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Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Chipmakers Intel posted its quarterly results. But the big question is whether the chip giant will outsource more of its production to the foundries. As reported, Intel has fallen behind TSMC and Samsung in process technology. And Intel may need to outsource some of its chip production to stay ahead. All of this rests on Pat Gelsinger, the new CEO at Intel. Gelsinger will be taking over for... » read more

Fearless Chip Forecasts For 2021


It’s been a roller coaster ride in the semiconductor industry. In early 2020, the semiconductor business looked bright, but then the Covid-19 pandemic struck, causing a sudden downturn. By mid-2020, though, the market bounced back, as the stay-at-home economy drove demand for computers, tablets and TVs. The chip market ended on a high note in 2020, but the question is, what’s in store fo... » read more

The Chip Industry’s Next-Gen Roadmap


Todd Younkin, the new president and chief executive of the Semiconductor Research Corp. (SRC), sat down with Semiconductor Engineering to talk about engineering careers, R&D trends and what’s ahead for chip technologies over the next decade. What follows are excerpts of that conversation. SE: As a U.S.-based chip consortium, what is SRC's charter? Younkin: The Semiconductor Research... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Jan. 19


X-ray imaging with AI The U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory has demonstrated the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate the process of reconstructing images from coherent X-ray scattering data. Argonne’s technology, called PtychoNN, combines an X-ray imaging technique called ptychography with a neural network. This in turn enables researchers to decode X... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Chipmakers and OEMs Intel has appointed Pat Gelsinger as its new chief executive, effective Feb. 15. Gelsinger will also join Intel’s board upon assuming the role. He will succeed Bob Swan, who will remain CEO until Feb. 15. Most recently, Gelsinger served as the CEO of VMware since 2012. He also spent 30 years at Intel, becoming the company’s first chief technology officer. The move fo... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Jan. 11


3D printing with liquids Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) has developed a way to combine both materials and liquids in 3D printing applications. Researchers from MLU have developed liquid‐filled capsules using 3D printing technology. This in turn enables new medical agents to be incorporated into pharmaceutical products. It also allows liquids to be integrated into material... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Market research For some time, China has faced an enormous trade gap in semiconductors. In response, China has been developing its semiconductor industry with plans to make more of its chips. But China is expected to fall far short of its “Made in China 2025” goals for IC production, according to IC Insights. “IC Insights forecasts China-produced ICs will represent only 19.4% of its I... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Jan. 5


Gallium oxide chips The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Colorado School of Mines, and Saint-Gobain Crystals have teamed up to develop manufacturing technologies and devices based on an emerging material called gallium oxide. This work is part of a three-year program, dubbed the Oxide Electronic Devices for Extreme Operating Environments project, which is funded by the U.S. ... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Chipmakers and OEMs Third Point, a hedge fund, released a letter, saying that Intel needs to explore its strategic alternatives. This includes the breakup of the chip giant. Obtained by Yahoo and others, the letter says Intel needs to decide “whether Intel should remain an integrated device manufacturer” and should divest certain failed acquisitions. Here’s another analysis of the sit... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Dec. 29


Chiplet-based exascale computers At the recent IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM), CEA-Leti presented a paper on a 3D chiplet technology that enables exascale-level computing systems. The United States and other nations are working on exascale supercomputers. Today’s supercomputers are measured in floating point operations per second. The world’s fastest supercomputers c... » read more

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