If you read the news or attend events like SEMICON West or the International Test Conference, you’ll see a lot about FinFETS, 3D integration, and related technologies. Yet simultaneously, you’ll hear a lot about the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart connected objects—applications that don’t require devices fabricated at advanced process nodes on 300-mm wafers.
In fact, SEMI, which recently published a new report, “Global 200-mm Fab Outlook to 2018,” said the emergence of the IoT is “breathing new life” into 200-mm fabs. According to the report, worldwide 200-mm semiconductor wafer fab capacity will expand from 5.2 million wafer starts per month (WSPM) in 2015 to 5.4 million WSPM in 2018.
SEMI didn’t report on how this trend might affect the market for back-end equipment, but new life for 200-mm fabs could have implications for IC test systems.
Luke Schreier, director of automated test at National Instruments, noted, “The big-iron semiconductor ATE vendors have been directing their investments toward high-end microprocessors and memory test for some time, investing in high-performance architectures that can only be cost-effective when you test extremely high-end parts, many of which are coming in 300-mm wafers.”
However, as SEMI reported, the increasing number of Internet-enabled mobile devices is driving demand for sensors, MEMS, analog, power, and related semiconductor devices, which generally do not require leading-edge manufacturing capability. They don’t tend to require expensive big-iron ATE, either.
Schreier at NI elaborated, saying, “As the Internet of Things drives wireless and sensor technologies onto billions of devices, the price pressure on those ICs is extreme while the process technology doesn’t necessarily have to be cutting edge. Consequently, existing 200-mm fabs are in a great position to meet this demand as long as the ATE capability can be delivered at a price point and with capabilities matched to the application.”
As an alternative to big iron, NI introduced its PXI-based Semiconductor Test System at NIWeek 2014 and highlighted it at this year’s SEMICON West.
Schreier added, “With the NI Semiconductor Test System, we combine the modularity and flexibility of PXI to achieve a great balance between low cost and the latest instrumentation capability. The software-defined nature of the system extracts performance out of user-programmable FPGAs on our instruments and Xeon processors in the PXI controllers where test times are critical. Our success with RF integrated circuit and MEMS customers is a testament to this approach.”
Another company making PXI-based equipment for semiconductor test—specifically the PXI-based TS-900 platform—is Marvin Test Solutions. Mike Dewey, director of marketing, said he and his colleagues are of the opinion that MEMS-based and other devices that are part of the IoT universe will drive ongoing demand for the 200-mm fabs, as the SEMI report indicates.
“The increasing market for wearables also will impact the need for 200-mm fabs,” Dewey said. “It makes sense, because the yields and efficiencies associated with 200-mm fabs are in line with the cost sensitivity of sensors, wearables, etc. We don’t think that the efficiency of fabricating small devices in 300 mm is as good or optimized as much as it is on the 200-mm fab.”
In addition, he said, the cost of building or expanding a 300-mm fab is higher than for a 200-mm fab. “These small devices are all about costs,” he said.
Of course, the tester is only part of the equation. “We are working with a company to integrate our platform with a MEMS handler, and what is driving this is the need for a low-cost test and handling solution,” Dewey said. “The ‘traditional’ big-iron ATE solution is too expensive and not really geared to supporting a multiple-site (32 to 96 devices) analog/digital device.”
Dewey concluded, “Again, it’s all about device cost—fabrication and test.”
Rick Nelson, Executive Editor.