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“The goal of The ConFab is to spark discussions” 

By PETE SINGER, Editor-in-Chief

The future of the semiconductor industry continues to shine brightly. Smart phones have become an everyday part of life the world over, and we will soon see a new explosion of demand brought about by thev“internet of things,” cloud computing, digital television, biomedical sensors and many other types of advance electronics. Many believe this capability is leading to the 4th industrial revolution.

The semiconductor industry’s ability to pack more and more functionality onto a single chip, many challenges remain. Some argue that we will soon reach the end of the road defined by Moore’s Law, pointing to higher costs per transistor. More complex device structures, such as the FinFET and Vertical NAND, have become mainstream, 3D integration with TSVs continue to make slow progress, and a wide variety of new materials are being put into play. The IoT could drive the need for low power, low cost and high levels of integration of diverse components.

The path forward is far from clear. But what is clear is that the need for collaboration has never been

greater. That’s what The ConFab 2015 is all about. We bring together executives from all parts of the supply chain for three days of thought provoking talks and panel discussions, networking events and in-depth, pre-arranged meetings. In 2015, we’ll be back at The Encore at The Wynn in Las Vegas, May 19-22. See www.theconfab.com for more information.

The goal of The ConFab is to spark discussions that will lead to faster resolution of problems, faster and broader industry expansion, and long-term collabora- tions among organizations of all types. In other words, our goal is to help The ConFab attendees “connect, collaborate and create”

Whenever we get together at The ConFab – which is now in its 11th year – I’m always reminded of a quote by Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Join as at The ConFab 2015 and you, too, can change the world.

North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.22 billion in orders worldwide in November 2014 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.02, according to the November EMDS Book-to-Bill Report published today by SEMI.   A book-to-bill of 1.02 means that $102 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in November 2014 was $1.22 billion. The bookings figure is 10.4 percent higher than the final October 2014 level of $1.10 billion, and is 1.7 percent lower than the November 2013 order level of $1.24 billion.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in November 2014 was $1.19 billion. The billings figure is 0.5 percent higher than the final October 2014 level of $1.18 billion, and is 6.8 percent higher than the November 2013 billings level of $1.11 billion.

“”With the rise in bookings, the book-to-bill ratio climbed above parity in November,”” said SEMI president and CEO Denny McGuirk. “”2014 has been a solid growth year for the semiconductor equipment market, and we expect the foundry and memory sector to continue leading investments in 2015.””

The SEMI book-to-bill is a ratio of three-month moving averages of worldwide bookings and billings for North American-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers. Billings and bookings figures are in millions of U.S. dollars.

Billings
(3-mo. avg)

Bookings
(3-mo. avg)

Book-to-Bill
June 2014 

$1,327.5

$1,455.0

1.10
July 2014 

$1,319.1

$1,417.1

1.07
August 2014 

$1,293.4

$1,346.1

1.04
September 2014 

$1,256.5

$1,186.2

0.94
October 2014 (final)

$1,184.2

$1,102.3

0.93
November 2014 (prelim)

$1,189.8

$1,217.1

1.02

Source: SEMI, December 2014

Synopsys, Inc. today announced the expansion of its collaboration with imec (nanoelectronics research center imec) to nanowire and other devices (FinFETs, Tunnel-FETs) targeting the 5-nanometer (nm) technology node and beyond. The agreement enables Synopsys to deliver accurate, process-calibrated models for its Sentaurus TCAD (technology computer aided design) tools to semiconductor manufacturers for use during 5nm technology node research and development. This latest agreement between imec and Synopsys follows successfully completed collaborations on FinFET and 3D-IC technologies for the 10nm and 7nm technology nodes.

“At imec, we focus on bringing the semiconductor industry leaders together to deliver future technologies,” said An Steegen, senior vice president of process technologies at imec. “We are excited to expand our cooperation with Synopsys, the primary TCAD provider, to explore next-generation device and process technologies for 5 nanometer. This continued tight collaboration with Synopsys will enable us to tackle the physics and engineering of advanced devices and introduce a new device design infrastructure for the industry.”

Working closely together, the joint Synopsys-imec team is investigating, among other topics, a vertical nanowire-nanosheet hybrid SRAM cell to target 5nm technology. Early studies show the benefits of nanowire-nanosheet technology in density and performance compared to conventional FinFETs and lateral nanowires. Synopsys’ Sentaurus TCAD tools that support this collaboration are used by technology development teams at foundries and integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) for device architecture selection, design and process optimization. Using early versions of Synopsys’ TCAD models allows the imec project team to explore a range of topics including fundamental device physics (material science, quantum transport and strain engineering), middle-of-line (MOL) local interconnects and the optimization of parasitics. A significant part of the analysis involves full-3D process and electrical simulations to identify device and interconnect reliability solutions for these highly scaled circuits.

“This is the first time a process-calibrated TCAD simulation flow has been used to comprehensively study the process, device and circuit architectures so early in the technology path-finding process,” said Anda Mocuta, logic device manager at imec.

The Synopsys TCAD tools used in this collaboration include the industry-standard simulators Sentaurus Process, Sentaurus Device, Sentaurus Interconnect and Raphael. 3D process structures are read into Raphael for extracting the resistance and capacitance of MOL structures and are combined with Sentaurus-derived compact models for circuit simulation with Synopsys’ HSPICE tool. This simulation flow enables technologists to evaluate the speed and power consumption of ring oscillators and other test circuits in the early stage of technology development, thereby closely linking technology development and selection with circuit-level targets.

“This expanded collaboration with imec builds on the success of previous collaborations to address key challenges at the 5 nanometer technology node,” said Howard Ko, senior vice president and general manager of the Silicon Engineering Group at Synopsys. “Imec’s advanced technology prototyping and characterization capabilities make it an ideal partner for our development and calibration of advanced Sentaurus TCAD models to address the significant technical and business challenges that our customers face in the development of 5nm node technologies.”

Veeco Instruments Inc. announced that it has acquired privately held Solid State Equipment Holdings LLC (“SSEC”), based in Horsham, Pennsylvania. SSEC is an innovator in single wafer wet etch, clean and surface preparation equipment targeting high growth segments in advanced packaging, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) and compound semiconductor.

“SSEC is a highly successful process equipment company that is a great strategic fit with Veeco,” said John R. Peeler, Veeco’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Their complementary and differentiated ‘soak and spray’ technology delivers single wafer control with the low cost of batch processing. SSEC extends our compound semiconductor and MEMS footprint, and represents a stepping stone to the high-growth advanced packaging market. This is a synergistic transaction that will be immediately accretive and that we expect will drive growth and profitability.”

Demand for higher performance, increased functionality, smaller form factor and lower power consumption in mobile devices, consumer electronics and high performance computing is accelerating advanced packaging technology adoption. Key drivers for this inflection are applications in 3D stacked memory, 3D system-on-chip and MEMS. Increasing shipments in smartphones and wearable electronics with more sophisticated sensing functions further drive growth in the MEMS market. Veeco estimates that its served available markets for advanced packaging, compound semiconductor and MEMS are all growing at double-digit compound annual growth rates.

Herman Itzkowitz, SSEC’s Chief Executive Officer said, “We are excited to join the Veeco team. Veeco is a dynamic market leader in compound semiconductor equipment for LED, power electronics, and wireless devices. Combining resources will enable us to accelerate growth and to pursue market opportunities in advanced packaging and MEMS. In addition, we have significant untapped potential in Asiaand Europe, where Veeco’s impressive sales and service network will provide connectivity to key customers.”

Silicon Image, a provider of multimedia connectivity solutions and services, announced that Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. has made a $7 million strategic investment in Silicon Image’s new subsidiary, Qterics, for a 7% ownership interest.

Qterics will be focused on enabling a wide variety of solutions and services for Internet-enabled consumer products including TVs, mobile handsets, tablets, routers, home automation devices, white goods and more. Qterics is comprised of the UpdateLogic services business combined with other related Silicon Image assets, including software and other intellectual property (IP). Current UpdateLogic General Manager, Kurt Thielen, will assume the role of President of Qterics.

“Qualcomm is committed to enabling technologies that support our ‘Internet of Everything’ initiatives. Our strategic investment in Qterics further promotes IoE advancements, including the development of solutions utilizing the AllJoyn open source software framework of the AllSeen Alliance for a truly interoperable Internet of Everything,” said Michael Wallace, SVP and General Manager, Qualcomm Internet Services.

In addition to the investment, Qualcomm and Silicon Image will explore opportunities to collaborate on promoting the AllJoyn open source software framework and developing new Internet of Everything (IoE) services.

“Qterics provides a unique offering for ‘Internet of Everything’ devices that has been largely overlooked by other players in the IoE space,” said Camillo Martino, chief executive officer of Silicon Image, Inc. “As the Internet of Everything grows, the task of providing device management services to these connected devices in a secure manner becomes exponentially more difficult. Qterics solves these challenges in a very elegant way by leveraging its highly scalable worldwide computing resources in the cloud.”

The vast expansion of Internet-enabled devices enables new applications and services, but only if the devices can be properly managed. UpdateLogic (now Qterics) is a leading provider of device management and remote access services already deployed in tens of millions of consumer electronics devices such as TVs, set-top-boxes, and tablets – which form a significant part of the Internet of Everything today.

Interview with SEMI Europe’s Yann Guillou gives attendees a preview of the event

This year’s European 3D TSV Summit is fast approaching. Many actors from the 3D TSV supply chain will convene to Grenoble (France) on Jan 19-21, 2015. This year’s theme is “Enabling Smarter Systems”.

In a recent interview published by 3DIncites, Yann Guillou, the event’s architect, revealed the inspiration behind this year’s theme. “Each year, we try to have our conference theme reflect the current state of 3D technology as expressed by industry leaders,” he explained. “When we look at the most recent evolution of 3D TSV technology, we see that TSVs have become an indispensable part of the smarter systems development, so the theme ‘Enabling Smarter Systems’ seemed to stem quite naturally from this.”

The Summit will boast three keynote speakers who are experts in the field of 3D TSV.  In the interview, Guillou shares his excitement about the keynote choices, who all hail from companies particularly active in the 3D TSV sector. Of keynote speaker Timo Henttonen, Senior manager of packing at Microsoft, Guillou said: “For years, [he] has been a key person at Nokia in the packaging group driving new technology developments and implementing them in large volumes. Now, with Nokia’s mobile phone unit having been absorbed into Microsoft, what Timo will share with attendees should be a highlight of the Summit.” Also participating as keynote speakers will be Bryan Black, Senior Fellow at AMD and Bill Chen, Fellow and Senior Technical Advisor at ASE Group.Of the latter, Guillou says, “Bill rarely delivers talks in Europe, and I’m sure he will have key messages to pass on to attendees in his explanation of how ASE sees TSV contributing to their upcoming business activities.”

Along with keynote speakers, the conference will offer a host of invited speakers to discuss various topics that relate to 3D TSV. According to Yann Guillou, multiple criteria such as internationality and diversity of functions in the supply chain determine which speakers will be invited to present at the European 3D TSV Summit. To continue offering a program that deals with the most pressing challenges being faced by manufacturers, SEMI will include new subjects that have not been treated in previous editions of the Summit.

“For instance,” Mr. Guillou explains, “we wanted to have some presentations on ‘Interposers’, from a product and business perspective as well as from a technology perspective. In this regard, on the interposer technology side, we will take a closer look at the glass approach that is important not to neglect.”

For the first time ever, the Summit will also highlight 3D TSV technology in photonics hosting IBM and HP to present on the subject.

Since its debut, the organizers of the European 3D TSV Summit have insisted on the importance of presenting 3D TSV not only from a technology angle, but also from a business angle. “SEMI is a trade association,” states Guillou, “and one of our main goals is to inform and support our members in detecting business opportunities.” This year, SEMI will take this one step further, offering an entire Market Briefing dedicated to the outlook for the 2.5D and 3D markets, and hosting market analysts from Yole Développement, ATREG, TechSearch International and AlixPartners.

When asked what is unique about the event, Yann Guillou answers, “We are proposing a full ‘experience’ for attendees… The event is a unique combination of keynote and invited talks, industry-relevant panel discussion and a quite specialized exhibition that receives high foot traffic.” With over 330 attendees at each of the past two editions of the European 3D TSV Summit, it appears that the 3D TSV community has embraced the concept.

For more information about the European 3D TSV Summit, you can visit the website: www.semi.org/European3DTSVSummit

SEMI projects that worldwide sales of new semiconductor manufacturing equipment will increase 19.3 percent to $38.0 billion in 2014, according to the SEMI Year-end Forecast, released today at the annual SEMICON Japan exposition.  In 2015, strong positive growth is expected to continue, resulting in a global market increase of 15.2 percent before moderating in 2016.

The SEMI Year-end Forecast predicts that wafer processing equipment, the largest product segment by dollar value, is anticipated to increase 17.8 percent in 2014 to total $29.9 billion. The forecast predicts that the market for assembly and packaging equipment will increase by 30.6 percent to $3.0 billion in 2014. The market for semiconductor test equipment is forecast to increase by 26.5 percent, reaching $3.4 billion this year. The “Other Front End” category (fab facilities, mask/reticle, and wafer manufacturing equipment) is expected to increase 14.8 percent in 2014.

For 2014, Taiwan, North America, and South Korea remain the largest spending regions.  In terms of percentage growth, SEMI forecasts that in 2015, Europe will reach equipment sales of $3.9 billion (47.9 percent increase over 2014), Taiwan will reach $12.3 billion (28.1 percent increase), and South Korea sales will hit $8.0 billion (25.0 percent increase).

The following results are given in terms of market size in billions of U.S. dollars:

The Equipment Market Data Subscription (EMDS) from SEMI provides comprehensive market data for the global semiconductor equipment market.

SEMI is the global industry association serving the nano- and microelectronics manufacturing supply chains.

North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.10 billion in orders worldwide in October 2014 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.93, according to the October EMDS Book-to-Bill Report published today by SEMI.   A book-to-bill of 0.93 means that $93 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in October 2014 was $1.10 billion. The bookings figure is 7.0 percent lower than the final September 2014 level of $1.19 billion, and is 1.9 percent lower than the October 2013 order level of $1.12 billion.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in October 2014 was $1.18 billion. The billings figure is 5.8 percent lower than the final September 2014 level of $1.26 billion, and is 10.6 percent higher than the October 2013 billings level of $1.07 billion.

“While the global semiconductor equipment industry will see strong double-digit growth this year and is slated for further growth in 2015, order activity posted by North American suppliers has moderated, resulting in a book-to-bill ratio below parity for two consecutive months,” said SEMI president and CEO Denny McGuirk.

The SEMI book-to-bill is a ratio of three-month moving averages of worldwide bookings and billings for North American-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers. Billings and bookings figures are in millions of U.S. dollars.

 

Billings
(3-mo. avg)

Bookings
(3-mo. avg)

Book-to-Bill
May 2014

$1,407.8

$1,407.0

1.00
June 2014

$1,327.5

$1,455.0

1.10
July 2014

$1,319.1

$1,417.1

1.07
August 2014

$1,293.4

$1,346.1

1.04
September 2014 (final)

$1,256.5

$1,186.2

0.94
October 2014 (prelim)

$1,184.0

$1,102.9

0.93

Source: SEMI, November 2014 

X-FAB MEMS Foundry today announced it received the “MEMS Foundry of the Year” award at the Best in MEMS & Sensors Innovation Awards ceremony, as part of the MEMS Industry Group’s 10th annual MEMS Executive Congress held in Scottsdale, Arizona last week. X-FAB MEMS Foundry was chosen from among five finalists in an open voting process; it also was named runner-up in the “MEMS Supplier of the Year” category. The MEMS Industry Group is a trade association that advances MEMS and sensors across global markets.

X-FAB MEMS Foundry is part of the X-FAB group, a high-volume foundry service provider with five manufacturing facilities worldwide that manufacture MEMS, CMOS and SOI technologies on 150mm and 200mm platforms. MEMS devices include pressure sensors, micro-mirrors, microphones and microfluidic devices used in a wide variety of applications.

Dr. Peter Merz, MEMS Business Unit Manager at X-FAB, said, “X-FAB is honored to receive the prized ‘MEMS Foundry of the Year’ award. We believe this achievement reflects the quality and excellence we deliver to our MEMS customers worldwide. Our commitment to enabling the commercialization of MEMS in the medical, automotive, consumer and mobile market sectors is demonstrated by our strong growth in MEMS revenues – 35-percent compound annual growth rate since 2010 – and the addition of two new MEMS fabs this year.”

MEMS devices manufactured by X-FAB can be either discrete or integrated with a range of leading analog/mixed-signal CMOS technologies down to 180 nanometers, leading to innovative solutions in terms of performance and form-factor. X-FAB offers both customer-specific processing and market-ready open-platform process technologies for pressure sensors, inertial sensors and thermopiles. It provides quick access to MEMS technologies and fast time to market for both small and large companies. MEMS customers seeking to integrate MEMS and CMOS on a single chip have direct access to X-FAB’s CMOS fabs.

X-FAB is an analog/mixed-signal and MEMS foundry group manufacturing silicon wafers for automotive, industrial, consumer, medical and other applications.

Holst Centre, set up by the Belgian nanoelectronics research center imec and the Dutch research institute TNO, and Cartamundi NV have announced a collaboration to develop ultra-thin flexible near field communication (NFC) tags. The partners will develop these new NFC tags using metal-oxide (IGZO) thin-film transistor (TFT) technology on plastic film. The flexible chips will be integrated into game cards as a part of Cartamundi’s larger strategy of developing game cards for the connected generation.

Holst Centre, imec and Cartamundi engineers will look into NFC circuit design and TFT processing options, and will investigate routes for up-scaling of the production. By realizing the NFC tags using chips based on IGZO TFT technology on plastic film, the manufacturing cost can be kept low. Moreover, the ultra-thin and flexible form factor required for paper-embedded NFC applications can be realized.

Currently, Cartamundi NV embeds silicon-based NFC chips in their game cards, connecting traditional game play with electronic devices such as smartphones and tablets. The advanced IGZO TFT technology that will be used addresses the game card industry call for much thinner, more flexible and virtually unbreakable NFC chips. Such chips are essential to improve and broaden the applicability of interactive technology for game cards, compared to the currently-used silicon based NFC chips. Next to technical specifications, this next-generation of NFC tags will better balance manufacturing cost and additional functionalities.

Chris Van Doorslaer, CEO of Cartamundi, explains: “Cartamundi is committed to creating products that connect families and friends of every generation to enhance the valuable quality time they share during the day. With Holst Centre’s and imec’s thin-film and nano-electronics expertise, we’re connecting the physical with the digital which will enable lightweight smart devices with additional value and content for consumers.”

“Not only will Cartamundi be working on the NFC chip of the future, but it will also reinvent the industry’s standards in assembly process and the conversion into game cards,” says  Steven Nietvelt, chief innovation and marketing officer at Cartamundi. “All of this is part of an ongoing process of technological innovation inside Cartamundi. I am glad our innovation engineers will collaborate with the strongest technological researchers and developers in the field at imec and Holst Centre. We are going to need all expertise on board. Because basically what we are creating is game-changing technology.”

“Imec and Holst Centre aim to shape the future and our collaboration with Cartamundi  will do so for the future of gaming technology and connected devices,” says Paul Heremans, Department Director Thin Film Electronics at imec and Technology Director at the Holst Centre. “Chip technology has penetrated society’s daily life right down to game cards. We are excited to work with Cartamundi to improve the personal experience that gaming delivers.”