Transitioning semiconductor foundry business model to complete IC Manufacturing Turnkey Solution Provider

This paper describes the transitioning of semiconductor foundries from “pure-play” manufacturing only to complete integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing turnkey solution provider. Today´s model of semiconductor manufacturing is driven by design houses with dependency on packaging houses to define their package. Most of the packaging houses provide legacy packages to keep their operating cost low. So, value engineering for semiconductor manufacturing is slowly fading, giving rise to a gap that becomes mandatory for designers to think out of the box and provide higher density with multiple circuit functions, what is known today as the “System Design.” Going beyond system design, we must be able to get closer to the end of the food chain and select providers who are creative from an end product design. In the microelectronics industry, a semiconductor foundry provides cost-effective IC manufacturing technology and wafer fabrication services to fabless IC design companies. However, besides contracting wafer fabrication, fabless companies, also require new product development (NPD) solutions including design collaboration, technology customization, device models, packaging solutions, and end product design. Therefore, the role of foundry has become extremely critical to drive NPD services and end-product solutions for customers. This paper describes the organization, functionality, and the role of foundries that must transition from pure-play wafer manufacturing to turnkey solution provider. Acquisition of these foundries and subcontractor manufacturers will be a huge part of the equation.