Semiconductor Development from the First Transistor to 3D-Chip

The first transistor was invented at Bell Laboratories on December 16, 1947 by William Shockley. It replaced Vacuum tubes in the years after gradually, and Radio was marked on the case as Solid State to interpret the durability of Transistor. Shock in a much high order than vacuum tubes, on the other hand it operates in less power and energy than the vacuum tube, and It is pretty SMALL.
In 1959 both TI and Fairchild parties applied for patents of IC. Jack Kilby and Texas Instruments received U.S. patent #3,138,743 for miniaturized electronic circuits. Robert Noyce and the Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation received U.S. patent #2,981,877 for a silicon based integrated circuit. The two companies wisely decided to cross license their technologies after several years of legal battles, creating a global market now worth about $1 trillion a year.
In 1961 the first commercially available IC came from the Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation. All computers then started to be made using chips instead of the individual transistors and their accompanying parts. Texas Instruments first used the chips in Air Force computers and the Minuteman Missile in 1962. The original IC had only one transistor, three resistors and one capacitor and was the size of an adult's pinkie. They used the chips to produce the first electronic portable calculators later.
The first integrated circuits contained only a few transistors. Called "small-scale integration" (SSI), Early linear ICs such as Plessey SL201 or Philips TAA320 had as few as two transistors. The term Large Scale Integration was first used by IBM scientist Rolf Landauer when describing the theoretical concept, from there came the terms for SSI, MSI, VLSI, and ULSI.
SSI circuits were crucial to early aerospace projects, and vice-versa. Both the Minuteman missile and Apollo program needed lightweight digital computers for their inertial guidance systems. The Minuteman missile program and various other Navy programs accounted for the total $4 million integrated circuit market in 1962, and by 1968, U.S. Government space and defense spending still accounted for 37% of the $312 million total production. The demand by the U.S. Government supported the nascent integrated circuit market until costs fell enough to allow firms to penetrate the industrial and eventually the consumer markets. The average price per integrated circuit dropped from $50.00 in 1962 to $2.33 in 1968. Integrated circuits began to appear in consumer products by the turn of the decade, a typical application being FM inter-carrier sound processing in television receivers.
In the late 1960s, introduced devices which contained hundreds of transistors on each chip, called "medium-scale integration" (MSI).
They were attractive economically because while they cost little more to produce than SSI devices.
Later, driven by the same economic factors, led to "large-scale integration" (LSI) in the mid 1970s, with tens of thousands of transistors per chip.
Integrated circuits such as 1K-bit RAMs, calculator chips, and the first microprocessors, that began to be manufactured in moderate quantities in the early 1970s, had under 4,000 transistors. True LSI circuits, approaching 10,000 transistors, began to be produced around 1974, for computer main memories and second-generation microprocessors.
Remember your Texas Instrument Programmable Calculator when you was in the University in the 70’s.
VLSI Very-large-scale integration IC
Upper interconnect layers on an Intel 80486DX2 microprocessor. The final step in the development process, starting in the 1980s and continuing through the present, was "very large-scale integration" (VLSI). The development started with hundreds of thousands of transistors in the early 1980s, and continues beyond several billion transistors as of 2009.
Multiple developments were required to achieve this increased density. Manufacturers moved to smaller rules and cleaner fabrication, through the use of advance semiconductor equipment. They could make chips with more transistors and maintain adequate yield. The path of process improvements was summarized by the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS). Design tools improved enough to make it practical to finish these designs in a reasonable time. The more energy efficient CMOS replaced NMOS and PMOS, avoiding a prohibitive increase in power consumption.
In 1986 the first one megabit RAM chips were introduced, which contained more than one million transistors. Microprocessor chips passed the million transistor mark in 1989 and the billion transistor mark in 2005. The trend continues largely unabated, with chips introduced in 2007 containing tens of billions of memory transistors.
ULSI, WSI, SOC and 3D-IC
To reflect further growth of the complexity, the term ULSI that stands for "ultra-large-scale integration" was proposed for chips of complexity of more than 1 million transistors.
Wafer-scale integration (WSI) is a system of building very-large integrated circuits that uses an entire silicon wafer to produce few single "super-chip". Through a combination of large size and reduced packaging, WSI could lead to dramatically reduced costs for some systems, notably massively parallel supercomputers. The name is taken from the term Very-Large-Scale Integration, the current state of the art when WSI was being developed.
A system-on-a-chip (SoC or SOC) is an integrated circuit in which all the components needed for a computer or other systems are included on a single chip. The design of such a device can be complex and costly, and building disparate components on a single piece of silicon may compromise the efficiency of some elements. However, these drawbacks are offset by lower manufacturing and assembly costs and by a greatly reduced power budget: because signals among the components are kept on-die, much less power is required.
POP is package on package that is to stack the package on top of another package. The target is to increase the function and minimize the chip size both x and y.
On Packaging side, memory Chip is the competitive technology that is to stack up many as 10 chips on top the other on both side of the substrates, whereby, tiny gold wire of diameter 0.008 inch are used to interconnect the chips to the lead of the outer package by using the speed of 20 wires per second provided by the world fastest Gold ball bonder supplied by the major equipment supplier ASM and K & S. and the total package is only 1mm thick. This results that we can have an USB memory stick that can have 32G memory.
While more chips are built on a single chip and is operation in Giga operations in a second, technology is how to do Chip cooling down, the material, the thermal management, and the selection of the substrate matching the chip as not to crack the chip due to temperature rising and mechanical expansion. H how to apply the state of the Art o Cooling system by Air, Fins and Fans, water embedded porous copper material for efficient cooling such as Metaform. When we do Google , the Google server and network will operate and generate certain Kilo of CO2 in the world. As the microprocessor operate and that generate heat, so some one has proposed to install the server in the Polar area.
3D chips are expected to solve a number of problems for chipmakers who are aiming for performance increases in ever-smaller chips. As transistor density rises, the wires connecting them have become both thinner and closer together, resulting in increased resistance and overheating. And that leads to the demand of super accurate Gold ball bonder that connect thousand wires inside the chip here to there. These problems cause signal delays, packaging concern for the chip, limiting the clock speed of central processing units.
A three-dimensional integrated circuit (3D-IC) has two or more layers of active electronic components that are integrated both vertically and horizontally into a single circuit. Communication between layers uses on-die signaling, so power consumption is much lower than in equivalent separate circuits. Judicious use of short vertical wires can substantially reduce overall wire length for faster operation.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is vying with Intel to become the first company to sell three-dimensional chips that boost the density of transistors in a single semiconductor by up to 1,000 times.
TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker in the world, could make its first 3D chips commercially available before the end of 2011, according to a person close to the situation who requested anonymity.
The timeframe for TSMC matches the end-2011 schedule that Intel has set for the launch of its 3D Tri-Gate chips, which the company expects to be the world's first commercial 3D chip and the most significant advance in chip technology since the development of the chip transistor in the 1948.
With several layers of silicon stacked together, a 3D chip can achieve performance gains of about a third while consuming 50 percent less power. For this reason, 3D chips are particularly well suited to power new generations of mobile devices such as tablets and mobile phones, and to offer more operative hours from the battery cell. Businesses where Intel has so far failed to establish a significant presence.
3D chips look more attractive because of their greater density, it is more difficult to make them because of the testing issues. If you have five stacked dies and one of the dies is bad, you have to scrap the whole thing. The Yield is a challenge!
TSMC is developing so-called 2D chips that replace an organic polymer substrate with silicon to boost transistor density. Communications chipmaker Xilinx has contracted TSMC to make its Virtex-7 field programmable gate array (FPGA) using TSMC's 2D chip technology that puts three chip dies on one silicon substrate. Xilinx said on March 8 that it expects the first samples of the Virtex-7 485T FPGA to be available by August.
TSMC has been working closely with chip packagers and providers of design automation software to help commercialize 3D chip technology.
In April 2007, IBM and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) researchers announced the first versions of 3D chips with support from the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA). The 3D chips combined several layers of silicon using a technique called wafer bonding.
IBM's technique used a silicon base with active wafers layered on top. This technology allowed a processor to be placed on the bottom of the stack with memory or other components layered across the top, resulting in a thousand-fold reduction in connector length. The greater transistor density reduced the distance data has to travel, reducing processing time.
IBM used through-silicon vias (TSVs) to connect stacks of multiple chip components. TSVs allow for more efficient heat dissipation through the stack to cooling systems that improve power efficiency.
HK Snob

Texas Instruments to Acquire National Semiconductor

Combination to strengthen analog portfolio and customer support, Texas Instruments has signed a definitive agreement to purchase National Semiconductor in an all-cash transaction of about $6.5 billion. This merger will unite two industry leaders who have a common commitment to solving your analog needs. Both companies will operate independently pending close of the acquisition which is expected to take six to nine months. National's 12,000 products plus TI's 30,000 means more performance, power and packaging options when selecting the right ICs for your application. HK Snob

Japan Quake Aftermath

March 11, 2011 14:49: Eastern Pacific coast earthquakes occurred

Epicenter : 373km (NE) of Tokyo, underground 24.4Km point.

Magnitude : Earthquake close to 9 in the Richter scale occurred (The largest earthquake ever in Japan, the fifth earthquake on Earth.

Summary of Damage Regions

East coast of Tohoku regions-Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima prefecture- and east coast of Kanto region -Ibaraki and Chiba prefecture were damaged directly (by earthquake and tsunami).
So far over 7,000 lives were lost, over 12000 person unfound, and 300,000 homeless.
The loss of communication infrastructure (NTT Docomo, etc.), nuclear power plants, etc. in the regions and all industrial manufacturing plants shutdown (temporary or provisional), disruptions occurred.

It appears that some infrastructures of the east coast of Tohoku region -Yamagata and Niigata Prefecture- were affected.

Miyagi Prefecture

- Sendai Airport flooding

- Costal towns damage by 10m tsunami

- Large-scale loss of life

- Onagawa nuclear plant , partly fire, partly driving ban

- Sony's 6 factories shutdown (4 factories in Miyagi, 2 factories in Fukushima, Tagajo chemical components (Sony Chemicals) 1st floor flooded

- Murata Manufacturing shutdown (Miyagi and Tochigi Prefecture)

- JX Nippon Oil Factory damage

- Toyota Motor, factory shutdown
Fukushima Prefecture

- Fukushima 1,2,3,4 nuclear plants shutdown and unstable (radioactive spill concern continued)

- Nissan Motor, 6 factories shutdown

- Panasonic factory disruption (Fukuyama Prefecture factory, Sendai factory in Miyagi Prefecture included)

Aomori Prefecture

- Power supply to 4.4 million households stopped

- Pioneer, factory damage (Aomori, Yamagata Prefecture)

- Renesas, factory shutdown

Chiba Prefecture

- JFE Holdings, steel factory fire
- Cosmo Oil, factory fire
Ibaraki Prefecture
- JSR, factory production stop
- Tokyo Gas, gas supply stop
- Sumitomo Metal Industries, smelting furnace temporary stop

- Daikin Industries, production stop

- Murata factory was destroyed and his component short ship after the Ipad Production in Foxconn China

Sharp LCD Panel factory shout down and affecting 20% world LCD panel output.

Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Inc. (MGC), Monday that two of its facilities, one in Fukushima prefecture and one in Ibaraki prefecture, shut down due to partial damage to equipment and buildings, Its major product bismaleimide triazine resin, an epoxy resin used in chip making is almost entirely produced by MGC
This shortage of BT would most impact programmable logic vendors Xilinx Inc. and Altera Corp., as well as Qualcomm Inc.
Sanyo, Sharp and Panasonic have already suspended operations at several of their plants. The brand new multibillion dollar Sharp LED display plant in Sakai, which has been designed to handle earthquakes automatically shut down when the first earthquake, tremor was detected.

Sanyo, Sharp and Panasonic have already suspended operations at several of their plants. The brand new multibillion dollar Sharp LED display plant in Sakai, which has been designed to handle earthquakes automatically shut down when the first earthquake, tremor was detected.

The consequence is many sectors of the Japanese factories would be affected and it may take a few month 3-9 months to resume normal operation.
we foresee that this will force them to think a head seriously for overseas factory volume implementation. They will keep some of their high technology products manufacturing offshore whereas Japan used to keep them locally.
There will be more open opportunity for other offshore countries to gain more exposure for working with Japan to build more products.

HK Snob

Electronics Market After Japan Quake

In spite of the 9.0-magnitiute Japan earthquake and the ensuing devastating tsunami striking Japan on March 11, The Component supply chain has been serious disturbed in Japan. This include the NAND Rams that price has been surged up more than 7% since last Friday. Many of the components of the certain electronics devices are still made in Japan. There is a immediately need for Japan to re-construct and well plan their suppliers for souring the right component for their products, beside, the rise of Japanese Yen exchange would force to speed up their oversea production scale up plan. Counties like Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and China will be the ones to be beneficiated by these move.
However on the other side, Japanese and most of the major Asian Cities would have less demand on Electronics products, computer, iPad2, Note book in coming 2-3 quarters.
Some good news is Chairman Morris Chang of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) yesterday said his firm’s goal of achieving a 20% sales growth, denominated in the U.S. dollar, will remain unchanged. Overall, people tends to spend less on luxury goods, electronics hand held product as such handphone, GPS systems, and RAM, LED, LED, IC CPU, Capacitors, RAMs and Panel will be rising their price in the coming 6-9 months.
HK Snob

Japan After Quake

Japan has the world No. 1 largest LED manufacturing Plant Nichia account for 18% of World LED production as the 2010 revenue data told us.

Japan accounts world’s 20% global Semiconductor Production.

Company Headquarters in Japan generated 63.3B in microchips revenues; representing 20.8% of the world wide market.

Japan Produced 10% of world’s DRAM in 2010.

Toshiba accounts 35% of global NAND flash products in terms of Revenues 2010.

Japan Headquarters companies are world No. 3 in Semiconductor production.

Japan is 14% of world total LCD TV panel Production.

More impact to Japan is that the component on the TV LCD Panel such as the Glass, Colour filter , polarizer , CCFL and LED are mostly made in Japan.

Sharp partly shut down their panel manufacturing for LCD TV... and Murata had shut down some of the component manufacturing which would affect the manufacturing at Foxconn for Ipad2!
There are a lot of electronics modules for Automobile is made in Japan and a lot are for export.
Many of the Automobile like Nissan, Toyota, Mazda and Honda has stopped some of their manufacturing due to shortage of Module supplied by their OEMs which were more or less damaged in the Tsunami.

Nissan Stopped Production and loss shipment of 2,300 cars, a loss of $24.5M a day,whereas Toyota for 40,000 cars with daliy loss of $72M, Honda for 16,600 cars a day, that is $14M loss a day just for Honda.

Japanese will not spend money on Luxury goods anymore, or at least less significantly comparing with last week and before.

For those Luxury Goods such as watches Rolex, Patek Philippe, IWC , Japan is one of the biggest market after Hong Kong. I think Japan is the world 2nd largest Export Country after Hong Kong.

Well, I find that these are Japan’s Market share on these big European luxury Brands.
Hermes 21%, Bvlgari 19%, Luis Vitton 8.8%, Coach 36%, Tiffany 19%, Gallaway 18%....

So we can see that these luxury good market will drop significantly for at least I year, they may switch to export more to other Countries like China and Hong Kong in Asia.

Gold may be the item that we can speculate that it can reach $1,700 an ounce soon.

This will trigger world threat in the stock market, especially the Libya situation is still tense and had no way to see when Col. Kaddafi would step down, Hong Kong Index Will drop in the coming weeks… down to 21,000 points…
More important point is more nuclear threat happens in Japan and Most of the people would flee to distant prefecture in Japan or to overseas countries such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Philippines.

I am thinking that it would be a great impact to Japan and World’s Economy and it may take at least 12 months to recover… Provided there is no more serious Earth Quake happens anymore

Further more, it triggers more safety measurement for plan of Nuclear Plant building.

It forces Japan Company to diversify their manufacturing facilities in overseas countries such as the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia.
In Short the Stock In Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong will keep on falling. But this is only over-sensitiveness of the investors, in mid term starting August, the stock like iron ore, cement and steel in China will have tremendous momentum to gain as to support Japan on re-construction.
The foreign companies would not consider to put all egg in one bucket and to consider in future the headquarters not in Japan... may be better in Hong Kong or Singapore.
HK Snob

Automotive IC Market Would Expect to Grow 12% in 2011

According to the latest IC Market Drivers report, global shipments of new cars are expected to rise almost 5% in 2011 to 55.8 million units. Meanwhile, sales of new cars in China outpaced new car shipments in the U.S. by 50% in 2010; a trend that is expected to continue through 2015.
The new demand on Automotive markets in China, emerging Southern America along with recovering U.S. These new Automobile shipments, increased on-board-electronics would boost automotive IC sales up to as much as 12% in 2011, to estimated $17 billion.

This follows a 45% increase in automotive IC Sales in 2010, which halted a two year slide in this IC sector.
Automobiles are a fertile environment to implement new and innovative electronic systems and ICs. Many of these systems are competitive selling points for automakers. Growth drivers for ICs over the next several years include active safety and telematics systems, communications and entertainment convergence, and "green" initiatives such as energy savings and reduced emissions. These technologies are increasingly available as standard equipment on new cars across all price ranges.
In the area of safety and telematics, systems such as self parking, active cruise control, lane departure warning systems, road tracking system, Gear tooth sensor, speed sensor, temperature sensor, air bag sensor, fuel injection control sensor, electronic stability control--ESC, etc…have been widely implemented in modern cars.

New trend for Luxury car would go for as many as 12 air bag and air belts that would incur a lot of additional electronics and control.

There is not much innovative changes in the basic engine design, the Hybrid car is still in very early stage of penetration, all it take at least 10 more years to see a reasonably number of cars running on road, starting in the congested cities of Asia, Europe and America. In fact, relatively stable gasoline prices led to a decline in hybrid vehicles sales in 2010. Recent Middle East event would force for a rise of Gasoline price. And urge for an early Hybrid Automotive market development. Shipments of hybrid and electric vehicles are forecast to increase a modest 5% in 2011.
However the electronics on board an automotive would becomes sophisticated. There are at least 350 LEDs as an average compact car. Full LED head lamps is not a sales gadget for Luxury car, but for a better outlook design, power saving, long life time, faster response. This involves a lot of associated electronics, control modules required including LED driving IC, dimming control IC, Switching mode control ICs for the power converter, and light control multiplex ICs.
Many of these systems will soon be required for all new cars sold in the U.S. An ESC system typically consists of three sensors--a gyroscope, an accelerometer, and a pressure sensor--all of which can be made using a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) process.

Automakers are testing systems that will allow smartphones to dock with a large display on the car's centre console allowing the driver to access the Internet, listen to his or her stored favourite music, and send text messages through a large, onboard touch-screen rather than using the phone itself, and essentially replacing radio/CD/nav systems on cars sold today. On board GPS is a standard accessory on a luxury car.

Through 2014, the automotive IC market is forecast to grow to $21 billion, representing an average annual increase of 14% per year from 2009 to 2014. That growth rate tops the IC growth rate in all other system markets including computer (12%), communications (8%), and consumer (10%) systems, and the total worldwide IC market (10%) over the same time frame.


In Short, the ICs demand for Automotive would increase 12% in 2011.

HK Snob