mobile devices

Machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) have ushered in tremendous opportunities for faster growth, problem-solving and technological development in the electronic system design ecosystem. Cadence Design Systems, Inc., a member of the ESD Alliance, a SEMI Technology Community, is at the technological forefront in incorporating ML techniques in its chip design products. I spoke with Chin-Chi Teng, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Cadence’s Digital Signoff Group, about how ML is reshaping EDA and the semiconductor industry, the cloud’s role in the evolution of ML in design and its impact on Moore’s Law. Teng also offers advice on how engineering students can calibrate their education to prepare to work with this transformative technology and urges them to have fun in the process. Smith: How is ML changing the EDA industry? Teng: ML is changing EDA for the better in many ways. It’s more difficult than ever to design chips, and ML is helping by overcoming the complexity, size and technology interdependencies. At the same time, ML is helping our own engineers solve certain classes of EDA algorithm, tool, and flow/solution challenges so that we can deliver even better EDA tools to our user base. The benefits can include reducing runtime, increasing quality of results, and being better equipped to manage vast complexity and data. Also, and maybe even more significant, is the potential boost to user and team productivity, where engineers have more time to focus on high-value problems because they no longer need to spend time on managing overwhelming volumes of data and details that can be easily automated. Smith: What is the potential impact ML can have on semiconductor design? Teng: ML technology can be leveraged in several ways to improve EDA tool performance and engineering team productivity. For example, we initially applied ML to applications such as formal verification, simulation regressions, analog circuit design, and PCB design. We targeted ML toward specific algorithms that processed lots of data to sharpen and speed decision-making. Then we started to look at digital implementation flows that combine multiple steps with multiple decisions in a recipe, especially for chip implementation where the more efficient use of engineering knowledge can make a substantial difference in the chip’s resulting power, performance and area (PPA). These flows present more challenges and require different ML and optimization techniques since the data points are expensive to create and the volume of data is huge. But flow optimization offers the largest rewards for companies investing in data collection and analysis to improve their operations and product quality. By using ML to improve the implementation flow, our users are seeing up to 20% better PPA and 10x improved productivity in developing data center CPUs and AI engines, automotive sensor processing SoCs, and mobile devices. Smith: What is the cloud’s role in the evolution of ML in EDA? Teng: More ML usage means there will be an inevitable surge in compute demand resources, and engineers need the ability to scale in parallel. The cloud provides engineers with the best opportunity to scale computing resources without facing procurement limitations. The cloud also allows engineers to use task-specific compute and ML accelerators and capitalize on distributed computing innovations that leverage the cloud for greater design flexibility and availability. Smith: You have written that you see Moore’s Law accelerating. How does ML fit into this? Teng: We see the rapid adoption of new process technologies as the biggest trend surrounding Moore’s Law right now. ML technology in EDA will help speed tool certification processes, process design kit (PDK) development and other deliverables aimed at creating and improving customer support through all stages of the process lifecycle. This is a virtuous circle, and it’s expanding beyond hardware design and optimization to also include software. Today’s ML functionality works on the abstraction of register transfer level (RTL), optimizing the implementation and verification flows. ML will soon enable use of a higher abstraction of describing the target systems, exploring architectural options and optimizing across hardware and software partitioning. Smith: What advice would you give engineering students who are studying ML with the goal of becoming an electrical engineer? Teng: With the rapid pace of technology development, things are changing constantly. I’d absolutely encourage students to look at ML because ML isn’t going away — its growth is only going to accelerate from here. I’d also suggest that students look more broadly at computational mathematics because that’s foundational for ML. There are many, many opportunities to apply ML to real-world applications that will make a significant impact when it comes to optimizing computational software. Most important, students should explore and have fun while doing it. About Chin-Chi Teng Chin-Chi Teng has served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Digital and Signoff Group (DSG) since 2018. Prior to this role, Teng held senior leadership positions in research and development in digital implementation. Teng joined Cadence in 2002 via the acquisition of Silicon Perspective Corporation and subsequently led various research and development groups. He brought deep technical knowledge and more than 20 years of industry and academic experience to his role as leader of the IC Digital group. Teng holds a BS in electrical engineering from the National Taiwan University and an MS and Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He holds seven patents and has written many EDA papers, several deep learning papers, and the book Electrothermal Analysis of VLSI Systems. Robert (Bob) Smith is executive director of the ESD Alliance, a SEMI Technology Community.

A 500,000 ft2 (~47,000 m2) state-of-the-art cleanroom facility still towers as the largest U.S. high-technology investment in Vietnam 10 years after starting operations in Saigon High Tech Park in District 9, Ho Chi Minh City. The structure built by Intel Products Vietnam (IPV) on the back of a $1 billion investment is the largest assembly and test manufacturing facility (ATM) in the Intel assembly and test network. IPV turns out products that are helping power cutting-edge applications along with the next wave of semiconductor industry growth as it homes in on 5G, Internet of Things (IoT), desktop and mobile. And it has been a boon to the local economy, generating more than 5,000 high-skill jobs across a number of assembly and test disciplines since launching operations in 2010. It has also contributed to over US$37 billion in exports from 2010 to 2019, accounting for over 60% of Saigon High-Tech Park’s annual export values in 2019. With its vision “to create the future of Intel and Vietnam,” Intel continues to be a strong long-term partner in Vietnam. I recently spoke with Kim Huat (KH) Ooi, vice president of Manufacturing and Operations and General Manager at Intel Products Vietnam (IPV), about the facility’s vital role in Intel’s overall manufacturing operations, its support for the E E ecosystem in Ho Chi Minh City, and measures it has implemented to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the facility and protect employees. Ooi leads and manages the site to support Intel’s business in Vietnam. His responsibilities include overseeing factory operations and employee relations; enriching the Intel image and brand; building strategic relationships with communities, media, governments, and local authorities; and working with the industry ecosystem and government. IPV employees celebrate Intel’s 50th anniversary in 2018. Ng: How does IPV campus complement the rest of Intel manufacturing sites and be nearer your customers and supplier base?Ooi: Intel Vietnam is an important part of Intel’s manufacturing presence worldwide. IPV has been operating for nearly 14 years in Vietnam and has celebrated multiple milestones along the way. As a site, we have matured and grown over the years. In March this year, we celebrated a proud milestone – the rollout our 2 billionth unit – that reflects the value of IPV to Intel Corporation as these Made in Vietnam products support its customers worldwide. One of our philosophies is to work with and grow local ecosystems in countries where we operate. In Vietnam, Intel has been offering technical and managerial expertise to many local suppliers in Vietnam to help them expand their business and services to other foreign direct investment (FDI) customers in the industry. Over the past 10 years, Intel’s supplier list has grown 10-fold from 20 in 2010 to about 180 suppliers in 2020.In today’s world of fast-changing consumer preferences and expectations, we need to help drive development of the latest products and technologies to support strong customer demand and new product portfolios such as 5G. To support evolving customer requirements, our workforce frequently upgrades its skills to work on new products and technologies.Intel as a company is also evolving as it transforms from a PC-centric to a data-centric organization, a shift behind the more than US$70 billion in record revenue Intel posted in 2019. Intel’s data-centric business accounted for more than half of that revenue. IPV plays a key role in Intel’s expansion into new market segments.Ng: What are the key differentiating elements (talent, tax, technology, trade, EHS) in Vietnam that have been instrumental in supporting the E E ecosystem in Ho Chi Minh City?Ooi: Vietnam’s stable political environment and increasingly liberalized trade and investment policies are great for businesses. The region’s young, talented workforce is also one of many competitive advantages that enables it to attract foreign investment. Intel’s announcement to invest in Vietnam in 2006 has played a large part in helping put Vietnam on the map of the global IT and semiconductor industry. The news helped attract industry suppliers and service providers, bolstering Vietnam’s economy and creating jobs. The Vietnam government also figured prominently in sparking the boon by establishing the right policies and incentives to attract foreign investment. Since starting operations, we have seen significant improvements in infrastructure such as roads, ports, airports, broadband and power supply. Vietnam’s standing in the global business community is even stronger today after the government successfully combatted the COVID-19 pandemic early on and introduced policies to help businesses restart operations. We expect all these factors to continue to make Vietnam an attractive relocation target for companies around the world. Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Vice Chairman Mr. Duong Anh Duc (center) visited Intel Vietnam to tour the state-of-the-art facility. Ng: What measures have you implemented to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and protect employees? Ooi: COVID-19 has taken the world by storm and changed the way we work and live in many ways. It has unquestionably pushed the world to build stronger partnerships among individuals, organizations, businesses and communities. Intel’s manufacturing operations have continued to run at full capacity. Since the outbreak emerged, we have strictly followed required Intel safety measures as well as the Vietnam’s health guidelines. We have also implemented a number of other safety initiatives and protocols to ensure our business runs smoothly. We’re doing everything possible to ensure the well-being of our employees and help them better respond to the pandemic.In coordination with our strategic partners, we have been donating thousands of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the Fatherland Front and Department of Health (DoH) since early March. Recently, in partnership with AmCham Vietnam, Intel donated an imported ambulance with built-in essential equipment to the Ho Chi Minh City 115 Emergency Center. Intel has also teamed with Saigon Hi-Tech Park management to donate two ventilators and N95 masks to DoH.Our employees are also helping out by donating to Vietnam’s Coronavirus Donation Matching campaign. We collected US$13,000 from Intel employees and included matching funds from Intel Foundation to support three non-profit organizations (NPOs) – Saigon Children’s Charity, Kidspire Vietnam and Teach for Vietnam. All told, Intel Products Vietnam has donated US$200,000 to COVID-19 relief efforts, demonstrating our long-term commitment to communities where we operate. Intel Products Vietnam teamed with AmCham Vietnam to donate a fully equipped ambulance to Ho Chi Minh City’s 115 Emergency Center, demonstrating IPV’s long-term corporate social responsibility commitment. In early May, Intel unveiled our 2030 Corporate Strategy and goals to accelerate progress against the world’s critical challenges and help drive positive global outcomes. Part of our 2030 goals, our RISE (Responsible, Inclusive, Sustainable, Enabling) strategy focuses on the company’s commitment to its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives to create a more responsible, inclusive, safe and sustainable world through technology and collective action. IPV has also committed to implementing the RISE strategy in Vietnam with local community initiatives and technology interventions. Bee Bee Ng is president of SEMI Southeast Asia.

MEMS and image sensors are shining stars in the chip industry as technology companies worldwide accelerate innovation in the fight against COVID-19. The tiny devices are behind advances in areas of electronics ranging from thermal imaging and faster point-of-care testing to microfluidics-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tools and techniques to detect SARS-CoV-2.SEMI recently spoke with Yole Développement analysts Dimitrios Damianos and Chenmeijing Liang about MEMS and imaging sensors market trends and how microelectronics-enhanced technologies are supporting the worldwide push to contain the spread of COVID-19.For additional insights on the technologies, join the SEMI MEMS Imaging Sensors Summit, held for the first time at SEMICON Europa, 12-13 November 2020 in Munich, Germany. Registration is open.SEMI: Despite the global pandemic, the MEMS and sensors market is still growing and is one of the healthiest industries, not only in Europe, but globally. What is driving this growth?Damianos: MEMS have been continuously evolving from the first sensors that were measuring pressure and acceleration to rotation sensing and visible light management followed by light sensing beyond visible and the expansion to ultrasound and multi-spectral. Now we are heading towards an era where we want to sense every aspect of our environment, with more processing and eventually analytics bringing more quality to the data.COVID-19 has impacted various global markets in very different ways. While automotive, mobility and civil aviation have suffered, the impact on telecommunications and medical has been positive. The effects on the consumer, mobile and industrial markets have been moderate. Moreover, COVID-19 is changing the perception of the current global supply chain in manufacturing, potentially leading to more localized value chains and further regionalization in order to minimize similar risks posed by the pandemic and the first lockdown.SEMI: Who are the main MEMS players based on your research? Damianos: For MEMS players, the picture in 2019 was not the same as 10 years ago, when Texas Instruments (TI) and Hewlett-Packard (HP) were leading the scene, with Bosch and ST Microelectronics following, all at comparable revenue levels. Now, Broadcom and Bosch lead with almost $1.4 billion in revenue each, and the rest of the MEMS key stakeholders compete in the $400 million to $600 million league. Microphone players profited from the voice interface adoption trend, while players active in MEMS for mobility and smartphones suffered slightly due to weak end-system demand.SEMI: What scenarios can we expect for each market with regard to the impact of COVID-19 on MEMS for 2020? Damianos: For 2020, at Yole Développement we expect the consumer market to contract slightly by 2.6%, with the automotive market to dip by 27.5%, and defense and aerospace by 20.5%. For the defense market, no major effect is expected, as all major programs still run for the year. The market may experience some slight delays in deliveries due to supply chain and logistics problems. However, sensors integrated in commercial/civil aerospace applications will suffer due to the general paralysis of the air travel industry. On the positive side, telecommunications could increase by 4.7%, medical applications by 10.6%, and industrial by 11.5%.Due to the global pandemic, some types of MEMS have spiked in demand this year. For example, demand for thermopiles and microbolometers used in temperature guns and thermal cameras has increased because of the need for contactless monitoring of people’s temperatures. Moreover, microfluidics for DNA sequencing and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) diagnostic tests for detecting COVID-19 are gaining market relevance, with the latter serving as a premier method of detecting a bacteria or virus on the molecular level with high degrees of accuracy. Furthermore, pressure and flowmeters in ventilators will grow because of huge demand by hospital intensive care units (ICUs).SEMI: What growth trends do you predict for the long haul?Damianos: In the longer term, we expect global MEMS volumes to almost double, from 24.4 billion units in 2019 to 50.8 billion units in 2025, with a 13% CAGR during the same period. The global MEMS market could reach $17.7 billion in revenue by 2025.We see a trend to more wearable devices integrating a lot of sensors but also a move to a more consumer-oriented healthcare. Moreover, everything related to voice interfaces and voice/virtual-personal assistants (VPAs) will continue to see strong growth, increasing demand for MEMS mics with better quality and high-fidelity voice capture. MEMS devices are shifting to higher accuracy, ultra-low power, embedded intelligence and possibly some bio-compatibility for medical applications.MEMS players will try to escape the commoditization cycle and deliver more value by increasing the value of the data, either grouping many sensors to create sensor hubs or by adding processing, algorithms and software. Industry players are employing strategies such as adding extra processing close to the sensor (e.g. Knowles) or ameliorating the use cases of their applications of their clients (e.g. Bosch or ST). AI on the edge seems very alluring for extra value acquisition, with many startups already working on it. Some examples include always-on-sensing (Aspinity in collaboration with Infineon, Syntiant), echolocation (IMERAI) and predictive maintenance using inertial sensors (Cartesiam). This will be the next pit stop for MEMS technology for sure. SEMI: The CMOS Image Sensor (CIS) is a cornerstone technology in the development of devices powered by machine sensing and artificial intelligence (AI) for applications such as advanced driver assistance system (ADAS). CIS powers many of the ongoing revolutions in new technical products and use cases. What is the status of the image sensors industry? Liang: Last year was exceptional with a combination of high demand and high prices due to capacity limitations. Q4 2019 went way above the forecast, and, in the end, the CIS industry reached $19.3 billion for the full year. This year, we think it will return to normal, and, despite the pandemic impact, we expect significant growth in the range of 7% to 12%. Last year’s 25% year-over-year (YOY) growth was the highest we’ve seen over the past decade. Mobile still dominates the marketplace for CIS with 69% market share. Two markets, computing (8%) and consumer (5%), are adjacent to the mobile market but progressively losing ground due to the smartphone disruption.Security, at 6% market share, will probably be the second largest CIS market in the future. Although this is an area of excellence for the emerging Chinese players, unfortunately, they could be hit by the current trade war. The automotive market did very well from 2018 to 2019 because of the numerous applications recently developed for ADAS, viewing, and in-cabin applications. Lastly, the industrial camera applications benefited from large investments in automation, especially in the semiconductor and automotive industries, but here again many uncertainties remain as these markets will reshuffle in the post COVID-19 world. SEMI: Which CIS markets are most susceptible to seasonality and the impact of COVID-19?Liang: According to our quarterly CIS monitor, automotive and security were both negatively impacted by the pandemic beyond what we expected in terms of seasonality. For computing, the situation improved just prior the lockdown. Q1 got a positive impact with high sales results for laptops and tablets, but no significant impact was seen for security equipment. For automotive, the demand for cameras was very high in Q1, which is seasonally normal, despite the decrease of car shipments that followed later. The automotive CIS market in 2020 should remain relatively flat compared to 2019 due to the higher attachment rates of cameras despite the lower number of cars produced. Consumer and industrial segments dropped in Q1, which is typical early in the year.The next five years might be a bit slow, and although we forecast growth for the next year, in the future the market share will be lower in mobile. In fact, mobile CIS growth will fall below the CIS growth average, but we will see an increase of market share for the security, automotive and industrial segments. The CIS market could reach $28 billion in 2025.At first, COVID-19 had a limited impact on the production side, as factories in China are usually closed for the New Year holiday, when the pandemic started. While supply is currently recovering, we still consider the limited impact on demand. Smartphone production for 2020 will be down 6%, but camera shipments for mobile should increase about 10% this year. Another positive trend for the mobile market is optical fingerprint implementation. Currently, high-end Android phones use this kind of technology. For 2023, we estimate optical fingerprint technology revenue to be over $1 billion.The roadmap for the automotive market is driven by camera proliferation. We’ll see 10 cameras per car and more for some high-end vehicles. Increasing demand for safety and convenience will mean more cameras per car in the future. With a strong attachment rate, the market average in automotive is around 2.0 cameras per car nowadays, and we expect the market average to reach 3.5 cameras per car in 2025. In security, Charge Coupled Device (CCD)-based cameras are nearly out of the market, as CMOS-based IP cameras are most important now.SEMI: What are current key technology trends?Liang: 3D semiconductor technology is the hot topic. CIS wafer staking technology is indeed at the center of the CIS technology race. Future applications could be AI analytics or recently developed applications on new types of CIS. So far, we have seen the introduction of variants of the CIS pixel. Global shutter (GS) and indirect Time of Flight (iToF) were recently introduced, and now direct time-of-flight (dTOF) pixels are being used in high volume. 3D semiconductor technology is a bonanza for the industry, as it allows to pack more value in a single chip. While the surface of silicon is still increasing, additional silicon is added through stacking.With COVID-19 still a problem, the endpoint for smartphones in 2020 remains uncertain. The short-term impact for CIS will be slower growth with respect to the 25% YoY of last year. The downturn in car production will be mitigated by an increased attachment rate for automotive cameras. The security market will also help maintain CIS growth.For more insights, see the following reports: Status of the MEMS Industry 2020 3D Imaging and Sensing 2020 CIS Market Monitor Q2 2020 Dimitrios Damianos is a technology and market analysts at Yole Développement covering MEMS, Sensors, Photonics and Imaging. Chenmeijing Liang is a technology and market analysts at Yole Développement covering Imaging. Serena Brischetto is senior manager of Marketing and Communications at SEMI Europe.

Today’s mobile devices are smaller, more power-efficient, and have more capability than we could have imagined just a decade ago. Offering ever-increasing levels of user functionality, mobile devices are now ubiquitous, and are rapidly becoming the primary mechanisms through which we interact with the digital world, our physical environment, and one another. An unintended side effect of our dependence on the current crop of mobile devices is that they are driving us to distraction.A major industry dynamic will shake things up for the better. Sensors are getting smaller and more efficient, and they’re offering attractive new functionality, giving us the ability to monitor our air and water quality, assess potential toxins in our food sources, and analyze personal health conditions, to name a few use cases. At the same time, the realization of flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) through new materials and production processes, better integration with other electronic components, more efficient energy production and consumption, and pervasive wireless connectivity are fueling the next generation of devices and experiences. What can we expect from tomorrow’s mobile devices — and how can we manage them, instead of having them manage us?SEMI’s Nishita Rao caught up with Mike Wiemer, Ph.D., VP of Engineering, CTO and co-founder, Mojo Vision, to preview his February 25 keynote, The Art of the Possible, at FLEX|MEMS Sensors Technical Congress (MSTC) 2020, February 24-27 at the DoubleTree by Hilton in San Jose, California.Join us at FLEX|MSTC to meet Mike and other industry influencers advancing innovation in FHE and MEMS sensors. Register now to connect with him at FLEX|MSTC or visit him on LinkedIn.SEMI: Mojo Vision has conducted its own research on human interaction with mobile devices. Why is this important?Wiemer: Our mobile devices have given us access to the information we need and want, improving many aspects of our lives. But our devices have also influenced our relationships and attention to our environment in negative ways. We believe that the next mobile computing platform must improve this situation. Instead of pulling us away from the moment, our devices need to embrace more human-centric engagement while still letting us access information that improves our quality of life. Mojo Vision has worked to understand this problem through our own studies and research so we can better develop an approach to address it. SEMI: How are key technical trends driving size, efficiency and capability advancements in mobile devices?Wiemer: Tiny low-power sensors are enabling ever-smaller feature-rich mobile devices that run longer on a battery charge. Smartwatches are a good example. Just a few years ago, smartwatches were not that much more than small screens on our wrists. Today, we have GPS, EKG/health monitoring, and cellular wireless interfaces all inside the same form factor.As this trend continues, we at Mojo Vision predict that our devices will continue to shrink and become even more personal: They’ll be more continuously worn and matched to our own needs and behaviors. This trend towards invisible personal devices is something we’re trying to accomplish with our solutions at Mojo Vision.SEMI: What is Mojo Vision’s concept of “Invisible Computing?” Wiemer: Our vision of Invisible Computing is based on the idea that our wearable devices should be invisible to those around us, encouraging more human interactions. These wearables should be invisible and unobtrusive to users themselves. Our Mojo Lens, which contains a full display and sensors housed inside a contact lens platform, exemplifies this vision. Using proprietary microelectronics and the world’s densest microdisplay to layer digital images and information seamlessly, Mojo Lens is redefining augmented reality. Our mobile devices today continue to increase the quantity and magnitude of interruptions. We think that shouldn’t happen. As a socially invisible device that delivers contextual, relevant content, the Mojo Lens lets us go about our daily lives, naturally interacting with other people while simultaneously enjoying the benefits of augmented reality. We think Invisible Computing can change our relationship with our devices, as well as seemingly give us superpowers. For more information, download the Mojo Vision report, Device Distraction: Understanding the Problem, Re-Thinking the Solution.SEMI: Can you tell us more about Mojo Lens?Wiemer: At its foundation, Mojo Lens is a nanoLED display, radio and sensor platform, integrated using flex technologies, and placed on your eye to provide important information. Mojo Lens can elevate or suppress this information to decrease reliance on your other devices.Unlike your smartwatch or smartphone, which react to you in a binary manner because they don’t have enough information to make autonomous decisions, Mojo Lens understands the context of your experience. That’s because it’s based on our Invisible Computing platform, which can understand your activity. Mojo Lens recognizes if you’re engaged in a conversation, driving or having a coffee, and it reacts with information accordingly.Mojo Lens could act like a real-time interpreter, for example. When someone speaks to me in a language I don’t understand, I should see “subtitles.” Or if I’m having a conversation with someone, Mojo Lens wouldn’t interrupt me with a notification at that moment. For the 92% of Americans who are interrupted by their devices during conversations every day, this prioritization can boost productivity. More importantly, it can improve the quality of our connections with the people around us.Mojo Vision’s microLED platform offers a world-record pixel pitch of over 14,000ppi and pixel density of over 200Mppi², making it the smallest, densest display for dynamic — or moving — content. SEMI: What would you like FLEX|MSTC attendees to take away from your presentation?Wiemer: It feels like the speed at which people are defining important problems and tackling them is increasing every year. And there are so many important problems to solve: space travel, autonomous driving, electric vehicles, alternative energy, quantum computing, lifespan extension, increased food production, brain-computer interfaces, AR/VR. All these problems seem impossible and “crazy,” until some group of people comes along to put a framework in place that can address them. Interestingly, these frameworks aren’t necessarily new. Rather, they build upon existing technologies and capabilities.MEMS sensors and FHE are good examples. From smart textiles, flexible displays and biological sensors to miniature radars, MEMS sensors and FHE technologies are essential building blocks. Many of the big problems we can imagine today will be solved by stacking today’s MEMs and FHE technologies in imaginative new ways. So what do we do next? I’d like to encourage FLEX|MSTC attendees to first define the problem to solve and then define the technology — rather than starting with the technology solution. Mike Weimer is a serial entrepreneur and proven science and technology leader in complex systems development and integration. Before co-founding Mojo Vision as CTO, Weimer co-founded and served as president at Solar Junction, a high-efficiency solar cell company (acquired) where he and his team set two world records for the highest-efficiency solar cells ever made by humans.After Solar Junction, Wiemer joined New Enterprise Associates (NEA) as an Entrepreneur in Residence where he sourced new investments and helped portfolio companies to develop their business and funding strategies. He is a board director at Stratio Corporation and an advisor at Stanford’s StartX Accelerator. He holds a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.For more information, visit Mojo Vision.Interested in engaging with the MEMS sensors supply chain? MEMS Sensors Industry Group is a SEMI technology community that enables professionals in the MEMS and sensors industry to accelerate business results by addressing common challenges and opportunities.Nishita Rao is marketing manager for technology communities at SEMI.

Part 2 of 2-part series on MSEC 2019 highlights. Read Part 1. Neural Networks on ChipTo be sure, low power is king when bringing machine learning to the sensor edge. Battery-powered, always-on sensing devices require it since frequent recharging is the death knell of any electronic product. That’s why semiconductor companies are offering new ways to conserve power.“MEMS sensor suppliers have made significant strides in the power, size and performance of their devices,” said Aspinity CEO Tom Doyle. “Yet these gains deliver only incremental power improvements to the system.”Doyle advocates a new architectural model that uses an analog neuromorphic processor to analyze all sensor data at the start of the signal chain instead of sending it downstream so power-hungry chips such as DSPs can digitize it before analysis.“The technology industry wants to take advantage of the many benefits of always-on sensing applications,” said Doyle. “Before we can reach mass proliferation, however, we need to resolve the power issues that are deal-breakers for some applications. We believe the answer to this challenge is architectural. All the data gathered by always-on sensing systems is analog in nature, yet as soon as it’s captured, it’s digitized immediately for analysis. Determining which data is important up front eliminates the digitization and processing of irrelevant data so that voice-first devices such as smart speakers and wearables/hearables can run for long periods of time without requiring battery recharge.”Syntiant CTO Jeremy Holleman agreed that on-device intelligence is the future.“Did you just fall? Is your heartrate a bit off? Deep learning provides a toolset that yields vastly superior decisions,” said Holleman. “The problem is that deep learning is computationally intensive. The answer is a neural network that performs on-device edge inferencing.”Holleman added that Syntiant’s neural decision processor was recently certified as Amazon Voice Service (AVS)-compliant for wake-word detection, making it easier to design voice control in battery-powered devices such as earbuds and wearables.MSEC Technology Showcase WinnerWith the groundswell of interest in intelligence at the edge, it was no surprise that Cartesiam won top honors among all competitors in the MSEC Technology Showcase for its NanoEdge AI, software that brings AI to the edge of the signal chain, making it easier for designers to create intelligent objects that can learn and understand.“Unlike other AI algorithmic technologies for sensing devices, NanoEdge enables both learning and inference at the edge, providing accurate and adaptive intelligence,” said Cartesiam Managing Director and Co-founder Marc Dupaquier, who accepted the award. “It’s also the only tool of its kind that does not require data scientists on board for implementation, which saves a tremendous amount of money. Our clients can build a machine learning library and embed it into their own code within weeks to realize the same caliber of unsupervised neural network that was once the exclusive domain of AI cloud vendors.”MSIG 2019 Hall of FameAt this year’s conference, MSIG Director Carmelo Sansone recognized two longtime contributors to the commercialization of MEMS and sensors: Peter G. Hartwell, Ph.D., chief technology officer at InvenSense, a TDK group company; and Thomas Kenny, professor and senior associate dean of engineering at Stanford University.Hartwell leads technology strategy and the InvenSense advanced technology research group. He has more than 25 years’ experience commercializing silicon MEMS products, including advanced sensors and actuators, and developing MEMS testing techniques.Kenny’s academic accomplishments include authoring or co-authoring more than 250 scientific papers and holding 50 issued patents. He has also advised more than 50 graduated Ph.D. students from Stanford.MSEC 2020Mark your calendar for next year’s MSEC, October 12-14, at Coronado Island Marriott Resort Spa in Coronado, Calif. Get updates from MSIG on MSEC and other upcoming events including MSTC 2020.Stay in Touch with MSIGMEMS Sensors Industry Group (MSIG), a SEMI Strategic Association Partner, is the industry association representing the global MEMS and sensors supply chain. To learn how MSIG enables professionals in the MEMS and sensors industry to innovate, address common challenges and accelerate business results, visit us today.Connect with MSIG on Twitter and LinkedIn. Subscribe to SEMI Blog: Technology and Trends.Maria Vetrano is a public relations consultant at SEMI.

Despite market saturation and stagnation saddling many business sectors, MEMS remains a shining star in the semiconductor industry. Opportunities in automotive, consumer electronics, mobile, medical are rising. What is supporting this industry growth? Who are the big players on the horizon?SEMI spoke with Dimitrios Damianos, Technology Market Analyst, Photonics, Sensing and Display division at Yole Développement, about MEMS market dynamics and future trends. Damianos shared his views ahead of his presentation at SEMI MEMS Imaging Sensors Summit, 25-27 September, 2019, at the WTC in Grenoble, France. Join us at the event to meet experts from Yole and many other key industry influencers. Registration is open.SEMI: MEMS and sensors is one of the healthiest industries not only in Europe but globally. Despite a global economic slowdown, the MEMS and sensors is still growing. What is fueling this growth?Damianos: The value of the global MEMS and sensor market will almost double from $48 billion in 2018 to $93 billion in 2024. In 2018 the MEMS and sensor market represented more than 10% of the total IC market, as more and more MEMS devices and sensors, such as MEMS, image sensors, and RF filters, are integrated in end products in consumer and automotive. In particular, the value of the MEMS-only market reached $11.6 billion in 2018, with consumer applications accounting for more than 60% of the total market. From 2019 to 2024 the MEMS market will grow 8.3% annually in value driven by pressure (for TPMS), RF (for V2X 5G communications), inertial (for ADAS) and future MEMS (such as pMUT for ultrasonic fingerprint) (Source: Status of the MEMS Industry report, Yole Développement, 2019). SEMI: How are MEMS shaping the semiconductor industry today? Damianos: MEMS have a make-smarter enabling capability. They are providing context for new applications and services in transportation, mobility, health, and security. Large companies such as Alibaba and Google are considering MEMS as a critical element in their business solution domains covering the upcoming smart home, smart campus, smart city and smart industry applications. MEMS have key features that correspond to these companies’ criteria for accuracy, small size (without performance degradation), low power and always on (e.g. microphones). Furthermore, with the advent of sensor fusion and edge computing, more sensor data can be processed, maximizing the qualitative and useful information about us and our surroundings. This has a huge impact in all markets, especially consumer.SEMI: MEMS foundries performed well thanks to the boom in industrial and medical applications. Who are the big players right now?Damianos: During 2018, all foundries saw their revenue increase. STMicroelectronics, Teledyne Dalsa, Silex, IMT, Micralyne and Philips Innovation Service are important MEMS foundry players that offer services for various MEMS devices used in medical and industrial markets, among others. On one hand, medical applications were driven mostly by microfluidics, flowmeters, pressure and inertial MEMS. On the other hand, industrial applications were driven by inkjet heads, microbolometers and pressure MEMS. The market prospect, however, is huge for RF MEMS and oscillators that will be used in next-generation 5G infrastructure. SEMI: What is the current status of MEMS for automotive applications? What are the related market drivers? Damianos: In automotive applications, accelerometers and pressure sensors still account for the lion’s share in units. Pressure sensors will grow at more than 8% with Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) implemented in Chinese vehicles in the near future. After 2019 and 2020, with the new Chinese standard, GB 2614, TPMS will become compulsory: 100% of all new vehicles will have TPMS. Also, automotive MEMS could grow quicker than the corresponding car market (currently at approximately 3%). The reason is a higher number of many different MEMS devices that are being integrated in cars, such as MEMS inertial measurement units (IMUs), TPMS, environmental MEMS for gas and particle monitoring in-cabin and microphones for hands-free voice commands.SEMI: After years of decline, the inkjet heads industry is growing again. What other segments are benefiting from MEMS technology applications? Can you name two examples?Damianos: RF MEMS (BAW filters) is also benefiting from applications in smartphones and will continue to benefit with the arrival of 5G. 5G means additional high frequency sub-6 GHz bands that can only be addressed by BAW filters. Moreover, new infrastructure approach using active antennas will create an expanding market for BAW.Another segment is inertial sensors. Inertial MEMS already have a high potential in wellness and fitness wearables and are gaining support for medical wearable applications to monitor patient activity, with the aim to prevent seizure in cases of epilepsy and other mental disorders. Compared to other types of sensors, MEMS is the golden technology for inertial sensors integrated into medical wearables. They are used for rehabilitation systems, activity trackers and assistance living/fall detection. Specifically, the IMU market will continue to grow for consumer and automotive applications as their price and form factor continue to shrink and they replace traditional standalone MEMS accelerometers and gyroscopes. However, the inertial sensor market will mostly grow for smartphone applications (mostly 6DOF, with 9DOF volumes being comparatively low).SEMI: Give us one prediction about the opportunities offered by the MEMS technology. Damianos: Sensor fusion is becoming more and more relevant since billions of MEMS sensors are made every year. The upcoming 5G revolution will make connectivity easier than ever, creating exponentially more data. To make these data meaningful, data processing is mandatory. Big data is an industry born of recent advancements in AI and machine learning, built upon and fueled by a wealth of new data from ever-expanding sensor applications. An upcoming trend is edge computing, with sensors and MEMS driving a new age of technology. Sensors are digitizing the human experience, and as the real and virtual worlds move closer together, it will be sensors that bind them, enabling new experiences for users everywhere. Running AI at the edge, coupled with sensor fusion, will open new applications for MEMS in audio, motion, olfactometry, and imaging. We also expect that new MEMS devices (microspeakers, ultrasonic fingerprint, pMUT) and piezoelectric MEMS technology could rejuvenate the MEMS market. SEMI: What are your expectations for SEMI MEMS Imaging Sensors Summit and why would you invite your peers to attend? Damianos: SEMI is organizing another very successful event, gathering experts from the Imaging and MEMS industries. We are at a turning point of innovation, with many technological advancements in AI, IoT, AR/VR, biometrics, and other areas where Imaging and MEMS technologies are paramount. Yole is excited to hear the thoughts of many high-profile experts on existing activities and future prospects within their organizations. If you are too, then it is an event that you shouldn’t miss!Dimitrios Damianos, Ph.D. is a Technology and Market Analyst in the Photonics, Sensing and Display division at Yole Développement (Yole). Damianos is a member of a Yole team that produces technology and market reports on the imaging industry including photonics and sensors. Damianos holds a MSc degree in Photonics from the University of Patras (Greece). After his research on theoretical and experimental quantum optics and laser light generation, Dimitrios pursued a Ph.D. in optical and electrical characterization of dielectric materials on silicon with applications in photovoltaics and image sensors, as well as SOI for microelectronics at Grenoble’s university (France). He has also authored and co-authored several scientific papers in international peer-reviewed journals. Learn more! Join the webinar on 5th September 2019. Registration is open! Serena Brischetto is a marketing and communications manager at SEMI Europe.

Air pollution is one of the grand challenges facing the entire planet — from the wealthiest nations to the least developed. The World Health Organization reports that nine out of 10 people breathe air containing high levels of pollutants, and that polluted air takes over seven million lives annually through stroke, heart disease and respiratory ailments.As a result, the world is thirsty for reliable, high-performing chemical and environmental sensors that can provide previously unavailable real-time awareness of environmental conditions. On one level, this seems like a relatively simple step, given that smartphones are already equipped with miniaturized sensing technologies that can monitor our living environment and activities.While highly desirable, embedding air pollution sensors in common mobile and wearable devices has not been feasible previously because the necessary trade-offs between high performance and miniaturization have made it impossible.This situation drove a CEA-Leti team to develop a novel generation of fully integrated optical chemical sensors that leverage MEMS technologies. The team successfully merged multiple functionalities on the same chip, using integrated optics and photonics, fluidics, acoustics and electromechanical transduction. How did the team overcome significant technical obstacles to design a proof-of-concept device that senses multiple environmental pollutants — housed in a minimal hardware footprint?Advancing Chemical Sensor Capabilities with Silicon Featuring high selectivity, real-time performance, and fully reversible capabilities, optical chemical sensors are perfect candidates for industrial, environmental and biomedical applications. Consequently, in recent years, worldwide R D initiatives have invested substantial effort to improve them.R D programs have focused particularly on the mid-infrared (Mid-IR) wavelength range (2.5 - 12 µm) — also known as the molecule fingerprint region, which provides a unique combination of fundamental absorption order-of-magnitude bands and unambiguous identification of specific chemicals. A multitude of molecules generate strong and distinct absorption lines in the Mid-IR, providing a foundation for accurate spectroscopic detection. Traditionally, however, these sensors have required large and expensive lenses for infrared (IR) light, making them too big and costly for resource-constrained wearables and mobile devices.Fortunately, recent advances in integrated silicon photonics and quantum cascade laser (QCL) technologies have spurred investigation of new chemical sensor architectures. Richard Soref, a research professor at the University of Massachusetts Boston’s department of engineering, introduced the extension of Near-IR technology into the longer-wave Mid-IR infrared region in 2006. Soref’s concept showed that highly sensitive and selective gas sensors could be fabricated on planar substrates at low cost by co-integrating silicon MEMS, group IV photonics, and specifically designed III-V hetero-structures.While this approach showed promise, it preceded the widespread availability of most mobile devices and wearables. Foreseeing today’s proliferation of those devices, CEA-Leti developed the different building blocks required to implement these concepts in real devices.A New Concept of Integrated OpticsLeveraging these interesting findings, the institute developed a new combination of integrated optics and multiple sensor functions on a single chip: QCL sources, a photo-acoustic (PA) cell, and a mid-IR photonic integrated circuit (PIC) combiner. Their integration on a planar substrate (Figure 1) helped to achieve higher performance, new capabilities, and higher reliability at lower cost, all in a smaller package (less than a 1 cm3 or smaller than a 1-cent coin) with reduced weight and power consumption (less than 100 mJ per measurement). Figure 1: Fully integrated optical sensor (Courtesy: CEA Leti) This configuration represents a multi-gas-detection enabler. The PIC replaces costly, fragile discrete optics while the PA detector uses a MEMS microphone to replace bulky multi-pass cells.PA spectroscopy is among the most sensitive techniques available for monitoring chemical emissions or detecting gas traces. It relies on excitation of the chemical with a pulsed light source emitting at the absorption wavelengths of such molecules. The relaxation process creates local periodic variations of the temperature, resulting in stationary pressure waves, which high-performance microphones can detect.This new generation of devices, fully fabricated on silicon, shows performance comparable with state-of-the-art systems, with the huge bonus of small size and power efficiency that work well for mobile and wearable electronics. By supporting integration onto common technological platforms, such as on-chip photoacoustic sensors, researchers have successfully realized these miniaturized and cost-effective Mid-IR photonic devices in silicon. Mobile device and wearables manufacturers can now take advantage of manufacturable integrated devices for applications that are highly sensitive to size, performance and cost. Adding gas sensing to mobile devices and wearables is now very feasible.For more information on chemical sensing at CEA-Leti, please visit or contact: http://www.leti-cea.com/cea-tech/leti/englishCEA-Leti is an active member of SEMI-MEMS Sensors Industry Group. The technology research institute, along with Fraunhofer and imec, recently joined SEMI’s family as a Strategic Association Partner under a memorandum of understanding (MOU). Under this agreement, CEA-Leti will work with SEMI to advance technology roadmaps, industry standards and cutting-edge technologies including Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning that enable new capabilities across healthcare, automotive and other electronics manufacturing ecosystems. Sergio Nicoletti has more than 20 years of experience in micro and nanofabrication, including magnetic, superconducting and chemical sensing devices and technologies. Having joined CEA-Leti in 2006 as project manager for optical sensing devices used in chemical detection, Nicoletti is currently business development manager at the institute.Previous positions include research and project management at CNR-IMM (Bologna, Italy) and at Hitachi Global Storage Technologies. Nicoletti was also a visiting scientist at HGST (San Jose, Calif.), where he worked on magnetic recording-head devices.Nicoletti holds more than 20 patents and has more than 70 publications in peer-reviewed journals. In 2016, he was appointed coordinator of the European H2020 project MIRPHAB and is director of the project’s pilot line.Nicoletti received his Ph.D. in physics, with a focus on HTc superconducting devices, from Université Joseph Fourier (Grenoble, France). References“Photoacoustic cell on silicon for mid-infrared QCL-based spectroscopic analysis,” JG Coutard, A Glière, JM Fedeli, O Lartigue, J Skubich, G Aoust, A Teulle, T Strahl, S Nicoletti, M Carras, L Duraffourg. Proceedings Volume 10931, MOEMS and Miniaturized Systems XVIII; 109310V (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2506514“Miniaturization of mid-IR sensors on Si: challenges and perspectives,” S Nicoletti, JM Fédéli, M Fournier, P Labeye, P Barritault, A Marchant, A Glière, A Teulle, J Coutard, L Duraffourg - Silicon Proceedings Volume 10923, Silicon Photonics XIV; 109230H (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2506759