Technology and Trends

The 3D optical sensing market is once again surging – and it’s all thanks to Apple. What will we see in the next wave of end products enhanced by this technology, how will other market segments approach – and eventually use – 3D optical sensing, and which suppliers stand to gain the most from this very vital technology?Although 3D sensing, facial recognition and optical authentication systems have become only recently hot topics in the consumer electronics market, these mechanisms first made their appearance nearly a decade ago in November 2010. Following that debut, Microsoft soon launched the Kinect system in its Xbox 360 gaming console, marking a milestone as significant as Nintendo’s launch of its Nintendo Wii remote controller in 2010, which catapulted MEMS motion sensors into the high-volume consumer market.The Kinect system used a triangulation-based camera that Israeli developer PrimeSense Ltd. created and then licensed to Microsoft; Apple liked the technology so much that it acquired PrimeSense in 2013. The first version of Kinect applied the Structured Light (SL) method, a depth-sensing principle featuring an infrared (IR) laser projecting dots onto the scene, with a monochrome CMOS sensor measuring the differences in the acquired pattern. The second version of Kinect used the Time-of-Flight (ToF) principle.Kinect for Xbox360 was not only a successful consumer product; it also sparked a new market, thanks to the relatively low cost of the 3D sensing solution. By using the same hardware for Xbox 360 as in its first version of Kinect, Microsoft allowed developers to design their pet projects in the Kinect environment. Adding hand gestures controls to a PC, creating a user-controlled virtual dynamic light (see Kimchi and Chips’ demo), and developing an inexpensive hologram generator (see “Princess Leia” video from the MIT Media Lab) are just a few examples of ecosystem developers and DIYers applying their creativity to Kinect.Apple Goes 3D with Face ID3D optical sensing has expanded from gaming consoles to the smartphone. In 2017 Apple presented its Face ID camera system for the iPhone X, which they launched to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the iPhone. Face ID is the result of a longer term strategy for Apple, the byproduct of several company acquisitions to expand know-how in 3D sensing and augmented reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR). Between 2015 and 2018, Apple acquired the camera-module maker LinX (2015), the AR startup Vrvana and the imaging sensor firm InVisage Tech (both in 2017), and AR glasses’ designer Akonia Holographics (2018).For a company that has always innovated on its own terms, Apple’s idiosyncratic approach called for deployment of the Structured Light method combined with a ToF device. The result is an amalgamation that utilizes the best features of the two mechanisms, even if the combination is one that is expensive. Apple’s addition of a near-infrared illuminator to its ToF device enhances the system’s effectiveness under most light conditions while also improving the reliability of Face ID; the overall outcome is a more satisfying user experience. The ToF component, which STMicrolectronics supplies, makes use of so-called single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) receivers that can work with any target material and color, although a higher target illumination is required to obtain good accuracy.The other core components of the Face ID system are the Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL, from Lumentum) and a dot projector (from ams/Heptagon), assembled together in an optical package. Apple’s expensive but reliable approach explains the company’s inclusion of the Face ID system in its latest smartphone and tablet offerings – across the iPhone Xs, Xs Pro and Xr as well as in the latest iPad Pro models. Apple’s Face ID uses facial recognition for authentication on a range of iPhone and iPad Pro models. Image courtesy of Apple. Chinese Phone Makers Get into the GameMeanwhile, other mobile handset manufacturers are rumored to be working on Face ID-like systems or have already presented similar solutions, albeit through a variety of approaches. Some have chosen to use standard ToF devices while others have adopted an SL tactic. In many of these designs, which happen to target Android systems, OEMs generally include a fingerprint sensor as a fallback biometric option to their own nascent 3D facial recognition systems. The fingerprint sensor operates in either standalone mode or integrates into the display.Chinese handset maker Oppo, for instance, uses the SL method on its Find X model with algorithms coming from Megvii. Oppo claims its equivalent of Apple Face ID is faster. I have heard that Vivo has been working on a ToF camera since mid-2018, which it claims provides greater accuracy and security in end-applications such as secure payments and unlocking the phone.Chinese technology giant Huawei’s first 3D facial sensor appeared in its Mate 20 Pro flagship mobile phone. Aside from providing facial biometrics, the front-facing 3D sensor doubles as a 3D scanner, enabling users to digitize live objects that they can then manipulate in 3D AR applications. While still a novelty, the application highlights the use of 3D light sensors beyond that of biometrics. Xiaomi’s Mi Explorer Edition smartphone features a complex SL 3D module to enable 3D facial scanning although it looks like a clone of the Apple solution.Overall, the importance of facial recognition is no longer a matter of dispute, given that Apple’s rivals are now developing counterpart offerings of their own. Leaked code from the next revision of the Android operating system (revision Q), now under development by Google, has confirmed as much. Big and Getting BiggerIHS Markit forecasts that global revenue for ToF sensors in the 3D optical sensing market will surpass $500 million in 2019, up from $370 million last year. We also predict that the ToF market will grow in the coming years, spurred by combo solutions integrated with other light sensors in the same package. This will lead to a cheaper bill of materials (BOM) compared to the BOM for the SL method.At the same time, IHS Markit forecasts that the total market potential for light sensors will be worth much more, reaching $1.5 billion by year 2022. That’s because after a solid start with gaming consoles, 3D sensing has matured and consolidated in the massive smartphone arena.A segment of 3D Sensing’s future growth will come from other use cases and applications that are emerging outside consumer electronics and mobile. These include people-counting and -tracking in consumer and industrial applications, landing-aid and obstacle-avoidance functions in drones, and car-trunk (boot) opening with foot gestures, as well as gesture recognition and passenger detection in automotive. IHS Markit predicts steady growth for ToF and other light sensors. All told, the ToF approach appears to have a greater chance than the SL method in gaining a larger market share, leading to a cheaper and smaller BOM along with reduced integration costs in system assembly and calibration.Sometime this year, Apple and other handset OEMs may include a ToF-based 3D camera on the back of the iPhone to support more immersive gaming experiences and new AR/VR applications. This will further boost the 3D sensing market.To be sure, other mature technologies are available as valid alternatives to optical 3D sensing, including ultrasonic, mmWave and radar. These alternative technologies may gain part of the total market now commanded by 3D sensing, in use cases such as obstacle-avoidance or in-cabin presence detection.To learn about 3D Optical Sensing and Light Sensors from IHS Markit, go to: https://technology.ihs.com/606483/light-sensors-for-consumer-mobile-report-2018Manuel Tagliavini, a principal research analyst at IHS Markit, covers MEMS and sensors technology.Manuel Tagliavini joined IHS Markit in 2017. His key areas of focus are MEMS and sensors for mobile and consumer technologies. He is responsible for the tracking of sensors in handsets, tablets, laptops, and sports and fitness products.Prior to IHS Markit, he spent over 10 years with STMicroelectronics, working in various roles including product engineering, program management, and marketing and business development in the company's MEMS division.Tagliavini earned an Executive Master of Business Administration at SDA Bocconi School of Management and a Master of Science in Electronic Engineering from the University of Parma, both in Italy.Stay tuned with the technological advances and market trends in the MEMS Sensors ecosystem. Join MEMS Sensors Industry Group (MSIG), the SEMI technology community that connects the MEMS and sensors supply network in established and emerging markets, allowing members to grow and prosper.

[caption id="attachment_15930" align="alignright" width="150"] Daniel Nenni, CEO Founder, SemiWiki.com[/caption] Note to our readers: Semiwiki Founder Dan Nenni recently wrote an excellent piece on the importance of the Synopsys investment in automotive IP for GlobalFoundries' 22FDX (FD-SOI) technology. He graciously has given us permission to reprint it here in ASN. By Dan Nenni, CEO Founder, SemiWiki.com IP vendors have always had the inside track on the status of new process nodes and what customers are planning for their next designs. This is even more apparent now that systems companies are successfully doing their own chips by leveraging the massive amounts of commercial IP available today. Proving once again that IP really is the foundation of modern semiconductor design. Automotive is one of those market segments where systems companies are doing their own chips. We see this first hand on SemiWiki as we track automotive related blogs and the domains that read them. To date we have published 354 automotive blogs that have been viewed close to 1.5M times by more than 1k different domains. [caption id="attachment_15933" align="alignleft" width="1000"] (Courtesy: semiwiki.com and GlobalFoundries)[/caption] The recent press release by Synopsys and GLOBALFOUNDRIES didn’t get the coverage it deserved in my opinion and the coverage it got clearly missed the point. Synopsys, being the #1 EDA and #1 IP provider, has the semiconductor inside track like no other. For Synopsys to make such a big investment in FD-SOI (GF FDX) for automotive grade 1 IP is a huge testament to both the technology and the market segment, absolutely. I talked to John Koeter, Vice President of Marketing for IP, Services and System Level Solutions. John is a friend and one of the IP experts I trust. 3 years ago Synopsys got into automotive grade IP and racked up 25 different customer engagements just last year. The aftermarket electronics for adding intelligence (autonomous-like capabilities, cameras, lane and collision detection, etc...) to older vehicles is also heating up, especially in China. I also talked to Mark Granger, Vice President of Automotive Product Line Management at GLOBALFOUNDRIES. Mark has been at GF for two years, prior to that he was with NVIDIA working on autonomous chips with deep learning and artificial intelligence. According to Mark, GF's automotive experience started with the Singapore fabs acquired from Chartered in 2010. The next generation automotive chips will come from the Dresden FDX fabs which are right next door to the German automakers including my favorite, Porsche. One thing we talked about is the topology of the automotive silicon inside a car and the difference between central processing and edge chips. Remember, some of these chips will be on glass or mirrors or inside your powertrain. The edge chips are much more sensitive to power and cost so FDX is a great fit. Mark provided a GF link for more information: Here is the link to our Automotive resources: https://www.globalfoundries.com/mark...ons/automotive One thing Mark, John, and I agree on is that truly autonomous cars for the masses is still a ways out but we as an industry are working very hard to get there, absolutely. Here is the press release: Synopsys and GLOBALFOUNDRIES Collaborate to Develop Industry's First Automotive Grade 1 IP for 22FDX Process Synopsys' Portfolio of DesignWare Foundation, Analog, and Interface IP Accelerate ISO 26262 Qualification for ADAS, Powertrain, 5G, and Radar Automotive SoCs MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., and SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Highlights: Synopsys DesignWare IP for automotive Grade 1 and Grade 2 temperature operation on GLOBALFOUNDRIES 22FDX®process includes Logic Libraries, Embedded Memories, Data Converters, LPDDR4, PCI Express 3.1, USB 2.0/3.1, and MIPI D-PHY IP Synopsys' IP solutions implement additional automotive-grade design rules for the 22FDX process to meet reliability and 15-year automotive operation requirements Synopsys' IP that supports AEC-Q100 temperature grades and ISO 26262 ASIL Readiness accelerates SoC reliability and functional safety assessments Join Synopsys and GLOBALFOUNDRIES at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain on Feb. 25 for a panel on "Intelligent Connectivity for a Data-Driven Future" Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNPS) and GLOBALFOUNDRIES (GF) today announced a collaboration to develop a portfolio of automotive Grade 1 temperature (-40ºC to +150ºC junction) DesignWare® Foundation, Analog, and Interface IP for the GF 22-nanometer (nm) Fully-Depleted Silicon-On-Insulator (22FDX®) process. By providing IP that is designed for high-temperature operation on 22FDX, Synopsys enables designers to reduce their design effort and accelerate AEC-Q100 qualification of system-on-chips (SoCs) for automotive applications such as eMobility, 5G connectivity, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), and infotainment. The Synopsys DesignWare IP implements additional automotive design rules for the GF 22FDX process to meet stringent reliability and operation requirements. This latest collaboration complements Synopsys' broad portfolio of automotive-grade IP that provides ISO 26262 ASIL B Ready or ASIL D Ready certification, AEC-Q100 testing, and quality management. "Arbe's ultra-high-resolution radar is leveraging this cutting-edge technology that enabled us to create a unique radar solution and provide the missing link for autonomous vehicles and safe driver assistance," said Avi Bauer, vice president of R D at Arbe. "We need to work with leading companies who can support our technology innovation. GF's 22FDX technology, with Synopsys automotive-grade DesignWare IP, will help us meet automotive reliability and operation requirements and is critical to our success." "GF's close, collaborative relationships with leading automotive suppliers and ecosystem partners such as Synopsys have enabled advanced process technology solutions for a broad range of driving system applications," said Mark Ireland, vice president of ecosystem partnerships at GF. "The combination of our 22FDX process with Synopsys' DesignWare IP enables our mutual customers to speed the development and certification of their automotive SoCs, while meeting their performance, power, and area targets." "Synopsys' extensive investment in developing automotive-qualified IP for advanced processes, such as GF's 22FDX, helps designers accelerate their SoC-level qualifications for functional safety, reliability, and automotive quality," said John Koeter, vice president of marketing for IP at Synopsys. "Our close collaboration with GF mitigates risks for designers integrating DesignWare Foundation, Analog, and Interface IP into low-power, high-performance automotive SoCs on the 22FDX process." Resources For more information on Synopsys DesignWare IP for automotive Grade 1 temperature operation on GF's 22FDX process: Foundation IP: Logic Libraries, Embedded Memories, One-Time Programmable Non-Volatile Memories (OTP NVM), and Embedded Test and Repair Data Converters LPDDR4 PCI Express 3.1 USB 2.0/3.1 MIPI ~ ~ ~ About the Author Daniel Nenni has worked in Silicon Valley for over 35 years with computer manufacturers, electronic design automation software, and semiconductor intellectual property companies. He is the founder of SemiWiki.com (an open forum for semiconductor professionals) and the co-author and publisher of "Fabless: The Transformation of the Semiconductor Industry", "Mobile Unleashed: The Origin and Evolution of ARM Processors in our Devices" and "Prototypical: The Emergence of Prototyping for SoC Design". He is an internationally recognized business development professional for companies involved with the fabless semiconductor ecosystem.

MedTech, autonomous driving and other disruptive technologies will be in focus at the SEMI Industry Strategy Symposium (ISS Europe), 31 March - 2 April 2019 in Milan, Italy, as top European executives, researchers and academics gather to explore solutions to the region’s most pressing strategic, economic and social challenges. Ahead of ISS Europe, SEMI spoke with Mark Purdy, managing director and chief economist at Accenture Research, about Accenture’s Business Futures – four different future worlds set in 2025 based on the collision of trends across demographics, geopolitics, technology, and economics – and what these futures will mean for markets, workforces, operating models and industry value chains. SEMI: At ISS Europe in Milan, you will kick off the symposium highlighting market opportunities of the digital economy and how companies must adapt to competitive challenges. What inspired Accenture’s Business Futures four world scenarios?Purdy: The impetus for our Business Futures really stemmed from a certain dissatisfaction with current approaches to thinking about the future. We were struck by the following puzzle. First, there is no shortage of techniques for looking at the future, from forecasting to trends analysis to conventional scenarios. Second, most decision-makers have more or less the same access to information on global trends. Yet, time and again, we hear stories of businesses going bust or facing major challenges precisely because they failed to anticipate major changes in their industry.The paradox is that we have so much information, but so little real understanding of how the future actually unfolds. So that set us thinking about how to develop a new approach, based on a combination of detailed trend analysis, expert input and creative storytelling – which is what we call “Business Futures.” SEMI: Of demographics, geopolitics, technology, and economics, which trend do you see as particularly critical?Purdy: Actually, the essence of our Business Futures thinking is that it is the collision or combination of different trends – across economics, technology, demography, etc. – that shapes future outcomes, rather than individual trends per se. To a certain extent we tend to become fixated on specific trends and this can lead us astray or cause bad decision-making. For example, in the early 2000s many people saw very favorable trends in the U.S. economy – strong capital inflows, rapidly rising consumer spending, surging stock markets, and rising home ownership rates. Each trend in isolation looked strong and sustainable. But we failed to see how the combination of these trends was fueling risky financial innovation that would eventually lead to the financial crisis and great recession.Technology of course is a key trend. We are seeing tremendous advances in next-wave technologies such as robotics, machine learning, intelligent objects, 5G and virtualization. But we can only truly understand the impact of the technologies – and the business opportunities and challenges they create – by viewing them against a wider backdrop of changes in society, demography, geopolitics and economics. That is what Business Futures strives to do.SEMI: What will these different futures mean for markets, workforce, operating models and industry value chains?Purdy: There will be profound changes in how we think about all of these areas. Markets will become much more personalized and interactive. Technology will be increasingly integrated with humans, fueling innovation in areas such as personalized healthcare and preventative medicine. Our notions of distance and capacity will be upended, as new virtualized services enable new ways of reaching underserved customers. Consumers will become increasingly involved in the creation and design of products and services. New methods of innovation, powered by AI and virtualization, will come to the fore. New entrants will come from unexpected quarters, enabled by new technology. The upshot will be massive disruption and disintermediation of value chains across many sectors.SEMI: What can Europe do to prepare?Purdy: There are no simple answers, and the correct course will vary by country, but there are some basic things to get right. First, different countries need to understand their comparative advantage – for example, whether it is in services, new technologies, advanced manufacturing or resources – and work with the grain of these different futures. Second, countries need to ensure that they have the basic conditions – regulation, organizational adaptability, workforce flexibility, skills, and innovation infrastructure – to capitalize on the productive potential of new technologies such as AI, virtual reality, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Third, we need to create educational systems and workforce learning methods that emphasize creativity, problem solving and innovation – precisely the skills that will be most needed in an age of intelligent machines. SEMI: What are your expectations for the summit in Milan and for the future?Purdy: I’m very much looking forward to the ISS Europe Summit in Milan. As an economist, I believe we are at a pivotal moment in the semi-conductor industry, driven by waves of technological change and rising geopolitical frictions and uncertainty. With so many industry leaders and experts coming together at the Summit, I’m confident that our discussions will help point a way forward!Mark Purdy is managing director of economic research at Accenture Research. His research examines issues at the intersection of economics, technology and business. He has published widely in tier-1 media and specialised publications on topics such as China’s economy, emerging-market geographic strategy, inclusive economic growth, business futures and the economic impact of new technologies such as the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin, he speaks on these topics at conferences and seminars around the world.Serena Brischetto is a marketing and communications manager at SEMI Europe.

For nearly two decades, Sean Ding, CTO and chief scientist of Alibaba Cloud IoT, has worked in software and algorithm architectures, sensing, semiconductors, systems and cloud computing – all areas that have contributed to the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT). It’s no surprise, then, that Alibaba is leading next-generation innovation for the IoT. Ding will bring his expertise to his role as moderator of Brave New World - MSIG Conference on AI+IoT 2019, a half-day forum March 20, 2019, at SEMICON China in Shanghai, China. Maria Vetrano of SEMI spoke with Ding about technologies key to the IoT era including MEMS, sensors, artificial intelligence (AI), edge gateways and cloud computing. SEMI: MEMS sensors are widely used in IoT devices. What is the relationship between AI and MEMS sensors?DING: While MEMS sensors and AI will increasingly co-reside in end-user devices, I do not recommend adding AI next to the sensor (in the same package). That’s because designers continue to use the ASIC for signal conditioning, so A/D converters are still required. Rather, we should look to edge gateways to carry the majority of the workload, including deep learning, because this reduces system complexity and power consumption.SEMI: Why are smarter sensors shifting data processing and analytics to the edge of IoT devices?DING: Data processing and analytics are very important for IoT devices, but we need to focus on understanding the data, parameter calibration and more. The MEMS sensor industry should leave big data analytics to edge computing and cloud computing because AI requires deep learning, demanding a huge amount of data.The challenge is to find the sweet spot for data processing right next to the sensor element.SEMI: What is China’s evolving role in innovation in MEMS sensors for IoT devices?DING: At present, the MEMS community in China needs to figure out how to innovate instead of copying existing technologies, a low-margin business that will not help to grow the industry. One reason why I am so pleased to see the MSIG Conference on AI+IoT in China is that it will encourage greater creativity in the MEMS community in China, and this will ultimately lead to Chinese companies and R D institutions leading innovation rather than copying it.SEMI: What is the right approach to combining smart MEMS sensors with AI in IoT devices? Why is this important for both domestic Chinese and international markets?DING: Combining data from sensors with cloud-edge computing is the right approach. As sensor companies increasingly provide end-to-end solutions, such as “sensor+ firmware + SaaS + app,” we will realize easier and faster integration of sensors in IoT applications.This is incredibly important because China today is the world’s biggest market for IoT hardware. China has 2,000-plus design houses, 200-plus OEMs and thousands of distributors. That said, we still see a highly fragmented market that will benefit from a faster integration methodology.Faster integration of MEMS sensors and AI/machine learning for IoT hardware will benefit designers in international markets as well.SEMI: What do you hope MISG Conference on AI+IoT attendees will take away from the forum? DING: MEMS sensors are highly fragmented, reflecting the highly fragmented applications in which they play. The MEMS sensors industry should figure out how to provide one-stop-shopping solutions for vertical markets. This will speed the scalability of applications and expedite the growth of sensor production. Sean Ding (柯镇) will moderate Brave New World - MSIG Conference on AI+IoT 2019 at SEMICON China on Wednesday, March 20, 2019, at Kerry Hotel Pudong in Shanghai, China.This conference has been organized by the MEMS Sensors Industry Group (MSIG). Register today to connect with Sean Ding and featured speakers at the event.Speakers at the MSIG Conference on AI+IoT 2019 at SEMICON China include: Welcome and Introduction / 欢迎辞Carmelo Sansone, Director, MEMS Sensors Industry Group (MSIG), a SEMI technology community AI Needs Accurate Data – MEMS Sensors Can Provide It / MEMS传感器为人工智能提供真实数据Andrea Onetti, Group VP of Analog MEMS Group, GM of MEMS Sensor Division, STMicroelectronics Enhanced IoT Edge by Smart Sensors / 智能传感器助力IoT边缘智Bennini Fouad, Regional President Asia Pacific, Bosch Sensortec Horizon AI Processor Solution, Enable Industries in AI Time / 地平线AI芯片解决方案，赋能千万业Carl Zhang 张永谦, General Manager/VP, Smart Chip Solutions Division, Horizon Robotics Inertial Sensors in AI Applications / 运动传感器AI应用案例Ben Lee 李彬 , CEO, mCube Ultra-Low-Power Solutions: an Ecosystem Approach / 超低功耗的生态链解决方案Carlos Mazure, IEEE Fellow, Chairman Executive Director, SOI Industry Consortium High-Integrity, Fault-Tolerant Open Inertial Measurement Platform for AI-based Vehicle Automation / 适用于人工智能车辆自动控制的高集成及容错的惯性测量开放平台Dan Dempsey, Senior Director of Automotive, ACEINNA Maria Vetrano is a public relations consultant at SEMI.

A short trip to Monterey, California provided an exciting glimpse into what is in store for the future. Along with 550 attendees and 60 exhibitors, I took a quick visit through the aisles and conference venue to find several exciting developments this year!So many exciting new products are on the horizon. Dr. Peter G. Hartwell, CTO of InvenSense, A TDK Group Company, provided a view future of the way sensors including optical, audio, balance, direction, location, and chemical will provide improvements over human capabilities. A glimpse into our future experiences with a 360-view winter wonderland experience of riding a snow mobile using two 180°C fisheye lens cameras with his presentation “Sensors: Where Reality Meets Virtual.” The only warning was that with so many cameras and social media privacy is lost!Dr. Hans Stork, CTO, ON Semiconductor discussed some of the recent investigations his company has made on the many LiDAR sensors. He enlightened listeners with more details of the optical/LiDAR Fusion with FUSE ONE that was unveiled at CES 2019. Future cars will have a combination of cameras, LiDAR, radar, and ultrasonics. No one sensor has it all. There are many companies offering LiDAR for automotive applications, but the products are still too expensive and the market will shake out over the next few years. Douglas Hackler, CEO, American Semiconductor presented the company’s achievement in flip chip on flex circuit assembly for a variety of applications, including pharmaceuticals, wearable wristbands, and IoT communications. Interconnects supported include ACA, ACF, advanced z-axis materials, and low temperature solder. He also described flexible hybrid electronics using printed electronics and a wafer CSP assembly for sensors. With this operation located in Idaho, products can be assembled in the U.S. Jean-Charles Souriau from CEA-Leti described the organization’s detailed research in developing in flip chip assembly on a flexible label with a thin die. A gold stud bump flip chip and thermo-compression bonding with glue is used to attach the die to a flex substrate. A polymer fabricated on thin glass was also demonstrated. Clearly, much progress has been made in flexible printed electronics in the last year with many presentations describing progress. Results of a benchmark study conducted at Cal Poly examined some of the key developments in bump materials and interconnect methods. Key areas such as antennas, batteries, PV and energy harvesting, a variety of sensors, and audio technology were investigated. Dr. Pradeep Lall presented work examining developments in conductive inks for 3D printed electronics.Dr. Subu Iyer and his student, Arsalan Alam, of UCLA presented some exciting research on heterogeneously integrated foldable display on elastomeric substrate, FlexTrate™, using vertically corrugated interconnects. This can be considered fan-out wafer level packaging. The work holds much promise for applications including foldable displays, wireless powered systems and surface electromyography systems. Fine pitch ≤40 micron interconnects bendable to 1 mm bending radius passed more than 6,000 bending cycles. Dr. Mark Poliks of Binghamton University described their work on the development of a wearable flexible hybrid electronics ECG monitor. While the work is in the early stages, human trials will soon begin and the results look promising. New materials will be key in the future products. Reliability test data was also presented on aerosol-jet printed traces on Upilex-S, including tensile, peel and bend testing, as well as “healing” of the damage. New product introductions included U.K’s Peratech’s EDGE force-sensing solution targeted form smartphones, wearables, and tablets. In this HMI solution, Peratech’s thin sensors are mechanically integrated into key areas of the smartphone to capture a user’s natural single-handed grip, ergonomic finger movements, intuitive pressure sand squeezes to control key functions. It even works with the users has wet hands or is wearing gloves! This eliminates the need for physical button openings and allows the implementation of a thinner, more contoured device with a rigid-metal chassis. Next year’s event will be in San Jose during the last week of February. Stay tuned to SEMI’s website for more details.Jan Vardaman is president and founder of TechSearch International, Inc., which has provided market research and technology trend analysis in semiconductor packaging since 1987. She is the co-author of How to Make IC Packages (by Nikkan Kogyo Shinbunsha), a columnist with Printed Circuit Design Fab/Circuits Assembly, and the author of numerous publications on emerging trends in semiconductor packaging and assembly. She is a senior member of IEEE EPS and is an IEEE EPS Distinguished Lecturer as well as a member of SEMI, SMTA, IMAPS, and MEPTEC.

At the SEMI FLEX 2019 and MEMS Sensors Technical Congress (MSTC) (MSTC) February 18-21 in Monterey, California, I had the pleasure of meeting many old friends and colleagues as well as making some great new acquaintances. With MEMS and sensors still a relatively young industry, I am delighted that our community is thriving. We continue to see double-digit growth rates, there is plenty of innovation, and the technology generates massive amounts of data that gets everyone excited about artificial intelligence, deep and machine learning, and blockchain. Those are all the buzzwords that any tech startup needs for funding these days.While it is hard to single out any one presentation at conferences, I was particularly struck by Nadia Shakoor’s keynote address, “Driving Advances in Crop Breeding and Smart Farm Management.” From Nadia I learned that the world’s largest agriculture sensing platform was a mere 45 minutes south of where I live in Phoenix, Arizona. This is a major embarrassment to admit as I have lived here for almost 30 years, have been involved in MEMS and sensors for a decade, and have a particular passion for the use of sensors in agriculture and food to improve crop yields and food quality, and to reduce food waste. This humongous sensor was hiding in plain sight right under my nose!After Nadia’s keynote, I just had to speak to her at the break. Nadia is the senior research scientist and project director for TERRA-REF at the Danforth Plant Science Center based in St. Louis, Missouri. Nadia’s work employs field-level crop phenomics, the biological study of the set of physical and biochemical traits belonging to a given organism (phenomes). Phenomes are fascinating because they change in response to genetic mutation and environmental influences. The Danforth Plant Science Center and its partners are involved in many phenotyping projects using autonomous vehicles, drones, field scanners, satellite imaging and more.After the FLEX MSTC event, I emailed Nadia to ask if I could visit the field scanner and her partner team at the University of Arizona in Maricopa, Arizona. She kindly introduced me to Maria Newcomb, a plant research scientist at the site, who gave me a good look at this mother of all field scanners: the Transportation Energy Resources from Renewable Agriculture Phenotyping Reference Platform (TERRA-REF). TERRA-REF aims to transform plant breeding by using remote sensing to quantify plant traits such as plant architecture, carbon uptake, tissue chemistry, water use and other features to predict the yield potential and stress resistance of 400+ diverse sorghum lines. The TERRA-REF Field Scanner at the University of Arizona Maricopa Agricultural Center. It’s the largest field crop analytics robot in the world, one that’s critical to the crop research underway at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Source: Steve Whalley TERRA-REF’s Lemnatec Field Scanalyzer is the largest field crop analytics robot in the world. This high-throughput phenotyping field-scanning robot has a 30-ton steel gantry that autonomously moves along two 200-meter steel rails that have recently been extended another 170 meters. It continuously images the crops growing below it by using a diverse array of cameras and sensors to observe the field at a dense-collection frequency with high resolution. These sensors include RGB stereo; thermal, chlorophyll fluorescence imaging system; hyperspectral cameras; a 3D laser scanner; and environmental monitors.Plant breeding is currently limited by the speed at which phenotypes can be measured, and the information that can be extracted from these measurements. Current instruments used to quantify plant traits do not scale to the thousands or tens of thousands of individual plants that need to be evaluated in a breeding program. The TERRA-REF field scanner system, on the other hand, uses sensors to scan over one acre of plants, collecting thousands of daily measurements throughout the growing season, and these are used to determine plant phenotypes and inform breeding decisions. TERRA-REF’s advanced sensor technologies include: Hyperspectral (250nm-2500nm) Thermal Infrared 2D and Stereo RGB PSII chlorophyll fluorescence 3D laser Environmental sensors The TERRA-REF field scanner platform features a massive sensor-rich scanner head. Source: Steve Whalley The humongous TERRA-REF field-scanner was certainly a sight to behold, looming like a cargo-ship container crane in the vast flat plains of the Arizona desert landscape. I’ve only scratched the surface of what this enormous sensor platform can accomplish so if you are a MEMS/sensor company interested in agriculture and food production, I encourage you to get more information at terraref.org and pay a visit next time you are in the area.Steve Whalley, CEO, Strategic World Ventures, is a strategic consultant to SEMI-MEMS Sensors Industry Group (MSIG). He also consults with established and emerging semiconductor, MEMS and sensors companies.

The world's SOI wafer leader, Soitec is posting strong sales and issuing a steady stream of compelling announcements. This is clearly good news for everyone in the SOI ecosystem, as the outlook for the various families of SOI wafers is excellent. Soitec CEO Paul Boudre told ASN, “I'm excited because of the fundamentals behind the growth. Reaching down the supply chain gives us the ability to help our customers with the next generation. We're not in a technology push, but in a technology pull. It's long-term growth we're seeing.” [caption id="attachment_15532" align="alignleft" width="239"] Paul Boudre, CEO, Soitec[/caption] Soitec has brought people from the device side into the company to better understand the solutions customers need, he said. They're talking to the carmakers, telcos and more, working one-on-one with them to understand the constraints and the problems they are trying to fix, in order to deliver a solution based on the Soitec product roadmap. Boudre is particularly excited about 5G. It's not just new handsets and systems: the entire infrastructure will require a massive upgrade, across which Soitec has a role to play supplying SOI wafers. They also have other SOI and engineered substrates for specific markets like filters, displays, imaging and power. He adds that they're seeing nice growth in SOI wafers for photonics, driven by cloud computing, and for smart power in markets like automotive and white goods. Here's a roundup of some recent developments. Chips made on RF-SOI wafers are in every mobile phone made on the planet these days, so lets look at what they're doing there first. We'll follow that with an update on the surge of activity on FD-SOI wafers. Simgui, RF Power It's no secret that the runaway success of RF-SOI for front-end modules (FEMs) in mobile phones has stretched wafer capacity mightily. To help address this, in February 2019 Soitec and China's SOI wafer leader Simgui announced an enhanced partnership and increased production capacity of 200mm SOI wafers in China, securing future growth. The two companies redefined their manufacturing and licensing relationship to better serve to better serve the growing global market for RF-SOI in mobile and Power-SOI in automotive and consumer electronics. [caption id="attachment_15535" align="alignright" width="936"] (Image courtesy: Simgui)[/caption] Since the two companies signed their original licensing and technology transfer agreement in May 2014, Simgui has mastered Soitec’s Smart Cut™ proprietary process to deliver world-class RF-SOI and Power-SOI products. Simgui’s strategic partnership with Soitec allows them to use the same tools and processes to deliver the same products meeting the same specifications. Simgui has invested in their Shanghai fabrication line in order to double annual 200mm SOI wafer production capacity from 180,000 to 360,000. The fab is production ready, having been qualified by multiple key customers inside and outside China. Simgui CEO Dr. Jeffrey Wang notes, “China has design, wafer manufacturing and good momentum in the IC industry. We are committed to our strategic partnership with Soitec to keep advancing SOI as China’s key differentiator.” With China Mobile China Mobile's interest in the SOI ecoystem is clear: they've presented at the SOI symposia in Shanghai for two years running now. In a February 2019 press release, Soitec announced that they've joined the China Mobile 5G Innovation Center – and they're the first materials supplier to do so. The China Mobile 5G Innovation Center is an international alliance chartered to develop 5G communication solutions for China, the world’s largest wireless communications market with 925M mobile subscribers. The Center aims to accelerate the development of 5G by establishing a cross-industry ecosystem, setting up open labs to create new products and applications, and fostering new business and market opportunities. Soitec's RF-SOI wafers have been critical in the deployment of 4G communications, and the opportunity in 5G is even bigger. Plus the company's FD-SOI wafers enable the technology that brings unique RF performance, making it an ideal solution for many applications including mmWave communications such as 5G transceivers. They are also enabling full RF and ultra-low-power computing integration for IoT and edge computing. For Samsung Foundry In January 2019, Soitec announced that they have expanded their collaboration with Samsung Foundry on the FD-SOI wafer supply, securing the high-volume Samsung needs to meet industry's current and future demands in consumer, IoT and automotive applications. The agreement is built on the existing close relationship between the companies and guarantees wafer supply for Samsung’s FD-SOI platform starting with the 28FDS process. “Samsung has been committed to delivering transformative industry leading technologies,” said Ryan Lee, Vice President of Foundry Marketing at Samsung Electronics. “FD-SOI is currently setting a new standard in many high-growth applications including IoT with ultra-low-power devices, automotive systems such as vision processors for ADAS and infotainment, and mobile connectivity from 5G smartphones to wearable electronics. Through this agreement with Soitec, our long-term strategic partner, we hope to lay the foundation for steady supply to meet high-volume demands of current and future customers.” “This strategic agreement validates today’s high-volume manufacturing adoption of FD-SOI,” said Christophe Maleville, Soitec’s Executive Vice President, Digital Electronics Business Unit. “Soitec is ready to support Samsung’s current and long-term growth for ultra-low power, performance-on-demand FD-SOI solutions.” Silicon Catalyst Partner In February 2019 Soitec announced they'd become a strategic partner in Silicon Catalyst's start-up incubator. Silicon Catalyst is a Silicon Valley-based incubator providing silicon-focused start-ups access to a world-class network of advisors, design tools, silicon devices, networking, access to funding and marketing acumen needed to successfully launch their businesses. [caption id="attachment_15534" align="alignright" width="300"] (Image courtesy: Soitec, Silicon Catalyst)[/caption] Soitec will engage in this start-up ecosystem to gain insight into the newest technologies and applications across high-growth markets, and to guide nascent technologies to successful market penetration. “As a Strategic Partner of Silicon Catalyst, Soitec has a unique opportunity to grow our visibility among early-stage semiconductor companies,” said Thomas Piliszczuk, Executive VP of Global Strategy for Soitec. “Engineered substrates give semiconductor related start-ups a competitive edge in developing new high-performance, energy-efficient solutions." Pete Rodriguez, CEO of Silicon Catalyst said, “Soitec is creating technical advances that are enabling the next generation of products across many market segments. Their SOI technology is a key ingredient to meet the diverse challenges for breakthrough differentiated semiconductor products, combining ultra-low power with excellent analog/mixed-signal performance.” Energy Harvesting with Renesas And finally, jumping back a few months, at the end of 2018 Soitec announced that their SOI wafers are at the heart of a new Renesas SOTBTM energy harvesting chipset, opening a self-powered future for IoT devices. SOTB is how Renesas refers to its FD-SOI technology. [caption id="attachment_15533" align="alignleft" width="300"] (Image courtesy: Renesas)[/caption] (BTW, here at ASN we've been covering the work that Renesas has quietly done on this technology since 2005 (!). And we did a piece about an EETimes Japan article back in 2015 that revealed the launching of the 65nm work. ) Soitec supports the Renesas SOTB chipset with a special version of its FD-SOI wafer product line. The new Renesas SOTB-based chipset overcomes the energy constraints of IoT devices and reduces the power consumption to approximately one-tenth that of the existing products in the market today. That makes the chipset perfectly suited for extreme low-power, maintenance-free and energy harvesting applications including wearable devices, smart home applications, smart watches, portable appliances, infrastructure monitoring systems, industrial, business, agricultural, healthcare, as well as health and fitness apparel, shoes, drones and more. Renesas has developed its energy harvesting chip using its unique SOTB 65nm process technology that achieves both low active current of 20 μA/MHz and deep standby current of 150 nA. As a result, Renesas’ SOTB chipsets offer enhanced control of the transistor electrostatics and reductions in both the standby and active currents to levels never before achieved. Additionally, Renesas has successfully delivered the dopant-less channel to suppress Vth variability for the ultra-low voltage operation, and the ultra-low power back bias control to reduce the standby current at the same time. “To spur innovations in IoT and consumer applications, we have integrated our exclusive energy-harvesting SOTB technologies into our Energy Harvest Controller,” said Mr. Toru Moriya, Vice President of Renesas’ Home Business Division, Industrial Solutions Business Unit. “We are confident that our SOTB technology built on Soitec’s ultrathin substrates can deliver unmatched capabilities for developing maintenance-free IoT devices that never require power supply or replacement, giving rise to a new IoT global market based on endpoint intelligence.” [caption id="attachment_15714" align="alignleft" width="300"] (click to enlarge) Block diagram of the Renesas R7F0E Embedded Controller, their first device based on their SOTB (aka FD-SOI) technology. Target applications are battery-free connected IoT sensing devices with endpoint intelligence. (Image courtesy Renesas)[/caption] The new R7F0E Embedded Controller is the first device based on Renesas’ SOTB technology. Developers can now design applications that need no battery or recharging. The R7F0E features: an Arm® Cortex® -M0＋; operating frequency up to 32 MHz, and up to 64 MHz in boost mode (that's body bias in action!); memory of up to 1.5 MB flash, 256 KB SRAM; and active current consumption while operating at 3.0V of just 20 µA/MHz, and in deep standby of 150 nA with real-time clock source and reset manager. As of this writing, Renesas indicates it's engaging select customers through July 2019, with mass production in 4Q19. Read more about the RE Family SOTB™ Process-Based Energy Harvesting Embedded Controllers on the Renesas website.

The SEMI Europe Industry Strategy Symposium (ISS Europe) returns in Milan, Italy, this year from 31st March to 2nd April, 2019 to explore new opportunities and challenges in the digital economy. Serena Brischetto of SEMI spoke with GreenWaves Technologies CEO and co-founder Loïc Lietar about the semiconductor start-up and its Internet of Things (IoT) ultra-low-power processing technology ahead of the summit.SEMI: What are the mission and vision of GreenWaves Technologies? Lietar: GreenWaves Technologies is a fabless semiconductor start-up that is designing disruptive ultra-low power embedded solutions for image, sound and vibration artificial intelligence (AI) processing in sensing devices. It was founded in late 2014 with the mission to enable the market for intelligent in-device sensors using ultra-low energy and cost-efficient computing solutions. As a result, the GreenWaves GAP8 is the industry’s first ultra-low-power processor to enable battery-operated AI in Internet of Things (IoT) applications.SEMI: How did you move from the semiconductor industry to the start-up ecosystem?Lietar: I worked 25 years for STMicroelectronics then four years ago left because a project didn’t materialize. At the same time, I became involved a bit by chance in the founding of GreenWaves, which turned out to be an amazing journey that I rapidly got entirely – and deadly – committed to.SEMI: Semiconductors are usually not associated with the idea of start-up. What is the key to the success of GreenWaves and its positioning? Lietar: Start-ups have played a significant role in the formation of our industry and in bringing innovations and disruptions to the market. But as it became more complicated to finance start-ups because of exploding development costs, the number of semiconductor start-ups shrank significantly in the past 10 years.At GreenWaves we develop and sell IoT application processors – processors tuned for a given class of applications. In our case, we focused on machine learning inference processors and more generally signal processing and IoT for ultra-low power. We typically process and analyze images, sounds and vibrations and our technology is more than one order of magnitude more energy efficient than existing processors. For example, our processor, coupled with an infra-red sensor, can count the number of people present in a room once a minute for more than five years on a single charge. Our architecture uses RISC-V cores. This free and open Instruction Set Architecture is seeing huge momentum and a rapidly growing community. Second, we leverage an open source project called PULP developed by the Italian Università di Bologna and the Federal Polytechnical School ETH in Zurich. While open source is a well-established model for software, this is pretty unchartered territory in the semiconductor industry. It is working very well for us, as we benefit from robust technology we can incrementally innovate on. This is why we have been able to develop our first product with 4 million Euro.Competition is now emerging, and this is a good sign: We are not alone in believing in this market but we remain very differentiated!SEMI: One of the reasons why semiconductor start-ups were no longer attractive to VCs is the amount of capital that start-ups need to invest. Did public funding help you too?Lietar: Yes, public funding played a crucial role at the beginning. We received rather classically 300K Euro of French grants and then we were lucky enough to win a very selective H2020 grant, the SME instrument, for 1.2M€. In France there is a very powerful scheme of research tax credit that covers more than 30 percent of our R D costs and French banks know how to lend money to start-ups, with a state warranty.SEMI: What is particularly exciting about GreenWaves?Lietar: When we defined the target market more than three years ago, frankly, we were alone in the market. Now, it sounds obvious, but we have a three-year time advantage over our competitors. The technology is really impressive and great in serving this market, and it goes beyond what we had thought about it at the beginning. And finally, the open source model that we are validating is yet another rather unique attribute of ours. The combination of those three aspects is thrill!SEMI: Can you name some applications?In the consumer space we can name, autonomous nano-drones, smart toys, home surveillance and wearables. We also enable important applications in smart buildings and smart cities related to counting people and things, and within the industry 4.0 with applications in advanced fault detection.SEMI: What are your expectations regarding the summit in Milan, and for the future ahead? What is the status of the semiconductor funding ecosystem?Lietar: I look forward to comparing my recent entrepreneurial experience with other colleagues and peers in the industry. It is true: Financing a semiconductor start-up is a challenge, but things are improving. Ironically, in the U.S. and China, we are in the middle of an over-heated hype around AI, which will ultimately burst and make it even more difficult to fund semiconductor start-ups than it was before. But we are used to it in this industry. Loïc Lietar is a co-founder and CEO of GreenWaves Technologies, a fabless semiconductor start-up that develops GAP8, the industry's first loT application processor featuring ultra-low power for images, sounds and motion. Prior to co-founding GreenWaves Technologies, Loïc worked 25 years for STMicroelectronics, where he led several product divisions. He also served as Chief Strategy Officer and co-founded and managed the corporate venture fund at STMicroelectronics. Serena Brischetto is a marketing and communications manager at SEMI Europe.

The recent FLEX 2019 and MEMS Sensors Technical Congress (MSTC) showcased autonomous mobility sensors, more than 100 market and technical presentations, and 60 exhibits but also highlighted the industry’s future. The event also highlighted the best student research in the student poster session. A committee of industry volunteers ranked posters created by bright, young minds on originality, clarity, data sources, analysis and conclusions, visuals, presentation and creativity before selecting the top three. This year the awards went to some outstanding researchers at the beginning stages of their promising careers in flexible and printed electronics. Michael Crump, University of Washington – 3D Printed Stretchable Strain Sensors with Conductive Ionogels Goutham Ezhilarasuv, University of California, Los Angeles – A Flexible, Heterogeneously Integrated, Wireless Powered System for Implantable Applications Using Fan-out Wafer-level Packaging on Elastomeric Substrates Tony Varghese, Boise State University – Additive Manufacturing and Photonic Sintering of Flexible Thermoelectric Generators for Wearable Applications Stefanie Harvey, FlexTech (left) and Stephen Farias, NanoDirect LLC (right) present the awards to Michael Crump, University of Washington (center left) and Tony Varghese, Boise State University (center right). SEMI-FlexTech and SEMI-MSIG are pleased to recognize the work of all of the students and their faculty who participated in this year’s event and competition. We look forward to seeing you on the stage presenting at a future event.Stefanie Harvey is the R D program manager at SEMI-FlexTech.

GlobalFoundries and Dolphin Integration are collaborating on the development of a series of adaptive body bias (ABB) solutions to improve the energy efficiency and reliability of SoCs on GF’s 22nm FD-SOI (22FDX®) process technology for a wide range of high-growth applications such as 5G, IoT and automotive. The goal of the IP is to accelerate energy-efficient SoC designs and push the boundaries of single-chip integration. The design kits with turnkey ABB solutions will be available starting in Q2 2019. As part of the collaboration, Dolphin and GF are working together to develop a series of off-the-shelf ABB solutions for accelerating and easing body bias* implementation on SoC designs. ABB is a unique feature of FD-SOI that enables designers to leverage forward and reverse body bias techniques to dynamically compensate for process, supply voltage, temperature (PVT) variations and aging effects to achieve additional performance, power, area and cost improvements beyond those from scaling alone. The ABB solutions in development by GF and Dolphin consist of self-contained IPs embedding the body bias voltage regulation, PVT and aging monitors and control loop as well as complete design methodologies to fully leverage the benefits of corner tightening. GF says its 22FDX technology offers the industry’s lowest static and dynamic power consumption. With automated transistor body biasing adjustment, Dolphin Integration can achieve up to 7x energy efficiency with power supply as low as 0.4V on 22FDX designs. “We have been working with GF for more than two years on advanced and configurable power management IPs for low power and energy efficient applications,” said Philippe Berger, CEO of Dolphin Integration. “Through our ongoing collaboration with GF, we are focused on creating turnkey IP solutions that allow designers to realize the full benefit of FD-SOI for any SoC design in 22FDX.” “In order to simplify our client designs and shorten their time-to-market, GF and our ecosystem partners are helping to pave the way to future performance standards in 5G, IoT and automotive,” said Mark Ireland, vice president of ecosystem partnerships at GF. “With the support of silicon IP providers like Dolphin Integration, new power, performance and reliability design infrastructures will be available to customers to fully leverage the benefits of GF’s 22FDX technology.” As STMicroelectronics Fellow and Professor Andreia Cathelin has beautifully noted, “Body biasing is not an obligation. It’s an opportunity.” And GF/Dolphin clearly aim to make that opportunity a much easier and more powerful one to take advantage of. ~ ~ ~ *A note on terminology: the terms back bias and body bias are used interchangeably. Likewise the terms adaptive and dynamic when used in the FD-SOI context. Here is a quick explanation of how it works, from an ST paper from several years ago: Back-biasing consists of applying a voltage just under the BOX of target transistors. Doing so changes the electrostatic control of the transistors and shifts their threshold voltage VT, to either get more drive current (hence higher performance) at the expense of increased leakage current (forward back-bias, FBB) or cut leakage current at the expense of reduced performance. While back-bias in planar FD is somewhat similar to body-bias that can be implemented in bulk CMOS technology, it offers a number of key advantages in terms of level and efficiency of the bias that can be applied. Back-biasing can be utilized in a dynamic way, on a block-by-block basis. It can be used to boost performance during the limited periods of time when maximum peak performance is required from that block. It can also be used to cut leakage during the periods of time when limited performance is not an issue. In other words, back-bias offers a new and efficient knob on the speed/power trade-off. For another good discussion of body biasing in FD-SOI, you might want to check out The Return Of Body Biasing by Semiconductor Engineering's Ann Steffora Mutschler from a couple years ago.