Top Stories from 2018
From estimating 3nm’s issues to accurately predicting the death of chips, the top stories 2018 were not just about AI and the self-driving car.
After years of consolidation, the semiconductor industry in 2018 underwent an interesting time of transition and uncertainty. From concerns about scaling limits, aging chips and new architectures, here are most-read stories of 2018.
“Transistor Options Beyond 3nm” Complicated and expensive technologies are being planned all the way to 2030, but it’s not clear how far the scaling roadmap will really go. (February 15, 2018, Mark LaPedus)
“Big Trouble At 3nm”Costs of developing a complex chip could run as high as $1.5B, while power/performance benefits are likely to decrease. (June 21, 2018, Mark LaPedus)
“The Next 5 Years Of Chip Technology” Experts at the Table, part 3: The impact of reduced process variation; automotive chip reliability at advanced nodes; the impact of packaging. (March 14, 2018, Ed Sperling)
“3D NAND Flash Wars Begin”Market overcrowding, more efficient manufacturing, and growing list of scaling issues create a challenging competitive landscape. (August 20, 2018, Mark LaPedus)
“Chip Aging Accelerates”As advanced-node chips are added into cars, and usage models shift inside of data centers, new questions surface about reliability. (February 14, 2018, Ed Sperling)
“Why Chips Die”Semiconductor devices face many hazards before and after manufacturing that can cause them to fail prematurely. (November 12, 2018, Brian Bailey)
“Fan-Out Wars Begin”The number of low-density packaging options is increasing as the popularity of advanced packaging grows. (February 15, 2018, Mark LaPedus)
“Packaging Challenges For 2018”Shortages, pricing pressures, rising investments and more packaging options add up to an interesting year for OSATs. (January 8, 2018, Mark LaPedus)
“RISC-V: More Than a Core”Interest in the open-source ISA marks a significant shift among chipmakers, but it will require continued industry support to be successful. (October 15, 2018, Brian Bailey)
Susan Rambo
(all posts)
Susan Rambo is the managing editor of Semiconductor Engineering.
Leave a Reply