mobility

AEM Holdings Ltd, a Singapore-based multinational corporation, is listed in Forbes Asia’s 200 Best Under A Billion 2019 and 2020 spotlighting small and midsized companies in the Asia-Pacific region with sales under $1 billion. AEM clinched the Singapore Business Review Technology Excellence Award 2020 for Analytics-Semiconductor and the Singapore Business Awards Enterprise Award 2019/2020. These achievements are testament to AEM’s vision and innovation and the company’s contributions to the increasingly complex testing of chips in a rapidly evolving technological world. I spoke with AEM CEO Chandran Nair, a new Regional Advisory Board (RAB) member of SEMI Southeast Asia, about the company’s intelligent test and handling solutions, its role in digital transformation, the company’s key role in the smart manufacturing movement and the growth prospects for Singapore’s electronics sector. SEMI: AEM’s application-specific, intelligent system test and handling solutions for semiconductor and electronics companies serve the advanced computing, 5G and AI markets. How do you differentiate your solutions from those offered by competitors? Nair: A key differentiation for AEM is that we work closely with our customers to develop application-specific integrated test and handling solutions that meet their needs in a scalable manner from lab to production. We offer our customers customized, full-stack test and handling solutions that give them the agility to accelerate their delivery cycles and enhance product quality. Over the years, AEM has developed and acquired world-class technologies in instrumentation, test, automation, robotics, optical inspection, high-end thermal control, and software. These technology pillars, along with our deep know-how to customize test and handling solutions using the technology pillars as a platform, enable AEM to meet the fast-changing needs of our customers faced with the challenges of testing heterogeneous and complex devices. In addition to investing in technology, AEM has also invested in delivering application-specific solutions to meet customer demand. Our recently announced acquisition of CEI with its manufacturing capabilities in Vietnam and its specialization in low-volume, high-mix manufacturing increases our geographical reach and our ability to quickly turn application-specific test and handling solutions to be deployed. We have a unique and differentiated approach that enables our customers to test high-performance computing devices, automotive devices, and mobility devices with maximum test coverage, cost-effectively, in a manufacturing environment. Our experience in serving the high-performance computing market that traditionally drives advancements in thermal control also puts us at the forefront of delivering comprehensive thermal management, vision, and deep automation and test solutions for the computing, automotive, and mobility markets. AEM also has a strong instrumentation portfolio, including high-density digital instruments and mixed-signal and protocol-aware instrumentation that is well-suited for ATE solutions for SoC, high-power devices, and CMOS image sensors. Over the last few years, we have also established leadership positions in developing and deploying application-specific test solutions for MEMS devices and offering wafer and frame probing stations suitable for R D, wafer sort, and final test. We form strong partnerships with our customers, provide them with end-to-end support in product development, and take them through the entire life cycle process from concept to mass production. Chandran Nair and Goh Meng Klang, vice president of operations, at the AEM manufacturing site in Singapore. (Photo credit: AEM) SEMI: Digital transformation is powering strong growth of advanced computing, 5G and AI. Will AEM be expanding its AEM manufacturing plants in China, Malaysia and Singapore to meet rising demand for these technologies in the coming years? Nair: In regards to manufacturing, AEM currently has manufacturing facilities in Singapore, Malaysia, the U.S., Finland, and China. With our recently announced acquisition of CEI, we will add manufacturing capability in Vietnam and Indonesia. AEM will continue to expand manufacturing appropriately to give our customers cost-effective solutions while maintaining our proven track record of delivering on time and scaling rapidly in times of crises like the pandemic or geopolitical disruptions. As for advanced technologies, the three key factors that will bring the full potential of 5G to fruition are 1) cost-effective, high-powered processing devices at the edge, 2) easy access to high-bandwidth communications, and 3) cost-effective sensor technology. Semiconductors are the primary drivers of these three key success factors. As devices become more complex and our reliance on semiconductor-powered devices in all aspects of our lives deepens exponentially to include mission-critical applications, AEM’s role is to ensure that our customers' electronic and semiconductor devices are shipped thoroughly tested, safe to use, and highly reliable. It is imperative that, as a testing company, we find innovative ways to help our customers test their products with maximum coverage and minimum cost. To do this, we are focusing our R D efforts and investments to continue building on our key technology pillars to ensure that we stay ahead of the curve when it comes to test and handling solutions. We prepare our customers to test increasingly complex devices manufactured on the latest process node. SEMI: During your career you’ve driven projects in test and automation and more recently robotics solutions for ports, logistics warehouses and transport. With robotics and automation a key part of Industry 4.0, what role do AEM solutions play in powering the smart manufacturing movement? Nair: The smart manufacturing movement is powered by semiconductors, software and increasingly by artificial intelligence (AI). Test is at the heart of the process of ensuring that semiconductor and electronics devices reach the consumer well-tested for reliability. With our vision of enabling A Zero Failure World, AEM addresses the necessity for safe, highly reliable devices. The semiconductor companies themselves are adopting smart manufacturing methods. AEM’s tools are Industry 4.0-ready, and we continue to invest in machine learning and data analytics, which are integral to the future of test. Our tools are automated and feature embedded sensors to provide our customers with data about tool usage, the state of a machine’s health, and more. Our tools are connected to our customers’ manufacturing automation platforms. Additionally, we continue to invest in our ability to better slice and dice test data to understand trends and patterns to help our customers analyze data and make decisions faster. SEMI: You also have experience heading autonomous vehicle projects. With the COVID-19 pandemic hastening digital transformation, do you see an acceleration in the development of fully autonomous vehicles and smart manufacturing? Research and development efforts for autonomous vehicles (AV) continue at a fast pace worldwide. With shutdowns and restricted movement rules globally, the pandemic has hastened digital transformation in many ways. The delivery of goods and services is transforming, and AV will surely play a part, especially in secure environments for autonomous transport. The pandemic has accelerated the development of autonomous vehicles and smart manufacturing technology in automation-friendly environments like factories and ports. SEMI: At the recent Global Technology Summit hosted by SEMI, you spoke about testing innovations to meet the demands of highly complex devices. Please elaborate on innovative testing solutions versus traditional testing? Nair: AEM offers a disruptive and differentiated solution, one that is driving a paradigm shift to asynchronous, modular, highly parallel, smart testing solutions. ​ The traditional approach of ATEs to test increasingly complex devices on advanced nodes has reached a point of diminishing returns as it gets exponentially more expensive to increase test coverage to acceptable levels. Additionally, as devices get more complex and companies are rapidly adopting heterogeneous packaging technologies, the realization that System Level Test (SLT) is necessary is forcing a rethink of the entire test process. AEM’s provides asynchronous, modular, highly parallel test cell solutions that enable each test cell to run SLT, final test, or burn-in all in one system and its ability to handle hundreds of test cells independently with each test cell testing multiple devices. Our solutions suddenly make comprehensive testing of every complex device cost-effective. Freeing us from legacy ATE allows AEM to provide these innovative solutions to our customers. AEM engineering and manufacturing teams in Singapore at work on semiconductor test and handling systems for global deployment at world-class semiconductor facilities. (Photo credit: AEM) SEMI: Singapore seems to be in the sweet spot of digital transformation. Singapore’s industrial production grew 8.6% year-over-year in January 2021, an expansion driven mainly by a surge in sectors including electronics, and more growth is seen in the year ahead. Digital technologies such as 5G technology and cloud computing together with continued demand for work-from-home equipment is behind this growth. What are the growth prospects for the region’s electronics sector? Nair: Singapore is well-poised to benefit from the current digital transformation accelerated by the adoption of these technologies during the pandemic. Being a safe, well-governed country with strong IP protection, excellent infrastructure, and the rule of law, Singapore is in a great position to play a central role in cloud-based services, 5G, and the semiconductor industry. Singapore’s semiconductor sector output is at a record high, and the prospects for renewed growth in the region are very good. SEMI: As a new Regional Advisory Board member of SEMI Southeast Asia, how is your industry experience relevant to the scope of this role? What opportunities lie ahead for the region? Nair: I am honored to represent AEM in the SEMI’s Southeast Asia RAB. The SEMI RAB can influence policymakers with ideas and information on the current and future needs of the industry. I also believe that SEMI Southeast Asia can cultivate a strong innovative semiconductor ecosystem that helps regional and global growth. I look forward to working with other very experienced and accomplished board members. Bee Bee Ng is president of SEMI Southeast Asia.

Connectivity. Electrification. Shared Mobility. Autonomous Driving. McKinsey Company cites these four disruptive trends behind future mobility — dynamics that could help to transform quality of life for hundreds of millions of people.McKinsey Company predicts that by 2030, mobility innovation could dynamically alter everything from safety in human locomotion to air quality, public spaces and power systems. Much the same way that tiny plankton in our oceans sustain aquatic animals, MEMS and sensors, while small, are crucial building blocks of integrated mobility.As partner at McKinsey Company, Andreas Breiter will explore this connection during his MSEC 2020 presentation, Future Mobility Enabled by Sensorization. SEMI recently caught up with Breiter to preview his October 7 talk at SEMI’s first virtual MEMS Sensors Executive Congress, October 6-8 and 13-15, 2020.Register now for MSEC 2020 and explore this topic with Breiter during the live Q A portion of his presentation.SEMI: You play a dual role at McKinsey Company, advising clients in advanced industries on capital investments and serving on the leadership team of the McKinsey Center for Future Mobility (MCFM). What is the relationship between them?Breiter: Mobility has become so much more than the auto sector. Today when we say future mobility, we’re talking about the convergence of many exciting developments influencing the ways that people and goods move around. Cars have become computers, and we now have to contemplate new frontiers, such as air taxis and electric vehicle infrastructure.Mobility is changing so quickly that it’s inspiring decision-makers from other market sectors to explore what implications it will have for them. We’re helping mining companies think about their haulers, retailers think about their footprints, and insurance companies plan for autonomous vehicles. The MCFM exists as a global think tank to focus on these frontier topics, helping to ensure we are ready for the future. During my MSEC presentation, I’ll explore how those future topics are influencing automotive mobility in the short- and long-term. The MCFM is even more forward-looking, so we’re just starting to build scenarios for what might come in 2040 and beyond.SEMI: How are changes in the mobility ecosystem affecting the automotive value chain?Breiter: In the past, the automotive value chain was clearly structured. We had sensor companies selling to Tier 1 suppliers, who would in turn sell to OEMs, who would sell directly to end customers.The value chain has grown more complex, however. In the future, we might see fleets of robotaxis, which will be owned by companies instead of by individual consumers. Already today, rideshare companies are game-changers because consumers can travel by car without owning one.Plus we see companies offer parts of the user experience such as user interfaces for automotive infotainment. In the past, everything in the car was branded by the OEM, but now we have third-party platforms that let us control some of our automotive infotainment options.SEMI: How are MEMS and sensors suppliers participating in this new value chain?Breiter: The pervasive use of sensors in cars has driven automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers to work directly with suppliers, whose close involvement eases the complexity of integration. Just think about the sensors used in autonomous driving. Getting that right is safety-critical.We’re also seeing suppliers go beyond the individual component level to provide complete systems-level solutions. Advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) are a good example.SEMI: Automotive applications tends to have some of the longest design-to-delivery cycles in industry. Will this ever change?Breiter: The automotive product lifecycle was typically five-plus years, with a few years of development before that and continued service after the end of the lifecycle. That gives MEMS and sensors suppliers a 10+ year timeline on one model.With so much innovation taking place, this slow cycle won’t work forever. Over-the-air (OTA) updates, for example, enable new features when they become ready for deployment. I expect we’ll see OTA updates from many end manufacturers in coming years. SEMI: What changes do you foresee in ADAS and autonomous driving?Breiter: ADAS and autonomous features will become much more common. We’ve already witnessed this progression, with introductions first in premier models and later rolling out in more affordable vehicles. Lane-change assist and rear camera followed this path and are now pretty standard. Collision avoidance, as a safety-critical feature, is likely next in line for more widespread adoption.As for fully autonomous driving, consumers will accept that only when it becomes safer than a human driving a car.SEMI: Where is the greatest opportunity in the next five years?Breiter: Electrification of vehicles is number one. When it comes to engines, we’re moving from internal combustion to hybrid and then to electric. Since OEMs are adding sensors for the battery system, for battery management, and for electric motors, this progression represents growth opportunity for sensors suppliers – in particular for hybrid vehicles that contain both powertrain technologies.But that’s not all when it comes to sensors. Outside of powertrains, new sensors are added to enable a variety of functions, including, for example, ADAS and autonomy, as well as increased interior content, such as mood lighting.SEMI: Is there anything surprising coming, sensor-wise, in mobility?Breiter: To enable intelligent traffic systems, you need to make infrastructure smarter — which brings us to sensors. We’re going to see roads and other assets in infrastructure sense the state of traffic, sense what traffic participants are doing, and support connectivity between, for example, the infrastructure, vehicles on the ground, pedestrians on walkways and drones in the air.SEMI: What would you like MSEC attendees to take away from your presentation?Breiter: We’re living in a transformative era for the mobility industry. During the last 100 years of mobility, the ecosystem barely changed. In recent years, however, we’ve seen massive technological gains, largely enabled by semiconductors, MEMS and sensors. Instead of serving as just one of many suppliers, I’d encourage MSEC attendees to anticipate future mobility challenges so they can offer solutions to OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers accordingly.For more information, visit McKinsey Center for Future Mobility. MEMS Sensors Industry Group® (MSIG), a SEMI technology community that connects the MEMS and sensors supply network in established and emerging markets, enables members to grow and prosper. Visit us today.Andreas Breiter leads McKinsey’s capital-investment work for advanced industries in North America as well as its Center for Future Mobility on the West Coast. In his advisory work, Breiter serves a broad range of companies in the automotive sector, including car and truck manufacturers and their suppliers, as well as companies in the utilities and renewables space. He helps executives make strategic choices around product development and helps companies stay ahead of emerging trends, such as autonomous driving, connectivity, electric vehicles, and shared mobility.Andreas holds a Ph.D. in Operations Management and studied in Germany, France, the U.S. and Canada.Nishita Rao is product marketing manager at SEMI.

Korea is on track to top all other regions in fab investment, spending $63 billion between 2017 and 2020, with powerhouses Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix leading the way, according to latest World Fab Forecast Report by SEMI. Samsung Electronics increased fab investments $770 million to $12 billion this year, and SK Hynix upped its spending a significant $2.8 billion to $7.25 billion in 2018.Korea's investment companies anticipate continued growth for both companies in the second half of 2018.Under this halo of extraordinary investment, nearly 380 SEMI Korea members and industry analysts gathered for 2018 SEMI Korea Members Day on September 13 to share insights on semiconductor market trends and new technologies that could help members bolster their competitiveness. Following are key takeaways from the event. Korea semiconductor market to grow 16% in 2018That’s according to IDC Korea VP Kim Soo-kyung, who noted that data center, memory and Internet of Things (IoT) are becoming key growth drivers for the semiconductor industry. He encouraged semiconductor companies to closely track development of automotive technology and the industry semiconductor market, both key growth areas. SEMI Korea president H.D. Cho opens SEMI Korea Members Day 2018 Continuing fab investment will lead to oversupply, but display will shineMarket entry by Chinese companies will also spur the oversupply, said Jeong Won-Seok, an analyst at HI Investment Corp. He noted that the oversupply will force Korea into stiffer competition with other regions. However, with OLED used for a wide variety of devices and the display industry seeing rapid growth, the sector will remain ripe for growth among Korean companies.Interconnecting various applications is a big semiconductor industry trendThe need for these interconnections will stand out in the mobility and high-performance computing (HPC) markets, said Park Sung-Soon, principal research fellow at Amkor Technology Korea, who addressed trends in packaging technology. He also emphasized interconnection cost efficiency as key to maximizing competitiveness.Smart Manufacturing is driving mass customizationAs semiconductor industry growth continues, production methods are shifting from ‘mass production’ to ‘mass customization,’ increasing the importance of Smart Manufacturing in driving greater production efficiency, noted BISTel VP Jeon Kyeong-Sik. Building a Smart Manufacturing platform to support large-scale production of specialized database and artificial intelligence (AI) chips will boost production efficiency, reduce costs and improve risk management. Virtual simulation will be a key enabling technology. SEMI analyst Clark Tseng presenting at SEMI Korea Members Day 2018 Surge in data volume and technology advances to drive long-term semiconductor industry growthThese key industry drivers will continue to power fab investment growth, with spending focused on 3D NAND, DRAM, and foundry, said Clark Tseng, director of Industry Research and Statistics at SEMI. China alone will see eye-watering growth with the region’s investments in domestic companies surging 46% from 2018 to 2019 and fab investment by Chinese domestic companies outpacing spending by foreign companies in China, Tseng predicted. SEMI membership rises with industry growthCulminating the event, SEMI Korea president H.D. Cho said, "With the growth of the semiconductor market, the number of SEMI members is gradually increasing, and we will help member companies grow with various activities such as Korea Members Day.”Jaegwan Shim is a marketing specialist at SEMI Korea.

Driven by the adoption of evermore electronic components in end products, the semiconductor industry is facing a new era in which device scaling and cost reduction will no longer continue on the path followed for the past few decades. Advanced nodes no longer bring the desired cost benefit, and R D investments in new lithography solutions and devices below 10nm nodes are rising substantially. In order to satisfy market demands, the industry is looking for technology solutions to bridge the gap and improve cost/performance while at the same time adding more functionality through integration.More than-Moore devices (including MEMS and sensors, CMOS Image Sensors, power electronic, along with RF devices) represent this new functional diversification of technologies, combining performance, integration and cost not limited to CMOS scaling, and their importance will become more and more preponderant.In 2017, wafer demand for More than Moore devices1 reached almost 45 million 8-inch eq. wafers. This figure is expected to reach more than 66 million 8-inch eq wafers by 2023, showing an almost 10 percent growth during this period.This increase is supported by the famous megatrends detailed in the new analysis, Wafer Starts for More Than Moore Applications2, performed by Yole Développement (Yole). This analysis is relevant to the following markets: 5G with wireless infrastructure and mobile segments, mobile including additional functionalities, voice processing, smart automotive and electrification, AR/VR3, and AI4.For the first time, the market research and strategy consulting company presents a dedicated technology and market analysis focused on the overall wafer demand for More than Moore devices. The aim of this report is to give an overview of wafer shipments for More than Moore devices, from wafer size to semiconductor material substrate type including silicon, glass, SOI5, SiC6, SiGe7, GaN8, InP9, GaAs10, sapphire and ceramic, and thus identify business opportunities in the More than Moore industry.For over 20 years, Yole has been analyzing the industry evolution, discussing with leading companies to understand market challenges, and identifying technical breakthroughs. The Wafer Starts for More Than Moore Applications report is the result of this 20-year research. Yole’s analysts combine technical and market expertise to describe the More than Moore world. Market size (volume and value), substrate sizes and formats, value chain, technology processes and market drivers, business opportunities and competitive landscape are all part of Yole’s analysis.The various research teams at Yole, encompassing power electronics, imaging and sensing, RF and semiconductor manufacturing, collaborate to present an in-depth understanding of the current market evolution, taking into account innovations and emerging businesses. This methodology allows Yole to cover the overall megatrends and illustrate the links between wafer substrate, device, module, sub-system, system and high-end product.Under this dynamic ecosystem, the deployment of renewable energy sources and industrial motor drives as well as the electrification of the automotive industry are good examples of the impact of megatrends on the semiconductor industry development. They are directly impacting the power devices’ wafer market, resulting in an expected 13 percent CAGR between 2017 and 2023. Already in 2017, this market represented more than 60 percent of the overall wafer market for More than Moore devices, and is currently still dominating the More than Moore industry.5G is one megatrend driving wafer demand. 5G is leading the More than Moore evolution, bringing any service to any user, anywhere. Antennas and filtering functionalities are two of the key innovations of this evolution.Without doubt, the stringent requirements of 5G are driving increasing demand for RF components like RF filters, power amplifiers (PAs), and low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) to ensure access to tomorrow’s radio network.This year, Corning and Menlo Micro announced a major agreement to develop a DMS[11] product platform. Both partners propose an innovative approach based on TGV12 packaging technology. According to both partners, this technical choice allows them to cover operation of frequencies beyond 50GHz. Amongst the numerous megatrends, mobility is not far behind 5G. Demand for advanced mobile applications integrating more and more functionality is growing. In order to compete companies are developing smart combinations of devices such as fingerprint sensors, ambient light sensors, 3D sensing, microphones, and inertial MEMS devices. As an example, impressive developments focused on SOI-based NIR sensors have been released by SOITEC for front-side imager applications including advanced 3D image sensors. This technical evolution will clearly contribute, in the near future, to strong growth of the wafer market for MEMS and sensors. Additionally, the automotive industry, with the development of smart cars, has reached a new level of complexity requiring the development and integration of new sensors. In this context, many companies are aiming to extend their capabilities in ADAS13 and autonomous driving. Recently the leading company On Semiconductor acquired SensL Technologies, the leader in SPAD and LiDAR sensing products for automotive. This acquisition is one sign among many highlighting the evolution of this historic industry, searching for new expertise and welcoming new players, more aware of consumer habits and needs.Yole’s analysts expect smart automobiles to drive consistent growth of CIS14 and sensor wafer production over the next five years. It is fueled by the increasing integration of high-value sensing modules like RADAR, imaging, LiDAR and more. Although automotive will be mainly supported by these growth areas, historic MEMS and sensors such as MEMS pressure sensors and inertial MEMS will continue growing at a reasonable rate, supporting the standard automotive world.Yole Group of Companies including Yole, System Plus Consulting, KnowMade, PISEO and Blumorpho follows and analyzes the industry continuously. The Group has developed in-depth expertise and knowledge focused on the semiconductor manufacturing process and markets. Companies of the Group work together to understand the technical issues, identify business opportunities and propose valuable analyses.Yole invites you to an overview of the Wafer Starts for More Than Moore Applications report during the exclusive online event, titled “Wafer Starts for More than Moore Applications – Webcast”. This hourlong webcast takes place on June 28 at 5:00 PM CEST. The market research company will present key results of this report including megatrends, wafer market evolution and technical trends. Moderated by David Jourdan, Sales Coordination Customer Service at Yole, it welcomes the two leading companies, SPTS (an Orbotech Company) and Corning Precision Glass Solutions: "Trends in Wafer Processing Technologies for RF MEMS" – Speaker David Butler, Executive Vice President and General Manager at SPTS Technologies "Benefits of Through Glass Vias for RF applications" – Speaker: Ravij Parmar, New Product Development Manager for Corning Precision Glass Solutions These results will be also presented by the Semiconductor Software team at SEMICON West (Booth #1320), SEMICON Taiwan and SEMICON Europa (Booth #A-4667). Make sure to meet Yole’s analysts and get a valuable overview of the More than Moore industry. Agenda and more information are available on i-micronew.com. Stay tuned!About the authors:Amandine Pizzagalli is a Technology Market Analyst, Equipment Materials - Semiconductor Manufacturing - at Yole Développement (Yole). Amandine is part of the development of the Semiconductor Software division of Yole with the production of reports and custom consulting projects. She is in charge of comprehensive analyses focused on semiconductor equipment, materials and manufacturing processes. Emilie Jolivet is Director of the Semiconductor Software Division at Yole Développement, part of Yole Group of Companies, where her specific interests cover package assembly, semiconductor manufacturing, memory and software computing fields. 1 Including: MEMS sensors, CIS, and power, photonics and RF devices2 Yole Développement, March 20183 AR/VR : Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality4 AI : Artificial Intelligence.5 SOI : Silicon On Insulator6 SiC : Silicon Carbid7 SiGe: Silicon Germanium8 GaN: Gallium Nitride9 InP: Indium Phosphide10 GaAs : Gallium Arsenide111 DMS : Digital-Micro-Switch12 TGV : Through Glass Via13 ADAS : Autonomous Driving Assistance Service14 CIS : CMOS Image Sensor