Apple Propelled IC Growth to +60%/ +20%

My last blog (Semiconductor IC Sales +60% to +20% for 6 Companies) discusses large increase in semiconductor sales for some companies in first quarter of 2015.The driving force behind these large growth is Apple. Apple purchase more than $25B in 2014 (see table below). When Apple started diversifying its semiconductor sources it led to large impact on them. 

Table 1.Preliminary Ranking of Top 10 Companies by Semiconductor Design TAM, Worldwide, 2014 (Billions of Dollars)

2013 Ranking	2014 Ranking	Company	2013	2014	Growth (%) 2013-2014	Market Share (%) 2014
1	1	Samsung	30.6	32.1	5.1	9.4
2	2	Apple	23.5	25.8	9.8	7.6
3	3	HP	13.7	14.7	7.1	4.3
4	4	Lenovo	9.5	12.8	33.9	3.8
5	5	Dell	9.1	10.3	13.2	3.0
6	6	Sony	7.7	7.4	-2.8	2.2
9	7	Huawei	4.9	6.0	21.6	1.8
7	8	Cisco Systems	5.6	5.8	3.1	1.7
10	9	LG Electronics	4.7	5.5	15.9	1.6
8	10	Toshiba	5.5	5.3	-4.0	1.5
		Others	200.2	214.2	7.0	63.0
		Total	315.0	339.9	7.9	100.0

Note: Some columns do not add to totals shown because of rounding.

Source: Gartner (January 2015)

Apple demand is large part of TSMC 44% sales growth, GlobalFoundaries 21%, and Hynix 25% in first quarter of 2014.

Apple diversifying its semiconductor supplier started couple years ago (see November 2013 blog http://semiconductorexpert.blogspot.com/2013/11/who-will-fabricate-apple-microprocessors.html ).

When Apple shifted from using Samsung as the only vendor fabricating its microprocessor, it had large impact on Samsung sales. Apple was a major customer of Samsung several years ago. See March 2012 blog Foundry Rankings (Including Samsung’s  iPad, iPhone Breakdown) . 

More about Apple increases reliance on TSMC and adding GlobalFoundaries is in earlier blogs such as April 2015 Next iPhone Be Fabricated at TSMC .

Ron

Insightful, timely, and accurate semiconductor consulting.
Semiconductor information and news at - http://www.maltiel-consulting.com/

Who Will Fabricate Apple Microprocessors

DigiTimes reports a rumor that Samsung and Globalfoundries will work together on Apple A9 microprocessor fabrication. Apple have a choice of  only very few fabs that have the  leading edge technology and the manufacturing capacity. Apple would like to have a second source for its chip manufacturing, maybe it is forcing Samsung to work with Globalfoundries. It is not likely that Samsung would only provide its patent protection.

Some process technology would be shared also. Could be that Samsung 3D NAND technology is a key ingredient of such a deal (see TSMC and GlobalFoundries 3-D Transistors (FinFETs) ).

The cost of leading edge process technology ties Apple hands and is the reason that Apple cannot Kick Its Samsung Habit

Ron
Insightful, timely, and accurate semiconductor consulting.
Semiconductor information and news at - http://www.maltiel-consulting.com/

Globalfoundries, Samsung said to team up to vie for Apple chip orders

Josephine Lien, Taipei; Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 13 November 2013]

Rumors have been circulated in the IC industry claiming that Globalfoundries and Samsung Electronics will team up to vie for A9-series chip orders from Apple. Under the reported tie-up, Samsung will provide related patents and Globalfoundries will handle wafer production.

TSMC is believed to have secured contract manufacturing orders for Apple's 20nm A8 processor chip slated for 2014, and stands a good chance of also securing orders for the A9 series that will be built using a 3D transistor (FinFET) design. Nonetheless, rumors have it that Samsung plans to assist Globalfoundries in producing chips for Apple. Samsung will grant related patents for the manufacture of the A-series processors to the US foundry, which has a commitment to bring manufacturing jobs back to the country.

Globalfoundries will have its Fab 8 complex in Malta manufacture the reported A9 processor chips for Apple, while Samsung will collect royalties for licensing its patents, according to the rumors.

Samsung has long been the sole supplier of Apple's A-series chips, but gradually lost orders for some components such as memory chips due to its competition with the customer in the mobile space.

SanDisk and 3D NAND

SanDisk is strongly pursuing 3D NAND  with Toshiba. 3D NAND is a very strong contender for future advances in NAND shrinking. See more below



Some background about 3D NAND and at
3D NAND flash is coming

 Ron

Insightful, timely, and accurate semiconductor consulting.
Semiconductor information and news at - http://www.maltiel-consulting.com/

SanDisk starts beating path to 3D NAND flash

Reckons product ready for market by 2015

By Chris Mellor, 23rd July 2013 

 

SanDisk is taking its own technology route to 3D NAND - the stacking of recording layers within a flash chip atop one another to provide more capacity in the same footprint.

SanDisk is currently working on its new BiCS (Bit-Cost Scalable NAND) product and it could be deliverable in the fourth quarter of 2015, or sometime during 2016.

We asked Objective Analysis consultant and analyst Jim Handy how this was being done, and he said: "BiCS is not stacked chips, which is expensive. It's stacking bits on the same chip. The NAND is made into vertical strings of bits rather than today's horizontal strings."

That's demanding at a foundry level, as it fundamentally changes how NAND is made. A change from, say, 34nm NAND to 28nm NAND shrinks an existing process but the steps in the process generally stay the same. Not so with BiCS: "What's most problematic about this is that it changes the entire process. Semi makers are OK with tweaking their fabs to move from one process to the next by replacing 10-25 per cent of the tooling, but this will be more like 75 per cent."

Handy said it "involves more etch/deposition and not as much lithography as [existing] 2D NAND."

He made this point about NAND production costs:

The whole point of shrinks is to reduce costs by shrinking the area of a chip. Stacking chips still consumes the same area so it does nothing to reduce costs, but creating vertical structures (3D NAND or FinFETs) crams more transistors/bits into a given area so the chip can be made smaller and cheaper.

If the area of a NAND chip is reduced you can cut more of them from a standard cost wafer; therefore the cost per chip goes down.

Toshiba BiCS technology slide

SandDisk's BiCS schedule does not depend on it being first to market, according to Handy. "SanDisk, during its investor conference in May, made a very big point of saying that they would not be bringing out BiCS until it proved to provide a better ROI than 1Z. “

“Despite this,” continued Handy, “a few of the investment analysts in the room questioned why the company would fall behind Samsung, who is rumoured to be introducing its 3D NAND this year. It seemed that they didn't understand the difference between being first to market and being first to profit."

SanDisk's 1Z term refers to a cell size that is closer to 10nm than the 16nm which is generally understood by the 1Z term.

IEDM 2012 Preview: 20nm and Smaller

Some of the key issues in the upcoming IDEM 2012 are discussed in "Intel, rivals gird for IC manufacturing showdown" and in "IEDM preview: 20nm and below" .




"There have been three primary drivers in the semiconductor industry for the last four decades: Area, power/performance and cost. The well-known push to cram more functionality onto a single chip through continued scaling -- or into a single package through 3D integration and other advanced packaging techniques -- has been well documented. Today, with the exception of Intel, the industry's leading edge devices in high volume manufacturing have critical dimensions of 28nm. Intel, racing ahead, introduced the 22nm IvyBridge chip in 2011 and has announced plans to have 14nm by the end of 2013. How long this kind of scaling can continue is the subject of some debate, with most recognizing the EUV lithography will be required at some point, most likely for the 10nm generation (Intel has said it doesn't need it for 14nm).

It's clear, though, that continued scaling is running out of steam..."   Ron   www.maltiel-consulting.com

Intel: "Fabless model collapsing". Is it correct?

Intel’s top process technology exec says the foundry model is collapsing.  A good manufacturing process is only one of the factors that leads to success in product and circuit strategies. Intel had been leading in manufacturing with the HKMG process since the 45nm process.

However, they were not able to use their manufacturing clout to lead in new areas such as the mobile phone microprocessor market.

TSMC, GlobalFoundries, and UMC will have to work closer with the fabless companies sharing resources and cost to address these challenges.


Ron Maltiel