Mark LaPedus

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Mark LaPedus is Executive Editor for manufacturing at Semiconductor Engineering.

Author's Latest Posts

Manufacturing Bits: Oct. 1

By Mark LaPedus - 01 Oct, 2013 - Comments: 0

Nanoimprint Foundry Singapore’s A*STAR’s Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) and its partners have launched a new R&D foundry using nanoimprint lithography. The so-called Nanoimprint Foundry is a collaboration between several entities, such as IMRE, Toshiba Machines, EV Group, NTT, NIL Technology, Kyodo International, Micro Resist Technology, Nanoveu and Solves In... » read more

The Week In Review: Sept. 30

By Mark LaPedus - 30 Sep, 2013 - Comments: 0

In a deal that could shake-up the fab tool landscape, Applied Materials has announced a definitive agreement to acquire rival Tokyo Electron Ltd. (TEL) in a stock deal valued at around $9.3 billion. The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Soitec, CEA-Leti and the Helmholtz Center Berlin jointly announced having achieved a new world record for the conversion of sunlight into e... » read more

Applied To Buy TEL

By Mark LaPedus - 24 Sep, 2013 - Comments: 0

In a deal that could shake-up the fab tool landscape, Applied Materials has announced a definitive agreement to acquire rival Tokyo Electron Ltd. (TEL) in a stock deal valued at around $9.3 billion. Under the terms of the blockbuster deal, Applied Materials will own approximately 68% of the new company and TEL will own about 32%. The combined entities will have a new name, dual headquarter... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Sept. 24

By Mark LaPedus - 24 Sep, 2013 - Comments: 0

LEGO AFM Students from the University College London (UCL), Tsinghua University and Peking University have built an atomic force microscope (AFM) or nanoscope using toy LEGOs. The AFM, dubbed LEGO2NANO, costs less than $500 to make. In contrast, traditional AFMs cost $100,000 or more. The system was made using LEGOs, Arduino controllers, 3D printed parts and consumer electronics. [captio... » read more

The Week In Review: Sept. 23

By Mark LaPedus - 23 Sep, 2013 - Comments: 0

By Mark LaPedus For some time, Apple’s iPhones have incorporated a separate RF switch and diversity switch from Peregrine Semiconductor (PSMI). The switches are based on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) variant called silicon-on-sapphire (SOS). Murata takes Peregrine’s RF switches and integrates them into a module. Doug Freedman, an analyst with RBC Capital, said Apple is no longer using PSMI�... » read more

Litho Roadmap Remains Cloudy

By Mark LaPedus - 19 Sep, 2013 - Comments: 0

By Mark LaPedus For some time, the lithography roadmap has been cloudy. Optical lithography has extended much further than expected. And delays with the various next-generation lithography (NGL) technologies have forced the industry to re-write the roadmap on multiple occasions. Today, there is more uncertainty than ever in lithography. Until recently, for example, leading-edge logic chipma... » read more

What’s After 3D NAND?

By Mark LaPedus - 19 Sep, 2013 - Comments: 0

By Mark LaPedus Planar NAND flash memory is on its last scaling legs, with 3D NAND set to become the successor to the ubiquitous 2D technology. Samsung Electronics, for one, already has begun shipping the industry’s first 3D NAND device, a 24-level, 128-gigabit chip. In addition, Micron and SK Hynix shortly will ship their respective 3D NAND devices. But the Toshiba-SanDisk duo are the lo... » read more

MRAM Begins To Attract Attention

By Mark LaPedus - 19 Sep, 2013 - Comments: 0

By Mark LaPedus In the 1980s, there were two separate innovations that changed the landscape in a pair of related fields—nonvolatile memory and storage. In one effort, Toshiba invented the flash memory, thereby leading to NAND and NOR devices. On another front, physicists discovered the giant magnetoresistance (GMR) effect, a technology that forms the basis of hard disk drives, magnetores... » read more

Executive Briefing: Soitec CEO

By Mark LaPedus - 19 Sep, 2013 - Comments: 0

By Mark LaPedus Semiconductor Manufacturing & Design sat down to discuss FD-SOI, solar and various technology trends with André-Jacques Auberton-Hervé, chairman and chief executive of Soitec, a supplier of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates, solar concentrators and other products. SMD: The digital process roadmap is moving in several directions. Some pure-play foundries will offer ... » read more

The Week In Review: Sept. 16

By Mark LaPedus - 16 Sep, 2013 - Comments: 0

By Mark LaPedus In June, Crucial.com teamed up with Lou Ferrigno to invite all frustrated computer users to submit a short video showing their most fearsome, frustration-filled and computer-induced roar. Each video was evaluated according to a variety of factors, including volume, enthusiasm, perceived distress, frustration, anxiety, irritation and overall hopelessness. The memory module suppl... » read more

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