SEMICON Europa expands
SEMICON Europa will feature semiconductor device technology for a wide range of applications, equipment, materials, services "” and will provide access to critical information relative to device manufacturing, partnership opportunities, next-generation fab requirements and funding. This year's event has an expanded exhibition and more than 70 sessions with 300 speakers.
Global capital spending on semiconductor equipment is projected to grow 41% in 2014 and another 21% in 2015. According to the August SEMI World Fab Forecast, semiconductor equipment spending will increase from $29 billion in 2013 to $42 billion in 2015. SEMI projects back-to-back years of double-digit growth in Europe and Mid-East semiconductor equipment sales. The SEMI outlook forecasts that the European/Mid-East semiconductor equipment market will grow 11% in 2014 (reaching $1.9 billion) and 100% in 2015 (reaching $3.8 billion). In terms of percentage of worldwide sales, the Europe/MidEast region's share is expected to increase from 5.9% in 2013 to 9.0% in 2015.
Front-end manufacturing highlights
SEMICON Europa offers several semiconductor Front-End manufacturing highlights. The 18th Fab Managers Forum, themed "Improving Productivity for Mature Fabs," features speakers from IMEC, Infineon AG, Bosch, and more. The prospect for future 450mm wafer processing, as well other technical and business challenges in semiconductor and related micro and nano-electronics industries, also will be addressed.
In the "450mm Innovations and Synergies for Smaller Diameters" program, presentations will focus on progress, research, and collaboration on the future of the semiconductor manufacturing. In addition, a Secondary Equipment session, themed "Fundamental to European Competitiveness?", features presentations from Infineon Technologies AG, STMicroelectronics, and Robert Bosch GmbH.
35 major European start-ups
Attendees and exhibitors also will delve into the technologies that shape the future of the microtech, nanotech, medtech and cleantech industries. Representing the entire supply chain from materials to electronic systems and services, 35 major European start-ups will participate in the Innovation Village and present their new technologies at SEMICON Europa. All events in Innovation Village, including the 3-day start-up exhibition, Silicon Innovation Forum and Innovation Conference are available at no charge for all SEMICON Europa guests and visitors.
As part of the SIF, selected start-ups will "pitch" to investors and SEMICON Europa visitors followed by a start-up panel discussion "Fundraising for the Future Champions of European Electronics." The Innovation Conference will delve into current practices and funding issues facing semiconductor and high-tech start-ups. Keynote speakers include Nicolas Leterrier (Schneider Electric) and Dan Armbrust (Silicon Catalyst). Participating start-ups were chosen by a selection committee which included: Applied Ventures LLC, Robert Bosch Venture GmbH, TEL Venture,3M Ventures, CEA Investissement, Samsung Ventures, Air Liquid Electronics, ASTER Capital), VTT Ventures, and Capital-E.
Start-ups include ActLight (Switzerland), BlinkSight (France), BluWireless Technology (UK), Calao-Systems (France) and Silicon Line (Germany).
Energy efficiency: low power electronics
For the first time, SEMICON Europa 2014 will offer two new power-related technical forums "” Power Electronics Conference (8-9 October) and Low Power Conference (7-8 October). Energy efficiency is a key challenge and advances in power microelectronics, batteries, mobility, and energy harvesting systems are making power management smarter to reduce energy consumption. SEMICON Europa's two new Power Conferences focus on how innovators and their technologies are building energy-optimized applications.
The theme of the Low Power Conference is "Highly Energy Efficient Nanotechnologies and Applications." The number of connected electronics devices is growing exponentially. According to Jean-Marc Chery, COO STMicroelectronics, to sustain this growth, the semiconductor industry needs a real breakthrough in energy efficiency "” both for connected devices and for the communication infrastructure. Conference highlights include speakers from STMicroelectronics, GLOBALFOUNDRIES, Qualcomm Technologies, Cadence Design Systems, IBS, HP, Schneider Electric, and Pervasive Sensing.
The Power Electronics Conference is themed "The Ultimate Path to CO2 Reduction." Modern power semiconductors play an essential role in energy conservation and worldwide CO2 reduction. Philippe Roussel, Yole Developpement, will present the keynote on market and technology overview of the Power Electronics industry, including a look at the impact of Wide BandGap (WBG) Devices. Conference highlights include an Applications session (CEA/LETI, EpiGaN, ECPE, Infineon, EC, Renault, and Supergrid Institute) and Technology and Materials session (Fairchild, Infineon, SiCrystal AG, Siltronic AG, Soitec, ST Catania, and Yole).
Imaging without limits
According to Yole Développement, the CMOS Image Sensor (CIS) market is expected to grow at a 10% CAGR in revenue in the five-year period from 2013 to 2018, growing from US$ 7.8 billion in 2013 to $12.8 billion in 2018. While many applications drive the integration of CMOS image sensors, mobile phones accounted for approximately 66% of total shipments in 2013. But other new applications "” including tablets and automotive "” are set to drive the future growth of this industry. Tablets also significantly contribute to the market growth with a 17% CAGR over 2013-2018. The next wave of imaging will include focus on automotive applications. CAGR for CIS automotive applications is expected to increase 36% between 2013 and 2018. Yole states that the market is expected to reach about $700 million in 2018. Automotive market requirements are different from the mobile phone market, which still focuses on higher resolution and smaller pixels. In addition, other applications also have a high CAGR "” wearable devices (103%), machine vision (33%), and camera pills (32%).
The Imaging Without Limits Conference (7-8 October) will be introduced at SEMICON Europa 2014 this year to address this surging market. Covering a broad range of imaging systems, the conference will explore imaging-related systems, existing and new applications, and technologies on the horizon. Keynote speakers include Eric Fossum, Dartmouth University and the father of CIS, and Pascal Brosset, chief innovation officer of Schneider Electric. Applications (mobile, automotive, industrial, medical), technologies (sensors, optics, processing and packaging), and specific implementation techniques will all be covered.
On the edge of commercialization
According to analysts, the Plastic Electronics market is growing rapidly and is expected to reach $13 billion by 2020 driven by increasing applications in the semiconductor and electronics market. Applications like large area displays, solar panels and printed electronics are now responsible for a substantial portion of the PE market, and emerging applications like OLED, thin-film batteries, and sensors are also growth opportunities. Manufacturability of PE is moving from research level to industrial relevance. Still, numerous barriers to commercialization must be overcome "” from material development to integration, manufacturing, processing, and assembly issues.
The upcoming Plastics Electronics 2014 (PE2014), co-located with SEMICON Europa, covers the issues currently driving development and impeding progress. This year the theme is "Enabling Applications beyond Limits in Electronics." Plastic electronics' imminent transition from the R&D phase to the industrialization stage is highlighted by several keynote presentations at PE2014 - Fiddian Warman, SODA, and John Heitzinger, Soligie, Inc.
The exposition and conference cover the entire span of Plastic Electronics; visit www.plastic-electronics.org
SEMICON Europa 2014 will be held on 7-9 October in conjunction with Plastics Electronics 2014 (PE2014) to showcase Europe's most innovative companies, institutions and people. More than 8,000 visitors from all over the world are expected to attend. www.semiconeuropa.org
