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Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (Nasdaq: CY) today announced the appointment of Catherine P. Lego to its board of directors. She will serve on the company’s Audit Committee. Lego brings to Cypress an established board record with public technology companies and more than a dozen private enterprises, plus invaluable experience supporting executive teams to drive the strategic growth of component, module and systems businesses.

“We are pleased to have Cathy Lego join Cypress’ board,” said Steve Albrecht, Cypress’ chairman. “She will be an excellent addition. Cathy brings a wealth of high tech board experience that aligns well with Cypress’ strategic evolution to become a high-growth leader of embedded solutions. We expect her to be an outstanding resource who will help the management team continue its strong execution of the Cypress 3.0 strategy.”

Lego currently serves on the boards of Lam Research Corporation and IPG Photonics Corporation. At Lam Research, she chairs the Compensation Committee and is a member of the Nominating and Governance Committee. From 2009 until 2014, she chaired the Audit Committee. At IPG Photonics, her roles include chair of the Compensation Committee and member of the Audit Committee. She was previously on the board of Fairchild Semiconductor from 2013 until its 2016 acquisition by ON Semiconductor. In addition, she served on the boards of SanDisk Corporation and JDS Uniphase. During her tenure of more than 25 years contributing in various committee roles, Lego has been trusted as chair or member of Audit Committees for almost every public or private company board she has been affiliated with. In 2015, she received a Directors 100 award from the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) for her board service.

Lego previously was a partner at two venture capital funds and practiced as a certified public accountant with Coopers & Lybrand (now PwC). She is the founder, owner and principal of Lego Ventures, LLC, where she consults with early-stage technology companies, develops business plans, obtains seed and expansion financing, and advises on strategic growth through mergers or acquisitions.

Lego, 60, holds a B.A. in economics and biology from Williams College and an M.S. in accounting from the New York University Graduate School of Business.

By Dave Anderson, president, SEMI Americas

The SEMI Strategic Materials Conference (SMC) is the industry’s premier event devoted to technology and business drivers of materials in the electronics supply chain. Slated for September 18-20 in San Jose, Calif., the 18th annual SMC “offers a unique chance to network and discover opportunities in and around the industry in a year where dramatic growth has returned to the semiconductor market,” observes SMC 2017 co-chair Mark Thirsk of Linx Consulting, who will provide opening remarks at the conference.

SMC features three distinguished keynote speakers: AMD’s CTO, Mark Papermaster, will discuss “The Future of Semiconductors: Moore’s Law Plus.”  Next, Lam Research’s CTO, Dave Hemker, will present “The Next Level: Is it Time for Equipment and Materials Suppliers to Collaborate More?” describing how the current market environment is having a rippling effect across the supply chain. “As the continuation of Moore’s Law becomes ever-more challenging, closer, earlier collaboration between materials suppliers, equipment makers, and semiconductor manufacturers becomes necessary,” says Hemker.   SMIC’s Sunny Hui, senior VP of Marketing, will kick off day two telling the audience how to “Collaborate to Win in China.”

The first day’s agenda features “Economic and Market Trends: The Consolidation Game (M&A), China, 200mm & More,” with speakers from Applied Materials, Credit Suisse, Linx Consulting, and SEMI China.

Detailing Heterogeneous Integration for Performance and Scaling, UCLA’s Subramanian S. Iyer will describe how adapting silicon-inspired processing, integration, and materials to advanced packaging constructs may be the key to perpetuating Moore’s Law.

The Future of Materials Market in China will focus on the state of China’s semiconductor materials industry, government policies, growth opportunities for suppliers, and best practices for companies operating in this expanding environment.  Hear from Dow Chemical, Konfoong Materials International (KFMI) and SMIC.

More than twenty program sessions will explore the developments driving industry growth and enabling innovative new materials for today’s evolving electronics industry. The conference agenda also includes:

  • Process Challenges at 5nm & Beyond: Insights from ARM, Samsung, and TSMC.
  • Universities − Innovation Drivers: Viewpoints from Stanford University, University of California Berkeley, and University of Chicago.
  • Materials Supply Chain Challenges in Adjacent Industries: Perspectives from Linde Group, PARC (Xerox), and Pixelligent Technologies
  • Heterogeneous Integration − Design to New Materials & Packaging: Insights from ASE Group, imec, and UCLA

SMC 2017 will close with an Executive Panel discussion addressing emerging material challenges for each participant’s company and the segment within which it operates. Executives from Intel, Tokyo Electron, TSMC and Versum Materials will share their views on how the industry can collectively address challenges through focused R&D investment, collaboration throughout the vertical supply chain, and the application of innovative business strategies to ensure a win-win for all companies across the extended supply chain.

I hope to see you at the SEMI Strategic Materials Conference this month. Learn more and register here.

Note: The SEMI Strategic Material Conference (SMC) is organized by the Chemical and Gas Manufacturers Group, a SEMI not-for-profit Special Interest Group comprised of leading manufacturers, producers, packagers, and distributors of chemicals and gases used in the electronics industry.

 

Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc (TAIEX: 2311, NYSE: ASX), a semiconductor assembly and test service provider, announced that its K7 manufacturing facility in Kaohsiung has received the Green Factory Label from the Industrial Development Bureau, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan. K7 is the sixth factory following K3, K5, K11, K12 and K15, at the ASE Kaohsiung Nantze campus to receive the label.

ASE is fully committed to corporate sustainability through actions that produce tangible results and meet our goal of co-existence with the environment. In 2009, ASE Kaohsiung green building plans were drawn up to combine nature with technology, and provide a green factory environment optimized for living, productivity and the ecology. The ASE K7 building has incorporated green innovation, eco-friendly designs, energy and water conservation, waste reduction, low carbon and various environmental benchmarks to achieve the green factory label.

‘Sustainability has always been at the core of ASE’s corporate philosophy,’ said KC Chou, senior vice president, ASE. ‘In 2014, ASE Kaohsiung implemented the EEWH-RN system and adopted ‘clean production’. Beginning with sustainable product design and production, green management, social responsibility to innovation; these four facets helped reduce resource consumption, reduce waste, lower impacts to the environment and other improvements that aim to strike a balance between economic and environmental sustainability. Our Kaohsiung facilities are constantly challenged to establish energy reduction goals and each department regularly proposes diverse programs to lower carbon footprints. This year, K7 is also working towards achieving the EEWH-RN diamond grade. At ASE, we will continuously raise the bar on our sustainability performance,’ he concluded.

About ASE Sustainability Actions and Results

ASE K7

  • Green innovation. The use of DI water to replace acetic acid reduced the usage of organic acid by 14,400 liters.
  • Green material usage. The use of boron-free developing agent reduced boron-containing agent usage by 1,830 liters and boron-containing liquid waste by 2,015 metric tons per year. The use of lead-free solder paste reduced usage of lead paste by 1,500 kg per year.
  • Energy efficient manufacturing process. Improvements made to the adsorption dryer reduced energy usage by 278,495 kWh per year.
  • Water efficiency. The use of chamber piping to control water flow resulted in water savings of 314.52 tons per year. Employing UF and RO systems further reduced wastewater discharge volume by 15,600 tons.
  • Lower carbon emissions. Converting the fixed frequency of chilled water pumps and cooling water pumps to variable frequency enabled us to reduce 625 tons of CO2 equivalent per year. Energy efficiency lights are installed throughout the factory premises, further reducing 793 tons of CO2 equivalent per year.
  • Waste reduction. Establishing a central chemical delivery system helped reduce the use of 1,208 chemical barrels per year. We also reduced photoresist coating usage by 14,400 liters per year. Gold and copper reuse amounted to 474.45 kg per year. Wafer cassette reuse amounted to 39,795 pieces per year.

Building certifications as of August 31, 2017

  • LEED rating：Kaohsiung K12, K21, K22, K23, K26；Chung Li Buildings K and L；Shanghai Headquarters
  • EEWH rating：Kaohsiung K3, K4, K5, K7, K11, K12, K14B(water recycling facility), K15, K16, K21, K26；Chung Li Building A
  • Green Factory Label：Kaohsiung K3, K5, K7, K11, K12, K15
  • In progress: The construction of our new K24 building in Kaohsiung has taken into consideration of ‘low carbon footprint building’ methodologies from the transportation of materials, equipment, type of material used, renovation, dismantling and the entire building’s life cycle.

Leti, a technology research institute of CEA Tech, and Mentor, a Siemens business, today announced Leti will provide access to the Mentor Veloce emulator to SMEs and startups and will introduce emulation technology to global companies beginning Q3 2017. The Veloce emulator is Mentor’s high-capacity, high-speed, multi-application tool for emulation of system-on chip (SoC) designs that was installed at Leti in 2013.

Emulation is a vital process for more efficient development of complex digital circuits that includes debugging the design at early stages and validating the upstream, onboard software operation.

The Veloce emulator accelerates block and full SoC register-transfer level (RTL) simulations during all phases of the design process, ending the long delay between starting simulations and getting results. It enables pre-silicon testing and debug, can use real-world data, while both hardware and software designs are still fluid.

“Veloce dramatically speeds up the design cycle, because it is 1,000 times faster than traditional RTL simulation tools,” said Thierry Colette, head of Leti’s Architecture, IC Design and Embedded Software division. “It is now possible to verify multi-processor circuits that have several billion transistors – a real competitive advantage that improves return on investment and speeds time to market. But because this powerful tool represents a major investment for microelectronics manufacturers or design houses, Leti is launching this special emulation service to provide our partners direct access to this technology and the benefits it offers.”

“Mentor’s cooperation with CEA-Leti spans a variety of research topics over multiple years,” says Eric Selosse, vice president and general manager of the Mentor Emulation Division. “The intent to proliferate state-of-the-art hardware emulation-based verification methodology to the high technology market is a very attractive goal and we’re proud to contribute to it with our Veloce solutions.”

The Leti offer, which targets European chipmakers, includes Leti’s expert support, such as taking control of device design, optimized implementation within the emulator, debug and analysis of results. Leti also will provide access and support to additional specific tools available in its Grenoble facility, as needed.

To ensure data security, this emulator offer will include:

  • a new chassis and cards representing an emulation capacity of 50 Mgates at this stage
    (could be upgrade on demand)
  • a dedicated and secure network for customers
  • servers dedicated to this offer, connected to a secure network to manage emulation with internal tools.

The network architecture is designed so that Leti partners in this program can remotely view emulation progress or retrieve results.

Littelfuse, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFUS) and IXYS Corporation (NASDAQ:IXYS) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Littelfuse will acquire all of the outstanding shares of IXYS in a cash and stock transaction. The transaction represents an equity value of approximately $750 million and enterprise value of $655 million. Under the terms of the agreement, each IXYS stockholder will be entitled to elect to receive, per IXYS share, either $23.00 in cash or 0.1265 of a share of Littelfuse common stock, subject to proration. In total, 50% of IXYS stock will be converted into the cash election option and 50% into the stock election option.

IXYS is a global developer in the power semiconductor and integrated circuit markets with a focus on medium to high voltage power control semiconductors across the industrial, communications, consumer and medical markets. IXYS has a broad customer base, serving more than 3,500 customers through its direct salesforce and global distribution partners. IXYS reported revenues of $322 million in its fiscal 2017 with an adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 13.5%.

The combined company is expected to have annual revenues of approximately $1.5 billion, with the following compelling strategic and financial benefits:

  • Broader technology platform and capability to expand growth into industrial and electronics markets
  • Increased long-term penetration of power control portfolio in automotive markets, expanding global content per vehicle
  • Heightened engineering expertise and intellectual property around high voltage and silicon carbide semiconductor technologies
  • Increased presence in the semiconductor industry, adding to our scale and volume
  • Strong relationships and complementary overlap in major global electronics distribution partnerships enabling cross-selling
  • Immediately accretive to adjusted EPS and free cash flow post transaction close(2)
  • Expect to generate more than $30 million in annualized cost savings; additional future value created from revenue synergies and tax rate reduction

“As the largest acquisition in our 90-year history, this is an exciting milestone for Littelfuse,” said Dave Heinzmann, President and Chief Executive Officer, Littelfuse. “IXYS’ extensive power semiconductor portfolio and technology expertise fit squarely within our strategy to accelerate our growth within power control and industrial OEM markets. The combination of Littelfuse and IXYS unites complementary capabilities, cultures and relationships.”

“IXYS will operate as the cornerstone of the combined companies’ power semiconductor business,” said Dr. Nathan Zommer, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of IXYS. “Both Littelfuse and IXYS have long histories of innovation and customer-focused product development, and together, we will embrace the entrepreneurial spirit that has contributed to IXYS’ success in the power semiconductor and integrated circuits market.”

“The combination of IXYS and Littelfuse creates a stronger player in the power semiconductor industry, with the ability to leverage our collective resources and portfolio to create increased value for our customers,” added Uzi Sasson, President and Chief Executive Officer of IXYS. “We believe that being a part of a world-class organization like Littelfuse will provide a bright future for IXYS and the talented people at our respective companies.”

Transaction highlights

The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to Littelfuse’s adjusted earnings per share and free cash flow in the first full year post transaction close, excluding any acquisition and integration related costs. Littelfuse expects to achieve more than $30 million of annualized cost savings within the first two years after closing the transaction. Longer term, the combination is also expected to create significant revenue synergy opportunities given the companies’ complementary offerings, as well as benefits from future tax rate reduction.

In conjunction with the definitive agreement, Dr. Nathan Zommer, IXYS founder and currently the company’s largest stockholder with approximately 21% ownership, has entered into a voting and support agreement. Subject to the agreement’s terms and conditions, he has agreed to vote his shares in favor of the transaction. After close of the transaction, Dr. Zommer is expected to join Littelfuse’s Board of Directors, subject to the board’s governance and approval process. His technical skills and extensive experience across the semiconductor industry will benefit the combined company with its integration efforts, innovation roadmap and revenue expansion.

The transaction is expected to close in the first calendar quarter of 2018 and is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and approval by IXYS stockholders. Littelfuse expects to finance the cash portion of the transaction consideration through a combination of existing cash and additional debt.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is serving as financial advisor and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is serving as legal counsel to Littelfuse. Needham & Company, LLC is serving as financial advisor and Latham & Watkins LLP is serving as legal counsel to IXYS.

The lithography metrology equipment market is riding on the high wave of the semiconductor industry. The 2x and 1x nodes of memory and logic devices, coupled with the sensor and connected devices required to support the growth in IoT, self-driving cars, and ARs are among the key drivers which will drive the lithography metrology market. Worth $957.9 million in 2016, the market is expected reach revenue of $ 1370.1 million by 2021 at a CAGR of 7.4% although each product segment will vary in growth rate. The overlay and OCD segment will witness high growth driven primarily by the technical capability to measure at required specification and high throughput for the sub-28nm nodes.

The study focuses on both dimensional and placement metrology systems used for the process control in patterning the wafers and reticles in semiconductor fabs and mask shops, particularly after mask and etch processes of the process flow.

The metrology systems covered in the study includes:
• CD-SEM
• OCD
• Overlay

The market size of each product segment is provided for 2016 and forecasted up to 2021. The competitive landscape of each segment and the market share of key competitors such as Hitachi High-Technologies, KLA-Tencor, and ASML are also provided along with their strategic approach towards the market. The market participants are working towards enhancing the current capabilities to stay valid with device miniaturization and growing complexity of the architecture. A comparison of the current technological capability of each product is also provided. Furthermore, an insight into new technologies being developed to meet the future needs of the industry is also provided.

The study highlights and analyzes the factors that will enable market growth and the challenges that the industry will face during 2017 to 2021. In addition, the study covers a geographical analysis of the market with revenue in 2016 and an analysis of forecasted growth until 2021.

Key Questions this Study will Answer
• Which product segment will grow the fastest in the next 5 years and what is the market size in terms of revenue for each of the segments?
• What impact will IoT and industry inflection will have on the market?
• What are the key market and technology trends?
• What are the competitive landscape and dynamics influencing the growth and development of the market?

Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p05075852/Analysis-of-Global-Lithography-Metrology-Equipment-Market-Forecast-to.html

North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $2.27 billion in billings worldwide in July 2017 (three-month average basis), according to the July Equipment Market Data Subscription (EMDS) Billings Report published today by SEMI.

SEMI reports that the three-month average of worldwide billings of North American equipment manufacturers in July 2017 was $2.27 billion. The billings figure is 1.4 percent lower than the final June 2017 level of $2.30 billion, and is 32.8 percent higher than the July 2016 billings level of $1.71 billion.

“We observed softening in the equipment billings in July following the strong surge in the first half of the year,” said Ajit Manocha, president and CEO of SEMI. “However, overall, equipment billings remain significantly up year-over-year, with 2017 on-track to be a record spending year.”

The SEMI Billings report uses three-month moving averages of worldwide billings for North American-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers. Billings figures are in millions of U.S. dollars.

Billings
(3-mo. avg)
Year-Over-Year
February 2017
$1,974.0
63.9%
March 2017
$2,079.7
73.7%
April 2017
$2,136.4
46.3%
May 2017
$2,270.5
41.8%
June 2017 (final)
$2,300.3
34.1%
July 2017 (prelim)
$2,268.4
32.8%

Source: SEMI (www.semi.org), August 2017

LTX-Credence shipped the 600th PAx test system to Skyworks Solutions, Inc., an innovator of high performance analog semiconductors connecting people, places and things. The PAx platform has been specifically designed to address the high volume manufacturing test challenges of suppliers of advanced front end RF devices such as Multiband RF Power amplifiers, RF Front End Modules, RF Analog System in Package and RF discrete devices. The PAx platform is shipped in two main configurations, PAx and PAx-ac, which are deployed at most IDM, Fabless and OSAT companies specializing in the high volume manufacturing and test of these types of devices.

“Our goal with the PAx platform was to offer semiconductor manufacturers of RF front end devices an alternative to deploying their own in house test systems.” Steve Wigley, Vice President of the semiconductor tester group of Xcerra, commented: “Our approach was to leverage LTX-Credence RF manufacturing test technology and use our systems expertise to package it in a compact footprint to offer the required levels of performance, fast test times and operational availability. The shipment of the 600th of these test systems demonstrates the value of this approach, and has established the PAx platform as the clear market leader for testing RF front end applications with an estimated market share greater than 70%”.

TowerJazz, the global specialty foundry, and Tacoma Technology Ltd and Tacoma (Nanjing) Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd (collectively known as “Tacoma”) announced today that Tower has received a first payment of $18 million net, rendering phase one of the framework agreement with Tacoma binding. This agreement maps the establishment of a new 8-inch semiconductor fabrication facility in Nanjing, China. According to the terms of the framework agreement, TowerJazz will provide technological expertise together with operational and integration consultation, for which the Company shall receive additional payments based on milestones during the next few years, subject to a definitive agreement specifying all terms and conditions.

In addition, from the start of production at the facility, TowerJazz will be entitled to capacity allocation of up to 50% of the targeted 40,000 wafer per month fab capacity, which it may decide to use at its discretion. This capacity will provide TowerJazz with additional manufacturing capability and flexibility to address its growing global demand.

Tacoma will be responsible to source funds for all activities, milestones and deliverables of the entire project, including the construction, commissioning and ramp of this facility, with the project being fully supported by Nanjing Economic and Technology Development Zone through its Administration Committee, Credito Capital as well as through potential funding from other third party investors and entities.

“This agreement with Tacoma is in line with our business strategy to focus on growing markets such as China. The fabless business in China has grown rapidly in the past years. The new 8-inch fabrication facility in Nanjing will provide us with a strategic footprint in China and the opportunity to extend our offerings in advanced specialty process technologies by enabling customers in China to optimize their product performance and time to market,” said Dr. Itzhak Edrei, TowerJazz President.

Russell Ellwanger, TowerJazz Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are exploring multiple opportunities in China, and determined this agreement with Tacoma to be a good fit for TowerJazz, providing a roadmap for a meaningful long-term strategic partnership. China’s focus to develop its domestic semiconductor industry with full infrastructure presents additional opportunities for TowerJazz, as a global analog leader, to expand our served markets and geographic presence. This partnership will enable us to further fulfill our customers’ needs through additional available capacity as well as to be an active player in the growing Chinese market.”

Joseph Lee, Tacoma Chairman, stated: “Deeply engraved in the corporate culture of both Tacoma and TowerJazz is the core belief in working ‘SMART’ with ‘PASSION.’ Our people are committed to contributing to our business partners, the global semiconductor industry and society with the best endeavor and integrity. Tacoma will fully fund this project together with Credito Capital and other entities. This venture will become a dominant player in Asia and will raise the standard in the semiconductor industry to another level.”

A groundbreaking and signing ceremony took place in Nanjing, China, attended by TowerJazz Chairman Mr. Amir Elstein, President Dr. Itzhak Edrei, Business Development Vice President Mr. Erez Imberman, as well as the then Israeli Ambassador to China the Honorable Mr. Matan Vilnai. Pictured, the signing between Tacoma Chairman, Mr. Joseph Lee and TowerJazz CEO Mr. Russell Ellwanger, with among others the above cited attendees.

The SEMI Foundation today announced that it will be celebrating its 10th anniversary of partnership with New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) on August 22-23 in Latham, New York at the NYSUT headquarters.  The Foundation and NYSUT will culminate a two-day SEMI High Tech U program for teachers on Wednesday, August 23rd with a reception recognizing industry instructors from Applied Materials and KLA-Tencor for leadership in volunteerism and STEM education.

The SEMI Foundation’s acclaimed STEM program, SEMI High Tech U – Teacher Edition has reached more than 600 teachers in upstate New York since 2007.  The two-day teacher program provides industry led, hands-on activities and curriculum that teachers can take back to the classroom in addition to unique opportunities to network with high-tech industry professionals.  Teachers-turned-students also tour the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering for a first-hand look at how relevant STEM skills are utilized in a high-tech workplace.  This fall, the teachers’ new knowledge will be passed along to their students in the classroom. A retrospective survey of past SEMI High Tech U teacher participants showed that 95 percent of teachers who attend SEMI High Tech U – Teacher Edition gain an increased understanding of the relevance of STEM skills in today’s workplace.

This year’s program at NYSUT is supported by Applied Materials, GLOBALFOUNDRIES and KLA-Tencor.

Leslie Tugman, executive director of the SEMI Foundation, states, “NYSUT is a premier model of how education and industry partnerships can work together for the benefit of all in their region.  Through NYSUT’s High Tech U programs for teachers, we have exponentially reached thousands of students to help fill the high-tech talent pipeline.”

All SEMI High Tech U modules are taught by industry professionals and two legacy volunteer instructors, Vincent Villaume of Applied Materials and Jeff Barnum of KLA-Tencor, will be honored at a reception at NYSUT on August 23.