Mark LaPedus

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Mark LaPedus is Executive Editor for manufacturing at Semiconductor Engineering.

Author's Latest Posts

One-on-One: Naoya Hayashi

By Mark LaPedus - 20 Mar, 2014 - Comments: 0

Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss the current and future challenges in the photomask industry with Naoya Hayashi, research fellow at Dai Nippon Printing (DNP). SE: What are the big challenges for the photomask industry today? Hayashi: There are several challenges. Most of the challenges involve mask complexity. It is also quite difficult to handle the mask data, because it is ... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: March 18

By Mark LaPedus - 18 Mar, 2014 - Comments: 0

Magazine chips Semiconductor manufacturing can produce tiny chips. The technology can also enable tiny magazine covers. For example, IBM and National Geographic plan to set a Guinness World Records title for the world's smallest magazine cover. IBM has devised a tiny chisel with a nano-size tip, which is 100,000 times smaller than a sharpened pencil point. [caption id="attachment_10920" ali... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing

By Mark LaPedus - 14 Mar, 2014 - Comments: 0

SanDisk filed a civil suit against Korea’s SK Hynix. Additionally, SanDisk has submitted a criminal complaint with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department against a former employee. These actions relate to the theft of trade secrets related to NAND flash technology by a former engineer of SanDisk who left the company in 2008 to work for SK Hynix. Cadence Design Systems and GlobalFoundrie... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: March 11

By Mark LaPedus - 11 Mar, 2014 - Comments: 0

Plasmonic lab-on-a-chip For some time, lab-on-a-chip (LOC) systems have generated interest in the medical field. LOC systems provide analysis of biomolecules for use in basic biology research, disease marker identification and pharmaceutical drug screening. In one effort, Boston University, the California Institute of Technology, EPFL, Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru and UCLA have ... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing

By Mark LaPedus - 07 Mar, 2014 - Comments: 0

The smartphone market is maturing and slowing down. Now, according to International Data Corp. (IDC), the total tablet market, inclusive of both tablets and 2-in-1 devices, is forecast to grow 19.4% in 2014, down from a growth rate of 51.6% in 2013. IDC also reduced the 2014 forecast by -3.6% from its previous projection to 260.9 million units worldwide. The reduction in the short-term forecast... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: March 4

By Mark LaPedus - 04 Mar, 2014 - Comments: 0

Shrimp cocktail manufacturing Harvard's Wyss Institute has devised a new degradable bioplastic material, which was isolated from shrimp shells. The shrimp shell-based material could be used in the large-scale manufacturing of cell phones, food containers, toys and many other products. The material is also superior to most bioplastics on the market today. It could be used in place of existing... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing

By Mark LaPedus - 28 Feb, 2014 - Comments: 0

SPIE Advanced Lithography is a patterning show. At the event, however, Applied Materials revealed more details regarding its selective materials removal opportunity, according to Weston Twigg, an analyst with Pacific Crest Securities, in a research note. Applied Materials presented a paper entitled, “Where Is Plasma Etching Going from Here?” “The presenter outlined concepts for thin layer... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Feb. 25

By Mark LaPedus - 25 Feb, 2014 - Comments: 0

Intel joins DSA consortium Arkema, ASML, Intel and others have formed a new consortium in the emerging directed self-assembly (DSA) arena.The group, dubbed PLACYD, is a European funded consortium. Part of the Seventh Framework European Programme (FP7) and funded by ENIAC JU (European Technology Platform for Nanoelectronics), the project includes Arkema, CEA-Leti, STMicroelectronics, Intel,... » read more

EUV Suffers New Setback

By Mark LaPedus - 24 Feb, 2014 - Comments: 8

ASML Holding’s initial, production-worthy extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography tool has suffered a setback during a recent trial run at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC). TSMC disclosed the problem during a public presentation at the 2014 Advanced Lithography conference in San Jose, Calif. During the trial run at TSMC, the EUV source crashed due to a misalignment of the l... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Design, Test

By Mark LaPedus - 21 Feb, 2014 - Comments: 0

Reports have surfaced that IBM’s semiconductor unit is on the block, and there has been discussion about the reasons and the aftermath. Sources say there are at least two potential buyers for the unit—Samsung and TowerJazz. Apparently, the talks between IBM-Samsung and IBM-TowerJazz have been going on for some time. Multiple sources believe that Samsung is interested in buying IBM’s advan... » read more

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