric smart materials for use in structural monitoring and vibration control.

North America has the highest level of activity involving structural health monitoring. In the US, optical fiber grating systems are used to monitor traffic and composite repair monitoring. Additionally, embedded and surface-mounted MEMS sensors are used to monitor concrete and metal structures. “The growing construction sector will lead to a greater demand for piezoelectric smart materials,” says Chandrakumar.

Rise in R&D efforts

Transportation, healthcare, and smart packaging are among the sectors that have been receiving tremendous attention with respect to R&D. In the transportation sector, the military and aerospace sector, followed by the automotive and marine sectors account for the major R&D.

In the US, a considerable amount of funding has been offered by organizations such as the Naval Research Laboratory, Army Research Laboratories, Air Force Research Laboratories, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration. A lot of this funding has been offered to the universities that have given rise to a lot of startup organizations in the field of smart materials.

In Europe, many similar initiatives involving Central European Chapter funded plans. In addition, defense programs, financed by the Western European Union, and a few of the large aerospace companies, are being undertaken by many institutions.

Technavio is a technology research and advisory company.

The global semiconductor materials market decreased 1.5 percent in 2015 compared to 2014 while worldwide semiconductor revenues decreased 0.2 percent. The impact of exchange rate changes, coupled with lower overall semiconductor unit growth, contributed to the year-over-year revenue decline.

According to the SEMI Material Market Data Subscription, Total wafer fabrication materials and packaging materials were $24.1 billion and $19.3 billion, respectively. Comparable revenues for these segments in 2014 were $24.2 billion for wafer fabrication materials and $19.8 billion for packaging materials. The wafer fabrication materials segment decreased 1 percent year-over-year, while the packaging materials segment decreased 2 percent. However, if bonding wire were excluded from the packaging materials segment, the segment would have remained flat relative to last year. The continuing transition to copper-based bonding wire from gold is negatively impacting overall packaging materials revenues. The depreciation of the Yen further impacted the total materials market due to the importance of materials suppliers based in Japan.

For the sixth consecutive year, Taiwan was the largest consumer of semiconductor materials due to its large foundry and advanced packaging base, totaling $9.4 billion. Korea rose in the rankings to claim the second spot during the same time. Annual revenue growth was the strongest in the Korean and Chinese markets. The materials market in North America and Europe experienced nominal growth of 1 percent, while the materials markets in Taiwan, Rest of World and Japan contracted. (The ROW region is defined as Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, other areas of Southeast Asia and smaller global markets.)

2014 and 2015 Regional Semiconductor Materials Markets (US$ Billions)

Region 2014 2015 % Change
Taiwan

9.60

9.41

-2%
South Korea

7.03

7.16

2%
Japan

7.01

6.57

-6%
Rest of World

6.39

6.05

-5%
China

6.01

6.12

2%
North America

5.00

5.04

1%
Europe

3.01

3.05

1%
Total

44.04

43.40

-1%

Source: SEMI, April 2016

TowerJazz, the global specialty foundry, today announced its SiGe Terabit Platform targeting high-speed wireline communications for the terabit age. Wireline data traffic is increasing dramatically, with traffic at Google famously increasing by 50 times over the last six to seven years, or at 75 percent per year.  Estimates vary, but experts agree on double digit CAGRs and a 2020 market for high speed optical components in excess of $9 billion.  TowerJazz addresses this market through a family of customized foundry silicon-germanium (SiGe) BiCMOS technologies and is today announcing availability of its highest performance process to date: S4. TowerJazz customers include the who’s-who for components that carry the world’s high-speed data traffic such as: Broadcom, Inphi, MACOM, Maxim, Maxlinear and Semtech, among others.

SiGe Terabit Platform – HX, H2, H3, H4, S4

The TowerJazz SiGe Terabit Platform includes advanced CMOS, together with low-noise, high-speed, and high power SiGe devices and unique patented features that enable best-in-class performance for the most demanding ICs in high-speed communication links.  These components include, for example, trans-impedance amplifiers (TIAs) on the receive path and laser drivers on the transmit path. The addition of S4 to the SiGe Terabit Platform extends a rich history of process technologies that include HX and H2 (addressing 10 to 28Gbps requirements), H3 with SiGe speeds of 280GHz (addressing requirements up to 100Gbps), and now H4 and S4 with transistor speeds that exceed 300GHz and can reduce power consumption by nearly an order of magnitude.

Two recent demonstrations, both in TowerJazz H3 technology, showcase the value of TowerJazz’s SiGe Terabit Platform. The first is UCI’s demonstration of TIA performance at 50 Gbps (2015 BCTM). Dr. Payam Heydari,  IEEE Distinguished Lecturer & Full Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of California, Irvine, said, “We measured up to 70Gbps data rate, using a NRZ (non-return to zero) architecture with an eye of 50Gbps. We estimate this chip will consume less than 0.5mW per GHz.”

The second is Bell Labs, the innovation engine of Nokia with its demonstration of a 112Gbps transceiver (2015 IEEE CSICS). Dr. Shahriar Shahramian, Technical Manager, Bell Labs, and the lead author in the publication, said, “To my knowledge, this is the world’s first demonstration of a >100GBs serial datalink built with a silicon IC.” He added that the “56-GBaud, 4-PAM transmission over 2-km of SSMF (single mode fiber) has been experimentally demonstrated.”

“These demonstrations used our H3 process and each represents record performance in data rate, as well as demonstrating new standards in data transmission over single mode fiber” said Dr. David Howard, TowerJazz Executive Director & Fellow. “We are very excited to introduce our newest process, S4, which enables our SiGe Terabit Platform to deliver higher speed and lower power and we look forward to the ground-breaking results our partners and customers will demonstrate next.”