Semiconductor Chemicals And Materials - Key Industry Trends

Semiconductor Chemicals and Materials Market

Chemicals are used in a variety of processes in semiconductor manufacturing. All are used in IC manufacturing to varying degrees depending on the type of device architecture, cleaning-process chemistry and frequency of use, etching-process chemistry, method of thin film deposition, use of wet or dry etching, use of wet-etching machines (cassette-to-cassette, automatic processing) or wet etching systems (dip tanks), size of wafers, and number of wafer starts.

Suppliers of semiconductor chemicals and materials are focusing on reducing the impurity levels of their products. “Electronic” and “Semiconductor” grade gases are available with low concentrations of cations and anions that could degrade device performance. Transition metal impurities, for example, are fast diffusers and readily move into the silicon wafer lattice during high-temperature processing, replacing silicon ions at lattice sites and changing the bandgap of the silicon. These new sites act as a generation-recombination center and result in a decrease in the minority carrier lifetimes and leakage currents at p-n junctions.

A critical concern has emerged as the suppliers have improved the purity of the delivered product — consistency. The manufacturing of devices at adequate yields has become dependent on minimizing process variances. The current purity of gases has now reached a threshold where subsequent deterioration or improvement of purity, even in a single trace element, can upset the yield. The fact that improvement in purity can be viewed as a negative has been somewhat ironic to the suppliers.

Most users continue to ask suppliers for higher and higher chemical purity. At the present time the supplier specifications represent product purity that is satisfactory for most manufacturing processes and that is commercially available at prices that are acceptable to users.

Higher purity chemicals could be offered but would require additional processing such as distillation, chemical treatment or even drastic modifications in the basic manufacturing procedures. Many basic chemical producers have already made improvements in their manufacturing facilities to accommodate the semiconductor industry and its chemical suppliers. Individual company specifications make it necessary for suppliers to do lot selection or extra analytical work and this can escalate the selling price of the chemicals. Also, it causes shipping delays since the supplier usually cannot ship his regular product from existing inventory.

Obviously these basic changes would change the cost structure and ultimately increase the selling price to users. These price increases could be dramatic.

It is well known that the yields in Japanese IC manufacturing facilities are higher than in the United States. This is related to two major factors; the increased use of automation in Japan, and the decreased contamination levels due to the integrity of their Class 1 and 10 cleanrooms, their attitude to quality, and their processing chemicals. U.S. semiconductor manufacturers must adopt these practices in order to remain competitive with the Japanese. A major effort must be directed towards chemical manufacturers to supply chemicals with as high a purity and as low a particulate level as possible. This must also be achieved at as low a cost as possible.

IC manufacturers are installing chemical distribution systems in their new facilities. Chemicals are piped into wafer fab cleanrooms after delivery to the facility in bulk containers. This method totally eliminates the need for bottles. A continual pipeline of chemicals from the supplier to wafer has been developed, utilizing fluoropolymer piping, baths, and wafer carriers. Fluoropolymer tubing and piping, pumped by fluoropolymer pumps, and filtered in fluoropolymer filter housings with replaceable fluoropolymer filters make up the purest method of handling chemicals for tomorrow’s purity demands. All of these components are available in Teflon for the most critical applications.

The use of direct piping systems or any dispensing hardware will usually require extensive retrofitting of existing fabrication areas and can be costly. However, savings on product cost and handling can sometimes easily justify these changes. Needless to say, yield improvements which are often possible, would be an even stronger justification. A typical system price breakdown is:

• 40% – Equipment and components such as piping, tanks, pumps, filters, and valves


•  14% – Automated control system including interface to host computer over a LAN, hardware, and software


•  46% – Labor including installation, engineering, test, inspection, and project overhead costs

The quality of semiconductor chemicals and materials entering the fab area should be the most important concern of personnel in a semiconductor manufacturing facility. In order to undertake proper evaluation of chemicals and their suppliers, a total awareness program must be initiated in the facility. To achieve this goal, the primary requirement must be a commitment by management that personnel and monetary resources are dedicated to the purity issue regardless of cost.

The more extensive the quality control program within a facility, the more confidence that can be placed in the analytical results. These results can only be at the confidence level of the personnel, equipment, and testing methods. These methods should be subjected to rigorous quality control methods, including calibration on a biannual basis.

Chemicals And Materials For Sub-100nm IC Manufacturing

For more information, table of contents, and ordering details,  please view the report: Chemicals And Materials For Sub-100nm IC Manufacturing.

Semiconductor Chemicals And Materials - Key Industry Trends

The Landscape of the IC Fabrication Industry

Major changes are underway in the IC manufacturing base! Since mid-2007, the landscape of the IC fabrication industry has changed dramatically. IC manufacturers have done whatever they could to survive by closing older fabs. 300mm Capacity Dominates, but Life Remains for 200mm Wafer Fabs. Nearly all new fab upgrade and construction activity has to do with 300mm wafer processing, but there is still plenty of life remaining in 200mm fabs according to data in the 2014 edition of  Global Wafer Capacity report.

Not all semiconductor devices are able to take advantage of the cost savings 300mm wafers can provide. Therefore, fabs running 200mm wafers will continue to be profitable for many more years to produce several types of ICs such as specialty memories, image sensors, display drivers, microcontrollers, and analog products (200mm fabs are also used for manufacturing MEMS-based “non-IC” products such as accelerometers).  These devices can be manufactured in fully depreciated 200mm fabs that were previously used to make ICs that are now produced on 300mm wafers.

Figure 1 shows that between December 2013 and December 2018, the share of the industry’s monthly wafer capacity represented by 200mm wafers is expected to drop from 31.7% to 26.1%.  However, in terms of the actual number of wafers used, an increase in 200mm wafers is forecast through 2015 followed by a slow decline through the end of 2018.

Wafers measuring ≤150mm are also forecast to increase slowly throughout the forecast period to meet the growing demand for products such as general-purpose analog chips that can be cost-effectively manufactured on the smaller wafers.

For the most part, 300mm fabs will continue to be limited to production of high-volume, commodity-type devices like DRAMs and flash memories, complex logic and microcomponent ICs with large die sizes, image sensors and power management devices; and products manufactured by foundries, which can fill a 300mm fab by combining wafer orders from many sources.  IC Insights projects that more than 105 wafer fabs will be producing 300mm wafer fabs in 2018.  This number includes pilot- and volume-production class fabs, but not R&D facilities.  Also, “phases” are counted as separate fabs (e.g., TSMC’s Fab 14 currently has four phases for a total of 180K wafers/month).

Figure 1

Report Details:  Global Wafer Capacity 2014 and The 2014 McClean Report

Additional information and forecasts of the IC industry’s wafer fab capacity through 2018 are provided in IC Insights’ Global Wafer Capacity 2014—Detailed Analysis and Forecast of the IC Industry’s Wafer Fab Capacity report. Released in December 2013, the Global Wafer Fab Capacity report assesses the IC industry’s capacity by wafer size, minimum process geometry, technology type, geographic region, and by device type through 2018. The report also includes detailed profiles of the companies most likely to build 450mm wafer fabs and gives detailed specifications on existing wafer fab facilities. Global Wafer Capacity 2014 is priced at $4,290 for an individual user password.  A multi-user worldwide corporate license is available for $6,990.

Further details on IC economics and capacity trends are provided in the 2014 edition of The McClean Report—A Complete Analysis and Forecast of the Integrated Circuit Industry.  This highly regarded service features more than 900 pages and more than 400 tables and graphs that provide the user with a thorough analysis of IC industry trends throughout the year.  A subscription to  The McClean Report includes free monthly updates from March through November (including a 250+ page Mid-Year Update), and free access to subscriber-only webinars throughout the year.

 

 

The Landscape of the IC Fabrication Industry

Semiconductor Chemicals And Materials - Key Industry Trends

Semiconductor Chemicals and Materials Market

Chemicals are used in a variety of processes in semiconductor manufacturing. All are used in IC manufacturing to varying degrees depending on the type of device architecture, cleaning-process chemistry and frequency of use, etching-process chemistry, method of thin film deposition, use of wet or dry etching, use of wet-etching machines (cassette-to-cassette, automatic processing) or wet etching systems (dip tanks), size of wafers, and number of wafer starts.

Suppliers of semiconductor chemicals and materials are focusing on reducing the impurity levels of their products. “Electronic” and “Semiconductor” grade gases are available with low concentrations of cations and anions that could degrade device performance. Transition metal impurities, for example, are fast diffusers and readily move into the silicon wafer lattice during high-temperature processing, replacing silicon ions at lattice sites and changing the bandgap of the silicon. These new sites act as a generation-recombination center and result in a decrease in the minority carrier lifetimes and leakage currents at p-n junctions.

A critical concern has emerged as the suppliers have improved the purity of the delivered product — consistency. The manufacturing of devices at adequate yields has become dependent on minimizing process variances. The current purity of gases has now reached a threshold where subsequent deterioration or improvement of purity, even in a single trace element, can upset the yield. The fact that improvement in purity can be viewed as a negative has been somewhat ironic to the suppliers.

Most users continue to ask suppliers for higher and higher chemical purity. At the present time the supplier specifications represent product purity that is satisfactory for most manufacturing processes and that is commercially available at prices that are acceptable to users.

Higher purity chemicals could be offered but would require additional processing such as distillation, chemical treatment or even drastic modifications in the basic manufacturing procedures. Many basic chemical producers have already made improvements in their manufacturing facilities to accommodate the semiconductor industry and its chemical suppliers. Individual company specifications make it necessary for suppliers to do lot selection or extra analytical work and this can escalate the selling price of the chemicals. Also, it causes shipping delays since the supplier usually cannot ship his regular product from existing inventory.

Obviously these basic changes would change the cost structure and ultimately increase the selling price to users. These price increases could be dramatic.

It is well known that the yields in Japanese IC manufacturing facilities are higher than in the United States. This is related to two major factors; the increased use of automation in Japan, and the decreased contamination levels due to the integrity of their Class 1 and 10 cleanrooms, their attitude to quality, and their processing chemicals. U.S. semiconductor manufacturers must adopt these practices in order to remain competitive with the Japanese. A major effort must be directed towards chemical manufacturers to supply chemicals with as high a purity and as low a particulate level as possible. This must also be achieved at as low a cost as possible.

IC manufacturers are installing chemical distribution systems in their new facilities. Chemicals are piped into wafer fab cleanrooms after delivery to the facility in bulk containers. This method totally eliminates the need for bottles. A continual pipeline of chemicals from the supplier to wafer has been developed, utilizing fluoropolymer piping, baths, and wafer carriers. Fluoropolymer tubing and piping, pumped by fluoropolymer pumps, and filtered in fluoropolymer filter housings with replaceable fluoropolymer filters make up the purest method of handling chemicals for tomorrow’s purity demands. All of these components are available in Teflon for the most critical applications.

The use of direct piping systems or any dispensing hardware will usually require extensive retrofitting of existing fabrication areas and can be costly. However, savings on product cost and handling can sometimes easily justify these changes. Needless to say, yield improvements which are often possible, would be an even stronger justification. A typical system price breakdown is:

• 40% – Equipment and components such as piping, tanks, pumps, filters, and valves


•  14% – Automated control system including interface to host computer over a LAN, hardware, and software


•  46% – Labor including installation, engineering, test, inspection, and project overhead costs

The quality of semiconductor chemicals and materials entering the fab area should be the most important concern of personnel in a semiconductor manufacturing facility. In order to undertake proper evaluation of chemicals and their suppliers, a total awareness program must be initiated in the facility. To achieve this goal, the primary requirement must be a commitment by management that personnel and monetary resources are dedicated to the purity issue regardless of cost.

The more extensive the quality control program within a facility, the more confidence that can be placed in the analytical results. These results can only be at the confidence level of the personnel, equipment, and testing methods. These methods should be subjected to rigorous quality control methods, including calibration on a biannual basis.

Chemicals And Materials For Sub-100nm IC Manufacturing

For more information, table of contents, and ordering details,  please view the report: Chemicals And Materials For Sub-100nm IC Manufacturing.

Semiconductor Chemicals And Materials - Key Industry Trends

The Landscape of the IC Fabrication Industry

Major changes are underway in the IC manufacturing base! Since mid-2007, the landscape of the IC fabrication industry has changed dramatically. IC manufacturers have done whatever they could to survive by closing older fabs. 300mm Capacity Dominates, but Life Remains for 200mm Wafer Fabs. Nearly all new fab upgrade and construction activity has to do with 300mm wafer processing, but there is still plenty of life remaining in 200mm fabs according to data in the 2014 edition of  Global Wafer Capacity report.

Not all semiconductor devices are able to take advantage of the cost savings 300mm wafers can provide. Therefore, fabs running 200mm wafers will continue to be profitable for many more years to produce several types of ICs such as specialty memories, image sensors, display drivers, microcontrollers, and analog products (200mm fabs are also used for manufacturing MEMS-based “non-IC” products such as accelerometers).  These devices can be manufactured in fully depreciated 200mm fabs that were previously used to make ICs that are now produced on 300mm wafers.

Figure 1 shows that between December 2013 and December 2018, the share of the industry’s monthly wafer capacity represented by 200mm wafers is expected to drop from 31.7% to 26.1%.  However, in terms of the actual number of wafers used, an increase in 200mm wafers is forecast through 2015 followed by a slow decline through the end of 2018.

Wafers measuring ≤150mm are also forecast to increase slowly throughout the forecast period to meet the growing demand for products such as general-purpose analog chips that can be cost-effectively manufactured on the smaller wafers.

For the most part, 300mm fabs will continue to be limited to production of high-volume, commodity-type devices like DRAMs and flash memories, complex logic and microcomponent ICs with large die sizes, image sensors and power management devices; and products manufactured by foundries, which can fill a 300mm fab by combining wafer orders from many sources.  IC Insights projects that more than 105 wafer fabs will be producing 300mm wafer fabs in 2018.  This number includes pilot- and volume-production class fabs, but not R&D facilities.  Also, “phases” are counted as separate fabs (e.g., TSMC’s Fab 14 currently has four phases for a total of 180K wafers/month).

Figure 1

Report Details:  Global Wafer Capacity 2014 and The 2014 McClean Report

Additional information and forecasts of the IC industry’s wafer fab capacity through 2018 are provided in IC Insights’ Global Wafer Capacity 2014—Detailed Analysis and Forecast of the IC Industry’s Wafer Fab Capacity report. Released in December 2013, the Global Wafer Fab Capacity report assesses the IC industry’s capacity by wafer size, minimum process geometry, technology type, geographic region, and by device type through 2018. The report also includes detailed profiles of the companies most likely to build 450mm wafer fabs and gives detailed specifications on existing wafer fab facilities. Global Wafer Capacity 2014 is priced at $4,290 for an individual user password.  A multi-user worldwide corporate license is available for $6,990.

Further details on IC economics and capacity trends are provided in the 2014 edition of The McClean Report—A Complete Analysis and Forecast of the Integrated Circuit Industry.  This highly regarded service features more than 900 pages and more than 400 tables and graphs that provide the user with a thorough analysis of IC industry trends throughout the year.  A subscription to  The McClean Report includes free monthly updates from March through November (including a 250+ page Mid-Year Update), and free access to subscriber-only webinars throughout the year.

 

 

The Landscape of the IC Fabrication Industry

The Landscape of the IC Fabrication Industry

Major changes are underway in the IC manufacturing base! Since mid-2007, the landscape of the IC fabrication industry has changed dramatically. IC manufacturers have done whatever they could to survive by closing older fabs. 300mm Capacity Dominates, but Life Remains for 200mm Wafer Fabs. Nearly all new fab upgrade and construction activity has to do with 300mm wafer processing, but there is still plenty of life remaining in 200mm fabs according to data in the 2014 edition of  Global Wafer Capacity report.

Not all semiconductor devices are able to take advantage of the cost savings 300mm wafers can provide. Therefore, fabs running 200mm wafers will continue to be profitable for many more years to produce several types of ICs such as specialty memories, image sensors, display drivers, microcontrollers, and analog products (200mm fabs are also used for manufacturing MEMS-based “non-IC” products such as accelerometers).  These devices can be manufactured in fully depreciated 200mm fabs that were previously used to make ICs that are now produced on 300mm wafers.

Figure 1 shows that between December 2013 and December 2018, the share of the industry’s monthly wafer capacity represented by 200mm wafers is expected to drop from 31.7% to 26.1%.  However, in terms of the actual number of wafers used, an increase in 200mm wafers is forecast through 2015 followed by a slow decline through the end of 2018.

Wafers measuring ≤150mm are also forecast to increase slowly throughout the forecast period to meet the growing demand for products such as general-purpose analog chips that can be cost-effectively manufactured on the smaller wafers.

For the most part, 300mm fabs will continue to be limited to production of high-volume, commodity-type devices like DRAMs and flash memories, complex logic and microcomponent ICs with large die sizes, image sensors and power management devices; and products manufactured by foundries, which can fill a 300mm fab by combining wafer orders from many sources.  IC Insights projects that more than 105 wafer fabs will be producing 300mm wafer fabs in 2018.  This number includes pilot- and volume-production class fabs, but not R&D facilities.  Also, “phases” are counted as separate fabs (e.g., TSMC’s Fab 14 currently has four phases for a total of 180K wafers/month).

Figure 1

Report Details:  Global Wafer Capacity 2014 and The 2014 McClean Report

Additional information and forecasts of the IC industry’s wafer fab capacity through 2018 are provided in IC Insights’ Global Wafer Capacity 2014—Detailed Analysis and Forecast of the IC Industry’s Wafer Fab Capacity report. Released in December 2013, the Global Wafer Fab Capacity report assesses the IC industry’s capacity by wafer size, minimum process geometry, technology type, geographic region, and by device type through 2018. The report also includes detailed profiles of the companies most likely to build 450mm wafer fabs and gives detailed specifications on existing wafer fab facilities. Global Wafer Capacity 2014 is priced at $4,290 for an individual user password.  A multi-user worldwide corporate license is available for $6,990.

Further details on IC economics and capacity trends are provided in the 2014 edition of The McClean Report—A Complete Analysis and Forecast of the Integrated Circuit Industry.  This highly regarded service features more than 900 pages and more than 400 tables and graphs that provide the user with a thorough analysis of IC industry trends throughout the year.  A subscription to  The McClean Report includes free monthly updates from March through November (including a 250+ page Mid-Year Update), and free access to subscriber-only webinars throughout the year.

 

 

The Landscape of the IC Fabrication Industry

The Landscape of the IC Fabrication Industry

Major changes are underway in the IC manufacturing base! Since mid-2007, the landscape of the IC fabrication industry has changed dramatically. IC manufacturers have done whatever they could to survive by closing older fabs. 300mm Capacity Dominates, but Life Remains for 200mm Wafer Fabs. Nearly all new fab upgrade and construction activity has to do with 300mm wafer processing, but there is still plenty of life remaining in 200mm fabs according to data in the 2014 edition of  Global Wafer Capacity report.

Not all semiconductor devices are able to take advantage of the cost savings 300mm wafers can provide. Therefore, fabs running 200mm wafers will continue to be profitable for many more years to produce several types of ICs such as specialty memories, image sensors, display drivers, microcontrollers, and analog products (200mm fabs are also used for manufacturing MEMS-based “non-IC” products such as accelerometers).  These devices can be manufactured in fully depreciated 200mm fabs that were previously used to make ICs that are now produced on 300mm wafers.

Figure 1 shows that between December 2013 and December 2018, the share of the industry’s monthly wafer capacity represented by 200mm wafers is expected to drop from 31.7% to 26.1%.  However, in terms of the actual number of wafers used, an increase in 200mm wafers is forecast through 2015 followed by a slow decline through the end of 2018.

Wafers measuring ≤150mm are also forecast to increase slowly throughout the forecast period to meet the growing demand for products such as general-purpose analog chips that can be cost-effectively manufactured on the smaller wafers.

For the most part, 300mm fabs will continue to be limited to production of high-volume, commodity-type devices like DRAMs and flash memories, complex logic and microcomponent ICs with large die sizes, image sensors and power management devices; and products manufactured by foundries, which can fill a 300mm fab by combining wafer orders from many sources.  IC Insights projects that more than 105 wafer fabs will be producing 300mm wafer fabs in 2018.  This number includes pilot- and volume-production class fabs, but not R&D facilities.  Also, “phases” are counted as separate fabs (e.g., TSMC’s Fab 14 currently has four phases for a total of 180K wafers/month).

Figure 1

Report Details:  Global Wafer Capacity 2014 and The 2014 McClean Report

Additional information and forecasts of the IC industry’s wafer fab capacity through 2018 are provided in IC Insights’ Global Wafer Capacity 2014—Detailed Analysis and Forecast of the IC Industry’s Wafer Fab Capacity report. Released in December 2013, the Global Wafer Fab Capacity report assesses the IC industry’s capacity by wafer size, minimum process geometry, technology type, geographic region, and by device type through 2018. The report also includes detailed profiles of the companies most likely to build 450mm wafer fabs and gives detailed specifications on existing wafer fab facilities. Global Wafer Capacity 2014 is priced at $4,290 for an individual user password.  A multi-user worldwide corporate license is available for $6,990.

Further details on IC economics and capacity trends are provided in the 2014 edition of The McClean Report—A Complete Analysis and Forecast of the Integrated Circuit Industry.  This highly regarded service features more than 900 pages and more than 400 tables and graphs that provide the user with a thorough analysis of IC industry trends throughout the year.  A subscription to  The McClean Report includes free monthly updates from March through November (including a 250+ page Mid-Year Update), and free access to subscriber-only webinars throughout the year.

 

 

The Landscape of the IC Fabrication Industry