Automotive

Call it a wild guess, but I suspect I am not the only follower of the automotive industry who is tired of reading articles that lament the impact of Covid-19 and speculate, to varying degrees of accuracy, what kind of recovery is in store for major automotive markets around the world.I’m much more interested in what solutions and creative approaches people, companies, and countries have come up with to make cars smarter and safer despite the pandemic or even because of it.A friend of mine who works at a major European vehicle OEM told me that “innovation cannot, must not stop – despite current difficulties.” This sentiment echoes through the automotive supply chain, particularly in the resilience of the semiconductor industry during these challenging times.The recent publication of the AspenCore Guide to Sensors in Automotive – Making Cars See and Think Ahead is a refreshingly positive and inspiring collection of articles, interviews, technology deep dives and business news, all carefully curated and edited by AspenCore Global Editor-in-Chief Junko Yoshida.One article I particularly enjoyed was her “6 Trends on ‘Perception’ for ADAS/AV.” The insights she was able to gather from experts attending the AutoSens show in Brussels are fascinating, even if consensus on what, exactly, will be the winning “robust perception” solution appears to be far off. This is only fitting with so many companies elbowing for that prime spot!Another feature article that stood out was Nitin Dahad’s “Level 5 AVs Unlikely Before 2035” article. It wasn’t so much the longer ramp to full autonomy that caught my eye but the daunting challenge the automotive industry and AVs have to tackle: “…all possible unusual driving situations under all driving conditions and in all environments.” This is truly a mind-boggling undertaking. The author argues that the road to Level 5 “is likely to be paved gradually, as more advanced driver-assistance features come to market.” Sounds reasonable.Both these articles point to the need for collaboration across the automotive electronics supply chain in order to not only sustain the pace of innovation, but accelerate it, as we face our current challenges. This made me think about the SEMI Smart Mobility initiative and how the great minds supporting it might be able to help. The initiative is designed to bring together automotive OEMs, Tier 1s, device makers, design houses, equipment and materials companies as well as R D institutes to address shared challenges and opportunities.SEMI used to stand for Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International, but over the past several years – and driven by the advent of IoT, AI, and everything “smart” – we now represent the entire electronics manufacturing and design ecosystem, with more than 2,400 member companies on our global roster. We created the Smart Mobility initiative in late 2017 with the initial goal of connecting a substantial number of members to new business opportunities involving rapidly rising silicon content in automotive. IHS Markit projects automotive semiconductor revenue to continue to grow at a 6% CAGR to 2026.Over the past 2 ½ years, the initiative has quickly evolved into a global platform connecting the semiconductor, sensor and automotive electronics ecosystem under one roof – the Global Automotive Advisory Council or GAAC. While “silicon content” is still the operative word for many of our core members, the Council’s mission is to address opportunities and challenges that impact more than one segment of the value chain. For example, the challenge of getting to zero defects involves just about every stakeholder – from contamination control in wafer carriers to ensuring device reliability and robustness to packaging and, ultimately, system integration in the car.SEMI also encompasses a number of Technology Communities that provide deep technical expertise in support of the GAAC’s mission. Member companies in our MEMS Sensors Industry Group (MSIG) are directly engaged in and contributing to the GAAC work. GAAC Europe Chapter - Participating Companies“Sensorizing” – making things smarter through the application of sensors – has created solutions for the automotive and mobility space that bring innovation, safety, security and comfort to driver and passenger and that benefit the environment around the car.This makes the AspenCore Guide to Sensors in Automotive a great resource for our members and SEMI staff as we collaborate to accelerate the drive toward Level 5 autonomy.If you are interested in learning more about SEMI’s Smart Mobility and the GAAC, please contact Bettina Weiss, Chief of Staff and Global Smart Mobility Lead at [email protected] with permission from EE Times.

In the first part of this double feature, we looked at the automotive industry’s transition toward a mobility ecosystem and the shifting business model perspective from selling vehicles to miles. At the core of these changing dynamics are four trends represented by the acronym ACES: Autonomous, Connected, Electric, and Shared mobility. Each of these trends is largely enabled by microelectronics through computer processors, sensor units, and communication architectures. Part 2 of this series explores the business opportunities at the transition from automotive to mobility, and the specific role SEMI can play as a natural bridge between the two ecosystems.Electronics and Software as Drivers for Automotive InnovationThe ACES trends represent an acceleration of the shift in automotive from the industry’s traditionally strong focus on mechanics and hardware toward electronics and software. This transition to electronics and software as drivers for automotive innovation already started in the 1970s with electronic fuel injection, anti-lock brakes, trip computers, and many other attributes that are now considered standard features. As a result, there are now hardly any automotive systems that are not computer-controlled. A vehicle without power windows and locks, electronic climate control, or MEMS-reliant airbags are basically unimaginable in many markets.As shown in the graphic[1] depicting the electronics share of total vehicle cost, the numbers paint a clear picture of the continued growth of electronics over time, with a 44% share today expected to grow to 50% by 2030. McKinsey Company estimates the automotive software and electrical/electronic (E/E) components markets combined will grow at a 7% CAGR from USD 238 billion in 2020 to US$469 billion by 2030[2].The assumption of continued and sustained growth presents a promising outlook for semiconductor and sensor content in vehicles over the next decade, which is particularly strong in the electrification space. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) already contain $900 worth of semiconductor content, and battery-based electric vehicles (EVs) contain $1,000 worth of semiconductors – much higher than the average of approximately $450 of content in conventional vehicles[2]. Other business opportunities in the mid-term (3-5 years) include software, battery technology, infrastructure (charging stations, other hardware components, etc.), as well as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-environment (V2X) communication. These technologies also demonstrate how the industry’s business focus is expanding beyond the confinement of an individual vehicle to increasingly contemplating the evolving ecosystem around it, resulting in real mobility solutions. Image credit: Continental AG This creates significant opportunities for a large number of SEMI members in the semiconductors and sensors business by connecting them with new customers and partners in the automotive and mobility supply chains, primarily vehicle manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers, and together realizing new business in new automotive applications such as: Autonomy, including ADAS (GPUs, LiDAR, radar, camera, accelerometers...) Connectivity (link to outside infrastructure and in-cabin devices, roadside units...) Electrification (power electronics, battery monitoring, H2 detection in fuel-cell...) Sharing (customizable vehicle interior, trackable mobility devices such as scooters...) In-cabin experience (media systems, displays, VR/AR, occupant detection...) Vehicle architecture (flex-ray, automotive ethernet, diagnostics, smart parts...) Safety and security (HW/SW firewall, parts authentication, upgradability...) In these partnerships, the vehicle manufacturers and component suppliers clearly benefit from leveraging semiconductor capabilities including: Device and system reliability/robustness/quality (“Zero Defect”), which creates opportunities for new SEMI Standards (e.g. wafer-to-device/system traceability) New design architectures for added functionality, safety and security New packaging solutions (automotive OEMs are already participating in the Heterogeneous Integration Roadmap, seeking to collaborate with device manufactures and Original Semiconductor Assembly Test (OSAT) companies to reduce costs and differentiate on automotive-grade solutions Sensors and imaging (cameras) SEMI Smart Mobility Initiative – Connecting Mobility and ElectronicsSEMI launched its Smart Mobility Initiative in 2018 based on the mandate of providing “SEMI members with access to new business opportunities and collaborative platforms in the automotive electronics supply chain.” The initiative is currently focused on synchronizing the automotive and microelectronics supply chains for automotive electronics innovation – in particular semiconductor devices, sensors, and related products manufactured for this space and sold to vehicle OEMs and Tier 1s. To facilitate closer dialogue among stakeholders from this combined ecosystem, SEMI formed the Global Automotive Advisory Council (GAAC) which now has five regional chapters and represents dozens of companies. Collectively, GAAC members discuss and act on a wide range of topics, from Silicon Carbide (SiC) standardization to new design architectures and closing the OEM requirement gap.While continuing to build on the strong automotive foundation, SEMI’s Smart Mobility Initiative is now expanding its reach and scope of activities to broader mobility themes, such as infrastructure and battery technology and Smart City, to infuse SEMI member communities and the GAAC with new stakeholders and new ideas. These are exciting times!Please contact Bettina Weiss, Chief of Staff at SEMI, at [email protected] for further information about SEMI’s Smart Mobility Initiative, the Global Automotive Advisory Council, and how SEMI can help your organization navigate electronics in the automotive industry to drive innovation in the mobility space.[1] see graphic, created with data from NXP / Freescale[2] Source: McKinsey Company, 2019Microelectronics Power the Future of Mobility – Part 1: Autonomous, Connected, Electric and SharedBettina Weiss is Chief of Staff and Global Smart Mobility Lead at SEMI. Sven Beiker is Smart Mobility Consultant at SEMI.

As the amount of electronics in automobiles continues to increase, it is becoming more common to hear a vehicle referred to as a “computer on wheels.” To that end, innovation occurs at the intersection of automotive and microelectronics so that leveraging synergies and contemplating joint initiatives becomes crucial in shaping the future of both fields. In this two-part article, we will discuss the current trends in the automotive industry, which are to a large extent driven by microelectronics, and will reflect on the transition from “just the vehicle” to “the mobility ecosystem.”SEMI encourages its members to partner in seizing opportunities in safe, efficient, and convenient mobility solutions. Before diving into specific opportunities that the automotive industry offers to electronics companies, we will start by taking a closer look at this sector and the current trends.Automotive or Mobility? Shaping the New EcosystemThe automotive industry and its supply chain of vehicle manufacturers and component suppliers has been evolving for decades around the sales of vehicles. The customer groups used to be fairly well established with individual consumers and commercial entities, the latter often as fleets. The automotive industry has grown in depth by vertically integrating design, manufacturing, sales, service, accessories, etc. More recently, the traditional players have also begun to venture into mobility services such as car sharing, showing their ambitions to become “mobility providers.”The term “mobility” has been used increasingly instead of “automotive” for about a decade now. This reflects the more recent transition to creating businesses and functionalities around the sales of miles. In line with this, the industry’s perspective is also shifting toward use-cases and experience rather than just focusing on the vehicle or plain transportation. Much of this transition from “vehicles to miles” is driven by key trends that require massive use of microelectronics, in particular autonomous driving and electric vehicles.One of the key questions to raise for SEMI members is: at which stages should the supply chains for the microelectronics and mobility industries interact with one another to shape the evolving ecosystem? In order to answer this question, we will examine the four main trends shaping the future of mobility represented in the acronym “ACES”: Autonomous, Connected, Electric, Shared.ACES – Autonomous, Connected, Electric, SharedThese four trends, together with the broader transition from “vehicle to miles,” also include newcomers “disrupting” the industry and changing it for good. Basically, every mobility player, traditional or new, is taking ACES (or CASE) into consideration at the moment.Autonomy: computers are taking over the task of driving from humans, first through advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and then at some point with complete self-driving. Following the levels of automation from zero to five, as defined by SAE International[1], the current market frontier is SAE Level 2, which means the vehicle can under certain situations (e.g. highway) drive itself but has to be monitored by the driver at all times. Many industry experts assume that artificial intelligence and computing power hold the key to higher levels of automation.Connectivity: vehicles are increasingly exchanging data with a central hub and with one another through cellular, WiFi, satellite, etc. At present, there are mostly entertainment and convenience offerings on the market, but maintenance and safety functionalities are emerging. One key differentiation between solutions is whether connectivity is “built-in” with embedded OEM solutions, “brought-in” (e.g. smartphone apps independent of vehicle or dashboard navigation systems), or “tethered” (e.g. smartphone used as communication gateway).Electrification: traditional mechanical and fossil-fuel-powered vehicle driveline components are increasingly being replaced by electrical components. The spectrum includes hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), plug-in HEV (PHEV), battery-based electric vehicles (EV), and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles (FCV). The transition from traditional to electrified driveline technology requires more and more diverse electronics, such as more control systems, sensors and high-voltage systems. Ultimately though, the transition requires fewer systems, i.e. ignition, injection and multiple other systems being replaced by high-voltage power electronics and battery monitoring.Sharing: a growing number of consumers are seeking convenient access to mobility to get “from A to B” while viewing vehicle ownership as a burden rather than a benefit. Typical forms of this trend include car-sharing, ride-sharing, ride-hailing, micro-mobility, and micro-transit. Mobile computing enables much of the convenience that shared mobility offers, such as instant access, competitive and convenient payments, and flexible work opportunities (i.e. “gig economy”). Therefore, electronics, connectivity, and computing all play an important role in this trend.SEMI as the Natural Convener for Industry Exchange and ProgressClearly, for all four of the ACES trends, microelectronics play a crucial role in driving mobility innovation and making future solutions safe, efficient, and convenient. Based on this, mobility represents one of the largest opportunities for semiconductors: by 2025[2], a projected 14% of all integrated circuits produced globally will go into vehicles. As the trade association representing the complete microelectronics manufacturing and design supply chain, SEMI is positioned as a natural convener of experts for cross-industry and pre-competitive exchanges with the automotive supply chain. This positioning led to the foundation of the Smart Mobility initiative at SEMI, in part, to facilitate collaboration across these increasingly interdependent supply chains. The second part of this blog will present opportunities for electronics based on the ACES trends in the automotive industry, along with an overview of the Smart Mobility initiative.[1] © SAE International from SAE J3016™ Taxonomy and Definitions for Terms Related to Driving Automation Systems for On-Road Motor Vehicles (2018-06-05), https://www.sae.org/standards/content/j3016_201806/ (retrieved 05/5/2020)[2] Source: IC InsightsMicroelectronics Power the Future of Mobility – Part 2: Opportunities for ElectronicsBettina Weiss is Chief of Staff and Global Smart Mobility Lead at SEMI. Sven Beiker is Smart Mobility Consultant at SEMI.

This article is the second in a series highlighting the vital importance of SEMI Standards to commemorate the publication of the 1000th SEMI Standard in July 2019. Find the entire series here.Chip traceability. It’s one of the next big things for the technology industry. The benefits are enormous, and the upsides — which include enhancing yields by identifying the sources of reliability issues, fighting counterfeiting, and growing the overall technology market by enabling new applications — are plentiful.But the implementation challenges of chip traceability are also big and will require considerable effort to overcome. Perhaps the biggest hurdle of all is that we need to transcend industry fears by demonstrating that we can secure IP when it is shared across the hardware supply chain. What will drive the technology industry to make the necessary investments in traceability? “Automotive will drive traceability,” asserted Doug Suerich, product evangelist at PEER Group and an active participant in the SEMI Standards Traceability Committee. “If I had to guess, the autonomous car in particular will drive a traceability-standard effort.”Where Reliability is CriticalWhen your laptop crashes, it’s annoying. But when a car crashes because of a system failure, the damages can be severe and catastrophic It’s also one that is poised to get exponentially larger as we see ever greater amounts of silicon content in vehicles.Fortunately, everyone can agree on the nature of the solution. The industry needs to create a standard for traceability throughout the supply chain. When lives are at risk, we must find and fix the manufacturing source of any defects that affect reliability. That’s understood. Now it’s the not-so-small matter of figuring out the details.Of course, it’s not just about cars. Manufacturers and users of medical devices and military platforms also put a premium on extended, high levels of reliability. In the technology industry, however, the automotive market represents such enormous growth potential that we view it as integral to future industry success.At a market size of more than $1 trillion, automotive is steadily becoming a high-tech market as cars transform into advanced technology platforms that offer partially or fully autonomous features. Vehicles are fast becoming semiconductors on wheels. With leaders from Google to General Motors investing heavily in chip advances, the automotive industry will demand a supply chain that requires chip and device traceability from all its participants.The SEMI Technology Communities and Standards Committee have made some inroads toward solving the traceability challenge with their development and publication of a SEMI Standard enabling traceable device-level identification (ID) throughout the IC manufacturing, test, and assembly processes to the point of use in the final system. The standard is a meaningful first step but overcoming the challenges of counterfeiting and information sharing remain and will require greater industry collaboration.“It comes down to a safety issue,” said Suerich. “We need the ability to collect data across the supply chain, so we can trace down the source of a reliability issue, analyze the data and take corrective actions around applications for which safety is critical. Automotive, medical and aerospace devices need to keep working over five, 10 or even more years. For the semiconductor industry, that means redefining yield.”Traceability Roadmap“It’s going to be a major challenge to share data throughout the supply chain, not just technologically, but culturally as well,” added Suerich. “It will take a concerted effort, and we’re just in the early stages of figuring out some of the IP protection issues.”While traceability is new ground for the culture of the semiconductor industry, the automotive industry has long embraced tracing the sources of defects. In some cases, automotive suppliers have issued wide-ranging product recalls due to safety concerns. The Takata airbag defect, for example, resulted in tens of millions of recalled airbags. As the automotive and semiconductor supply chains increasingly overlap, SEMI committees and task forces are in an ideal position to model traceability best practices in after those implemented by the automotive industry.“We’re going to need an organization like SEMI to coordinate and organize this,” observed Suerich. “While we’re still in the early phases of figuring this out, the market potential around automotive has attracted a critical mass of powerful companies who want a solution. We need to standardize a way to tag which information can flow up and down the chain, and which is protected. I think we’re looking at more than five years of hard work around new standards.”Semiconductor companies are understandably cautious about sharing data related to their proprietary processes because the value of the intellectual property and need to protect data is simply higher than in many other industries. “Automotive offers the perfect confluence of factors to drive traceability in semiconductors,” Suerich concluded. “There is increasing silicon content as well as lives and big money at stake, and motivated players at leading companies and within government institutions want to see progress.”Use your voice to affect standardization in and around the microelectronics industry. Learn about SEMI International Standards – and become part of the solution. Learn more about SEMI's traceability activities. Heidi Hoffman is senior director of technology communities marketing at SEMI. Hoffman and her team shine a spotlight on the work of the more than 20 technology communities under the SEMI electronics manufacturing supply chain collaboration platform. Actively engaging community members in marketing programs that showcase their unique value, Hoffman’s team helps companies grow and prosper through the power of connection, collaboration and innovation.

SEMI spoke with Antoine Amade, Regional Senior Director EMEA at Entegris, about the challenges set by the car industry, and the concept of “zero defect” and the need for a collaborative approach ahead of his presentation at the Strategic Materials Conference at SEMICON Europa 2018, 13-16, November 2018, in Munich, Germany. To register for the event, click here.SEMI: The automotive industry is setting new challenges. This is very exciting source of growth for the global supply chain, but what are in your opinion the automotive requirements of the future?Amade: By 2030, 50% of the car cost will be electronics related. With the autonomous cars, there will be no tolerance for any type of chip defects because it will have a direct impact on human safety. With that in mind, higher reliability, increased efficiency and control across the supply chain will be the main requirements of the automotive industry.SEMI: Is the New Collaborative Approach the solution to overcome the challenges related to the automotive requirements of the future such as defects and contamination? What can you tell us about this approach?Amade: The automotive industry presents a great challenge to all of us, reaching the ppb level in terms of defectivity. In other words, this zero defects objective requires a collective awareness and understanding: Within an aging and more complex manufacturing environment, we all need to challenge the status quo and go for a new collaborative approach.SEMI: What does Entegris propose?Amade: We trust that contamination control has a major role to play to reach the zero defects. We are now in the 3rd generation of contamination control. After the focus on the cleanroom environment and equipment, materials are now at the center of the attention. With Entegris offering the broadest portfolio in terms of advanced chemicals, filtration and purification, and materials handling, we’re uniquely positioned to address precision, purity, integrity, and safety challenges.SEMI: How could this support fab managers in their daily challenges and mid-term future objectives?Amade: The new collaborative approach is a journey. It is a consultative process to provide a fresh set of eyes and expertise on the key areas of concerns in the fabs. It is a multidisciplinary approach with zero defectivity as the main goal. It is focused on base line improvement, better process control, more uniformity and prevention of excursions.SEMI: What do you expect from SEMICON Europa Strategic Materials Conference?Amade: It's the perfect platform to deliver our message in front of the whole ecosystem. It obviously concerns the fabs, but also material suppliers, and even carmakers. We expect this new view of collaboration will create an engagement from all parties. It is not a coincidence that this is called New Collaborative Approach. Antoine Amade joined Entegris in 1995 as an application engineer in its semiconductor business. In his current role as EMEA Sr. Regional Director, Mr. Amade manages a sales, customer service and marketing team responsible for growing the semiconductor business in Europe and Middle East.Mr. Amade held leadership positions at Entegris including gas microcontamination market management, strategical account management and regional sales management. He has a degree in Chemical Engineering from ENS Chimie Lille and is a member of Semi Electronic Materials Group for Europe. Serena Brischetto is a marketing and communications manager at SEMI Europe.