SEMICON West & InterSolar 2011
Despite current global market conditions in the semiconductor sector, the annual SEMICON West conference ended on July 14 in San Francisco on a relatively positive note. Simply put, the shows featured almost 31,000 attendees (a five percent increase from last year’s attendance) from 64 countries displaying their wares in 1277 booths. Who said trade shows are dead?
At the time of printing, we did not have the attendance split between Intersolar and the SEMICON side, however, organizers of Intersolar had expected around 800 exhibitors and 20,000 visitors ahead of the event. Full details will be released by SEMI at a later date.
Major topics at the show included the 450mm wafer transition, which some players are spending serious bucks on, while others were less enthusiastic and wondered what the double whammy of extreme ultra violet (EUV) and 450mm wafers means. In other words, which comes first?
Meanwhile, big capacity spending buys are not in the offing, some thought, and a bit of austerity for the remainder of the year appeared prudent to many. But many do see a positive outlook for chip gear, as tool spending should benefit from the shift to mobile devices.
In fact, the mid-year edition of the SEMI Capital Equipment Forecast released on the eve of the exposition projects 2011 semiconductor sales to reach up to $44.33 billion. The forecast indicates that following a 148 percent market increase in 2010, the equipment market will expand by 12.1 percent in 2011. The year 2011 is likely to be the second highest spending year in history, the report adds, second only to the $48 billion spent in 2000. It will also be the highest spending year ever for wafer processing equipment, we understand.
Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI, said in a statement, “Semiconductor equipment manufacturers will still see a double-digit increase in spending for 2011 following a phenomenal recovery year with triple-digit growth in 2010. We expect worldwide equipment sales to remain at high levels in 2012.”
This mood of optimism was perhaps boosted ahead of both shows, by the apt news that CPS Energy would likely be expanding its investment in a future solar energy project in San Antonio, well above its original 50 megawatt intentions - to up to 400 megawatts. The declining cost curve of solar is thought to be one of the reasons for the ramp-up at the project, which could bring more jobs to the area and launch San Antonio into the upper echelons of international solar projects.
Accomplishments
Technical sessions were standing room only and filled with presentations such as The New Age of Computing Continuum Experience, which indicated that no end to Moore’s Law is in sight.
This year’s show also saw SEMI honor five industry technologists for their outstanding accomplishments in developing standards for the microelectronics and related industries. The SEMI North America Standards awards were announced at a reception held during the show.
The Merit Award was presented to Mohamed Saleem of Fujikin and Slava Libman of Air Liquide for making a major contribution to the industry through the SEMI Standards program. The Leadership Award was presented to Janet Cassard of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for providing outstanding leadership in guiding the SEMI Standards Program. The Honor Award was presented to Dick Hockett of Evans Analytical Group who has demonstrated long-standing dedication to the advancement of SEMI Standards, an involvement that dates back to 1997.
The Corporate Device Member Award, meanwhile, was presented to Mike Goldstein of Intel. The award is given to an individual who is acting officially or unofficially as corporate representative from a device manufacturer, for outstanding contributions to the development of SEMI Standards. Goldstein’s ‘unfailing leadership’ of the International 450mm Wafer Task Force has resulted in two published standards: SEMI M74-1108, Specification for 450 mm Diameter Mechanical Handling Polished Wafers, and SEMI M76-0710, Specification for Developmental 450 mm Diameter Polished Single Crystal Silicon Wafers.
Many of the presentations from the show, as well as other information and announcements, are available online at www.semiwest.org.
A visible commitment
Major player demonstrates devotion to semiconductors
Air Liquide Electronics underlined its commitment to the semiconductor industry at this year’s SEMICON West. This ‘visible commitment’ to the electronics industry is reinforced by an expected expansion at the company’s ALOHA precursors manufacturing facility in Fremont, California.
Speaking at the sidelines of the show in San Francisco, Air Liquide Electronics’ vice president of Sales & Marketing, Chris Ryan, gave Specialty Gas Report his take on this year’s event and the trends that are emerging.
“This year I would say the SEMICON event was pretty healthy. Each year it seems like there are fewer and fewer exhibitors, but in my experience it has been better attended by customers than it has been in the past.”
“Compared to years passed,” Ryan qualifies, “where our customer base may have sent a representative or two, we’re now seeing much more delegations of customers than what I’ve seen going back to, say, 2008.”
“In general I think the show seemed pretty healthy. SEMICON remains a very important location or event to network with customers and suppliers, and that focus continues to be the case - it’s a highly effective vehicle for doing that. There are less outright exhibitors, but certainly it is still well attended.”
Interestingly for readers of Specialty Gas Report, Ryan alluded to both the buoyancy returning to the electronics market, and a trend that might soon shape the future of the semiconductor industry.
“What is becoming clear from a semiconductor perspective, is that the market seems to be gradually moving towards acceptance that 450mm will one day become a reality. I saw a couple of presentations on that subject, where it seems the OEM’s have moved from a ‘no way’ perspective to thinking that it actually is going to happen, probably to a 2015/2016 timeframe.”
“The mood of SEMICON was certainly reflective of an industry that appears to be much healthier than it has been in the past. Customers have clearly been, for the most part, in healthier situations for the past 12 months - and I think that shone through at the show.”
“From Air Liquide’s perspective,” he added, “we’ve maintained that it’s important to be visibly supporting the industry and we think that having a booth at SEMICON is a visible commitment to our presence in electronics. We’re fully committed to this business and we think that SEMICON West here in the US is an important vehicle to communicate that to our customers.”
Matheson
Matheson again exhibited at both Semicon West and Intersolar North America and used the opportunity to roll out its developments in several technology areas of interest to the semiconductor and photovoltaic’s fabrications industries. ‘Engage the Matheson EDGE’ was the theme for the company - an open invitation to learn about Matheson’s contributions in electronics and semiconductor fabrication.
Matheson is the largest global producer of hydride gases used in semiconductor fabs. On the research side, Matheson is tackling problems associated with low temperature epitaxy. In addition, Matheson is a leader in high purity hydrocarbons (for ashable hard mask, and other applications).
Matheson recently opened its state-of-the-art Hydride Center of Excellence in New Johnsonville, TN - arguably the most advanced hydride gas production facility in the world.
Robin Gardiner, Semiconductor OEM Key Account executive at Matheson, stated, “As Semiconductor devices get smaller and flat panels get larger, new opportunities come into play for higher volume specialty gases and new applications for our dopant molecules - the hydrides produced at New Johnsonville.”
Gardiner continued, “In the Solar arena, power modules can be based on flexible surfaces, usually a thin, flexible metallic film or on glass. This opens up a whole new range of possibilities for implementation. We received a great deal of interest in our investments in H2Se (the S in CIGS) and sputtering targets (with partner Pioneer Materials). One in five of the leads generated on the solar side related to our CIGS businesses.”
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