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Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNPS) today announced it is hosting an advanced-technology panel on “EUV, High-NA, Metallurgy and FinFET++ – Where We Go from Here for Next-Generation Design” at the Synopsys Users Group (SNUG®) Silicon Valley event on Thursday, March 22, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California.

The panel will bring together prominent industry leaders from ASML, Inc., Samsung Foundry, and Qualcomm, Inc. (representing the perspectives of manufacturing, foundry, and end-user design, respectively) to discuss the challenges, opportunities and technology roadmaps inherent in driving system-on-chip (SoC) solutions beyond the 5nm process node. EDA representatives from Synopsys will include Dr. Henry Sheng, group director of R&D in the Silicon Design Group, and Dr. Victor Moroz, Synopsys Fellow in the Silicon Engineering Group.

Since 1991, SNUG has represented a global design community focused on innovating from Silicon to Software. Today, as the electronics industry’s largest user conference, SNUG brings together nearly 10,000 Synopsys tool and technology users across North America, Europe, Asia, and Japan. In addition to peer-reviewed technical papers and insightful keynotes from industry leaders, the exclusive SNUG events provide a unique opportunity to connect with Synopsys executives, design ecosystem partners, and members of the local design community.

After two years of unprecedented capacity expansion, South Korean flat panel display (FPD) manufacturers will essentially halt new active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) panel factory construction for mobile applications in 2018. At the same time, their Chinese rivals are continuing to build new factories as fast as they can, according to IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO).

18.03.12_mobile_AMOLED_application_monthly_capacity

Since the third quarter of 2017, South Korean FPD makers have been reevaluating the pace of their AMOLED expansion strategies. By the end of January 2018, with demand falling short of expectations and suffering from low factory utilization rates, they delayed all major capacity expansion plans, including several cases of deferring the ramp of equipment already installed.

As the market matures, concern is cumulating that smartphone sales may not continue to increase at rates as high as previously hoped for. With display and smartphone performance specifications already excellent, the replacement cycle is lengthening. Furthermore, adoption of high-end flexible AMOLED panels in a wider range of models is being restricted by high prices that are still about two times those of equivalently specified liquid crystal displays (LCDs).

“After doubling AMOLED capacity for mobile applications in the past two years, a slowdown in facility investment in South Korea is not surprising,” said Charles Annis, senior director at IHS Markit. “Even so, the freezing of all new investments and multiple mass production schedules suggests recognition that continued capacity additions will outpace the market’s ability to absorb them.”

Despite market concerns and changing investment plans in South Korea, Chinese FPD makers are still pushing ahead with their own aggressive new AMOLED factory plans, at least for now. According to the AMOLED and LCD Supply Demand & Equipment Tracker by IHS Markit, ramped Chinese AMOLED capacity will rise from just 228,000 square meters per year in 2016 to 8.3 million square meters in 2020, at a compound annual growth rate of 145 percent.

Chinese makers are not immune to challenges in the smartphone and flexible AMOLED market, and in most cases, they have not yet proven their ability to manufacture premium flexible AMOLED panels at high volume. Regardless, with strong financial backing from local governments, most projects are still moving forward as planned, and will likely continue until credit begins to tighten.

South Korean panel makers are carefully watching how fast the market for AMOLED displays is increasing and are prudently adjusting capacity plans. Chinese makers have less flexibility and less motivation to change strategies due to contracts with local governments in multiple locations across the country.

“The rationalization of how fast the mobile AMOLED display market can grow does raise questions,” Annis said. “What will drive a renewal of investment in South Korea and how will Chinese FPD makers fill their new fabs?”

“Reduced panel prices will enable AMOLEDs to compete more on performance and form factor advantages over LCDs, while new applications, particularly foldable displays, will increase average panel size. Both of these trends have the potential to significantly drive future demand; however, in the shorter term, they remain elusive targets due to high costs and remaining technical barriers,” Annis said.

Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNPS) today announced that Dr. John Rogers, principal engineer of imaging optics in the Optical Solutions Group at Synopsys, has been promoted to Fellow by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics. Each year, SPIE recognizes distinguished individuals in the field of optics and optoelectronics through its Fellows program. The promotion recognizes Rogers’ technical achievements in optical design and engineering, as well as his extensive service and contributions to the optics community. Rogers will formally accept the honor at the SPIE Optics + Photonics Conference in San Diego, Calif. in August 2018.

Rogers is a recognized authority in the fields of optical design and aberration theory, particularly for optical systems with rotationally nonsymmetric and freeform elements. He was an early advocate of vector aberration theory, now known as nodal aberration theory. His 1986 paper “Practical Tilted Mirror Systems” showed for the first time that a tilted and/or decentered optical system could be arranged to have aberration patterns that mimic those of a rotationally symmetric system. He also has designed a wide range of significant and complex optical systems, including three-dimensional imaging for clinical dental applications, ophthalmic surgical systems, biocular and binocular systems, FLIR systems, and head-up and helmet-mounted displays.

Rogers has given extensive service to the optics community for educational activities and support for several technical societies. Currently, he is a reviewer for JOSA A, Optics Express and Optics Letters. In 2014 and 2017, he was co-chair for the International Optical Design Conference. In 2016, he was a guest speaker for the Optical Society of Southern California, and from 1992 to 1997, he was convener for the ISO TC172 SC1 WG2, which produced the ISO 10110 optical drawing standard. From 1984 to 1988, he was assistant professor at the Institute of Optics, University of Rochester.

Rogers has also given significant service to SPIE. He has served as a conference chair, committee member and contributor to many SPIE conferences. He is also a reviewer for Optical Engineering and has served as a guest editor as well. His talks at various SPIE conferences have often attracted large audiences.

He has authored or co-authored 37 journal and conference papers, has contributed articles for two books and holds 13 U.S. patents. He received a Ph.D. in Optics from University of Arizona, an M.S. in Optics from University of Arizona and a B.S. in Mathematics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

“John’s pioneering contributions to design strategies for tilted, decentered and freeform surfaces has significantly advanced the field of optical design and has helped to drive the development of advanced design features in the optical software that Synopsys supplies,” said George Bayz, vice president of Synopsys’ Optical Solutions Group. “We congratulate John on his many achievements and on his election to SPIE Fellow.”

EV Group (EVG), a supplier of wafer bonding and lithography equipment for the MEMS, nanotechnology and semiconductor markets, and IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that the companies agreed to sign a license agreement on laser debonding technology. EVG plans to integrate IBM’s patented Hybrid Laser Release process into EVG’s advanced, field-proven temporary bonding and debonding equipment solutions, which can provide high-volume manufacturers with greater flexibility to implement optimized temporary bonding and debonding process flows. Thanks to the added process variants from IBM that will be supported by EVG’s equipment portfolio, customers can choose from a wide range of bonding, cleaning and metrology process options to help address their temporary bonding and debonding requirements and applications.

The result, which is an advanced laser debonding solution based on EVG’s combination of the technology licensed from IBM with EVG’s know-how, encompasses methods and designs for UV and IR laser debonding (designed to enable the use of glass or silicon carriers) as well as inspection of the bond interfaces. The technologies contributed by IBM help EVG implement designs that address the industry’s critical requirements for temporary bonding and debonding, including high throughput, low wafer stress for high yield, and low cost of ownership of the laser equipment, processing and consumables. The advanced EVG solution encompasses techniques to help protect chips from heat and laser damage, as well as chemical clean technologies for device and carrier wafers.

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.

The SEMI-THERM Educational Foundation (STEF) proudly announces that the 34th Annual Thermal Measurement, Modeling and Management Symposium will take place from Monday, March 19th to Friday, March 23rd, 2018. World-class thermal experts will speak at the symposium and attendees will be able to visit with more than 40 exhibitors and experience hands-on demonstrations at vendor workshops.

Conference committee chairs and presenters are leaders and practitioners from companies including Cisco, IBM, Intel, Facebook, Microsoft, Google, Huawei, Qualcomm, and other organizations and academia dedicated to solving thermal challenges.

“Not only will the attendees be able to network with the key technical players in the thermal management field, but they will also be able to get inspired by the keynote and luncheon speeches, while establishing an understanding of thermal principles,” said Bernie Siegal, co-founder of the conference and recipient of SEMI-THERM’s Lifetime Achievement Award. “This program has been successful for 34 years because it offers something for everyone, from in-depth short courses and technical sessions to free evening tutorials and practical how-to courses,” he added.

Symposium Highlights

SEMI-THERM has an entire session dedicated to consumer electronics, along with the keynote address, “Thermal Challenges and Industry Trends of Consumer Electronic Devices” presented by Dr. Andre Ali of Google. And new to this year’s program is a special panel session titled “Challenges in Consumer Electronics”.

Additional technical sessions present best practices for keeping data centers and large electronic systems cool. Papers focus on low acoustics air mover technologies, two-phase and liquid cooling, thermal interfaces and heat sinks.

Other sessions help optimize chip package and microprocessors designs to minimize thermal factors. Multiple papers being presented are dedicated to addressing special requirements of devices and systems exposed to rugged conditions such as LEDS, power, and automotive devices.

Unique to the symposium, full conference registrants are able to attend fascinating luncheon speeches: “Mission Critical Facilities, Data Centers, Technology Spaces and Electronic Equipment” by Dr. Dustin W. Demetriou, IBM and “Tales from the Mars Science Laboratory Thermal Protection System Development” by Dr. Helen H. Hwang, NASA Ames .

Free programs include an evening tutorial presented by Dr. Bruce Guenin, “The Internet of Things – A Personal Perspective”, exhibits, vendor workshops, how-to courses, and two evening networking receptions.

For more information and to register, please visit:

http://semi-therm.org

 

Immersion Corporation (NASDAQ:IMMR), a developer and licensor of touch feedback technology, today announced that it has filed a second complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against Samsung Electronics America, Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. alleging that certain Samsung touchscreen phones, including the Galaxy S8, infringe Immersion’s U.S. Patent No. 8,619,051, “Haptic Feedback System with Stored Effects” (the ’051 patent) The complaint seeks to stop further infringement by Samsung and to recover damages. The ‘051 patent is one of the patents that Immersion asserted against Apple, Inc. which litigation has since terminated in a settlement and license agreement.

In the third quarter of 2017, Immersion filed a complaint against Samsung Electronics America, Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas alleging that certain Samsung touchscreen phones, including the Galaxy S8, infringe certain Immersion patents covering haptic feedback systems and methods in electronic devices. The Court has scheduled a claim construction hearing for August 15, 2018 and a trial date of February 19, 2019.

In addition, Immersion also announced today that it has filed a complaint in the Fuzhou Intermediate Court in Fuzhou, China against Samsung (China) Investment Co., Ltd., Huizhou Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd and Fujian Province Min Xin Household Electrical Appliances Technology Service Co., Ltd. alleging that certain Samsung touchscreen phones, including the Galaxy S8, infringe three Immersion Chinese patents covering haptic feedback systems and methods in electronic devices.

The Chinese patents being asserted are:

Chinese Patent No. ZL02821854.X “Input device and mobile telephone comprising the input device;”

Chinese Patent No. ZL201210005785.2 “Method and apparatus for providing tactile sensations;” and

Chinese Patent No. ZL201310253562.2 “Methods and apparatus for providing tactile sensations.”

These patents are related to the patents that were asserted against Apple, Inc. which litigation has since terminated in a settlement and license agreement.

 

SCREEN Semiconductor Solutions, a subsidiary of SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd (TSE: 7735), with strong semiconductor equipment sales and service bases in Japan, and Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACLS), a supplier of innovative, high-productivity solutions for the semiconductor industry, today announced a strategic agreement for distribution and support of Axcelis’ complete Purion ion implant product line in Japan. Under the agreement, the companies will establish a training and demonstration facility at SCREEN’s Process Technology Center in Hikone, Japan, as well as initiate a technical collaboration focused on developing advanced process technology for emerging implant, thermal processing and wafer cleaning applications.

Tadahiro Suhara, representative director president of SCREEN Semiconductor Solutions, commented, “We are very excited to introduce the Purion platform’s advanced ion implant technology to our Japanese customers, as well as the opportunity to leverage our combined strengths to develop next generation thermal processing capabilities through our technical collaboration. This agreement will allow us to continue to offer our customers a diversity of solutions to meet our customers’ evolving technological needs.”

Mary Puma, president and CEO of Axcelis Technologies, said, “We’re very pleased to announce our partnership with SCREEN Semiconductor Solutions, a company widely recognized for superior technology and customer satisfaction. It will enable us to bring our Purion product line to the Japan market, and provide us with strong opportunities for new customer penetrations and market share gains.”

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) today announced that Dr. Paul E. Jacobs will no longer serve as Executive Chairman of the Qualcomm Board of Directors. Dr. Jacobs will continue to serve on the Qualcomm Board, but will no longer serve in an executive management capacity. The Board has discontinued the role of Executive Chairman, which was established in 2014 as part of a leadership transition plan, based on its belief that an independent Chairman is now more appropriate for Qualcomm. The Board has named Jeffrey W. Henderson, an independent Qualcomm director since 2016, to serve as Non-Executive Chairman.

Tom Horton, Lead Director, said, “The Board is committed to the principles of strong corporate governance and believes that having an independent director as Chairman at this important juncture in Qualcomm’s history is in the best interest of the Company and our stockholders. We are unanimous in our view that Jeff is the ideal choice for this role based on his deep financial, operational, and international experience as well as his strong stockholder orientation. We are focused on maximizing stockholder value, and will consider all options to achieve that objective, as we seek to move Qualcomm forward by closing the acquisition of NXP, strengthening our licensing business, and capitalizing on the enormous 5G opportunity before us.”

Mr. Horton continued, “On behalf of the entire Board, I want to thank Paul for his tireless dedication to Qualcomm over many years. Paul is a technology visionary whose ideas and inventions have contributed significantly to the growth of both the Company and the industry.  Paul has led the development of generations of semiconductors that have fueled smart phones and the worldwide wireless revolution of the past 30 years. His deep expertise, coupled with a focus on innovation, have made Qualcomm a leader in critical technologies and positioned us at the forefront of the industry. We are grateful to have Paul’s continued contributions as a member of the Board.  His extensive knowledge of our business, products, strategic relationships and opportunities, as well as the rapidly evolving technologies and competitive environment in our industry, are invaluable to our Board.”

About Paul Jacobs

Dr. Jacobs has served as Chairman of the Board of Qualcomm since 2009, as Executive Chairman since 2014 and as a director since 2005. He served as Chief Executive Officer from 2005 to 2014, Group President of Qualcomm Wireless & Internet from 2001 to 2005, and as an executive vice president from 2000 to 2005. Dr. Jacobs serves on the Board of Directors for FIRST(R), OneWeb, Light and Dropbox. He holds a B.S. degree in electrical engineering and computer science, an M.S. degree in electrical engineering, and a Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of California, Berkeley.  Dr. Jacobs was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2016 and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2017.

About Jeffrey Henderson

Mr. Henderson has deep financial, operational, and international experience at major corporations.  He served as Chief Financial Officer of Cardinal Health Inc. from 2005 to 2014. Prior to joining Cardinal Health, Mr. Henderson held management positions at Eli Lilly and General Motors, including serving as President and General Manager of Eli Lilly Canada, Controller and Treasurer of Eli Lilly Inc., and in management positions with General Motors in Great Britain, Singapore, Canada and the U.S.  He is currently an Advisory Director to Berkshire Partners LLC, a private equity firm. He is also a director of Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. and FibroGen, Inc. Mr. Henderson holds a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Kettering University and an M.B.A. degree from Harvard Business School.

KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) has been recognized by Intel as a recipient of a 2017 Preferred Quality Supplier (PQS) award. The PQS award recognizes companies like KLA-Tencor that Intel believes have relentlessly pursued excellence and conducted business with resolute professionalism.

“The dynamic nature of our business necessitates continuous improvement and an unrelenting focus on quality,” said Jacklyn Sturm, Vice President of Technology and Manufacturing Group and General Manager of Global Supply Management at Intel. “As Intel transitions to become a more data centric company, our award winning suppliers are embracing the most difficult challenges with rapid innovation and bold strategies.”

To qualify for PQS status, suppliers must exceed high expectations and uncompromising performance goals while scoring at least 80 percent on an integrated report card that assesses performance throughout the year. Suppliers must also achieve 80 percent or greater on a challenging continuous improvement plan and demonstrate solid quality and business systems.