Mobile/smart devices will continue to drive innovation and volumes in the semiconductor industry in 2014. The much discussed “Internet of Things” is a vision for the next growth cycle, and while we see this vision eventually coming true, the industry is very early in the cycle. It will take a number of years for IoT to take over the growth story from mobile consumer devices.
In the meantime, 3D IC implementation will continue to expand in smart devices in 2014. The recently launched stacked image sensor from Sony is an example of the performance and form factor benefit of hybrid integration. We also see the 3D integration of logic and memory as an unavoidable step to overcome bandwidth bottlenecks between components and reduce their power consumption, but their arrival in mobile consumer products is likely within the next 2-3 years. In the short term, the increasing memory content and data streaming capability of mobile/smart devices will drive 3D technology adoption in the cloud centers. High-end servers, high-performance computing and networking products will further implement FPGAs and stacked DRAM to satisfy demand. ~ P.L.
