FREMONT, USA: Owens Design Inc., a leading design and manufacturing service provider to the semiconductor, data storage and solar capital equipment markets, announced that it has received additional follow-on orders for its turnkey wafer pre-heating and cooling module from a leading Silicon Valley semiconductor OEM.
The Owens Design BOLTS-compatible module preheats the wafer prior to placement inside the customer's process chamber, thereby improving system throughput through the reduction of process chamber heating overhead. The module also has the ability to cool post-processed hot wafers prior to cassette placement. The resulting overall throughput increase leads to a direct reduction of overall tool cost of ownership.
"Tool cost of ownership (CoO) is a significant factor in semiconductor capital equipment purchasing decisions and process throughput is a key CoO metric. Pre-heating the wafer outside the process chamber gives the customer a significant boost in process throughput, thereby helping making the customer's technology more competitive," said Bob Fung, Engineering Director for Owens Design.
"The Owens Design wafer heating and cooling module is designed to be a cost-effective, easily integrated wafer pre-heating solution that directly helps the customer achieve CoO goals and help reduce time to market."
The Owens Design's pre-heating and cooling module uses resistive heating elements that achieve better than 2 degrees Celsius uniformity wafer-to-wafer and is capable of heating a wafer up to 450 degrees Celsius in less than 15 seconds. A modular unit, the module can be integrated either standalone, or via a BOLTS compatible interface using either Ethernet or serial connections.
Custom hardware interfaces and communication protocol are also available. A water-cooled paten can be integrated into the module without changing its footprint, and process gases can be introduced into both the hot and cold processes as an extra option.
The module minimizes particulate contamination (< 1@ 0.1 micronm, PWP front side and < 1,400 @ 0.2 micronm, PWP backside). The module is highly reliable (MTBF > 20,000 hours, MTTR < 2 hours). Other than periodic cleaning, the module requires no regular maintenance.
"Contamination has become a much more critical issue with the introduction of 300 mm polished substrates," said Ernie Evans, Owens Design's Program Manager. "Developing a cost-effective pre-heating and cooling module that minimizes wafer contamination can be a very challenging process. Integrating our turnkey module into a process tool enables our customers to focus on their core technologies, reduce development costs and speed their time to market."
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Wisair to unveil WSR602 wireless USB single chip
CAMPBELL, USA: Wisair, the leading provider of single-chip based UWB and Wireless USB solutions, will unveil its NEW WSR602 CMOS single chip in Computex, the largest computer exhibition in Asia (June 1st-5th).
The new chip offers PCI Express/WHCI interface and additional frequency bands, including WiMedia BG1 and BG3, BG4 and BG6 upper bands (3.1GHz to 9.5GHz). WSR602 based embedded modules targeting laptop computers and consumer electronics devices will be available for mass production in Q4 this year.
"This is a significant milestone for Wisair and its single chip CMOS capability. Our ability to integrate the entire solution into a single standard CMOS die and lower the overall cost significantly, is the enabler for increased volumes and the drive for embedding Wireless USB in laptops and consumer electronic products," said David Yaish, President and CEO, Wisair.
"With the WSR602 PCI Express and WHCI interface option for embedded solutions, in addition to the USB interface of the WSR601, our customers have the flexibility to select the best fit for their needs and we can offer a broader range of Wireless USB solutions."
Wisair will be demonstrating the WSR602 in its hospitality suite at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Taipei during Computex. WSR601 based shipping products and new solutions will also be demonstrated, including CPT (CHUNGHWA PICTURE TUBES) wireless detachable/2nd laptop monitor, Great Wall wireless keyboard PC (Cross PC) to HDTV, wireless laptop docking for notebook PCs/MacBooks and Full HD (1080) wireless laptop to HDTV with embedded Half Mini Card inside the laptop.
Wireless USB products (Laptop to HDTV, Laptop Docking and USB Adapter Set) based on the 1st generation WS601 chip are already offered by Lenexpo (Atlona), Source R&D (Warpia), InFocus and Cables Unlimited in the USA, Fujitsu, XEL (Q-Waves), Hama, Olidata, Digicom, Display Solutions, More Monitors and Pearl in Europe, Witech in Korea and Quixun (EZAir) in Japan. Additional product launches in different regions worldwide are expected soon.
The new chip offers PCI Express/WHCI interface and additional frequency bands, including WiMedia BG1 and BG3, BG4 and BG6 upper bands (3.1GHz to 9.5GHz). WSR602 based embedded modules targeting laptop computers and consumer electronics devices will be available for mass production in Q4 this year.
"This is a significant milestone for Wisair and its single chip CMOS capability. Our ability to integrate the entire solution into a single standard CMOS die and lower the overall cost significantly, is the enabler for increased volumes and the drive for embedding Wireless USB in laptops and consumer electronic products," said David Yaish, President and CEO, Wisair.
"With the WSR602 PCI Express and WHCI interface option for embedded solutions, in addition to the USB interface of the WSR601, our customers have the flexibility to select the best fit for their needs and we can offer a broader range of Wireless USB solutions."
Wisair will be demonstrating the WSR602 in its hospitality suite at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Taipei during Computex. WSR601 based shipping products and new solutions will also be demonstrated, including CPT (CHUNGHWA PICTURE TUBES) wireless detachable/2nd laptop monitor, Great Wall wireless keyboard PC (Cross PC) to HDTV, wireless laptop docking for notebook PCs/MacBooks and Full HD (1080) wireless laptop to HDTV with embedded Half Mini Card inside the laptop.
Wireless USB products (Laptop to HDTV, Laptop Docking and USB Adapter Set) based on the 1st generation WS601 chip are already offered by Lenexpo (Atlona), Source R&D (Warpia), InFocus and Cables Unlimited in the USA, Fujitsu, XEL (Q-Waves), Hama, Olidata, Digicom, Display Solutions, More Monitors and Pearl in Europe, Witech in Korea and Quixun (EZAir) in Japan. Additional product launches in different regions worldwide are expected soon.
Dongbu HiTek launches BD180LV process at 0.18-micron node
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: Dongbu HiTek has announced the addition of the BD180LV process to its portfolio of best-in-class BCDMOS process technologies.
Ideal for designing highly integrated chips at the 0.18-micron node, the new mixed-signal process optimizes nLDMOS transistors with the industry’s lowest Rsp (specific on-resistance) while accommodating a broad 7V-to-30V operating voltage range with outstanding reliability characteristics.
According to Jae Song, Dongbu HiTek VP of sales and marketing, the BD180LV process raises the performance bar for advanced BCDMOS processes promising to shrink the size of chips for handheld and portable consumer electronics products.
He said, “We believe we’ve developed a leading-edge BCDMOS technology that surpasses all foundry offerings and challenges the very best of the IDMs in terms of Rsp, breakdown voltage, and reliability.” He confirmed that Dongbu HiTek’s extensive testing of its latest best-in-class BCDMOS has demonstrated stable performance and reliability characteristics in typical consumer electronics operating environments.
In a technical paper that will be formally released in conjunction with the 22nd International Symposium on Power Semiconductor Devices (ISPSD’10, June 6-10 in Hiroshima, Japan), Dongbu HiTek details BD180LV parameter testing of breakdown characteristics for 24V nLDMOS, noting, “The Ids-Vds curve shows very stable characteristics up to 27.5V with actual off-state and on-state breakdown voltages of 36V and 33V, respectively. At 5.0Vgs and 0.1Vds, the Rsp was 0.0145 ohms square millimeter – the lowest ever reported in the semiconductor industry.”
Ideal for designing highly integrated chips at the 0.18-micron node, the new mixed-signal process optimizes nLDMOS transistors with the industry’s lowest Rsp (specific on-resistance) while accommodating a broad 7V-to-30V operating voltage range with outstanding reliability characteristics.
According to Jae Song, Dongbu HiTek VP of sales and marketing, the BD180LV process raises the performance bar for advanced BCDMOS processes promising to shrink the size of chips for handheld and portable consumer electronics products.
He said, “We believe we’ve developed a leading-edge BCDMOS technology that surpasses all foundry offerings and challenges the very best of the IDMs in terms of Rsp, breakdown voltage, and reliability.” He confirmed that Dongbu HiTek’s extensive testing of its latest best-in-class BCDMOS has demonstrated stable performance and reliability characteristics in typical consumer electronics operating environments.
In a technical paper that will be formally released in conjunction with the 22nd International Symposium on Power Semiconductor Devices (ISPSD’10, June 6-10 in Hiroshima, Japan), Dongbu HiTek details BD180LV parameter testing of breakdown characteristics for 24V nLDMOS, noting, “The Ids-Vds curve shows very stable characteristics up to 27.5V with actual off-state and on-state breakdown voltages of 36V and 33V, respectively. At 5.0Vgs and 0.1Vds, the Rsp was 0.0145 ohms square millimeter – the lowest ever reported in the semiconductor industry.”
Apache Design Solutions' products for chip-package-system convergence selected by ASE
SAN JOSE, USA: Apache Design Solutions, the technology leader in power integrity and noise closure for chip-package-systems (CPS) convergence, announced that ASE Inc., the world’s largest semiconductor packaging and test company, has adopted Apache’s CPS co-design/co-analysis solutions including Sentinel-NPE (formerly PakSI-E), Sentinel-PI, and Sentinel-TI.
Apache’s solution helps ASE deliver high value service to their customers through close collaboration on analysis and optimization of their IC package designs.
ASE has a broad package portfolio, encompassing leadframe, wire bond BGA, and flip chip, all of which present differing challenges related to timing, power and stress analysis. Using Apache’s Sentinel-NPE, ASE can efficiently extract 3D RCLK models, which are then provided to customers so they can perform early stage prototyping, accurate power analysis, and dynamic sign-off.
ASE also uses Sentinel-PI with CPM to perform chip-package co-simulation and co-optimization, and Sentinel-TI for chip-package thermal and thermally induced stress analysis.
“Package designs are becoming increasingly complex, therefore closer engineering collaboration with our customers is crucial,” said Dr. Ho-Ming Tong, Chief R&D Officer & General Manager of Group R&D, ASE Group.
“Apache provides the ability to deliver accurate package models earlier in the design cycle so our customers can optimize their chip-package interface to reduce cost and avoid last minute signoff problems. Apache’s products present ASE a strong value proposition, which rounded out with a strong roadmap and local support, make them a clear choice for CPS partnership.”
“ASE is the world’s leading assembly and test company and we are proud that they have selected Apache as their partner for chip-package-system convergence,” said Dian Yang, senior vice president and general manager at Apache Design Solutions. “Our mutual customers will benefit from co-simulation solutions that provide higher quality results.”
Apache’s solution helps ASE deliver high value service to their customers through close collaboration on analysis and optimization of their IC package designs.
ASE has a broad package portfolio, encompassing leadframe, wire bond BGA, and flip chip, all of which present differing challenges related to timing, power and stress analysis. Using Apache’s Sentinel-NPE, ASE can efficiently extract 3D RCLK models, which are then provided to customers so they can perform early stage prototyping, accurate power analysis, and dynamic sign-off.
ASE also uses Sentinel-PI with CPM to perform chip-package co-simulation and co-optimization, and Sentinel-TI for chip-package thermal and thermally induced stress analysis.
“Package designs are becoming increasingly complex, therefore closer engineering collaboration with our customers is crucial,” said Dr. Ho-Ming Tong, Chief R&D Officer & General Manager of Group R&D, ASE Group.
“Apache provides the ability to deliver accurate package models earlier in the design cycle so our customers can optimize their chip-package interface to reduce cost and avoid last minute signoff problems. Apache’s products present ASE a strong value proposition, which rounded out with a strong roadmap and local support, make them a clear choice for CPS partnership.”
“ASE is the world’s leading assembly and test company and we are proud that they have selected Apache as their partner for chip-package-system convergence,” said Dian Yang, senior vice president and general manager at Apache Design Solutions. “Our mutual customers will benefit from co-simulation solutions that provide higher quality results.”
Si2 to host 'Design for Manufacturability Coalition Workshop' at DAC 2010
AUSTIN, USA: The Silicon Integration Initiative (Si2) has announced the “Design for Manufacturability Coalition Workshop” being hosted at the Design Automation Conference (DAC) show to be held at the Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, CA, from June 13-18, 2010.
The “Design for Manufacturability Coalition Workshop” will be held on June 13, from 1PM – 4:00PM in Room 207C in the Anaheim Convention Center. In consideration of today’s economic conditions, Si2 is pleased to offer this workshop free of charge.
The DFM Workshop explores how both physics and economics conspire against performance, power and cost at the deep sub micron nodes. There is no doubt that a company's design strategy must fully address a new series of challenges in design for manufacturability.
At 32nm and below, the delay and energy scaling that normally came from smaller feature sizes bottomed while the variability issues in manufacturing rose to new heights. Major shifts in design strategy are definitely underway but companies are not converging on a universal approach but pursuing proprietary strategies that are unique for their mix of products.
The DFM workshop describes the tools and techniques used to recapture the lost opportunities in performance and power while building designs which are more robust to greater process variability.
The agenda will include speakers from: Cadence, GLOBALFOUNDRIES, Intel, IC Scope, Grid Simulation Technology, and North Carolina State.
Other Si2-sponsored events at DAC include the “Advances in Process Design Kits Workshop” on June 14, from 1PM-4PM and the Annual Si2 Open Meeting on June 14, from 6PM-7:30PM. Both of these events are also free of charge and open to all.
The “Design for Manufacturability Coalition Workshop” will be held on June 13, from 1PM – 4:00PM in Room 207C in the Anaheim Convention Center. In consideration of today’s economic conditions, Si2 is pleased to offer this workshop free of charge.
The DFM Workshop explores how both physics and economics conspire against performance, power and cost at the deep sub micron nodes. There is no doubt that a company's design strategy must fully address a new series of challenges in design for manufacturability.
At 32nm and below, the delay and energy scaling that normally came from smaller feature sizes bottomed while the variability issues in manufacturing rose to new heights. Major shifts in design strategy are definitely underway but companies are not converging on a universal approach but pursuing proprietary strategies that are unique for their mix of products.
The DFM workshop describes the tools and techniques used to recapture the lost opportunities in performance and power while building designs which are more robust to greater process variability.
The agenda will include speakers from: Cadence, GLOBALFOUNDRIES, Intel, IC Scope, Grid Simulation Technology, and North Carolina State.
Other Si2-sponsored events at DAC include the “Advances in Process Design Kits Workshop” on June 14, from 1PM-4PM and the Annual Si2 Open Meeting on June 14, from 6PM-7:30PM. Both of these events are also free of charge and open to all.
Gartner selects Physware as 2010 cool vendor in semiconductors
BELLEVUE, USA: Physware, a leading provider of high-speed and high-capacity 3D electro-magnetic solutions for Signal Integrity (SI), Power Integrity (PI), Integrity to Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) and Simultaneous Noise Integrity (SNI), announced that Gartner has selected Physware as a Cool Vendor in the semiconductor space for 2010.
Gartner identified that “growing issues with electromagnetic interference” have made it necessary for designers to employ 3D field simulation analysis during the design process. “Product designers should evaluate the use of 3D field solver software for packaging, printed circuit board (PCBs) and similar kinds of design. This can save considerable time and costs in the overall design process,” Gartner said.
“As process geometries continue to shrink, issues relating to signal integrity (SI), power integrity (PI), electromagnetic interference (EMI) and simultaneous switching noise/output (SSN/SSO) continue to grow rapidly in all types of microelectronic structures through the chip-package-board ecosystems,” Gartner said.
“This necessitates the need for a fast and accurate electromagnetic circuit simulation solution that can help chip design engineers resolve these issues simultaneously in a timely and cost-effective manner throughout the design cycle, from pre-layout placement and design to post-layout verification.”
“We are thrilled and honored to be recognized as a Cool Vendor by Gartner,” said Bala Vishwanath, CEO of Physware. “Our innovative solutions are increasingly and rapidly being adopted by the world’s leading semiconductor, systems, memory, analog and wireless companies, and we believe that Gartner’s recognition of Physware’s solutions further substantiates the value we provide to the design community.”
Gartner identified that “growing issues with electromagnetic interference” have made it necessary for designers to employ 3D field simulation analysis during the design process. “Product designers should evaluate the use of 3D field solver software for packaging, printed circuit board (PCBs) and similar kinds of design. This can save considerable time and costs in the overall design process,” Gartner said.
“As process geometries continue to shrink, issues relating to signal integrity (SI), power integrity (PI), electromagnetic interference (EMI) and simultaneous switching noise/output (SSN/SSO) continue to grow rapidly in all types of microelectronic structures through the chip-package-board ecosystems,” Gartner said.
“This necessitates the need for a fast and accurate electromagnetic circuit simulation solution that can help chip design engineers resolve these issues simultaneously in a timely and cost-effective manner throughout the design cycle, from pre-layout placement and design to post-layout verification.”
“We are thrilled and honored to be recognized as a Cool Vendor by Gartner,” said Bala Vishwanath, CEO of Physware. “Our innovative solutions are increasingly and rapidly being adopted by the world’s leading semiconductor, systems, memory, analog and wireless companies, and we believe that Gartner’s recognition of Physware’s solutions further substantiates the value we provide to the design community.”
Qualcomm and Infineon lead cellular transceiver market
BOSTON, USA: Qualcomm and Infineon held the top-two positions in cellular transceivers, according to the Strategy Analytics RF & Wireless Component market research service report, “Transceiver Market Share Update: Qualcomm and MediaTek Gain Share in UMTS and GSM/GPRS/EDGE Respectively.”
The comprehensive multi-sheet data table shows market share for the top ten transceiver vendors by air interface and customer in dollar and unit terms.
According to Christopher Taylor, author of the report, “Market leader, Qualcomm, gained share with the growth of UMTS, while MediaTek gained share in GSM/GPRS/EDGE – much of this in grey market handsets.”
Stephen Entwistle, VP of the Strategic Technologies market research practice at Strategy Analytics, added, “Infineon ranked second in transceiver share on the strength of its leading-edge transceiver designs, in addition to gains it made in chipset share in 2009.”
The comprehensive multi-sheet data table shows market share for the top ten transceiver vendors by air interface and customer in dollar and unit terms.
According to Christopher Taylor, author of the report, “Market leader, Qualcomm, gained share with the growth of UMTS, while MediaTek gained share in GSM/GPRS/EDGE – much of this in grey market handsets.”
Stephen Entwistle, VP of the Strategic Technologies market research practice at Strategy Analytics, added, “Infineon ranked second in transceiver share on the strength of its leading-edge transceiver designs, in addition to gains it made in chipset share in 2009.”
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
The best chip making equipment suppliers for 2010
SANTA CLARA: VLSIresearch is delighted to announce the 2010 winners of THE BEST Chip Making Equipment Suppliers by Market Segment awards. The market segments for this award include Assembly, Test, Material Handling, Process Diagnostics, and Wafer Processing Equipment.
The survey provides chip makers – such as Intel, Samsung, Nvidia, Toshiba, TSMC, GLOBALFOUNDRIES, ASE, AMKOR, and more – an opportunity to evaluate how their equipment supplier’s customer service compares to their peers, as well as see how the various tools they need are performing.
Equipment suppliers use this data to quantitatively assess and improve their service and equipment performance to meet and exceed their customers’ expectations. In addition to public recognition, the survey contains detailed ratings by equipment type, area of the world, and yearly rating trends. The survey also provides insight into customer loyalty and user preferences.
THE BEST Assembly Equipment Suppliers: Accretech – Tokyo Seimitsu ranked highest.
Accretech, the leading dicing equipment supplier, excelled in customer satisfaction and captured the highest ranking for assembly equipment suppliers with an overall rating of 8.16. Accretech was rated the highest assembly equipment supplier in six out of 13 categories. Renesas Eastern Japan Semiconductor and F & K Delvotec received equal ratings; the tie-breaking rules† placed Renesas in second position.
Both companies received a very high rating of 8.03, showing a tight competition among assembly equipment suppliers. Both companies also earned the highest ratings of all assembly suppliers in three categories each.
THE BEST Test Equipment Suppliers: Verigy ranked highest.
Verigy, last year’s winner, successfully repeated its win in 2010. Verigy’s rating improved to 7.72 this year. Customers rated the company highest of all test suppliers in eleven categories. Verigy’s strongest attribute continues to be product performance.
Advantest’s focus on customers paid off, as their improved rating placed the company in second place this year. Respondents rated quality of results as their strongest trait and they were rated highest among their peers in cost of ownership. Equipment users gave Teradyne a rating of 7.06, which placed them in third position in the test equipment category. Teradyne’s earned the highest rating among all ATE suppliers for software.
THE BEST Material Handling Equipment Suppliers: SUSS MicroTec ranked highest.
With the top score of 8.41, SUSS MicroTec has captured the first material handling equipment spot for the fifth consecutive year. These results cover Suss MicroTec’s prober division, as it was recently acquired by Cascade Microtech.
Advantest continues with another strong performance in this year’s survey as their handler division secured second position. Advantest received the highest rating among other material handling equipment suppliers in usable throughput. Tokyo Electron’s prober division presented consistent customer satisfaction by winning third position in 2010. TEL received the top rating in process support among its peers.
THE BEST Process Diagnostics Equipment Suppliers: Keithley ranked highest.
Keithley Instruments earned the highest rating among process diagnostics equipment suppliers for the third year in a row. The company had exceptional performance in uptime, software, process support, support after sales, and technical leadership.
Agilent took the number two spot with the highest rating between process diagnostics equipment suppliers in six of thirteen categories. Hitachi High-Technologies improved from last year’s survey with a rating of 7.29 and placed third. Hitachi High-Tech achieved the highest rating among its peers in usable throughput.
THE BEST Large Suppliers of Wafer Processing Equipment: Varian ranked highest.
Varian continues to be unbeatable in customer satisfaction, having garnered the number one spot in the large suppliers’ category since 2003. Its rating improved to 8.24, compared to 8.20 last year. Varian received the highest score in eight of thirteen categories. Hitachi Kokusai Electric captured the second position with a score of 7.86. It attained the highest rating among its peers in process support, support after sales, and overall commitment.
Novellus continues to provide excellent customer satisfaction and earned the third spot with a rating of 7.80. Novellus’ highest rated categories were usable throughput, quality of results, and product performance, where it received ratings above 8.0.
THE BEST Small Suppliers of Wafer Processing Equipment: Oerlikon ranked highest.
Oerlikon’s customer satisfaction rating improved from 7.55 a year ago to 7.82 in 2010. As a result, Oerlikon received the highest overall rating in the 2010 small suppliers’ category. The company received the highest ratings among these suppliers in product performance, process support, field engineering, spares support, and support after sales.
Nissin Ion Equipment captured top ratings compared to its peers in cost of ownership, uptime, software, and build quality. This earned the company a rating of 7.64 and second place. Plasma-Therm, a year old spin-off from Oerlikon, showed a remarkable performance by capturing third place. The company earned the highest ratings among its peers in technical leadership and commitment. Plasma-Therm is in a great start again as an independent company, with an overall rating of 7.59.
The survey provides chip makers – such as Intel, Samsung, Nvidia, Toshiba, TSMC, GLOBALFOUNDRIES, ASE, AMKOR, and more – an opportunity to evaluate how their equipment supplier’s customer service compares to their peers, as well as see how the various tools they need are performing.
Equipment suppliers use this data to quantitatively assess and improve their service and equipment performance to meet and exceed their customers’ expectations. In addition to public recognition, the survey contains detailed ratings by equipment type, area of the world, and yearly rating trends. The survey also provides insight into customer loyalty and user preferences.
THE BEST Assembly Equipment Suppliers: Accretech – Tokyo Seimitsu ranked highest.
Accretech, the leading dicing equipment supplier, excelled in customer satisfaction and captured the highest ranking for assembly equipment suppliers with an overall rating of 8.16. Accretech was rated the highest assembly equipment supplier in six out of 13 categories. Renesas Eastern Japan Semiconductor and F & K Delvotec received equal ratings; the tie-breaking rules† placed Renesas in second position.
Both companies received a very high rating of 8.03, showing a tight competition among assembly equipment suppliers. Both companies also earned the highest ratings of all assembly suppliers in three categories each.THE BEST Test Equipment Suppliers: Verigy ranked highest.
Verigy, last year’s winner, successfully repeated its win in 2010. Verigy’s rating improved to 7.72 this year. Customers rated the company highest of all test suppliers in eleven categories. Verigy’s strongest attribute continues to be product performance.
Advantest’s focus on customers paid off, as their improved rating placed the company in second place this year. Respondents rated quality of results as their strongest trait and they were rated highest among their peers in cost of ownership. Equipment users gave Teradyne a rating of 7.06, which placed them in third position in the test equipment category. Teradyne’s earned the highest rating among all ATE suppliers for software.THE BEST Material Handling Equipment Suppliers: SUSS MicroTec ranked highest.
With the top score of 8.41, SUSS MicroTec has captured the first material handling equipment spot for the fifth consecutive year. These results cover Suss MicroTec’s prober division, as it was recently acquired by Cascade Microtech.
Advantest continues with another strong performance in this year’s survey as their handler division secured second position. Advantest received the highest rating among other material handling equipment suppliers in usable throughput. Tokyo Electron’s prober division presented consistent customer satisfaction by winning third position in 2010. TEL received the top rating in process support among its peers.THE BEST Process Diagnostics Equipment Suppliers: Keithley ranked highest.
Keithley Instruments earned the highest rating among process diagnostics equipment suppliers for the third year in a row. The company had exceptional performance in uptime, software, process support, support after sales, and technical leadership.
Agilent took the number two spot with the highest rating between process diagnostics equipment suppliers in six of thirteen categories. Hitachi High-Technologies improved from last year’s survey with a rating of 7.29 and placed third. Hitachi High-Tech achieved the highest rating among its peers in usable throughput.THE BEST Large Suppliers of Wafer Processing Equipment: Varian ranked highest.
Varian continues to be unbeatable in customer satisfaction, having garnered the number one spot in the large suppliers’ category since 2003. Its rating improved to 8.24, compared to 8.20 last year. Varian received the highest score in eight of thirteen categories. Hitachi Kokusai Electric captured the second position with a score of 7.86. It attained the highest rating among its peers in process support, support after sales, and overall commitment.
Novellus continues to provide excellent customer satisfaction and earned the third spot with a rating of 7.80. Novellus’ highest rated categories were usable throughput, quality of results, and product performance, where it received ratings above 8.0.THE BEST Small Suppliers of Wafer Processing Equipment: Oerlikon ranked highest.
Oerlikon’s customer satisfaction rating improved from 7.55 a year ago to 7.82 in 2010. As a result, Oerlikon received the highest overall rating in the 2010 small suppliers’ category. The company received the highest ratings among these suppliers in product performance, process support, field engineering, spares support, and support after sales.
Nissin Ion Equipment captured top ratings compared to its peers in cost of ownership, uptime, software, and build quality. This earned the company a rating of 7.64 and second place. Plasma-Therm, a year old spin-off from Oerlikon, showed a remarkable performance by capturing third place. The company earned the highest ratings among its peers in technical leadership and commitment. Plasma-Therm is in a great start again as an independent company, with an overall rating of 7.59.
Phyworks reports 30 millionth chip shipment and strong growth
BRISTOL, ENGLAND: Phyworks, a leader in analog and mixed signal ICs for high-speed communication has announced shipment of its 30 millionth chip and predicts revenue growth in 2010 of 90 percent.
The company cites revenue increases in core PON (passive optical network), mobile backhaul and equalizer markets as key contributing factors to its on-going success.
Phyworks CEO, Stephen King, said: “Focus on the global PON market has allowed us to gain additional market share in the last year. This coupled with overall growth in the market has meant we’re experiencing significant increased shipments of all products into the ONU (optical network unit) sector, most notably in China, Japan and the USA.
“We’re also in the final development stage with our next generation of 10GPON technology, making Phyworks well placed to support the next wave of worldwide growth in the PON market. Our new products, developed in CMOS, will provide unparalleled levels of integration and cost reduction, making 10GPON a very viable deployment option.”
He continued, “We’ve also seen exceptional growth in our equalizer and clock and data recovery chips in backplane and active copper cable markets. These opportunities are particularly interesting and include everything from 3.125G to 14G backplanes to PCI Express and SFP+ and XFP active copper cables. Our equalizer shipments have grown substantially over the last three quarters and we expect this to continue as we introduce next generation products in the months ahead.”
The company cites revenue increases in core PON (passive optical network), mobile backhaul and equalizer markets as key contributing factors to its on-going success.
Phyworks CEO, Stephen King, said: “Focus on the global PON market has allowed us to gain additional market share in the last year. This coupled with overall growth in the market has meant we’re experiencing significant increased shipments of all products into the ONU (optical network unit) sector, most notably in China, Japan and the USA.
“We’re also in the final development stage with our next generation of 10GPON technology, making Phyworks well placed to support the next wave of worldwide growth in the PON market. Our new products, developed in CMOS, will provide unparalleled levels of integration and cost reduction, making 10GPON a very viable deployment option.”
He continued, “We’ve also seen exceptional growth in our equalizer and clock and data recovery chips in backplane and active copper cable markets. These opportunities are particularly interesting and include everything from 3.125G to 14G backplanes to PCI Express and SFP+ and XFP active copper cables. Our equalizer shipments have grown substantially over the last three quarters and we expect this to continue as we introduce next generation products in the months ahead.”
Skyworks unveils next-generation ultra low-noise amplifiers
ANAHEIM, USA: Skyworks Solutions Inc., an innovator of high reliability analog and mixed signal semiconductors enabling a broad range of end markets, has introduced two next-generation low noise amplifiers (LNAs) for multiple cellular infrastructure receiver applications including GSM, CDMA, WCDMA and LTE base stations and repeaters.
These new monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) amplifiers allow infrastructure providers to meet a wide range of demanding performance requirements with a single device that minimizes system noise figure, improves receiver sensitivity and delivers unconditional stability.
“Skyworks is pleased to be expanding our infrastructure product portfolio particularly as estimates for mobile data traffic are expected to double every year through 2014,” said David Stasey, vice president of analog components at Skyworks.
“These solutions are just one of several devices that help reduce the size and complexity of networking equipment while enabling greater reliability, capacity and efficiency.”
These new monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) amplifiers allow infrastructure providers to meet a wide range of demanding performance requirements with a single device that minimizes system noise figure, improves receiver sensitivity and delivers unconditional stability.
“Skyworks is pleased to be expanding our infrastructure product portfolio particularly as estimates for mobile data traffic are expected to double every year through 2014,” said David Stasey, vice president of analog components at Skyworks.
“These solutions are just one of several devices that help reduce the size and complexity of networking equipment while enabling greater reliability, capacity and efficiency.”
Quantenna intros third-generation 4x4 MIMO 802.11n Wi-Fi chipset
FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Quantenna Communications Inc., a leader in ultra-reliable Wi-Fi networking for whole-home entertainment, announced its third-generation Full-11n 4x4 Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) Wi-Fi chipset, offering industry-leading reliability and whole-home coverage for delivering carrier IPTV services over wireless networks.
The company’s 802.11n Wi-Fi chipsets are in trials with over 12 service providers worldwide, for broadband digital video services that require robust performance anywhere in the home.
“With this latest generation in our proven Full-11n family, we have extended our industry leadership position over other alternatives in terms of Wi-Fi robustness and reliability for carrier-class broadband digital home service delivery, and believe we are at least 12 months ahead of any other solution provider in 4x4 MIMO innovation,” said David French, Quantenna’s CEO.
“We also continue to significantly drive down cost and power, and our 4x4 MIMO devices now approach the price range of 3x3 MIMO devices that have significantly less reach and reliability. Quantenna’s 4x4 devices continue to be the only Wi-Fi solutions available that feature the full complement of carrier-grade, industry-standard 802.11n features that are necessary for distributing multiple video streams throughout the home at full, 1080p resolution.”
The Quantenna chipset is optimized for volume production, and future-proofed with a feature set that is considerably ahead of alternative solutions. The company has cut device size in half and power consumption by one-third as compared to previous solutions, and incorporated features that simplify transceiver certification in the US, Europe and Asia.
Quantenna also has optimized performance for today’s carrier-class networking platforms, while anticipating the requirements of emerging standards.
Error vector magnitude (EVM) and phase-noise performance have both been enhanced to boost range and reliability, and the chipset’s best-in-class receiver linearity significantly reduces interference.
Furthermore, Quantenna has increased channel bandwidth to 80MHz, enabling the chipset to support higher throughput for such emerging standards as 802.11ac, which is expected to deliver speeds of up to 1.2 gigabits per second by improving on the efficiency of existing technology.
These and other Quantenna Full-11n chipset features give carriers the whole-home reach and reliability they need to provide their subscribers with the best possible experience when they are receiving broadband entertainment and networking services.
Quantenna’s third-generation chipset incorporates all specifications in the IEEE802.11n standard including 4x4 Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO). It also incorporates extensions to the IEEE802.11n standard including dynamic digital beamforming, and wireless channel monitoring and optimizing.
These features enable Wi-Fi home networks to deliver the same quality as wired Ethernet, including supporting up to full HD video with 1080p resolution, anywhere in the home, while guaranteeing compatibility with existing and future IEEE 802.11n-compliant products.
Quantenna’s Full-11n technology also enables industry-standard Wi-Fi to serve as an ultra-reliable, carrier-class, whole-home IPTV networking backbone for complementary single-room wireless technologies, including emerging short-range 60 GHz solutions from companies in the WirelessHD Consortium and Wireless Gigabit Alliance (WiGig).
“Today’s Wi-Fi ecosystem includes both whole-home 802.11n technologies and short-range, single-room solutions such as WirelessHD, WiGig, 802.11ad and 802.15.3c,” said Brian O’Rourke, principal analyst, digital entertainment, for In-Stat.
“Among these technologies, it’s up to 802.11n technology to provide the backbone for reliably distributing IPTV and other demanding services to any room in the home. 4x4 MIMO with dynamic digital beamforming can give carriers this critical, whole-home wireless service guarantee.”
Quantenna’s third-generation chipset is available now as part of the company’s QHS610 reference design. The reference design includes an evaluation board plus cables for connecting it to an external controller.
A complete software developer’s kit (SDK) implements the entire networking and device discovery/connectivity functionality required for a full solution supporting the 802.11n standard. Also included is a full test suite of specialized video-over-wireless radio frequency (RF) calibration and performance-characterization software, including an easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI).
Pricing for the QHS610 reference design is available upon request.
The company’s 802.11n Wi-Fi chipsets are in trials with over 12 service providers worldwide, for broadband digital video services that require robust performance anywhere in the home.
“With this latest generation in our proven Full-11n family, we have extended our industry leadership position over other alternatives in terms of Wi-Fi robustness and reliability for carrier-class broadband digital home service delivery, and believe we are at least 12 months ahead of any other solution provider in 4x4 MIMO innovation,” said David French, Quantenna’s CEO.
“We also continue to significantly drive down cost and power, and our 4x4 MIMO devices now approach the price range of 3x3 MIMO devices that have significantly less reach and reliability. Quantenna’s 4x4 devices continue to be the only Wi-Fi solutions available that feature the full complement of carrier-grade, industry-standard 802.11n features that are necessary for distributing multiple video streams throughout the home at full, 1080p resolution.”
The Quantenna chipset is optimized for volume production, and future-proofed with a feature set that is considerably ahead of alternative solutions. The company has cut device size in half and power consumption by one-third as compared to previous solutions, and incorporated features that simplify transceiver certification in the US, Europe and Asia.
Quantenna also has optimized performance for today’s carrier-class networking platforms, while anticipating the requirements of emerging standards.
Error vector magnitude (EVM) and phase-noise performance have both been enhanced to boost range and reliability, and the chipset’s best-in-class receiver linearity significantly reduces interference.
Furthermore, Quantenna has increased channel bandwidth to 80MHz, enabling the chipset to support higher throughput for such emerging standards as 802.11ac, which is expected to deliver speeds of up to 1.2 gigabits per second by improving on the efficiency of existing technology.
These and other Quantenna Full-11n chipset features give carriers the whole-home reach and reliability they need to provide their subscribers with the best possible experience when they are receiving broadband entertainment and networking services.
Quantenna’s third-generation chipset incorporates all specifications in the IEEE802.11n standard including 4x4 Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO). It also incorporates extensions to the IEEE802.11n standard including dynamic digital beamforming, and wireless channel monitoring and optimizing.
These features enable Wi-Fi home networks to deliver the same quality as wired Ethernet, including supporting up to full HD video with 1080p resolution, anywhere in the home, while guaranteeing compatibility with existing and future IEEE 802.11n-compliant products.
Quantenna’s Full-11n technology also enables industry-standard Wi-Fi to serve as an ultra-reliable, carrier-class, whole-home IPTV networking backbone for complementary single-room wireless technologies, including emerging short-range 60 GHz solutions from companies in the WirelessHD Consortium and Wireless Gigabit Alliance (WiGig).
“Today’s Wi-Fi ecosystem includes both whole-home 802.11n technologies and short-range, single-room solutions such as WirelessHD, WiGig, 802.11ad and 802.15.3c,” said Brian O’Rourke, principal analyst, digital entertainment, for In-Stat.
“Among these technologies, it’s up to 802.11n technology to provide the backbone for reliably distributing IPTV and other demanding services to any room in the home. 4x4 MIMO with dynamic digital beamforming can give carriers this critical, whole-home wireless service guarantee.”
Quantenna’s third-generation chipset is available now as part of the company’s QHS610 reference design. The reference design includes an evaluation board plus cables for connecting it to an external controller.
A complete software developer’s kit (SDK) implements the entire networking and device discovery/connectivity functionality required for a full solution supporting the 802.11n standard. Also included is a full test suite of specialized video-over-wireless radio frequency (RF) calibration and performance-characterization software, including an easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI).
Pricing for the QHS610 reference design is available upon request.
Wind River to launch updated Simics virtual systems development solution
BANGALORE, INDIA: Wind River has announced Wind River Simics 4.4, a virtual systems development solution that allows engineers to define, develop, and deploy their product using a virtual representation of their target hardware.
Wind River Simics 4.4 supports full system simulation and allows original equipment manufacturers to undertake critical software development activities on virtual platforms, independently of any hardware development schedules, semiconductor availability constraints or other limitations.
Simics supports a variety of hardware architectures, including ARM, Intel, MIPS and Power Architecture, and can help semiconductor manufacturers redefine complex system-on-chip development with greater ecosystem support and customer engagement.
Primary new features of Simics 4.4 include the following:
* Wind River Simics Analyzer, a new tool that helps customers analyze and better understand the heterogeneous aspect of their designs, offers a graphical timeline with execution details of “what process runs where and when” for a complete software application stack. This is particularly useful for tracking multi-core development and applications spanning multiple CPU architectures or multiple operating systems.
* Simics Analyzer is designed to easily integrate with VxWorks and Wind River Linux as well as support other operating systems and tools environments to account for all manner of heterogeneous designs and enable full system simulation.
* Simics Analyzer includes statement code coverage on binary code, without modifying or instrumenting the target system code.
* Expanded support for running multiple models in parallel is included for C, C++, SystemC and DML. This makes Simics a simulation framework well suited for heterogeneous designs that can simulate foreign models not originally written for Simics.
* Wind River Simics Extension Builder helps developers to build profiling tools and other specialized analysis tools and data collections. It also provides a well-defined interface to the Simics simulator and allows developers to extend Simics with custom functionality (plug-ins) and connect Simics into additional workflows and enterprise tooling environments.
* With Simics Extension Builder, other simulators such as ISSes (instruction set simulators) from third parties can be integrated into Simics. Via a Simics CPU interface for processor models, users can expand their existing processor simulation to cover the entire target system.
Development teams within semiconductor companies and systems companies primarily in the aerospace and defense and networking market segments have a mandate to meet increasingly accelerated development cycles and time-to-market schedules with limited resources. Many engineers are turning to virtual systems development or simulation development tools to generate significant savings across total cost of ownership and accelerate the delivery of higher-quality software and systems.
In February 2010, VDC Research1 released a report from their 2009 Embedded Software Market Intelligence Service that estimated Simics to be the market-leading virtual prototyping/simulation platform, with greater than 30 percent of total market revenue.
Simics will be available to customers globally by May 31, 2010.
Wind River Simics 4.4 supports full system simulation and allows original equipment manufacturers to undertake critical software development activities on virtual platforms, independently of any hardware development schedules, semiconductor availability constraints or other limitations.
Simics supports a variety of hardware architectures, including ARM, Intel, MIPS and Power Architecture, and can help semiconductor manufacturers redefine complex system-on-chip development with greater ecosystem support and customer engagement.
Primary new features of Simics 4.4 include the following:
* Wind River Simics Analyzer, a new tool that helps customers analyze and better understand the heterogeneous aspect of their designs, offers a graphical timeline with execution details of “what process runs where and when” for a complete software application stack. This is particularly useful for tracking multi-core development and applications spanning multiple CPU architectures or multiple operating systems.
* Simics Analyzer is designed to easily integrate with VxWorks and Wind River Linux as well as support other operating systems and tools environments to account for all manner of heterogeneous designs and enable full system simulation.
* Simics Analyzer includes statement code coverage on binary code, without modifying or instrumenting the target system code.
* Expanded support for running multiple models in parallel is included for C, C++, SystemC and DML. This makes Simics a simulation framework well suited for heterogeneous designs that can simulate foreign models not originally written for Simics.
* Wind River Simics Extension Builder helps developers to build profiling tools and other specialized analysis tools and data collections. It also provides a well-defined interface to the Simics simulator and allows developers to extend Simics with custom functionality (plug-ins) and connect Simics into additional workflows and enterprise tooling environments.
* With Simics Extension Builder, other simulators such as ISSes (instruction set simulators) from third parties can be integrated into Simics. Via a Simics CPU interface for processor models, users can expand their existing processor simulation to cover the entire target system.
Development teams within semiconductor companies and systems companies primarily in the aerospace and defense and networking market segments have a mandate to meet increasingly accelerated development cycles and time-to-market schedules with limited resources. Many engineers are turning to virtual systems development or simulation development tools to generate significant savings across total cost of ownership and accelerate the delivery of higher-quality software and systems.
In February 2010, VDC Research1 released a report from their 2009 Embedded Software Market Intelligence Service that estimated Simics to be the market-leading virtual prototyping/simulation platform, with greater than 30 percent of total market revenue.
Simics will be available to customers globally by May 31, 2010.
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