International semiconductor companies begin to enter the semiconductor equipment manufacturing field

Recently, international semiconductor companies such as Intel, Samsung and TSMC have sharply increased their research and development costs and have begun to enter the semiconductor equipment manufacturing sector. They either invest in equipment research and development, or work together on equipment development, or in the form of a stake in the investment, and thus accelerate the pace of the semiconductor equipment manufacturing sector. This not only represents the development of the world's semiconductor industry and the latest trend of enterprise competition, but also reflects the chip manufacturing companies will be the competition of chip products to expand the industry chain to the deeper level of the latest features.

It is reported that TSMC's research and development costs have been increasing rapidly since 2010, actively carrying out the development of 3d-ic volume production, 14 nano-scale production, and so on, after the first time in 2011, the cost of research and development is more than 1 billion dollars, Research and development costs are expected to reach $1.176 billion trillion (40 billion NT) this year, accounting for about 8% per cent of total revenue, and are expected to increase by 18% from 2011.

It is also reported that Samsung in the DRAM field to obtain industrial advantage, now has directly entered the semiconductor foundry industry and TSMC and other competition. In order to gain a competitive advantage in chip manufacturing, Samsung has increased its investment in semiconductor equipment over the past two years, by taking stakes in South Korea's semiconductor equipment manufacturers, and by turning the semiconductor equipment company, which is a joint venture with Japan, into a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung, Samsung has now developed several 18-inch devices to enter the semiconductor equipment supply chain used in the 18-inch chip production line by transferring some of the cutting-edge semiconductor equipment technology developed by Samsung to these subsidiaries and vertically integrating Samsung's interior. Among the 10 devices selected by TSMC, Samsung, IBM, Groffand (Global foundries), Intel and other companies in the 18-inch wafer production line at New York State State University's Albany campus, two are the equipment of Samsung semiconductor equipment manufacturers.

Samsung uses its own full range of electronic information industry advantages, for China's Taiwan and other regions of the semiconductor foundry manufacturers, in order to entrust these manufacturers for Samsung processing other semiconductor products, the relevant electronic components of the procurement policy and commissioned purchase orders and the use of Samsung production of semiconductor equipment bundled and linked , in this way to support the development of its semiconductor equipment subsidiaries.

Intel has long been investing in semiconductor equipment merchants, and its latest big example is the announcement that it will buy 15% of Asmae, a Dutch photolithography equipment maker, with a 4.1 billion dollar price, and a strong financial support for the company's research business, which is just announced, and ASML To accelerate the development of the next generation of IC manufacturing technology. The board has agreed to buy 10% per cent of the company and plans to further acquire 5% per cent of the company in the future, according to Intel on July 9. In addition, Intel will assist in research and development financing, and invest 1 billion of billions of dollars to support its research and development efforts to promote the development of the 450 mm wafer and ultra ultraviolet chip process.

Lithography is one of the most expensive devices in semiconductor manufacturing equipment, the most new generation of lithography machine used in the single unit price is expected to be more than 50 million U.S. dollars, and a monthly projection of 100,000 pieces of IC production line requires more than 10 such equipment. Aspen is one of the world's leading semiconductor equipment manufacturers and research and development institutions in light of this machine, Intel is the first major customer of the Asmalai, and the two companies will strengthen Intel's future competitive advantage in IC chip manufacturing, while also helping to improve its research and development capabilities and reduce research and development risks, In order to form a mutually beneficial situation.

Intel is rapidly infiltrating and expanding into the semiconductor key equipment field, and is actively moving towards the IC application field. Not long ago, Intel also spent 375 million of dollars on the purchase of 1700 wireless technology patents at the InterDigital company, headquartered in Pennsylvania State, Prussia, to strengthen and broaden the previously "suspected single" business of focusing on CPU manufacturing to address possible future The new challenges brought about by the popularization of CPU technology.

"There are signs that the global semiconductor manufacturing industry will be restructured," said John Jackson, analyst at Ccsinsight, a market research firm, Jackson. ”