SEMICON Europa Brings "Front End" and "Back End" Together
Stanley T. Myers, President Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) -- Semiconductor International, 1/1/1999
Semiconductor equipment market executives attending the Electronica show in Munich expressed optimism over the industry's future in Europe. Two industry leaders expressed support at a press conference for SEMICON Europa exposition's expansion. SEMICON Europa 99 is scheduled for April 13-15 at the Munich Trade Fair Centre.
Complex packaging and testing requirements of advanced semiconductor circuits make it impossible to view the so-called 'back end' of the manufacturing process as independent of the wafer fabrication process.
Pascal Rondé, sales and marketing manager, Europe, for Hewlett Packard Semiconductor Test Systems, said the European test industry has been hit by the same recession impacting the global equipment industry, but added that in some ways it has been beneficial. One of the industry's new requirements is the decision driven by Intel to include a high-speed RAMBUS interface into the new generation of microprocessors. This will drive new developments in test capability that must be developed in parallel with needed device and packaging technology. Another requirement is the move to the 'system on a chip,' which Rondé said changes the rules for fabricating, packaging and testing circuit technology.
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Display Works 99 Set for February
The latest trends in flat panel display (FPD) technology and the challenges of display manufacturing will be themes at Display Works 99, Feb. 1-5, at the San Jose Convention Center (San Jose, Calif.). Growing demand for flat panel displays in the consumer market as well as in other applications highlights challenges facing the display manufacturing industry. High material and production costs have kept flat panel display technology limited to a fairly specialized market segment. New display technologies however, are prompting new applications and an extension of flat panel displays into established markets. Tom Reed, SEMI vice president, said the timing of this year's Display Works is excellent, because 'the proliferation of flat panel displays in mobile computing and telecommunications as well as into desktop computing is driving near-term demand well beyond current capacity, signaling the potential for significant capacity buys in 1999.' 'While U.S.-based flat panel display manufacturing is
still in its infancy, there are many encouraging signs of future growth,'
Reed said. 'We are seeing announcements for plant expansions and new green
field sites like Candescent's in San Jose, and there have also been
indications from some major semiconductor manufacturers of expansion into
the flat panel display market. As the demand for displays continues to
increase, all segments of the market will expand and present opportunities
for new market entrants, some of whom will be exhibiting products for the
first time at Display Works.' | |
'We can no longer address front-end processing, materials, test and assembly as separate businesses,' Binder said. 'The profitability of our customers requires us to look at it all as one integrated operation.'
Staff members from SEMI's Brussels office outlined plans to expand the event to accommodate these growing trends, including a major new Test Pavilion.
'In the future, I think that our customers are going to come to trade shows
where they can look at developments in the 'total food chain' because of their
parallel importance,' Rondé said. 'That is why we are looking forward to the
expansion of SEMICON Europa into that type of complete experience.' 
The Upturn May Be Coming
We
have begun to see optimistic market projections and predictions of an
undersupply rather than an oversupply, at least in the DRAM market. This, plus
the North American semiconductor equipment industry's October book-to-bill ratio
of 0.73, an increase from the 0.56 reported for September and a reversal of the
decline of the figure each month in 1998, gives rise to hopes that the
industry's recovery may be underway. Activity in the next few months will tell
if this is the first step on the road to the equipment industry's recovery. We
expect resolution of capacity issues and world financial problems to occur
gradually. A full recovery may be several months away.
