Automotive

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.

According to market research and strategy consulting firm Yole Développement (Yole), the total market size of MEMS, sensors and actuators will double from $48 billion in 2018 to $93 billion in 2024.[i] The consumer market will continue to drive volume, with applications such as smartphones making up for in volume what they lack in average selling price (ASP). Stronger demand in automotive, biomedical/health, industrial, and voice-first applications (such as smart speakers) will support this upward trajectory. With so much growth ahead of us, how will the design and manufacture of MEMS keep pace with industry demand for higher levels of innovation and integration, lower cost and lower power, smaller footprints, and faster design cycles — all while meeting acceptable price points?We turned to a handful of MEMS manufacturing experts from SEMI-MSIG who will join us at SEMICON West 2019, July 9-11 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, to explore the complexities of keeping pace with market demand for MEMS over the next decade.Address the Design GapMentor GM, ICDS Division Greg Lebsack and SoftMEMS President Mary Ann Maher see tremendous progress in the manufacturing supply chain for MEMS. At the same time, they acknowledge the significant gap that still exists in design capability for creating the billions of interconnected sensors required for future applications. Greg and Mary Ann will dive into the standards, ecosystem requirements and collaborative design solutions that will allow the micro-sensors industry to meet demand for next-generation wearables, Internet of Things (IoT) products and medical devices.Get Collaborative with Greg and Mary Ann: Addressing the Design Gap to Enable Next Generation Sensor-Based Products, SEMICON West, TechTALKS South, Thursday, July 11, 2019, 10:35-11:00 a.m. Register today.Get to a Really Big NumberFrom thousands of sensors and actuators in a single airplane to hundreds in a single car or a piece of factory equipment to the twenty-plus that ship in each of the hundreds of millions of the world’s smartphones, we aren’t even close to reaching the saturation point for these intelligent devices. SPTS Technologies EVP GM David Butler isn’t living on the Spaceship Enterprise (or the Millenium Falcon, come to think of it) when he says that we are going to get to a trillion sensors. It is going to happen. The questions are: how and when?Connect with David: Enabling the Age of a Trillion Sensors, SEMICON West, TechTALKS South, Thursday, July 11, 2019, 11:00-11:25 a.m. Register today.Shift to Automotive-GradeDemand for optical sensing technologies such as LIDAR is shifting sensor manufacturing requirements from consumer- to automotive-grade, with its enhanced lifetimes, temperature cycling and higher performance specifications. To meet demand, manufacturers are turning to wafer-level processing, since it complies with the hermetic sealing and dew-point control required for the more rigorous automotive-grade applications. EV Group Business Development Director Thomas Uhrmann, Ph.D., will provide an overview of the steps for manufacturing optical elements, including integration with CMOS circuitry, as he offers a window into the future of automotive packaging for sensors.Tune in with Thomas: Future Manufacturing Requirements for Automotive and Photonics Sensing, SEMICON West, TechTALKS South, Thursday, July 11, 2019, 11:25-11:50 a.m. Register today. Measure Twice, Cut OnceFaster time-to-market, improved device yield, and greater productivity in high-volume manufacturing are increasingly critical requirements for MEMS manufacturers. When a single manufacturing error can cost hundreds of thousands if not a million or more dollars — as well as months of development time — designers can save both time and cost by employing an integrated approach to MEMS design. Lam Research Sr. Director of Strategic Marketing David Haynes will explain how simulation, verification and process modeling can address MEMS-specific engineering challenges such as multi-physics interactions, process variations, MEMS + IC integration, and MEMS + package interaction. Using the right tools before committing to actual fabrication can make or break a project.Get Conceptual (and Practical) with David: Enabling Better MEMS from Concept to High-Volume Production, SEMICON West, TechTALKS South, Thursday, July 11, 2019, 11:50 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Register today.Navigate a Dynamic Foundry LandscapeWe’re still living in a one product-one process world when it comes to MEMS manufacturing. This makes bringing a new device to market both time-consuming and expensive. These challenges aside, the functional capabilities of MEMS, combined with small-footprint and low-power options, have made MEMS increasingly popular. How are market dynamics in MEMS manufacturing evolving to accommodate both demand for high-volume, lower-cost products such as MEMS microphones as well as high-value, lower-volume products such as biomedical devices, IoT products and industrial sensors? Rogue Valley Microdevices Founder CEO Jessica Gomez will explain how foundry consolidation through acquisition, collaboration with other ecosystem players, and specialization in vertical markets such as biomedical or optical are some of the approaches that are transforming the MEMS foundry landscape.Join the Evolution with Jessica: Consolidation, Collaboration, Specialization: How Will MEMS Fabs Manage Changing Dynamics, TechTALKS Stage South, Thursday, July 11, 2019, 12:15-12:40 p.m. Register today.i“Status of the MEMS Industry report,” Yole Développement (Yole), 2019 Edition.Maria Vetrano is a public relations consultant at SEMI.

New SEMI Taiwan Testing Committee to strengthen the last line of defense to ensure the reliability of advanced semiconductor applications.Mobile, high-performance computing (HPC), automotive, and IoT – the four future growth drivers of semiconductor industry, plus the additional boost from artificial intelligence (AI) and 5G – will spur exponential demand for multi-function and high-performance chips. Today, a 3D IC semiconductor structure is beginning to integrate multiple chips to extend functionality and performance, making heterogeneous integration an irreversible trend. As the number of chips integrated in a single package increases, the structural complexity also rises. Not only will this make identifying chip defects harder, but the compatibility and interconnection between components will also introduce uncertainties that can undermine the reliability of the final ICs. Add to these challenges the need for tight cost control and a faster time to market, and it’s clear that semiconductor testing requires disruptive, innovative change. Traditional final-product testing focusing on finished components is now giving way to wafer- and system-level testing.In addition, the traditional notion of design for testing, an approach that enhances testing controllability and observability, is now coupled with the imperative to test for design, which emphasizes drawing analytics insights from collected test data to help reduce design errors and shorten development cycles. Going forward, the relationship among design, manufacturing, packaging, and testing will no longer be un-directional. Instead, it will be a cycle of continuous improvement.This paradigm shift in semiconductor testing, however, will also create a need for new industry standards and regulations, elevate visibility and security levels for shared data, require the optimization of testing time and costs, and lead to a shortage of testing professionals. Solving all these issues will require a joint effort by the industry and academia. "With leading technologies and $4.7 billion in market value, Taiwan still holds the top spot in global semiconductor testing market," said Terry Tsao, President of SEMI Taiwan. "When testing extends beyond the manufacturing process, it can play a critical role in ensuring quality throughout the entire life cycle from design and manufacturing to system integration while maintaining effective controls on development costs and schedules. Taiwan's semiconductor industry is in dire need of a common testing platform to enable the cross-disciplinary collaboration necessary for technical breakthroughs."The SEMI Taiwan Testing Committee was formed to meet that need, gathering testing experts and academics from MediaTek, Intel, NXP Semiconductors, TSMC, UMC, ASE Technology, SPIL, KYEC, Teradyne, Advantest, FormFactor, MJC, Synopsys, Cadence, Mentor, and National Tsing Hua University to collaborate in building a complete testing ecosystem. The committee addresses common technical challenges faced by the industry and cultivates next-generation testing professionals to enable Taiwan to maintain its global leadership in semiconductor testing.The SEMI Taiwan Testing Platform spans communities, expositions, programs, events, networking, business matching, advocacy, and market and technology insights. For more information about the SEMI Taiwan Testing platform, please contact Elaine Lee ([email protected]) or Ana Li ([email protected]). Emmy Yi is a marketing specialist at SEMI Taiwan.

4 Key Takeaways from SEMI Taiwan Member ForumThe rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) has accelerated the digital transformation in various industries and has now fused with Internet of Things (IoT) to exploit the value of both technologies in reshaping the electronics industry value chain. As it emerges from the shadows of its parent technologies, AIoT is giving rise to new opportunities in manufacturing, healthcare, transportation, and even energy. AIoT is fast rising in prominence as an enabler of key electronics manufacturing process improvements and the creation of add-on value to existing products – both critical to the success of many businesses.SEMI and the SEMI MEMS Sensors Industry Group (SEMI-MSIG) held a technical forum on smart sensing and its applications in AI and AIoT, inviting renowned experts in sensors and edge computing to share in-depth insights into the latest AIoT technologies and applications with more than 100 industry professionals in research and development, marketing and sales. Here are four key takeaways from the SEMI Taiwan member forum.1. Steady Growth for Global Sensors MarketThe global sensors market’s steady growth is expected to expand at a CAGR of 6.6 percent from 2017 to 2023, with Asia driving the biggest gains and automotive leading the segments – including healthcare and education – with the strongest growth. Automotive alone is expected to reach US$34 billion in 2023.2. Integration Critical to MEMS Sensors DesignsWith AI booming, MEMS sensor designs need to drive toward greater integration —not only integrating data collection with sensors, but also streamlining data processing on the backend – making 3D models of today’s MEMS mechanical designs critical. The differences between 3D and entrenched 2D models are dramatic, elevating the importance of specifying manufacturing steps in MEMS designs. As new sensors and applications continue to emerge, companies that develop the most powerful integrated designs will win. 3. Growth of Smart Voice-Control Applications to ExplodeAIoT is also accelerating the development of smart voice-control applications and the rise of new related business opportunities. Just 50 million voice-controlled devices shipped worldwide in 2017, a number predicted to swell to 436 million in 2021 with smart home devices such as set-top boxes and smart TVs the major growth drivers.4. AIoT Eyed to Make Human-Robot Collaboration SafeSafety is an essential feature for human-robot collaboration. Tactile sensing technologies give robots a layer of “skin” with capabilities rivaling human touch. To ensure humans and robots work together safely in work environments, sensors on this layer of skin are concentrated – less than 8mm apart, equivalent to the width of a human finger, with a response time of less than 5ms on contact. More than 4 million robots worldwide are expected to be upgraded with these sensing technologies and are on track for deployment in pilot plants in the next three years.SEMI-MSIG is committed to strengthening connections across all sectors in the MEMS and sensors supply chain, working closely with the industry to accelerate the development of related technologies and applications in both mature and emerging markets. In addition, SEMI-MSIG hosts regular events to inspire business opportunities and technology exchange for innovative applications, while enhancing the visibility of members among global customers and partners to help them forge new partnerships. To join the group, contact SEMI Taiwan’s Helen Chen at [email protected] Yi is a marketing specialist at SEMI Taiwan.

Kyushu, the third largest island in Japan, is home to the semiconductor production bases of integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) with world-class cutting-edge technology. SONY, Toshiba, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Fujitsu and Nissan are among the sector’s shining stars, though a host of other IDMs tied to the supply chains of other major enterprises have also set root in Kyushu. Collectively, the companies earned Kyushu the name Silicon Island of Japan.Kyushu’s flourishing IDM industry sprouted from favorable tax and other government policies that reduced semiconductor production costs to levels lower than elsewhere in Japan. Once the IC producers had established bases, equipment and materials companies naturally followed, leading to the influx of many parts manufacturers. Together, they came to Kyushu, one after another, to make the island a magnet for manufacturing. And so it was to Kyushu that a SEMI China delegation travelled for a meeting at TEL’s factory in Kumamoto to learn more about the secrets to the rapid growth of the island’s semiconductor industry and promote cooperation between Chinese and Japanese enterprises. Underscoring the rise of the Silicon Island of Japan, China will soon become TEL’s largest market, said Masami Akimoto, Chairman of Tokyo Electron Kyushu Limited, speaking at the event. Masami Akimoto hopes for support from SEMI China.The island of 12 million people contributes to the growth of the global semiconductor industry, expected to reach USD 500 billion in size in 2019 as China’s semiconductor sector, fueled in part by government-backed investment funds, continues its rapid expansion. Despite the gains, China still lags other regions in advanced manufacturing, said Lung Chu, president of SEMI China, which is doing its part to draw more advanced manufacturing to the region through its SIIP platform. The initiative encourages pan-regional cooperation with China’s semiconductor industry to promote free trade, open markets, technology innovation and IP protection – all to help China better integrate with the global semiconductor industry. SEMI China President Lung Chu(L) issues visit memorial to Masami Akimoto(R), Chairman of Tokyo Electron Kyushu Limited. Chicken shall be led by the HenUnlike other regions with comprehensive semiconductor industries, Kyushu’s is primarily focused on production and assembly, with more than 200 manufacturers of semiconductor equipment and parts.SEMI China Delegation at Tokyo Electron Kyushu LimitedTEL built its first factory in Kumamoto, a city covered by volcanic ash in the center of Kyushu, 34 years ago. Today, TEL every month produces 80 to 90 sets of equipment, each consisting of, on average, over 400 thousand parts that must be certified and authorized by TEL before delivery to its module manufacturers and assembly into complete machines. Having blossomed over the past few decades, the island’s supply chain now supplies TEL with all its equipment parts. SEMI China Delegation at Fajita WorksTEL supplier Fajita Works, a high-precision plate metal manufacturer founded in 1945, is emblematic of other companies in the Kyushu supply chain. It keeps a low public profile as it serves several longtime customers and earns ardent loyalty from its workers, an ethos reflected in the change next January of its slog from “Only One” to “Great company, Great life.”Quality is the life of the enterpriseLong before the rise of its legendary automobile and consumer electronics companies, Japan was known for inferior, counterfeited products, labeled “Made In USA” and shipped to the United States by more than 100 factories. The net effect was to shrink and commoditize American markets. The tide in Japan’s product quality and stained reputation began to turn in the 1980s, when Japan’s semiconductor industry began to produce memory with an error rate 27 times lower than its U.S. competitors, giving Japan an upper hand in quality that it would never relinquish. SEMI China Delegation at HORIBAKyushu-based flowmeter supplier HORIBA, among the many Japanese companies famous for their product quality, ships 38 percent of its products into the automotive market and 27 percent into the semiconductor sector. Cleanliness is as vital a part of the company’s culture as quality. Each depends on the other, with fine detail held to the highest importance. On its visit to HORIBA, the SEMI China delegation, passing by an office area before entering the factory, sighed at the sight of the spotless, neatly kept furniture and workspace: They had never seen an office so sparkling clean. HORIBA’s success is rooted in immaculate offices, factories and the company’s motto “Enjoy innovation and pay close attention to product quality.”After Kumamoto sustained heavy damage during a 2016 earthquake, HORIBA workers returned rocks scattered by temblor to their original position, knowing that order is critical to lean, efficient manufacturing and that, indeed, “the devil is in the details.” SEMI China Delegation in Kumamoto City Full confidence in the exploration of Chinese marketConsumer electronics stalwarts Sony and Panasonic feature semiconductor factories in Kagoshima, the southernmost city in Kyushu and Japan, though rumor had it two years ago that Panasonic planned to pull out. The Panasonic plant, which provides batteries for Tesla, remains. The Sony facility produces image sensors for the iPhone.Semiconductor equipment maker ULVAC, SEMI China’s most important strategic partner, is also based in Kagoshima. During the delegation’s visit to the company, Lung Chu noted that while China is the world’s largest semiconductor market, the region meets just 13 percent of domestic chip demand. Stressing that ULVAC can play a crucial role in helping China become a bigger player, he expressed admiration for ULVAC’s professionalism along with hope that it will maintain its rapid growth and leverage SEMI resources to catalyze rapid development of Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and 5G technologies in China and rise into the top 10 of global equipment manufacturers. SEMI China President Lung Chu (L) issues visit memorial to ULVAC Kyushu President and CEO Kenji Yamaguchi ULVAC Kyushu president and CEO Kenji Yamaguchi made clear the company’s interest in Lung Chu’s insights into Chinese semiconductor industry while underscoring its core competency of producing semiconductors for flat panel displays. The Kyushu Factory of ULVAC is full of vitality and market competitiveness. SEMI China Delegation at ULVAC EBARA, a precision machinery company located in Kumamoto, has manufactured chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) equipment for over 20 years and delivered nearly 2,400 mechanical polishing machines worldwide. While the company expects to ship 50 sets per year to China starting next year, it has the capacity to deliver 20 sets per month, enough to meet demand of Chinese semiconductor makers. SEMI China Delegation at EBARAThe most telling takeaway from the SEMI China delegation’s visit to the Kyushu: Japan ranks number one worldwide in research and development (R D) investment as a proportion of GDP and is also at the top in the percentage of R D funds controlled by private enterprises. The outsize investment strategy has enabled Japan to maintain its hold as one of the world’s top technology innovators.Like Sakurajima, the famed Kyushu volcano, the SEMI China delegation will continue to harness its forces to build relationships with the island’s semiconductor supply chain as it works to develop win-win pan-regional relationships and foster the growth of China’s semiconductor industry. Best view of Sakurai volcano Gang Yao is a marketing director at SEMI China.

The proliferation of chips driven by artificial intelligence and automotive will spur a record $68 billion in sales of semiconductor equipment in 2019.Building the workforce of the future is at once a challenge and opportunity for the semiconductor industry, the key to continuing the rapid pace of innovation and growth. And tariffs levied against billions of dollars of Chinese imports by the Trump administration has profound implications for SEMI members and the chip industry as a whole.Jonathan Davis, Global Vice President of Industry Advocacy at SEMI, offers insights on these key semiconductor industry issues in this interview at SEMICON West 2018. Ariana Raftopoulos is a marketing manager at SEMI.

Self-driving cars have been all the rage in both the trade and popular press in recent years. I prefer the term “autonomous vehicles,” which more broadly captures the possibilities, encompassing not only small passenger vehicles but mass transit and industrial vehicles as well. Depending on who’s talking, we will all be riding in fully autonomous vehicles in five to 25 years.The five-year estimates come from startups eager to raise venture capital while the 25-year estimates stem from Tier 1 automotive suppliers who tend to be more conservative in outlook. Regardless of the timeframe, a multitude of investors – national governments, venture capitalists and companies – are dedicating significant capital and effort to make autonomous vehicles a reality.I must admit that I did not fully grasp the enthusiasm for self-driving cars until last year. First, I’ve always enjoyed driving, unless I’m in stop-and-go traffic, so I couldn’t imagine relinquishing the task. Second, I’ve deliberately arranged my life to spend minimal time in my car. However, traffic has become much heavier in my metropolitan area (Boston), and I know that many people in cities around the world face longer commutes and waste more time in gridlock.What is the solution to this problem that is only getting worse? I had an epiphany while walking through Shinigawa Station in Tokyo, one of the busiest train stations in the world. Dense streams of people crisscrossed the station on their individual paths, managing to avoid collisions without the aid of traffic controls. Evidently, humans have an innate collision-avoidance ability that makes traffic controls for pedestrian crowds unnecessary. If autonomous vehicles could achieve the same excellence in collision-avoidance, we could potentially reduce or eliminate traffic controls for vehicular traffic, providing a huge gain in transportation efficiency and relief from gridlock.Sensors as core building blocksNew and improved sensors, many based on micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology, are key to achieving this vision. While MEMS inertial sensors (such as accelerometers and gyros) are already integral to the core safety systems in conventional vehicles, they are also essential to improved self-navigation in autonomous vehicles.The challenge for MEMS suppliers is to deliver inertial sensors that meet the requirements for self-navigation systems, which are different and more demanding than for safety systems.Pinpointing a vehicle’s position requires “dead reckoning” based on inertial sensor signals as a supplement to GPS input. Undesirable drift in the inertial sensor signals due to mechanical quadrature, temperature sensitivity and noise can quickly add up to a large error in position that may result in a collision. To meet the more rigorous requirements for autonomous vehicles, suppliers must design MEMS inertial sensors that are substantially more precise and resistant to drift. This requires design software that is both extremely accurate and fast, as well as increasingly precise and reliable manufacturing capabilities.Other MEMS-based devices, such as micromirrors and micro ultrasound transducers (MUTs), are also promising options for implementing vision and range-finding systems in autonomous vehicles. These sensing systems are needed for building electronic versions of the human collision-avoidance abilities that I witnessed in Shinigawa Station – and it is these systems that autonomous vehicles must emulate.When will self-driving cars become a reality? Aside from the provocative question that got you to read this far, I don’t have a definitive answer. It will undoubtedly occur in phases, ranging from the driver-augmentation systems available in today’s cars to the full autonomy and ubiquity that will allow reduction of traffic controls in 20 years or more. It is clear that the ultimate goals for autonomous vehicles are highly worthwhile, and that achieving those goals will require better-performing and more diverse MEMS sensors. Stephen (Steve) Breit, Ph.D. is Senior Director, MEMS Business, at Coventor, a Lam Research Company. Steve has been responsible for overseeing development and delivery of Coventor’s industry-leading software tools for MEMS design automation since joining Coventor in 2000. Steve holds numerous patents on software systems and methods for MEMS design automation and virtual fabrication. He holds a Ph.D. in Ocean Engineering from MIT and a B.S. in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from Webb Institute.For more information, visit: https://www.coventor.com

In Tokyo, Shanghai, Moscow, London, Paris or New York – wherever you are in the world –Japanese vehicles passing by on the roadways are a common sight. Three big reasons are their high quality, reliability and engineering. But Japan’s automakers are also legendary for their industry breakthroughs. A few highlights: In 1981, Honda introduced the first commercially available map-based car navigation system. The carmaker’s Electro Gyro-Cator used a gyroscope to detect rotation and other movements of the car. In 1990, Mazda equipped its COSMO Eunos with the world’s first built-in GPS-navigation system. In 1997, Toyota launched the world’s first mass-produced hybrid car -- Prius. In 1997, Toyota unveiled the world’s first production laser adaptive cruise control on its Celsior. In 2009, Mitsubishi rolled out the world’s first mass-produced electric car – i-MiEV. Off the roadways and often unheralded, it is supply chain companies including Japanese semiconductor makers that were a key engine of these innovations as they continue their rich history of driving automotive advances. Here’s a closer look at some of the key players and why they matter.Who Makes Automotive Semiconductors?Unlike other semiconductors, automotive chips are manufactured not only by integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) but also by captive fabs and automotive components makers such as Toyota and Denso.Denso, headquartered in Aichi prefecture, started in 1949 as a spin-off of Toyota’s electric components unit. Since 2009, the company has been the world’s largest automotive components supplier. Because Denso’s chips are mostly consumed internally, the company’s manufacturing revenue is not publicly available, but analysts estimate Denso’s chip business exceeds 200 billion JPY or USD $1.9 billion.Denso manufactures semiconductor components at two locations. Its Kota plant in Aichi prefecture manufactures power and logic chips, and the company’s Iwate (Iwate prefecture) facility, acquired from Fujitsu in 2012, produces semiconductor wafers and sensors.Denso Fab (Photo: Denso)Denso is developing SiC wafers for its power chips and plans to manufacture SiC inverters by 2020. Recently, the company announced joint research on Ga2O3 for power devices with FLOSFIA, a tech startup spun off from Kyoto University. In 2017, Denso established a semiconductor IP design company, NSITEXE, in Tokyo to design semiconductor IP cores – the semiconductor components that are key to autonomous driving.Toyota has been manufacturing semiconductor chips at its Hirose Plant since 1989. The semiconductor fab design and manufacturing technologies originated at Toshiba and moved to Toyota under a technology transfer agreement signed in 1987. In the power semiconductor arena, Toyota is jointly developing SiC devices with Denso and Toyota Central Research and Development Labs.Other car and component makers like Honda, Nissan, Hitachi Automotive Systems, Aishin Seiki and Calsonic Kansei are also developing and designing semiconductor chips.Microcontroller Units Microcontrollers (MCUs) were first employed in automobiles in the late 1970s to electronically control engines for higher fuel efficiency. Today, up to 80 MCUs are typically used in a car for powertrain controls (engine, fuel management and fuel injection), body controls (seat, door, window, air conditioning and lighting), safety controls (brake, EPS, suspensions, air bags and anti-collision) and infotainment.In December 2015, the microcontroller unit (MCU) supply chain experienced a major consolidation with the nearly $12 billion acquisition of Freescale Semiconductor by NXP Semiconductors, catapulting NXP to the top of the MCU market. NXP and Freescale were ranked second and third in global market share, after Renesas Electronics, at the time. Renesas held 40 percent global market share before its Ibaraki fab suffered severe earthquake damage in 2011 and hemorrhaged share after the loss of production capacity. Renasas continues to recapture market share at a rapid clip, with a growth rate of 5.2 percent and 24.6 percent, respectively, in the first two quarters of 2017, and claims it still leads the global MCU market for automotive applications with 30 percent share (source: Diamond Online, August 2017).Renesas was established as a joint venture of Hitachi and Mitsubishi and later merged with NEC Electronics. Consequently, Resesas’s MCUs, designed with Hitachi’s SH MCU cores, recently began a gradual shift to Arm cores. Renasas MCUs designed at 40nm or less nodes have been manufactured at TSMC, a Taiwan foundry, since 2012.CMOS Image SensorsCMOS image sensors serve as eyes of cars, performing camera functions on-chip. Today, automobiles typically are fitted with about 10 CMOS image sensors, a number forecast to grow to almost 20 by 2020 (source: Monoist, 2016). The sensor was originally used as a backup monitor but deployments grew with the advent of Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS). The CMOS image sensor market is estimated to reach $2.3 billion USD by 2021, according to IC Insights. Sony is the global CMOS image sensor market leader, and ON Semiconductor and OmniVision Technology are big players in this growing segment.In 2016, Denso started using Sony’s CMOS image sensors to detect pedestrians during night driving. Sony manufactures CMOS sensors at Kumamoto TEC and Nagasaki TEC on Kyusyu Island. In 2017, Sony acquired Toshiba’s Oita plant to increase the capacity to respond to the growing demand for backside illumination CMOS image sensors for higher resolution images at a low-light environments.Sony’s 7.42 megapixel CMOS image sensor for automotive cameras (Photo: Sony Corporation)Power DevicesPower semiconductors provide electrical control functions such as rectification, voltage regulation (boost/step-down), and DA/AD conversion. The automotive industry’s migration from fossil fuel vehicles to hybrid and electric vehicles is driving strong demand for power devices. The leading power device makers are competing to develop higher performance devices on new materials such as SiC and GaN.For the past five years, the Japan government has funded SiC power device research and development (R D) projects and, in 2016, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and Sumitomo Electric Industries built a 150mm SiC wafer line at AIST’s Super Clean Room Facility in Tsukuba, Ibaraki. The facility supports volume manufacturing, reliability testing and quality assurance.Rohm is driving the Japan SiC power device industry. Rohm manufactures SiC power devices on 75mm, 100mm and 150mm wafers. In 2009, Rohm acquired a German SiC wafer maker, SiCrystal, which started supplying 150mm wafers to Rohm in 2013. Rohm also acquired Renesas Electronics’s Shiga plant (200mm line) in 2016 to manufacture SiC power and other discrete devices.Fuji Electric manufactures various power products including SiC power devices. Fully 30 percent of its products ship to the automotive industry. In 2013, the company built a new SiC line in its Matsumoto plant that includes both wafer process and packaging facilities. Fuji Electric now develops high-performance SiC devices on the latest 150mm SiC wafer technology.Toyota and Denso round out the Japan SiC power device industry. Denso markets its 150mm SiC technology under the “REVOSIC” brand. In 2013, Toyota built a SiC R D facility at its Hirose plant for future SiC captive manufacturing.SiC power semiconductors to improve vehicle’s fuel efficiency by 10 percent (target) (Photo: Toyota Motor Corp.)