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From 13 to 15 May in Moscow the international forum SEMICON Russia 2014 was held, dedicated to the development of semiconductor and electronic industry. On the first day of the forum the conference "Formation of the Russian microelectronics industry" took place, organized with the support of the Frost & Sullivan international research company.
The conference was attended by representatives of leading Russian and foreign enterprises and microelectronics clusters, international experts, and employees of research institutes, industry associations and analytical companies. We are presenting an overview of the most interesting reports.
Strategy of development
of the Russian electronics
Alyona Fomina, General Director of the Elektronika Central Research Institute spoke about the strategy of development of electronic industry in Russia. The goal of the strategy is to increase the efficiency, competitiveness and technological level of Russian radio-electronic industry. For this purpose it is planned to solve the following tasks:
the increasing of the production volumes of the industry through focused development of priority segments;
the improvement of competitiveness and efficiency of the branch enterprises and productivity growth;
the increasing of the technological level of the industry and creating of a technological base for a competitive products.
A.Fomina stressed that the strategy focuses on the development of strategically important segments, and not the whole range of solutions in the field of electronics. To assess the technological level and efficiency of the subjects of the industry will be used, first of all, business indicators. It is supposed that in the result of implementation of the strategy by 2030 revenues will be increased at least by 7 times, output per one employed will grow by 11 times, and the share in the priority segments in the domestic market will go up by 1.5 times, and in the world market – by 1.8 times.
As priority segments for the state support professional and special electronics have been chosen, which is determined by large capacity and good prospects of development of the relevant markets, their importance for the whole industry, moderate initial investment and relatively low risks, possible synergies between the different areas.
To stimulate and support the growth of efficient companies a wide range of measures will be used, including subsidizing of rates and state guarantees for expansion projects, coordination with programs of national development institutions, export credits and political support of exporters.
One of the key tools of implementation of the strategy the branch-wise Institute of development will become, established on the basis of the Elektronika Central Research Institution. The latter will be responsible for the development and implementation of the integrated policy of the scientific and technical, industrial, technological and personnel maintenance of the electronic industry. The basic directions of work of the Institute will be increasing investment attractiveness of the industry, production and technological development, transfer of technologies, the development of science and innovations, updating of industry standards, improvement of personnel potential, PR-activities. Also it is planned to create a branch investment Fund, which will help to accumulate extra-budgetary financial resources, and a branch university.
World and Russian markets: status and prospects
Alexey Volostnov, Director of business development of the Frost & Sullivan company in Russia presented the analysis of the state of the world and Russian markets of semiconductors and microelectronics. According to the assessment of the experts of the Agency in 2013 the volume of the world market of semiconductors was $318 billion and in the next few years the average annual growth rate will remain at the level of up to 5% with an increasing tendency when entering into a new cycle of economic development after 2017. As a result, by 2025, the volume of the market may reach $1 trillion. The key drivers of the growth of the global market of semiconductors are consumer electronics, motor industry and industrial electronics.
The Russian market of electronic components has increased by about four times from 2002 to 2012, having reached a volume of $2.5 billion (0.8% of the world production). Its important feature is the dependence on the prices of energy resources, particularly of oil. This is partly due to the fact that about 73% of electronic components are imported to Russia. The largest segment of the Russian market is electronics for the defence and aerospace engineering, which accounts for about 35%. The share of the industrial electronics is 25%.
Frost & Sullivan predicts that by 2017 the rate of growth of the Russian market will reach 9% per year, exceeding the world average. By 2025, the share of microelectronics in GDP can be 0.2%.
Microelectronics in medicine
Tatiana Zimina, a leading researcher of the Centre for Microtechnology and Diagnostics of the Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University "LETI", presented an analysis of the state of development of diagnostic biomedical devices of the new generation and their development prospects in Russia. She mentioned five key problems of the modern biomedical analysis: express-identification of pathogenic microorganisms; testing sensitivity of microorganisms to antibiotics; express-identification of viruses; express biochemical and genetic analysis; telemedicine.
A technological breakthrough in the field of biomedical analysis happened in the late 1980s and early 1990s as the result of the introduction of microelectronics which allows for much better performance and significantly reduces the cost. During two decades two major scientific and technical directions were developed which differ mainly by the way of delivery of the analysed sample to the sensor element and by the physical principles of detection:
microfluidic analytical systems that implement the flow capillary analysis;
matrix analytical systems containing topologically coded sites with immobilized groups, complementary to the analyte.
In the last five years analytical systems of new generation have been developed which embody the convergence of the two mentioned directions. Also an interest in developing of mobile informational and integrated systems using hybrid analytical instruments, often disposable, has dramatically increased. On this basis, the industry of telemedicine or e-medicine and mobile diagnostic units (point-of-care testing), intended for express decentralized analysis, is being developed. With the new technical developments, we can see the expansion of the set of diagnostic parameters measured by instruments.
The Russian science and industry are involved in the development of modern systems of biomedical analysis. In particular, in the report was mentioned about biochips for molecular express-diagnostics of diseases developed by the Institute of Molecular Biology of RAS (Moscow), and miniature devices for express-diagnostics in vitro created in LETI.
MEMS: prospects of development
Denis Urmanov, Executive Director of the RАМEМS, presented a report on MEMS and the road map of its development in Russia. RАМEМS, the Russian Association of MEMS Manufacturers, producers and consumers, was organized in June 2010 and now includes more than 30 Russian companies.The speaker informed that after the spurt in 2011, when inertial sensors received widespread use in smart phones, the world market of MEMS devices is rather stably growing. According to experts, by 2017, its volume will reach 21 billion dollars with an average annual growth of production of devices by 20%.
In Russia a significant increase of segments of microfluidic devices and sensors of motion is expected. According to forecasts, by 2017 25% of the market volume will be accelerometers, gyroscopes and magnetometers and combined devices, 23% – microfluidic devices. Meantime, the greatest interest among Russian customers is in inertial sensors, pressure sensors, RF MEMS, microfluidics and combined systems based on them. Moreover, the companies are interested in both finished products and technologies for their design, simulation, manufacturing and testing.
In the framework of the road map of MEMS by 2020 it is planned to perform the analysis of the existing potential in Russia and to take a complex of measures on development of the following areas: tools and techniques of MEMS design, manufacturing technologies, measurement technologies and means of standardization. Improving the competence of customers in the areas of possible application of MEMS is considered to be a special direction.
At the first stage information on the accumulated potential for the production of MEMS with the lists of enterprises that already have the necessary capacity, and which have been provided funding for the purchase of equipment for the implementation of various stages of the production of MEMS should be gathered. Manufacturing technologies of MEMS will be mastered starting from the processes of packaging through the adoption of modern technologies of etching plates and developing masks to develop own control circuits. The goal is to establish production of modern MEMS by 2020 completely on the Russian basis for the needs of professional and special electronics in necessary volumes.
Development and implementation
of multi-touch displays
Vladimir Kriushenko, General Director of the Nextouch company, reported about the modern technologies of production and prospects of application of the multi-touch displays. The speaker noted that when creating multi-touch displays, projected capacitive technology is the most widely used. The displays based on this technology are a transparent substrate onto which conductive paths are deposited, usually indium-tin oxide. According to the latest expert estimates, the share of structures with the use of indium-tin oxide now accounts for up to 95% of the market of transparent conducting coverings and touch screens. However, they have a significant disadvantage – because of the conductive characteristics of the substrate, using film the maximum display size is 15 inches, and using glass - 30 inches. In addition, a very high price is characteristic of indium compounds. So, according to forecasts of experts, in the coming years the situation in this segment could change as the result of wide introduction of innovative developments. One of such solutions is the use of nanowires and mesh of silver halogenide. The driver of these processes is a growing demand for multi-touch displays of large diagonals.
The Russian company Nextouch is engaged in the development of multi-touch systems that can effectively be used in education, defence, in the systems of automation of production, construction, industrial design, advertising industry, trade, entertainment industry. Also, research is being conducted into creation of the QD-LED - and QLED-displays with the use of quantum dots.
Integrated circuits of the millimetre range: applications and technologies
Maxim Odnoblyudov, Director of Joint Scientific-and-Technological Institute of St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, spoke about trends in the production and use of integrated circuits of the wavelength range from 3 cm to 1 mm. Microwave range is widely used in communication systems, navigation, control, monitoring, medical technology, consumer electronics.
In the production of IC of the millimetre range the speaker has identified two areas. The use of semiconductors of the III-V (GaAs, InP, GaN), which are characterized by a relatively low degree of integration, large enough chip size and a large number of used reactive elements, has become a classical technology. However, it is possible to realize maximum frequency at relatively low topological norms. Another direction is devices based on silicon (SiGe HBT, Si CMOS), which are characterized by high integration, a small size, limited use of reactive elements, and the ability to implement both analogue and digital technologies on a single chip. The cost of packaging and testing for different technologies is close, and, according to the speaker, it to a considerable extent determines the cost of IC.
The modern market of IC of the millimetre range is characterized by strong fragmentation while having a large number of niches and the predominance of professional and special segments. However, there are good prospects for application of such solutions for the mass market, particularly in the automotive radars, wireless networks and interfaces.
Assessing the prospects of production development of IC of the millimetre range in Russia, the speaker made the following conclusions:
creation of such production is strategically important for the country because of the diversity and importance of applications of IC of the millimetre range;
a relatively small enterprise having small production capacity but based on III–V technology with a focus on certain niche applications can be profitable;
the size of the domestic market of the country is sufficient for such production to be cost-effective;
world practice shows the suitability of organizing production using the III–V semiconductors in the structures of large companies - system integrators.
Semiconductors devices on a silicon carbide
Victor Luchinin, head of the Department of micro - and nanoelectronics of the Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University "LETI", spoke about the current state of developments in the manufacture of semiconductor devices on silicon carbide crystals (SiC). Speaker noted that the "LETI method" of growing of single crystals of SiC, developed in the USSR in 1976, predetermined the development of modern industrial production technology of silicon carbide devices.
The complex properties of SiC determines prospects for its use in power electronics (diodes, transistors, thyristors), high-frequency electronics (diodes and transistors), optoelectronics (photodetectors of the "deep" UV radiation, IR micro-emitters, sensors of high-energy particles, the substrate for high power GaN-LEDs ) and microsystems technology (pressure, flow and temperature sensors, accelerometers and gyroscopes, micro-mechanical keys, actuators). Application of the element base for silicon carbide provides significant advantages when creating a new generation of technics. In particular, it is possible to improve the weight and size parameters, energy efficiency, reliability, maintainability, as well as the climate and electromagnetic stability, radiation resistance.
State support for innovations
Deputy Director of innovation development Department of the Ministry of economic development of the Russian Federation Pavel Rudnik spoke about the measures undertaken by the government to support innovation. He said that in 2011 the government approved the "Strategy of innovative development of Russia until 2020" and created a mechanism of coordination of its implementation. Overall management and control performs the Presidential Council for economic modernization and innovative development, headed by the prime minister. Key agencies are the Ministry of economic development, Ministry of industry and trade, Ministry of education and science and the Ministry of communications. Strategy is integrated with the most important state programs for the development of high-tech industries and with "innovative" blocks of the other state and regional programs. The strategy aims at a significant increase in innovative activity of the business, improving "innovation climate", the creation of a dynamic and efficient sector of research, development and commercialization of its results, and increasing openness of the national innovation system.
As part of the strategy, the large state companies have developed their own innovative development program. These programs involve the growth of R & D funding, expansion of cooperation and the creation of demand for Russian technology and innovative products.
Another initiative of the Ministry of economic development is the creation of technology platforms to bring together business, scientific and educational organizations, public authorities and consumers for the development of modern technologies. Since 2011, created 34 such platforms, involving more than 3,000 organizations. Priority directions of technological platforms are taken into account in the formation of subjects and volumes of financing of the state programmes. Representatives of technology platforms are included in the advisory bodies of the ministries and development institutions.In addition, the proposals of the technological platforms are taken into account in the preparation of the requirements for product in the development of long-term plans for public procurement.
Also in 2012 was launched a program of development of innovative regional clusters. Already formed 25 such clusters. Their support is provided under government programs, federal programs, with help of development institutions and other instruments. ■
The conference was attended by representatives of leading Russian and foreign enterprises and microelectronics clusters, international experts, and employees of research institutes, industry associations and analytical companies. We are presenting an overview of the most interesting reports.
Strategy of development
of the Russian electronics
Alyona Fomina, General Director of the Elektronika Central Research Institute spoke about the strategy of development of electronic industry in Russia. The goal of the strategy is to increase the efficiency, competitiveness and technological level of Russian radio-electronic industry. For this purpose it is planned to solve the following tasks:
the increasing of the production volumes of the industry through focused development of priority segments;
the improvement of competitiveness and efficiency of the branch enterprises and productivity growth;
the increasing of the technological level of the industry and creating of a technological base for a competitive products.
A.Fomina stressed that the strategy focuses on the development of strategically important segments, and not the whole range of solutions in the field of electronics. To assess the technological level and efficiency of the subjects of the industry will be used, first of all, business indicators. It is supposed that in the result of implementation of the strategy by 2030 revenues will be increased at least by 7 times, output per one employed will grow by 11 times, and the share in the priority segments in the domestic market will go up by 1.5 times, and in the world market – by 1.8 times.
As priority segments for the state support professional and special electronics have been chosen, which is determined by large capacity and good prospects of development of the relevant markets, their importance for the whole industry, moderate initial investment and relatively low risks, possible synergies between the different areas.
To stimulate and support the growth of efficient companies a wide range of measures will be used, including subsidizing of rates and state guarantees for expansion projects, coordination with programs of national development institutions, export credits and political support of exporters.
One of the key tools of implementation of the strategy the branch-wise Institute of development will become, established on the basis of the Elektronika Central Research Institution. The latter will be responsible for the development and implementation of the integrated policy of the scientific and technical, industrial, technological and personnel maintenance of the electronic industry. The basic directions of work of the Institute will be increasing investment attractiveness of the industry, production and technological development, transfer of technologies, the development of science and innovations, updating of industry standards, improvement of personnel potential, PR-activities. Also it is planned to create a branch investment Fund, which will help to accumulate extra-budgetary financial resources, and a branch university.
World and Russian markets: status and prospects
Alexey Volostnov, Director of business development of the Frost & Sullivan company in Russia presented the analysis of the state of the world and Russian markets of semiconductors and microelectronics. According to the assessment of the experts of the Agency in 2013 the volume of the world market of semiconductors was $318 billion and in the next few years the average annual growth rate will remain at the level of up to 5% with an increasing tendency when entering into a new cycle of economic development after 2017. As a result, by 2025, the volume of the market may reach $1 trillion. The key drivers of the growth of the global market of semiconductors are consumer electronics, motor industry and industrial electronics.
The Russian market of electronic components has increased by about four times from 2002 to 2012, having reached a volume of $2.5 billion (0.8% of the world production). Its important feature is the dependence on the prices of energy resources, particularly of oil. This is partly due to the fact that about 73% of electronic components are imported to Russia. The largest segment of the Russian market is electronics for the defence and aerospace engineering, which accounts for about 35%. The share of the industrial electronics is 25%.
Frost & Sullivan predicts that by 2017 the rate of growth of the Russian market will reach 9% per year, exceeding the world average. By 2025, the share of microelectronics in GDP can be 0.2%.
Microelectronics in medicine
Tatiana Zimina, a leading researcher of the Centre for Microtechnology and Diagnostics of the Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University "LETI", presented an analysis of the state of development of diagnostic biomedical devices of the new generation and their development prospects in Russia. She mentioned five key problems of the modern biomedical analysis: express-identification of pathogenic microorganisms; testing sensitivity of microorganisms to antibiotics; express-identification of viruses; express biochemical and genetic analysis; telemedicine.
A technological breakthrough in the field of biomedical analysis happened in the late 1980s and early 1990s as the result of the introduction of microelectronics which allows for much better performance and significantly reduces the cost. During two decades two major scientific and technical directions were developed which differ mainly by the way of delivery of the analysed sample to the sensor element and by the physical principles of detection:
microfluidic analytical systems that implement the flow capillary analysis;
matrix analytical systems containing topologically coded sites with immobilized groups, complementary to the analyte.
In the last five years analytical systems of new generation have been developed which embody the convergence of the two mentioned directions. Also an interest in developing of mobile informational and integrated systems using hybrid analytical instruments, often disposable, has dramatically increased. On this basis, the industry of telemedicine or e-medicine and mobile diagnostic units (point-of-care testing), intended for express decentralized analysis, is being developed. With the new technical developments, we can see the expansion of the set of diagnostic parameters measured by instruments.
The Russian science and industry are involved in the development of modern systems of biomedical analysis. In particular, in the report was mentioned about biochips for molecular express-diagnostics of diseases developed by the Institute of Molecular Biology of RAS (Moscow), and miniature devices for express-diagnostics in vitro created in LETI.
MEMS: prospects of development
Denis Urmanov, Executive Director of the RАМEМS, presented a report on MEMS and the road map of its development in Russia. RАМEМS, the Russian Association of MEMS Manufacturers, producers and consumers, was organized in June 2010 and now includes more than 30 Russian companies.The speaker informed that after the spurt in 2011, when inertial sensors received widespread use in smart phones, the world market of MEMS devices is rather stably growing. According to experts, by 2017, its volume will reach 21 billion dollars with an average annual growth of production of devices by 20%.
In Russia a significant increase of segments of microfluidic devices and sensors of motion is expected. According to forecasts, by 2017 25% of the market volume will be accelerometers, gyroscopes and magnetometers and combined devices, 23% – microfluidic devices. Meantime, the greatest interest among Russian customers is in inertial sensors, pressure sensors, RF MEMS, microfluidics and combined systems based on them. Moreover, the companies are interested in both finished products and technologies for their design, simulation, manufacturing and testing.
In the framework of the road map of MEMS by 2020 it is planned to perform the analysis of the existing potential in Russia and to take a complex of measures on development of the following areas: tools and techniques of MEMS design, manufacturing technologies, measurement technologies and means of standardization. Improving the competence of customers in the areas of possible application of MEMS is considered to be a special direction.
At the first stage information on the accumulated potential for the production of MEMS with the lists of enterprises that already have the necessary capacity, and which have been provided funding for the purchase of equipment for the implementation of various stages of the production of MEMS should be gathered. Manufacturing technologies of MEMS will be mastered starting from the processes of packaging through the adoption of modern technologies of etching plates and developing masks to develop own control circuits. The goal is to establish production of modern MEMS by 2020 completely on the Russian basis for the needs of professional and special electronics in necessary volumes.
Development and implementation
of multi-touch displays
Vladimir Kriushenko, General Director of the Nextouch company, reported about the modern technologies of production and prospects of application of the multi-touch displays. The speaker noted that when creating multi-touch displays, projected capacitive technology is the most widely used. The displays based on this technology are a transparent substrate onto which conductive paths are deposited, usually indium-tin oxide. According to the latest expert estimates, the share of structures with the use of indium-tin oxide now accounts for up to 95% of the market of transparent conducting coverings and touch screens. However, they have a significant disadvantage – because of the conductive characteristics of the substrate, using film the maximum display size is 15 inches, and using glass - 30 inches. In addition, a very high price is characteristic of indium compounds. So, according to forecasts of experts, in the coming years the situation in this segment could change as the result of wide introduction of innovative developments. One of such solutions is the use of nanowires and mesh of silver halogenide. The driver of these processes is a growing demand for multi-touch displays of large diagonals.
The Russian company Nextouch is engaged in the development of multi-touch systems that can effectively be used in education, defence, in the systems of automation of production, construction, industrial design, advertising industry, trade, entertainment industry. Also, research is being conducted into creation of the QD-LED - and QLED-displays with the use of quantum dots.
Integrated circuits of the millimetre range: applications and technologies
Maxim Odnoblyudov, Director of Joint Scientific-and-Technological Institute of St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, spoke about trends in the production and use of integrated circuits of the wavelength range from 3 cm to 1 mm. Microwave range is widely used in communication systems, navigation, control, monitoring, medical technology, consumer electronics.
In the production of IC of the millimetre range the speaker has identified two areas. The use of semiconductors of the III-V (GaAs, InP, GaN), which are characterized by a relatively low degree of integration, large enough chip size and a large number of used reactive elements, has become a classical technology. However, it is possible to realize maximum frequency at relatively low topological norms. Another direction is devices based on silicon (SiGe HBT, Si CMOS), which are characterized by high integration, a small size, limited use of reactive elements, and the ability to implement both analogue and digital technologies on a single chip. The cost of packaging and testing for different technologies is close, and, according to the speaker, it to a considerable extent determines the cost of IC.
The modern market of IC of the millimetre range is characterized by strong fragmentation while having a large number of niches and the predominance of professional and special segments. However, there are good prospects for application of such solutions for the mass market, particularly in the automotive radars, wireless networks and interfaces.
Assessing the prospects of production development of IC of the millimetre range in Russia, the speaker made the following conclusions:
creation of such production is strategically important for the country because of the diversity and importance of applications of IC of the millimetre range;
a relatively small enterprise having small production capacity but based on III–V technology with a focus on certain niche applications can be profitable;
the size of the domestic market of the country is sufficient for such production to be cost-effective;
world practice shows the suitability of organizing production using the III–V semiconductors in the structures of large companies - system integrators.
Semiconductors devices on a silicon carbide
Victor Luchinin, head of the Department of micro - and nanoelectronics of the Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University "LETI", spoke about the current state of developments in the manufacture of semiconductor devices on silicon carbide crystals (SiC). Speaker noted that the "LETI method" of growing of single crystals of SiC, developed in the USSR in 1976, predetermined the development of modern industrial production technology of silicon carbide devices.
The complex properties of SiC determines prospects for its use in power electronics (diodes, transistors, thyristors), high-frequency electronics (diodes and transistors), optoelectronics (photodetectors of the "deep" UV radiation, IR micro-emitters, sensors of high-energy particles, the substrate for high power GaN-LEDs ) and microsystems technology (pressure, flow and temperature sensors, accelerometers and gyroscopes, micro-mechanical keys, actuators). Application of the element base for silicon carbide provides significant advantages when creating a new generation of technics. In particular, it is possible to improve the weight and size parameters, energy efficiency, reliability, maintainability, as well as the climate and electromagnetic stability, radiation resistance.
State support for innovations
Deputy Director of innovation development Department of the Ministry of economic development of the Russian Federation Pavel Rudnik spoke about the measures undertaken by the government to support innovation. He said that in 2011 the government approved the "Strategy of innovative development of Russia until 2020" and created a mechanism of coordination of its implementation. Overall management and control performs the Presidential Council for economic modernization and innovative development, headed by the prime minister. Key agencies are the Ministry of economic development, Ministry of industry and trade, Ministry of education and science and the Ministry of communications. Strategy is integrated with the most important state programs for the development of high-tech industries and with "innovative" blocks of the other state and regional programs. The strategy aims at a significant increase in innovative activity of the business, improving "innovation climate", the creation of a dynamic and efficient sector of research, development and commercialization of its results, and increasing openness of the national innovation system.
As part of the strategy, the large state companies have developed their own innovative development program. These programs involve the growth of R & D funding, expansion of cooperation and the creation of demand for Russian technology and innovative products.
Another initiative of the Ministry of economic development is the creation of technology platforms to bring together business, scientific and educational organizations, public authorities and consumers for the development of modern technologies. Since 2011, created 34 such platforms, involving more than 3,000 organizations. Priority directions of technological platforms are taken into account in the formation of subjects and volumes of financing of the state programmes. Representatives of technology platforms are included in the advisory bodies of the ministries and development institutions.In addition, the proposals of the technological platforms are taken into account in the preparation of the requirements for product in the development of long-term plans for public procurement.
Also in 2012 was launched a program of development of innovative regional clusters. Already formed 25 such clusters. Their support is provided under government programs, federal programs, with help of development institutions and other instruments. ■
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