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Micron Technology, Inc. today announced it has appointed Trevor Schulze as Chief Information Officer (CIO).

Schulze, who most recently served as Broadcom’s corporate vice president of IT, brings to Micron more than 25 years of IT, operations and product development experience.

“As we continue to develop innovative new products serving an expanded set of customers in diversified markets, our use of information is poised to grow significantly in importance and opportunity,” said Micron President Mark Adams. “We are excited for Trevor to lead our IT organization and support our global operations.”

Prior to Broadcom, Schulze worked as the corporate vice president of IT at Advanced Micro Devices, where he oversaw global engineering and infrastructure solutions. He also held various IT and engineering management roles at Cisco.

Micron Technology, Inc. is a developer of advanced semiconductor memory systems.

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), representing U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing and design, today announced worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $28.2 billion for the month of May 2015, an increase of 5.1 percent from May 2014, when sales were $26.8 billion. Global sales from May 2015 were 2.1 percent higher than the April 2015 total of $27.6 billion. Regionally, sales in the Americas increased 11.4 percent compared to last May to lead all regional markets. All monthly sales numbers are compiled by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization and represent a three-month moving average.

“The global semiconductor industry overcame lingering macroeconomic uncertainty to post solid year-to-year growth in May,” said John Neuffer, president and CEO, Semiconductor Industry Association. “Year-to-year sales have now increased for 25 straight months, month-to-month sales increased for the first time in six months, and we expect modest growth to continue for the remainder of 2015 and beyond.”

In addition to the Americas market, year-to-year sales also increased in China (9.5 percent) and Asia Pacific/All Other (8.0 percent), but decreased in Europe (-7.8 percent) and Japan (-11.8 percent). Compared to last month, sales were up in China (4.0 percent), Asia Pacific/All Other (3.3 percent), and the Americas (0.2 percent), but decreased slightly in Europe (-0.6 percent) and held flat in Japan.

“Congress and the President recently gave the U.S. semiconductor industry and other trade-dependent sectors a major boost by enacting Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), which makes it easier for the United States to strike deals on free trade agreements,” said Neuffer. “With TPA, the United States is more likely to get the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and other critical trade agreements across the finish line, leading to continued growth and innovation in our industry and across the U.S. economy.”

May 2015

Billions

Month-to-Month Sales                               

Market

Last Month

Current Month

% Change

Americas

5.61

5.62

0.2%

Europe

2.89

2.87

-0.6%

Japan

2.54

2.54

0.0%

China

7.78

8.09

4.0%

Asia Pacific/All Other

8.78

9.07

3.3%

Total

27.61

28.20

2.1%

Year-to-Year Sales                          

Market

Last Year

Current Month

% Change

Americas

5.05

5.62

11.4%

Europe

3.12

2.87

-7.8%

Japan

2.88

2.54

-11.8%

China

7.39

8.09

9.5%

Asia Pacific/All Other

8.40

9.07

8.0%

Total

26.83

28.20

5.1%

Three-Month-Moving Average Sales

Market

Nov/Dec/Jan

Feb/Mar/apr

% Change

Americas

6.23

5.62

-9.7%

Europe

2.88

2.87

-0.2%

Japan

2.55

2.54

-0.6%

China

7.76

8.09

4.4%

Asia Pacific/All Other

8.32

9.07

9.0%

Total

27.74

28.20

1.7%

 

Ambiq Micro, a developer of ultra-low power integrated circuits for power-sensitive applications, today announced the appointment Mike Noonen as interim Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect.  Mr Noonen brings over 25 years’ experience in semiconductors and has been on the Board of Directors of Ambiq Micro since February 2014. His career includes senior management roles in semiconductor businesses including National Semiconductor, NXP Semiconductors, and GlobalFoundries, and he is a board director at Quora Semiconductor, Kilopass, Adapteva Inc. and the Chairman of Silicon Catalyst, the first incubator for semiconductor start-ups.

Commenting on the appointment, Mike Noonen said, “Ambiq Micro has brought game-changing technology to semiconductors and new possibilities and value to IoT and wearable device makers. At a time when power consumption is the key criterion for designers, Ambiq Micro has developed the world’s most energy efficient ICs. I look forward to working with Scott Hanson and the Ambiq Micro team during this transition to accelerate the ultra-low power revolution they have created.”

Ambiq Micro co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Scott Hanson, added, “Mike’s wide-ranging semiconductor industry experience is going to be a great asset as we build upon the success achieved under Mark Foley’s leadership as CEO since 2012. Mike has a clear vision of how the industry is evolving and of the vital role that Ambiq plays in enabling designers of wearables and other battery-powered IoT devices to make their products more attractive to consumers through outstanding battery life. ”

Mr Noonen holds a BSEE from Colorado State University.

ORBOTECH LTD. today announced that SPTS Technologies Group Ltd. (SPTS), an Orbotech company and supplier of advanced wafer processing solutions, has sold its Thermal Products business to SPP Technologies Co, Ltd. (SPT), a subsidiary of Sumitomo Precision Products Co., Ltd. SPT specializes in the production, sales and support of micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) and semiconductor related process equipment. The transaction includes sale of all thermal product lines and virtually all worldwide assets of SPTS’s Thermal Product business, and will involve approximately fifty SPTS employees worldwide, who are currently engaged in the Thermal Products business, becoming employees of SPT. 

Kevin Crofton, President of SPTS and Corporate Vice President at Orbotech said: “Historically, the Thermal Products business has been part of SPTS’s growth and success, with a range of production-proven vertical batch furnaces that continue to be the process tools of choice at leading semiconductor fabs around the world.  Divestment at this time, however, will benefit SPTS by enabling us to focus resources on our core Advanced Packaging, MEMS, RF and Power devices businesses.  We believe this sale will provide new opportunities for the Thermal Products business under the ownership of SPT, and we wish them continued achievement and success.”

Toshihiro Hayami, President of SPT, said: “This acquisition will allow us to expand the product portfolio that we offer our customers, create a footprint in the global semiconductor capital equipment industry and establish a worldwide presence for our company. We expect the Thermal Products business to contribute to the success of SPT and look forward to new product development activities related to this business in its current and adjacent markets.”

SPT acquired the assets of the Thermal Products business based on a valuation of approximately $28 million, comprised of $22 million in cash plus approximately $6 million in accounts receivable. Half of the cash was paid on completion and the balance will be paid in 2016, without any performance conditions. Orbotech intends to use the net proceeds to repay a portion of the amount outstanding under its credit facilities.  The sale does not materially affect Orbotech’s expectations for its financial performance in the second half of 2015 or its long term business model.

– In 2015,Taiwan is projected to have the highest capex for semiconductor manufacturing worldwide. Taiwan’s aggressive semiconductor factory plans are bringing exhibitors and attendees to SEMICON Taiwan 2015 on September 2-4 at the TWTC Nangang Exhibition Hall. Over 40,000 visitors are expected to attend the exhibition and conferences.  Entering its 20th year, SEMICON Taiwan connects attendees with the companies, people, products, and information facilitating the future for design and manufacturing for the advanced electronics industries.

According to SEMI market reports, foundry and DRAM are the two sectors of capital equipment investment in Taiwan, with OSATs’ advance packaging facilities as a key growth driver. Fab equipment spending in Taiwan is projected to be about $10.5 billion in 2015, approaching 30 percent of the overall industry spending on fab equipment. Overall, Taiwan represents 21 percent of the installed fab capacity globally and 25 percent of the installed 300mm capacity.

In 2015 alone, companies in Taiwan are forecast to spend $1.5 billion or more on packaging and test equipment. With the growing importance of packaging and testing, SEMI will host the Silicon in Packaging (SiP) Global Summit 2015 from September 3-4. The two-day SiP Global Summit 2015 consists of two major forums: 3D-IC Technology Forum and Embedded and Wafer Level Package Technology Forum.

SEMICON Taiwan covers a wide array of critical issues. Business programs will include the Executive Summit, Market Trends Forum, CFO Executive Summit, and Memory Executive Summit. Technology programs include: Materials Forum, Sustainable Manufacturing Forum, Advanced Packaging Technology Symposium, TechXPOTs, MEMS Forum, High-Tech Facility International Forum, eMDC Forum, Patterning Challenges (Cost vs. Performance), IC Design Summit, and more.

SEMICON Taiwan also features: Supplier Search Program and Buyers Briefing.  As always, the event features a Leadership Gala dinner, an elite networking event and one of the most important annual executive gatherings for the high-tech industry in Taiwan.

Among the many exhibition technology pavilions, SEMICON Taiwan will host:

  • Smart Manufacturing Pavilion
  • Materials Pavilion
  • Precision Machinery Pavilion
  • CMP (Chemical Mechanical Planarization) Pavilion
  • Secondary Market Pavilion
  • AOI (Automated Optical Inspection) Pavilion
  • MIRDC (Metal Industries Reach & Development Center) Pavilion
  • High-Tech Facility Pavilion

Also, SEMICON Taiwan will host country pavilions:

  • Belgium Pavilion
  • Holland High Tech Pavilion
  • German Pavilion
  • Moscow Pavilion
  • Cross-Strait Pavilion
  • Kyushu (Japan) Pavilion
  • Korea Pavilion
  • SICA (Shanghai Integrated Circuit Association) Pavilion

SEMI Taiwan (www.semi.org/ch/) hosts SEMICON Taiwan with TAITRA and TSIA as co-organizers. The event is advised by the Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affairs.

To learn more about exhibiting at SEMICON Taiwan 2015, visit www.semicontaiwan.org.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, China’s largest and most advanced semiconductor foundry, today announced its receipt of the “2014 Foundry Supplier of the Year” award from customer Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated.

Qualcomm Technologies, one of the world’s largest fabless semiconductor vendors and a world leader in 3G, 4G and next-generation wireless technologies, gave the award to SMIC in recognition of its achievement in fabricating Qualcomm Technologies’ power management integrated circuits (PMIC). SMIC has been manufacturing Qualcomm Technologies’ PMIC products since 2009 and this award demonstrates SMIC’s excellence in its technical reliability, product quality, and customer service.

“It’s a great honor to receive this award from Qualcomm Technologies.” said Mike Rekuc, Executive Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Marketing, SMIC. “We greatly appreciate Qualcomm Technologies’ trust in SMIC and will continue to cooperate closely in both mature and advanced processes as a long-term partner.”

“SMIC is an important supplier to Qualcomm Technologies, and we highly recognize the success SMIC has achieved in serving our needs with high-quality products,” said Roawen Chen, Senior Vice President of QCT global operations, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “As we’ve expanded our work with SMIC to include 28nm technology and wafer manufacturing service, we look forward to SMIC becoming a more important supplier in our supply chain strategy.”

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, China’s largest and most advanced semiconductor foundry; Huawei, a global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider; imec, a nanoelectronics research and development (R&D) centers; and Qualcomm Global Trading Pte. Ltd., an affiliate of Qualcomm Incorporated, one of the world’s largest fabless semiconductor vendors, held a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, to announce the formation of SMIC Advanced Technology Research & Development (Shanghai) Corporation, an equity joint venture company. The joint venture company will focus on R&D towards next generation CMOS logic technology and build China’s most advanced integrated circuit (IC) development R&D platform.

His Majesty (H.M.) King Philippe of Belgium is visiting China in the framework of several cooperation agreements between China and Belgium related to cutting-edge technology. A Chinese leader and H.M. King Philippe of Belgium witnessed the signing ceremony of the joint investment.

SMIC Advanced Technology R&D (Shanghai) Corporation will be majority owned by SMIC, while Huawei, imec, and Qualcomm will be minority shareholders. The current focus will be on developing 14nm logic technology. Dr. Tzu-Yin Chiu, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of SMIC will be the legal representative, Dr. Yu Shaofeng, Vice President of SMIC will be the general manager.

This project is a major breakthrough in the cooperation model for IC manufacturers, international trade companies and research institutions. This project will facilitate closer cooperation between upstream and downstream companies, leading-edge R&D, and other synergies in the industry’s global eco-system. With the joint venture company oriented on innovation, it can target the demands of the industry more quickly and effectively through its R&D and manufacturing resources. Meanwhile, by enabling fabless semiconductor companies to join the development process as shareholders, the product development cycle can be shortened and the advanced process node tape out time can be accelerated.

In the first phase, the joint venture company will develop 14nm CMOS technology for mass production, which will be based on imec’s knowhow in advanced semiconductor processing technology. The new R&D project will be done at SMIC’s production line.

SMIC will have the rights to license the required intellectual property rights on the mass production technologies of advanced nodes developed by the joint venture company, enabling these technologies to be applied to SMIC’s current and future range of products and serve SMIC’s business with other companies. This can improve the overall level of China’s IC technologies, and is expected to facilitate the mass production of 16/14nm ICs in China by 2020, which is one of the goals set by the National IC Industry Development Outline. In the future, companies in China’s IC manufacturing industry, universities and colleges, and research institutions will continue working together on this platform to further enhance the core competitiveness of the industry.

Dr. Zhou Zixue, Chairman, of SMIC; Steve Chu, Vice President of Huawei; Ludo Deferm, Executive Vice President of Corporate Business and Public Affairs of imec; and Derek Aberle, President of Qualcomm Incorporated were all present at the signing ceremony.

“This is the most advanced work for China’s IC industry,” said Dr. Tzu-Yin Chiu, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, of SMIC, “With 15 years of experience in manufacturing and R&D, SMIC is China’s largest semiconductor enterprise and has the capabilities to bring 14nm technology into production. It is exciting to be working with the largest IC design company both in China and abroad, and the world’s top research institutes to tackle advanced IC process technology. This collaboration will play an important role in improving our technologies and products. The new company model has allowed us to explore a new path to open up R&D and manufacturing resources in this industry’s ecosystem, and develop our advanced technology and R&D capabilities. In addition, it actively promotes the collaboration across all parts of the eco-system in China. ”

Steve Chu, Vice President of Huawei said: “Huawei has always been open to win-win partnerships. With our 20 years of experience in the IC design field and collaboration from our global partners, we are keen to promote the development of research capabilities in IC technology, to create China’s most advanced IC R&D platform. We believe that this collaboration will consolidate the IC domain, increase its resources and capabilities, and thereby improving the overall level of China’s IC industry. The improvements will provide more benefits to operators, companies, customers and partners.”

Luc Van den hove, CEO and president of imec, added: “We see a growing potential in China, both as a market and as a source of innovative engineering. The expertise of the four partners is focused on the creation of an excellent platform to foster nanoelectronics R&D in China. And the joint development of a 14nm process facility will be a step stone to achieve this goal. A step stone that, I am convinced, will benefit the world’s IC manufacturing community.”

“We are pleased to collaborate with SMIC, Huawei and imec to establish this new technology R&D joint venture company,” said Derek Aberle, president of Qualcomm Incorporated. “This is a significant milestone for the Chinese and global IC industries, which reinforces Qualcomm’s commitment to the continued growth of the vibrant semiconductor ecosystem in China. We believe that this venture will serve to better meet the growing needs of local Chinese and global customers who demand high performance, low power mobile devices. The collaboration will also help bring even more advanced processing technology and wafer manufacturing capacity to China, thereby helping China to build capability in FinFET technology. “

Exagan, a start-up developer of gallium-nitride (GaN) semiconductor technology that enables smaller and more efficient electrical converters, today announced it has raised €5.7 million in first-round financing that will be used to produce high-speed power switching devices on 200mm wafers.

The investors include French venture funds with a record of identifying and fostering promising, fast-growth, early-stage technology companies:

  • Technocom2, managed by Innovacom, a pioneering French venture capital firm
  • CM-CIC Innovation, the investment arm of the large European bank group, Crédit Mutuel-CIC Group
  • IRDInov, a regional seed investor in emerging, fast-growth companies
  • CEA investissement, a manager of funds invested in technology companies, and which invested via the CEA strategic fund.
  • Soitec, a world leader in providing revolutionary semiconductor materials

Following Exagan’s recent announcement of an agreement with X-FAB to produce devices on 200mm wafers, the financing will help support its mission of becoming Europe’s primary supplier of GaN-based power switches for the solar, automotive, IT electronics and other markets. That mission includes its strategic partnership with CEA-Leti, which is developing applications with some of its industrial partners based on Exagan’s G-FET 650 V platform and its unprecedented power-switching performance with extremely low conduction losses.

Exagan, based in Grenoble with a branch office in Toulouse, was spun off by Leti and Soitec in 2014 and licenses materials and technology from both organizations.

Power integration is key to meeting the growing demand for less expensive and more efficient electrical converters that silicon power devices cannot meet. The material properties of GaN devices, meanwhile, offer promising power-integration and efficiency gains that deliver higher power density and switching speed at the device level.

“This significant first round of financing validates our efforts over the past five years with Leti and Soitec to commercialize GaN-on-silicon technology and supports our commitment to provide customers with qualified GaN devices in large volumes,” said Frédéric Dupont, Exagan CEO and co-founder. “We are focused on offering our customers reliable, high-performance devices that are developed with industrial partners already sourcing technologies or products for the targeted markets.”

Vincent Deltrieu, a partner at Innovacom, said: “Exagan has developed a G-FET product platform that offers major competitive advantages for electrical-converter makers serving the power-electronics industry. By leveraging the platform’s efficiency and power-saving features, Exagan is well positioned to establish itself as a key technology provider in this high-growth market that has the potential to exceed 1 billion euros in the coming years.”

Stéphane Simoncini, investment director at CM-CIC Innovation, said: “Frédéric and Exagan COO and co-founder Fabrice Letertre are the ideal team to accomplish Exagan’s business and technology goals. With their technical and business vision, they are opening a huge market segment in power electronics, between silicon and silicon carbide.”

Jean-Michel Petit, managing director of IRDInov, said: “Based on our experience with the automotive and aerospace industries, we are convinced of the potential markets for GaN power electronic devices. This is all the more reason to further develop its presence in Toulouse, which has a concentration of competencies in power-electronics applications and many potential future clients.”

Soitec CEO Paul Boudre said: “Soitec is obviously excited about this successful round of financing for Exagan. Their GAN-on-silicon technology, which leverages our own materials expertise, opens very interesting opportunities in promising markets such as electronics, automotive and energy. Exagan is well positioned to drive innovation in power switching technology, due to its location in Grenoble among the strong mix of innovative companies and technology-integration clusters.”

Soitec and CEA Investissement also provided financial support to Exagan prior to the first round of venture-fund backing.

Leti CEO Marie Semeria said Leti has invested many years in developing GaN technologies because it believes they will drive innovation in the power-electronics industry and accelerate development of sustainable-energy technologies.

“We are very excited about the prospects for Exagan, a European source of new GaN power switches for our key industrial partners in the fields of transportation and energy, as well as broader markets,” she said. “Through our partnership with Exagan, Leti will accelerate its investment in this area to further develop our leading expertise in GaN technology and related systems and applications.”

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. and Applied Materials, Inc. today announced the companies are collaborating on a development program to optimize the chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) process through silicon characterization and modeling for advanced-node designs at 14 nanometer (nm) and below. The program allows design teams to predict the impact of CMP on both functional yield and parametric yield, and for manufacturing teams to boost planarization performance, which is increasingly critical for advanced FinFET architectures.

The Cadence and Applied Materials joint development program is focused on front end-of-line (FEOL) and wafer-level CMP modeling. Applied Materials can use the Cadence CMP Process Optimizer, a tool that allows silicon calibration of semi-physical models and optimization of CMP material and process parameters such as pressure, polish time and overall CMP uniformity, to enhance the precision performance of its Reflexion LK Prime CMP system.

Once models are calibrated, design teams can leverage Cadence CMP Predictor, a tool that enhances design performance and yield through model-based CMP hotspot detection and CMP-aware RC extraction. It provides full-chip, multi-level CMP thickness and topography predictions for shallow trench isolation (STI) and replacement metal gate (RMG) CMP processes.

Applied Materials is an industry leader in precision CMP technology with its Reflexion LK Prime CMP system that offers high-speed planarization and multi-zone polishing heads to enable superior uniformity and efficiency with low downforce for extendibility to <14nm device generations. The Reflexion LK Prime CMP system also implements a full suite of advanced process control capabilities that ensure excellent within-wafer and wafer-to-wafer process uniformity control and repeatability for all planarization applications.

“Working together with Cadence, we’re driving advances in CMP process performance,” said Derek Witty, vice president and general manager of the CMP Products Group at Applied Materials. “From our collaboration, we expect to more accurately predict gate height, dishing and erosion on each step of the CMP process, which could enable design and manufacturing teams to achieve higher yield and deliver advanced-node designs to market faster.”

“Cadence CMP Predictor helps turn the uncertainty of manufacturing process variation into predictable impacts, and then minimizes these impacts during the design stage,” said Dr. Anirudh Devgan, senior vice president and general manager of the Digital and Signoff Group at Cadence. “The joint development program with Applied Materials can allow us to drive advancements in CMP modeling processes so our design and manufacturing customers can maximize design yield and performance.”

Rudolph Technologies, Inc. announced today that the MEMS company, Robert Bosch GmbH, has selected Rudolph to supply several different configurations of its F30 Inspection System for various steps in the front- and back-end fabrication processes of micro electrical mechanical systems (MEMS) devices. This win represents increasing business with tools beginning to ship in the second quarter 2015.

“We are thrilled that Bosch selected Rudolph’s inspection solutions for a variety of critical consumer goods and automotive applications,” said Mike Goodrich, vice president and general manager of Rudolph’s Inspection Business Unit. “The configurability of one base tool paired with a variety of high volume manufacturing (HVM)-proven handling options provides Bosch with the flexibility to apply these tools across numerous applications, improving overall tool utilization. Bosch’s challenge was handling the wide variety of substrates used in complex MEMS processes and we were able to meet their needs, providing handling solutions for frameless, ultrathin, film-frame and thicker non-traditional substrates.”

The MEMS industry is expanding, according to Yole Développement, and Bosch has experienced noteworthy growth in the past years. Zero defects is critical for the MEMS application of automotive sensors. The F30 system’s high speed and high sensitivity give the ability to free up expensive micro tools and focus on throughput and sampling inspection.

“A critical deciding factor for Bosch was the fact that Rudolph goes beyond traditional inspection by not only detecting defects but automatically classifying data so customers can quickly eliminate the source of the defect,” Goodrich added. “Our integrated software solutions will help Bosch meet the stringent automotive quality standards by enabling full characterization of the inspection data, resulting in high productivity and demonstrable quality.”

“It is rewarding to see that our customers value the R&D investments we made to elevate the value of our inspection solutions,” said Mike Plisinski, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Rudolph. “We see an increased demand for more intelligent process control solutions as pressure on quality and time-to-market continue to increase for our customers.”

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