Mark LaPedus

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Mark LaPedus is Executive Editor for manufacturing at Semiconductor Engineering.

Author's Latest Posts

Challenges Mount For EUV Masks
By Mark LaPedus - 16 Oct, 2014 - Comments: 2

Five years ago, Intel urged the industry to invest millions of dollars in the photomask infrastructure to help enable extreme ultraviolet ([gettech id="31045" comment="EUV"]) lithography. At the time, there were noticeable gaps in EUV, namely defect-free masks and inspection tools. To date, however, Intel’s call to action has produced mixed results. The photomask industry is making progr... » read more

Executive Insight: Aki Fujimura
By Mark LaPedus - 16 Oct, 2014 - Comments: 0

Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss photomask technology and lithography trends with Aki Fujimura, chairman and chief executive of D2S. SE: What are the big challenges that keep you awake at night? Fujimura: Mask technology, and the investments in the mask industry, are increasingly important. But so far, the investment dollars that the community is willing to spend on it isn’... » read more

Time To Look At SOI Again
By Mark LaPedus - 16 Oct, 2014 - Comments: 0

Chipmakers have the luxury of looking at several process options when developing chips at the 28nm node and beyond. Using bulk CMOS, for example, chipmakers can scale planar transistors down to 20nm. Then, at 20nm, planar runs out of gas due to the so-called short-channel effect. At that point, IC makers must migrate towards finFETs at 16nm/14nm and beyond. Another process option is fully... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Oct. 14
By Mark LaPedus - 14 Oct, 2014 - Comments: 0

Toyota’s power steering IC Today’s cars are making use of more electronics. The increase in electronic content is driving the need for high temperature and high voltage chips. The electric power steering (EPS) system is one example. EPS provides power assist even when the engine is stopped. It also improves fuel economy compared to hydraulic power steering, according to automotive giant... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing
By Mark LaPedus - 10 Oct, 2014 - Comments: 0

Samsung Electronics signed a memorandum of understanding to construct a new semiconductor fab in the company’s Godeok Industrial Complex in Pyeongtaek. The construction of the new semiconductor fabrication plant will begin during the first half of 2015, and operations are scheduled to begin sometime during the second half of 2017. United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) will participate in a t... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Oct. 7
By Mark LaPedus - 07 Oct, 2014 - Comments: 0

Europe’s TFET project A new European project has revealed more details about its plans to develop a next-generation chip technology called tunnel field-effect transistors (TFETs). EPFL is coordinating this new European research project, dubbed E2SWITCH. The project also includes IBM, Forschungszentrum Jülich, the University of Lund, ETHZ, Imec, CCS, SCIPROM and IUNET. The project has be... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing
By Mark LaPedus - 03 Oct, 2014 - Comments: 0

Jimmy Kimmel, comedian and late night host of Jimmy Kimmel Live, replaces Lily Collins (Mirror, Mirror) as McAfee’s most dangerous celebrity to search for online. Cybercriminals are looking for ways to take advantage of consumer interest around popular cultural events. These criminals capitalize on the public’s fascination with celebrities to lure them to sites laden with malware, which ena... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Sept. 30
By Mark LaPedus - 30 Sep, 2014 - Comments: 0

Muscle-on-a-chip Harvard University has developed a human airway muscle-on-a-chip as a means to test new drugs for the treatment of asthma. There is an urgent need for a new breakthrough in this arena. The majority of drugs used to treat asthma have not changed in 50 years, according to researchers at Harvard. Asthma affects nearly 25 million people in the United States alone. Asthma, ac... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing
By Mark LaPedus - 26 Sep, 2014 - Comments: 0

Is the sky falling on the ATE market? The ATE market is expected to hit $2.8 billion in 2014, up from $2.28 billion in 2013, according to Pacific Crest Securities. “Overall, we are now modeling overall semiconductor test demand to decline by 2% in 2015, a significant change from our previous estimate of up 10%,” said Weston Twigg, an analyst with Pacific Crest Securities, in a report. “Te... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Sept. 23
By Mark LaPedus - 23 Sep, 2014 - Comments: 0

The annual IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) will take place in San Francisco from Dec. 15-17. As usual, there will be presentations on the latest technologies in a number of fields, such as semiconductors, bio‐sensors, energy harvesting, power devices, sensors, magnetics, spintronics, two-dimensional electronics, among others. Here’s just some of the papers that will be pr... » read more

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