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STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) and Leti, a research institute of CEA Tech, today announced their cooperation to industrialize GaN (Gallium Nitride)-on-Silicon technologies for power switching devices. This power GaN-on-Si technology will enable ST to address high-efficiency, high-power applications, including automotive on-board chargers for hybrid and electric vehicles, wireless charging, and servers.

The collaboration focuses on developing and qualifying advanced power GaN-on-Silicon diode and transistor architectures on 200mm wafers, a market that the research firm IHS Markit estimates to grow at a CAGR of more than 20 percent from 2019 to 2024[1]. Together, in the framework of IRT Nanoelec, ST and Leti are developing the process technology on Leti’s 200mm R&D line and expect to have validated engineering samples in 2019. In parallel, ST will set up a fully qualified manufacturing line, including GaN/Si hetero-epitaxy, for initial production running in ST’s front-end wafer fab in Tours, France, by 2020.

In addition, given the attractiveness of GaN-on-Si technology for power applications, Leti and ST are assessing advanced techniques to improve device packaging for the assembly of high power-density power modules.

“Recognizing the incredible value of wide-bandgap semiconductors, ST’s contributions in Power GaN-on-Si manufacturing and packaging technologies with CEA-Leti move to arm us with the industry’s most complete portfolio of GaN and SiC products and capabilities, on top of our proven competence to manufacture high-quality, reliable products in volume,” said Marco Monti, President Automotive and Discrete Group, STMicroelectronics.

“Leveraging Leti’s 200mm generic platform, Leti’s team is fully committed to supporting ST’s strategic GaN-on-Si power-electronics roadmap and is ready to transfer the technology onto ST’s dedicated GaN-on-Si manufacturing line in Tours. This co-development, involving teams from both sides, leverages the IRT Nanoelec framework program to broaden the required expertise and innovate from the start at device and system levels,” said Leti CEO Emmanuel Sabonnadiere.

North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $2.24 billion in billings worldwide in August 2018 (three-month average basis), according to the August Equipment Market Data Subscription (EMDS) Billings Report published today by SEMI. The billings figure is 5.9 percent lower than the final July 2018 level of $2.38 billion, and is 2.5 percent higher than the August 2017 billings level of $2.18 billion.

“Global billings of North American equipment suppliers declined in August when compared to July, although they remain above August 2017 billings,” said Ajit Manocha, president and CEO of SEMI. “Industry spending remains solid and we expect equipment expenditures in North America, China, Japan, and Taiwan to increase over their respective levels relative to the first half of the year.”

The SEMI Billings report uses three-month moving averages of worldwide billings for North American-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers. Billings figures are in millions of U.S. dollars.
Billings
(3-mo. avg.)
Year-Over-Year
March 2018
$2,431.8
16.9%
April 2018
$2,689.9
25.9%
May 2018
$2,702.3
19.0%
June 2018
$2,484.3
8.0%
July 2018 (final)
$2,377.9
4.8%
August 2018 (prelim)
$2,236.6
2.5%

Source: SEMI (www.semi.org), September 2018

Lam Research Corporation (Nasdaq: LRCX), a global supplier of wafer fabrication equipment and services to the semiconductor industry, today announced the recipients of its 2018 Supplier Excellence Awards. Selected from Lam’s extensive list of preferred global suppliers, the companies were recognized for their outstanding performance, strategic services, and critical collaboration.

During Lam’s 2018 Supplier Day held on September 19th, the following six companies were presented with an award for Overall Supplier Excellence:

  • Fujikin Incorporated
  • HORIBA, LTD.
  • Texon Co., LTD.
  • TOTO, LTD.
  • Watlow Electric Manufacturing Co.
  • Wonik QnC Corporation

“Our top suppliers make it possible for us to provide exceptional, industry-leading products and services to our customers,” said Tim Archer, president and chief operating officer of Lam Research. “Close collaboration with these top performing suppliers has proven critical to delivering innovative, high-quality solutions for some of the industry’s most difficult challenges. We welcome the opportunity to honor their achievements and extend our sincere congratulations to each recipient of our 2018 Supplier Excellence Award.”

SEMI announced today the September 18 deadline for presenters to submit abstracts for the annual SEMI Flexible Hybrid Electronics (FLEX) and MEMS and Sensors Technical Conference (MSTC). The co-located gathering, February 18-21, 2019, in Monterey, California, will feature technical presentations of more than 135 peer-reviewed manuscripts covering leading materials and methods that can enhance an expanding range of markets for microelectronics.

FLEX 2019 sessions will feature demonstrations of flexible hybrid and printed electronics products, equipment, and materials, as well as the unique electronics applications they enable.

MSTC 2019 sessions will address wearables, point of care medical devices, food delivery, and agriculture platforms, remote monitoring systems and other trending applications.

Both events will present opening day keynotes and a panel discussion, networking events, technical sessions on emerging and advanced electronics, tech courses and the annual FLEXI Awards Ceremony.  The conference will feature a special student poster session to highlight student projects related to either flexible electronics or MEMS and sensors and will conclude with an awards ceremony.

NextFlex, The Flex Group, Nano Bio Manufacturing Consortium and MEMS & Sensors Industry Group will hold several leadership meetings throughout the week in Monterey.

Selected FLEX and MSTC speakers will present to more than 700 executives, product marketing managers, business development professionals, researchers and engineers from the flexible, hybrid and printed electronics value chain, as well as the MEMS and Sensors industries; 400 companies, universities, R&D labs and government agencies; and, leading industry analysts and media from around the world. Technical abstracts are due September 28, 2018, and can be submitted here for FLEX and here for MSTC. Submissions are FREE and notifications of acceptance will be issued October 19.

FLEX 2019 will cover the following topics:

1. Application market segments and IOT for:

  • Agriculture
  • Consumer Electronics and Agriculture
  • Consumer Electronics: Appliances, Wearables & Textiles
  • Smart Infrastructure: Buildings, Surfaces & Lighting
  • Smart Manufacturing
  • Smart MedTech: Health and Wellness & Human Performance Monitoring
  • Smart Transportation: Automotive, Aircraft & Public Transit

2. Flexible electrical components for:

  • Advanced Packaging
  • Batteries & Energy Sources
  • Flexible Displays
  • Lighting
  • Other Hybrid Devices
  • Sensors
  • TFTs, Memory & Logic
  • User Interface

3. Materials for:

  • Barrier Films
  • Conductors, Insulators & Semiconductors
  • Electronic Fibers & Fabrics
  • Functional Inks
  • ITO & ITO Replacements
  • Substrates & Substrate Treatments

4. Processes and manufacturing for:

  • Equipment & Metrology
  • Failure & Lifetime Reliability
  • Hybrid Printing Processes
  • Integrated Manufacturing
  • Integration of Hybrid Devices
  • Multi-layer Additive Printing
  • Roll to Roll & Web Processing
  • System Interconnects
  • Testing

5. Standards for:

  • Design & Modeling File Format
  • Processes & Manufacturing
  • Reliability & Qualifications

MSTC 2019 will cover wearables, point-of-care medical devices, food delivery and agriculture platforms and remote monitoring systems such as environmental, weather, energy, industrial IoT and more. The conference will focus on the technical aspects of system-level solutions for these areas incorporating MEMS/Sensor and Actuators, Unique Applications and Innovative Technologies.

The co-location of FLEX and MSTC is organized by SEMI Americas to connect more than 2,000 member companies and 1.3 million professionals worldwide to advance the technology and business of flexible electronics and MEMS and Sensors.

The eBeam Initiative, a forum dedicated to the education and promotion of new semiconductor manufacturing approaches based on electron beam (eBeam) technologies, today announced the completion of its seventh annual eBeam Initiative perceptions survey. Industry luminaries representing nearly 40 companies from across the semiconductor ecosystem — including photomasks, electronic design automation (EDA), chip design, equipment, materials, manufacturing and research — participated in this year’s survey. The eBeam Initiative also completed its fourth annual mask makers’ survey with feedback from 10 captive and merchant photomask manufacturers. In addition, Tokyo Electron Ltd. (TEL), a leading global company that provides semiconductor and flat panel display (FPD) production equipment, has joined the eBeam Initiative.

Results from the mask makers’ survey indicate that mask output grew 27 percent compared to last year, while overall mask yields remained steady. At the same time, however, survey results indicate that no progress has been made in reducing mask turnaround time for leading-edge nodes, with several indicators such as mask data prep times and average mask write times on the rise compared to last year. Among the results of the perceptions survey, respondents were optimistic about the state of the photomask market, which grew 4.1 percent in 2017 according to SEMI. Survey respondents predicted the market will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.1 percent or more between 2018 and 2020. Confidence and optimism in EUV lithography continue to remain high, while the perceived need for multi-beam mask writing (MBMW) continues to grow. Perceptions on the use of inverse lithography technology (ILT) at the leading edge also increased.

Aki Fujimura, CEO of D2S, the managing company sponsor of the eBeam Initiative, will present the results of the mask makers’ survey in an invited talk this morning at the SPIE Photomask Technology Symposium in Monterey, Calif. In addition, the complete results of both surveys will be discussed by an expert panel tomorrow during the eBeam Initiative’s annual members meeting held in conjunction with the SPIE Photomask Technology Symposium, and will be available for download following the meeting at www.ebeam.org.

Highlights from Mask Makers Survey (data from July 2017 to June 2018)

  • The same 10 participants reported delivering 27 percent more masks in 2018 versus 2017, while overall mask yields remained steady at nearly 94 percent
  • The number of delivered EUV masks also more than doubled compared to last year, with EUV mask yields improving to 72 percent
  • However, no progress appears to have been made in mask turnaround time for leading-edge nodes as indicated by several survey results
  • Mask data prep time remains significantly higher at advanced nodes for another year, at 19 hours this year for 11 to 15-nm ground rules
  • Mask process correction (MPC) is also being introduced at sub-16-nm ground rules, confirmed for the second year in a row
  • The average mask write time for eBeam VSB writers also increased by more than 20 percent compared to last year’s survey, from 6.8 hours to nearly 8.3 hours
  • The highest sensitivity (slowest) resists reported to be used for production masks also increased for both 193i and EUV, contributing to longer mask write times
  • Mask data volumes per layer increased on average compared to last year for both eBeam variable shaped beam (VSB) writers and laser writers, with the highest reported data volume per layer increasing from 2.2 to 3.2 Terabytes for eBeam VSB, and from 30 to 240 Gigabytes (an 8x increase) for laser writers

Highlights from eBeam Initiative Perceptions Survey:

  • 95 percent of respondents predict that the overall mask market will achieve 4.1 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) or greater between 2018 and 2020
  • 82 percent of respondents predict that EUV lithography will be used in high-volume manufacturing by 2021, while only 1 percent of respondents predict it will never happen
  • Expectations continue to grow around actinic mask inspection for EUV, with only 5 percent of participants in this year’s survey indicating it will never happen — a drop from 21 percent two years ago
  • Perceptions on the need for MBMW remain strong, with 83 percent of respondents indicating that EUV adoption requires MBMW, and 82 percent of respondents indicating that MBMW will be used in high-volume manufacturing by the end of 2020
  • 60 percent of respondents also indicate that ILT is currently being used for a few critical layers at leading-edge nodes, up from 46 percent in last year’s survey

“First and foremost, I would like to welcome our newest member TEL to the eBeam Initiative,” stated Fujimura. “As a leading process solutions provider to the semiconductor industry, TEL has been at the forefront in tackling many of the industry’s most critical mask and lithography challenges. We look forward to adding their voice to our community, and having their support in our ongoing efforts to educate and promote the importance of eBeam technology.”

Added Fujimura, “Over the years, the annual eBeam Initiative surveys have provided valuable insight into not only the perceptions and conditions of the mask industry today, but also the most pressing challenges facing the mask industry ahead. In this year’s surveys, the substantial increase in the total number of masks delivered, the beginning ramp-up of EUV masks, and continued increases in all factors that influence mask turnaround times for the leading-edge nodes stood out to me as important trends. The overwhelming confidence expressed in the perceptions survey for multi-beam mask writing is a positive sign for the industry, as multi-beam helps with the mask turnaround time issue, particularly for writing with slower resists and with complex mask shapes.”

The SEMI-THERM Educational Foundation (STEF) announced that the 35thAnnual Thermal Measurement, Modeling and Management Symposium will take place from Monday, March 18thto Friday, March 22nd, 2019.  SEMI-THERM is currently accepting submissions for extended abstracts, peer-reviewed papers and presentation only abstracts. The deadline for each of these submissions types is October 12, 2018.

The SEMI-THERM Conference focuses on a broad range of cooling topics, from component and system level thermal management solutions to advanced cooling techniques and technologies. Applications of interest include Internet of Things, data centers, aerospace systems, drones, digital imaging, wearable and consumer electronics.

Conference committee chairs and presenters are leaders and practitioners from companies including Aavid Thermacore, Advanced Thermal Solutions (ATS), Cisco, Facebook, Google, Huawei, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Qualcomm, and other organizations and academia dedicated to solving thermal challenges.

“Presenting at SEMI-THERM is the perfect opportunity to educate colleagues and customers of a new technology or application and to gain recognition for your company, organization or university research.,” said Bernie Siegal, co-founder of the conference and recipient of SEMI-THERM’s Lifetime Achievement Award. “This program facilitates interactive communication between representatives of world-class research institutes and international corporations, as well as thermal consultants,” he added.

Symposium Highlights

SEMI-THERM is an international symposium dedicated to the thermal management and characterization of electronic components and systems. See topics below.

In addition to technical sessions and keynote presentations, the conference and exhibition includes technical short courses, embedded tutorials, vendor workshops, how-to courses and panel discussions on current thermal technologies.

For more information and to submit a paper, please visit:

http://semi-therm.org

Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACLS), a supplier of enabling ion implantation solutions for the semiconductor industry, announced that it has appointed John Kulungian as vice president of quality. In this role, Mr. Kulungian will be responsible for developing and executing programs to enhance customer satisfaction, as well as increase operational efficiencies.

“I am very pleased that John has joined the Axcelis team and look forward to his leadership as we take our quality systems to a new level,” said Mary Puma, president and CEO of Axcelis Technologies. “Customer satisfaction underpins everything we do at Axcelis Technologies, and John’s insight and expertise in driving quality improvements will be a great asset to the Company as we design and deliver new, market-leading solutions for our customers.”

Mr. Kulungian joins Axcelis Technologies with 20 years of senior leadership experience in the manufacturing sector, and a proven track record within the aerospace, defense, energy, and capital equipment industries. Most recently, Mr. Kulungian held the position of vice president of quality and continuous improvement at Sonnax Industries, LLC.  Previously he was vice president global quality at Ogin Energy Inc., and earlier served as the director of quality at Raytheon.

Mr. Kulungian holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Technology-Manufacturing from Central Connecticut State University and a Master of Science in General Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Additionally he has earned professional certifications in Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma and is a Certified Manager of Quality.

By Walt Custer

Global economy

Manufacturing activity continues to expand – but at a slowing pace (Chart 1). The Global PMI was 52.5 in August, down from 52.8 in July and its recent high of 54.5 in December. PMI values >50 indicate an expansion.

World manufacturing growth has slowed but its growth rate varies significantly by region. Chart 2 compares the PMI values over time for the World, USA, Europe and China. Recently China and Europe have registered slower growth but U.S. growth is expanding (based on the Institute for Supply Management’s PMI). How long U.S. manufacturing will continue to accelerate remains to be seen. Geopolitical issues abound.

Semiconductor industry

In the semiconductor industry both semiconductors and SEMI capital equipment continued to register double-digit growth in July (Chart 3), but these growth rates are now moderating. In July, World semiconductor shipments were up 17.4 percent and SEMI capital equipment sales rose 13.9 percent on a 3-month growth basis.

However, SEMI equipment growth rates also vary widely by region. Per Chart 4, China growth is accelerating, Taiwan and South Korea are contracting, and Europe and the USA are still expanding but at slower rates.

Timely World and regional industry information is key to understanding present and future business conditions and this data requires careful watching in these fast-changing times.

Walt Custer of Custer Consulting Group is an analyst focused on the global electronics industry.

Originally published on the SEMI blog.

Japan is at the heart of the semiconductor industry as the era of artificial intelligence (AI) dawns. SEMICON Japan 2018 will highlight AI and SMART technologies in Japan’s industry-leading event. Registration is now open for SEMICON Japan, Japan’s largest global electronics supply chain event, December 12-14 at Tokyo Big Sight in Tokyo.

Themed “Dreams Start Here,” SEMICON Japan 2018 reflects the promise of AI, Internet of Things (IoT) and other SMART technologies that are shaping the future. Japan is positioned to help power a semiconductor industry expansion that is enabling this new path ahead, supplying one-third of the world’s semiconductor equipment and half of its chip IC materials.

According to VLSI Research, seven of the world’s top 15 semiconductor equipment manufacturers in 2017 are headquartered in Japan. In the semiconductor materials market, Japanese companies dominate silicon wafers, photoresists, sputtering targets, bonding wires, lead frames, mold compounds and more. For SEMICON Japan visitors, the event is the ideal platform for connecting with Japan’s leading suppliers.

The SMART Application Zone at SEMICON Japan will once again connect SMART industries with the semiconductor supply chain to foster collaboration across the electronics ecosystem.

SEMICON Japan Keynotes

SEMICON Japan opening keynotes will feature two young leaders of Japan’s information and communications technology (ICT) industry sharing their vision for the industry:

Motoi Ishibashi, CTO of Rhizomatiks, will discuss the latest virtual and mixed reality technologies. Rhizomatiks, a Japanese media art company that staged the Rio Olympic Games closing ceremony, will orchestrate the opening performance at SEMICON Japan 2018. The company is dedicated to creating large-scale commercial projects combining technology with the arts.

Toru Nishikawa, president and CEO at Preferred Networks, will explore computer requirements for enabling deep learning applications. Preferred Networks, a deep-learning research startup, is conducting collaborative research with technology giants including Toyota Motors, Fanuc, NVIDIA, Intel and Microsoft.

Registration

For more information and to register for SEMICON Japan, visit www.semiconjapan.org/en/. Registration for the opening keynotes and other programs will open October 1.

Air Products (NYSE : APD ) today announced it has been awarded by Samsung Electronics additional gaseous nitrogen and hydrogen supply to its semiconductor fab in Giheung, South Korea.

Air Products, who has been supplying industrial gases to Samsung Electronics’ Giheung site since 1998, will invest in building a new air separation unit, multiple hydrogen plants, and pipelines, which are scheduled to be operational in 2020 to supply the customer’s increased demand.

“We are proud to expand our longstanding relationship with Samsung Electronics and have their continued confidence in our ability to support their technological development and growth plans,” said Kyo-Yung Kim, president of Air Products Korea. “Our latest investment once again reinforces Air Products’ commitment to serving our strategic customer, as well as the broader semiconductor and electronics industries, with our safety, reliability, efficiency and excellent service.”

Air Products supplies many of Samsung’s operations worldwide, including its semiconductor cluster in the north region of South Korea spanning Giheung, Hwaseong and Pyeongtaek. In Pyeongtaek, the company has been undertaking a multi-phase expansion project to support Samsung Electronics’ multibillion dollar fab.

A leading integrated gases supplier, Air Products has been serving the global electronics industry for more than 40 years, supplying industrial gases safely and reliably to most of the world’s largest technology companies. Air Products is working with these industry leaders to develop the next generation of semiconductors and displays for tablets, computers and mobile devices.