Intermolecular Inc. and SRC expects to show at this week's SemiconWest new R & D initiatives put forward by then Intermolecular will release the memory R & D on small-scale production of the report,glue stick and SRC will describe the analog devices, energy, healthcare and multi-core, etc. new projects.
The release of the report comes one of the semiconductor research and development "in the occasion of life and death," or a "meet the development to move forward with the times" in the heated debate.
IC industry every year, billions of dollars spent on research and development funds. However, the sudden increase in recent years due to cost,glue gun but subject to intellectual property control, chip manufacturers increased their R & D needs transferred to the Union, wafer foundries and third-party suppliers. Some observers worry that if the long-term maintenance of this trend, most chip makers will stop research and development, this once prosperous industry will be short-lived professional services that transfer institution.
Outsourcing R & D also has some chip manufacturers not satisfied with the rewards. Some critics of this new mode is possible R & D cooperation skeptical.
Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) (from the North Carolina Triangle business park) is confident of this mode of cooperation. The Group was established in 1982, is the lead of several innovative initiatives were developed. One is the Nanoelectronics Research Innovation Alliance (NRI), the Alliance plans to seek proof within 15 years, 10 nm below the limit size of new components.
SRC also increased in the "application" of the investment. For example, it has quietly and the National Science Foundation, signed a joint memorandum of understanding of multi-core processors.
In addition, SRC's President and Chief CEOLarrySumney simulation revealed that SRC are planning to build a design center, to study the analog and mixed-signal technology in a wider band range of applications. At the same time there is a plan in progress, that is, the research co-operation (TopicalResearchCollaboration), the program will first go through two separate projects to meet the energy and medical research needs.
Intermolecular, Inc. (California SanJose) also is expanding its business scope. Last year the company introduced high efficiency due to combination of platforms (High-ProductivityCombinatorialplatform, HPC) and a gun fired, the platform for a variety of tools to provide different solutions on the chip material, processing and device structure of the catalytic role of R & D as well. Companies can sell to the chip maker's tool for research and development, but also can use their own equipment set up R & D product line.
Now, Intermolecular company has established its own research and development of small production line to develop a range of emerging memory technologies, such as phase-change memory and resistiveRAM. Company brewing CEODavidLazovsky said the company is also developing solar markets 3D chip and similar technology.
Intermolecular business is booming, with record orders in 2007 reached 5,500 million U.S. dollars. One of the client itself does not R & D system, but designated Intermolecular as its R & D side. Lazovsky said, "companies such as Intermolecular changed the face of the IC industry."
Few would disagree with that, but some believe that this change is disturbing.
Chip R & D "is not dead, it in progress." Gartner Inc. (Stanford, Conn.) analyst DeanFreeman said. "But with escalating costs and research and development is becoming increasingly difficult, we expect more companies will be outsourced R & D operations."
Independent design house R & D model in some ways no longer viable. Lazovsky said: "Many chip makers still use the large capacity of manufacturing research and development tools, and Fab, but the industry can no longer yesterday's methods to meet today's challenges."
This transformation of the environment for R & D outsourcing industry, is a gold mine. In addition to Intermolecular and SRC, as AlbanyNanotech, IBM technology alliance, Europe InteruniversityMicroelectronicsCenter, Japan's leading-edge semiconductor technology alliance (Selete), the global semiconductor manufacturing alliance (InternationalSematech) and SVTCTechnologies companies are booming.
Chip makers are actively go out to find the right development partner, even as giants IBM and Intel themselves they are also in this environment. It Intermolecular said the whole semiconductor research and development costs will double from 50 billion U.S. dollars in 2007 to grow to 100 billion U.S. dollars in 2012.
Gartner said it has developed a single 45-nanometer semiconductor manufacturing process research and development costs of 15 billion U.S. dollars. The company also expects 32-nm node, research and development costs will rise by 15% - 25%.
IC industry average cost spent on R & D 12% of its total sales - 15%. But this figure to some extent misleading, because the supplier will continue to outsource more and more out.
Gartner's Freeman said that the acceleration of R & D outsourcing services to follow Moore's Law on the technologies used to produce a more direct impact, including carbon nanotubes, heterogeneous IC, high k / metal gate dielectric technology and non-planar devices (such as the FinFET ) and so on.
A high-profile example is the Texas Instruments R & D outsourcing (TI) decision last year to stop the number of R & D operations and its outsourcing partners to the wafer TSMC (TSMC), TI will focus on research and development within the analog devices.
AMD, Freescale, Intel, NXP Semiconductors, Toshiba, Samsung, ST, and many semiconductor business is more dependent on external R & D resources.
Some scholars predicted that the IC industry will be completely integrated. Freeman think this stock will eventually be attributed to a wave integration of several R & D and manufacturers: IBM technology alliance, Intel and TSMC. Perhaps three or four memory manufacturer. Simulated market is quite different, he believes some companies will survive it in this storm and thrive.
With the transfer of R & D business, intellectual property control issues have been surfaced. Critics of outsourcing as more worried about the flow of some of the IP core ineffective intellectual property protection in Asia, especially China, these countries can therefore gain some valuable core technology and eventually Europe, Japan, the United States to compete.
SRC's Sumney have different opinions: "IP issues are landing overseas no practical significance, because the semiconductor industry itself is global."
Prior to 1980, only a few giant companies such as Bell Labs, General Electric, IBM and Xerox PARC (XeroxParc) to engage in semiconductor research and development. Freeman said: "When 20 years ago, the U.S. government has forced the dissolution of AT & T Bell Labs, the company, semiconductor R & D golden era is over. One of the research organization can no longer do any research work, have not yet restored."
At the same time, some have their own R & D chip maker began to realize the heavy burden of investment. Union began to encourage cooperative R & D industry.
Other R & D model is also springing up one after another. IBM and chip makers set up a technology alliance to share the development cost, wafer processing has joined the ranks.
Now, like Intermolecular, SVTC such professional development service providers and some small manufacturers to join. Many companies also have the ability to ensure that the technology "from the lab to the fab."
R & D mode Zhuge Kan.
Each R & D model are advantages and disadvantages. Such as chip manufacturing alliance Freeman said Sematech, the original name of the establishment "for the common interests of the" label, but subsequent development was a bit away from this direction.
Some alliance itself has some problems. For example Crolles2, then by Freescale, NXP, ST and TSMC high-profile R & D alliance formed last year, Freescale is the first out of the Union, but joined the IBM technology alliance; the same time, as a founding member of the NXP Semiconductors ( was still a subsidiary of Philips) also withdrew from the alliance and TSMC, and formed a new alliance.
It is reported that members of IBM's technology alliance with AMD has privately complained about the skyrocketing cost of IP core than it gets in return is negligible. However, AMD's spokesman said that these are purely rumors and reports are baseless and meaning.
Some people think that only the Union or some of the best companies in the fab to support independent research and development. Wafer R & D company SVTC's CEO DavidBergeron said: "fab R & D costs is unacceptable." The company recently set up a solar energy development center.
SRC's Sumney support alliance model, and that the main challenges facing the alliance model is developed to balance the needs of individual members. For example, as the company gradually changed to the Fabless or fablite their R & D focus will shift to the application of Moore's Law to meet up.