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The Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) is pleased to announce the 2014 award nominees for the GSA Awards Dinner Celebration taking place on Thursday, December 11, 2014, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, Calif. GSA is celebrating 20 years of industry collaboration this year and over the past 20 years the awards program has recognized companies that have demonstrated excellence through their vision, strategy, execution and future opportunity. The commemorative celebration will honor the achievements of semiconductor companies in several categories ranging from outstanding leadership to financial accomplishments, as well as overall respect within the industry.

This year, in recognition of GSA’s 20 years of global collaboration, there will be a special presentation honoring past Dr. Morris Chang Exemplary Leadership Award recipients, GSA’s most prestigious award. The evening will culminate with a keynote by Jay Leno.

The evening’s program will recognize leading semiconductor companies that have exhibited market growth through technological innovation and exceptional business management strategies. The award categories and nominees (in alphabetical order) are as follows:

Start-Up to Watch Award

  • Ineda Systems Pvt. Ltd.
  • Movidius
  • XMOS Ltd.

Most Respected Private Semiconductor Company Award

  • Aquantia Corporation
  • Quantenna Communications, Inc.
  • Spreadtrum Communications, Inc.

Most Respected Emerging Public Semiconductor Company Award (Achieving $100 to $250 Million in Annual Sales):

  • Ambarella, Inc.
  • Nordic Semiconductor
  • Silicon Motion Technology Corporation (Silicon Motion, Inc.)

Most Respected Public Semiconductor Company Award (Achieving $251 Million to $1 Billion in Annual Sales)

  • InvenSense, Inc.
  • Silicon Labs
  • Synaptics, Inc.

Most Respected Public Semiconductor Company Award (Achieving Greater than $1 Billion in Annual Sales)

  • Avago Technologies
  • MediaTek Inc.
  • QUALCOMM Incorporated

Best Financially Managed Semiconductor Company Award (Achieving Up to $500 Million in Annual Sales):

  • Ambarella, Inc.
  • Monolithic Power Systems
  • Montage Technology

Best Financially Managed Semiconductor Company Award (Achieving Greater than $500 Million in Annual Sales)

  • MediaTek Inc.
  • QUALCOMM Incorporated
  • Skyworks Solutions, Inc.

Analyst Favorite Semiconductor Company Award Nominees (chosen by analyst Rajvindra Gill of Needham & Company, LLC)

  • Micron Technology, Inc.
  • Spansion, Inc.
  • Synaptics, Inc.

Outstanding Asia Pacific Semiconductor Company Award

  • MediaTek Inc.
  • Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
  • Spreadtrum Communications, Inc.

Outstanding EMEA Semiconductor Company Award

  • ams AG
  • Infineon Technologies AG
  • Sensirion AG

The dinner is made possible by title sponsor TSMC, VIP and networking reception sponsor Optimal+, as well as general sponsors Advantest, Alix Partners, Altera, AMD, Amkor, ARM, ASE Group, Broadcom, Cadence Design Systems, CSR, eSilicon, GLOBALFOUNDRIES, IBM, Jefferies Group LLC, J.P. Morgan, KPMG, Marvell, MediaTek, Mentor Graphics, Micron, Microsemi, Model N, Morgan Stanley, Needham & Co., NVIDIA, Open-Silicon, QUALCOMM, QuickLogic, Rambus, RFMD, Samsung, SanDisk, Silicon Labs, SMIC, Synopsys, UMC, VeriSilicon and Wells Fargo. To make reservations to attend the Awards Dinner, please visit the reservations page.

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), today announced that worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $87 billion during the third quarter of 2014, an increase of 5.7 percent over the previous quarter and a jump of 8 percent compared to the third quarter of 2013. Third quarter sales outperformed the latest World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) industry forecast. Global sales for the month of September 2014 reached $29 billion, 8 percent higher than the September 2013 total of $26.9 billion and 1.9 percent more than last month’s total of $28.5 billion. All monthly sales numbers are compiled by WSTS and represent a three-month moving average.

“Through the third quarter of 2014, global semiconductor sales remain strong and well ahead of last year’s pace,” said Brian Toohey, president and CEO, Semiconductor Industry Association. “The industry has now posted seven consecutive months of sequential monthly growth, and year-to-year growth has been strong across nearly all semiconductor product categories, with DRAM and Analog leading the way.”

Regionally, sales were up compared to last month in the Americas (2.8 percent) and Asia Pacific (2.5 percent), but down slightly in Europe (-0.1 percent) and Japan (-1.3 percent). Compared to September 2013, sales increased in Asia Pacific (12 percent), Europe (7.9 percent) and the Americas (3.7 percent), but decreased in Japan (-3.7 percent). All four regional markets have posted better year-to-date sales through September than they did through the same point last year.

September 2014      
Billions      
Month-to-Month Sales      
Market Last Month Current Month % Change
Americas 5.60 5.76 2.8%
Europe 3.22 3.22 -0.1%
Japan 3.07 3.03 -1.3%
Asia Pacific 16.57 16.99 2.5%
Total 28.46 29.00 1.9%
       
Year-to-Year Sales      
Market Last Year Current Month % Change
Americas 5.55 5.76 3.7%
Europe 2.98 3.22 7.9%
Japan 3.15 3.03 -3.7%
Asia Pacific 15.17 16.99 12.0%
Total 26.85 29.00 8.0%
       
Three-Month-Moving Average Sales      
Market Apr/May/Jun Jul/Aug/Sep % Change
Americas 5.24 5.76 9.8%
Europe 3.19 3.22 0.9%
Japan 2.97 3.03 2.2%
Asia Pacific 16.04 16.99 5.9%
Total 27.44 29.00 5.7%

 

After falling by about 50 percent from 2009 through 2014, pricing for solar glass is set to commence a rebound starting next year, as anti-dumping duties levied by the European Union go into effect on Chinese suppliers.

Average global pricing for glass used in photovoltaic (PV) solar is expected to fall to $4.60 per square meter this year, down from $10.40 in 2009, according to IHS Technology. However, pricing will begin to stabilize and begin a long-term increase starting next year. By 2018, solar glass pricing will increase to $5.90 per square meter, up 11 percent from the low point this year, as presented in the attached figure.

2014-10-27_Solar

“The sharp drop in solar glass prices during the last five years was the result of massive oversupply in the market,” said Karl Melkonyan, solar research analyst at IHS Technology. “Chinese government subsidies on solar glass caused domestic suppliers to increase production and exports. However, the European Union’s move to impose countervailing duties on solar glass imported from China will limit supply in the market, leading to an expected increase in prices.”

Information in this press release is from the new report entitled “Module Innovations to Create Opportunity for PV Materials Market” from the Power & Energy service at IHS.

Made in China

In 2010, imports accounted for only 7 percent of total solar glass supply in Europe. This share grew to 30 percent in 2013. For 2014, more than 90 percent of imports will come from China, up from 35 percent in 2010.

This means that in 2014, Chinese manufacturers will account for 27 percent of total solar glass supply in Europe, up from 2.5 percent in 2010.

Encouraged by government subsidies, many Chinese glass manufacturers entered the solar glass segment and started an aggressive pricing strategy in overseas markets, following a similar pattern to China’s participation in the module space. The price undercutting caused a strong oversupply and price collapse in the market.

European backlash

High imports from China led to lost profits and shutdowns of factories for European solar glass producers.

In response, the European Union in May imposed five-year tariffs on solar glass from China. The EU imposed countervailing duties on solar glass imported from China in a range of about 3 to 17 percent, depending on the level of subsidy that a solar glass company received from China.

Glass shippers

IHS estimates the global demand for flat glass—the parent category of solar glass—in 2013 was 47.6 million metric tons. With an estimated 55 percent share, China dominates flat glass supply. Europe follows with a 16 percent share.

The Asia-Pacific region is forecast to remain the largest and fastest-growing market for solar glass during the next five years. However, only a few first-tier suppliers from China will provide what customers consider to be high-end products.

ARC of triumph

In other developments in solar glass, the global market share of anti-reflective coated (ARC) solar glass in 2018 is projected to reach 85 percent.

Anti-reflective coatings increase module power output and lower the cost-per-watt, which is the key value measure for any solar-power-generating system.

After a weak 2012, the fast-recovering PV market has also contributed to a strong demand for solar glass with AR coating, with about 50 percent growth during each of 2013 and 2014.

The “Module Innovations to Create Opportunity for PV Materials Market” report delivers to readers an in-depth look into the competitive landscape of the leading module manufacturing materials, as well as cost trending through 2018. The report investigates current and pioneering developments in glass, backsheet, frames, junction boxes and encapsulants.

Today, SEMI announced an exceptional lineup of speakers for SEMICON Japan’s Opening Day — Accenture, Applied Materials, ARM, IBM Japan, Intel K.K., NIICT, Scripps, Toshiba, and Toyota.  SEMICON Japan 2014, the largest exhibition in Japan for semiconductor manufacturing and related processing technology, will take place at its new venue in Tokyo Big Sight in Tokyo on December 3-5. A deep program spans from the 33rd annual SEMI Technology Symposium (STS) which begins on December 3, includes sessions on power devices, DFM, lithography, MEMS, packaging, and more to the new World of IoT (Internet of Things).

While the semiconductor and IC manufacturing industries have undergone consolidation, a surge in new investment points to a rebound in related spending in Japan. The semiconductor equipment market in Japan is forecast to grow both in 2014 and 2015.  Drivers for the increased investment are: memory devices, power semiconductors and “More than Moore” semiconductor technologies.  According to the SEMI World Fab Forecast, in 2014, Japan will spend more than $10 billion in 2014 on semiconductor equipment and materials.  The projection for 2015 is to more than double semiconductor equipment spending to $4.2 billion.

SEMICON Japan 2014 will bring Japan’’s rebounding semiconductor equipment market into focus and the underlying technology and business drivers.  SEMICON Japan will enable attendees to explore key technologies and business models necessary to grow in the coming years. On December 3, SEMICON Japan opens at 9:30am with a full day of speakers including:

  • Accenture Japan Ltd — Chikatomo Hodo, president and country managing director
  • IBM Japan — Chieko Asakawa, IBM fellow
  • Scripps Translational Science Institute — Donald Jones, chief digital officer
  • Toyota — Tokuhisa Nomura, executive general manager
  • Intel Japan — Makiko Eda, GM and president of Intel Japan
  • ARM K.K. — Yuzuru Utsumi, president
  • Toshiba — Yasuo Naruke, executive officer, corporate EVP and CEO, semiconductor & storage
  • National Institute of Information and Communication Technology (NIICT) — Miwako Doi, auditor

SEMICON Japan will also highlight emerging opportunities in its workforce composition.  In Japan, 14.7 percent of the students in science and engineering departments are women (source: Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology). SEMI will host a forum on “Women in Business” in Tokyo for the first time to discuss the gender diversity strategy, featuring women executives.

SEMICON Japan 2014 is the place for information exchange and networking opportunities for people interested in semiconductor-related businesses in Asia through the opening keynotes, pavilion and exchange networking events. SEMICON Japan 2014 also provides exhibitors an excellent opportunity to meet major device companies through the Suppliers Search Program. Japanese-English simultaneous translation will be available for many of the events and sessions at SEMICON Japan.

For further information on SEMICON Japan, visit www.semiconjapan.org/en/.

Silvaco, Inc. (Silvaco) and TSI Semiconductors, LLC (TSI) today announced that they have extended their collaboration to accelerate the development and production launch of TSI’s 0.25um BCDMOS process technology.

TSI Semiconductors’ 0.25um BCD with deep trench isolation is a feature rich platform that enables high growth applications in lighting, automotive, power, automation, and consumer goods. The technology is a new offering at the companies’ automotive qualified factory in Roseville, CA where there have been continuous manufacturing operations for over 30 years.

TSI’s TSBCD25 process imposes stringent requirements on modeling efficiency and model accuracy. This requires a SPICE parameter extraction flow that is easy to set up and utilize with convenient data measurement on different instruments. Flexibility in optimization and acquisition routines as well as plotting of results are key requirements for improved modeling productivity. TSI reviewed several industry leading SPICE modeling tools and ultimately selected Silvaco’s Utmost IV as it delivered the required accuracy with the latest CMC standard HiSIM_HV2 model support. It also met the desired productivity and flexibility requirements with clear user examples for the different modeling tasks. Utmost IV covers a wide range of models from active devices such as BJT, MOSFET, high-voltage DMOS to passives, such as resistors, all with a single license.

With the adoption of Utmost IV, TSI is able to build upon its existing use of Silvaco’s TCAD tools for process development. Linking SPICE modeling to TCAD enables rapid optimization so that process changes can be reflected in circuit behavior all in a simulation environment without having to run wafers. This helps to deliver a robust process with high yields in the shortest time possible. Sundar Chetlur, TSI’s VP, Foundry Process Technology Development said, “We feel that Silvaco’s tools enable us to provide accurate SPICE models to our customers in a very efficient flow, particularly, for our high-voltage TSBCD25 technology.”

Silvaco has focused on the challenges of high-voltage device modeling for a long time and was one of the first companies to incorporate the HiSIM_HV2 model into a commercial modeling tool. Amit Nanda, Silvaco’s VP of Marketing and Product Management said, “It is a great honor to have a leader in high-voltage process technology validate our efforts to deliver best in class SPICE modeling tools. Silvaco has a strong customer base in the power semiconductor segment and we will continue to meet the challenging requirements of these high-voltage technologies.”

The two companies intend to extend this collaboration by offering customers, designing to TSI’s TSBCD25 process, access to affordable custom design tools, from Silvaco, spanning schematic, layout, simulation, and verification.

SiTime Corporation, a MEMS and analog semiconductor company, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement under which MegaChips Corporation, a top 25 fabless semiconductor company based in Japan, will acquire SiTime for $200 million in cash. This transaction combines two complementary fabless semiconductor companies that provide solutions for the growing wearables, mobile and Internet of Things markets.

“SiTime’s founders, Markus Lutz and Dr. Aaron Partridge, started the company with a vision of developing game-changing MEMS and analog technology to revolutionize the $5 billion timing industry,” said Rajesh Vashist, CEO of SiTime. “Through innovation, passion and focus, we’ve successfully delivered on this vision. Today, SiTime is the overwhelming leader – we have 1000 customers, 250 million units shipped, major design wins in all electronics segments, and a roadmap that extends SiTime’s MEMS technology to all timing markets.”

“Every SiTime employee is excited to be part of MegaChips as we share a common entrepreneurial culture,” continued Vashist. “MegaChips’ financial strength and scale, with SiTime’s innovation and passion, will rapidly accelerate the adoption of MEMS timing solutions.”

While the world of electronics has delivered many innovations, the clock function, which is the heartbeat in all electronics, still uses 75-year-old quartz technology. SiTime’s MEMS timing solutions replace dated quartz products in the telecom, networking, computing, storage and consumer markets, with the benefits of higher performance, smaller size, and lower power and cost.

“MegaChips has an aggressive growth strategy with a vision to become one of the top ten fabless semiconductor companies through both organic growth and strategic acquisitions,” said Akira Takata, President and CEO of MegaChips Corporation. “MEMS components are fuelling the growth of the semiconductor industry. Through the acquisition of SiTime, MegaChips becomes a leader in MEMS. SiTime will help us expand our portfolio and diversify our customer base. SiTime technology is the perfect match for MegaChips’ solutions that target Wearables, Mobile and IoT markets such as “frizz”, our ultra-low-power smart phone Sensor Hub LSI and BlueChip Wireless, a sub-GHz RF LSI.”

“As a founding investor in SiTime, Bosch recognized early on the tremendous vision and innovation behind SiTime’s approach to MEMS timing,” said Dr. Volkmar Denner, Chairman, Board of Management of Robert Bosch GmbH. “We have closely followed their success from a Silicon Valley startup to a revenue-generating company that sells to some of the world’s largest electronics companies. We are pleased that MegaChips is acquiring SiTime and we expect a bright future for the combined companies.”

“We are delighted by this merger. MegaChips and SiTime are very complementary companies with similar innovative and entrepreneurial cultures, and a unified vision that can transform the electronics industry,” said Joe Horowitz, Managing General Partner at Jafco Ventures and a SiTime Board Member. “By leveraging SiTime’s proprietary technologies and highly differentiated products, I have no doubt this combination is just at its opening act with a great future ahead.”

“Over the past ten years, SiTime has built an extraordinary technology platform and a family of products that is in high demand at leading customers,” said Brooke Seawell, a Venture Partner at New Enterprise Associates and a founding investor and Board Member at SiTime. “With MegaChips’ operational and global scale, SiTime’s future is bright. The combined company will accelerate the adoption of MEMS timing solutions and will become a leading supplier to the electronics industry.”

Upon closing, scheduled for November 2014 pending regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions, SiTime will retain its name and operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of MegaChips. During this transaction, Needham & Company, LLC served as the exclusive financial advisor to SiTime.

MegaChips Corporation was established in 1990 as a fabless company dedicated to ASICs and system LSIs with the goal of integrating LSIs and systems knowledge and solutions.

Intersil Corporation, a provider of power management and precision analog solutions, today announced the appointment of two accomplished executives to its board of directors, bringing the total number of independent directors to nine. Sohail Khan is an experienced technology veteran with a more than 30 years track record of successful management within high tech companies, including running multi-billion dollar businesses. Forrest Norrod has a deep background in developing and marketing key enterprise computing solutions at top systems and IC suppliers.

“We welcome the addition of Sohail and Forrest, both of whom nicely complement the expertise of our existing Board members,” said Don Macleod, chairman of Intersil’s board of directors.

Mr. Khan was most recently the president and CEO of Lilliputian Systems, a solid oxide fuel cell company. From 2007 to 2011, he served as president and CEO of SiGe Semiconductor where he refocused the company on specific core markets, and secured the top market share position in the highly competitive WiFi segment. In 2011 Mr. Khan oversaw the acquisition and integration of SiGe Semiconductor by Skyworks Solutions. Mr. Khan has also held several senior executive positions at Agere Systems and Lucent Technologies. Mr. Khan received a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology in Pakistan and an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley. He also serves on the board of LightPath Technologies.

Mr. Norrod is currently senior vice president and general manager at AMD where he is responsible for enterprise, embedded, and semi-custom products. He spent nearly 1te5 years at Dell, where he was most recently the general manager for the multi-billion dollar server business. In his various management and development roles at Dell, Mr. Norrod built a track record of growing businesses based on innovation and increasing R&D effectiveness. Prior to Dell, he held various management positions at National Semiconductor and Cyrix Corporation. Mr. Norrod earned his B.S. and M.S. in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech.

“We are in the midst of a major transformation as a company and these two industry veterans will provide valuable insight as we guide the company through the next phase of its development,” said Necip Sayiner, president and CEO of Intersil.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, the largest and most advanced pure-play foundry provider in China, and ASML Holding N.V., a provider of lithography systems, announce the signing of a volume purchase agreement (VPA) that will provide SMIC with lithography systems from ASML. The VPA which is worth approximately 450 million Euros and is part of a strategic partnership between the companies that will help facilitate the timely expansion of SMIC’s advanced technology capacities.

Lithography is a critical step in the manufacturing of semiconductors and helps to create complex structures that make up the transistors on a wafer. Under the agreement ASML will provide lithography tools such as the TWINSCAN NXT system designed for volume production of 300mm wafers at the 32nm node and beyond. Some of the specific benefits include increased productivity, unprecedented overlay performance and maximum image performance for each wafer.

“We chose ASML as our provider due to their world-class products and services, and this cooperation will facilitate and strengthen the development of our advanced technologies,” said Dr. Tzu-Yin Chiu, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of SMIC.

Lilianne Ploumen, the Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, accompanied by members of the Dutch Consulate, attended the signing ceremony as part of an economic mission to strengthen economic ties between the Netherlands and China.

At the ceremony, Minister Ploumen said, “China is an important market that continues to grow. The signing ceremony between SMIC and ASML marks the increasing high-tech cooperation between China and the Netherlands, and I sincerely hope that this continues to develop further.”

Yesterday, KLA-Tencor announced a plan to significantly accelerate its strategy to drive stockholder returns. KLA-Tencor’s Board of Directors authorized the financing of a leveraged recapitalization, which would feature a special cash dividend of $16.50 per share, representing approximately 23 percent of the company’s common stock price as of October 22, 2014, or approximately $2.75 billion.

In its official release, KLA-Tencor said its Board of Directors currently intends to declare and pay the special cash dividend before December 31, 2014. The special cash dividend would be in addition to the Company’s regular $0.50 per share quarterly cash dividend. The company’s regular $0.50 per share quarterly cash dividend is expected to be declared and paid following the company’s regularly scheduled Board of Directors meeting in November 2014.

In connection with the leveraged recapitalization, the Board of Directors has approved an increase to the company’s stock repurchase program for up to 3.6 million additional shares of the company’s common stock, which is valued at approximately $250 million based upon the closing price of the company’s common stock as of October 20, 2014. This is in addition to the $1 billion stock repurchase program previously announced in July 2014.

KLA-Tencor expects to complete these share repurchases within 12 to 18 months. The repurchases may occur from time to time, in the open market, with consideration given to the market price of the common stock, the company’s other investment opportunities, and general economic conditions.

Including the intended special cash dividend of $16.50 per share (or an aggregate value of approximately $2.75 billion), the $250 million increase to the stock repurchase program announced today, and the $1 billion stock repurchase program previously announced in July 2014, the total capital that would be directed to stockholders would be approximately $4 billion in aggregate.

The intended special cash dividend of $2.75 billion in the aggregate will be funded in part with a portion of the cash on the company’s balance sheet, and in part with incremental debt. To fund the debt financed portion of the special cash dividend, KLA-Tencor intends to add up to $2.5 billion of incremental debt, consisting of a combination of investment grade senior notes and a pre-payable term loan facility, subject to market conditions. The company also expects to enter into an unfunded revolving credit facility, subject to market conditions. The declaration and payment of the special cash dividend are conditioned on the company’s ability to obtain requisite debt financing on satisfactory terms and conditions. KLA-Tencor intends to manage its capital structure to preserve and maintain its investment grade rating.

What the analysts are saying

Getting a read on what this means for KLA-Tencor’s future is difficult, but Srini Sundararajan, Semiconductor, Semi-cap Equipment Analyst, Summit Research Partners, provided these thoughts.

“Most likely, an increased capital intensity projection due to FinFET and 3D NAND next year likely left the management to seize the opportunity for a one-time special mega-dividend shareholder return during 2014,” said Sundararajan. “KLAC could potentially be an acquisition target for LRCX or ASML given that they might need to ‘bulk-up’ post the potential consummation of an Applied Materials-Tokyo Electron merger.”

While the leveraged recapitalization plan benefits shareholders and upper management, it will definitely lead to higher interest expenses and during down-turns, Sundararajan said, there could be some pressure put on continued dividends and buybacks while paying down the debt.

“The use of debt to return money to shareholders will definitely leave some wondering whether the company thinks that: a) additional internal R&D is a worthy use of money, and, b) no external M&A targets are out there that are attractive,” Sundararajan concluded.

Mentor Graphics Corp. today announced the appointment of A.J. Incorvaia to the role of vice president and general manager of the company’s Board Systems Division. The Mentor Graphics Board Systems Division offers a complete PCB flow, providing many of the world’s largest system design companies with a range of scalable solutions to reduce the time, cost and risk of electronic system design.

Incorvaia was recently vice president of the PCB and IC Packaging Group at Cadence Design Systems. Other responsibilities during his sixteen years at Cadence included vice president of Product Development, and engineering group director. Prior to Cadence, Incorvaia held software development and management positions at Viewlogic and Digital Equipment Corporation. He holds a B.S in Computer Science from Rochester Institute of Technology, and an M.S in Computer Science and Software Engineering from George Mason University.

“Mentor Graphics has a strong, proven track record of leadership in PCB systems design,” said A.J. Incorvaia. “I am excited to be joining an organization that is committed to its customers’ success and is forward-thinking in delivering world-class technologies to the electronics industry.”

“A.J. has a deep and comprehensive knowledge of the PCB/EDA industry, and a demonstrated focus on serving customers and improving software quality,” said Henry Potts, vice president and general manager of the company’s Systems Design group, which comprises several Mentor divisions.  “Mentor already has leading market share in PCB, and under A.J.’s direction we anticipate a strong momentum to further increase that leadership.”