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SunEdison Semiconductor Limited (NASDAQ:SEMI) (“SunEdison Semiconductor”) announced today that it has received notice that the Investment Committee of the Ministry of the Economic Affairs of the Republic of China has approved the proposed acquisition of SunEdison Semiconductor by GlobalWafers Co., Ltd. (“GlobalWafers”), and that the Austrian antitrust authority has concluded its review.  As a result, all pre-closing antitrust requirements have been completed.

As previously announced on August 17, 2016, GlobalWafers and SunEdison Semiconductor entered into a definitive agreement for the acquisition by GlobalWafers, through a wholly owned subsidiary, of all of the outstanding ordinary shares of SunEdison Semiconductor in an all-cash transaction valued at US$683 million, including SunEdison Semiconductor outstanding net indebtedness, pursuant to a scheme of arrangement under Singapore law.  Under the terms of the agreement, SunEdison Semiconductor shareholders will receive, upon consummation of the scheme of arrangement, US$12.00 per share in cash for each ordinary share.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (“SMIC”; NYSE:  SMI; SEHK: 981), the largest and most advanced foundry in Mainland China, announces the official launch of a 12-inch integrated circuit (IC) production line at SMIC’s Shenzhen facility. It will be the very first 12-inch fab in South China.

In order to meet the large demand for IC chips in the IoT era, SMIC Shenzhen is building the new 12-inch IC production line in an existing building. The new line will manufacture mainstream mature technology. Construction is planned to start by the end of 2016. Some second-hand equipment for the new line has already been secured. The early production is expected to begin by the end of 2017.The total designed capacity is 40,000 12-inch wafers per month; capacity ramp will be based on customer needs.

Located in Pingshan New District, Shenzhen, SMIC Shenzhen opened the first 8-inch IC production line in South China in December 2014. Its capacity is currently 30,000 wafers per month, and it will continue to expand based on market demand.

The Chairman of SMIC, Dr. Zixue Zhou, said, “Shenzhen has the largest electronic information industrial base in China, comprising hundreds of IC design, system and equipment companies. Thanks to the attention given to the IC industry from the Shenzhen Municipal Government, SMIC Shenzhen steadily operates an 8-inch production line. By launching the new 12-inch production line, SMIC will further improve our capacity, better serve our customers, and facilitate the development of Shenzhen’s IC ecosystem.”

Lattice Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ:LSCC) and Canyon Bridge Capital Partners, Inc. today announced that Lattice and Canyon Bridge Acquisition Company, Inc., an affiliate of Canyon Bridge, have signed a definitive agreement under which Canyon Bridge will acquire all outstanding shares of Lattice for approximately $1.3 billion inclusive of Lattice’s net debt, or $8.30 per share in cash. This represents a 30% premium to Lattice’s last trade price on November 2, 2016, the last trading day prior to announcement.

Darin G. Billerbeck, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lattice, commented, “We are pleased to announce the transaction today with Canyon Bridge, which will unlock tremendous value for shareholders. This transaction is the culmination of an extensive review process with our Board, financial and legal advisers, and it delivers certain and immediate cash value to shareholders while reducing our execution risk. We are excited to leverage Canyon Bridge’s resources and market connections as we enhance our focus on executing our long-term strategic plan of continued innovation. Importantly, we will operate as a standalone subsidiary after the acquisition and do not expect any changes in our operations or our unwavering commitment to continued innovation for our customers.”

Ray Bingham, Founding Partner, Canyon Bridge, noted, “Lattice’s low-power FPGA franchise, along with its video connectivity and wireless solutions, make it a compelling, strategic investment. We expect the Company will continue to leverage its existing customer relationships with major OEMs globally, while further broadening the role of its technology solutions and accelerating its strategic plans.”

Benjamin Chow, Founding Partner, Canyon Bridge, added, “Equally critical in our decision to partner with Lattice is the Company’s world-class management team and its dedicated, highly experienced employee base. Our long-term interests are aligned with Lattice’s employees and customers. We plan to build upon Lattice’s achievements and are excited to provide the resources necessary to help the Company achieve significant growth and long-term success.”

The transaction has been unanimously approved by both companies’ boards of directors and is expected to close in early 2017 subject to customary closing conditions, regulatory approvals and approval by Lattice’s shareholders. Lattice and Canyon Bridge are committed to proactive engagement with regulators to facilitate the government review process.

Upon the completion of the transaction, Lattice will be a standalone subsidiary of Canyon Bridge and Lattice’s senior management team will continue to lead the business from its current headquarters in Portland, OR.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is serving as the sole financial adviser to Lattice and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is serving as legal adviser. Lazard is serving as the financial adviser to Canyon Bridge and Jones Day is serving as legal adviser.

The Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) announced the 2016 award nominees for the GSA Awards Dinner Celebration. Featuring a keynote by Dan Schulman, President and CEO of PayPal, the celebration will take place on Thursday, December 8, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California. The program will recognize companies that have demonstrated excellence through their vision, strategy, execution and future opportunity. These companies will be honored for their achievements in several categories ranging from outstanding leadership to financial accomplishments, as well as overall respect within the industry.

The 2016 Dr. Morris Chang Exemplary Leadership Award winner is Lip-Bu Tan, President and CEO of Cadence Design Systems, Inc.and Founder and Chairman of Walden International.

The evening’s program will recognize leading semiconductor companies that have exhibited market growth through technological innovation and exceptional business management strategies. The award categories and nominees (in alphabetical order) are as follows:

Start-Up to Watch Award
Credo Semiconductor
Innovium, Inc.
Transphorm, Inc.

Most Respected Private Semiconductor Company Award
Aquantia Corporation
Movidius
Quantenna Communications, Inc.

Most Respected Public Semiconductor Company Award (Achieving $100 to $500 Million in Annual Sales):
Nordic Semiconductor
Power Integrations, Inc.
Rambus, Inc.

Most Respected Public Semiconductor Company Award (Achieving $500 Million to $1 Billion in Annual Sales):
MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc.
Mellanox Technologies
Silicon Labs

Most Respected Public Semiconductor Company Award (Achieving $1 Billion to $5 Billion in Annual Sales)
Analog Devices, Inc.
Microchip Technology, Inc.
Skyworks Solutions, Inc.

Most Respected Public Semiconductor Company Award (Achieving Greater than $5 Billion in Annual Sales)
MediaTek Inc.
NVIDIA Corporation
NXP Semiconductors N.V.

Best Financially Managed Semiconductor Company Award (Achieving Up to $1 Billion in Annual Sales):
Power Integrations, Inc.
Silicon Motion Technology Corporation (Silicon Motion, Inc.)
Sitronix Technology Corporation

Best Financially Managed Semiconductor Company Award (Achieving Greater than $1 Billion in Annual Sales)
NVIDIA Corporation
Realtek Semiconductor Corporation
Skyworks Solutions, Inc.

Analyst Favorite Semiconductor Company Award (chosen by analyst Quinn Bolton of Needham & Company, LLC)
Integrated Device Technology, Inc.
MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc.
Microsemi Corporation

Outstanding Asia Pacific Semiconductor Company Award
MediaTek Inc.
Realtek Semiconductor Corporation
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Spreadtrum Communications, Inc.

Outstanding EMEA Semiconductor Company Award
Fingerprint Cards AB (FPC)
Movidius
Sckipio Technologies

Netherlands-based ASML Holding NV, a chip industry equipment provider, and Germany-based Carl Zeiss SMT, a business group of Carl Zeiss AG (ZEISS), have agreed to strengthen their long-standing and successful partnership in the semiconductor lithography business. The main objective of this agreement is to facilitate the development of the future generation of Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems due in the first few years of the next decade. This technology will enable the semiconductor industry to produce much higher performance microchips at lower costs.

ZEISS and ASML jointly announce today, that they have agreed on a 24.9% minority stake of ASML in ZEISS’s subsidiary Carl Zeiss SMT, for which ASML will pay ZEISS EUR 1 billion in cash. The companies stated that no further exchange of shares is planned or agreed.

ASML is a key supplier of semiconductor patterning products and services used by the world`s top producers of microchips. With its high-performance optics Carl Zeiss SMT supplies an essential subsystem of ASML’s semiconductor lithography scanners and is ASML`s most important strategic partner. ASML and Carl Zeiss SMT have been in close partnership for more than 30 years. Both firms have grown strongly over the last decades benefiting from each other`s strengths.

A new cycle of investments required for the development of an entirely new optical system for the future generation of EUV, expected to be provided to the chip making industry in the first few years of the next decade, has triggered the partners to take a further step in the collaboration.

“In 2018 the first chips made on current technology EUV scanners are expected to roll off the production lines of our customers. A lot of work is still being done to ensure the introduction of EUV in volume manufacturing, in tight conjunction with our highly successful immersion scanners which we continue to improve. Yet ASML and ZEISS are looking beyond this important milestone. We see a long and successful future for EUV lithography in advanced chip manufacturing and with this agreement we set the right conditions for development of the next generation of EUV by ASML and Carl Zeiss SMT, so that our customers can reap the rewards of their EUV investments up to the end of the next decade,” said Peter Wennink, President and Chief Executive Officer of ASML.

“With this agreement we clear the road for advanced lithography to support the new concepts and designs for future generations of advanced chips. After the many years of fruitful partnership, we see this agreement as a further strong endorsement of our long term cooperation which allows us to further expand our joint leadership that we have already accomplished together”, says Michael Kaschke, President and CEO of ZEISS.

The next generation of EUV optics will offer a higher numerical aperture (NA), making it possible to further reduce critical dimensions in the lithography process. The current EUV systems have an optical system with NA of 0.33 whereas the new optics will have NA larger than 0.5, enabling several generations of geometric chip scaling.

In addition to the agreement of the minority interest, the two companies have also agreed that ASML will support Carl Zeiss SMT`s research and development (R&D) for approximately EUR 220 million as well as capital expenditures and other supply chain investments for approximately EUR 540 million over the next 6 years.

These investments will predominantly be allocated at Carl Zeiss SMT’s main location in Oberkochen, Germany, and will primarily be used for capacity and resource expansions, with positive effects on long-term employment at this location. Carl Zeiss SMT will remain fully integrated into the structure of the ZEISS Group as one of the major and important business groups.

“High-NA is the logical next step for EUV, as it circumvents complex and expensive 0.33 NA EUV multiple patterning. High-NA EUV is a robust way for chips to scale all the way down to the sub-3 nanometer logic node in a single exposure with high productivity and reduced cost per feature. That is several generations from where we are today and underlines our commitment to propel Moore’s law,” said Martin van den Brink, President and Chief Technology Officer at ASML.

Carl Zeiss SMT will pay an annual dividend to its shareholders Carl Zeiss AG and ASML. ASML expects that the minority share transaction will be accretive to its earnings before adjustments related to purchase price accounting and differences in accounting standards. Furthermore, ASML`s contribution to Carl Zeiss SMT`s R&D and capital expenditures will be taken into account in the future pricing of SMT`s next generation EUV optics to ASML.

The transaction has been approved by both companies’ supervisory boards. ASML will fund the transaction from available cash, potentially supplemented by new debt. The transaction is subject to regulatory clearance and is expected to be closed in the second quarter of 2017.

Today, SEMI announced that WORLD OF IOT, a show-within-a-show at SEMICON Japan 2016, will expand with the addition of 30 new exhibitors. Over 65,000 attendees are expected to convene at SEMICON Japan and WORLD OF IOT at Tokyo Big Sight in Tokyo on December 14-16. Registration for the exhibition and programs is now open.

WORLD OF IOT is a new technology showcase highlighting the companies, products, technologies, and applications enabling the Internet of Things (IOT) revolution. WORLD OF IOT brings together leading global electronics companies whose innovations are driving the expansion of mobile, cloud computing, consumer, and network-connected devices. As a show-within-a-show at SEMICON Japan, this showcase opens innovation opportunities by connecting IOT players to the electronics manufacturing supply chain for new business.

This year’s WORLD OF IOT will include 30 new exhibiting companies to expand its size from 120 booths in 2015 to 140 booths in 2016. New exhibitors represent key IOT application segments including: industrial IOT, automotive, mobile and sensors. Key exhibitors include:

Industrial IOT/Smart Manufacturing:

  • Fanuc (new)
  • Hitachi
  • Konica Minolta (new)
  • Mie Fujitsu Semiconductor
  • Panasonic (new)
  • SAP Japan (new)
  • Siemens

Automotive/Power:

  • NVIDIA (new)
  • Toyota Motors

Mobile/Network:

  • Cisco Systems
  • IBM Research – Tokyo

Sensors/MEMS

  • Analog Devices (new)
  • Murata Manufacturing (new)
  • Sony Semiconductor Solutions (new)

WORLD OF IOT this year also expands its coverage to include the flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) value chain. FHE is an enabling technology for many IOT devices, especially wearable applications. Thirteen companies and associations will participate in the area to showcase their new technologies and products, including SCREEN Holdings (printing equipment), Yuasa System (test equipment), NISSHA (sensor products) and Toyobo (materials for wearable products).

Register now for SEMICON Japan 2016 (December 14-16) in Tokyo.

In 2015, more than US$1 billion was invested in China’s advanced packaging ecosystem, announces Yole Développement (Yole) in its report Status and Prospects for the Advanced Packaging Industry. And right now, more than 100 companies are involved in assembly & packaging activities in China. Almost all key global IDMs and OSATs have a packaging facility in China to take advantage of low costs.

But what are the strategies of these companies? How do they ensure their market positioning and their development in the Chinese advanced packaging industry? Is there a specific approach according to their business model?

advanced packaging china

“Global OSATs are working on their strategies to thwart challenges and exploit opportunities in China’s advanced packaging market,” details for example, Santosh Kumar, Senior, Technology & Market Analyst, Advanced Packaging & Semiconductor Manufacturing at Yole. And in parallel, Chinese players may acquire or invest in others with complimentary packaging technology/services/customers.

Status and Prospects for the Advanced Packaging Industry in China report presents the Chinese semiconductor market outlook as well as the advanced packaging ecosystem in China. This analysis details the global and local players as well as the Chinese backend equipment & materials suppliers. It also covers supply chain evolution, OSAT strategy and business opportunities for local and global players in China’s advanced packaging space. Some results will be presented by Santosh Kumar at the China International Semiconductor Executive Summit taking place from November 1 to 2, 2016 in Shanghai, China.

The advanced packaging market in China is reaching about US$2.5 billion in 2016. And Yole’s analysts expect an impressive 16% CAGR between 2016 and 2020, scoring US$4.6 billion at the end of this period. Under this imposing growth, advanced packaging companies are deploying complex strategies to ensure their business and develop their activities. For example, some companies collaborate with local IC design & foundries and invest in R&D and manufacturing capacity in China. Others invest in Chinese capital.

Technical innovation is also a priority for all China-based companies. Companies are investing a lot to secure important R&D activities and develop disruptive technologies. In parallel, advanced packaging players protect their IP and company’s core value. From a human resources point of view, they reserve key employees through incentives and educate employees to not release confidential information.

China’s advanced packaging industry took a giant leap when JCET acquired STATSChipPAC in 2015 for US$780 million. This deal propelled JCET into 4th place amongst OSAT companies. “JCET-STATS ChipPAC is clearly the game changer in China AP ecosystem,” comments Santosh Kumar from Yole. And he adds: “JCET-STATS ChipPAC results in operational, revenue & capex synergy”.
Other notable acquisitions are:

•  Huatian acquiring FCI
•  Nantong Fujitsu acquiring AMD backend facilities in China and Malaysia.

While Chinese OSATs and foundries are rapidly acquiring advanced packaging capabilities, the local equipment and materials supply chains are still far behind compared to global players, who still dominate the advanced packaging equipment and materials space.

Will this remain true over the next five years? Do global suppliers see China’s advanced packaging market as an opportunity or a threat from local supplier)? In Yole’s report’s equipment/materials section, the advanced packaging team addresses these questions as well as other issues.

Nowadays, the number of enforceable patents dedicated to miniaturized gas sensors is increasing worldwide, and several companies already stand out by their strong IP position. According Yole Développement’s analysts, the market size of gas sensors for consumer applications should grow from US$12 million in 2015 to more than US$95 million in 2021, with an upside of US$60 million if massive adoption of the innovative technologies is confirmed. With a 33% CAGR between 2014 and 2020, this segment is poised to experience the highest grow rate of the gas sensor market. All of these signs suggest the market start.

gas sensors

“In such emerging market, a strong IP position on miniaturized gas sensors is thus essential for companies to enter in this promising business,” comments Dr Fleur Thissandier, at KnowMade. KnowMade, a Yole Group’s company, has investigated the patent landscape of miniaturized gas sensors that could be used in consumer applications. The Technology Intelligence & IP Strategy consulting player identified more than 1,050 patented inventions worldwide up to August 2016 by more than 440 patent applicants.

KnowMade patent analysis entitled “Miniaturized Gas Sensors Patent Landscape Analysis” is now available and proposes an overview of the patent landscape, the IP profile of key players with a detailed ranking and an analysis of the relative strength of the top patent holders derived from their portfolio size, patent citation networks, countries of patent filings and current legal status of patents.

Today, mobile applications aggregate more and more sensors such as pressure sensors, inertial sensors…, and gas sensors could be the next sensors to be integrated in smart phones and/or wearables devices. Consumer applications are driving new gas sensors development to reduce cost, power consumption and size, especially with MEMS technologies. Such gas sensors are thus referred as “MEMS gas sensors”.

Technical and business requirements have so opened the door to innovation and added a new dimension to the global competition between gas sensor suppliers. Recent mergers and acquisitions reflect this thriving sector in structuration. For example, KnowMade’s analysts identified two main mergers:

•  AMS, Applied Sensors, NXP and Cambridge CMOS
•  TDK and Micronas

First patents on MEMS gas sensors was filed by Japanese companies in the early 1980’s by NEC. However patent activity really emerged between 1985 and 1994 with the apparition of European and American companies: Siemens, Fraunhofer, CEA, SRI, SPX.

Multiple start-ups have been created on the basis of CEA R&D results. A first wave of patent publications occurred between 1994 and 2003 induced by the emergence of IDMs (STMicroelectronics, Micronas, Honeywell, NGK, Bosch), American R&D labs (Caltech, University of Florida) and pure play gas sensor companies (CCMOS Sensors, Applied Sensor). Since then, patent publications have increased thanks to a high patent activity of Chinese universities and European players. The last 3 years newcomers started to file patents on MEMS gas sensors including AMS, Sensirion, APIX, NXP.

Currently, more than 760 patents are granted, mainly in China, Europe and USA, and more than 510 patent applications are pending, mainly in Europe, China and USA. KnowMade believes the significant ratio of patents in force and the high number of patent applications still in the pipeline worldwide is an indication of the technology maturity heralding a future ramp-up of the market of miniaturized gas sensors that could be used in consumer applications.

The most surprising result highlighted by KnowMade is probably the discrepancies between the market leaders including Honeywell, MSA, NGK and Figaro and the “patent” leaders such as Bosch, Siemens, Micronas and Cambridge CMOS. “The market is about to change”, says Dr Nicolas Baron, CEO & Founder at KnowMade. “New patents and related devices are targeting new application, which may disrupt the market.”

Edwards, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of integrated vacuum and abatement solutions, and GlobalFoundries Singapore, a full-service semiconductor design, development, fabrication and innovation company, were recognized by Singapore’s National Environment Agency in the Best Practices category at the 2016 Energy Efficiency National Partnership (EENP) Awards. The agency uses the awards to foster a culture of sustained energy efficiency improvement in industry and encourage companies to adopt a proactive approach towards energy management by identifying and sharing best practices for other companies to emulate.

The joint project between GlobalFoundries and Edwards involved a redesign of 35 abatement units to reduce liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) consumption. Thermal abatement units are used to break down process gases for safe disposal into the atmosphere. The two companies worked together to reduce gas consumption while maintaining destruction efficiency and total abatement capacity by designing and retrofitting smaller, more efficient chambers and nozzles along with a longer weir. The changes reduced annual LPG consumption by 31%, carbon emissions by 640 tons, and annual energy costs by $200,000 USD.

“Reducing energy use is an important priority for GlobalFoundries. We carefully studied our energy cost allocation and identified LPG as a major cost contributor. We also noted that different size combustion chambers on our abatement systems consume different amounts of LPG. We then worked with our strategic partner, Edwards, to reduce the LPG consumption,” states Gu Zhi Min, GM and VP of Fab Management for GlobalFoundries Singapore.

According to Kirel Tang, Applications Knowledge Management Director at Edwards Singapore, “This award is recognition of Edwards’ initiatives in the area of controlling emissions and promoting energy efficiency. It validates the focus and efforts that we have put in so far, and confirms that we are making real progress.”

Samsung Austin Semiconductor LLC (SAS) announced plans to invest more than $1 billion by the first half of 2017. Investments in its facilities will enhance current System LSI production to meet the growing demands in the industry for advanced system-on-chip (SoC) products especially for mobile and other electronic devices.

“Samsung is a bellwether for Austin. As a company that the community and state partnered with to relocate here several years ago, they have far exceeded expectations,” said Mike Rollins, President, Austin Chamber of Commerce. “Samsung remains a shining example of what happens when we create a business friendly environment. The result is a win that enhances and sustains our community’s ability to create a broad range of new jobs and economic opportunities for Austinites and their families.”

According to an Impact Data Source Economic Impact Study, SAS added $3.6 billion into the regional economy of central Texas in 2015. During that same time, SAS supported 10,755 jobs in the area and $498 million in annual salaries. Since its establishment in 1997, Samsung has invested more than $16 billion for the expansion and maintenance of its Austin facility.

“I was glad to discuss this with Samsung when our trade delegation visited Korea, and I’m thrilled that this plan is coming to fruition,” said Austin Mayor Steve Adler. “Samsung is so often a source of good news in Austin whether it’s about jobs, education, workforce development, housing or helping the homeless. Samsung is a great partner for Austin’s present, and this announcement tells us that they’ll be an even bigger part of our future.”

“We are committed to Austin and our contributions to the community,” said Catherine Morse, General Counsel and Senior Director of Public Affairs at SAS. “This is our home, and we want to ensure our community is healthy and prospering. These investments will support this, while also ensuring our customers’ growing needs are met.”