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By Michaël Tchagaspanian, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Leti

Digital disruption begets innovation. Challenges equal opportunities. Those were clear messages during Leti Innovation Days recently in Grenoble, France. Over two days at the annual event, which this year coincided with Leti’s 50th anniversary, speakers and exhibitions highlighted challenges of the digital revolution and presented specific current-and-anticipated solutions for industry, healthcare and energy and the environment.

Coinciding with the launch of the administration of French President Emmanuel Macron, who has already talked of France becoming “a start-up nation”, Leti also noted the importance of creating and supporting startups that will help consumers, companies and countries address the challenges and opportunities of the digital revolution.

Citing challenges in the energy sector, Thierry Lepercq, executive vice president of research, technology and innovation at the international French energy company ENGIE, warned of potential energy blackouts and financial problems for traditional energy providers due to the growing penetration of alternative energy sources, the switch from fossil fuels – and energy sharing by households.

These developments, which ENGIE calls “Full 3D” – decarbonization, decentralization and digitalization – have destabilized traditional power systems and providers.

For example, a German residential battery-storage supplier allows residents to store energy at home and swap it on the grid, cutting out traditional electricity providers. Lepercq also noted that the rapid growth in the use of electric vehicles can load the grid with demand that was not anticipated even a few years ago. But the digital revolution also has prompted entrepreneurial responses. EV-Box, the Dutch company that has deployed more than 40,000 vehicle-charging stations in 20 countries, is gathering usage data, which will help officials understand the vehicles’ demands on the grid.

ENGIE acquired EV-Box this year as a strategic step towards operating in a completely new global energy paradigm.

Driving toward a new economy

Last month, Intel released a study that predicted autonomous vehicles will create a “Passenger Economy” – with mobility-as-a-service – that could grow to $800 billion in 2035 and to $7 trillion by 2050.

With autonomous vehicles, the car will no longer be a “stand-alone vehicle”, but “something that reacts with the environment”, said Mike Mayberry, corporate vice president and managing director of Intel Labs. Intel has opened advanced vehicle labs in the U.S. and Germany to explore the various requirements related to self-driving vehicles and the future of transportation. That includes sensing, in-vehicle computing, artificial intelligence, connectivity, and supporting cloud technologies and services.

When a panel discussion on driverless cars was asked when these vehicles will be in general use, Jean-François Tarabbia, CTO of Valeo, the automotive supplier to automakers worldwide, said “the better question is ‘why’”. And that depends in part on the industry’s ability to demonstrate vehicle safety. He said that traffic jams could be reduced by 30 percent with autonomous cars. Still, the cars will require a driver inside who will do something other than driving until he or she is needed to operate the vehicle.

Pierrick Cornet, brand incubator at Renault Nissan, said autonomous cars also will have to accommodate owners who occasionally want to drive their vehicles. For carmakers like Renault Nissan, the challenges are managing the cost and weight of the vehicles, which are loaded with batteries, as well as computing and sensing gear – and making them able to charge quickly.

Fabio Marchiò, automotive digital general manager at STMicroelectronics, noted that cars are the least-used appliance/machine in the household. He agreed with Tarabbia that safety and consumer resistance are primary roadblocks for the vehicles, but added that government regulations could slow down their widespread use.

Moore’s Law obtains

Outlining some of Intel’s R&D programs, Mayberry brushed aside frequent predictions that Moore’s Law has run its course. He said Intel expects Moore’s Law to be in effect at least through the next decade, because of the industry’s continued evolution to smaller technology nodes with new IC technologies.

In addition to focusing on enabling Moore’s Law going forward, Intel’s research on components and hardware includes developing novel integration techniques. But Intel Labs also is focused on enabling future product capabilities and “imagining what’s next”.

As part of that effort, Intel Labs has partnered with Princeton University to decode digital brain data, which is scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The goal is to reveal how neural activity gives rise to learning, memory and other cognitive functions such as human attention, control and decision-making.

Leti and Intel agreed last year to collaborate on strategic research programs, including the Internet of Things, high-speed wireless communication, security technologies and 3D displays.

Quantum computing

Also peering into the more-distant future, Leti CEO Marie Semeria noted development of Leti’s Si-CMOS quantum-technology platform.

“The quantum topic has recently become central, thanks to the huge advances made in solid-state implementation, both in superconducting systems and in silicon technologies,” she said. “Interest in silicon-based technologies is huge because of their reliability and their capability to reproduce industrial standards along with the low-noise characteristics and low variability of CMOS devices.”

Noting that the University of New South Wales recently demonstrated a promising two-qubit logic gate based on the silicon-28 isotope, Semeria said Leti had demonstrated the compatibility of such circuits with state-of-the-art CMOS processes.

“From an architectural point of view, it is clear that the future quantum computer will be hybrid. It will combine a quantum engine with a classical digital computer,” she explained. “The program that will run on such a machine will need to combine at least two computing models: a classical part, to prepare data and process results, and a quantum one. A tight connection between the two programming models will be necessary.”

With its history of pioneering in technology and its culture of spinning out new companies to further develop and commercialize innovative technologies, Leti is poised to help France achieve Macron’s goal: “I want France to be a ‘start-up nation’, meaning both a nation that works with and for the start-ups, but also a nation that thinks and moves like a start-up.”

Leti has launched 64 startups, including 13 in the past four years.

Digital innovations in healthcare

Jai Hakhu, president & CEO of HORIBA International Corporation (U.S.), explained how the digital revolution is creating in vitro diagnostics business potential by enabling delivery of preventive healthcare services in even remote regions of the world. In one of HORIBA and Leti’s joint projects, they are developing a hematology, microfluidics-based, lensfree, point-of-care and home-testing system that can be used in underdeveloped countries.

The collaboration is helping realize HORIBA’s vision of providing preventive self-testing anywhere in the world.

Leti’s start-up Avalun has developed a portable medical device for multiple-measurement capabilities using point-of-care testing. Other recent healthcare-related startups include Diabeloop, which is in the final stages of testing an artificial pancreas, and Aryballe Technologies, which is developing olfactory and gustatory sensors.

Routes to innovation

Those new companies were among the presenters at Leti’s immersive exhibition, “Routes to Innovation”, which was the focus of day two of the event. Entrepreneurs and Leti scientists offered more than 60 demonstrations of patented technologies, to show with concrete examples how Leti’s technological know-how and industrial transfer expertise can help French and international companies innovate and become more competitive.

The three “Digital Revolution” topics included “Micro-Nano Pathfinding”, showing how the diversity of Leti’s digital technologies are available to all economic sectors; “Cyber Physical Systems”, and “Business-Model Disruption”.

The “Environmental Transition” demos covered “Sustainable Activities”, “Monitoring Our World’ and “More with Less”. The “New Frontiers for Healthcare” demos covered “Prevention, Independence, Well Being”, “New Therapies” and “Analysis & Diagnosis”. 

Collaborating for technological sovereignty

During the event, Semeria and Fraunhofer Group for Microelectronics Chairman Hubert Lakner announced a wide-ranging collaboration to develop innovative, next-generation microelectronics technologies to spur innovation in their countries and strengthen European strategic and economic sovereignty.

The two institutes will initially focus on extending CMOS and More-than-Moore technologies to enable next-generation components for applications in the Internet of Things, augmented reality, automotive, health, aeronautics and other sectors, as well as systems to support French and German industries.

‘Smart everything everywhere’

Over the two days, a record number of guests, including CEOs, CTOs, journalists and special guests and speakers heard and saw examples of Leti’s advanced technology platforms, its commitment to research excellence and its vision for applying innovative technologies to challenges of the digital era.

Max Lemke, head of the Components and Systems Unit at the European Commission, noted that Leti’s contributions extend beyond microelectronics to cyber-physical systems, 5G, the Internet of Things, photonics and post-CMOS technologies. By supporting the digital transformation of industry, Leti plays a leading role in “smart everything everywhere”, Lemke said.

“Leti is excellently positioned to continue doing forward-looking research” on components and systems to build the foundation for Europe’s future competitiveness, and to play an instrumental role in supporting French and European industry in their digital transformation, he said.

Solid State Technology and SEMI today announced the recipient of the 2017 “Best of West” Award — Microtronic Inc.— for its EAGLEview 5. The award recognizes important product and technology developments in the electronics manufacturing supply chain. Held in conjunction with SEMICON West, the largest and most influential electronics manufacturing exposition in North America, the Best of West finalists were selected based on their financial impact on the industry, engineering or scientific achievement, and/or societal impact.

Microtronic’s EAGLEview 5 Macro Defect Management Platform is the new, yield-enhancing, breakthrough macro defect inspection platform that was developed ─ and deployed in production ─ through collaboration with several leading device manufacturers who wanted to standardize and unify wafer defect management throughout their fab. Innovations include: dramatically improved defect detection; level-specific sorting; and integration with manual microscopes. (Process Control, Metrology and Test Category; North Hall Booth #5467)

EAGLEview 5

By Pete Singer

At a SEMICON West press conference yesterday, SEMI released its Mid-year Forecast. Worldwide sales of new semiconductor manufacturing equipment are projected to increase 19.8 percent to total $49.4 billion in 2017, marking the first time that the semiconductor equipment market has exceeded the market high of $47.7 billion set in 2000. In 2018, 7.7 percent growth is expected, resulting in another record-breaking year ─ totaling $53.2 billion for the global semiconductor equipment market.

Figure 1 copy

“It’s really an exciting time for the industry in the terms of technology, the growth in information and data and that’s all going to require semiconductors to enable that growth,” said Dan Tracy, senior director, IR&S at SEMI.

The average of various analysts forecast the semiconductor industry in general 12% growth for the year. “It’s a very good growth year for the industry,” Tracy said. “In January, the consensus was about 5% growth for the year and with the improvement in the market and the firmer pricing for memory we see an increase in the outlook for the market.”

The SEMI Mid-year Forecast predicts wafer processing equipment is anticipated to increase 21.7 percent in 2017 to total $39.8 billion. The other front-end segment, which consists of fab facilities equipment, wafer manufacturing, and mask/reticle equipment, will increase 25.6 percent to total $2.3 billion. The assembly and packaging equipment segment is projected to grow by 12.8 percent to $3.4 billion in 2017 while semiconductor test equipment is forecast to increase by 6.4 percent, to a total of $3.9 billion this year.

“Based on the May outlook, we are looking at a record year in terms of tracking equipment spending. This is for new equipment, used equipment, and spending related to the facility that installed the equipment. It will be about a $49 billion market this year. Next year, it’s going to grow to $54 billion, so we have two years in a row of back to back record spending,” Tracy said.

In 2017, South Korea will be the largest equipment market for the first time. After maintaining the top spot for five years, Taiwan will place second, while China will come in third. All regions tracked will experience growth, with the exception of Rest of World (primarily Southeast Asia). South Korea will lead in growth with 68.7 percent, followed by Europe at 58.6 percent, and North America at 16.3 percent.

SEMI forecasts that in 2018, equipment sales in China will climb the most, 61.4 percent, to a total of $11.0 billion, following 5.9 percent growth in 2017. In 2018, South Korea, Taiwan, and China are forecast to remain the top three markets, with South Korea maintaining the top spot to total $13.4 billion. China is forecasted to become the second largest market at $11.0 billion, while equipment sales to Taiwan are expected to reach $10.9 billion.

Figure 2

By Dave Lammers

Keynote speakers Terry Higashi of Tokyo Electron Ltd. and Tom Caulfield of GlobalFoundries took the stage at the Yerba Buena Theater Tuesday morning to predict major changes in the goals and operations of the semiconductor industry.

higashi2013_11_600px_0 ThomasCaufieldSized

In many ways, 2017 has been marked by intense interest in the capabilities of neural networks and other forms of artificial intelligence (AI). Higashi, now a corporate director at TEL, predicted that AI and virtual reality are among the applications that will propel demand for semiconductors “almost without limit.” Neuromorphic processors, the veteran TEL executive said, “are one of the promising devices to enhance human creativity. They will be improved step by step, just as logic and memory devices were improved.”

Looking toward a future in which AI and human skills combine to resolve problems, Higashi predicted that today’s Von Neumann-based architectures and neuromorphic device will complement each other. “Artificial intelligence solutions will be proposed, and the challenges and problems will be solved by scientists and engineers. The combination of Von Neumann and neuromorphic computing gets us closer to true intelligence,” he said.

AI also will play a role in enhancing the immersive experiences promised by virtual reality, experiences which visionaries have predicted but which thus far mankind “has never fully experienced.”

Higashi said that by combining VR and AI, “we can attain a suspension of disbelief, and simply enjoy the experience. If we can provide the technologies, consumers will experience excitement and a form of happiness.”

Caulfield, the general manager of the Malta fab near Albany, agreed with Higashi’s assessment that that the semiconductor industry is seeing “new buds” that will bloom into large semiconductor markets.

However, Caulfield said that to achieve anything like the rate of technological progress seen over the first half century of the semiconductor industry, companies and customers will have to take collaboration to new levels. And he offered the collaboration between GlobalFoundries and AMD as an example.

“Collaboration, potentially, is the biggest thing we need to do. We need strategic partnerships, and not only among semiconductor manufacturers but also with equipment suppliers.”

At its Malta fab, GlobalFoundries builds all of AMD’s leading-edge discrete graphics engines and CPUs. “The AMD and GlobalFoundries engineering teams are so embedded with each other, one can hardly tell” which company an engineer works for, he said.

Noting the resurgence of AMD, Caulfield said “we are all proud to be part of that partnership.” And he pointed to another collaboration, between Samsung and GlobalFoundries, which allows customers to take the same 14nm design and choose whether to manufacture it at Samsung’s Austin fab or at Malta. “Customers can run photomasks in Austin or in Malta, New York and have the product look the same,” he said.

Government role

In such a collaboration-rich business environment, governments also have a role to play, Caulfield said.

“Public-private investments must imply a return to governments as well as to companies. Otherwise, they send the wrong message.” By investing several billion dollars in the Malta fab, GlobalFoundries and the state of New York put to work the well-educated young people who otherwise would have left the state in search of technology jobs. When Malta began operations, only 20 percent of the staff were educated in New York. Now, fully half of the workforce has benefited from a New York education.

“We were exporting talent. Now, the workforce has great opportunity within the state,” he said.

Both Higashi and Caulfield said major challenges face the industry. Higashi noted that innovation will be required to keep flash memory costs under control. “As data is captured by sensors and is transferred via the appropriate networks and stored in data centers, demand for NAND will be high. We must make huge efforts to reduce the overall cost, as the semiconductor industry is expected to provide enough volumes to support the Internet of Things.”

Caulfield said the performance of logic transistors has struggled to keep pace, even as density increases have continued. When the industry moved from 28nm to 14nm technologies, performance increased by fully 50 percent. But from 14nm to 10nm, speeds improved by about 18 percent, making shrinks primarily a cost improvement.

With the industry now focused on brining 7nm logic to the market, the question arises whether 5nm CMOS will provide enough performance to justify that node. While the jury on technology scaling is still out, Caulfield said the industry may have to move to gate all around (GAA) structures, or to non-silicon channel materials, in order to gain the kinds of performance improvements that customers expect from a new node.

Higashi said systems must get faster. “Real-time processing is crucial in the cyber world. And with robotic hands, there should be no delays in physical operations.”

“Memory, logic, and sensing make it possible for AI systems to solve problems much faster than a team of geniuses. We are now in a new era, one of super integration. In addition to improved specialty devices – based on logic, memory, and sensors – we must take these separate devices and put them together into fully integrated systems. It is time to make a pizza, with some of the best ingredients,” he said.

200mm fabs thriving


July 11, 2017

Today, at SEMICON West in San Francisco, Calif., SEMI issued an update to its 200mm Fab Outlook report, with improved and expanded report forecasting of 200mm fab trends out to 2021.  SEMI’s analysts updated information on over 100 facilities, including the latest new facilities and investment projects in China. The extensive new report “Global 200mm Fab Outlook to 2021” by SEMI tracks production, pilot, and R&D 200mm facilities worldwide with special attention on capacity expansions and new facilities.

Examining 200mm capacity over the years, the highest level of 200mm capacity was recorded in 2007 and the lowest following this peak in 2009 (see figure). The capacity decline from 2007 to 2009 was driven by the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, which caused the closure of many facilities, and by the transition of memory and MPU fabrication to 300mm fabs from 200mm.

Since 2009, installed 200mm fab capacity has increased, and by 2020, 200mm capacity is expected to reach almost 5.7 million wafers per month (wpm), and poised to surpass the 2007 peak.  According to SEMI’s World Fab Forecast data, by the end of this year, installed capacity will reach close to 5.4 million wpm.

200mm fab count

Driven by mobile and wireless applications, IOT, and automotive, the 200mm market is thriving.  Many of these products found their niche on 200mm wafers, so companies are expanding capacity in their facilities to the limit, and nine new 200mm facilities are in the pipeline. Looking only at IC volume fabs, the report shows 188 fabs in production in 2016 and expanding to 197 fabs by 2021.

China will add most of the 200mm capacity through 2021 with 34 percent growth rate from 2017 to 2021, followed by South East Asia with 29 percent and the Americas with 12 percent.

The Global 200mm Fab Outlook to 2021, published by SEMI in July 2017, includes two files: a 92-page pdf file featuring trend charts, tables and summaries and an Excel file covering 2010 to 2021 detailing on quarterly basis and fab-by-fab developments.  This is the third update since the report was first launched in 2015.  Since the last report was published in November 2016, the SEMI analyst team has made 232 changes or updates to 132 fabs. The report tracks over 300 facilities using 200mm wafers from R&D, EPI, LED fabs to volume IC fabs.  For more information, visit: http://info.semi.org/semi-200mm-fab-outlook

 

Renewed investigation of a molecule that was originally synthesized with the goal of creating a unique light-absorbing pigment has led to the establishment of a novel design strategy for efficient light-emitting molecules with applications in next-generation displays and lighting.

Researchers at Kyushu University’s Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics Research (OPERA) demonstrated that a molecule that slightly changes its chemical structure before and after emission can achieve a high efficiency in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs).

In addition to producing vibrant colors, OLEDs can be fabricated into everything from tiny pixels to large and flexible panels, making them extremely attractive for displays and lighting.

In an OLED, electrical charges injected into thin films of organic molecules come together to form packets of energy – called excitons – that can produce light emission.

The goal is to convert all of the excitons to light, but three-fourths of the created excitons are triplets, which do not produce light in conventional materials, while the remaining one-fourth are singlets, which emit through a process called fluorescence.

Inclusion of a rare metal, such as iridium or platinum, in a molecule can enable rapid emission from the triplets through phosphorescence, which is currently the dominant technology for highly efficient OLEDs.

An alternative mechanism is the use of heat in the environment to give triplets an energetic boost that is sufficient to convert them into light-emitting singlets.

This process, known as thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF), easily occurs at room temperature in appropriately designed molecules and has the added advantage of avoiding the cost and reduced molecular design freedom associated with rare metals.

However, most TADF molecules still rely on the same basic design approach.

“Many new TADF molecules are being reported each month, but we keep seeing the same underlying design with electron-donating groups connected to electron-accepting groups,” says Masashi Mamada, lead researcher on the study reporting the new results.

“Finding fundamentally different molecular designs that also exhibit efficient TADF is a key to unlocking new properties, and in this case, we found one by looking at the past with a new perspective.”

Currently, combinations of donating and accepting units are primarily used because they provide a relatively simple way to push around the electrons in a molecule and obtain the conditions needed for TADF.

Although the method is effective and a huge variety of combinations is possible, new strategies are still desired in the quest to find perfect or unique emitters.

The mechanism explored by the researchers this time involves the reversible transfer of a hydrogen atom – technically, just its positive nucleus – from one atom in the emitting molecule to another in the same molecule to create an arrangement conducive to TADF.

This transfer occurs spontaneously when the molecule is excited with optical or electrical energy and is known as excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT).

This ESIPT process is so important in the investigated molecules that quantum chemical calculations by the researchers indicate that TADF is not possible before transfer of the hydrogen.

After excitation, the hydrogen rapidly transfers to a different atom in the molecule, leading to a molecular structure capable of TADF.

The hydrogen transfers back to its initial atom after the molecule emits light, and the molecule is then ready to repeat the process.

Although TADF from an ESIPT molecule has been reported previously, this is the first demonstration of highly efficient TADF observed inside and outside of a device.

This vastly different design strategy opens the door for achieving TADF with a variety of new chemical structures that would not have been considered based on previous strategies.

Interestingly, the molecule the researchers used was most likely a disappointment when first synthesized nearly 20 years ago by chemists hoping to create a new pigment only to discover that the molecule is colorless.

“Organic molecules never cease to amaze me,” says Professor Chihaya Adachi, Director of OPERA. “Many paths with different advantages and disadvantages exist for achieving the same goal, and we have still only scratched the surface of what is possible.”

The advantages of this design strategy are just beginning to be explored, but one particularly promising area is related to stability.

Molecules similar to the investigated one are known to be highly resistant to degradation, so researchers hope that these kinds of molecules might help to improve the lifetime of OLEDs.

To see if this is the case, tests are now underway.

While only time will tell how far this particular strategy will go, the continually growing options for OLED emitters certainly bode well for their future.

Brewer Science Inc. today announced from SEMICON West the extension of its partnership with Arkema to develop second-generation directed self-assembly (DSA) materials using high-x (chi) block copolymers. These new materials target advanced-node wafer patterning processes, because they enable even smaller feature sizes than first-generation DSA materials. As such, they provide a cost-effective solution to achieving device nodes down to 5nm and beyond, thereby enabling the continuation of Moore’s law.

“There have been very high expectations that DSA would solve all patterning issues,” said Darron Jurajda, Business Unit Manager, Brewer Science Inc. “Like all worthwhile technologies, there are many challenges to be solved before going into production. Leveraging our earlier DSA collaboration with Arkema offers the best path for implementing the next generation of materials. Together, we look forward to unlocking DSA’s full potential in accordance with industry timelines for manufacturing.”

High-chi block copolymers will further extend DSA’s advantages, achieving feature sizes that meet the requirements for 5nm and beyond. Extending their partnership allows these companies to build on their knowledge base, giving them a head start on developing high-chi materials.

As feature sizes shrink more aggressively with each node, it has become cost prohibitive to create them using existing patterning processes, such as EUV, self-aligned double patterning and self-aligned quad patterning. This presents a challenge for foundries and integrated device manufacturers preparing to ramp to 7nm and 5nm processes. DSA provides an alternative solution to achieving fine feature patterning; can be explored for minimal investment; and is cost efficient in final production. Development of high-chi materials also expands the opportunity for implementing DSA in other applications, including photonics, membrane applications and other areas of microelectronics.

The original collaboration between the two companies combined Brewer Science’s know-how in patterning and process integration with Arkema’s leading-edge expertise in block copolymer development to develop polystyrene-polymethyl methacrylate DSA materials, which are now production-ready to manufacture sub-22nm features.

By Paula Doe, SEMI

SEMI adds a new speaker program called “Meet the Experts” at SEMICON West (July 11-13) in San Francisco this year. Complementing the more formal TechXPOTs, “Meet the Experts” is on a smaller scale, more relaxed format, with more time for discussion, and a wider variety of speakers. We’ve invited 25 diverse experts to speak on the challenges and opportunities for the semiconductor supply chain from smart automobiles and the Internet of Things, and the smarter next-generation manufacturing technology needed to enable this smart, connected future.

What does the IoT really mean for the semiconductor world?

The exciting emerging opportunities for smart connected objects ─ from cars to industrial systems ─ that are changing our lives also mean change for our semiconductor manufacturing business, suggests Tom Walsh, president of Tokyo Electron NEXX, who will speak on the issue in the new Meet the Experts program at SEMICON West on July 12. “These new applications require many and various new materials and packaging solutions,” he says. “But the technical challenges are not as big as the economic ones —these automotive and consumer products need equipment that is cheaper than the typical advanced front end tools, and fewer tools will be required to manufacture some of the smaller die.” That means more standardized baselines platforms for packaging, and more options for creative solutions to retrofit existing tools for new applications. “Maybe we can remove some unneeded features — sort of like taking out the heated seats,” he quips, to meet a specific technical need at lower cost.

The wildcard for this new reality is augmented reality headsets. “If eye-glasses come to replace the mobile phone as consumers’ main device, that changes the world,” he notes.

Emerging industrial applications for virtual reality

In the past year the automotive industry has increasingly come to rely on virtual reality for mockups and design reviews to save the time and cost involved in making clay models, and the technology is also finding use in employee training and the semiconductor supply chain, notes David Chang, HTC director of Corporate Development and Partnerships, another speaker in the SEMICON West “Meet the Experts” program. “We’re starting to see some users in the semiconductor industry use VR for exposition displays,” he says, noting the appeal of the more immersive working demonstrations of equipment without the cost and limitations of bring actual equipment to a show. “Virtual reality isn’t just for gaming any more, but for serious business,” he contends. HTC will be demonstrating automotive and manufacturing applications of virtual reality in the Smart Journey area at SEMICON West.

Chang says the 2Kbit resolution and 90 frames/second refresh of the HTC VIVE system is now close to that of human vision, and the lighthouse base-station system that tracks the position and orientation of the head adjusts appropriately for a realistic view that makes the system sufficiently precise for serious industrial applications. It integrates with Dassault Système’s CATiA CAD software so designers can physically view their designs without extra effort.

New data base tracks packaging technologies across the changing OSAT sector

As the OSAT industry matures, the way we do packaging and assembly is changing dramatically, as advanced packaging moves more to a wafer-level technology in a more fab-like environment, and much of the growth moves to China, notes Jan Vardaman, president of TechSearch International, speaking in the Advanced Packaging program.  She’ll introduce the new Worldwide OSAT Manufacturing Site Database, developed by SEMI and TechSearch, which tracks what types of packages are made in which facilities of 120 OSATs worldwide. Based on two years of factory visits and personal interviews, this detailed analysis allows fabless companies to easily see the full options for the packaging and assembly technologies they need, and equipment and materials suppliers to quickly see the needs of customers worldwide. “I think this is one of the greatest services that SEMI can offer its audience, says Vardaman. “It will save people a huge amount of time.”

Big changes from artificial intelligence

A number of other speakers at SEMICON West will focus on the use of data analytics, machine learning, and other types of AI in enabling the emerging generation of both semiconductor applications and semiconductor manufacturing. GE Global Research Lead Machine learning researcher Weina Ge, Ericsson Research director of IoT & Analytics Zsolt Parnaki, and NVIDIA technical marketing lead Tim Wong will cover automotive and IoT applications, while Coventor CTO David Fried, Nanotronics CRO Justin Stanwix, Motivo Data Analytics CTO Luigi Capodieci, and Siemens director, Industry Solutions, PLM Software, Tim Hewitt will address uses in semiconductor manufacturing.

Speakers from Lawrence Livermore National Lab, Multibeam Corp, NeoSpectra, NXP, Quarnergy Systems, SAE, Synopsis, andYole Développement are also talking on automotive and IoT technologies. ASE, ASM Pacific Technology, Edwards Vacuum, EV Group, SPTS, and the Heterogeneous Integration Roadmap will cover next generation IC process and packaging issues.

These SEMICON West 2017 programs, included in the basic Expo Only pass, run all day within the Smart Journey demonstration area in West Hall, with its virtual and augmented reality experiences which highlight the smart, connected future.

Worldwide industrial semiconductor revenues grew by 3.8 percent year-over-year in 2016, to $43.5 billion, according to the latest analysis from business information provider IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO).

Industrial electronics equipment demand was broad-based, with continued growth in commercial and military avionics, digital signage, network video surveillance, HVAC, smart meters, traction, PV inverters, LED lighting and various medical electronics such as cardiac equipment, hearing aids and imaging systems, IHS Markit said.

The U.S. economy continued to boost industrial spending while improved economic conditions in Europe and large emerging countries like China, India and Brazil toward the end of 2016 that propelled growth. These economic conditions are expected to continue thorough 2017, according to the IHS Markit analysis.

Top 20 company ranks: Global industrial semiconductor market share

Texas Instruments (TI) maintained its position as the largest industrial semiconductor supplier in 2016 followed by Intel, STMicroelectronics, Infineon Technologies and Analog Devices. Intel surged to second place, swapping spots with Infineon, which dropped to fourth. The Intel IoT group’s double-digit revenue growth is attributed to strength in factory automation, video surveillance and medical segments.

“Toshiba, ON Semiconductor and Microchip Technology climbed into the top 10 industrial semiconductor supplier ranks in 2016,” said Robbie Galoso, principal analyst, industrial semiconductors for IHS Markit. Toshiba’s industrial market share rank jumped to number six, according to survey feedback. Toshiba’s industrial electronics revenue grew from $1.1 billion in 2015 to $1.4 billion in 2016—a 30.5 percent bounce driven by discretes, microcomponent integrated circuits (ICs), memory and logic IC solutions in manufacturing and process automation, power and energy as well as security and video surveillance.

Mergers and acquisitions make an impact

The semiconductor industry had another cycle of merger and acquisition in 2016 that affected the competitive landscape. The combined ON Semiconductor – Fairchild organization generated $1.3 billion in 2016 industrial revenues, catapulting the consolidated company into seventh place. The acquisition of Fairchild allowed On Semiconductor to leapfrog to the top ranks of the power discrete market, forecast to be one of the higher growth markets over the next five years, IHS Markit said

On Semiconductor has been a relatively small player in the power discrete segment; with the Fairchild acquisition, it now has the scale and product portfolio to compete effectively with the combined Infineon International Rectifier. On Semiconductor’s 2016 revenue grew nearly 60 percent, largely driven by analog and discretes in the manufacturing and process automation and the power and energy sectors, both of which were sizeable segments for Fairchild.

The Microchip Technology – Atmel merger generated $1.2 billion in revenues in 2016, propelling the combined company into 10th place. The acquisition of leading microcontroller supplier, Atmel, positioned Microchip as the third-ranked supplier of microcomponent ICs in the industrial market, after Intel and TI. The combination of Microchip and Atmel created an MCU powerhouse, allowing it to compete effectively against the combined NXP Freescale. Microchip Technology’s 2016 revenue growth of 53 percent was driven by microcomponent ICs in manufacturing and process automation, Atmel’s bread and butter. Toshiba, Micron and ON Semiconductor displaced Nichia, Renesas and Xilinx in the top 10 rankings.

China’s massive investments in light-emitting diode (LED) manufacturing capacity propelled Chinese firm MLS into the 2016 top 20 industrial semiconductor supplier ranks, displacing Maxim. “MLS posted revenue growth of 27 percent, to $640 million, building its share against competition including top-20 firms Nichia, Osram and Cree,” added Galoso.

Strategic acquisitions will continue to play a major role in shaping the overall semiconductor market rankings in key industrial semiconductor segments. IHS Markit expects Analog Devices to increase its lead in 2017 market shares among the top semiconductor suppliers, due to an acquisition of Linear Technology. A joint Analog Devices – Linear Technology would battle for the number four spot and impressive gains in test and measurement, manufacturing and process automation as well as medical electronics.  Among the top 10 semiconductor suppliers, eight companies achieved growth in 2016, with two companies posting double-digit growth due to mergers.

industrial semi growth

Industrial semiconductor key growth drivers

Optical semiconductors delivered solid performance, driven by continued strength in the LED lighting market. IHS Markit expects the LED segment to grow from $9.4 billion in 2016 to $14.3 billion in 2021. With many countries phasing out incandescent bulbs, mass adoption of energy-efficient LED lighting solutions will continue to gain traction as prices for LED lamps fall to affordable levels for average-income households. Discrete power transistors, thyristors, rectifiers and power diodes are expected grow from $5.7 billion in 2015 to $8 billion in 2021 due to policy shifts toward energy efficiency in the factory automation market. IHS Markit projects that the microcontrollers (MCUs) segment  will grow robustly in the long term, expanding from $4.4 billion in 2016 to $7 billion in 2021, attributing this growth to both shipments and average selling price driven by system level cost savings provided by MCUs through advances in power efficiency and integration integrated features supporting connectivity, security, sensors and HMI.

Each year at SEMICON West, the “Best of West” awards are presented by Solid State Technology and SEMI. More than 26,000 professionals from the electronics manufacturing supply chain attend SEMICON West and the co-located Intersolar. The “Best of West” award was established to recognize new products moving the industry forward with technological developments in the electronics supply chain.

Selected from over 600 exhibitors, SEMI announced today that the following Best of West 2017 Finalists will be displaying their products on the show floor at Moscone Center from July 11-13:

  • Mentor, a Siemens Business: Tessent® Cell-Aware Diagnosis – With FinFETs in high volume, finding systematic yield issues at the transistor level is important. The Tessent Cell-Aware Diagnosis technology significantly improves diagnosis of defects beyond the inter-connect and inside the logic cells. (Process Control, Metrology and Test Category; North Hall Booth #6661)
  • Microtronic Inc.: EAGLEview 5 Macro Defect Management Platform – EagleView 5 is the new, yield-enhancing, breakthrough macro defect inspection platform that was developed – and deployed in production — through collaboration with several leading device manufacturers who wanted to standardize and unify wafer defect management throughout their fab. Innovations include: dramatically improved defect detection; level-specific sorting; and integration with manual microscopes. (Process Control, Metrology and Test Category; North Hall Booth #5467)
  • SPTS Technologies Ltd: SentinelTM End-Point Detection System for Plasma Dicing after Grind – The Sentinel™ End-Point Detection System improves the control of plasma dicing processes and protects taped wafers for improved yields.  In addition to signaling exposure of the tape, Sentinel™ also detects loss of active cooling during the process to enable intervention to prevent yield loss. (Process Control, Metrology and Test Category; West Hall Booth #7617)
  • TEL: Stratus P500 – The Stratus P500 system electroplates panel substrates with wafer level processing precision.  As redistribution layers (RDL) reduce to widths below 10 µm line/space, and package sizes increase, conventional plating systems are challenged to meet system-on-package requirements. The P500 makes panel scale fine line RDL and feature filling applications possible. (Assembly/Packaging Solutions Category; North Hall Booth #6168)

Congratulations to each of the Finalists. The Best of West Award winner will be announced during SEMICON West (www.semiconwest.org) on Wednesday, July 12, 2017.