From November 12 to 15, 2019, productronica, together with SEMICON Europe, which will take place at the same time, will organize Europe's largest microelectronics exhibition at the Messe München trade fair with innovative solutions and products from the entire supply chain.
Semiconductors are everywhere. Since 1978, their numbers have been growing worldwide at an average rate of 8.9%. In 2018, industry experts at IC Insights counted more than one trillion integrated circuits, sensors, and optical and discrete (OSD) components for the first time. According to Gartner, they generated $476.7 billion in sales revenue, a 13.4 percent increase compared to 2017. Nearly 35 percent of this was in the microchip sector. According to WSTS (World Semiconductor Trade Statistics), this year's figure is expected to plummet by more than 30 percent, which would bring the semiconductor market down to 12 percent. Europe, in contrast to the Americas (-23.6%), Japan (-9.7%), and the Asia-Pacific region (-9.6%), was comparatively less affected with a decrease of 3.1%. However, a global increase of 5.4% is expected from 2020 onwards.
Regardless, the rapid technological changes in the highly complex and machine-intensive production of integrated circuits (ICs) will see an increase in demand for new equipment. For example, analysts at The Insight Partners estimated sales revenue for semiconductor manufacturing plants and machinery at $62.1 billion last year. With a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.2%, total revenue can be expected to reach $101.58 billion by 2027. The majority of this will be generated by wafer production, followed by test equipment.
However, the semiconductor industry is pushing its limits not only physically, but also financially. Factories for manufacturing 7-nanometer chips cost billions of dollars, partly due to the shift from lithography processes to extremely short-wave ultraviolet (EUV) light.
The European semiconductor industry faces stiff competition.
This technology is also considered an excellent example of European collaboration. ZEISS's Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology (SMT) and ASML, the world's largest supplier of lithography systems in the Netherlands, have contributed significantly to this for many years. However, the European semiconductor industry is under enormous pressure. In the 1990s, its share of global semiconductor production was over 15 percent, but last year, this percentage fell to less than 10 percent.
Funded projects have been established in several countries, such as "Electronic Components and Systems for European Leadership (ECSEL)", to halt this decline and boost the development and production of semiconductors and other electronic components in Europe.
Within this field, Fraunhofer IPMS and the research center for nanoelectronics and microelectronics, Imec in Belgium, both present at productronica/Semicon 2019, together with European partners in the “TEMPO (Technology and Hardware for Neuromorphic Cooperation)” project, are developing innovative hardware based on the structure of the human brain. TEMPO will help intensify collaboration between leading semiconductor companies and major microelectronics research institutes in Europe.
The EuroPAT-MASIP project for innovative process planning for complex electronic systems also aims to strengthen the semiconductor industry in Europe and also includes the participation of the exhibitor from the Dutch producer BE Semiconductor Industries.
The largest microelectronics event in Europe.
Thanks to the close cooperation between SEMICON Europe and productronica, visitors to this year's trade fair can once again expect to see everything the industry has to offer, both now and in the future. In addition to semiconductor manufacturing, this includes display, LED, and discrete component manufacturing, as well as photovoltaics, micronano technology, materials processing, and cleanroom technology. Industry representatives will also benefit from an extensive support program featuring high-quality conferences. In short, from November 12 to 15, productronica 2019 is the ideal place to discuss the latest trends and technologies.
