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Driven by the need for intelligent connected devices in industrial and commercial applications, the number of connected Internet of Things (IoT) devices globally will grow to more than 31 billion in 2018, according to new analysis from business information provider IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO). The commercial and industrial sector, powered by building automation, industrial automation and lighting, is forecast to account for about half of all new connected devices between 2018 and 2030.

“The IoT is not a recent phenomenon, but what is new is it’s now working hand in hand with other transformative technologies like artificial intelligence and the cloud,” said Jenalea Howell, research director for IoT connectivity and smart cities at IHS Markit. “This is fueling the convergence of verticals such as industrial IoT, smart cities and buildings, and the connected home, and it’s increasing competitiveness.”

In its latest IoT Trend Watch report, IHS Markit identifies four key drivers and the trends that will impact the IoT this year and beyond:

Innovation and competitiveness

  • The IoT opportunity has attracted numerous duplicative and overlapping wireless solutions such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 5G, NB-IoT, LoRa and Sigfox. Standards consolidation lies ahead, but confusion and fragmentation will dominate in the near term.
  • Enterprises are leveraging the location of data as a competitive advantage — and as a result, a hybrid approach to cloud and data center management is taking hold. More and more companies will employ both on-premises data centers and off-premises cloud services to manage their IT infrastructure.

Business models

  • 5G builds upon earlier investments in M2M (machine-to-machine) and traditional IoT applications, enabling significant increases in economies of scale that drive adoption and utilization across all sectors of industry. Improved low-power requirements, the ability to operate on licensed and unlicensed spectrum, and better coverage will drive significantly lower costs across the IoT.
  • Cellular IoT gateways, which facilitate WAN connectivity, will be integral to edge computing deployments. 2018 will bring increased focus on compute capabilities and enhanced security for cellular IoT gateways.

Standardization and security

  • Cybersecurity is a leading concern for IoT adopters. IoT deployments face critical cybersecurity risks because there are potentially many more IoT devices to secure compared to traditional IT infrastructure devices, presenting increased risk to traditional communications and computing systems, as well as physical health and safety.
  • Despite the promise it holds, blockchain — a technology for securely storing and transferring data — is not a panacea. Initially, IoT applications for blockchain technology will focus on asset tracking and management.

Wireless technology innovation

  • IoT platforms are becoming more integrated. Currently, there are more than 400 IoT platform providers. Many vendors are using integration to compete more effectively, providing highly integrated functionality for IoT application developers and adopters.
  • Significant innovation will occur when IoT app developers can leverage data from myriad deployed sensors, machines and data stores. A key inflection point for the IoT will be the gradual shift from the current “Intranets of Things” deployment model to one where data can be exposed, discovered, entitled and shared with third-party IoT application developers.

IHS Markit provides insight and analysis for more than 25 connectivity technologies in 34 application segments used for the IoT.

By Jay Chittooran, Manager, Public Policy, SEMI

International trade is one of the best tools to spur growth and create high-skill and high-paying jobs. Over 40 million American jobs rely on trade, and this is particularly true in the semiconductor supply chain. Over the past three decades, the semiconductor industry has averaged nearly double-digit growth rates in revenue and, by 2030, the semiconductor supply chain is forecast to reach $1 trillion. Trade paves the way for this growth.

Unfortunately, despite its importance to the industry, trade has been transformed from an economic issue into a political one, raising many new trade challenges to companies throughout the semiconductor industry.

GHz-ChinaChina’s investments in the industry will continue to anchor the country as a major force in the semiconductor supply chain. China’s outsized spending has spawned concern among other countries about the implications of these investments. According to SEMI’s World Fab Forecast, 20 fabs are being built in China – and construction on 14 more is rumored to begin in the near term – compared to the 10 fabs under construction in the rest of the world. China is clearly outpacing the pack.

The Trump Administration has levied intense criticism of China, citing unfair trade practices, especially related to intellectual property issues. The U.S. Trade Representative has launched a Section 301 investigation into whether China’s practice of forced technology transfer has discriminated against U.S. consumers. Even as the probe unfolds, expectations are growing that the United States will take action against China, raising fears of not only possible retaliation in time but rising animosity between two trading partners that rely deeply on each other.

A number of other open investigations also cloud the future. The Administration launched two separate Section 232 investigations into steel and aluminum industry practices by China, claiming Chinese overproduction of both items are a threat to national security. The findings from these investigations will be submitted to the President, who, in the coming weeks, will decide an appropriate response, which could include imposing tariffs and quotas.

Another high priority area is Korea. While U.S. threats to withdraw from the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) reached a fever pitch in August, rhetoric has since tempered. Informal discussions between the countries on how best to amend the trade deal are ongoing. The number of KORUS implementation issues aside, continued engagement with Korea – instead of scrapping a comprehensive, bilateral trade deal – will be critically important for the industry.

Lastly, negotiations to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will continue this year. The United States wants to conclude talks by the end of March, but with the deadline fast approaching and the promise of resolution waning, tensions are running high. Notably, the outcome of the NAFTA talks will inform and set the tone for other trade action.

What’s more, a number of other actions on trade will take place this year. As we wrote recently, Congress has moved to reform the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a government body designed to review sales and transfer of ownership of U.S. companies to foreign entities. Efforts have also started to revise the export control regime – a key component to improving global market access and making international trade more equitable.

SEMI will continue its work on behalf of its members around the globe to open up new markets and lessen the burden of regulations on cross-border trade and commerce. In addition, SEMI will continue to educate policymakers on the critical importance of unobstructed trade in continuing to push the rapid advance of semiconductors and the emerging technologies they enable into the future. If you are interested in more information on trade, or how to be involved in SEMI’s public policy program, please contact Jay Chittooran, Manager, Public Policy, at [email protected].

Technavio market research analysts forecast the global reset IC market to grow at a CAGR of close to 12% during the forecast period, according to their latest report.

The report further segments the global reset IC market by end-user (consumer electronics, telecommunication, automotive, industrial, and healthcare), by type (1-5 V, 5-12 V, and above 10 V), and by geography (the Americas, APAC, and EMEA).

Technavio analysts highlight the following three market drivers that are contributing to the growth of the global reset IC market:

  • Growth of smart grid technology
  • Increasing need for external brownout protection
  • Growth of IoT

Growth of smart grid technology

Due to their reliability and real-time information, smart grids have become an important trend in the energy industry. A smart grid is an electricity supply network integrated with digital communications technology to detect and react to local changes in the consumption of electricity and it is equipped with computational intelligence and network capabilities.

According to a senior analyst at Technavio for embedded systems research, “Smart grids are developed to improved operations and the maintenance of electric grids by allowing smooth exchange of data between various components. Transmission lines, generators, transformers, smart meters, smart appliances, and energy-efficient devices are components of a smart grid.”

Increasing need for external brownout protection

Restriction or reduction in the availability of electrical power in an area or locality is known as brownout. Voltage is limited or regulated in a brownout, unlike a blackout where the supply of voltage is completely removed for a period of time. Voltage overload on power grid and aging electrical system are some of the causes of brownouts. A reset IC sometimes integrates a brownout detector (BOD). It helps in preventing a reset if the voltage drops unexpectedly for a short duration of time.

Growth of IoT

The significant growth of IoT proved to be a major driver for the global reset IC market. IOT is a system of interrelated computing devices, machines, objects, and people, which are provided with unique identifiers. Without the need for any human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction, IoT allows the transfer of data over a network. IoT is also driving the demand for connected devices, which has significantly increased the bandwidth requirements. Vendors in the market are working together to satisfy the need for connecting several products, including gateways, home appliances, entertainment systems for smart homes, by a common networking standard that provides interoperability with a wide range of smart devices.

IoT will drive the need for enabler technologies which will have an impact on semiconductor foundries. An enabler technology can be classified as an invention, product, or technology which can provide a radical change in a user or an application. IoT shows great potential in several applications, which will drive the market.

Engineers worldwide have been developing alternative ways to provide greater memory storage capacity on even smaller computer chips. Previous research into two-dimensional atomic sheets for memory storage has failed to uncover their potential — until now.

A team of electrical engineers at The University of Texas at Austin, in collaboration with Peking University scientists, has developed the thinnest memory storage device with dense memory capacity, paving the way for faster, smaller and smarter computer chips for everything from consumer electronics to big data to brain-inspired computing.

Illustration of a voltage-induced memory effect in monolayer nanomaterials, which layer to create "atomristors," the thinnest memory storage device that could lead to faster, smaller and smarter computer chips. Credit: Cockrell School of Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin

Illustration of a voltage-induced memory effect in monolayer nanomaterials, which layer to create “atomristors,” the thinnest memory storage device that could lead to faster, smaller and smarter computer chips. Credit: Cockrell School of Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin

“For a long time, the consensus was that it wasn’t possible to make memory devices from materials that were only one atomic layer thick,” said Deji Akinwande, associate professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “With our new ‘atomristors,’ we have shown it is indeed possible.”

Made from 2-D nanomaterials, the “atomristors” — a term Akinwande coined — improve upon memristors, an emerging memory storage technology with lower memory scalability. He and his team published their findings in the January issue of Nano Letters.

“Atomristors will allow for the advancement of Moore’s Law at the system level by enabling the 3-D integration of nanoscale memory with nanoscale transistors on the same chip for advanced computing systems,” Akinwande said.

Memory storage and transistors have, to date, always been separate components on a microchip, but atomristors combine both functions on a single, more efficient computer system. By using metallic atomic sheets (graphene) as electrodes and semiconducting atomic sheets (molybdenum sulfide) as the active layer, the entire memory cell is a sandwich about 1.5 nanometers thick, which makes it possible to densely pack atomristors layer by layer in a plane. This is a substantial advantage over conventional flash memory, which occupies far larger space. In addition, the thinness allows for faster and more efficient electric current flow.

Given their size, capacity and integration flexibility, atomristors can be packed together to make advanced 3-D chips that are crucial to the successful development of brain-inspired computing. One of the greatest challenges in this burgeoning field of engineering is how to make a memory architecture with 3-D connections akin to those found in the human brain.

“The sheer density of memory storage that can be made possible by layering these synthetic atomic sheets onto each other, coupled with integrated transistor design, means we can potentially make computers that learn and remember the same way our brains do,” Akinwande said.

The research team also discovered another unique application for the technology. In existing ubiquitous devices such as smartphones and tablets, radio frequency switches are used to connect incoming signals from the antenna to one of the many wireless communication bands in order for different parts of a device to communicate and cooperate with one another. This activity can significantly affect a smartphone’s battery life.

The atomristors are the smallest radio frequency memory switches to be demonstrated with no DC battery consumption, which can ultimately lead to longer battery life.

“Overall, we feel that this discovery has real commercialization value as it won’t disrupt existing technologies,” Akinwande said. “Rather, it has been designed to complement and integrate with the silicon chips already in use in modern tech devices.”

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), representing U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, design, and research, today announced worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $37.7 billion for the month of November 2017, an increase of 21.5 percent compared to the November 2016 total of $31.0 billion and 1.6 percent more than the October 2017 total of $37.1 billion. All major regional markets posted both year-to-year and month-to-month sales increases in November, with the Americas market leading the way. All monthly sales numbers are compiled by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization and represent a three-month moving average.

“The global semiconductor industry reached another key milestone in November, notching its highest-ever monthly sales, and appears poised to reach $400 billion in annual sales for the first time,” said SIA President & CEO John Neuffer. “Global market growth continues to be led by sales of memory products, but sales of all other major semiconductor categories also increased both month-to-month and year-to-year in November. All regional markets also experienced growth in November, with the Americas continuing to post the strongest gains.”

Regionally, year-to-year sales increased in the Americas (40.2 percent), Europe (18.8 percent), China (18.5 percent), Asia Pacific/All Other (16.2 percent), and Japan (10.6 percent). Month-to-month sales increased in the Americas (2.6 percent), China (2.1 percent), Europe (1.8 percent), Asia Pacific/All Other (0.5 percent), and Japan (0.3 percent).

To find out how to purchase the WSTS Subscription Package, which includes comprehensive monthly semiconductor sales data and detailed WSTS Forecasts, please visit http://www.semiconductors.org/industry_statistics/wsts_subscription_package/. For detailed data on the global and U.S. semiconductor industry and market, consider purchasing the 2017 SIA Databook: https://www.semiconductors.org/forms/sia_databook/.

Nov 2017

Billions

Month-to-Month Sales                              

Market

Last Month

Current Month

% Change

Americas

8.54

8.77

2.6%

Europe

3.37

3.43

1.8%

Japan

3.20

3.21

0.3%

China

11.65

11.90

2.1%

Asia Pacific/All Other

10.33

10.39

0.5%

Total

37.09

37.69

1.6%

Year-to-Year Sales                         

Market

Last Year

Current Month

% Change

Americas

6.25

8.77

40.2%

Europe

2.88

3.43

18.8%

Japan

2.90

3.21

10.6%

China

10.04

11.90

18.5%

Asia Pacific/All Other

8.94

10.39

16.2%

Total

31.02

37.69

21.5%

Three-Month-Moving Average Sales

Market

Jun/Jul/Aug

Sep/Oct/Nov

% Change

Americas

7.55

8.77

16.1%

Europe

3.22

3.43

6.4%

Japan

3.13

3.21

2.6%

China

11.08

11.90

7.4%

Asia Pacific/All Other

9.98

10.39

4.0%

Total

34.96

37.69

7.8%

The year-end update to the SEMI World Fab Forecast report reveals 2017 spending on fab equipment investments will reach an all-time high of $57 billion. High chip demand, strong pricing for memory, and fierce competition are driving the high-level of fab investments, with many companies investing at previously unseen levels for new fab construction and fab equipment. See figure 1.

Figure 1

Figure 1

The SEMI World Fab Forecast data shows fab equipment spending in 2017 totaling US$57 billion, an increase of 41 percent year-over-year (YoY). In 2018, spending is expected to increase 11 percent to US$63 billion.

While many companies, including Intel, Micron, Toshiba (and Western Digital), and GLOBALFOUNDRIES increased fab investments for 2017 and 2018, the strong increase reflects spending by just two companies and primarily one region.

SEMI data shows a surge of investments in Korea, due primarily to Samsung, which is expected to increase its fab equipment spending by 128 percent in 2017, from US$8 billion to US$18 billion. SK Hynix also increased fab equipment spending, by about 70 percent, to US$5.5 billion, the largest spending level in its history. While the majority of Samsung and SK Hynix spending remains in Korea, some will take place in China and the United States. Both Samsung and SK Hynix are expected to maintain high levels of investments in 2018. See figure 2.

Figure 2

Figure 2

In 2018, China is expected to begin equipping many fabs constructed in 2017. In the past, non-Chinese companies accounted for most fab investments in China. For the first time, in 2018 Chinese-owned device manufacturers will approach parity, spending nearly as much on fab equipment as their non-Chinese counterparts. In 2018, Chinese-owned companies are expected to invest about US$5.8 billion, while non-Chinese will invest US$6.7 billion. Many new companies such as Yangtze Memory Technology, Fujian Jin Hua, Hua Li, and Hefei Chang Xin Memory are investing heavily in the region.

Historic highs in equipment spending in 2017 and 2018 reflect growing demand for advanced devices. This spending follows unprecedented growth in construction spending for new fabs also detailed in the SEMI World Fab Forecast report. Construction spending will reach all-time highs with China construction spending taking the lead at US$6 billion in 2017 and US$6.6 billion in 2018, establishing another record: no region has ever spent more than US$6 billion in a single year for construction.

Leti, a research institute of CEA Tech, will demonstrate at CES 2018 its new wristband that measures physical indicators of a range of conditions, including sleep apnea, dehydration and dialysis-treatment response. 

APNEAband provides accurate, real-time detection of sleep-apnea events caused by pauses in breathing or shallow breaths during sleep. The wristband measures heart rate, variation in the time interval between heartbeats, oxygen saturation levels in the blood and stress level. The combination of these four indicators helps physicians make a complete and reliable medical diagnosis of sleep apnea.

“This small wristband eliminates the need to spend the night in a medical lab hooked up to sensors and equipment that measure these key indicators,” said Alexandre Thermet, Leti healthcare industrial partnership manager in the U.S. “APNEAband brings a safe, easy-to-use, affordable and non-invasive solution to detect sleep apnea at home.”

Working with Prof. Jean-Louis Pepin and his team at Grenoble Alpes University and INSERM from the Physiology Laboratory in Grenoble CHU’s hospital, Leti designed, developed and validated an advanced software technology that efficiently extracts and screens health parameters relevant to sleep apnea.  Pr. Pepin, a principal clinical-trial investigator at Grenoble CHU Hospital, and its team provided medical guidelines to support this sleep-apnea project.

APNEAband’s embedded technology can be applied to detect and track various other health conditions, such as acute mountain sickness, dehydration, dialysis treatment response, chronic pain, epileptic seizures, phobia and panic disorder. The wristband’s cardiac-coherence biofeedback also helps people who want to achieve total relaxation with simple breathing exercises. Possible applications also include detecting work-related stress or hot flashes and stress, while playing video games.

Integrated circuit sales for automotive systems and the Internet of Things are forecast to grow 70% faster than total IC revenues between 2016 and 2021, according to IC Insights’ new 2018 Integrated Circuit Market Drivers Report.  ICs used in automobiles and other vehicles are forecast to generate worldwide sales of $42.9 billion in 2021 compared to $22.9 billion in 2016, while integrated circuit revenues for Internet of Things (IoT) functionality in a wide range of systems, sensors, and objects are expected to reach $34.2 billion in four years compared to $18.4 billion last year, says the new 358-page report.

Between 2016 and 2021, automotive and IoT IC sales are projected to rise by compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) of 13.4% and 13.2%, respectively, compared to 7.9% for the entire IC market, which is projected to reach $434.5 billion in four years versus $297.7 billion last year.  As shown in Figure 1, strong five-year IC sales growth rates are also expected in medical electronics (a CAGR of 9.7% to $7.8 billion in 2021) and wearable systems (a CAGR of 9.0% to $4.9 billion).

Figure 1

Figure 1

Cellphone IC sales—the biggest end-use market application for integrated circuits, accounting for about 25% of the IC market’s total revenues—are expected to grow by a CAGR of 7.8% in the 2016-2021 period, reaching $105.6 billion in the final year of the new report’s forecast. Meanwhile, weak and negative IC sales growth rates are expected to continue in video game consoles (a CAGR of -1.9% to $9.7 billion in 2021) and tablet computers (a CAGR of -2.3% to 10.7 billion), according to the 2018 IC Market Drivers report.

Sharply higher average selling prices (ASPs) for DRAMs and NAND flash are playing a significant role in driving up dollar-sales volumes for ICs in cellphones and PCs (both desktop and notebook computers) in 2017.  Cellphone IC sales are on pace to surge 24% this year to an estimated $89.7 billion, while PC integrated circuit dollar volume is expected to climb 17.6% to $69.0 billion.   For both the cellphone and PC market segments, 2017 will be the strongest increase in IC sales since the 2010 recovery year from the 2009 downturn.  The 2018 IC Market Drivers report’s forecast shows cellphone integrated circuit sales rising 8% to $97.3 billion next year and PC IC revenues growing 5% to $72.6 billion in 2018.

The new report estimates that automotive IC sales will rise 22% in 2017 to about $28.0 billion after increasing 11% in 2016. Automotive IC sales are forecast to increase 16% in 2018 to $32.4 billion. Meanwhile, IoT-related integrated circuit sales are on pace to grow 14% in 2017 to an estimated $14.5 billion after increasing about 18% in 2016.  In 2018, integrated circuit sales for Internet of Things end-use applications are expected to rise 16% to about $16.8 billion, according to the 2018 edition of the IC Market Drivers report.

By Ajit Manocha, president and CEO, SEMI

Artificial intelligence (AI) may be a hot topic today, but SEMI has helped to incubate Big Data and AI since its founding. Early in SEMI’s history, SEMI’s always intelligent members worked together to introduce International Standards that enabled different pieces of equipment to collect and later pass data.  At first, it was for basic interoperability and equipment state analysis.  Later, SEMI data protocol Standards allowed process and metrology data to be used locally and across the fab to approach the goals of Smart Manufacturing and AI – for the equipment itself to make adjustments based on incoming wafer data.

Ajit--photo 1--sample.e.XL3A5483 (from pdg)As a part of this evolution, SEMI members developed the latest sensors and computational hardware that could ever better sense, analyze and act on the environment. Often first to use its own newly developed hardware, progress in this area was critical toward improving the likelihood of success for one of the world’s most complicated production processes – and coping with the breakneck speed of Moore’s Law – by accelerating capabilities that would later be regarded as the basis for machine learning and “thinking” systems.

Since then, process steps have increased from about 175 to as many as 1,000 for the leading technology nodes. By the time 300mm wafers were introduced, manufacturing intelligence and automation sharply increased productivity while reducing fab labor by more than 25 percent. Employing adaptive models, modern leading-edge factories are fully automated and operate at nearly 60 percent autonomous control.

Today, AI is akin to where IoT was yesterday in the hype cycle – popping up everywhere as a major consideration for the future. Neither IoT nor AI is hype, though – they’re the future.  There is ever more at stake for SEMI members with AI.  AI appears to be the next wave helping to maintain double-digit growth for the foreseeable future.

As part of its appeal for the global supply chain, AI can be a key silicon driver for three inflections that should benefit society. First, there is a massive increase in the amount of compute needed. Half of all the compute architectures shipping in 2021 will be supporting and processing AI.

Second, the Cloud will flourish and the Edge will bloom. By 2021, 50 percent of enterprise infrastructure will employ cognitive and artificial intelligence.

Third, new species of chips will emerge, such as the devices fueling IC content and electronics for the rapid growth of disruptive capabilities in vehicles and autonomous cars (as well as medical and agricultural applications, for example). There are also many more advantages created with and for AI as SEMI members enable new materials and advanced packaging.

What results can be measured from these changes for the global electronics manufacturing supply chain? More apps, more electronics, more silicon and more manufacturing.

On the other hand, the technologies alone create relatively little business value if the problems in our factories and markets are not well understood. There’s a great need to anticipate and guide AI. This requires a new kind of collaboration.

To address this need, SEMI’s vertical application platforms have been created for Smart Data (which is all about AI), and also for Smart MedTech, Smart Transportation, Smart Manufacturing and IoT. This higher degree of facilitated collaboration serves to cultivate multiple “smart communities” that accelerate progress for AI, better directing how connected networks and data mining can step up the pace for advancement of global prosperity. This process also provides members with access to untapped business opportunities and new players.​​

Ajit--photo 2 (panel)_D512959

We at SEMI are learning right along with our members. If you attended SEMICON West in July, several lessons about AI were presented by the Executive Panel (“Meeting the Challenges of the 4th Industrial Revolutions along the Microelectronics Supply Chain”) with Mary Puma (Axcelis), Shaheen Dayal (Intel), Lori Ciano (Brooks Automation) and Regenia Sanders (Ernst & Young). This very timely and excellent panel discussed how and where predictive analytics can have the biggest impact and the implications of sharing (and not sharing) data for problem solving and process optimization.

Ensuring that the SEMI staff gleans everything possible from the experts, we hosted an “encore” of the Executive Panel in October in our headquarters for an even more in-depth discussion about how to enhance collaboration across the supply chain in support of AI.

Going forward, these SEMI vertical platform communities will help to simplify and accelerate supply chain engagement for member value. Collaboration will play an ever greater role for using AI to master the making of advanced node semiconductor devices and enabling limitless cognitive computing. As a result, AI as we know it today, has a big head start over the previous pace of evolution for one of our great trendsetters, Moore’s Law.

Join the conversation.  Find out how you can work with SEMI to advance the AI – and especially AI in semiconductor manufacturing.  Frank Shemansky Jr., Ph.D., is heading up SEMI’s formation of SEMI’s Smart Data vertical application platform.  Let Frank know ([email protected]) you’re interested and he’ll give you more information on what’s to come.  As always, please let me know your thoughts.

 

SEMI-MSIG’s MEMS & Sensors Executive Congress (MSEC) held November 1-2 in San Jose, CA, challenged industry executives to see beyond traditional dividing lines of human-machine interaction. MEMS and sensors were hailed as the enablers for pervasive, connected and contextually aware computing and seen as drivers for an explosion of new applications and possibilities. Securing autonomous vehicles from hackers and improving crop yields to feed the 10 billion people we will have on the planet by 2050 were two popular examples of new applications.

Keynote Speaker Intel’'s Lama Nachman discussed contextually aware systems.

Keynote Speaker Intel’’s Lama Nachman discussed contextually aware systems.

Lama Nachman, Intel fellow and director of the company’s Anticipatory Computing Lab, explored contextually aware systems during her keynote. Lachman said that technology needs to be more proactive, anticipating our needs, e.g., Google Now. One challenge lies in using sensors to measure things for which they were not designed, such as emotions and physiology. Lachman exhorted MSEC attendees to develop more configurable systems and sensors so that they can be used for other applications and possibly drive the next “killer app.”

Lars Reger, CTO, NXP Automotive Business Unit, described the essential and extensive use of MEMS and sensors in automotive connectivity, autonomy, electrification, and safe and secure mobility during his keynote. Reger noted that “motion sensors are the key to increasing security in keyless entry systems, reducing hacking.” He concluded that “entering a new era of automated driving requires functional safety and security,” telling MSEC attendees, “we need the best sensors to achieve a failure-free model in autonomous vehicles.”

Alissa Fitzgerald, founder and managing member, A.M. Fitzgerald & Associates, noted that the pipeline for emerging technologies generally begins with university labs turning out proof-of-concept devices. “The next $1B product is lurking in a lab somewhere,” said Fitzgerald. She also encouraged attendees to look for key trends in emerging technologies, citing “ultra-low power, a migration from capacitive MEMS to piezoelectric sensors and actuators, the stagnation of silicon sensors, and a movement toward paper and plastic sensors.” She drew her results from a review of more than 500 papers from academic conferences, filtered for commercial viability.

Henri Hekman, CEO and president of SoilCares BV, explained how his company is using MEMS near infrared (NIR) devices to scan soil samples. “To feed a surging global population, we cannot increase arable land so we must increase agricultural productivity. The place to start is in the soil.” Hekman said that SoilCares is conducting trials in Africa and North America as it launches in 20 countries in 2017.

SEMI-MSIG Executive Director Frank Shemansky expanded upon themes from MEMS & Sensors Executive Congress. “From device-makers to commercial application developers, there was a collective buzz around ubiquitous intelligent sensing,” said Shemansky. “Speakers explored the critical role of sensing in more natural and immersive user interfaces, including voice, in interpreting emotion, in anticipating needs, in managing medication, and in providing safer, more secure ways to build autonomous vehicles that will actually save human lives. As we look toward 2018 and beyond, the MEMS and sensors industry will continue to work closely with the consumers of our products, as we help them to further advance human-machine interaction in meaningful ways.”

Technology Showcase Winner and Hall of Fame Recognitions
A highly anticipated event at the Executive Congress, the Technology Showcase, was a forum where four finalists competed for attendees’ votes and the title of “winner.” The 2017 Technology Showcase winner, Menlo Digital-Micro-Switch Technology by Menlo Micro, demonstrates fundamental materials’ advancements that improve the size, speed, power handling and reliability of MEMS switches. Menlo Micro’s MEMS-based switching element is the width of a human hair, enabling RF switching 1,000 times faster and lasts 1,000 times longer than traditional mechanical switches.

SEMI-MSIG also inducted two new members into the SEMI-MSIG Hall of Fame: Raji Baskaran, pathfinding lead, Hardware and Software Co-optimization, Intel Corporation: Saffron Technology Group, and Kevin Crofton, executive vice president and COO, SPTS Technologies, an Orbotech Company.