IEEE Spectrum August, 2009 - 12

Foundry Giant
Sees the Light
what does tsmc know about solar cells
and LeDs? more than you'd expect

W

hat do you do when
U.S. patents in solar technology,
TSMC is the second largest patent
you dominate your
market? You find other
holder in solar cells. Granted,
markets to dominate. That's the
most of those patents are primar‑
plan for Taiwan Semiconductor
ily concerned with TSMC's exist‑
Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the
ing business, with solar cells men‑
world's biggest semiconductor
tioned as a secondary use often in
foundry, according to its founding boilerplate language in the patent
chairman, who retook the reins
claims. But some, such as a 2006
of the company in
patent applica‑
mid‑June. Morris
tion for a method
Chang, the recently
of patterning
indium‑tin‑oxide
reappointed
chairman and
films-used as
CEO, says that a
the transparent
better future lies
electrode in solar
ahead for the firm
cells, among other
if it pushes into
things-are more
green energy-
directly relevant.
specifically solar
In the LED
power and LEDs.
arena, TSMC has
The immediate
indirectly invested
question from
in a number
watchers of both
of start‑ups,
industries is: What
including
does a silicon
LED‑lighting
foundry know
maker BridgeLux,
tsai time: tsmc must break
LED‑driver firms
about solar cells
into lEDs and solar to grow
and LEDs? Light‑
faster. photo: sam yeh/aFp/getty images Auramicro and
emitting diodes
Exclara, and
LED thermal‑
aren't even a silicon
technology, as they rely on gallium management company Liquidleds.
arsenide and other compound
The investments were made
semiconductors. With a 2008 net
through VentureTech Alliance, a
income of NT $99.93 billion (about
venture capital company owned
US $3 billion), TSMC can surely
mostly by TSMC and run by
afford to buy expertise. "We will
several former TSMC executives.
pursue smart brains from outside
Closer to home, local media
TSMC and adopt a merger‑and‑
reports reveal that the company is
bringing metal‑organic chemical
acquisition strategy," Chang says.
But a close look at TSMC
vapor deposition (MOCVD)
equipment from old silicon‑chip
shows that the company already
has some of the technological
manufacturing plants back online
foundations for work in both
for LED trial production. TSMC
areas. According to a 2008
has also acquired a 1.2‑hectare
report by tech consulting firm
plot of land in Hsinchu Science
Semiconductor Insights analyzing Park for its expansion.
www.spectrum.ieee.org

The solar and LED businesses
will come under a new unit headed
by Rick Tsai. Until Chang replaced
him in a move that surprised many
analysts, Tsai was TSMC's CEO.
The main reason for the green‑
tech push is to counter the slowing
growth of the semiconductor
foundry business. According to
Chang, without new business
operations, TSMC's revenues,
which stood at US $10.6 billion
for 2008, might grow by 3 percent
annually to between $14 billion
and $15 billion by 2018. However,
Chang hopes solar and LEDs will
push growth to 4.5 percent per
year and add $2 billion in revenue
per year by 2018.
TSMC's move is in step with
government initiatives to boost
the production value of the local
solar photovoltaic industry
from NT $101.1 billion in 2008 to
NT $450 billion (US $13.6 billion)
by 2015 and that of the LED
industry from NT $46 billion
in 2008 to NT $540 billion
(US $16.3 billion) by 2015. The
government expects China to be
a big consumer of its green‑tech
wares. In early June, a cross‑Strait
conference on the LED industry
was held in Taipei, and Chinese
delegates asked Taiwanese LED
makers to participate in a project
in China to light up 10 cities with
energy‑saving LED streetlights.
Some in Taiwan are pleased
with TSMC's new direction.
Cheng‑Chung Lee, a professor
of optics and photonics at the
National Central University
and chairman of Taiwan's
200‑member Optical Engineering
Society, says there is a gap
between the industry and
research circles in Taiwan that
the TSMC move might help close.
He believes that when challenged
by a rival such as TSMC, local
companies would have no choice
but to acquire new technologies
developed in universities and
research institutes.

news
briefs
Silicon
Odometer
You can get an idea
of how well a car will
perform by looking
at the mileage
on its odometer.
University of
Minnesota electrical
engineering
professor Chris
H. Kim wants to do
essentially the same
for silicon chips. His
lab has developed
a silicon circuit that
tracks the three
signs of aging that
can slow down a
chip's performance.
The hope is that
integrating such
a circuit into a
microprocessor
could help the
microprocessor
compensate for
its own aging.
See http://www.
spectrum.ieee.org/
semiconductors/
devices/
an-odometerfor-silicon-chips.
photo: getty images

-Yu-Tzu Chiu
august 2009 * IEEE spEctrum * Na

19
http://www http://spectrum.ieee.org/
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Spectrum August, 2009
