TOKYO – November 2, 2020 – The promise of growing prosperity worldwide through digital transformation and smart technology innovations will take center stage at SEMICON Japan 2020 Virtual, December 11-18, as industry leaders and visionaries gather for the latest technologies, developments and trends across the electronics manufacturing and design supply chain. Registration is open.

Virtual Exposition and Pavilions
Featuring more than 100 companies and cutting-edge technologies, the SEMICON Japan 2020 Virtual exhibition will be live December 14-17. Highlighting the exhibition will be 10 pavilions spanning electronic system design, flexible hybrid electronics, MEMS, quantum computing, 5G and 6G, smart mobility, and smart workforce. SEMICON Japan 2020 Virtual conferences and the workforce development program will be held December 11- 18.

SEMICON Japan Virtual Keynotes
SEMICON Japan 2020 Virtual will offer eight online keynote presentations with English subtitles:

• Challenges of Building a Prosperous Digital Society – Opening Panel
• The Future and Technological Challenges Opened Up by AI – Panel Discussion  
• SMART Mobility 1
• The Era of Quantum
• Strategies of Japan’s Leading Companies – Leaders’ Talks in the Semiconductor Industry: Part 1
• Recommendations from Global Leading Companies – Leaders’ Talks in the Semiconductor Industry: Part 2
• Top Securities Analysts’ Perspective on the 2021 Equipment Market – Bulls & Bears
• Challenges for the Sustainable Development of Semiconductor Industry – Grand Finale Panel

Opening Panel
Three visionaries from government, academia and industry will kick off the conference on November 11 by exploring the challenges of increasing societal prosperity through the digital transformation.

	Akira Amari, Chairperson, Research Commission on the Tax System, Former Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy
	Makoto Gonokami, Ph.D., President
	Tetsuro Higashi, Former Chairman and CEO

Grand Finale Panel
A grand finale panel of executives representing the Japan semiconductor supply chain and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on November 18, the last day of SEMICON Japan 2020 Virtual, will discuss efforts to sustain microelectronics industry innovations and growth.

	Hirohide Hirai, Director-General, Commerce and Information Policy Bureau
	Atsuyoshi Koike, President, Western Digital Japan
	Nobu Koshiba, Director, Chairman of the Board
	Tom Tsuneishi, Executive Chairman

SMART Workforce Pavilion at SEMICON Japan 2020 Virtual
Hiring companies and university students will connect at the SMART Workforce Pavilion on the SEMICON Japan 2020 Virtual show floor to discuss microelectronics industry career opportunities. SEMICON Japan 2020 Virtual will also offer
Mirai College Online, a semiconductor industry careers guidance program, on Saturday, December 13 with 800 university and graduate students expected to participate. The program will be also offered prior to SEMICON Japan 2020 Virtual on November 28.

SEMICON Japan 2020 Virtual Sponsors

• Platinum – Applied Materials, Lam Research, Screen Semiconductor Solutions and Tokyo Electron
• Gold – Advantest, JSR, Nikon and Tokyo Seimitsu
• Bronze – KITZ SCT, Micronics Japan and Nihon Pall
• SMART Workforce – Advantest

For more information and to register, please visit the SEMICON Japan website.

About SEMI
SEMI® connects more than 2,400 member companies and 1.3 million professionals worldwide to advance the technology and business of electronics design and manufacturing. SEMI members are responsible for the innovations in materials, design, equipment, software, devices, and services that enable smarter, faster, more powerful, and more affordable electronic products. Electronic System Design Alliance (ESD Alliance), FlexTech, the Fab Owners Alliance (FOA) and the MEMS & Sensors Industry Group (MSIG) are SEMI Strategic Association Partners, defined communities within SEMI focused on specific technologies. Visit www.semi.org to learn more, contact one of our worldwide offices, and connect with SEMI on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Association Contact
Nobuyuki Sawada
Phone: 81-3-3222-5801
Email: [email protected]

• Read more about SEMICON Japan 2020 Goes Virtual to Highlight Electronics Innovations Powering a Smarter World

Chip industry to add 38 new 300mm fabs by 2024

MILPITAS, Calif. — Nov. 3, 2020 — 300mm fab investments in 2020 will grow by 13% year-over-year (YoY) to eclipse the previous record high set in 2018 and log another banner year for the semiconductor industry in 2023, SEMI reported today in its 300mm Fab Outlook to 2024. The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked the 2020 surge in fab spending by accelerating digital transformations worldwide, and the increase is expected to stretch into 2021.

Powering the growth is rising demand for cloud services, servers, laptops, gaming and healthcare technology. Fast-evolving technologies such as 5G, Internet of Things (IoT), automotive, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning that continue to fuel demand for greater connectivity, large data centers and big data are also behind the increase.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating a digital transformation sweeping across nearly every industry imaginable to reshape the way we work and live,” said Ajit Manocha, SEMI president and CEO. “The projected record spending and 38 new fabs reinforce the role of semiconductors as the bedrock of leading-edge technologies that are driving this transformation and promise to help solve some of the world’s greatest challenges.”

Growth in semiconductor fab investments will continue in 2021 but at a slower rate of 4% YoY. Mirroring previous industry cycles, the report also predicts a mild slowdown in 2022 and another slight downturn in 2024 following a $70 billion record high in 2023. See figure 1.

Figure 1: 300mm fab equipment spending from 2013 to 2024

Adding 38 New 300mm Fabs

The SEMI 300mm Fab Outlook to 2024 shows the chip industry adding at least 38 new 300mm volume fabs from 2020 to 2024, a conservative projection that does not factor in low-probability or rumored fab projects. During the same period, per-month fab capacity will grow by about 1.8 million wafers to reach over 7 million. See figure 2.

Under a high-probability project forecast, the industry will add at least 38 new 300mm volume fabs from 2019 to 2024. Taiwan will add 11 volume fabs and China eight to account for half of the total. The chip industry will command 161 300mm volume fabs by 2024.

Figure 2: Total 300mm fab capacity and fab count for 2015, 2019 and 2024

Capacity and Spending Growth by Region

China will rapidly increase its global share of 300mm capacity, from 8% in 2015 to 20% in 2024, reaching 1.5 million 300mm wpm in the final year of the reporting period. While non-Chinese companies will account for a substantial portion of that growth, Chinese-owned organizations are accelerating their capacity investments. These companies will represent about 43% of China’s fab capacity in 2020, a proportion expected to reach 50% by 2022 and 60% by 2024.

Japan’s share of 300mm installed capacity continues to trend downward, from 19% in 2015 to 12% in 2024. The Americas’ share is also ticking lower, from 13% in 2015 to a projected 10% in 2024.

The biggest regional spenders will be Korea, with investments between US$15 billion and US$19 billion, followed by Taiwan, which will pour between US$14 billion and US$17 billion into 300mm fabs, and then China, with between US$11 billion and $13 billion in investments. 

Regions spending less will see the steepest increases in investments between 2020 to 2024.  Europe/Mideast will lead the pack with impressive 164% growth, followed by Southeast Asia at 59%, Americas at 35%, and Japan at 20%.

Spending Growth by Product Sector

Memory accounts for the bulk of the increase in 300mm fab spending. Actual and forecast investments show a steady rise in the upper single digits for each year from 2020 to 2023, with a stronger increase of 10% in store for 2024.

DRAM and 3D NAND contributions to 300mm fab spending will be uneven from 2020 to 2024. Investments for logic/MPU, however, will see steady improvement from 2021 to 2023. Power-related devices will be the standout sector in 300mm fab investments, with over 200% growth in 2021 and double-digit increases in 2022 and 2023.

Tracking 286 fabs and lines from 2013 to 2024, the 300mm Fab Outlook to 2024reflects 247 updates to 104 fabs, nine new fab and line listings, and two cancellations since the publication of the March 2020 report.

About SEMI

SEMI® connects more than 2,400 member companies and 1.3 million professionals worldwide to advance the technology and business of electronics design and manufacturing. SEMI members are responsible for the innovations in materials, design, equipment, software, devices, and services that enable smarter, faster, more powerful, and more affordable electronic products. Electronic System Design Alliance (ESD Alliance), FlexTech, the Fab Owners Alliance (FOA) and the MEMS & Sensors Industry Group (MSIG) are SEMI Strategic Association Partners, defined communities within SEMI focused on specific technologies. Visit www.semi.org to learn more, contact one of our worldwide offices, and connect with SEMI on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Association Contacts

Michael Hall/SEMI
Phone: 1.408.943.7988
Email: [email protected]

Christian G. Dieseldorff/SEMI
Phone: 1.408.943.7940
Email: [email protected]

• Read more about 300mm Fab Spending to Boom Through 2023 With Two Record Highs, SEMI Reports

Silicon Wafer Shipments Slip in Third Quarter 2020 but Strong for Year

MILPITAS, Calif. — Nov. 2, 2020 — Worldwide silicon wafer area shipments contracted 0.5% to 3,135 million square inches in the third quarter of 2020 compared to the second quarter of the year but registered a 6.9% increase from the 2,932 million square inches shipped one year ago during the same quarter, according to the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) in its quarterly analysis of the silicon wafer industry.

"After a strong rebound in the first half of 2020, global silicon wafer shipments in the third quarter were flat to the previous quarter,” said Neil Weaver, chairman of SEMI SMG and vice president of Product Development and Applications Engineering at Shin Etsu Handotai America.

Silicon Area Shipment Trends - Semiconductor Applications Only

Source: SEMI (www.semi.org), November 2020

All data cited in this release includes polished silicon wafers such as virgin test wafers and epitaxial silicon wafers, as well as non-polished silicon wafers shipped to end users.

Silicon wafers are the fundamental building material for semiconductors, which, in turn, are vital components of virtually all electronics goods, including computers, telecommunications products, and consumer electronics. The highly engineered thin, round disks are produced in various diameters – from one inch to 12 inches – and serve as the substrate material on which most semiconductor devices, or chips, are fabricated.

The SMG is a sub-committee of the SEMI Electronic Materials Group (EMG) and is open to SEMI members involved in manufacturing polycrystalline silicon, monocrystalline silicon or silicon wafers (e.g., as cut, polished, epi). The purpose of the SMG is to facilitate collective efforts on issues related to the silicon industry including the development of market information and statistics about the silicon industry and the semiconductor market.

For more information, please visit SEMI Worldwide Silicon Wafer Shipment Statistics.

About SEMI

SEMI® connects more than 2,400 member companies and 1.3 million professionals worldwide to advance the technology and business of electronics design and manufacturing. SEMI members are responsible for the innovations in materials, design, equipment, software, devices, and services that enable smarter, faster, more powerful, and more affordable electronic products. Electronic System Design Alliance (ESD Alliance), FlexTech, the Fab Owners Alliance (FOA) and the MEMS & Sensors Industry Group (MSIG) are SEMI Strategic Association Partners, defined communities within SEMI focused on specific technologies. Visit www.semi.org to learn more, contact one of our worldwide offices, and connect with SEMI on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Association Contact

Michael Hall/SEMI
Phone: 1.408.943.7988
Email: [email protected]

• Read more about Silicon Wafer Shipments Slip in Third Quarter 2020 but Strong for Year

Essential Tool Offers Reliable Wafer Plating Results for R&D and Low Volume Production

Cranston, RI, USA – Technic’s SEMCON 1000 is not new to the market, but its evolution over the past decade has made it the essential tool for wafer deposition evaluation and application performance testing.

The SEMCON 1000 has been designed and developed specifically for research and low volume applications testing and production. The tool features a single plating cell along with a dragout rinse cell, to enable plating/electroforming of wafers or discrete parts when used with a customized holder. The SEMCON 1000 is capable of processing several different plating applications on a variety of substrates including Si, GaAs, InP, and more.

The SEMCON 1000 is modeled after Technic’s highly successful SEMCON 2000 series of manual wafer wet bench tools. The process cell and chassis are designed for easy and effective maintenance and process changeovers. The SEMCON 1000 is self-contained, constructed of white polypropylene with a clear PVC process cover designed to meet class 1000 cleanroom specifications. Plating cell components include a heating source, temperature control, low-level safety sensor, pump and filter, DC power supply, and a plating rack.

About Technic
Technic is a global, full-service provider, with a complete line of proprietary plating solutions and processes for wafer-level packaging as well as analytical services and support.

• Read more about Technic SEMCON 1000 Wafer Plating Tool

MILPITAS, Calif. — October 22, 2020 — North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $2.75 billion in billings worldwide in September 2020 (three-month average basis), according to the September Equipment Market Data Subscription (EMDS) Billings Report published today by SEMI. The billings figure is 3.6 percent higher than the final August 2020 level of $2.65 billion, and is 40.3 percent higher than the September 2019 billings level of $1.96 billion.

"September billings of North America-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers mark another month of growth,” said Ajit Manocha, SEMI president and CEO. “The semiconductor industry remains resilient despite challenges posed by the pandemic and geopolitical tensions.”

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.

Source: SEMI (www.semi.org), October 2020

SEMI publishes a monthly North American Billings report and issues the Worldwide Semiconductor Equipment Market Statistics (WWSEMS) report in collaboration with the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ). The WWSEMS report currently reports billings by 24 equipment segments and by seven end market regions. SEMI also has a long history of tracking semiconductor industry fab investments in detail on a company-by-company and fab-by-fab basis in its World Fab Forecast and SEMI FabView databases. These powerful tools provide access to spending forecasts, capacity ramp, technology transitions, and other information for over 1,000 fabs worldwide. For an overview of available SEMI market data, please visit www.semi.org/en/MarketInfo.

The data contained in this release were compiled by David Powell, Inc., an independent financial services firm, without audit, from data submitted directly by the participants. SEMI and David Powell, Inc. assume no responsibility for the accuracy of the underlying data.

About SEMI

SEMI® connects more than 2,400 member companies and 1.3 million professionals worldwide to advance the technology and business of electronics design and manufacturing. SEMI members are responsible for the innovations in materials, design, equipment, software, devices, and services that enable smarter, faster, more powerful, and more affordable electronic products. Electronic System Design Alliance (ESD Alliance), FlexTech, the Fab Owners Alliance (FOA) and the MEMS & Sensors Industry Group (MSIG) are SEMI Strategic Technology Communities, defined communities within SEMI focused on specific technologies. Visit www.semi.org to learn more, contact one of our worldwide offices, and connect with SEMI on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Association Contact

Michael Hall/SEMI
Phone: 1.408.943.7988
Email: [email protected]

Notes

Next SEMI Billings report is November 19, 2020 at 3:00pm Pacific.

For information on SEAJ Billings Express Report, visit www.seaj.or.jp.

• Read more about North American Semiconductor Equipment Industry Posts September 2020 Billings

Butterfly Network wins Ultrasonic Transducers Product Showdown with medical imaging product focused on democratizing healthcare

MILPITAS, Calif. – October 21, 2020 – Butterfly Network, a company out to democratize healthcare by making medical imaging universally accessible and affordable, has won the Ultrasonic Transducers Product Showdown at MEMS and Sensors Executive Congress (MSEC 2020), held last week for the first time in virtual format. Butterfly iQ, the winning product, is a connected, easy-to-use handheld whole-body ultrasound system that the company says is 10 times less expensive than traditional ultrasound medical imaging systems. The award was based on a poll of MSEC attendees.

“MSEC 2020 underscored cutting-edge innovation that promises to help tackle shared challenges,” said Tim Brosnihan, executive director for SEMI-MSIG. “In the midst of an international pandemic, the product finalists, emerging leaders and MSIG Hall of Fame inductees recognized at MSEC 2020 all reflect forward-looking MEMS and sensors solutions that take aim at overcoming problems confronting societies around the world.”

TDK-Chirp Microsystems and Ultrasense Systems were the other Ultrasonic Transducers Product Showdown finalists. TDK-Chirp Microsystems was recognized for its wearable that uses  ultrasonic sensing to determine whether people are safely separated in the workplace and public places. Ultrasense Systems ranked among MSEC 2020 innovation elites for its TouchPoint technology, which can provide virtually any surface with touch controls, regardless of thickness or material.

The debut of the Emerging Leaders Award – recognizing three fast-rising innovators under the age of 40 – and the announcement of three new inductees to the MEMS and Sensors Industry Group (MSIG) Hall of Fame also highlighted MSEC 2020.

Emerging Leaders Award Honorees

Simon Chaput, founder and president of Boréas Technologies
Jean-Michel Chouinard, group manager at Teledyne DALSA
Houri Johari, senior director of MEMS technology development at TDK InvenSense

MSIG Hall of Fame Inductees

Evgeni Gousev, senior director at Qualcomm Technologies
Allyson Hartzell, principal architect for Quality and Reliability at Philips
Karen Lightman, executive director for Metro 21 at Carnegie Mellon University

Presented annually by SEMI at MSEC, the awards recognize innovative new products and industry leaders that have made a significant impact in the MEMS and sensors industry.

MSEC 2021 will take place October 11-13, 2021, at Coronado Island Marriott Resort & Spa in Coronado, California. For more information on MSEC 2021 and other SEMI-MSIG events and programs, please follow @MEMSgroup on Twitter, visit MSIG at SEMI and, subscribe to SEMI’s weekly newsletter SEMI Global Update.

About SEMI
SEMI® connects more than 2,400 member companies and 1.3 million professionals worldwide to advance the technology and business of electronics design and manufacturing. SEMI members are responsible for the innovations in materials, design, equipment, software, devices, and services that enable smarter, faster, more powerful, and more affordable electronic products. Electronic System Design Alliance (ESD Alliance), FlexTech, the Fab Owners Alliance (FOA) and the MEMS & Sensors Industry Group (MSIG) are SEMI Strategic Technology Communities, defined communities within SEMI focused on specific technologies. Visit www.semi.org to learn more, contact one of our worldwide offices, and connect with SEMI on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Association contact
Scott Stevens, Cardinal Communications for SEMI Americas
Phone: 1.512.288.4050
Email: [email protected]

• Read more about MSEC 2020 Recognizes Products, Leaders Taking Aim at Solving Global Challenges