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SEMI’s Industry Strategy Symposium (ISS) opened yesterday with a theme focused on new industry forces and new markets.  The annual three-day conference of C-level executives gives the year’s first strategic outlook of the global electronics manufacturing industry. Today’s keynote, economic trends, and market perspectives highlighted market and technology opportunities and marked the rising tide for 2017 investments in the semiconductor manufacturing supply chain. While Day 1 brought both insight and optimism to the more than 200 attendees, deeper discussions on technology, applications, regional opportunities, and an expert panel on mergers and acquisitions will be presented on Day 2 and Day 3 of SEMI’s business leader annual kick-off event.

Opening keynoter Gary Patton, CTO and senior VP of worldwide R&D at GLOBALFOUNDRIES, presented a wide-ranging overview of industry growth and opportunities. Referencing Thomas Friedman’s three disruptive trends:  globalization, climate change, and Moore’s Law, Patton showed 2016’s global semiconductor merger and acquisition activity exceeding a staggering $130 billion and China’s rapidly growing IC production which is forecast to reach more than 20 percent of global output in 2020.

Patton identified five areas of semiconductor growth: IoT (Internet of Things), Automotive, 5G (mobile network), AR & VR (Augmented & Virtual Reality), and Artificial Intelligence.  From 2016 to 2025, Patton forecasted that semiconductor IoT content will grow from $15 billion to $62 billion, Automotive will grow from $32 billion to $51 billion, 5G will grow from $0 to $20 billion, AR/VR will grow from $4 billion to $131 billion, and Artificial Intelligence will grow from $5 billion to $50 billion.

For these different growth areas, Patton and GLOBALFOUNDRIES see a variety of solutions, what they’re calling “the right technology for the right application.”  This includes FinFET, FD-SOI, and different technology nodes selected for specific applications.  DTCO (Design-Technology Co-Optimization), and collaboration with not just suppliers, but sub-suppliers, raw materials and components manufacturers were key tools for success with Patton calling for greater cooperation in working within SEMI’s Semiconductor Components, Instruments, and Subsystems (SCIS) Special Interest Group.

In the Economic Trends session, presenters took on macroeconomic trends and detailed industry-specific forecasts:

  • Paul Thomas, Economic Stories, long-time former chief economist at Intel, drilled down on the topic of innovation, productivity, and economic stagnation.  Thomas presented data that showed productivity growth rates are not showing the expected benefits of digitization (computers, etc.).  He discussed possible causes for the discrepancies and gave food for thought on the gaps between perceived and measured productivity gains due to digital innovations.
  • Jim Hines, Gartner, provided a recently upgraded semiconductor and electronics market.  With recent improvements in chip prices, increasing semiconductor content, and inventory replenishment 2016 IC revenue was upgraded from 0.9 percent to 1.5 percent for 2016.  2016 is now forecast to come in at $340 billion.  2017 forecasts were adjusted from 5.5 percent to 7.7 percent.  Areas for strong growth are seen to be non-optical sensors (NOS), memory, opto-electronics and automotive growth (driven by connected vehicles, automated driving, and powertrain electrification).
  • G. Dan Hutcheson, VLSI Research, forecasted semiconductor equipment revenue at $54 billion, up 10 percent in 2016 and an outlook for $58 billion, up 8 percent, in 2017. Hutcheson showed data that the industry bottomed in April 2016 and in July 2016 demand pressure shifted the industry into an upturn.  Shortages in semiconductor supply will continue to drive growth in 2017.  Cloud computing and automotive are hot spots with smartphones in China, PC replacement cycles, DRAM pricing and Flash for SSD providing further positive support.
  • Michael Corbett, Linx Consulting provided an overview of the dynamics for wafer fab materials in the semiconductor industry. Corbett noted that the market for semiconductor materials was $18.5 billion in 2015 with the top 50 suppliers accounting for $17.2 billion or 93 percent of the materials sold.  M&A has been active in materials with recent combination of Dow & DuPont (proposed), Linde and Praxair, and Air Liquide and Airgas.  Corbett identified key trends impacting WFM suppliers including a consolidating customer base while at the same time the industry finds new entrants from China.
  • Matt Gertken, BCA Research provided a more academic geopolitical outlook for 2017.  Looking through the lenses of multipolarity, mercantilism, and dirigisme, Gertken provided context for the changes in progressive and protectionist forces over time.  Showing that globalization increased almost monotonically from 1950 through 2010, it appears to have hit a trade globalization peak where globalization plateaued and, in part, set the stage for Brexit and the unexpected Trump win and related more protectionist sentiment.

The afternoon session focused on Market Perspectives, including consumer, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and automotive.

  • Shawn DuBravac, Consumer Tech Association, gave a summary of CES 2017 which just ended the day before.  DuBravac found three unifying trends at this year’s event:  voice, AI, and connections and computations.  It is anticipated that we are entering the era of faceless computing. The next computer interface is voice – with vocal computing replacing the traditional GUIs for robots and other emerging computing devices.
  • Prasad Sabada, Google, in his presentation on “Cloud and Moore: Disruptors for Semiconductors,” discussed two inflection points.  Tectonics shift #1:  Cloud. Tectonic Shift #2:  No more Moore’s Law.  Sabada sees the industry entering an era of accelerators – application specific devices that may leapfrog up to three Moore’s Law node generations.  Sabada called upon the semiconductor manufacturing industry for the need for speed (launch changes at the speed of software), the need for balanced system integration (innovation across the system), and the need for open innovation and collaboration.
  • Dario Gill, IBM Research, focused on “the new frontiers” of computing.  Gill talked about “Beautiful Ideas.”  He presented two:  Artificial intelligence, a beautiful idea with consensus; and Quantum Computing a beautiful idea (currently) without consensus.  He went on to show the value of artificial intelligence and the complicated and extraordinary potential for Quantum Computing.
  • Mark Bünger, Lux Research, believes the industry needs to rethink sensors, networks, and autonomy in automotive. Bünger forecast that autonomy could proceed much faster than diffusion of other car features because of its massive potential for improving utilization. It is not without disruption, though, as carmakers are worried about “losing the dashboard.”  Bünger provided several visceral examples of autonomous driving scenarios to make the case for AI moving to the IoT edge – and not relying on the Cloud.
  • Andrew Macleod, Mentor Graphics, discussed how automotive electronics are “a non-linear system of systems.”  Macleod pointed out that there have been three waves of recent progress in automotive electronics.  The first wave was globalization in 1984 when VW (and others) moved into the China market and pioneered automotive R&D decentralization and regional customization.  In the second wave came automotive drive electrification with the Toyota Prius in 1997.  The third wave was digitalization and the democratization of automotive.  The car is now becoming a consumer device and needs new design tools to manage the enormous amount of electronics complexity and permutations.

Days 2 and 3 at ISS will delve deeper into the industry ─ technology, manufacturing, public policy, and global forces, including China’s new focus on semiconductor manufacturing ─ with presentations from: AMEC, Applied Materials, Cadence Design Systems, imec, JSR, McKinsey & Company, Shanghai Huali Microelectronics (HLMC), IC Knowledge, International Business Strategies, Nikon, SanDisk, and SEMI. The Tuesday morning keynote is presented by Diane M. Bryant of Intel. Diego Olego of Philips Healthcare will offer the closing keynote on Wednesday, immediately before the ISS Panel on “The Future of M&A in the Semiconductor Industry,” with panelists from DCG Systems, FormFactor, MKS Instruments, and Stifel Nicolaus; moderated by Robert Maire, Semiconductor Advisors.

The SEMI Industry Strategy Symposium (ISS) examines global economic, technology, market, business and geo-political developments influencing the global electronics manufacturing industry along with their implications for your strategic business decisions. For more than 35 years, ISS has been the premier semiconductor conference for senior executives to acquire the latest trend data, technology highlights and industry perspective to support business decisions, customer strategies and the pursuit of greater profitability.

The Delivery Systems and Services Group (DS&S) of Versum Materials, Inc. (NYSE: VSM) has realized an important milestone: the sale and commissioning of its 200th CHEMGUARD Gen III high purity, liquid delivery system since the product line launched in early 2016. The 200 units are now running in the latest high-volume semiconductor fabs globally.

Built on a legacy of more than 30 years of supplying advanced materials and delivery systems to the global semiconductor and electronics markets, Versum’s DS&S Group continues to design and build safer, more reliable delivery equipment for high purity gas and liquid distribution.

Jeff Chung, DS&S Asia sales manager, said “the CHEMGUARD Gen III system has been very well received by all our major customers, especially with its new, built-in redundancy.”

The CHEMGUARD product family was first launched in 1999 under the Schumacher brand. David Eshelman, product manager, explained, “Our customers’ original requests for improved safety and uptime help create the CHEMGUARD system,” he said. Eshelman explained that those requirements still exist today, but at each node the molecules and processes used have become much more technically challenging. “The specific needs of today’s specialty, flammable or highly-energetic molecules have been addressed by the unique CHEMGUARD Gen III model designs,” he said.

Capitalizing on its materials and delivery systems expertise, Versum Materials recently created an experienced, multi-disciplined team to review new molecules as they ramp and gain market acceptance. The team evaluates the molecule safety and process needs and helps speed time-to-market for new molecules and processes by having a delivery solution ready when technology ramps.

“When our team says ‘go’ we know that the molecule is ‘CHEMGUARD Ready’,” said Eshelman. “The next node is right around the corner. We want the market to know that the established CHEMGUARD system continues to advance to meet the demands of a changing marketplace.”

From the ground-breaking research breakthroughs to the shifting supplier landscape, these are the stories the Solid State Technology audience read the most during 2016.

#1: Moore’s Law did indeed stop at 28nm

In this follow up, Zvi Or-Bach, president and CEO, MonolithIC 3D, Inc., writes: “As we have predicted two and a half years back, the industry is bifurcating, and just a few products pursue scaling to 7nm while the majority of designs stay on 28nm or older nodes.”

#2: Yield and cost challenges at 16nm and beyond

In February, KLA-Tencor’s Robert Cappel and Cathy Perry-Sullivan wrote of a new 5D solution which utilizes multiple types of metrology systems to identify and control fab-wide sources of pattern variation, with an intelligent analysis system to handle the data being generated.

#3: EUVL: Taking it down to 5nm

The semiconductor industry is nothing if not persistent — it’s been working away at developing extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) for many years, SEMI’s Deb Vogler reported in May.

#4: IBM scientists achieve storage memory breakthrough

For the first time, scientists at IBM Research have demonstrated reliably storing 3 bits of data per cell using a relatively new memory technology known as phase-change memory (PCM).

#5: ams breaks ground on NY wafer fab

In April, ams AG took a step forward in its long-term strategy of increasing manufacturing capacity for its high-performance sensors and sensor solution integrated circuits (ICs), holding a groundbreaking event at the site of its new wafer fabrication plant in Utica, New York.

#6: Foundries takeover 200mm fab capacity by 2018

In January, Christian Dieseldorff of SEMI wrote that a recent Global Fab Outlook report reveals a change in the landscape for 200mm fab capacity.

#7: Equipment spending up: 19 new fabs and lines to start construction

While semiconductor fab equipment spending was off to a slow start in 2016, it was expected to gain momentum through the end of the year. For 2016, 1.5 percent growth over 2015 is expected while 13 percent growth is forecast in 2017.

#8: How finFETs ended the service contract of silicide process

Arabinda Daa, TechInsights, provided a look into how the silicide process has evolved over the years, trying to cope with the progress in scaling technology and why it could no longer be of service to finFET devices.

#9: Five suppliers to hold 41% of global semiconductor marketshare in 2016

In December, IC Insights reported that two years of busy M&A activity had boosted marketshare among top suppliers.

#10: Countdown to Node 5: Moving beyond FinFETs

A forum of industry experts at SEMICON West 2016 discussed the challenges associated with getting from node 10 — which seems set for HVM — to nodes 7 and 5.

BONUS: Most Watched Webcast of 2016: View On Demand Now

IoT Device Trends and Challenges

Presenters: Rajeev Rajan, GLOBALFOUNDRIES, and Uday Tennety, GE Digital

The age of the Internet of Things is upon us, with the expectation that tens of billions of devices will be connected to the internet by 2020. This explosion of devices will make our lives simpler, yet create an array of new challenges and opportunities in the semiconductor industry. At the sensor level, very small, inexpensive, low power devices will be gathering data and communicating with one another and the “cloud.” On the other hand, this will mean huge amounts of small, often unstructured data (such as video) will rippling through the network and the infrastructure. The need to convert that data into “information” will require a massive investment in data centers and leading edge semiconductor technology.

Also, manufacturers seek increased visibility and better insights into the performance of their equipment and assets to minimize failures and reduce downtime. They wish to both cut their costs as well as grow their profits for the organization while ensuring safety for employees, the general public and the environment.

The Industrial Internet is transforming the way people and machines interact by using data and analytics in new ways to drive efficiency gains, accelerate productivity and achieve overall operational excellence. The advent of networked machines with embedded sensors and advanced analytics tools has greatly influenced the industrial ecosystem.

Today, the Industrial Internet allows you to combine data from the equipment sensors, operational data , and analytics to deliver valuable new insights that were never before possible. The results of these powerful analytic insights can be revolutionary for your business by transforming your technological infrastructure, helping reduce unplanned downtime, improve performance and maximize profitability and efficiency.

From artificial intelligence to the Internet of Things (IoT), far-reaching innovations are unfolding in virtually every technology sector around the globe, continuing to change the way consumers, businesses and machines interact while also spurring the next revolution in tech market growth, according to a new white paper from IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO).

For the white paper, IHS Markit surveyed its leading technology experts, who represent various industry segments including advertising, automotive, connected networks, consumer devices, entertainment, displays, media, semiconductors, telecommunications and others. These analysts were asked to provide their informed predictions for the global technology market in the New Year.

The Top Seven Technology Trends for 2017, as identified in this IHS Markit report and listed in no particular order, are as follows:

Trend #1 – Smart Manufacturing Accelerates With More Real-World Products

  • Companies use IoT to transform how products are made, how supply chains are managed and how customers can influence design.
  • Example: look for automation/operator tech firms to release their own Platforms-as-a Service (PaaS) offering in the cloud as they compete to offer and own IoT projects for the industrial market.

Trend #2 – Artificial Intelligence (AI) Gets Serious

  • Already, personified AI assistants from a handful of companies (Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri) have access to billions of users via smartphones and other devices.
  • However, even bigger, more profound changes are on their way as levels of human control are ceded directly to AI, such as in autonomous cars or robots.

Trend #3 – The Rise of Virtual Worlds

  • After several years of hype, the operative reality behind virtual, augmented and mixed digital worlds is set to manifest more fully in 2017. The technology for augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) will advance significantly as Facebook, Google and Microsoft consolidate their existing technologies into more exhaustive strategies.
  • New versions of VR-capable game consoles featuring 4K video and high dynamic range (HDR) will also create the medium for high-quality VR content, even if availability will be limited for the next few years.

Trend #4 – The “Meta Cloud” Era Arrives

  • Communication service providers plan to deliver a new wave of innovation, allowing for a single connection to the enterprise and acting as a gateway to multiple cloud service providers. IHS Markit refers to this as the meta cloud.
  • In 2017, new offerings will become available from traditional Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) vendors, coupled with expanded offers from the likes of IBM, Amazon and— most notably—Google via its Tensor chip. Watch for the development and deployment of more specialized silicon in the next two years.

Trend #5 – A Revolution in New Device Formats

  • The development of the consumer drone is the closest example of a product type evolved over the past few years that has quickly gone mass market. 3D printers and pens are heading the same way.
  • The next set of new devices may well materialize at the boundary of cheap 3D printing and inexpensive smartphone components to create completely novel device types and uses.

Trend #6 – Solar Still the Largest Source of Renewable New Power

  • The next year, 2017, will see photovoltaic (PV) technology retaining—and confirming—its position as the planet’s largest source of new renewable power.
  • More than a quarter of all PV capacity added worldwide in 2016 and 2017 will be in the form of solar panels. The growth of solar can be attributed to sharp drops in the cost of PV systems, combined with favorable country policies toward new renewable power.

Trend #7 – Low-Power Technologies Extend Reach to Inaccessible IoT Devices

  • The first batch of low-power, wide-area networks (LPWAN) will go live around the world in 2017 as an alternative to short-range wireless standards such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. LPWAN technologies will connect hard-to-reach, IoT devices more efficiently and at a lower cost, dealing with challenges stemming from range limitation to poor signal strength. As a result, opportunities will open up for telecom providers to support low-bit-rate applications.
  • In turn, the increased availability and low cost of LPWAN technologies will drive connectivity for smart metering, smart building and precision agriculture, among many other applications.

Materion Corporation (NYSE: MTRN) announced today that its Precision Optics business has acquired the proprietary thin film gettering technology and related intellectual property assets from Integrated Sensing Systems (ISS), of Ypsilanti, Michigan, a global leader in the design and manufacture of microelectromechanical (MEMs)-based products and getter technology.

The assets acquired include the NanoGetters® technology, patents and trademarks. Getter technology is used to improve the long-term reliability of hermetically sealed sensor packages by capturing moisture and other stray gas molecules. The NanoGetters technology developed by ISS uses a proprietary set of materials that are precisely vacuum deposited, providing an alternative solution to traditional non-evaporative gettering technology. Nanogetter technology offers many advantages over other getter solutions including its compatibility with clean semiconductor processing techniques and its low activation temperature.

NanoGetters® materials are already being used by customers worldwide in MEMs to improve vacuum packaging in a wide range of end-use sensor applications including infrared imaging, chemical sensors, microfluidic devices and other electronics devices.

The acquisition provides a technology augmentation and completes the vertical integration of Materion Precision Optics’ wafer level process flow for thermal imaging applications. In 2014, Materion Precision Optics commissioned a 3,000-square-foot class 1,000 clean room with state-of-the-art infrared coating chambers in anticipation of the thermal imaging industry’s ongoing shift from traditional singular window packaging to wafer level packaging (WLP). With this original investment at Westford, Massachusetts, Materion gained the capability to provide customers with two of the process steps for wafer level packaging: optical coating and metallization. With the acquisition of the NanoGetters® trade name and getter technology, Materion is now able to provide a full wafer level packaging coating solution to customers, an offering unmatched in the marketplace.

“This is a technology and commercial differentiator for Materion Precision Optics. It presents major new opportunities for existing and new customers to benefit from the cost and logistical efficiencies, consistency in operational processes and product quality, as well as an overall convenience from having their full offering provided from a single partner and sequenced under one roof,” commented Michael Newell, Ph.D., President, Materion Precision Optics. He explained, “Our customers have been asking for a solution like this and we are extremely pleased to be providing it.”

The new gettering capability is expected to facilitate additional business and will enhance the value-added revenue from each wafer processed. Additionally, Materion anticipates expanding the gettering technology to applications beyond infrared imaging including inertial sensors, medical sensors, oscillators and other MEMs devices, leveraging its wafer-level technology, product development and operational capabilities.

Materion Precision Optics is a Materion Corporation business. Materion Corporation is headquartered in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. The Company, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, supplies highly engineered advanced enabling materials to global markets. Products include precious and non-precious specialty metals, inorganic chemicals and powders, specialty coatings, specialty engineered beryllium alloys, beryllium and beryllium composites, and engineered clad and plated metal systems.

GLOBALFOUNDRIES today announced the addition of eight new partners to its growing FDXcelerator Program, including Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc. (ASE Group), Amkor Technology, Infosys, Mentor Graphics, Rambus, Sasken, Sonics, and QuickLogic. These new partners join Synopsys, Cadence, INVECAS, VeriSilicon, CEA Leti, Dreamchip, and Encore Semi to provide a suite of services that will enable GLOBALFOUNDRIES customers to rapidly implement 22FDX system-on-chip (SoC) designs in low-power applications spanning Internet-of-Things (IoT), mobile, RF connectivity, and networking markets.

The FDXcelerator Partner Program builds upon GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ 22FDX and 12FDX technologies, an alternative to FinFET-based technologies for chips that require performance on demand and energy efficiency at the lowest solution cost. GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ 22FDX platform provides a lower-cost migration path from bulk nodes such as 40nm and 28nm, which allows customers to design differentiated, intelligent, and fully-integrated system solutions.

FDXcelerator partners play a critical role by providing a set of specific solutions and resources that help increase design productivity on FDX technology and reduce time-to-market for its customers. GLOBALFOUNDRIES works closely with program partners to help customers create high-performance 22FDX designs while minimizing development costs through access to a broad set of quality offerings, specific to 22FDX technology. The partner ecosystem allows GLOBALFOUNDRIES to accelerate its traction in the market and more effectively offer its FDX products and services to a broader range of customers.

The partner program extends the reach of the FD-SOI ecosystem, creating an open framework that allows selected partners to integrate their products or services into a validated, plug-and-play catalog of design solutions. The program encompasses FDX-tailored solutions and services, including:

  • EDA tools that leverage differentiated FD-SOI body-bias features, built into industry-leading design flows;
  • IP design elements and complete libraries, including foundational IP, interfaces and complex IP to enable foundry customers to start designs quickly with validated IP elements;
  • ASIC platforms for a complete 22FDX ASIC offering;
  • Reference solutions and system-level expertise in emerging application areas to speed time-to-market;
  • Outsourced assembly and test (OSAT) solution featuring extensive manufacturing capacity to enable state-of-the art SoC delivery, and;
  • Design consultation and other services dedicated to FDX technology.

“As the FDXcelerator program continues to expand, partners play a critical role in helping to serve our growing number of customers and extend the reach of our FD-SOI ecosystem by providing innovative FDX-tailored solutions and services,” said Alain Mutricy, senior vice president of product management at GLOBALFOUNDRIES. “These new partners will help drive deeper engagement and enhance technology collaboration, including tighter interlock around quality, qualification and development methodology, enabling us to deliver advanced 22FDX SoC solutions.”

GLOBALFOUNDRIES is focused on building strong ecosystem partnerships with industry leaders. With the FDXcelerator program, GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ partners and customers can now benefit from a greater availability of resources to take advantage of the broad adoption and accelerating growth of the FDX market.

North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.55 billion in orders worldwide in November 2016 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.96, according to the November Equipment Market Data Subscription (EMDS) Book-to-Bill Report published today by SEMI.  A book-to-bill of 0.96 means that $96 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

SEMI reports that the three-month average of worldwide bookings in November 2016 was $1.55 billion. The bookings figure is 4.0 percent higher than the final October 2016 level of $1.49 billion, and is 25.1 percent higher than the November 2015 order level of $1.24 billion.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in November 2016 was $1.61 billion. The billings figure is 1.1 percent lower than the final October 2016 level of $1.63 billion, and is 25.2 percent higher than the November 2015 billings level of $1.29 billion.

“As 2016 comes towards a close, equipment spending is stronger than expected at the start of the year,” said Dan Tracy, senior director, SEMI. “Spending has been driven by 3D NAND, leading-edge foundry, and advanced packaging investments, and these segments are key for the expected spending growth in 2017.”

The SEMI book-to-bill is a ratio of three-month moving averages of worldwide bookings and billings for North American-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers. Billings and bookings figures are in millions of U.S. dollars.

 

Billings
(3-mo. avg)

Bookings
(3-mo. avg)

Book-to-Bill
June 2016

$1,715.2

$1,714.3

1.00
July 2016

$1,707.9

$1,795.4

1.05
August 2016

$1,709.0

$1,753.4

1.03
September 2016

$1,493.3

$1,567.2

1.05
October 2016 (final)

$1,630.4

$1,488.4

0.91
November 2016 (prelim)

$1,613.2

$1,547.2

0.96

Source: SEMI (www.semi.org), December 2016

SEMI today announced the lineup for six forums at SEMICON China and FPD China held at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre on March 14-16, 2017. SEMICON China is the largest and most important gathering of the semiconductor supply chain in China.

SEMICON China will feature six forums, including a new forum:

  • NEW: Automotive Forum: From self-parking to anticipatory braking, semiconductors are critical for cars’ safety, communication, navigation, and entertainment. Increasingly adoption of ADAS applications and other driver assistance technologies will be discussed.
  • China IC Industry Forum: A four-day forum that includes: China Semiconductor Technology International Conference (CSTIC, March 12-13); China Memory Strategic Forum; Building China’s IC Ecosystem: Advanced Manufacturing, Assembly & Test (morning) and Equipment and Materials (afternoon).
  • Power and Compound Semiconductor Forum’s four sessions, including: LED & Optoelectronics, Wide Band Gap (WBG) Power Electronics, Compound Semiconductor in Communications, and Emerging Power Device Technology.
  • Tech Investment Forum: An international platform to explore investment, M&A, and China opportunities. Speakers include executives from: China’s National IC Fund and municipal IC funds, and the global leading investment institutions.
  • Emerging Display Forum: Co-organized by SEMI and SID and concurrent with FPD China 2017, the forum is an exchange of knowledge on emerging display technologies and future development of the display, including: Flexible Displays, Evolving Equipment and Materials, and OLED and “MicroLED.”
  • IoT Forum: MSIG Conference ─ Creating and Capturing Value in the MEMS and Sensors Ecosystem (Kerry Hotel Pudong, Shanghai): Presented by SEMI’s MEMS & Sensors Industry Group (MSIG), speakers will highlight areas of opportunity for products “on the cusp” of commercialization. The conference will also address the convergence of MEMS/sensors and semiconductors.

Further information on sessions and events at SEMICON and FPD China 2017, please visit www.semiconchina.org/en/54.

SEMICON China also features six exhibition floor theme pavilions: IC Manufacturing, LED and Sapphire, Semiconductor Materials, MEMS, Touch (Panel Display), and OLED.

Register now for SEMICON China 2017 (www.semiconchina.org/en).

Silicon Labs (NASDAQ:SLAB) takes the top spot among semiconductor companies achieving $500 million to $1 billion in annual sales at the Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) awards celebration held on Dec. 8 in Santa Clara, California.

“For the past 20 years, Silicon Labs has pioneered technologies that enable a more connected world, delivering design simplicity to our customers while improving lives and transforming industries,” said Silicon Labs CEO Tyson Tuttle. “We’re extremely proud the GSA recognizes our continued success as a leading supplier of silicon and software for the IoT and infrastructure markets.”

Annually, 275 GSA member companies cast online votes for semiconductor companies at various revenue levels based on best products, profitability, vision and future opportunities.

“GSA proudly recognizes Silicon Labs as the ‘Most Respected Public Semiconductor Company’ in its revenue category for the second year in a row,” said GSA President Jodi Shelton. “This repeat award highlights Silicon Labs’ strong reputation for innovation and solid financial performance.”

ClassOne Technology, manufacturer of cost-efficient wet processing equipment for ≤200mm substrates, has reported its best-ever sales quarter and is currently doubling its Kalispell manufacturing capacity to meet the demand.

“We’ve been seeing a steady increase in market interest and sales,” said ClassOne Technology President, Kevin Witt. “Most of these users are now focusing on capabilities they couldn’t get before, like wafer-level packaging and More than Moore technologies.”

Witt explained that wafer-level packaging (WLP) has been used for some time with 300mm and larger substrates — but the equipment has not been available for 200mm. “Fortunately, ClassOne focuses specifically on the smaller-wafer markets,” said Witt. “At a very affordable price, we deliver the new technology and advanced 3D features they’re looking for. For example, our Solstice® line of multifunctional electroplating systems enables high-efficiency Cu Through Silicon Via (TSV), Pillar, Bump and Barrier Plating and other capabilities that WLP requires. And that’s one major reason they’re coming to us.”

ClassOne reports that many of the new buyers are keenly interested in More than Moore (MtM) technologies to increase functionality while reducing cost per device. They are producing compound semiconductors, LEDs, MEMS, RF, Wi-Fi and a range of IoT-related sensors and other devices. ClassOne cites the combination of ≤200mm-specific tools, advanced capabilities and affordable pricing as the primary driver behind the current equipment-buying surge in emerging markets.

ClassOne Technology offers a selection of new-technology wet processing tools designed for 75mm to 200mm wafer users. These include three different models of Solstice electroplating systems for production and development as well as the Trident families of Spin-Rinse-Dryers and Spray Solvent Tools. All are priced at less than half of what similarly configured systems from the larger manufacturers would cost — which is why the ClassOne lines are often described as delivering “Advanced Wet Processing for the Rest of Us.”