Mark LaPedus

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Mark LaPedus is Executive Editor for manufacturing at Semiconductor Engineering.

Author's Latest Posts

Dealing With Atoms
By Mark LaPedus - 13 Jul, 2015 - Comments: 0

Chipmakers are ramping up a new range of device architectures, such as 3D NAND and finFETs. But to enable current and future devices, IC vendors will require new breakthroughs, including tools that can process tiny structures and films, even at the atomic level. The problem? There are gaps in terms of techniques that can process chips at the atomic level. Looking to help fill part of the ... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing
By Mark LaPedus - 10 Jul, 2015 - Comments: 0

An alliance led by IBM Research has produced the semiconductor industry’s first 7nm test chips with functioning transistors. The breakthrough, accomplished in partnership with GlobalFoundries and Samsung at SUNY Polytechnic Institute’s Colleges of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, could result in the ability to place more than 20 billion tiny switches, or transistors, on a chip. There i... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: July 7
By Mark LaPedus - 07 Jul, 2015 - Comments: 0

Silicon photonics prototyping A group of European and other research organizations have put the finishing touches on a project to help propel the development of silicon photonics into the commercial market. The project, dubbed ESSenTIAL, enables small- to mid-sized enterprises to develop prototypes and products based on silicon photonics. Funded by the European Commission, the project inclu... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing
By Mark LaPedus - 02 Jul, 2015 - Comments: 0

GlobalFoundries completed its acquisition of IBM’s Microelectronics Group, creating a behemoth that is expected to extend well beyond the combined footprint of the existing companies. As part of the deal, GlobalFoundries will get two additional fabs, one of which makes RF SOI chips. But while IBM was hesitant to expand that business by adding new fab capacity, GlobalFoundries already has t... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: June 30
By Mark LaPedus - 30 Jun, 2015 - Comments: 0

3D printed supercars Divergent Microfactories has rolled out a new approach to auto manufacturing based on 3D printing. The technology is based on what the company calls a Node. A Node is a metal alloy that is produced using 3D printers. The Nodes are combined with carbon fiber tubes, which, in turn, enable the development of a car chassis. [caption id="attachment_20782" align="alignleft... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing
By Mark LaPedus - 26 Jun, 2015 - Comments: 0

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC), Huawei, Imec and Qualcomm have announced the formation of the SMIC Advanced Technology Research & Development (Shanghai) Corp., an equity joint venture company. Located in China, the joint venture company will focus on R&D towards next-generation CMOS logic technology. The current focus will be on developing 14nm logic technology, ... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: June 23
By Mark LaPedus - 23 Jun, 2015 - Comments: 0

Diamond shock waves For years, the industry has been exploring the use of diamonds for electronics applications. Diamonds could be used to reduce heat in electronic systems. In addition, diamond FETs are also intriguing. Diamond has a wide bandgap (5.45 eV), a high breakdown field (10MV/cm), and high thermal conductivity (22W/cmK). But it could take years before diamond FETs reach the mains... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing
By Mark LaPedus - 19 Jun, 2015 - Comments: 0

Since the global economic recession of 2008-2009, the IC industry has pared down older fab capacity. From 2009-2014, semiconductor manufacturers have closed or repurposed 83 wafer fabs, including a few 300mm plants, according to IC Insights. Are 3D DRAMs finally here? SK Hynix is shipping mass production volumes of its first-generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM1). Samsung is also backing it... » read more

Foundries Expand Planar Efforts
By Mark LaPedus - 18 Jun, 2015 - Comments: 0

Competition is heating up in the leading-edge foundry business, as vendors begin to ramp up their new 16nm/14nm finFET processes. But that’s not the only action in the foundry arena. They are also expanding their efforts in the leading-edge planar market by rolling out new 28nm and 22nm processes. On one front, TSMC is offering new 28nm variants, based on bulk CMOS technology. And on an... » read more

Getting Over Overlay
By Mark LaPedus - 18 Jun, 2015 - Comments: 0

Chipmakers continue to migrate to the next node, but there are signs that traditional IC scaling is slowing down. So what’s causing the slowdown? Or for that matter, what could ultimately undo [getkc id="74" comment="Moore's Law"]? It could be a combination of factors. To be sure, IC design costs and complexity are soaring at each node. Scaling challenges are also playing a role. And ov... » read more

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