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The Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) announced the appointment of two key executives as well as the results of its 2015 Board of Directors’ election. GSA’s board is comprised of industry executives who are representative of the global regions in which GSA holds active memberships.

Scott McGregor, president, chief executive officer and member of the board of directors of Broadcom Corporation, has been appointed vice chairman of the GSA Board of Directors for 2015. Dr. Lisa Su, president and chief executive officer of AMD, has been appointed as a semiconductor director.

“We are honored to welcome Scott and Lisa to the GSA Board of Directors,” said Jodi Shelton, co-founder and president of GSA. “GSA will greatly benefit from their leadership and unique insight to further guide GSA’s growth and mission to support a collaborative ecosystem.”

Mr. McGregor is responsible for guiding the vision and direction for Broadcom’s corporate strategy. Since joining the company in 2005, Broadcom has expanded from $2.40 billion in revenue to $8.43 billion in 2014 revenue. Mr. McGregor joined Broadcom from Philips Semiconductors (now NXP Semiconductors) where he served as president and chief executive officer from 2001 to 2004. Prior to Philips, he held a variety of senior positions at Santa Cruz Operation Inc. (SCO), Digital Equipment Corporation (now part of HP), Microsoft and Xerox Corporation’s Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). Mr. McGregor received a B.A. in Psychology and a M.S. in Computer Science and Computer Engineering from Stanford University. He serves on the board of Ingram Micro and also is Chairman of the Board of Broadcom Foundation. In 2013 Mr. McGregor received UCLA’s IS Executive Leadership Award.

Dr. Su is AMD’s president and chief executive officer and also serves on the company’s board of directors. Previously, she was chief operating officer responsible for integrating AMD’s business units, sales, global operations and infrastructure enablement teams into a single market-facing organization responsible for all aspects of product strategy and execution. Dr. Su joined AMD in January 2012 as senior vice president and general manager. Prior to joining AMD, Dr. Su served in senior positions at Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., IBM and Texas Instruments. Dr. Su has bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She has published more than 40 technical articles and was named a Fellow of the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) in 2009. Dr. Su also serves on the board of Analog Devices, Inc.

The GSA election allows for the majority of the GSA Directors to be selected each year by the voting members. The election process has just been completed and the top four candidates include incumbent Neil Kim, executive vice president, operations and central engineering of Broadcom Corporation; Peter Gammel, chief technology officer of Skyworks Solutions, Inc.; Dr. Sam Heidari, chief executive officer of Quantenna Communications, Inc.; and Andrew Pease, president and chief executive officer of QuickLogic Corporation. In light of the appointment of Mr. McGregor, Mr. Kim has stepped aside from his re-elected director position but will continue to have an important and ongoing role with the GSA board. Mr. Kim has been a valued board member since 2009 and has made significant contributions to GSA’s role and mission during his tenure and will continue to do so in the future.

Mr. Gammel is chief technology officer for Skyworks Solutions, Inc. He joined the company in 2011 as part of Skyworks’ acquisition of SiGe Semiconductor. At SiGe, he served as chief technology officer and vice president of engineering. Prior to this, he was vice president of engineering at Renaissance Wireless and chief technology officer at AdvanceNanotech and for Agere Systems’ Analog Products Business. He was also a distinguished member of technical staff at Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs.

Dr. Heidari, chief executive officer of Quantenna, is a connectivity and communication technologist seeking perfect solutions that enhance our everyday lives. He joined Quantenna in 2009 as vice president of R&D and led the innovation effort in latest Wi-Fi technology. He was appointed as CEO in 2011, and under his leadership, the company has been raising the bar on users’ experience by delivering the most advanced Wi-Fi hardware and software solutions and enabling applications previously not possible. Prior to Quantenna, he was chief technology officer and vice president of Engineering at Ikanos Communications. He served as president and chief executive office at Doradus Technologies which was acquired by Ikanos in 2006. Dr. Heidari is Chairman of the Board of Directors for SiTune Corporation and also serves on the advisory board for the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Southern California. He is a senior member of IEEE and holds 36 U.S. patents. He was named a winner of the 2014 CEO/Executive of the Year by the Golden Bridge Awards.

Mr. Pease is president and chief executive officer and serves on the board of directors of QuickLogic Corporation. He joined QuickLogic in 2006 as vice president of worldwide sales and was promoted to the position of president in 2009 and president and chief executive officer in 2011. Pease is an experienced semiconductor professional. Prior to joining QuickLogic he was senior vice president of worldwide sales of Broadcom Corporation from July 2003 to June 2006 and vice president of sales at Syntricity, Inc. from March 2000 to July 2003. Prior to 2000, Pease held senior sales positions at Vantis Corporation, Integrated Systems Inc., Advanced Micro Devices and DataTrak. Pease is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and served as a naval officer prior to establishing his career in the semiconductor industry.

“We welcome our new and returning 2015 Board of Directors to the Alliance as they demonstrate commitment and service to GSA and more importantly, support for the entire industry whose success is reliant upon its partners,” said Steve Mollenkopf, GSA chairman of the board and chief executive officer, Qualcomm Incorporated. “We are grateful to have such dynamic and innovative leaders whose expertise of the industry will contribute to GSA’s continued growth.”

In its 20 years, the GSA has consistently broadened its global representation that consists of a membership base spanning large multinational corporations to start-up companies in their initial funding phase. Geographically, the GSA represents every major region within the semiconductor industry. The Alliance has strategically expanded its international presence in the EMEA and APAC regions through appointed regional board members, regional partnerships and global market intelligence initiatives.

Smaller and more powerful medical systems are driving up sales of ICs, sensors, and other devices for the medical semiconductor market.  IC Insights believes medical semiconductor sales growth will strengthen this year and next before sliding back in the next expected economic slowdown in 2017 (Figure 1). Between 2013 and 2018, worldwide medical semiconductor sales are projected to rise by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.3 percent, reaching $8.2 billion in the final year of the forecast.  In the 2008-2013 period (which included the 2009 downturn), medical semiconductor sales grew by a CAGR of 6.9 percent.

medical semiconductor sales

The IC portion of the medical semiconductor business is expected to rise by a CAGR of 10.7 percent to $6.6 billion in 2018 while the marketshare for optoelectronics, sensors/actuators, and discretes (O-S-D) is forecast to grow by an annual rate of 20.3 percent to $1.6 billion that year (primarily due to strong demand for solid-state sensors and optical imaging devices).

ICs and other semiconductor technologies continue to play key roles in reshaping and redefining medical systems. With more medical imaging systems being digitized and healthcare equipment running under computer control, IC-driven advancements are happening almost as quickly as they are in mobile phones, and many consumer electronics. Government certification can slow some system introductions. The scaling of IC feature sizes, system-on-chip (SoC) designs, improvements in sensors, and powerful analog frontend (AFE) data converters are reducing the size of medical diagnostic equipment and the cost of using them.

Developments of new medical systems for imaging and diagnostics, treatment, and surgery are heading in two different directions as equipment makers respond to growing pressures for lower costs and increased availability of healthcare worldwide. In one direction, new medical equipment is becoming smaller and less expensive so that systems can be used in the rooms of hospital patients, clinics, and doctor offices. These systems cost one-quarter to one-tenth the price of large diagnostic equipment—such as traditional MRI and CT scanners, which can cost $1 million and are normally installed in medical-imaging centers or in dedicated hospital examination rooms.

Also, lower-cost wearable medical systems and fitness monitors, which can wirelessly transmit vital signs and other readings to doctors or be used as “activity trackers” for health-conscious individuals, are seeing tremendous growth. In some cases, medical and fitness-monitoring applications can be performed directly by smartphones using their embedded sensors and downloaded software apps. However, medically certified mobile healthcare devices are usually required in most countries for monitoring patients and the elderly in their homes. The information is sent to doctors via wireless connections to cellphones or the Internet.

The second major trend in medical equipment is the development of more powerful and integrated systems, which are expensive but promise to lower healthcare costs by detecting cancer and diseases sooner and supporting less invasive surgery for quick recovery times and shorter stays in hospitals. Computer-assisted surgery systems, surgical robots, and operating-room automation are among new technologies being pursued by some hospitals in developed markets.

High growth in lower-cost systems along with the rising price tag of more sophisticated hospital equipment in developed country markets is expected to increase total medical electronics systems sales by a CAGR of 8.2 percent between 2013 and 2018, to $70.1 billion in the final year of the forecast.

Additional details on the IC market for medical and wearable electronic is included in the 2015 edition of IC Insights’ IC Market Drivers—A Study of Emerging and Major End-Use Applications Fueling Demand for Integrated Circuits.

Global electronic components distributor Digi-Key Corporation, a provider of electronic component selection, availability and delivery, has partnered with AKM Semiconductor Inc., to facilitate the global distribution of AKM’s products.

In accordance with this renewed agreement, Digi-Key has added a number of AKM’s most reputable products to its selection, which include recently released Premium Audio Products, high bandwidth current sensors and industry’s lowest power PMICs tailored for the wearable market.

“We are pleased to announce our agreement with AKM Semiconductor to expand with a global distribution agreement,” said David Stein, Digi-Key’s Vice President of Semiconductor. “In addition to already popular electronic compass, we are excited to offer AKM’s high performance data converters, a variety of unique magnetic sensors and more new products to our customers worldwide.”

Asahi Kasei Microdevices Corporation (AKM) is a Japan-based company designs and manufactures CMOS mixed signal integrated circuits and magnetic sensors for applications including audio, multimedia, consumer electronics, industrial infrastructure, and telecommunications.

Digi-Key Corporation, based in Thief River Falls, Minn., is a global, full-service provider of both prototype/design and production quantities of electronic components, offering more than three million products from over 650 quality name-brand manufacturers

Entrepix, Inc., a provider of chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) equipment and process services, today announced that it has expanded its foundry operations in Phoenix, Arizona by installing 300mm chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) processing. The new offering expands on the company’s existing 200mm and below foundry operations, allowing Entrepix to offer CMP R&D and volume production for all wafer sizes up to 300mm.

To achieve this capability, Entrepix added AMAT Reflexion and Ebara F-REX 300 CMP polishing platforms in its Class 100 cleanroom. Both systems are available for various applications, including various dielectrics, metals and substrates. Additionally, the systems can be used for screening or comparing consumable sets (pads, slurries, pad conditioners and cleaning chemistries) across both platforms.

“Our foundry operations offer our customers a capability that is unique in the industry,” said Tim Tobin, CEO of Entrepix. “Our CMP consumable customers can benefit from creating independent, non-biased performance data for their products.”

The Entrepix foundry provides complete CMP solutions for customers at any level of development or production. This flexible manufacturing model improves financial performance by optimizing internal efficiencies and reducing time to revenue.

Entrepix Inc. serves the semiconductor and related industries as a provider of chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) production, integration and optimization services to IDMs, OEMs, MEMS, nanotechnology and CMP consumables suppliers. The company renews technology for existing and emerging CMP users by refurbishing semiconductor equipment or adapting the equipment for use in novel applications, such as airbag sensors and photovoltaics.

Building on the highly successful inaugural program Innovation Village, SEMICON Europa 2015 (October 6-8) will prominently feature second edition of this very successful program connecting early-stage companies with strategic investors, venture capitalists and other relevant stakeholders. The SEMICON Europa technology and business program agenda addresses the critical issues and challenges facing the microelectronics industries and provides information, education, and guidance for industry professional to move innovations and products to market. This year’s Innovation Village will bring together the most innovative European start-up and growth companies with leading investors from semiconductor and related industries.  New in 2015 is cooperation with the incubator “HighTech Startbahn” from Dresden with their Investors Congress “HighTech Venture Days.” As a result, the Innovation Village program has expanded to a four-day event with 60 selected companies, six high-tech sectors, speed presentations (pitches) and 60+ investors.

The goal of Innovation Village is to encourage exchanges between high-tech ventures and industry relevant investors. Participating start-up and growth companies have the opportunity to exhibit for three days at individual kiosks in the Innovation Village exhibition hall, presenting their innovations in a series of short pitches.  The Innovation Village features 40 private pitches to investors only, plus 20 public pitches — focusing on Information Communication Technology (ICT), Micro- and Nanotechnology and related applications, Materials Science, Environment and Energy Technology, Machinery and Plant Engineering, Industry 4.0 and Life Science and Automotive.

With a dedicated conference program on innovation and a live demonstration day for innovation products and applications, Innovation Village provides a uniquely valuable platform for both high-tech ventures as well as investors. The Innovation Village exhibition hall will also host several key industry companies and investors in exclusive booths with private meeting space.

“Saxony has gained a reputation for being one of Europe’s leading regions in innovative research,” says Heinz Kundert, president of SEMI Europe. “With the Innovation Village coming to Dresden for the first time, it is an excellent occasion to demonstrate the region’s capabilities for innovative technologies and products.”

“Dresden has proven to be one of Europe’s leading cities for IC manufacturing and microelectronics driven technology. The region is also host to a high number of innovations based start-ups,” says Bettina Vossberg, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors, HighTech Startbahn. “With the enhancement of both our strong concepts, it is an excellent occasion to demonstrate Europe’s capabilities in innovation and commercialization of new technologies.”

Innovation Village will represent the most viable new technology in Europe. Interested start-ups and growth companies are invited to fill out a Request for Participation (RFP) form online at the SEMICON Europa website (www.semiconeuropa.org). The ventures are encouraged to apply as early as possible. RFPs will be judged by SEMICON Europa Innovation Village Committee and HighTech Startbahn experts in venture capitalism and new technology investment: Tobias Jahn (3M New Ventures); Tony Chao (Applied Ventures LLC), Claus Schmidt (Robert Bosch Venture GmbH), Jim Traynor (TEL Venture), Christophe Desrumeaux (CEA Investissement), Jong Sang Choi (Samsung Ventures), Jean-Marc Girard (Air Liquid Electronics), Jean-Marc Bally (ASTER Capital), Erkki Aaltonen (VTT Ventures) and Pascal Vanluchene (Capital-E).

To encourage visibility for both investors and early stage innovative ventures, Innovation Village conferences and the exhibition will be free-of-charge for all SEMICON Europa visitors. Speakers will attract diverse visitors, including large companies, SMEs, and start-ups to the Innovation Village area. Dedicated innovation lounge areas set amidst the exhibition kiosks will allow visitors, investors and start-ups to interact with each other.

Nano-electronics research center imec has announced that it will award Dr. Morris Chang, founding chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Limited (TSMC), the world’s first and largest semiconductor foundry, with a lifetime of innovation award. With his pioneering vision and founding of TSMC, Dr. Chang enabled the rapid growth of the fabless sector and changed the landscape of the semiconductor industry. Imec’s award recognizes Dr. Chang’s profound and unparalleled impact on the global semiconductor industry, and will be presented to him in person on June 23, in Belgium at imec’s annual Imec Technology Forum in Brussels.

Dr. Chang founded TSMC in 1987 as a company solely dedicated to manufacturing chips according to customers’ designs. By not competing with customers, TSMC enabled entrepreneurs to build world-class businesses around designing and marketing chips without the need of a manufacturing facility. By partnering for manufacturing capabilities, fabless companies can avoid the mammoth costs of operating their own semiconductor fabrication facility and focus on innovation of the circuits while leaving the manufacturing and yield challenges to their partners in foundry, and thereby accelerating innovation according to market needs. It is the world’s largest dedicated independent semiconductor foundry, and many of today’s largest high-tech companies can link their success directly to their partnership with TSMC.

“Chairman Chang is immensely respected in the global semiconductor community for his innovative vision and tireless drive to shape the future of technology,” stated Luc Van den hove, president and CEO at imec. “Innovation is the cornerstone of economic growth and imec, as the nucleus of the global semiconductor industry for joint R&D on advanced technologies, is a proud partner of TSMC. We are greatly honored to welcome Chairman Chang to Belgium and to present him with this award, representing imec’s and its partners’ gratitude, respect, admiration and appreciation.”

Imec and TSMC have a long and fruitful history of collaboration. Since 2005, TSMC is one of the core partners in imec’s industrial affiliation program on advanced CMOS technologies. Imec’s unique research platform harnesses the collective expertise and knowledge of the entire value chain, bringing together foundries, IDMs, fabless and fab-lite companies, packaging and assembly companies, and equipment and material suppliers, to drive innovation and the development of new, competitive products. Other strategic CMOS partners include Intel, Samsung, Globalfoundries, Micron, SK Hynix, Toshiba/Sandisk, Qualcomm, Huawei, Panasonic, Sony … TSMC’s commitment to imec was extended in 2009 by the establishment of TSMC’s European R&D facility at the imec campus, benefiting from imec’s state-of-the-art semiconductor cleanroom facility. Imec and its partners, in turn, benefit from TSMC’s broad-based technology roadmap and platform expertise, its customers, suppliers, and ecosystem partners. Other highlights in the collaboration between imec and TSMC are the appointment of imec as a TSMC value chain aggregator for Europe, enabling imec to offer TSMC technology on a multiproject wafer basis to European companies and academia through imec’s Europractice IC services, and imec to become a VCA of TSMC for the Indian market in 2013.

Morris Chang - Founding Chairman, TSMC

Morris Chang – Founding Chairman, TSMC

SEMI, the global industry association for companies that supply manufacturing technology and materials to the world’s chip makers, today reported that worldwide sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment totaled $37.50 billion in 2014, representing a year-over-year increase of 18 percent. 2014 total equipment bookings were 8 percent higher than in 2013. The data are available in the Worldwide Semiconductor Equipment Market Statistics (WWSEMS) Report, now available from SEMI.

Compiled from data submitted by members of SEMI and the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ), the Worldwide SEMS Report is a summary of the monthly billings and bookings figures for the global semiconductor equipment industry. The report, which includes data for seven major semiconductor producing regions and 24 product categories, shows worldwide billings totaled $37.50 billion in 2014, compared to $31.79 billion in sales posted in 2013. Categories cover wafer processing, assembly and packaging, test, and other front-end equipment. Other front-end includes mask/reticle manufacturing, wafer manufacturing, and fab facilities equipment.

Spending rates increased for all the regions tracked in the WWSEMS report, except for Taiwan. Even with the annual decrease, Taiwan remained the largest market for new semiconductor equipment for the third year in a row with $9.41 billion in equipment sales. The North American market held onto the second place with $8.16 billion in sales; South Korea maintained its third position with total sales of $6.84 billion. China moved up in the rankings, surpassing Japan with $4.37 billion in sales.

The global assembly and packaging segment increased 33 percent; total test equipment sales increased 31 percent; other front end equipment segment increased 15 percent; and the wafer processing equipment market segment increased 15 percent.

Semiconductor Capital Equipment Market by World Region (2013-2014)

(Dollar in U.S. billions; Percentage Year-over-Year)

2014

2013

% Change
Taiwan

9.41

10.57

-11%
North America

8.16

5.27

55%
South Korea

6.84

5.22

31%
China

4.37

3.37

30%
Japan

4.18

3.38

24%
Europe

2.38

1.91

25%
Rest of World

2.15

2.07

4%
Total

37.50

31.79

18%

Source: SEMI/SEAJ March 2015
Note: Figures may not add due to rounding.

Applied Materials, Inc. today announced it has been recognized as a 2015 World’s Most Ethical Company by the Ethisphere Institute.

“Applied Materials’ reputation as a trusted business partner is one of our most valuable assets,” said Chad Fentress, vice president, Global Ethics and Compliance at Applied Materials. “I am proud of our employees for doing business the right way, every day and I look forward to upholding our strong tradition of ethical conduct in the future.”

This is the fourth consecutive year Applied Materials has received the annual award, which recognizes organizations that foster a culture of ethics and transparency at every level of the company.

“The World’s Most Ethical Companies embrace the correlation between ethical business practice and improved company performance. These companies use ethics as a means to further define their industry leadership and understand that creating an ethical culture and earning the World’s Most Ethical Companies recognition involves more than just an outward facing message or a handful of senior executives saying the right thing,” said Ethisphere’s CEO, Timothy Erblich. “Earning this recognition involves the collective action of a global workforce from the top down. We congratulate everyone at Applied Materials for this extraordinary achievement.”

Now in its ninth year, the World’s Most Ethical Company assessment is based upon the Ethisphere Institute’s Ethics Quotient(TM) (EQ) framework developed over years of research to provide a means to assess an organization’s performance in an objective, consistent and standardized way.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (“SMIC”), the largest pure-play foundry provider in China, has appointed Dr. Zixue Zhou as the new chairman and executive director of SMIC. Dr. Zhou’s position as chairman will become effective as of today.

Dr. Zhou, 58, has had many years of experience in the electronics information industry. Prior to joining SMIC, he had served as the Chief Economist in the Ministry of Industry and Information of China (MIIT); in addition, he held previous positions including, Director of the Ministry of Information Industry, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Electronics Industry, other Deputy Director positions, as well as Adjunct Professor at prestigious universities. Dr. Zhou also holds a master’s degree in engineering management from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China and a PhD in Economic History from Central China Normal University.

The former Chairman Mr. Wenyi Zhang has decided not to serve as a Board member due to his age, and Mr. Zhang has been appointed as Honorary Chairman and advisor.

“I am honoured to serve as the Chairman of SMIC and recognize the challenges ahead,” said Dr. Zhou. “For almost four years, Mr. Zhang and Dr. Chiu has helped SMIC undergo rapid development, achieving eleven consecutive quarters of profitability, and drawing the attention of the industry. I’d like to thank Mr. Zhang and Dr. Chiu for all their contributions in laying a strong foundation for SMIC’s future. I will work together with all members of the Board, management team and staff to promote the company’s development and growth, to build value for our shareholders, employees and other stakeholders.”

Mr. Zhang commented, “I am deeply grateful for the huge support during my time as Chairman at SMIC from shareholders, board members, management team and employees. In the future, I will continue to focus in the rapid development in SMIC and China’ssemiconductor industry.”

Dr. Tzu-Yin Chiu, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of SMIC remarked, “On behalf of all the board members and employees, we want to express our sincere appreciation to Mr. Zhang for all his dedication and contribution over the past few years. He has successfully brought SMIC to a new stage of development and furthered the enhancement of China’s semiconductor industry. At the same time, we’d like to welcome on board Dr. Zhou. With his extensive knowledge in the electronics industry, and rich government and management experience, his leadership will continue to drive the company’s development and further enhance SMIC’s leading position in the IC industry.”

Boston Semi Equipment announced today that it has completed the move into their new corporate headquarters located at 4 Federal Street; Billerica, MA 01821. The new facility houses corporate functions as well as the Aetrium test handler business acquired in 2014 and relocated from Minnesota to Massachusetts.

“Our new facility gives us needed room for expansion to accommodate our continued growth,” commented Bryan Banish, Boston Semi Equipment President and CEO. “The transition of the Aetrium handler operations has gone smoothly and manufacturing has commenced in the Billerica facility.  Handler shipments will start this month.”

Boston Semi Equipment’s global organization of tester, handler and prober specialists provide the semiconductor industry a vendor-independent source for equipment and service. BSE is producing equipment configured to customer requirements; delivering complete test cell solutions across all tester platforms and providing exceptional service and support to keep ATE, handler and probe equipment at peak performance. The cost conscious nature of the semiconductor industry is an ideal match for Boston Semi Equipment’s business model.

Boston Semi Equipment LLC (BSE) provides equipment and services to semiconductor manufacturers and OSATs worldwide.