Tag Archives: letter-mems-business

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today announced worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $111.1 billion during the first quarter of 2018, an increase of 20 percent compared to the first quarter of 2017, but 2.5 percent less than the fourth quarter of 2017. Sales for the month of March 2018 came in at $37.0 billion, an increase of 20 percent compared to the March 2017 total of $30.8 billion and 0.7 percent more than the February 2018 total of $36.8 billion. All monthly sales numbers are compiled by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization and represent a three-month moving average.

“The global semiconductor market has demonstrated impressive growth through the first quarter of 2018, far exceeding sales through the same point in 2017, which was a record year for semiconductor revenues,” said John Neuffer, president and CEO, Semiconductor Industry Association. “Sales in March increased year-to-year for the 20th consecutive month. All regional markets experienced double-digit growth compared to last year, and all major semiconductor product categories experienced year-to-year growth, with memory products continuing to lead the way.”

Year-to-year sales increased across all regions in March: the Americas (35.7 percent), Europe (20.6 percent), China (18.8 percent), Asia Pacific/All Other (13.3 percent), and Japan (12.4 percent). Month-to-month sales increased in Europe (3.9 percent), China (2.2 percent), Japan (0.5 percent), and Asia Pacific/All Other (0.2 percent), but decreased slightly in the Americas (-2.0 percent).

For comprehensive monthly semiconductor sales data and detailed WSTS Forecasts, consider purchasing the WSTS Subscription Package. For detailed data on the global and U.S. semiconductor industry and market, consider purchasing the 2017 SIA Databook.

Mar 2018

Billions

Month-to-Month Sales                              

Market

Last Month

Current Month

% Change

Americas

8.26

8.09

-2.0%

Europe

3.43

3.57

3.9%

Japan

3.18

3.19

0.5%

China

11.70

11.95

2.2%

Asia Pacific/All Other

10.19

10.22

0.2%

Total

36.76

37.02

0.7%

Year-to-Year Sales                         

Market

Last Year

Current Month

% Change

Americas

5.96

8.09

35.7%

Europe

2.96

3.57

20.6%

Japan

2.84

3.19

12.4%

China

10.06

11.95

18.8%

Asia Pacific/All Other

9.02

10.22

13.3%

Total

30.84

37.02

20.0%

Three-Month-Moving Average Sales

Market

Oct/Nov/Dec

Jan/Feb/Mar

% Change

Americas

8.95

8.09

-9.6%

Europe

3.37

3.57

5.8%

Japan

3.24

3.19

-1.5%

China

12.01

11.95

-0.5%

Asia Pacific/All Other

10.41

10.22

-1.8%

Total

37.99

37.02

-2.5%

Johan Lodenius is joining the Board of JonDeTech, a Swedish company that develops and markets IR sensor technology based on nanotechnology aimed at consumer electronics and mobile phone mass markets. Mr. Lodenius is former Senior Vice President Marketing and Product Management of the American semiconductor and telecom corporation Qualcomm, a position in which he defined the company’s hugely successful strategy of marketing turn-key chip and software solutions to other cellphone manufacturers, one of the world’s most profitable services today.

”As a result of a breakthrough in nanotechnology research, JonDeTech has developed and patented a completely new type of IR sensor that has the potential to become leading in the global marketplace”, said Mr. Johan Lodenius. “I look forward to contribute to this. JonDeTech’s IR sensors are down to a tenth as thick as conventional sensors, and can be manufactured in high volumes at low cost, which opens for a multitude of applications.”

Johan Lodenius also has an entrepreneurial background, leading the Swedish microprocessor company Coresonic to an exit as Taiwanese semiconductor giant MediaTek acquired it in 2012. Mr. Lodenius was part of MediaTek’s executive management team as Chief Marketing Officer until last year. Today he is self employed as business advisor and now also a Board Member of JonDeTech.
”Johan Lodenius brings exceptional technology know-how coupled with deep international business experience from global top-level cellphone and electronics markets to our company”, said JonDeTech’s CEO Robert Ekström. ”He has a deep understanding of how our markets function and act, and will be very valuable for us in our upcoming global expansion.”

The company recently announced that it will apply for a listing on Nasdaq First North Stockholm during the second quarter of this year, and in connection with this, aiming to receive up to SEK 30 million in a public issue.

JonDeTech’s sensors are very small and thin (thickness 0.2 mm) compared to conventional sensors, which allows them to be easily integrated into many different products. JonDeTech is primarily targeting international customers who develop applications within consumer electronics and the Internet of Things.

By Jamie Girard, Sr. Director, Public Policy, SEMI

Although many months past due, Congress on March 23 finalized the federal spending for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2018, only hours before a what would have been the third government shutdown of the year. Congressional spending has been allocated in fits and starts since the end of FY 2017 last September, with patchwork deals keeping things running amid pervasive uncertainty. While this clearly isn’t an ideal way to fund the federal government, the end result will make many in the business of research and development pleased with the addition of more resources for science and innovation.

There was grave concern over the future of federal spending with the release of the president’s FY 2018 budget, which would have cut the National Science Foundation (NSF) budget by 11 percent and National Institutes of Standards & Technology (NIST) spending by 30 percent. Relief came with early drafts from Congress that whittled those cuts down to between 2-9 percent. But the real boost was a February bipartisan Congressional agreement that lifted self-imposed spending caps and introduced a generous dose of non-defense discretionary spending, increasing NSF spending 3.9 percent over the previous year and the NIST budget an astounding 25.9 percent over FY 2017 levels.

SEMI applauds this much-needed support for basic research and development (R&D) at these agencies after their budgets were cut or flat-funded for multiple cycles. It is well understood that federal R&D funding is critical to U.S. competitiveness and future economic prosperity. With the stakes that high, full funding of R&D programs at the NSF and NIST should be a bipartisan national priority backed by a strong and united community of stakeholders and advocates in the business, professional, research, and education communities.

With the work for FY 2018 completed, Congress will now turn to FY 2019 spending – already behind schedule due to the belated completion of the previous year’s budget. With 2018 an election year, Congress will likely begin work on the FY 2019 budget in short order, but probably won’t complete its work prior to the November elections.  SEMI will continue to work with lawmakers to support the R&D budgets at the agencies and their important basic science research. If you’d like to know how you can be more involved with SEMI’s public policy work, please contact Jamie Girard, Sr. Director, Public Policy at [email protected].

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), representing U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, design, and research, today announced worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $36.8 billion for the month of February 2018, an increase of 21.0 percent compared to the February 2017 total of $30.4 billion. Global sales in February were 2.2 percent lower than the January 2018 total of $37.6 billion, reflecting typical seasonal market trends. All monthly sales numbers are compiled by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization and represent a three-month moving average.

“The global semiconductor market continued to demonstrate substantial and consistent growth in February, notching its 19th consecutive month of year-to-year sales increases and growing by double-digit percentages across all major regional markets,” said John Neuffer, president and CEO, Semiconductor Industry Association. “The Americas stood out once again, with sales increasing nearly 40 percent compared to last year, and sales were up year-to-year across all major semiconductor product categories.”

Year-to-year sales increased significantly across all regions: the Americas (37.7 percent), Europe (21.7 percent), China (16.4 percent), Asia Pacific/All Other (16.2 percent), and Japan (15.5 percent). Month-to-month sales increased slightly in Europe (0.9 percent), but fell somewhat in Japan (-0.9 percent), Asia Pacific/All Other (-1.5 percent), China (-2.6 percent), and the Americas (-4.3 percent).

For comprehensive monthly semiconductor sales data and detailed WSTS Forecasts, consider purchasing the WSTS Subscription Package. For detailed data on the global and U.S. semiconductor industry and market, consider purchasing the 2017 SIA Databook.

Feb 2018

Billions

Month-to-Month Sales                              

Market

Last Month

Current Month

% Change

Americas

8.63

8.26

-4.3%

Europe

3.40

3.43

0.9%

Japan

3.21

3.18

-0.9%

China

12.01

11.70

-2.6%

Asia Pacific/All Other

10.35

10.19

-1.5%

Total

37.60

36.75

-2.2%

Year-to-Year Sales                         

Market

Last Year

Current Month

% Change

Americas

6.00

8.26

37.7%

Europe

2.82

3.43

21.7%

Japan

2.75

3.18

15.5%

China

10.05

11.70

16.4%

Asia Pacific/All Other

8.77

10.19

16.2%

Total

30.38

36.75

21.0%

Three-Month-Moving Average Sales

Market

Sep/Oct/Nov

Dec/Jan/Feb

% Change

Americas

8.77

8.26

-5.8%

Europe

3.42

3.43

0.1%

Japan

3.21

3.18

-1.0%

China

11.90

11.70

-1.7%

Asia Pacific/All Other

10.39

10.19

-1.9%

Total

37.69

36.75

-2.5%

 

Everspin Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRAM), a developer and manufacturer of discrete and embedded magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), today announced it has entered into a multi-year worldwide licensing agreement with Alps Electric Co., LTD (Alps), a manufacturer of 3D magnetic sensors. Under the agreement, Alps and Everspin will mutually grant licenses to magnetoresistive-based 3D sensor patent portfolios for magnetoresistive sensor products. The terms of the agreement include an up-front license fee to Everspin as well as future royalties. Specific financial terms of the agreement are not being disclosed.

With an extensive portfolio of over 500 worldwide patents and applications covering its magnetoresistive technology, this agreement expands Everspin’s existing group of memory and sensor licensees. Everspin was recognized by IEEE in its Patent Power 2017 report as having one of the world’s top 20 most valuable patent portfolios for semiconductor manufacturing.

Kevin Conley, President and CEO of Everspin, stated, “Everspin’s magnetoresistive patent portfolio is valuable to a number of significant market applications beyond our core focus in magnetoresistive memory. This agreement demonstrates that value as well as our ability to monetize these assets and generate an additional revenue stream for Everspin.”

Micron Technology Inc. (Nasdaq:MU) announced today that the company has appointed Raj Talluri as senior vice president and general manager of the Mobile Business Unit.

In this role, Talluri will be responsible for leading and growing Micron’s mobile business. This includes building world-class mobile solutions to address the growing market opportunity driven by new usage models, from low-end devices to flagship smartphones. Talluri will report to Sumit Sadana, Micron’s executive vice president and chief business officer.

Talluri is a seasoned leader, with 25 years of experience in the semiconductor industry in executive roles spanning business, engineering management and strategic marketing. He joins Micron after nine years at Qualcomm, where he most recently served as senior vice president of product management, responsible for the company’s Internet of Things business and, before that, its mobile computing platform. Before joining Qualcomm, Talluri held executive positions at Texas Instruments, where he worked for sixteen years. His last role was general manager of the cellular media solution business in the wireless terminals business unit.

“Emerging usage models such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality and advanced imaging are increasing the complexity of devices, requiring new ways of processing, sharing and utilizing data, and making memory and storage increasingly critical to the mobile platform,” said Sadana. “Raj’s deep technical expertise and customer relationships in the mobile space, combined with his vision and business experience, make him the ideal choice to lead our mobile business unit.”

Talluri earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Texas in Austin. He also earned a Master of Engineering degree from Anna University in Chennai, India, and a Bachelor of Engineering from Andhra University in Waltair, India. He holds 13 U.S. patents relating to image processing, video compression and media processor architectures.

TDK Corporation (TSE: 6762) announced that it has reached an agreement with Chirp Microsystems, Inc. (Headquarters: Berkeley California U.S., hereinafter “Chirp”), a developer of high-performance ultrasonic sensing, in which Chirp becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of TDK. TDK expects to close the acquisition within the coming days.

Chirp is engaged in high-performance ultrasonic sensors featuring smaller sizes and lower power consumption compared with existing sensors. Chirp’s solutions are expected to find broader applications, such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), in addition to areas such as smartphones, automobiles, industrial machinery and other ICT applications.

Chirp solutions enable extremely precise sensing, ranging from several centimeters to several meters, sensing the distance to an object and expanding the way users can operate with AR and VR, detect the proximity distance when using smartphones, and track the variance between a vehicle and obstacles when driving. In addition, the sensor operates with low power consumption and enables products to be reduced in size, providing an outstanding sensor solution that is extremely easy for consumers to use. Furthermore, the addition of Chirp’s ultrasonic sensor solutions in combination to the existing fingerprint sensors offered by TDK subsidiary InvenSense, will significantly expand TDK’s ultrasonic sensor solutions.

“TDK is committed to contributing to the growth of systems deployed in the automotive, mobile, health-care and industrial industries. Our vision is to be the leading solutions provider of sensors for motion, sound, environmental elements (pressure, temperature and humidity), and ultrasonic sensors for the Internet of Things (IoT) era,” said Noboru Saito, Senior Vice President, TDK and CEO of Sensor Systems Business Company. “Chirp’s unique and high value-added 3-D sensing technologies will fill out our lineup of sensor solutions, positioning TDK as the leader in ultrasonic MEMS technology. We aim to continue to be a reliable partner that can provide solutions to the challenges our customers face.”

“Our team is excited to be part of the TDK family. We believe together we can bring ultrasonic sensors to a wide variety of products at an even greater speed and scale than we could on our own,” said Michelle Kiang, Chirp’s CEO. “We see so many synergies with TDK technologies; EPCOS is a world-leader in piezo-ceramic sensors and actuators, and InvenSense is a world-leader in MEMS sensors for consumer electronics.”

The acquisition will further accelerate TDK’s sensor and actuator business, providing an extensive sensor product lineup, including pressure, temperature, current, and magnetic sensors, as it continues to expand its sensor business.

TDK Corporation and Chirp are available for on-site discussions at the upcoming Mobile World Congress, along with additional innovative sensor solutions in Meeting Space – 2C40MR, Hall 2 of the Gran Via at MWC 2018, February 26 – March 1, 2018, Barcelona, Spain.

SMIC, Shaoxing Government, and Shengyang Group together announced today the founding of the Semiconductor Manufacturing Electronics (Shaoxing) Corporation (planned) with joint capital contributions. The signing of the joint venture agreement marks the start of a project to bring the manufacture of MEMS and power devices to Shaoxing. The Secretary of the Shaoxing Municipal Party Committee, Mr. Ma Weiguang, the Deputy Secretary and Deputy Mayor, Mr. Sheng Yuechun, the Member of the Standing Committee and Secretary General, Mr. Zhong Hongjiang, the Chairman of SMIC, Dr. Zhou Zixue, the Chief Financial Officer of SMIC, Dr. Gao Yonggang, and Senior Vice President of Strategic Development at SMIC, Ms. Ge Hong, attended the signing ceremony.

Application fields such as Artificial Intelligence, mobile communications, the Internet of Things, automotive electronics, and industrial controls are thriving and growing in pace with the growth of our intelligent society. Specialty MEMS technologies are at the core of the intelligentization of our industry and society, while the advanced manufacturing base for MEMS and power device chips is still relatively weak in China’s domestic semiconductor ecosystem. The investment of this signed joint venture amounts to ¥5.88 Billion RMB. The joint venture will focus on the fields of MEMS and power devices with a wafer and module foundry that will continue to grow and develop with sustained R&D investment. A comprehensive foundry for specialty technologies will be achieved to win leadership in China’s domestic market.

The Chairman of SMIC, Dr. Zhou Zixue indicated in his speech, “SMIC has worked on the specialty technologies of MEMS and power devices for almost ten years. This joint venture project with Shaoxing meets our strategic objectives to build an advanced manufacturing industrial cluster in the Yangtze River Delta region. We have confidence that we will create a leading first-class semiconductor corporation focused on specialty technologies.”

The Secretary of the Shaoxing Municipal Party Committee, Mr. Ma Weiguang said, “In the 1980s, Shaoxing used to be one of the most important towns for China’s IC manufacturing industry. After 40 years the smooth landing of this project will accelerate the transformation and upgrading of the phrase ‘Made in Shaoxing’ into ‘Intelligent Manufacturing in Shaoxing’. Meanwhile, seizing the opportunity to cooperate with SMIC will help to build the IC industry for specialty technologies in Shaoxing and make contributions to Intelligent Manufacturing in China.”

By Emmy Yi, SEMI Taiwan

Since 2010, 474 companies have poured $51 billion into developing products enabled by artificial intelligence (AI), with the bulk of these investments targeting autonomous driving and in-vehicle experiences, according to the McKinsey reports. With AI and automotive electronics promising massive growth potential, it’s no surprise that IHS Market predicts the Advance Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) market will reach $67.43 billion by 2025 and that, by 2040, 33 million AI-enabled autonomous vehicles will be on the road worldwide.

Lured by this immense business opportunity, many key semiconductor industry players are jumping into the automotive market. Their ICs, however, will face far more stringent reliability requirements than most consumer products, making testing crucial to accelerating the realization of level 5 autonomous driving – a fully autonomous system that rivals the behind-the-wheel performance of a human driver even in extreme road conditions like snow and ice.

With testing such a vital aspect of autonomous driving, SEMI Taiwan recently connected industry experts from IC design and testing-related fields to facilitate cross-discipline collaboration and help inspire innovative solutions to current testing challenges. The early February AI IC and Automotive IC Test Seminar is part of a series of SEMI Taiwan events focused on hot topics including like AI, IoT, smart automotive, smart data and smart MedTech. Following are a few key takeaways from the seminar.

A Paradigm Shift is Needed in Automotive Electronics Testing Strategies

Designers of automotive electronics need to transform their test strategies to match the technical rigors of autonomous driving. The traditional process of build, test, and then fix-for-compliance must be changed in the era of self-driving vehicles. Adding AI to already electronically complex automotive systems will dramatically increase the number of ICs and sensors in vehicles.

The process of testing component points of failure falls well short of the requirement to test under countless driving scenarios during a which a device might fail. Testing, therefore, must be holistic. Starting in the development phase of their own electronics systems, automotive electronics designers must work closely with component and other technology suppliers to ensure that designs are well-integrated and rigorously tested for interoperability and points of failure under any conditions a human driver would face.

Wafer-level Test is A Trend

The cost and time for IC testing have steadily increased to meet the relentless scaling requirements of highly integrated advanced technologies, placing immense pressure on current wafer-level packaging and testing methodologies to maintain cost efficiencies, chip yields and time-to-market speed. The challenges will intensify with the multiple-component parallel testing required for autonomous vehicles. Demands on automotive electronics manufacturers to maintain DDPM quality levels key to smart functionalities, powertrain operation, safety and reliability will also complicate current IC testing methodologies.

Beyond Technology

To fulfill the promise of autonomous automobiles and other AI applications, industry, academia, and government in Taiwan must work together to solve underlying technical challenges, create profitable business models and develop a strong programming and system integration workforce. Taiwan has a solid foundation to build on. With its strong semiconductor manufacturing industry and advanced IC testing capabilities, Taiwan is well-positioned as a growth engine for the advanced automotive electronics needed for autonomous vehicles.

 

 

STMicroelectronics and Sigfox have announced a collaboration agreement to support and accelerate the growing demand for connected devices for a broad range of applications, including supply-chain management, building and equipment maintenance, water and gas metering, security, transportation, agriculture, mining and home automation. ST will include the Sigfox networking software in its development tools that enable developers to bring their LPWAN-based products and solutions to market faster.

To speed customer adoption of Sigfox as a standard low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) for securely connecting physical devices to the Cloud and the IoT, ST will now offer the Sigfox networking software as part of ST’s MCU software package, including STM32 tool compatibility. The collaboration agreement ensures tool compatibility for the industry-leading STM32 family of general-purpose microcontrollers, as well as with ST’s unique portfolio of technologies and products suitable for Sigfox technology. These include the S2-LP, a high performance and ultra-low-power sub-GHz radio transceiver, the highly secure, Sigfox-compatible STSAFE-A1SX secure element, a wide range of motion, environmental, and audio sensors, and power and power-management devices.