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Worldwide PC shipments totaled 62.2 million units in the first quarter of 2017, a 2.4 percent decline from the first quarter of 2016, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. The first quarter of 2017 was the first time since 2007 that the PC market experienced shipments below 63 million units in a quarter.

The PC industry experienced modest growth in the business PC market, but this was offset by declining consumer demand. Consumers continued to refrain from replacing older PCs, and some consumers have abandoned the PC market altogether. The business segment still sees the PC as an important device, and it’s the main work device for businesses.

“While the consumer market will continue to shrink, maintaining a strong position in the business market will be critical to keep sustainable growth in the PC market. Winners in the business segment will ultimately be the survivors in this shrinking market,” said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. “Vendors who do not have a strong presence in the business market will encounter major problems, and they will be forced to exit the PC market in the next five years. However, there will also be specialized niche players with purpose-built PCs, such as gaming PCs and ruggedized laptops.”

“The top three vendors — Lenovo, HP and Dell — will battle for the large-enterprise segment. The market has extremely limited opportunities for vendors below the top three, with the exception of Apple, which has a solid customer base in specific verticals.”

The competition among the top three vendors intensified in the first quarter of 2017. Lenovo and HP were in a virtual tie for the top spot. Lenovo accounted for 19.9 percent of worldwide PC shipments (see Table 1), followed by HP with 19.5 percent share, and Dell at 15 percent share. Lenovo’s growth exceeded the regional average in all key regions except the U.S.

Table 1
Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 1Q17 (Thousands of Units)

Company

1Q17 Shipments

1Q17 Market Share (%)

1Q16 Shipments

1Q16 Market Share (%)

1Q17-1Q16 Growth (%)

Lenovo

12,377

19.9

12,226

19.2

1.2

HP Inc.

12,118

19.5

11,383

17.9

6.5

Dell

9,351

15.0

9,040

14.2

3.4

Asus

4,547

7.3

5,287

8.3

-14.0

Apple

4,217

6.8

4,034

6.3

4.5

Acer Group

4,190

6.7

4,266

6.7

-1.8

Others

15,380

24.7

17,486

27.4

-12.0

Total

62,180

100.0

63,721

100.0

-2.4

Notes: Data includes desk-based PCs, notebook PCs and ultramobile premiums (such as Microsoft Surface), but not Chromebooks or iPads. All data is estimated based on a preliminary study. Final estimates will be subject to change. The statistics are based on shipments selling into channels. Numbers may not add up to totals shown due to rounding.
Source: Gartner (April 2017)

HP showed the strongest growth among the top six vendors, as its global PC shipments increased 6.5 percent in the first quarter of 2017. HP’s shipments grew in all regions, and it did especially well in the U.S. market, where it had a 15.9 percent increase in PC shipments (see Table 2).

Dell has achieved four consecutive quarters of year-over-year growth. It had PC shipment increases in all regions except the U.S. Dell enhanced its channel program and expanded its share in the large-enterprise market.

The PC industry is also experiencing a price increase. Over two years ago, the price hike was attributed to the local currency deterioration against the U.S. dollar. This time around, the price hike is due to a component shortage.

“DRAM prices have doubled since the middle of 2016, and SSD has been in short supply as well,” Ms. Kitagawa said. “The price hike will suppress PC demand even further in the consumer market, discouraging buyers away from PC purchases unless it is absolutely necessary. The price hike started affecting the market in 1Q17. This issue will grow into a much bigger problem in 2Q17, and we expect it to continue throughout 2017.”

In the U.S., PC shipments totaled 12.3 million units in the first quarter of 2017, a 2.4 percent decline from the first quarter of 2016. The U.S. market has experienced a modest decline for two quarters. Much of the decline is attributed to the weak consumer market.

Table 2
Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 1Q17 (Thousands of Units)

Company

1Q17 Shipments

1Q17 Market Share (%)

1Q16 Shipments

1Q16 Market Share (%)

1Q17-1Q16 Growth (%)

HP Inc.

3,572

29.1

3,083

24.5

15.9

Dell

3,238

26.4

3,385

26.9

-4.3

Lenovo

1,720

14.0

1,785

14.2

-3.6

Apple

1,470

12.0

1,483

11.8

-0.9

Asus

503

4.1

636

5.1

-20.8

Others

1,755

14.3

2,195

17.5

-20.0

Total

12,260

100.0

12,566

100.0

-2.4

Notes: Data includes desk-based PCs, notebook PCs and ultramobile premiums (such as Microsoft Surface), but not Chromebooks or iPads. All data is estimated based on a preliminary study. Final estimates will be subject to change. The statistics are based on shipments selling into channels. Numbers may not add up to totals shown due to rounding.
Source: Gartner (April 2017) 

PC shipments in EMEA totaled 17.9 million units in the first quarter of 2017, a 6.9 percent decline year over year. All major regions in EMEA experienced a decline in the first quarter. However, Russia saw single-digit PC growth, which was attributed to stabilization of the local economy.

The Asia/Pacific PC market showed some stabilization, as PC shipments totaled 22.8 million units in the first quarter of 2017, a 0.8 percent decline from the first quarter of 2016. PC spending in China began to show a modest recovery. Steady economic conditions were an influencing factor driving a PC refresh.

These results are preliminary. Final statistics will be available soon to clients of Gartner’s PC Quarterly Statistics Worldwide by Region program. This program offers a comprehensive and timely picture of the worldwide PC market, allowing product planning, distribution, marketing and sales organizations to keep abreast of key issues and their future implications around the globe.

Brewer Science announced the achievement of Zero Waste to Landfill Certification for the second consecutive year. GreenCircle Certified, LLC (GreenCircle), has completed extensive audits to verify that the Rolla and Vichy Brewer Science manufacturing locations contribute zero waste to landfills. The certification is valid through 2017 and can be viewed in GreenCircle’s Certified Product Database.

Brewer Science is regarded as a champion for environmental responsibility in the microelectronics and semiconductor industry and is the only business in the industry to achieve Zero Waste to Landfill Certification through GreenCircle. Brewer Science remains committed to a robust environmental management system with the objective of preventing pollution of the environment and providing a healthy, safe, and secure workplace.

For many years Brewer Science leadership has made it a priority to lead an environmentally responsible organization. Some of the initiatives include:

  • In 2002, Brewer Science instituted a mini-bin recycling program, a simple step that had a huge impact. To date, over 597 tons of waste have been recycled.
  • At its headquarters in Rolla, Missouri, Brewer Science promotes a community collection program. Through partnering with waste disposal companies and volunteer crews, they have collected more than 800,000 pounds of appliances, electronics, and tires that would have otherwise been a part of a landfill.
  • In 2015, a giant trash compactor known as “Big Blue” found a home in Brewer Science’s Rolla facility. Big Blue collects and compacts tons of non-recyclable waste and sends it to a waste-to-energy facility. The waste is combusted to produce enough electricity to power four houses for a month.
  • Brewer Science also diverts some of its waste into fuel blending processes, resulting in the conversion of over 520,000 pounds of waste into fuel that can replace natural gas and coal.

3D-Micromac AG, a developer of laser micromachining and roll-to-roll laser systems for the photovoltaic, medical device and electronics markets, today announced that the total received order volume for its microCELL TLS high-throughput half-cell cutting tools tops 1.5 GW for tool deliveries in 2017 to date.

The microCELL TLS systems use Thermal Laser Separation for cleaving solar cells into half-cells. This process provides a multitude of mechanical and electrical benefits to customers. The separated cells show a significantly higher mechanical strength, better edge quality as well as lower power reduction compared to laser scribing and cleaving approaches. A module power gain of more than 1 W was seen with TLS compared to conventional scribe and break methods, in addition to the 5-7 W per module gain of half-cell module technology.

Further cementing its position as the market leader for laser systems in photovoltaics,
3D-Micromac also yesterday introduced its second-generation microCELL OTF system, the high-performance production solution for Laser Contact Opening (LCO) of Passivated Emitter Rear Contact (PERC) solar cells, which achieves a world-class throughput of 8,000 wafers per hour.

InvenSense, Inc. (NYSE: INVN), a provider of MEMS sensor platforms, today announced that all necessary regulatory clearances have been received for the acquisition by TDK Corporation of InvenSense, including from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and all other necessary regulatory authorities, and the required waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 has expired.

InvenSense will hold a special meeting of its stockholders on May 17, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. local time at the Company’s corporate headquarters at which stockholders will be asked to approve, among other items, the previously announced transaction. The companies expect to close the transaction shortly thereafter, for a total purchase price of approximately $1.3 billion in cash or $13.00 per common share. The closing is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

InvenSense recently mailed the proxy statement and related proxy materials to stockholders holding shares as of the March 23, 2017 record date. The proxy statement and related proxy materials provide information for stockholders of InvenSense regarding the transaction and related proposals to be voted upon at the special meeting, as well as instructions for voting online, by telephone, by mail and in person.

At SEMICON Southeast Asia 2017, Dr. Chen Fusen, CEO of Kulicke & Soffa Pte Ltd, Singapore, will give a keynote on digital transformation in the manufacturing sector. Chen believes that Smart Manufacturing, or Industry 4.0, is no longer hype but real, and Asia needs to get on board sooner rather than later. SEMICON Southeast Asia (SEA) 2017, held at the SPICE arena in Penang on 25-27 April, is Asia’s premier showcase for electronics manufacturing innovation.

“Digital transformation has proven to provide solutions for addressing challenges in the manufacturing industry but there is still the issue of acceptance as well as lack of skills and knowledge that needs to be addressed,” said Chen. “With disruptive technology changing our world, I expect that more companies will see the value of their investments realised as this technology accelerates the creation of more individualised products and services.”

Dr. Hai Wang from NXP Semiconductors Singapore Pte Ltd agreed that more consumer-related innovations would stem from digital transformation as demand for solutions that provide efficiency and security increases. “At NXP, we look at developing advanced cyber security solutions for the automotive industry, such as tracking and analysing intelligence around connected and automated vehicles, which will help to counter any adverse threats in real time. These innovations are real and will soon mark a shift in the future of automation and manufacturing. It is vital that we embrace the change and adapt accordingly,” he said.

Other speakers at SEMICON SEA also feel strongly about the importance of Smart Manufacturing and digital transformation. David Chang of HTC Corporation, Taiwan, sees a dramatic shift in the value of being a “smart” manufacturer to address to the rising demand in consumer products and services innovation. “We have seen virtual reality technology offered by products such as HTC VIVE(TM) really shaping the future of the world. Transformative innovations such as this will pave the way for disruptive technology to be coupled into business models to benefit consumers in the long term,” he said.

These three speakers will join a long list of thought leaders from the electronics manufacturing sector – including Jamie Metcalfe from Mentor Graphics U.S., Chiang Gai Kit from Omron Asia Pacific Singapore, Ranjan Chatterjee from Cimetrix U.S. and Duncan Lee from Intel Products Malaysia – to speak at SEMICON SEA 2017. Topics discussed will cover issues relevant to the transformation of the manufacturing industry ranging from next-generation manufacturing to system-level integration, including exhibitions that will highlight the market and technology trends that are driving investment and growth in all sectors across the region.

The conference also aims to champion regional collaboration through new business opportunities for customers and foster stronger cross-regional engagement through reaching buyers, engineers and key decision-makers in the Southeast Asia microelectronics industry, including buyers from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

Learn more about SEMICON Southeast Asia 2017 in Penang, Malaysia on 25-27 April: http://www.semiconsea.org/.

As GaN Systems’ gallium nitride transistors revolutionize the power electronics market, the company’s funding partners are being recognized for their investment success. After releasing its 8th annual Global Cleantech 100 list, Cleantech Group (CTG) has awarded GaN Systems investor, Crysalix Venture Capital, the 2017 Financial Investor of the Year Award. The Global Cleantech 100 is a peer-reviewed list of the top private companies involved in innovative clean technology, and that have the greatest potential to impact the future of a wide range of industries within a 5-10 year timeframe. In a parallel development, in its 2016 “Year in Review” report, the CVCA (Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association) reported that GaN Systems’ funding partner, Cycle Capital Management, was recognized for being the most active cleantech venture capital firm in Canada in 2016. Additionally, Cycle Capital was Canada’s 2nd most active independent private venture capital firm, consummating 29 deals and investing at total investment of $132M. According to the CVCA report, Canadian cleantech investments for 2016 experienced a 200% increase over the previous year.

Chrysalix Venture Capital was selected from a field of over 11,000 peer-reviewed nominees. They were chosen for having the highest percentage – in excess of 60% – of their qualifying portfolio companies on the 2017 Global Cleantech 100 list. Chrysalix Venture Capital is a technology-focused investment firm that invests in companies that bring disruptive innovation to the world’s largest industries. GaN Systems, a developer of gallium nitride power switching semiconductors, is one of seven such companies in the investment firm’s portfolio that are also included in the Global Cleantech 100 list.

As stated by Chrysalix President and CEO, Wal van Lierop, “We are honored to be recognized as the Financial Investor of the Year at this year’s Global Cleantech 100. This award is a great endorsement of our portfolio and validation of Chrysalix’s strategy of targeting breakthrough industrial innovations leveraging intelligent systems and components, which we pioneered in our last fund and have made the central focus of our new Chrysalix RoboValley Fund.”

Cycle Capital invests in cleantech entrepreneurial companies that are dedicated to fostering a sustainable future and that produce more with less. Commenting on how GaN Systems fits into its portfolio, Cycle Capital’s Founder and Managing Partner Andrée-Lise Méthot said, “We’re happy to share these results with our portfolio companies because it’s by investing in globally competitive companies led by great entrepreneurial teams like GaN Systems that we become the leader of the cleantech investment in Canada.”

“GaN Systems is proud to be a member of Chrysalix Venture Capital’s portfolio of leading-edge technology companies,” remarked GaN Systems CEO, Jim Witham. “We congratulate our funding partner on being recognized for their forward-thinking, and for winning this well-deserved and highly prestigious award.” Mr. Witham went on to congratulate Cycle Capital, “We’re extremely proud to be a member of the Cycle Capital portfolio of companies who are at the vanguard of the cleantech revolution. By investing in GaN Systems, together we are helping to reduce the world’s exploding demand for more energy, while simultaneously enabling our customers with solutions that give them a competitive advantage.”

Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACLS), a supplier of innovative, high-productivity solutions for the semiconductor industry, announced today that it has received multiple orders for the Purion H high current, Purion XE high energy, and Purion EXE extended high energy system from several leading chip manufacturers in the Asia Pacific region. Several of the orders are follow on business and one of the orders is a new customer penetration. These orders include both 200 and 300mm systems that will be used to support high volume production of DRAM, 3D NAND and mature logic devices to support the burgeoning IoT, mobile and data storage markets. The systems shipped in the first quarter.

Executive Vice President, Customer Operations John Aldeborgh commented, “We’re excited to continue our penetration of the Purion platform in these markets. The Purion platform is ideally suited to support our customers evolving manufacturing needs, due to its superior flexibility and cost of ownership.”

President and CEO Mary Puma commented, “Dynamic growth in the IoT is driving significant investment in manufacturing capacity of mature process technologies, particularly in China. This combined with continued strength in the memory market is providing Axcelis excellent prospects for new penetrations and follow on orders.”

Kulicke & Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: KLIC) announced today the opening of its latest Process and Applications laboratory at the K&S Netherlands facility.

The 180 square meter laboratory adds to the Company’s existing base of global application facilities. The Netherlands site uniquely houses a complete prototype assembly line of K&S Advanced Packaging and Electronics Assembly equipment. The laboratory will facilitate stronger collaboration with global customers and industry partners to develop and refine next-generation of packaging solutions in direct response to the industry’s emerging challenges and opportunities. It also serves as a platform to accelerate internal development roadmaps and engineering competencies.

Bob Chylak, Kulicke & Soffa’s Vice President of Global Process Engineering, said, “This new lab marks another significant milestone for K&S and further enhances our capabilities to deploy the latest technology for component mounting, with a specific focus on applications requiring high-accuracy placement for passive components as well as active bare or packaged die. We are excited to further collaborate strategically with customers and industry partners to optimize and drive high-volume adoption of new advanced packaging processes.”

Kulicke & Soffa is proud to welcome the Guest-of-Honor, Mayor John Jorritsma, City of Eindhoven, for the Opening Ceremony. “We are very pleased with the presence of K&S in Brainport Eindhoven. The company contributes a lot to our added value chain, by creating new knowledge and employment. The opening of the new process lab proves that K&S also believes in our economic strength, which is great”, said Mayor John Jorritsma, City of Eindhoven.

In addition to the K&S Netherlands facility, Kulicke & Soffa also operates application laboratories in Taiwan, Korea, China, Singapore and the US.

On March 31, 2017, Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd (Seoul) filed a patent infringement lawsuit in Germany in the District Court of Düsseldorf against Mouser Electronics Inc. (Mouser), a global electronic components distributor, asserting infringement of an LED patent.

According to the complaint, the infringement involves products from Mouser – LEDs for high-power light emission – manufactured by multiple LED companies, including Everlight Electronics Co., Ltd, a global top-10 LED maker. In the lawsuit, Seoul has sought a permanent injunction, damages, and recall and destruction of the alleged infringing products.

The asserted patented technology serves to efficiently extract light emitted from the internal LED structure by treating LED chip surfaces, thereby significantly improving light intensity and brightness. This patented technology has been widely used for various high-power LED applications, such as automobile lighting, cell phone flash lights, outdoor lighting, UV LED appliances, and others.

“The asserted patent is considered an essential technology for manufacturing high-power LEDs and has been widely used in various LED applications,” said Ki-bum Nam, Vice President of the Lighting Business Department at Seoul Semiconductor. “Seoul has actively enforced our patent rights against products that infringe high power LED technology. To create fair market competition and promote technological innovation, we continually take actions necessary to deter such infringement and protect our intellectual property,” Nam added.

According to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), among the companies that exclusively manufacture LED components, Seoul Semiconductor was the only one to be selected in the 2013 Semiconductor Manufacturing Patent Power Ranking. Seoul Semiconductor was also selected for the same category in 2012. IEEE’s patent power scorecards for each industry segment are based on the evaluation of the patent portfolios of more than 5000 leading commercial enterprises, academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies worldwide. They take into account not only the size of the organizations’ patent portfolios, but also the quality of their patents with regard to growth index, impact of their patents, originality, and general applicability of the patents.

According to market research firm IHS, the LED penetration rate in automobile headlamps is expected to increase sharply to 32.3 % by 2021 from the current penetration rate of 16.4%. This high-power LED technology is already being used for exterior automobile lighting including headlights and daytime running lights. Furthermore, it is expected to become a significant technology for electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles, which require high-power LED lighting with high heat dissipation for energy efficiency.

In addition, this high-power LED technology applies to LEDs for mobile phone flash lights, which require higher light intensity. Because margins for LEDs used in flash applications are higher than those for backlights, this segment of the LED market for mobile phones has still grown steadily despite the overall decline in the IT sector LED market.

Further, this high-power LED technology is widely applicable to general lighting products for outdoor illumination, as well as commercial and industrial lighting systems, because such technology substantially enhances light efficiency and improves the brightness per unit area obtained from the LED. The technology is also widely used in manufacturing UV LEDs for sterilization, purification and curing processes. The UV LED application market is expected to grow rapidly, reaching $800 million by 2020.

Silicon Integration Initiative, Inc. (Si2), a integrated circuit research and development joint venture, has contributed new power modeling technology to the IEEE P2416 System Level Power Model Working Group. The transfer is aimed at creating a standardized means for modeling systems-on-chip (SoC) designed for lower power consumption.

Jerry Frenkil, Si2 director of OpenStandards, said that the Si2 Low Power Working Group developed the new technology to fill several holes in the flow for estimating and controlling SoC power consumption. “This new modeling technology provides accurate and efficient, early estimation of both static and dynamic power, including critical temperature dependencies, using a consistent model throughout the design flow. There’s currently no standard way to represent power data for use at the system level, especially across a range of process, voltage and temperature points in a single model.”

IEEE P2416 is an essential component of IEEE’s coordinated effort to improve system-level design. This effort also includes the IEEE 1801 standard, which expresses design intent. Its latest update, IEEE 1801-2015, includes support for power-state modeling. “P2416 provides power data representations to complement 1801 power-state modeling. Together, 1801 and 2416 will form a complete power model for hardware IP at any level of abstraction,” Frenkil added.

Organizations that contributed to the model development are: ANSYS, Cadence, Intel, IBM, Entasys, and North Carolina State University.

Nagu Dhanwada, senior technical staff member at IBM, chairs both the IEEE P2416 and Si2 Power Modeling Working Groups. According to Dhanwada, “This is a major contribution to the P2416 effort. As the first technology contribution to the P2416 Working Group, it’s expected to form a solid foundation for the resulting standard.”

“This new modeling technology is the first significant advance in power modeling in quite a long time,” said Paul Traynar, technical fellow at ANSYS and a contributor to the Si2 effort. “It will enable SoC designers to get consistent power estimates across design abstractions and especially early in the system design process.”

Julien Sebot, CPU architect at Intel and a member of the IEEE P2416 Working Group, added, “The Si2 contribution addresses the top priorities identified by the P2416 Working Group. The ability to create accurate, early estimates and to reuse and refine those estimates during the design process is essential in creating energy efficient systems-on-chip. Si2’s contribution is a major step toward addressing that need.”

The IEEE P2416 Working Group has already started reviewing the Si2 contribution. In parallel, Si2 will further develop, for its members, the technology with expanded model semantics, proof-of-concept demonstrations, and reference design implementations.

This model and its use will be described as part of a DAC 2017 tutorial, “How Power Modeling Standards Power Your Designs,” Monday, June 19, 3:30-5:00 p.m., Room 18AB, Austin Convention Center.