semiconductor manufacturing equipment

The Department of Commerce will spend $10B over a five-year period to establish “20 geographically distributed regional technology and innovation hubs.” These regional hubs will attract public and private investment capable of vitalizing or revitalizing the Silicon cities of the future.

The SEMI Market Intelligence Team (MIT) recently shared insights on the record-breaking wafer fab investments tracked in the latest SEMI World Fab Forecast report during a podcast with 3D InCites.

Policymakers are increasing semiconductor manufacturing capacity to strengthen supply chains and meet growing demand for semiconductors through robust incentive packages totaling hundreds of billions of dollars. This global effort hinges on semiconductor manufacturing equipment (SME).

One of the surprising side effects that came out of the COVID-19 pandemic is the acceleration of the digital transformation of global economies, which has driven a structural shift and propelled the already mature semiconductor industry to record highs.

More than 4,000 participants convened in person at the four-day SEMICON Europa Expo in Munich, November 16-19. Attendees gathered at the Executive Forum for insights into the latest trends in the semiconductor industry and heartily welcomed the long-awaited return to in-person networking.

As the Biden administration begins to advance its policy goals through U.S. government agencies, SEMI is eager to work with these new officials and appointees to advance innovation and strengthen U.S. leadership in the microelectronics industry. SEMI President and CEO Ajit Manocha today sent a letter to Commerce Secretary-Designate Gina Raimondo advocating for strengthening American manufacturing, investing in research and development and pursuing multilateral rather than unilateral U.S. export controls. SEMI also “requests Commerce perform a comprehensive review of recent policies and formally seek industry input via publication of a Notice of Inquiry (NOI), giving industry its first formal opportunity to provide its views on these significant regulations.” The letter discusses the importance of how export controls are implemented, advocating that “multilateral controls – where items of concern are controlled by all major producing nations – create a level playing field, maximize effectiveness, and minimize harm to U.S. national security and economic competitiveness. Unilateral U.S. controls over items for which there are comparable non-U.S.-origin items are generally ineffective in supporting national security goals and are likely to erode any technological advantages enjoyed by U.S.-origin items.” Foreign availability of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, materials and design software is an important consideration for U.S. export control policy related to those items. In an appendix to the letter, SEMI provided charts detailing the foreign availability of major types of semiconductor manufacturing equipment and materials. For nearly all items, there are competitive alternatives to U.S.-origin items available from non-U.S. sources. With many semiconductor technologies concentrated in a handful of key exporting nations, the letter encourages a unified approach via a plurilateral export control regime instead of unilateral U.S. controls for these technologies. SEMI provided a framework of issues that need to be considered and properly addressed in negotiating a plurilateral agreement related to semiconductor industry export controls. The previous administration created several unilateral controls that were implemented with little or no opportunity for public or industry comment and which created several unintended consequences. In addition to the request to publish an NOI, the letter asks Commerce to correct unintended controls related to the August 2020 expansion of EAR General Prohibition Three and reduce the backlog of license and classification requests. SEMI is pleased to work with the U.S. Department of Commerce and other policymakers by providing industry data, trends and perspectives to ensure export controls effectively serve national security interests without undue harm to technological development and leadership in this dynamic, globally competitive industry. Kimberly Ekmark is director of Public Policy and Advocacy at SEMI.

Semiconductors play an essential role in modern society by enabling ground-breaking technological advances. The manufacture of high-volume and advanced semiconductors requires the use of fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS. Representing the voice of SEMI members, I explained the important role of these substances and their “essential use” in the semiconductor manufacturing supply chain at a Chemical Watch conference for industry and European Union decision-makers on 3rd of December 2020.In order to achieve the European Green Deal’s zero pollution ambition for a toxic-free environment, the European Commission announced in its recently published Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability its intention to restrict the use of the most harmful chemicals, except in cases where they are deemed essential for society. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – known as PFAS – are the first group of chemicals facing regulatory scrutiny on this basis. This begs the question: What chemicals should be characterized as essential for society and what uses will they encompass? The key and enabling role of semiconductors in modern lifeSemiconductors are essential and ubiquitous in our lives. They are integral to enabling modern society to function – driving advancements in mobile communication technologies for the smartphones and computers that help us work more efficiently and connect us with our loved ones. These benefits have never been more evident than in 2020 with billions of people finding themselves working and studying remotely and safely from home.At the same time, technologies relying on semiconductors have been vital in the effort to combat COVID-19 – in ventilators, medical imaging devices and digital healthcare solutions. In addition, semiconductors will also enable the next leap in society to Industry 4.0 and as essential building blocks in connected and electric vehicles, artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing.The Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, has highlighted the strategic importance of semiconductors in achieving European digital sovereignty (for instance, in his speech at Hannover Messe Digital Days), and the EU’s New Industrial Strategy[1] also points to the importance of semiconductors and microelectronic systems. What must also be appreciated are the cost and complexity of producing these valuable technologies. Setting up a cutting-edge fabrication plant with the hundreds of pieces of semiconductor manufacturing equipment typically required can cost around €15 billion.[2] A single semiconductor manufacturing tool typically consists of millions of articles, and a typical fab may house several hundred pieces of equipment. Furthermore, according to SEMI estimates, the fabrication of semiconductor wafers requires approximately 500 highly specialized process chemicals. In many cases, these processes, equipment and facilities rely on the unique properties offered by PFAS.“SEMI has worked diligently to highlight the strategic importance of semiconductors in achieving European digital sovereignty, and we are pleased that the critical role of microelectronics has been fully recognized by the EU and Member States. Fluorinated chemicals are essential for semiconductor manufacturing. "These specific chemicals are necessary due to their unique properties, and no alternatives are currently available that can adequately provide the functional properties required in semiconductor manufacturing. The essential use concept, therefore, must enable technological innovation, must apply across the entire supply chain, and must enable EU’s critical infrastructure and strategic objectives.” What are PFAS, and why and where are they used in semiconductor manufacturing?PFAS are a broad and highly diverse group of substances with unique properties and characteristics. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has compiled a list of approximately 4,700 substances,[3] a handful of which are used in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. These very specific chemicals are necessary due to their unique and unparalleled properties that enable them to be used in the demanding conditions of semiconductor manufacturing.Semiconductor chemicalsAt the very core of semiconductor manufacturing is the photolithography process, where microscopic geometric patterns are transferred onto a film or substrate. Photolithography specialty formulations containing fluorinated compounds are used in various steps of this process to ensure quality and reduce the probability of defects. PFAS must be used due to their low surface tension and compatibility with other chemicals. PFAS are typically no longer present in the finished product. However, there are applications where PFAS are present in the final semiconductor device, particularly in imaging semiconductors used in cameras, displays and some medical devices, amongst others. Semiconductor manufacturing equipmentPFAS are also essential to semiconductor manufacturing equipment and factory infrastructure. The exceptional combination of their heat and chemical resistance and their chemical inertness allows fluoropolymers to be used both in equipment components (tubing, gaskets, containers, filters, etc.) and lubrication (such as various oils and greases). These same properties are also needed to ensure the functioning of the surrounding infrastructure. Finally, some fluorinated gases, which are already regulated by specific legislation,[4] are used as refrigerants and to clean the facilities.These are a handful of examples of how PFAS are used in semiconductor manufacturing. Today, there is no other way to undertake these processes or to build semiconductor manufacturing equipment without PFAS. No alternatives are currently available that can adequately provide the functional properties required. Even if alternative chemicals and technologies were discovered today, due to the extremely complex qualification process throughout the value chain, it would take another 15 years to deploy them in high-volume manufacturing. Therefore, continued access to PFAS is a prerequisite for high-volume and advanced semiconductors. Lack of continued access to PFAS could lead to an inability to produce and supply the EU with semiconductor manufacturing technology.How should we think about essential uses?Regulators have started to think about what uses of PFAS are essential and in which cases their use should be allowed. In developing this concept, there are a few aspects to keep in mind.Essential use must enable, not hinder, technological innovationFirst and foremost, the essential uses concept should enable continued technological innovation instead of acting as a hindrance. Semiconductors and manufacturing technology are constantly evolving and becoming more diverse to help meet increasing societal demands. What we see as innovative today may be commonplace in the future, while future innovations may be unimaginable today. We must therefore be careful not to accidentally limit our future potential for innovation.Essential use must apply across the entire supply chainSecondly, classifying a use as essential should apply throughout the entire supply chain. We must, for example, avoid defining semiconductors as essential while classifying the semiconductor manufacturing equipment and chemicals used to produce semiconductors as not essential. In the semiconductor manufacturing supply chain, where one manufacturer can have up to 16,000 suppliers, this risk is evident.[5]Essential use must enable critical infrastructures and the EU’s strategic objectivesFinally, we should keep Europe’s societal priorities in mind. The EU needs to be able to maintain and protect its critical infrastructures. Similarly, we should not lose sight of the EU’s strategic objectives of a green and digital Europe.Semiconductors, in conjunction with their corresponding manufacturing equipment and chemicals, are essential technologies in everyday life and the backbone of the EU’s strategic value chains. Manufacturing semiconductors is a very expensive and complex process that would not be possible without the unique properties of PFAS, making them essential to achieving the EU’s strategic objectives today – whether the European Green Deal or digital autonomy – and in the future. Therefore, we must ensure that essential uses will enable the continued use of PFAS in semiconductor manufacturing.The SEMI presentation delivered at the Chemical Watch event can be accessed here.Emir Demircan is director of Public Policy and Advocacy at SEMI Europe.[1] “The EU will also support the development of key enabling technologies that are strategically important for Europe’s industrial future. These include robotics, microelectronics, high-performance computing and data cloud infrastructure, blockchain, quantum technologies, photonics [etc.]”[2] Emerging technologies in electronic components and systems (ECS) Opportunities Ahead – A study by DECISION, 2018 for the European Commission[3] Available here[4] Regulation (EU) No 517/2014, “F-Gas Regulation”[5] SIA Nathan Associates, 2016, https://www.semiconductors.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/SIA-Beyond-Borders-Report-FINAL-June-7.pdf

Sales of critical subsystems for use in semiconductor manufacturing equipment will exceed $12.2 billion in 2020, a 6% increase over the previous record of $11.5 billion reached in 2018. What makes this such a remarkable feat is they achieved this despite unprecedented disruptions to the supply chain.The key to critical subsystems suppliers’ success was a swift and efficient response to the initial local shutdowns due to COVID-19 in February and March. Within four to six weeks, most vendors had secured their supply of raw materials and put the required measures in place to ensure the safety of their workforce and reduce the risk of being shut down themselves. Most were reporting a return to high volume manufacturing by May. There were no significant holdups reported, which means everyone stepped up their response to enable the semiconductor equipment industry to deliver double-digit growth. It also helped that before the pandemic, most suppliers expected 2020 to 2023 to be healthy growth years and already had plans to add capacity this year. Those plans are being accelerated, and delivery is no longer an issue for most vendors in the near term. This is just as well as OEMs are advising their suppliers to cope with a 20% surge in orders in any given quarter in 2021.While the overall growth rate for critical subsystems in 2020 is on track to beat 19%, some suppliers had to deal with extraordinary growth. Suppliers of vacuum valves, chillers, and optical fiber thermometry are likely to grow above 35%, while suppliers of process power subsystems are looking at increasing around 30%. The extra demand can be explained partly by the very low inventories of these products held by customers at the beginning of the year, which needed replenishing. However, the main reason for the above-average growth is that these segments have been outgrowing the overall critical subsystems industry for several years due to semiconductor manufacturing becoming more vacuum intense.Critical Subsystems for Semiconductor Applications in Billions of DollarsNext year is shaping up to be another record for critical subsystems with growth rates in the high single digits predicted. The next cyclical downturn is forecast to be 2024, but these are unprecedented times, and the risk of a downturn in 2022 cannot be excluded. Whatever the future holds, the critical subsystems supply chain has proved they can raise their game when the chips are down… or up.For more information about critical subsystems and VLSI Research, please visit our website.John West is managing director at VLSI Research Europe.

If you think the world is flooded with a mind-boggling volume of digital content, then you might be just a amazed to learn about the sheer wealth of information and business opportunities that will be uncovered at this year’s SEMICON Japan as the event goes full digital.To start, more than 160 companies will exhibit their semiconductor manufacturing gear and services on the virtual show floor of Japan’s premier event for the semiconductor manufacturing and design supply chain. Add to that over 80 presentations and panels that feature global industry executives, visionaries and experts offering insights into the latest microelectronics developments, trends and technologies, and it’s easy to see how SEMICON Japan 2020 Virtual is designed to help attendees grow their businesses and the industry drive the next wave of innovations that promise to address some of the world’s greatest challenges across healthcare, the environment, transportation and other industries.Best of all, it will all be available at your convenience from your office or home 24 hours a day, making it safe and easy for you and others from all over the world to attend. Following is what’s in store at SEMICON Japan 2020 Virtual to help lead you into the future.Leading Japanese Securities Analysts to Weigh in What’s Ahead for the Chip Equipment Sector in 2021 For the first time, SEMICON Japan will feature Bulls Bears as Japan’s’ five top securities analysts focus on the 2021 outlook for the global semiconductor equipment sector. The December 17th event will include discussions on the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the semiconductor industry, the continuing geopolitical tensions that are forcing the industry to reconfigure its supply chains, the fast-growing China market and cutting-edge applications that are powering industry growth. The perspectives from Japan’s investment community are sure to be compelling as the region supplies one-third of the global semiconductor industry’s chip manufacturing equipment.Moderated by Akira Minamikawa of OMDIA, the panel will include these experts:Three Visionaries to Explore the Digital TransformationPowered by semiconductors, the fourth industrial revolution is driving digitalization globally, remaking societies to bring more efficiencies and conveniences to our work and home lives and help more people prosper. But the flip side of those tremendous benefits is the risk that wealth will be concentrated in the hands of people in positions of power, companies and nations. Democratizing economic development remains a serious challenge worldwide.Addressing this pressing issue, the Opening Panel on December 11 will feature prominent visionaries from political, academic and industrial communities including the following:Sony’s Leading-Edge Electric Car and Nissan’s Driver Assistance System to Highlight Automotive InnovationsCars are becoming more like smartphones on wheels, rapidly filling with more and more semiconductor chips every year with electrification and electronic driver-assisted systems to key drivers of this growth. At the SMART Mobility 1 session on December 14, two pioneering companies – Sony and Nissan Motor – will focus on both areas of semiconductor innovation.Sony’s Vision-S concept car, exhibited at CES 2020, astonished many in the electronics ecosystem and the automotive industry. What is Sony’s vision behind the vehicle? Izumi Kawanishi, Senior Vice President, AI Robotics Business at Sony will share the latest on the initiative.Nissan, maker of the pioneering LEAF electric vehicle, is the first Japanese carmaker to equip a car – its new Skyline – with the ProPILOT 2.0 driver assistance system for hands-off highway driving. Nissan Executive Vice President Asako Hoshino will provide an update on the company’s driver assistance system strategy and plans.Quantum Computing Meets Chip Manufacturing for the First Time at SEMICON Japan In contrast with current computer systems that use bits (binary 0 or 1 state) for computing, quantum computers leverage quantum superposition (0 and 1 states exist at once) to quickly solve highly complex problems that might take traditional supercomputers hundreds or even thousands of years to tease out. American physicist Richard Feynman promoted quantum computer as early as 1982, but it wasn’t until nearly two decades later and long after his death that quantum bit circuits emerged for use in superconductive materials.With quantum circuits and devices requiring state-of-art semiconductor processing technology, The Era of Quantum session on December 15 at SEMICON Japan 2020 Virtual will discuss necessary advances in chip manufacturing technology to enable the next generation quantum computing. The session will be the first time SEMICON Japan connects the semiconductor manufacturing and quantum computing communities.The program will feature the following experts:Strategies for Sustainable Semiconductor Industry GrowthSemiconductors are giving rise to a hyper-connected world that is fueling demand for staggering volumes of chips, pressuring the electronics industry to uncover new ways to increase manufacturing efficiency while reducing power consumption in a bid to help combat climate change. The Grand Finale Panel composed of executives from Japan’s semiconductor supply chain and a supervising ministry will gather for the Grand Finale Panel on December 18 to discuss ways the industry can achieve sustainable growth through innovation with a focus on energy savings and an new process technologies such as extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV), which promises to enable electronics devices that are more power powerful, cheaper and more energy-efficient.Panelists include the following:Register TodayThe SEMICON Japan 2020 Virtual All-In Pass provides online access to all 80 presentations and panels, which will be available on-demand for replay until January 15, 2021. What’s more, all eight keynote programs will feature English subtitles. For complete information of the exposition, programs and registration, visit the SEMICON Japan website.I look forward to seeing you virtually at the event!Jim Hamajima is president of SEMI Japan.

The historic and forecast growth trends for cleanroom robots are in line with the long-term growth rates of semiconductor manufacturing equipment.