Apple

To strengthen continuity across the entire value chain and support semiconductor industry growth, SEMI launched the Supply Chain Management Initiative in early 2023 and has established an Industry Advisory Council that includes industry leaders and strategic partners such as Genpact and Resilinc.

From the need for more tech talent to fuel digital transformation across all industries to the great resignation and great retirement of workers en masse, the demand for tech talent continues unabated.

The semiconductor industry – recognizing its own fabs can do much more to reduce their carbon footprint – is in a position to help turn the tide on rising temperatures worldwide and more chip companies are launching sustainability initiatives to contribute to the cause.

If you look at your clothes or shoes, there is a growing chance you will see the words Made in Vietnam printed on the tag. Since the United States lifted its trade embargo against Vietnam in 1994, the country has become the second largest exporter of apparel and shoes to the U.S. What may be less evident is the source of that new electronic gadget you received for Christmas, with its numerous parts, chips, and intricate supply chain. While light manufacturing has dominated Vietnam’s economic growth since the Đổi Mới economic reforms implemented in the 1980s, over the last decade the country has been repositioning itself to become a dominant player in the global microelectronics industry, a trend that has gained momentum in the wake of the U.S.-China trade war. In 2019, Vietnam ranked as the fourth largest exporter of electrical goods and components to the U.S. With exports doubling over the last four years and now exceeding $19 billion, surpassing Taiwan, Japan, and Korea (based on goods exported under chapter 85 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule). Vietnam’s global electronics industry now accounts for about 40% of its exports, and the country seems to be just getting started. Early Entrants Though Vietnam owes its growing success in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) in the semiconductor and microelectronics industries to the advent of China plus one – the business strategy to diversify business investments geographically – it was the few early entrants that gambled on this emerging market a decade ago that put Vietnam on the global stage. Of these early players, no other firm comes close to having the impact that Samsung has. It’s initial $670 million mobile phone manufacturing plant in the northern province of Bac Ninh in 2008 grew to a country-wide investment of $17.3 billion within a decade. Samsung is now Vietnam’s largest FDI contributor and accounts for more than 25 percent of its exports. Because of Samsung, Vietnam has become the second largest exporter of smartphones in the world. Around the same time, Intel opened its $1 billion semiconductor assembly and testing facility in Ho Chi Minh City, putting Vietnam firmly on the global technology map. More investors, like LG, Panasonic and Foxconn soon followed. Within a few years of these initial investments the industry was taking notice, illustrated by SEMI’s role in co-organizing the Vietnam Semiconductor Strategy Summits in 2013 and 2014. With SEMI SEA’s increased efforts to promote Vietnam as an important ecosystem in the electronics supply chain, more will be done to positively influence the growth and prosperity of its member companies in Vietnam. These early investors found Vietnam attractive for several reasons. Key among these are the country’s low wage rates combined with its favorable demographic structure – what the UN refers to as the golden population structure, which provides “Vietnam with a unique socio-economic development opportunity.” Companies are also attracted to the growing number of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) that Vietnam belongs to, including the ASEAN Free Trade Area, CPTPP, the EU-Vietnam FTA, and, most recently, RCEP. Though the U.S. has yet to ink a trade agreement, the Singapore AmCham’s annual regional survey has consistently identified Vietnam as the most attractive country in ASEAN for a potential bilateral FTA partner with the U.S. Leveraging the Trade War If the plus one strategy was the catalyst that started this wave of electronics manufacturing in Vietnam, then the U.S.-China trade war was the enzyme that supercharged it. A common quip in Southeast Asia is that the U.S.-China trade war is over and Vietnam is the winner, and this is apparent in both trade and investment trends. According to the Asia Development Bank (ADB), the riff between the U.S. and China has caused a redirection in trade, as U.S. imports from the PRC fell by 12% in the first six months of 2019 while U.S. imports from Vietnam increased by 33%, with electronics and machinery accounting for the bulk of this jump. The ADB further reported that in a prolonged and intensified trade conflict, the worse-case scenario would result in Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand being the biggest winners, “in that order.” On the investment side, a March 2020 Gartner, Inc. survey of global supply chain leaders revealed that 33% had “moved sourcing and manufacturing activities out of China or plan to do so in the next two to three years.” While this survey did not mention specific winners, the ADB reported that “newly registered FDI in Vietnam from the PRC and Hong Kong rose by 200% year on year in the first seven months of 2019,” indicating the move of Chinese suppliers to Vietnam. Additionally, a review of recent press reports indicate firms like Apple, Nintendo and Dell are encouraging suppliers to move parts of their supply chains to Vietnam. These suppliers are complying, with Compal Electronics, GoerTek, HZO, Inventec, Luxshare Precision Industry, Pegatron, USI and Wistron all reportedly announcing plans for new investments in Vietnam. Manufacturing Hubs Within Vietnam, microelectronic facilities have concentrated in a few geographic hubs. In the south, the Saigon High Tech Park in Ho Chi Minh City attracted early entrants Intel and Samsung, with firms like Nidec and Jabil soon following. The largest investment capital, however, developed in the northern provinces that ring Hanoi. Bắc Ninh, an hour’s drive from Hanoi, was the site of Samsung’s first investment and has since attracted Foxconn and Canon. More recently, firms have been drawn to the port city of Hải Phòng, the country’s third largest city, which is already home to Samsung and LG. The city’s close proximity to other manufacturing clusters, its new deep-water port, and its expressway that provides a 12-hour trucking route to China’s electronics epicenter in Shenzhen are helping make the city Vietnam’s new high-tech production center. In 2019, LG Electronics moved its entire smartphone production line from South Korea to Hải Phòng, and in 2020 Pegatron reportedly chose the city for its $1 billion investment plan. Local phone manufacturer VinSmart is also producing the country’s first 5G smartphones in Hải Phòng. In November, USI, a subsidiary of Taiwan-based ASE Holding, broke ground on its first production base in Southeast Asia, a $200 million phase-one investment in the production and assembly of chips for wearable electronic devices. USI’s investment, which is moving into the internationally managed DEEP C Industrial Zones in Hải Phòng, is “intended to move us closer to our overseas customers and accommodate their ever-increasing demand,” according to Mr. Kuei Chun Chi, the firm’s Manufacturing Service Director. “North Vietnam, with its strategic geographical position and an extended infrastructure in place, offers USI an optimal way to facilitate fast and flexible response to customers' orders.” Though the Covid-19 pandemic has dampened the pace of new investments in Vietnam’s microelectronics industry, it has also amplified the country’s attractiveness to investors. Vietnam was successful in containing the outbreak through aggressive quarantine and contact tracing measures, and as a result its economy has the brightest outlook in the region. The ADB forecasts the country will be one of the fastest-growing economies in SEA in 2021, with GDP estimated at 6.8%. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is also reporting that several of the world's largest technology corporations plan to shift their production chains to Vietnam post-Covid-19, an indication that technology firms will accelerate relocation plans in 2021. Vietnam’s successful response to the pandemic, combined with its strategic location, low wage rates and foreign trade agreements, will ensure that the region continues to benefit from the shift in supply chains in Asia, making it the new destination for electronics manufacturing. About the Author Stuart Schaag is Principal at E-Ward Trade Consulting LLC, which assists firms that are expanding their presence in the global marketplace by creating strategies combining market analysis, business development, commercial diplomacy, and relationship building. He previously spent 25 years in various domestic and overseas positions in the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration. Stuart served as the Commercial Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi from 2014-2018 and resided in Vietnam until 2020.

As the world combats climate change, the chip industry continues to build momentum in becoming a better steward of the environment. In July, Taiwan chip giant TSMC became the world’s first semiconductor company to join RE100, the global initiative to move away from a widespread reliance on fossil fuels and toward 100% renewable electricity. Applied Materials soon followed with a commitment to expand its renewable energy capacity. For the past four years, ASE Group, the largest outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) provider, was named an industry leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI), making clear its commitment to protecting the environment. For its part, TEL was selected to be part of the FTSE4Good, a series of ethical investment stock market indices, and FTSE Blossom Japan, an index that gauges the performance of Japanese companies demonstrating strong Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices.SEMI bolsters commitment to green energySEMI has also strengthened its commitment to promoting renewable energy in the semiconductor industry by adding the Green Power Pavilion at this year’s SEMICON Taiwan and continues to support the green energy movement as a co-organizer of Energy Taiwan. The largest renewable energy event in Taiwan, Energy Taiwan features international exhibitions, forums, policy initiatives and business matching events. This year the event attracted more than 12,000 visitors from 50 countries to highlight renewable energy breakthroughs and new products. The SEMI events complement RE100, which works across a wide range of industries that include financial services and retail. The initiative connects more than 260 members that count among them the world’s most influential businesses such as Apple, Google and Facebook and their suppliers through educational events.In many respects, TSMC is becoming a beacon of green energy in the chip industry. In July, the company committed to 20-year agreement to buy offshore wind power gear made by energy firm Ørsted in Taiwan, the global leader in the wind power industry. According to the purchase agreement, TSMC will offtake full production from 920-megawatt wind farms off the coast of Changhua County in western Taiwan expected to start operations in 2025 or 2026. The agreement will by far mark the world’s largest corporate green energy order in the semiconductor manufacturing and renewable energy industries and demonstrates TSMC’s long-term commitment to environmental sustainability.In addition to sourcing renewable energy, TSMC has been working closely with its downstream and upstream suppliers to help drive supply chain improvements geared toward a greener industry by offering on-site coaching, energy audits and educational resources. But the company's focus on energy efficiency is nothing new. For years, its Supply Chain Management forum has promoted industry sustainability and corporate responsibility. Moreover, TSMC worked with SEMI at this year’s SEMICON Taiwan to generate greater awareness of the importance of green energy to the industry and encourage SEMI members to become more involved in the movement.Supply chains expand eco-friendly practicesThe drive toward greener semiconductor manufacturing is also expanding to encompass entire supply chains. One notable initiative is Green Supply Chain Management (GrSCM), an effort to integrate environmental thinking into every level of the supply chain, from product concept to distribution. GrSCM involves the retooling of product design, materials sourcing, manufacturing and processes to reduce the ecological footprint of factories. So far, the results are encouraging. More companies are factoring environmental sustainability into their purchasing decisions to urge suppliers to better manage their power usage and join the green energy movement – an important step in curbing the unavoidable consequences of climate change. Terry Tsao is Global Chief Marketing Officer at SEMI and President of SEMI Taiwan.

Jack McCauley understands the interplay between video game hardware and human interaction like few others in the industry. He designed the guitar and drums for Red Octane’s (later Activision’s) Guitar Hero video game series. As co-founder and chief engineer of Oculus VR, he designed the Oculus DK1 and DK2 virtual reality (VR) headsets and helped guide the company through its acquisition by Facebook in 2014. Now active in automotive technology, he builds cars at Black Lab, his private R D facility and hardware incubator in Livermore, California. And, in no small feat, he thinks he’s solved the head-tracking problems in augmented reality (AR)/VR headsets – which he’ll demonstrate during his keynote presentation, MEMS Applications in Augmented Reality, October 6 at MSEC 2020. SEMI’s first virtual MEMS Sensors Executive Congress. The event is October 6-8 and 13-15, 2020, and registration is open. I interviewed McCauley to preview his presentation. Register now for MSEC 2020.SEMI: What inspired you to become the first person to use a MEMS sensor in a gaming device?McCauley: When I started designing the Guitar Hero peripherals, I had intermittent problems with the motion tracking. I switched to a Freescale single-axis accelerometer, developed some IP around it, and that fixed the problem. That’s how I became an early customer of MEMS. SEMI: When you pioneered immersive VR gaming experiences at Oculus VR, tech industry analysts predicted widespread adoption of VR for gaming. What do you think happened?McCauley: There are a lot of reasons why VR hasn’t become the standard bearer for gaming. Gaming used to be a solitary activity, but as companies like Microsoft and Sony got behind multiplayer gaming, we realized many gamers found the social aspect more important than the visual aspect. Many gamers are content to play on a 2D screen or on multiple monitors because they’re playing against many people. The proliferation of internet connections worldwide has also promoted the kinship and social aspect of gaming.SEMI: Do you think VR has a place in other applications?McCauley: I think it has a lot of potential in real estate, VR movies, and engineering and design, among other areas. The automotive designer Henrik Fisker, for example, created whole vehicles in a game-engine model. If you wanted to buy one of his cars, let’s say, you could change the color and upholstery, for example, and then view it in a VR environment. SEMI: One of the biggest obstacles to VR adoption is the motion sickness some people experience during game play. What would you do to fix that?McCauley: The vestibular system in the brain, which uses the inner ear, is crucial to helping you balance. If there’s a mismatch between what your eyes see and your brain is perceiving, you’re likely to feel dizzy. I’ve built a VR headset that uses a MEMS pico projector with micromirrors and a small laser for position tracking as well as for facial tracking and modeling. But the platform’s not for sale.Still, many of the technical advances that we’ve made in VR are helping us with AR development. The increasing power of mobile chipsets and GPUs, the decreasing geometry for individual transistors and the way specific chips are processed, screen interfaces that will drive a 4K panel at a high frame rate, plus MEMS devices inside the eyewear for rotations and tracking are all helpful innovations.SEMI: When designing cars in your own lab, you’re doing a lot of work with AR. What do you think of AR’s commercial viability?McCauley: I know there are well-funded AR programs in place at major companies. That’s because mobile-device companies want an omnipresent phone in front of your face. I thought Google Glass, for example, was brilliant, but it was way too early for that product, and there was too much hype behind it.McCauley's latest R D project is a vehicle that incorporates augmented features and a computerized display. The vehicle is a custom built, environmentally friendly super-car with enhanced driver safety and high vehicle performance. AR is appealing because it lets people see through a screen – and have objects appear on that screen – while they are moving through space. My son actually came up with one of the ideas I’m implementing in a car I’m designing. We were driving in Spain, and he suggested that instead of using Google Maps to show me driving directions – which would force me to look down at an infotainment display – a sign could appear on AR glasses that would instruct me how to drive to Italy. That’s just an example of how we’ll use AR. SEMI: After you sold Oculus VR to Facebook, you began investing time and resources into engineering education. Why did you make that choice?McCauley: I’m originally from a blue-collar family, and then I got an education at Berkeley. That made a major difference in my life. When I sold Oculus, I donated to education-focused charities primarily, because an education can lift an entire family out of poverty. Let’s say your family are farm workers, but you get a degree in engineering and land a job at Apple. That could produce a ripple effect. As other members of your family and people in your community see the benefits of your education, they’re more likely to get an education, too. SEMI: What would you like MSEC attendees to take away from your presentation?McCauley: I appreciate what the MEMS industry has done for VR because if Oculus didn’t have a nine degrees of freedom (9DoF) IMU, no one would have bought our company. A new application will come along sooner or later that will require a different type of MEMS technology, and I have total confidence that the MEMS industry will deliver what’s needed. For more information on McCauley’s R D projects or on his position as Innovator in Residence at UC Berkeley’s Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation, visit his website. 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.Jack McCauley is an Innovator in Residence at the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation, where he mentors students, lectures in courses focused on product design and design for manufacturing, and leads research and development projects focused on applications of augmented, virtual, and mixed reality for design professionals and students.McCauley graduated from Berkeley Engineering with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 1986, and credits the time he spent at Berkeley as an undergraduate with helping to ignite his career. Maria Vetrano is a public relations consultant at SEMI.

Companies around the world are increasingly turning to mergers and acquisitions, research and development, and corporate venture capital (CVC) investment to sustain growth. For many years, global semiconductor companies including Intel, Qualcomm and Samsung have been active CVC investors. However, the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many venture capital (VC) and CVC investors to rethink their investment strategies as they look to an uncertain future. To help provide SEMI members with the latest market trend information, SEMI Taiwan held the webinar Challenges and Opportunities in Corporate Venturing during the Global Pandemic Crisis on April 28th. Featured speaker James Mawson, founder and editor in chief of Global Corporate Venturing, provided an analysis of the pandemic’s impact on deal flow, capital movement, sentiment and strategies among CVCs. CVC takes larger role in past decadeCorporations have been increasingly active direct and indirect venture investors over the past decade. From 2011-2019, more than US$1.3 trillion of venture capital was invested globally, with corporations accounting for more than half that total, according to data from Pitchbook/GCV Analytics.Semiconductor companies that have been active in corporate venturing include Intel, Samsung, Nvidia, ARM, AMD, SK Hynix, Broadcom and Qualcomm. Pure-play semiconductor and chip companies tend to make few investments in their start-up counterparts because sector saturation of powerful incumbents leaves little opportunity for growth, James said. “While it is hard to find entrepreneurs wanting to be engaged in pure play S C, once they do, they can be very valuable and often be able to bring disruptive forces to the whole ecosystem,” James said.S C corporate investors focus on chip applicationsSemiconductor companies looking beyond pure-play S C start-ups for investment opportunities often target applications or developers that require the additional data, processing power, and memory their chips provide. “There is lots of interest by the big chip companies such as Intel, Qualcomm, and Samsung in developing some of those chip applications, getting them used more and creating a whole ecosystem,” James said.For example, Intel Capital, based on its data-centric theme, has focused on areas like autonomous vehicles, data centers and artificial intelligence (AI) because of the sheer amount of data and processing power they require. In another notable trend, non-traditional S C players such as Apple and Alibaba are leveraging investments in start-ups to develop their own chips for competitive advantage, James said.March deal flow down 20% With COVID-19 slowing the global economy, James expects semiconductor and chip companies to scale back direct investments this year due to rising pressure on their balance sheets. Deal flow in March was down roughly 20% from February.James is hopeful corporates will focus on investing in innovation over the long term rather than target share buybacks to boost near-term earnings. James pointed out that investors can uncover opportunities by identifying future problems to be solved in areas such as quantum computing, biotech, energy, healthcare, communications and ICT. Still, in the near term, where there is a crisis, there is opportunity. While the pandemic hit some sectors hard, it benefits start-ups in industries including gaming, education and telemedicine. This time is different?James said corporates need to rethink the investment model they want to follow. One option is the approach taken by General Electric, which divested its investment team and sold all its portfolio companies last year. Another is to focus on the long term. For example, Intel Capital has been dedicated to investments in innovation for nearly 30 years and continues to invest during downturns.Compared with the internet bubble and global financial crisis, today there are more experienced and mature CVCs that better know how to negotiate a crisis. James also pointed out investors are interested in backing CVCs with sector investing experience. There are now more than 600 CVCs with a 10-year-plus track record.James expects a variety of funding models to emerge over the next decade as pressure on corporate balance sheets encourages corporate investors to consider models that allow third-party capital to effectively leverage their CVC units. Corporate investors are also open to other ways to efficiently deliver financial returns.For more information about the SEMI Taiwan Corporate Growth and Innovation Community, please contact Irene Lin at [email protected]. For GCV’s latest news and event, visit its website.Jo-Ann Su is senior director of the Corporate Growth and Innovation Community at SEMI Taiwan.

In 2000, the average car sported 30 to 50 semiconductors. By 2025, the number of chips and sensors in an automobile will soar to an eye-popping 70,000 as it comes uber-connected and immeasurably smarter, powered by machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), visual sensing, high-precision mapping and other advanced capabilities.Today, the proliferation of semiconductors in cars is remaking the automotive industry as four major forces – electrification, connectivity, autonomous driving and diverse mobility – take hold, according to the consultancy firm McKinsey in its report Automotive Revolution – Perspective towards 2030 report. The chip industry saw auto-related sales jump from US$7 billion in 1995 to US$30 billion in 2015, a trajectory that has steepened over the past two years as major chip suppliers have rolled out products for precision mapping, navigation, in-car entertainment, and communications. With semiconductors fast becoming a major aspect of automotive design, traditional automakers are quickly moving to build strong partnerships with the semiconductor sector.Audi, a leading German car brand, took a big step to just that when it became the first automotive OEM to join SEMI as a member in June 2019 and strengthen the automaker’s ties to the semiconductor industry. With a massive market potential to tap, are Taiwan's auto electronics firms well-positioned to work even more closely with first-tier car brands like Audi?At the Smart Transportation Forum on September 18 at SEMICON Taiwan, Andre Blum, project manager at AUDI AG, will join Ian Chan, CTO of Cyntec, to offer insights into how automakers can team up with Taiwanese auto electronics companies. TechOrange, a Taiwanese tech news online media, spoke Blum ahead of the event about Audi's smart car efforts and the carmaker’s work to integrate new technologies into its automotive designs as it forms new partnerships with the semiconductor industry.Blum joined Audi in 2004 and since 2016 has led manifold projects within the group driving Audi’s work with semiconductor companies (Progressive Semiconductor Program). He has seen the automotive industry rapidly accelerate the integration of high technology in vehicles, an area where Audi excels. “The industry is changing how it works and new partners are joining the ecosystems," Blum said.Audi Wants to be the Next Apple in the Car SectorAudi's business developments in recent years echo Apple's early push to integrate the Internet and a panoply of applications into mobile phones. The difference now is Audi is working to integrate a wide range of smart applications into its automobiles for – ala Apple – the best user experience.For example, Audi has recently launched cars designed with Traffic Jam Pilot, Parking Pilot, and Garage Pilot three smart driver-assisting systems. With Traffic Jam Pilot, drivers no longer need to be on standby when stuck in the traffic. Instead, they can kill time with an infotainment system. While out shopping or making other stops, Parking Pilot helps drivers find a parking spot and park automatically. Garage Pilot provides a more comfortable parking-at-home experience – the driver waits maneuvers the car into the garage using handheld remote control. Audi stepped up its efforts in 2019 and revealed its latest concept car at the Shanghai Auto Show. Dubbed Audi AI:ME, the vehicle is equipped with a dizzying array of high tech: level-four self-driving technology, technology that allows the driver to control features with eye movements, LED units in headlights and taillights that change brightness accordingly at night and in bad weather, and VR goggles for onboard infotainment. Innovation and Tech Both Key to the New Driving ExperienceAutomotive technology is rapidly advancing in areas such as electric vehicles, autonomous driving and smart auto electronics. Cars of the future must have more computing power and connectivity to deliver a great user experience that includes high battery efficiency to extend the duration between recharges, in-car entertainment, and intelligent voice assistants – all capabilities made possible by semiconductors.Unburdened by the tasks of driving, passengers will enjoy a more intimate relationship with their vehicles. "The in-car entertainment system will allow passengers to have a teleconference or enjoy a movie in a theater-like setting,” Blum said. Switch on the self-driving system and you can drive through the night from Munich to Hamburg, covering a distance of 800 kilometers in the comfort of a home-like environment. The trip is even possible on one charge, meeting high energy-saving standards.These capabilities are technologically feasible now, but government regulations and policies still need to catch up. In the meantime, Blum says that Audi is focusing on creating a top-notch experience for car users today."The minute you step into a car, all the features, including the seat, radio channels, and the entertainment system will have already been adjusted to your liking and seamlessly connected to your mobile or other hand-held devices," he said.What does the Future Hold for Taiwan in the Next Blue Ocean Market?Semiconductors are the heart of these features, and Blum believes Taiwan is uniquely positioned to drive advances in automotive chips. Taiwan is home to semiconductor powerhouses TSMC and ASE as well as auto electronics companies, and its sophisticated mobile phone supply chain has endowed it with deep experience in integrating semiconductors with electronic modules – advantages that give Taiwan a head start in the automotive semiconductor market.Audi, too, is in a strong position to thrive in the new age of automotive electronics as it looks to its membership with SEMI to collaborate with companies across the microelectronics supply chain.“With rapid advances in automotive electronics technology, semiconductors now play a critical role in innovation and product differentiation,” said Dr. Klaus Buettner, executive vice president of Development Electrics/Electronics, CarIT, Audi.“To fulfill the promise of sustainable, connected-to-everything, highly automated mobility up to autonomous driving, we need to also align automotive requirements across the entire semiconductor value chain,” he said. “With its global platform, SEMI is the right association to bring together supply chain stakeholders for the close collaboration critical to driving technology innovation.”Emmy Yi is a marketing specialist at SEMI Taiwan.

New system-on-chip (SoC) devices are driving new memory architectures and photonic interfaces, while specialized new intellectual property (IP) requires analysis down to the nanometer and atomic levels because of single nanometer process nodes. According to Babak Taheri, CTO and EVP of products at Silvaco, a leading EDA Software, semiconductor IP company, a member of SEMI and the ESD Alliance, a SEMI Strategic Association Partner, design technology co-optimization and proven IP are required for this analysis.Taheri recently discussed atoms to systems in next-generation SoC designs with Nanette Collins ahead of ES Design West, co-located with SEMICON West, July 9-11 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.ESD Alliance: For years now, the assumption is that each new chip design is more complex than the last. Why are the latest SoC designs even more complex than before?Taheri: New SoC devices for mobile phones, automobiles, intelligent edge nodes, big data compute and storage are adopting artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies. This is driving new compute, data flow, as well as memory architectures that are bandwidth-limited and some require photonic interfaces.One common denominator in present SoC design are the numerous blocks of IP. On average, over 85% of these blocks are reused. It’s cost-prohibitive to make these chips over and over again with new IP. According to some estimates, 90% of IP used in an SoC design by 2025 will be reused – only 10% is new technologies. That 10% is significant.ESD Alliance: How so?Taheri: Complex new technologies including flash memory, other advanced non-volatile memory technologies such as MRAM, RRAM and SoCs such as NVIDIA’s Xavier and Apple’s A12 use and reuse design IP at the architectural level.New technologies mean new materials and new processes. Single nanometer process nodes require specialized new IP that needs to be simulated and analyzed down to the nanometer and atomic levels.ESD Alliance: Does the atomic level changes the design equation?Taheri: Yes, it does. Designers need to be able to simulate at the atomic level and understand properties of these materials, and how they behave in at-process and at-device levels. They need be able to simulate the material's nanometer geometries, how molecules behave and how they interact for device operations. When they put together a process and a device, they need to know how the pieces behave and simulate before production.In other words, they run quite a few design experiments and quite a bit of simulation before they finalize the circuits and devices to silicon to save money.ESD Alliance: It’s obvious design automation will continue to have a vital role in design.Taheri: Yes, absolutely. Design technology co-optimization (DTCO) using TCAD solutions and proven design IP are needed to address the span from architecture to device and process physics. The importance of simulation, emulation and design technology co-optimization, along with fully verified and proven IP for SoC design, cannot be overstated. As designers generate devices and processors, they take that up to circuit-level simulation and high-level simulation, schematic capture, extractions and back annotation. They can go from atoms to simulating systems to the ability to do that under the same umbrella in order to get better chips, better yield and lower cost.Taheri’s talk Next Generation of SoC Design: From Atoms to Systems will be part of the Meet the Experts More than Moore session Tuesday, July 9, at 11:30 a.m. at the ES Design West SMART Design Pavilion. SEMICON West attendees are invited to Moscone Center’s South Hall to learn more about electronic system and semiconductor design and its links to the electronic product manufacturing and supply chain. Register for ES Design West or SEMICON West.Babak Taheri is Silvaco’s CTO and EVP of products, has more than 25 years of design experience. His current role managing Silvaco’s Technology CAD (TCAD), electronic design automation (EDA) and IP product divisions makes him an expert on what’s needed for the design of next-generation system-on-chips (SoCs). Previously, he was the CEO and president of IBT working with investors, private equity firms, and startups on M A, technology and business diligence. Babak received his Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the University of California Davis with Bachelor of Science degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Neurosciences. He has published more than 20 articles and holds 28 issued patents.Nanette Collins is a public relations representative for the Electronic System Design Alliance.

Last year the industry posted another remarkable double-digit revenue growth year. IC shipments eclipsed one trillion units for the first time and continued to enable an ever-expanding array of silicon intensive-applications.2018 was also a pivotal year of transformation at SEMI. Setting our sights firmly on building more value for SEMI members, we doubled down on priorities I established this time last year. We advocated intensively on global trade policies, industry talent needs, and critical environment, health and safety (EHS) concerns. To underpin our efforts around talent, we took the bold step to reinvigorate the industry’s identity with a dynamic image campaign. Above all, we targeted critical industry-wide issues to help us realize the ambition of becoming a trillion-dollar industry in the next decade. Workforce DevelopmentRedefining our approach to talent development in 2018 was and remains a top priority. A diverse, highly skilled workforce is crucial to the industry’s ability to innovate. Last year we ramped up a number of SEMI High Tech U (HTU) programs to inspire young people and attract them to careers in high-tech manufacturing. To date, more than 130,000 students have been touched by HTU – through student or teacher programs.Over the past year, we designed a new university outreach program and established partnerships with 100 institutions. We established Workforce Pavilions at SEMICON events in Southeast Asia, the U.S., Taiwan, Europe and Japan for students to explore career opportunities and meet with recruiters. We thrilled at seeing sponsors hire young talent at SEMI events. This year, all SEMICONs worldwide will feature Workforce Pavilions.SEMI also formalized its commitment to Diversity and Inclusion (D I) with the establishment of a D I council to shape new programs including the recently launched Spotlight on SEMI Women. To localize and fully optimize our D I programs, we established regional workforce councils in every region we serve. We unveiled the SEMI Mentoring Program to support students and young professionals on this journey by facilitating one-on-one mentoring relationships with industry professionals. Hundreds of mentees have enrolled. But we still need more mentors. I urge you to join the program. During the year, SEMI also expanded its workforce staff and developed a comprehensive workforce strategy with programs that engage students as early as elementary school and inspires them through high school and college. The program provides pathways to professional careers, building a pipeline to fill the short-term and long-term talent needs of the industry. Industry Image CampaignAs we developed the comprehensive workforce development program, we knew we had to refresh the industry’s image and appeal to the next generation through contemporary media and communications channels. So we recently launched a bold, innovative campaign to raise industry awareness and attract students and recent graduates to careers in semiconductor manufacturing.Our You’re Welcome campaign is a novel, creative approach that blends entertainment, media and storytelling to excite students about the industry. The campaign went viral immediately and within weeks had more than 5.5 million social media impressions and 2.3 million video views.Trade Policy AdvocacyRising trade tensions between the U.S. and China catapulted global trade policy to the forefront of industry concerns in 2018. Since the tariffs have taken force, semiconductor companies have faced higher costs, greater uncertainty, and difficulty selling products abroad. The tariffs have forced many SEMI member companies to pause or rethink their investment strategies.SEMI quickly engaged U.S. policymakers and provided resources for SEMI members. We formed a member trade task force, staged trade compliance seminars in China, and convened meetings with over 110 U.S. congressional, agency and administration officials, and provided testimony on the importance of the free trade to the industry.SEMI continues to educate policymakers about the critical importance of free and fair trade, open markets, and respect and enforcement of IP for all players in the global electronics manufacturing supply chain. As part of this initiative, we distributed “10 Principles for the Global Semiconductor Supply Chain in Modern Trade Agreements” and encouraged their adoption in various trade negotiations. These principles outline the primary considerations for balanced trade rules that benefit SEMI members around the world, strengthen innovation and perpetuate the societal benefits of affordable microelectronics.Environment, Health and SafetyEnvironmental regulations are proliferating globally even as advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology relies increasingly on a host of new materials. With dozens of new fabs and fab line upgrades, our industry must align on best practices, sensibly respond to materials restrictions, and renew efforts toward sustainable manufacturing.That’s why the revitalization of SEMI EHS efforts became another priority in 2018. Two months ago, we hosted the inaugural EHS Summit at SEMI Headquarters. Fully, 70 EHS professionals and company executives met to form the basis for the future SEMI EHS program.The Year AheadDespite a softening in the market, compounded by Apple’s first-ever announcement of a revenue decline in 16 years, a geopolitical whirlwind on trade and an extended shutdown of much of the U.S. government, the future is bright.At SEMI’s annual Industry Strategy Symposium (ISS 2019) in Half Moon Bay, Calif. in early January, the sense of optimism was palpable. In her keynote address, Dr. Ann Kelleher, Sr. VP and General Manager, Technology and Manufacturing Group, at Intel, observed that data is powering the fourth industry revolution and the expansion of compute. With customers expecting continual improvements in applications, Kelleher highlighted the tremendous opportunity for the chip industry to meet these expectations.At ISS 2019, we announced a Memorandum of Understand between SEMI and imec. The MOU will enable us to accelerate our members’ engagement in SEMI’s Smart vertical market platforms, in particular Smart MedTech and Smart Transportation. Our partnership with imec will also allow us to boost SEMI Standards activities in non-CMOS technologies, deepen technology roadmap efforts and augment our SEMI Think Tank initiative in thought leadership at a global level.Over the course of this coming year, will we begin our global rollout of key building blocks of our comprehensive workforce development program to engage schoolchildren as young as 10 and learners all the way to veterans who return to the workforce. We are now able, with the invaluable help of our Workforce Development Council and the passionate engagement of many SEMI member companies, to offer a solution to the talent crisis in our industry.We will continue to be the leading voice for our members and the end-to-end semiconductor supply chain across Talent, Trade, Tax and Technology as we work to ensure free, fair trade that protects IP while preserving vital access to markets to grow the supply chain. Vertical Market PlatformsOur vertical market platforms are an important part of this growth. For example, in Smart MedTech, SEMI looks forward to working with the Nano-Bio Materials Consortium to advance human monitoring technology for telemedicine and digital health after winning $7 million to fund the renewed program. In Smart Transportation, we will leverage the Global Automotive Advisory Council (GAAC) we formed last year to represent the full automotive supply chain and the Smart Transportation and Smart Automotive forums featured at all our SEMICON events to enable the industry to identify and seize opportunities in autonomous driving. At ISS 2019, Sujeet Chand of Rockwell Automation noted that “digitization will grow faster in the next 10 years than it did in the past 50,” a trend calling for semiconductor fab architectures that transform data into business value. We will continue to bring the industry together at our Smart Manufacturing venues to help uncover ways to deploy deep learning, edge computing and other Smart technologies to deliver this value and meet the challenges of automation as artificial intelligence’s (AI) sprawling influence reshapes industries including manufacturing.I am filled with optimism and thrilled about the opportunities I see on the horizon for our members as we build on our 2018 accomplishments to enable your prosperity in 2019 and beyond. My heartfelt thanks to all of you for your participation in our programs and events.I look forward to another successful year as we connect, collaborate and innovate together!Ajit Manocha is president and CEO of SEMI.