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Economics Articles
- Industry Status as of April 2010 - February 2010 have come in at 51% growth versus February of 2009 on top of 72% growth in January versus January of 2009. We are forecasting 2010 to show 27% overall revenue growth for the year!
- Industry Status as of March 2010 - January 2010 began the year up 55.1% versus Januray of 2009. We are expecting 2010 to show greater than 20% growth versus 2009.
- Industry Status as of January 2010 - November revenue of of $21.49 billion dollars (raw numbers not 3 month moving average) are up 26.7% from $16.96 billion dollars in November of 2008. This is the second consecutive growth month of 2009 and we are now forecasting the year to end down 10% overall versus 2009. We also expect at least +20% growth for 2010.
- Industry Status as of December 2009 - October revenue of $22.08 billion dollars is up 14.3% from $19.31 billion dollars in October of 2008. The October revenue is the first month of positive growth in 2009 and stronger than we expected. We now expect to end 2009 with the overall year down 11% versus 2008 and 2010 to show strong growth of greater than 20%!
- Industry Status as of November 2009 - September revenue of $24.03 billion dollars is down 8.6% from September 2009 revenue of $26.28 billion dollars. Q3 overall is down 10.2% from Q3 of 2009, a stronger showing than we had orginally expected. We expect Q4 to show positive growth versus Q4 2008 and 2009 overall to come in at -12% versus our orginal forecast of -16%. We are also forecasting greater than 20% growth for 2010
- Industry Status as of October 2009 - August revenue of $19.02 billion dollars is down 13% versus August 2008 revenue of $21.07 billion dollars. With July and August coming in at -9.1% and -13% respectively, Q3 is coming in stronger than we were expecting. We now expect Q4 to show positive growth versus 2008 and the year overall to end at -12%.
- Industry Status as of September 2009 - July revenue of $19.89 billion dollars is down only 4.3% from $20.79 billion dollars in July of 2008 (these are actual not moving average numbers). -4.3% growth for July is stronger than we expected and we are now revising our full year forecast for 2009 from -16% to -12% revenue growth.
- Industry Status as of August 2009 - June revenue of $19.46 billion dollars (raw numbers not 3 month moving average) is down 23.7% from $25.52 billion dollars in June of 2008. This is fairly consistent with the rest of Q2 although a little softer than we were expecting. We expect the third and fourth quarter to strengthen from here and the year to end 16% down overall from 2008 as we previously forecast
- Industry Status as of July 2009 - May revenue of $16.15 billion dollars is down 21.3% from $20.53 billion dollars in July of 2008. The first two months of the second quarter are up form the 30% drop seen in the first quarter. We expect the third and fourth quarter to strengthen from here and the year to end 16% down overall from 2008 as we previously forecast.
- Industry Status as of June 2009 - April revenue of $16.18 billion dollars (raw numbers not 3 month moving average) is down 16.5% from $19.38 billion dollars in April of 2008. This is a big improvement from last months 31.7% drop and may be the beginning of the improvment we expect to bring the overall growth rate for 2009 up to -19% by the end of the year.
- Industry Status as of May 2009 - March revenue of $17.38 billion dollas (actual not moving forecast) is down 31.2% from March of 2008. First quarter revenue is down 29.9% from 2008. We expect 2009 to improve from here and end down 19% overall versus 2008.
- Industry Satus as of April 2009 - February 2009 revenue of $13.40 billion dollars (actual not moving average) is down 27.3% versus Februaury of 2008 following Janaury being down 31.5%. We are now forecasting -19% growth for the year overall.
- Solar Status March 2009 - Falling solar energy installation rates in 2009 are forecast to lead to low utilization rates and falling prices for solar cells.
- Industry Status as of March 2009 - January 2009 revenue of $13.7 billion dollars (actual not moving average) has begun 2009 down 31.5% versus January of 2008
- Industry Status as of February 2009 - December ended 2008 with -32.1% growth bringing the year down to -1.9% growth. The big question now is how negative will 2009 be?
- Industry Status as of January 2009 - industry growth turned further negative in November at -22.7%. Year to-date growth has now fallen to 1.2%. If December comes in as negative as November the total year will show negative growth!
Glossary
- [A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P]
- [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [X] [Y]
History
- 1940s - setting the stage - the initial inventions that made integrated circuits possible.
- 1950s - invention - the invention of the integrated circuit.
- 1960s - product and technology advances - MOS, CMOS and BiCMOS, Moore's law.
- 1970s - new products to drive the market - EPROM, DSP, DRAMs and Microprocessors, MOS scaling.
- 1980s - technology advances and new products - EEPROM and Flash
- 1990s - technology marches on - further refinements in technology.
- 2000s - what will the new decade bring? - as the decade unfolds we will continue to update this section.
- References - references for all of the sections.
Links
Miscelaneous Technology
- Semiconductor Text Book
  - Fundamental Principles of Integrated Circuit Fabrication A highly technical text book covering Integrated Circuit Fabrication
- Chemical Mechanical Planarization
  - Chemical Mechanical Planarization - principles and equipment used for Chemical Mechanical Planarization. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 21Kb pdf.
- Cleanroom
  - Cleanroom Cleanliness Guidelines - guidelines on cleanoom cleanliness requirements for semiconductor and MEMS applications. This is an excert from our Cleanroom Reference Guide for Semiconductor and MEMS Applications.
- Devices
  - Introduction to IC Devices written in the same style and at the same level as Introduction to IC Technology. Introduction to IC Devices is an introductory chapter from a new report, 2003 IC Technology report. To download Introduction to IC Devices go to the 2003 IC Technology page and select the chapter list, the free download may be accessed from the chapter list.
- Dielectric deposition
  - Atomic Layer Deposition Tutorial - contributed by Cambridge Nano Tech, a producer of ALD equipment. This tutorial goes over the basics of the process and includes an extensive list of films that can be deposited by ALD. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 2,913Kb pdf. Free pdf viewer.
  - Atomic Layer Deposition - atomic layer deposition is an emerging technology that has the potential to meet thin film deposition requirements for the next several generations of IC technology. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 100.7Kb pdf. Free pdf viewer.
  - Atomic Layer Deposition - principles and equipment used for Atomic Layer Deposition. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 28Kb pdf.
  - High-k gate oxides - as the size of MOSFETs shrinks, silicon dioxide the gate "oxide" used since the industry began is running out of steam. When, what and why will silicon dioxide be replaced. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 29Kb pdf. Free pdf viewer.
- Diffusion
  - Diffusion in Silicon - diffusion is the movement of impurities in a material due to thermal energy induced random motion. In this highly technical report the theory of diffusion in silicon is discussed in detail Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 885Kb pdf.
- Failure Analysis
  - Surface and Bulk Analysis Techniques - A chart of analysis techniques useful to the semiconductor industry with the capabilities of each technique. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 25.4Kb pdf. Free pdf viewer.
- General and Overview
  - An Overview of Semiconductor Technology - posted April 25, 2008. The second chapter from a semiconductor text book we were developing back in 2000.
  - Introduction to Integrated Circuit Technology revision 4 - a basic primer on IC technology. Updated to revision 4 on November 27, 2005. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 765Kb pdf. Free pdf viewer. If you need a more complete treatment of IC Technology written in the same style, see our IC Technology page
  - Current Technical Trends: Dual Damascene & Low-k Dielectrics - a 6 page review article discussing the challenges of integrating copper interconnect with low-k dielectrics. Written by Jerry Healey. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 101.6Kb pdf.
  - SOI Wafer Technology for CMOS ICs - an 11 page review article on Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) wafers, how they fit into state-of-the-art CMOS and the technologies used to make SOI wafers. Written by Bob Simonton. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 131.4Kb pdf.
  - Properties of Silicon at 300K - a table of silicon properties at room temperatures. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 40Kb pdf. Free pdf viewer.
  - Silicon Integrated Circuit Periodic Table - properties of elements of particular interest to the semiconductor industry. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 40Kb pdf. Free pdf viewer.
  - Gross and Net Die Calculator - The Free version calculates whole die per wafer based on wafer size, die size and edge exclusion, calculates net die using a Murphy, SEEDS, exponential or Poisson model. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 234Kb. Requires excel 2000 or higher.
  - Si:Ge Devices and Technology for Telecommunications IC Applications, written by Stanley Wolf Ph.D, 4 pages long. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 55Kb pdf. Free pdf viewer.
- Material properties
  - Properties of Silicon - a discussion of structure, mechanical and electrical properties of silicon. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 273Kb pdf. Free pdf viewer.
- Metal deposition
  - Sputter Technology - principles of sputter deposition. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 468Kb pdf.
  - Atomic Layer Deposition - atomic layer deposition is an emerging technology that has the potential to meet thin film deposition requirements for the next several generations of IC technology. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 100.7Kb pdf. Free pdf viewer.
  - Atomic Layer Deposition - principles and equipment used for Atomic Layer Deposition. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 28Kb pdf.
- Photolithography
  - Lithography Options for 32nm and 22nm - a discussion of the lithography options for the next two process nodes.
  - Photolithography - the process of forming patterns on a wafer surface using photographic processes. This is a highly technical chapter from a text book we were writing in 2000. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 606.7Kb pdf. Free pdf viewer.
  - Immersion Lithography - immersion lithography has the potential to extend optical lithography through the end of the decade. Learn about this important new technology. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 29Kb pdf. Free pdf viewer.
  - DUV Photolithography Process - a 3D color illustration of a Deep Ultraviolet Photolithography process. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 177Kb pdf.
  - Stepper Technology - 3D color illustrations of the key elements of stepper technology including stepper optic, excimer laser sources, stage control and pattern stepping. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 75.8Kb pdf.
- Safety
  - Gas Safety Data Summary - a chart listing gases used in the semiconductor industry and their properties with particular relevance to safety. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 33Kb pdf. Free pdf viewer.
- Wafer cleaning
  - Sonic Cleaning - principles and equipment used for ultrasonic and megasonic particle removal. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 19Kb pdf.
Our Products
- IC Cost Model - a Microsoft Excel based - drop-down menu driven cost model that allows the user to easily calculate the cost of most ICs. Price includes free updates for the current years version as they are released. ORDER NOW!
- Solar Watch - an excel spreadsheet database listing companies that produce Solar Cells with company name, address, web site, solar cell type, solar cell use, solar cell size and capaity by year. Includes 12 months of updates. ORDER NOW!
- 300mm Watch - an excel spreadsheet database listing announced 300mm projects with history and project details. Includes 12 months of updates. Updated regularly. ORDER NOW!
- IC Economics - a report covering IC costs and economics. ORDER NOW!
- Cleanroom Reference Guide for Semiconductor and MEMS Applications - combines all of the essential information to design, build and operate a cleanroom into one easy to access concise guide. Published March 2008, 109 pages long, full color, with 122 figures and 61 tables, $500. ORDER NOW!
- MEMS Cost Model - a Microsoft Excel based - drop-down menu driven cost model that allows the user to easily calculate the cost of most MEMS devices. Price includes free updates for twelve months as they are released. ORDER NOW!
- IC Packaging - This report covers the packaging industry, technology and costs, full color. This report is written at an introductory to intermediate level. ORDER NOW!
- Visual Guide to Semiconductor Process Equipment - This report covers every major category of production equipment. Published May 2004, full color, 101 pages long and including 108 figures and 16 tables. This report is written at an introductory to intermediate level. ORDER NOW!
- Product Support Page - applications note, errata, upgrade notices, etc.
Trends
- Defect density trends - a graphical summary of defect density trends from 1960 to the present. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 28.7Kb pdf
- Die size trends - a graphical summary of die size trends. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 21Kb pdf.
- DRAM trends - a summary chart of DRAM technology over time.
- Exponential Trends in the IC Industry - Updated - 02/12/2008 - a review of some of the key industry trends over time. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 114Kb pdf.
- Microlithography trends - a graphical summary of linewidth, equipment cost, exposure source and photoresist trends. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 33Kb pdf.
- Microprocessor trends - Updated 01/01/2008 - a summary chart of Intel microprocessor technology over time.
- MOS logic complexity trends - trends in mask layers, process steps and process technology used to produce digital logic chips - primarily Intel microprocessors. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 21.5Kb pdf.
- Transistors per integrated circuit trends - trends in transistors per integrated circuit. Left click to view, right click and "Save target as..." to download, 27.5Kb pdf.