TSMC may be the clear leader in the pure-play foundry sector, but Samsung is keen on catching up in advanced manufacturing processes. Qualcomm's freshly unveiled Snapdragon 888 will be made using 5nm process at Samsung, which reportedly has offered major discounts in manufacturing quotes to secure the US chip vendor's orders. While Samsung is handling the foundry work for Snapdragon 888, ASE Technology is responsible for its packaging. Qualcomm is upbeat about the 5G smartphone market in 2021, and its optimism has been echoed by Micron, who has seen strength in mobile, auto, industrial and PC sales. Now DRAM spot prices are expected to rise soon on rebounding end-maket demand.Samsung cuts foundry quotes for 5nm chip orders from Qualcomm: Samsung Electronics has cut its foundry quotes to attract 5nm chip orders including those for Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 888 processor series, according to industry sources.ASE obtains FC packaging orders for new Qualcomm 5G SoC: ASE Technology has reportedly grabbed flip-chip packaging orders for Qualcomm's just-unveiled flagship 5G SoC Snapdragon 888, as well as orders for the new integrated X60 5G modem, according to industry sources.DRAM spot prices about to rally: Spot market prices for DRAM memory are about to rally on an anticipated pick-up in end-market demand, according to sources at memory module makers.

A presentation to showcase the achievements of Taiwan Advanced Instrumentation Project (TAIP) took place in Taipei recently. As part of the government's Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program, TAIP is aimed at promoting Taiwan's independent R&D, manufacture and utilization of advanced instruments and exploring opportunities for their commercialization.Keynote speakers at the event included: Chau-Hwang Lee, deputy executive secretary, Academia Sinica; Howard S Lee, chairman, Taho Pharma; and Yi-Sheng Wang, principal investigator, TAIP. Among the audience were participants from industries, venture capital funds, academic institutions and research organizations.TAIP's advisory committee - headed by James C Liao, president, Academia Sinica, and a group of experts - selected 10 research projects in consideration of marketability, national policy and public interest. In three years of operation since its establishment in 2017, aside from making capital investments to enable prototyping and field testing, TAIP has also provided a diversity of services including startup incubation in an effort to promote and drive research results to commercialization while building a complete industry ecosystem step by step and fostering high-caliber research talent. The event marked successful completion of TAIP's short-term objectives.The 10 selected research projects generated 10 instruments based on a diverse combination of measuring technologies and device designs. They form a series of viable and commercializable solutions to fully address challenges in drug testing, disease screening, environmental pollutant analysis, public safety and long-term healthcare. These solutions, showcased at the event, are highlighted below.Portable mass spectrometer, liquid chromatography system and liquid chromatography mass spectrometerMass spectrometers are fundamental to chemical analysis. A TAIP team developed patented innovative mass spectrometers and related instruments that feature lightweight, convenience, usability, low cost and easy maintenance to enable testing and measurement anytime anywhere. The team's patented ionization device is much smaller and lighter, making it particularly suitable for detecting narcotics and explosives. The team has also designed a portable liquid chromatography system that flexibly accommodates use by different types of laboratories. Rapid saliva drug screening instrumentA TAIP team presented a rapid saliva drug screening device that can simultaneously identify multiple common illegal substances including amphetamine, heroin and ecstasy to allow a quick assessment of suspected drug abuse during a crackdown operation. It resolves the privacy concerns and inconveniences of traditional urine drug tests. Comprising a disposable saliva collection container, a test cartridge and an automatic reader, the test takes only 10 minutes to complete, significantly reducing law enforcement officers' time and effort and expedites drug testing processes.Rapid drug testing instrument and cloud database for analyticsA TAIP team proposed a rapid drug testing instrument based on Raman spectroscopy with compelling cost advantage. It helps front-line law enforcement avoid false positive assessments on whether the substances are actually illegal drugs. Moreover, the team makes use of machine learning to build a cloud analytics database that aims to effectively identify new types of drugs with constantly changing chemical compositions. Characteristics data are processed by a low-dimensional classifier to effectively determine the type of drug. The solution is also suitable for biomedical, pharmaceutical, food science and environmental monitoring applications.High-resolution ion mobility spectrometerA TAIP team's patented Periodical Focusing Differential Ion Mobility Spectrometer (PFDIMS) performs high-resolution ion analysis even without a perfect vacuum. It can be a portable and cost-effective device not only for detecting narcotics and explosives anytime anywhere but also for measuring creatinine and carbohydrate levels to screen diseases and biomarkers.Mobile terahertz scanner for security inspectionA TAIP team incorporated terahertz imaging onto a portable imaging device to scan lightweight materials such as clothing, mail and plastics. Comprising an automatic feeder, a sorting apparatus, and a terahertz imaging device, the system automatically processes large amounts of mail loaded on a conveyor belt and screens out suspicious articles using AI-based image recognition, which are then further identified and sorted based on the types of contrabands.Wide-field 3D scanning for long-term care, enhanced with AI-based recognition technologiesA TAIP team designed a thermal imaging care system that combines wide-field thermal scanning and thermal AI motion behavior identification technologies. It serves as a home care solution that delivers the benefits of protecting privacy while enabling cost advantage. Featuring AI-based prediction and analysis, the system can identify movements such as going to bed, getting out of bed, sitting or lying in bed for a long period and falling to enable timely and precise care services not only for home care but also for use at public spaces and factories.Optoproteomics instrumentCombining photochemistry and AI-based image recognition, a TAIP team is able to use precise photochemical reactions for protein positioning and labeling and then perform analysis under a mass spectrometer to determine the protein composition. The solution is an instrument that allows the identification of proteins in critical regions of cells under a microscope. It is expected to be indispensable for next-generation protein research and play a critical role driving advances in precision medicine and targeted therapy development.Active low-frequency acoustic pipeline safety monitoring systemBy actively emitting low-frequency acoustic signals and performing time/frequency domain analyses and diagnoses on the acoustic signals using machine learning AI, a TAIP team's solution detects pipeline leak or provides an early warning. It addresses the continuity, long-distance and real-time safety monitoring needs for commercial pipelines transporting oil, natural gas, industrial liquid or water with enhanced capability to locate pipeline leak and detect pipeline degradation.Microarray X-ray phase-shift imagingUsing a high-power electron beam to hit a microarray of metal targets to generate multiple X-ray sources, coupled with innovative phase-shift imaging technologies for image reconstruction, a TAIP team's solution can considerably enhance the resolution of X-ray images. The new technology can differentiate among muscles, blood vessels and fat tissues to raise the accuracy of doctors' diagnoses of lung or breast tumors.High-end chemical composition analyzer for PM2.5 aerosolsA TAIP team combined a micro aerosol mass spectrometer and an ultra-sensitive off-axis integrated cavity output spectroscopy in one device, coupled with its self-developed adjustable pneumatic sample inlet system, for precise particle collection. Featuring an excellent signal-to-noise ratio and easy deployment on mobile utility vehicles, the complete system can be used to conduct field measurements in outdoor environments for real-time and on-spot PM2.5 tracking and monitoring. It can also analyze the chemical composition, i.e. molecular structure, of the pollutant to find the source of air pollution.The instruments targeting applications in wide-ranging sectors make use of varying technologies to overcome barriers in particle analysis, spectroscopy or antibody screening. They can effectively and significantly reduce false negatives and false positives, which is critical for drug detection.Four startup firms have been incorporated out of the 10 teams and they will accelerate the pace of commercializing their products over the next two to three years. Enterprise executives approached the teams and expressed interest in placing orders for their products at the event, which marked a good start for Taiwan's advanced instrument industry.TAIP's achievement presentation Photo: Sandy Du, Digitimes, November 2020

LCD panel maker AU Optronics (AUO) has cooperated with MedicalTek, a startup engaged in developing endoscope visualization systems for minimal invasive surgical operation, to develop 3D medical displays.MedicalTek has developed MonoStereo 3D and DARIWN 3D endoscope visualization systems as well as Lascaux, an endoscopic image recorder, and a training platform for minimal invasive surgical operation through cooperation with IRCAD Taiwan, company chairman and CEO Jack Liu said. IRCAD is a France-based medical research and training institute focusing on minimal invasive surgery.MedicalTek has upgraded MonoStereo from 2D to 3D to enhance surgeons' feeling of harmony between eyes and hands in a bid to hike quality, safety and efficiency for minimal invasive surgical operation, Liu noted.A display for minimal invasive surgical operationPhoto: IRCAD Taiwan

TSMC is expected to move its 3nm process to volume production in second-half 2022, but the foundry house reportedly is planning to launch an enhanced version of the 3nm process technology in 2023. Tight foundry supply is sending IC manufacturing costs rising, which in turn has prompted IC vendors to hinke their product prices. Driver IC designeres are expected to incease their quotes by another 10% in first-quarter 2021. Some memory backend specialists have also raised quotes for their wirebonding packaging services for niche DRAM which has seen demand picking up.TSMC to roll out 3nm Plus process in 2023: TSMC plans to launch an enhanced version of 3nm process technology in 2023, with Apple being the initial customer adopting the process, according to industry sources.Display driver IC prices to rise another 10% in 1H21: Prices for display driver ICs and TDDI chips are expected to rise by another 10% in the first half of 2021 after hiking in fourth-quarter 2020, due to tight foundry supply and rising manufacturing costs, according to industry sources.Niche-market DRAM demand picking up: Orders for niche-market DRAM memory has started picking up recently, thanks to the roll-outs of new consumer electronics devices, according to sources at backend houses.

Micron Technology's two factories in Taiwan were recognized by the Global Lighthouse Network (GLN) under the World Economic Forum (WEF) in September 2020, according to the company's corporate vice president and Taiwan country manager Hsu Kuo-chin.GLN is a group of advanced manufacturers promoting Industry 4.0.While the development of 5G and AI leads to demand for large volumes of data, memory chips are becoming increasingly complicated, with better performance, less power consumption and small dimensions, Hsu said, adding memory chip makers have to hike precision of products and differentiate manufacturing processes by virtue of smart manufacturing technologies.Micron began to undertake smart manufacturing at its factories globally in 2015, Hsu said. Initially, data were internally integrated under an architecture enabling visualization and transparency; then in 2017 various IoT technologies were put into use for real-time monitoring, Hsu indicated, adding that engineers now can predict abnormal conditions using AI.The smart manufacturing began at wafer fabrication and has been extended to IC packaging and testing, procurement and supply chain manufacturing, Hsu said. In particular, wafer fabrication involves more than 1,000 manufacturing processes and takes three months, while IC packaging and testing take only 3-5 days, Hsu noted.Currently, Micron collects data of 13TB in total from all factories a day, equivalent to 6,500 hours of movies, and uses AI to analyze 3.3 million images of wafers a week, Hsu indicated. In order for real-time monitoring, Micron has installed a total of 110,000 sensors at its 13 factories around the world, Hsu said.The smart manufacturing is intended to boost productivity through using AI to simulate scheduling and optimize manufacturing processes, with AR/VR technologies to support remote maintenance of equipment and robots. Detection of operating indexes and anomalies at production lines is enabled by real-time monitoring based on IoT, machine vision and deep learning technologies. Automatic recognition of and response to anomalies through using an in-house-developed AI-based analytical and diagnostic system can hike yield rates, Hsu explained.For manufacturing processes in particular, Micron uses sensing technologies to detect dynamic and static images as well as sounds to real-time monitor operating conditions of equipment and product quality, Hsu said.The smart manufacturing has resulted in 18% increase in employee's productivity, 34% decrease in unplanned stoppage of equipment in operation, and 40% reduction in non-conforming products, Hsu noted. In addition, time taken in hiking yield rates for new products has been reduced by 20% and total power consumption by 15%, Hsu added.

The DRAM market may be heading towards demand-supply balance in first-half 2021, but warnings about shortages in second-half 2021 are being sounded by many in the memory sector, including PSMC chairman Frank Huang. In the IT sector, clients are advancing their orders for cloud servers on concerns about a repeat of the disruptions to their supply chains by COVID-19. The displays sector has already seen months of tight supply for LCD panels, which observers believe underlies a recent contract dispute between Corning and panel maker SDP.DRAM likely to be in short supply in 2H21, says PSMC chairman: The global supply of DRAM memory will likely fall short of demand in the second half of 2021, according to Frank Huang, chairman for Taiwan-based foundry Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing (PSMC).Supply chain sees orders for cloud servers pick up: Suppliers engaged in the supply chain for cloud computing servers have seen clients start pulling in orders in advance, bracing for a resurge in the COVID-19 pandemic that could repeat the supply chain disruptions seen at the beginning of 2020, according to industry sources.SDP-Corning dispute highlights tight supply of LCD panels: The recent contract dispute involving the supply of glass substrates by Corning's subsidiary in Japan, CJKK, to its Japanese client Sakai Display Products (SDP) highlights the severity of the short supply of LCD panels, according to industry sources.

Government-sponsored Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) has developed a solution based on digital CNC (computer numerical control) to facilitate system integration and expansion of machine tools and robotic arms into work cells that carry higher product prices.Featuring openness and flexibility, the digital CNC allows introduction of value-added software to manufacturing processes and enables machine tool makers to develop proprietary software through SDK, which has helped makers develop various value-added functions such as CNC-embedded modules for simulating 3D cutting, main axis monitoring and remote monitoring, ITRI said.ITRI has cooperated with eight machine tool makers to use the solution in developing high value-added machine tools used in turning, turning plus milling and other machining processes. Through convenient integration of such machine tools into work cells, prices for a machine tool have risen from NT$1.4 million (US$48,440) originally to NT$2.0 million.

In terms of the maturity of the startup ecosystem and digital economy among Southeast Asian countries, Singapore is the leader, followed by Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, according to AppWorks partner Jessica Liu.Southeast Asia is often associated with demographic dividend, especially Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. However, there are only 5.8 million people in Singapore, and when it comes to the digital economy, Singapore is more concerned with the development of core tech, such as AI, Industry 4.0 and blockchain, said Liu, who leads the accelerator's efforts in Southeast Asia and the region's burgeoning blockchain ecosystem.Singapore has reached a high level of digitization, while many of its neighboring countries still rely on paper, and their progress of digitization is relatively slow. As a result, most of Singapore's startup teams, unless they specifically target other Southeast Asian markets, are usually R&D and technology oriented, while others are usually very consumer oriented and focus on overseas markets, she said.On the surface, Singapore's small size seems to be an inherent disadvantage, with a total population of just over five million, while Indonesia has five million newborns each year. The small population makes it difficult for Singapore to find enough technology talent, which is why its companies are keen to recruit talent from around the world, with some companies running R&D centers, according to Liu.Singapore-based consumer-driven digital service companies target overseas markets with big populations, and even the entire Southeast Asia. AppWorks' portfolio of investments, such as Shopback and Carousell, which also operate in Taiwan, have been focusing on the Southeast Asian market since day one, she said.Smaller countries around the world with such an inherent disadvantage, such as Singapore and Israel, have turned a disadvantage into an advantage with a broader perspective. Take the two unicorns in Southeast Asia as an example. Grab is a Singaporean company and knew from day one that the market would not be limited to Singapore, while Go-Jek started out to serve the local Indonesian market and was forced to expand into other markets later on, Liu said.Go-Jek has a learning curve to overcome in Vietnam, where Grab has been operating for many years. They provide similar services, but brand building and consumer loyalty take time, she indicated.Indonesia's booming digital economyLiu said Indonesia is where China was 5-10 years ago, and Vietnam is probably where Indonesia was 5-8 years ago. Of the Indonesian startups that I saw in 2016 and 2017, 95% would be gone in about a year. But today, the survival rate has increased, and investors have a better idea of what the teams that have a better chance of success will look like. The Vietnamese startup ecosystem is now more like Indonesia's three or four years ago.AppWorks has invested in a number of startups in Indonesia, most recently in InfraDigital Nusandara, which provides a complete billing service; in HarukaEDU, which offers remote learning; and in Yummykitchen, which provides cloud-based kitchen service.HarukaEDU works with universities in Indonesia, and anyone who completes a distance learning course at one of these universities and passes an assessment test can receive a full university diploma. As Indonesia is made up of many islands, this service allows learners in remote areas to overcome the geographical barrier, said Liu. This is in line with the Indonesian government's policy to make higher education more affordable and to improve the quality of its workforce.The US-China trade war has been relatively beneficial to Southeast Asia's economy, reshuffling the supply chains, attracting capital to Vietnam and stimulating demand. And COVID-19 has accelerated the acceptance and popularity of digital economy, such as telemedicine and digital wallets in Southeast Asia.Indonesia's digital ecosystem stands out in Southeast Asia thanks to president Joko Widodo's strong support in the past 4-6 years, which has helped Indonesia make rapid progress in terms of policies, human resources and resource allocation, said LiuIs Taiwan's digital advantage becoming a stumbling block?Taiwan is in an awkward situation, said Liu. The domestic market is actually quite strong, with sufficient suppot from the upstream supply chain and downstream logistics, which provides mid-size startup teams a comfort zone beyond which they are reluctant to expand.Southeast Asian teams usually come to Taiwan to participate in AppWorks for three purposes: first, to join a community of entrepreneurs and get help from like-minded people to lower the learning curve; second, to expand the market, because Taiwan's digital market is booming and its overall scale is still larger than six major Southeast Asian countries combined, said Liu.The third is access to talent, as Taiwan has a much better supply of software engineers and data analysts in Taiwan than in these countries, she said. In terms of IT engineering, the quality and quantity of talent in Taiwan is much better than in Southeast Asia, so both Shopback and Carousell have set up R&D centers in Taiwan to handle overall digital support and operations.AppWorks partner Jessica LiuPhoto: Shihmin Fu, Digitimes, November 2020

The DRAM market will see limited bot growth in 2021, but demand from the 5G and AI segments will be gradually rising. A DRAM supply-demand balance will be achieved in the first half of next year, according the chairman of memory module maker Adata. India has been keen to set up its IT ecosystem by seeking partnerships with Taiwanese firms, according to ELCINA, the association representing India's electronics industries.In the displays industry, Corning has dismissed media reports claiming it has violated a contract about supply glass to Japanese LCD panel maker SDP.DRAM market to reach supply-demand balance in 1H21, says Adata chairman: The global DRAM memory market will reach the balance of supply and demand in the first half of 2021, with limited growth in the overall bit supply coupled with a gradual rise in demand arising from the emerging 5G and AI technologies, according to Simon Chen, chairman for Adata Technology.'IT' partnerships: Q&A with Manik Mumar from ELCINA: India is a huge country, in terms of both its size and its potential as a production base rivaling that of China's. The South Asian country, in its bid to build up a strong ecosystem for the IT industries, has been keen to form partnerships with Taiwanese firms that are well-known for their hardware prowess.Corning dismisses claims about violating SDP contract: Corning has dismissed allegations that it has violated its contractual obligations to Sakai Display Products Corp (SDP) concerning supply of glass substrates to the Japanese client.

Mechanical motion control component maker Hiwin Technologies has developed a multi-axis robot used to hold and position endoscopes during minimal invasive surgical operation through cooperation with Chung Shan University Hospital (CSUH).The using of the robot gives stable and clear view from the endoscopes, enabling precise positioning of incision and letting surgeons be concentrated in the operation, CSUH noted.Hiwin chairman Chuo Wen-hen said the design of the robot is meant to help the surgeon, rather than introduce surgical automation.Hiwin has the core technologies - controllers, motors and decelerators - for developing and making the robot completely locally, Chuo indicated.The robot is expected to overcome current financial barriers for introducing very expensive da Vinci surgical robots and consequently reduce the corresponding charges for such surgical operation by at least 10%.CSUH has adopted the robot for minimal invasive surgical operation on gastric tumors, hepatoma, gall bladders, thyroid and breast tumors.CSUH will use Hiwin-developed robots to set up a robotic arm-based educational field for clinical surgery.