與蘋果關係決裂 三星半導體業務受衝擊
蘋果公司(Apple Inc.)和三星電子(Samsung Electronics)曾經是關係十分密切的合作夥伴。而今，隨著這兩家公司的關係開始決裂，蘋果公司所採取的疏離行動也為三星公司的整體銷售業務帶來潛在衝擊。
根據Piper Jaffray公司估計，蘋果公司約佔三星公司2010年半導體業務營收的17%。蘋果公司向三星公司購買大量的DRAM、NAND快閃記憶體以及其他半導體元件。而且，三星公司還為蘋果公司所設計的A4和A5處理器進行代工。
然而，最近在PC、行動電話和平板電腦市場中，蘋果和三星已經成為彼此競爭激烈的對手。
「我們認為，兩家公司之間的專利訴訟正是進一步支持我們這一看法的有力證據──蘋果公司正為其晶片代工需求積極尋找新的合作夥伴，」Piper Jaffray公司分析師Gus Richard在最近的一份報告中指出。
根據華爾街日報(Wall Street Journal)的一則報導指出，蘋果公司最近針對南韓三星電子提出一項專利侵權訴訟，指稱三星公司推出的Galaxy系列智慧手機與Galaxy Tab平板電腦，抄襲了iPhone與iPad的設計外觀與其風格。
「有關蘋果公司正開始疏遠與三星合作關係的證據也歷歷在目。我們認為，在記憶體方面，蘋果公司已加緊努力與爾必達(Elpida)、東芝(Toshiba)和美光(Micron)等公司合作，」Gus Richard補充道，「此外，雖然改變代工供應商將需要幾年的時間，但我們相信蘋果公司正與三星漸行漸遠，而台積電(TSMC)可望從今年第四季起取得來自蘋果公司的代工收益。」
根據分析師表示，目前還有另外一家積極尋求蘋果代工業務的廠商是──英特爾公司(Intel)。
接著，這將可能衝擊到三星公司的底線。三星電子最近宣佈今年第一季合併財務報表達36.99萬億韓元(346億美元)的銷售額，年成長率為7%。在這一季，由於部份受到DRAM價格下跌的影響，該公司公佈合併淨收入為 2.78萬億韓元(約26億美元)，年成長率下滑30%。
晶片製造商們正競相追隨蘋果公司的腳步，其原因在於「蘋果公司是全球半導體產業中的最大客戶，預估蘋果公司今年將會佔到約200億美元的半導體市場需求，」Richard說，「這大約已經佔了整個半導體市場需求的6%。此外，大約 70%的蘋果公司晶片需求或折算約140億美元的市場需求都是NAND快閃記憶體、DRAM以及先進邏輯晶片。總計蘋果公司的晶片需求大約就需要兩到三個大型的晶圓廠。」
編譯：Susan Hong
(參考原文：Apple-Samsung friendship turns sour，by Mark LaPedus)
代工商機誘人 英特爾也想咬一口蘋果？
目前蘋果(Apple)自家設計的 A4 與 A5 處理器，是交由三星電子(Samsung Electronics)所代工，但此現況有可能很快會有變化；根據業界消息，蘋果除了可能選擇台積電(TSMC)做為A5處理器與後續晶片的代工夥伴，英特爾(Intel)也正積極爭取蘋果的代工業務。
英特爾已經是蘋果的PC產品線x86處理器供應商，也涉足晶圓代工產業，最近還與Achronix Semiconductor簽訂了合作協議。Piper Jaffray & Co.分析師Gus Richard在一份新發佈的報告中指出：「著眼於其龐大商機，我們認為英特爾也正積極爭取為蘋果代工的業務。這對兩家公司來說都具策略性意義，蘋果不斷增加的需求，以及在智慧型手機與平板電腦市場日益成長的佔有率，將為英特爾帶來鞏固半導體製造領域領先地位所需的生產量。」
Richard進一步指出：「英特爾的製造龍頭地位，能為蘋果提供額外的市場競爭優勢，也拉開與眾多試圖推出模仿產品的亞洲競爭廠商之間的距離；此外，三星對英特爾與蘋果來說都是不容小覷的競爭威脅，這也將有助於削弱三星的勢力。」
但至少在目前，三星還會是蘋果的主要代工夥伴；「蘋果可能需要數年的時間來轉換代工廠，不過我們認為蘋果已經在疏遠三星。」Richard表示：「我們相信台積電將會在今年第四季取得來自蘋果的營收貢獻；最近蘋果與三星之間的專利訴訟，也進一步證實了我們認為蘋果將轉投其他晶圓代工廠的猜測。」
三星與台積電都有足夠的半導體產能可支援蘋果，所以一個很關鍵的問題是：英特爾也有足夠的產能嗎？
「三星才剛在美國德州Austin建好一座每月產能可達3萬~4萬片初始晶圓的新廠，以支援其晶圓代工業務；蘋果是該公司最大的客戶，以 A5 的晶片尺寸來看，蘋果該款處理器大概需要每月2萬3,000片晶圓的產能支援。而我們認為就是因為蘋果已經開始準備轉移代工業務，使得三星最近削減半導體設備訂單，同時似乎打算重新將這部分產能用於記憶體製造。」
編譯：Judith Cheng
(參考原文： Intel vying for Apple foundry business，by Mark LaPedus)
英特爾22nm製程推出在即？
業界近來充斥著英特爾(Intel)將推出期待已久的22nm製程的耳語。
台積電2011年資本支出計畫
DIGITIMES中文網 原文網址: 台積電2011年資本支出計畫 http://www.digitimes.com.tw/tw/dt/n/shwnws.asp?CnlID=10&Cat=&Cat1=&id=219443#ixzz1LUWk3QnU
“預計英特爾將在未來幾星期內，或是在5月17日的分析師會議前推出其22nm製程，”Piper Jaffray & Co.,分析師Gus Richard在一份報告中表示。
稍早前(5月4日)，英特爾在舊金山舉辦了一場媒體招待會，據英特爾表示，“英特爾將發佈年度最重大的技術消息。不過目前尚無法提供進一步的細節。”
最近一段時間以來，英特爾不斷暗示有關其22nm製程。去年，英特爾提供了最新一代的兩款處理器資訊更新。英特爾並展示了在PC和伺服器上執行其新一代架構──32nm的Sandy Bridge。而下一代採用22nm的‘Ivy Bridge’微處理器系列“正在晶圓廠進行製造且預計2011下半年推出，”英特爾執行長Paul Otellini去年表示。
業界對英特爾將採用的技術節點也有諸多猜測。英特爾的22nm製程將基於英特爾第三代high-k/金屬閘方法。它也將使用銅互連、low-k、應變矽和其它特性。與32nm相同，英特爾將採用193nm浸入式微影技術。
部份業界人士認為英特爾將推出一種鍺(三五族)的通道。
有些人認為，英特爾將延伸bulk CMOS製程。但另外一些人認為，這個晶片巨擘可能會採用完全耗盡型(fully-depleted)──或有時稱為超薄矽絕緣體(SOI)技術。一位消息人士甚至指出英特爾正考慮在22-或15nm採用三閘架構。
22nm製程又稱1270，它已進入生產。首先會在奧勒岡州的D10晶圓廠生產，而後亞利桑那州的F32廠將在今年下半年量產。
去年，英特爾同意為可編程邏輯新創業者Achronix Semiconductor做代工的消息震驚半導體產業觀察家；而現在，根據Venture Beat的報告與來自siteSemiAccurate.com的技術新聞，英特爾顯然與另一家可編程邏輯業者Tabula Inc.,達成了同樣的代工協議。
另外，本週一(5月2日)，Richard表示，他和Piper Jaffray的其他分析師都認為英特爾將開始爭奪蘋果公司的代工業務。
直到去年10月宣佈與Achronix的協議之前，英特爾一直很少運用其晶片製造能力為其他公司代工。與 Achronix 的交易是英特爾對代工業務投石問路的一項舉措。據 SemiAccurate.com 援引的匿名消息來源指稱，部份Achronix的元件將與英特爾的Atom處理器共同封裝，這與英特爾去年秋天發佈的與Altera的協議類似。
Tabula在2003年由Steve Teig成立，Teig是Cadence Design Systems公司前任技術長。去年，該公司以隱藏模式推出其3D可編程邏輯架構時，曾引起業界一陣騷動，該公司稱這將打造一種全新類型的元件，稱之為3PLD，它提供ASIC的性能，比FPGA更容易使用，而且價格點非常適合量產。去年3月，該公司發佈其40nm的ABAX系列晶片，已於去年底進入量產。 Rumor mill: Intel to roll 22-nm，by Mark LaPedus
New fab investment :
SAMSUNG 3.6Bn , Austin
INTEL 13Bn , Oregon / Arizona
Global Foundry 5.4Bn Germany / Singapore /Albany
TSMC 7.8Bn
To Meet Demand for Chips, Samsung Bets Big on Austin
By KRISTINA SHEVORY
Published: May 3, 2011
AUSTIN, Tex. — Samsung Electronics, one of the world’s biggest chip makers, is betting $3.6 billion that people will keep buying smartphones and tablet computers.
Ben Sklar for The New York Times
Burton Nicoson, with a silicon wafer, said Samsung chose Austin because of its support system and the University of Texas.
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Samsung, based in South Korea, is spending billions to expand its only factory in the United States to make logic chips that analysts believe will go into many Apple iPhones and iPads. When completely finished next month, the plant will be 2.3 million square feet, one of the largest factories of any kind in North America.
Samsung, now the world’s largest maker of computer memory, has a lot riding on the plant. Analysts say the expansion will give it more space to produce chips for other semiconductor companies and help it take on contract chip companies like GlobalFoundries and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.
“I don’t think Samsung would ever want to be No. 2 in any market,” said Catherine Morse, the general counsel and director of public affairs at Samsung Austin Semiconductor.
After a falloff in demand for computer chips that started in 2008, the semiconductor industry roared back last year as consumers and businesses started buying more computers and mobile devices. Worldwide semiconductor sales climbed 32 percent to almost $300 billion, according to the semiconductor research firm Semico Research Corporation, and are expected to grow 2 percent this year.
As the miniaturization of circuits continues and more everyday objects incorporate computers, semiconductor companies are making chips that are found in devices as diverse as refrigerators, GPS locators and cameras.
Chip makers ramped up their global spending on land, equipment and buildings last year by 91 percent over 2009 to nearly $50 billion. This year, Semico Research predicts, semiconductor companies will invest an additional 15 percent.
The chip industry requires tremendous amounts of money. A new plant costs about $6 billion, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association, so only the largest chip makers can afford to build their own. Smaller companies team up with other companies to build a factory or have contractors make their chips.
“This is a very risky business that’s not for the faint of heart,” said Len Jelinek of the market research firm IHS iSuppli in Scottsdale, Ariz. “It’s like putting down $1 billion on the craps table. You’ve just thrown the dice and they’re in the air. You hope they land the right way and you make money.”
The semiconductor industry is an international one. Although it began in Silicon Valley, it has since gone global and many of the world’s chips are now made in Asia. Chip companies prefer to have their manufacturing scattered across the globe to be closer to customers and engineers — and to reduce risk in case of a cataclysmic event, like the recent earthquake in Japan. New and expanded plants are under construction in China, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the United States.
Samsung chose to expand in Austin, said Burton Nicoson, vice president of manufacturing at Samsung Austin Semiconductor, because of “the infrastructure and support system here — you can’t get that from anywhere else.”
Other draws were the city’s legacy of semiconductor manufacturing and the University of Texas, which produces large numbers of skilled engineers, Mr. Nicoson said.
“Austin has a youth about it,” he said. “It really helps us with recruiting.”
While smartphones and tablets are largely driving the semiconductor industry’s growth spurt, demand for chips for personal computers and data centers, where information is stored on thousands of servers run by companies like Google and Microsoft, remains strong. Last year 350.9 million computers were shipped, versus 289.7 million tablets and mobile phones, according to the technology research firm Gartner.
“Semiconductors are the critical components for the whole infrastructure that gets data to you quickly,” said Bob Johnson, research vice president in Gartner’s semiconductor group in San Jose.
Intel, the world’s biggest chip maker, is spending up to $13 billion to build two new factories and upgrade four others in Oregon and Arizona over the next few years. Construction began in the fourth quarter of last year and is expected to be complete in 2013.
About every two years Intel upgrades its manufacturing processes to make chips that are smaller, cheaper, more powerful and use less power. The chip giant is upgrading four plants to produce 22-nanometer chips and is building two new factories, one in Arizona and one in Oregon, devoted to 14-nanometer chips. “When you make an investment in a factory, you’re essentially placing a bet on a manufacturing process that’s not yet done, for products that are not yet designed, to sell into a market that is not yet there,” said Chuck Mulloy, a spokesman for Intel’s technology and manufacturing group.
GlobalFoundries, a contract maker of semiconductor chips, is doubling the amount of money it spends this year to $5.4 billion, from $2.7 billion, as it expands two factories in Germany and Singapore and builds a new one near Albany.
GlobalFoundries, of Milpitas, Calif., is a private joint venture between an investment company of the government of Abu Dhabi and the chip maker Advanced Micro Devices. It expects to spend more money than it makes this year as it tries to become the biggest foundry, or contract chip maker, in the world. Sales are estimated at $4 billion in 2011.
Near Albany, in Malta, N.Y., GlobalFoundries is investing $4.6 billion in a factory that will produce 28-nanometer chips for a wide variety of customers. The 1.5 million-square-foot plant will be at full production in 2013.
“The appetite for tablet computers is a huge part of this move,” said Travis Bullard, a GlobalFoundries spokesman. “We’re adding more and more capacity to meet that demand.”
台積電2011年資本支出計畫2011/02/11-鄭茜文
台積電宣布2011年資本支出將達78億美元，主要用擴充65、45及28奈米產能。在78億元的資本支出中，其中81%用以擴充65、45及28奈米產能，在81%中的9%，將用作20奈米及14奈米的研發，預計2011年總產能將成長20%，其中，12吋產能將增加35%。在更先進的製程方面，台積電在新竹晶圓十二廠目前已在進行20奈米製程的研發，並將新增14奈米與sub-14奈米製程的研發中心。 此外，台積但將於2013~2014年間以20奈米製程進行18吋晶圓試產，預計於2015~2016年於中科的晶圓十五廠量產。
DIGITIMES中文網 原文網址: 台積電2011年資本支出計畫 http://www.digitimes.com.tw/tw/dt/n/shwnws.asp?CnlID=10&Cat=&Cat1=&id=219443#ixzz1LUWk3QnU
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