Mark LaPedus

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Mark LaPedus is Executive Editor for manufacturing at Semiconductor Engineering.

Author's Latest Posts

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test
By Mark LaPedus - 13 Dec, 2019 - Comments: 0

Chipmakers and OEMs TrendForce has released its projected foundry rankings for the fourth quarter of 2019. TSMC remains in first place, followed by Samsung, GlobalFoundries and UMC, according to the firm. “TrendForce projects the foundry industry’s 4Q19 revenue performance to exceed previous expectations,” according to the firm. “Nonetheless, the ongoing U.S-China trade war and uncerta... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Dec. 9
By Mark LaPedus - 09 Dec, 2019 - Comments: 0

Metalens breakthroughs Using a conventional lithography system, Harvard has developed what researchers call an all-glass, centimeter-scale metalens. A metalens is a flat surface, which makes use of nanostructures to focus light. It’s a disruptive technology that could displace traditional glass-based lenses. Applications include virtual reality (VR) devices, biological imaging techniques ... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test
By Mark LaPedus - 06 Dec, 2019 - Comments: 0

Chipmakers United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) has announced the readiness of its new 22nm process. The process enables new 22nm designs or allows customers to migrate from 28nm to 22nm. UMC’s 22nm maintains its existing 28nm design architectures. UMC's 22nm process features a 10% area reduction, better power-to-performance ratio and enhanced RF capabilities, compared to the company’s 2... » read more

Multi-Patterning EUV Vs. High-NA EUV
By Mark LaPedus - 04 Dec, 2019 - Comments: 4

Foundries are finally in production with EUV lithography at 7nm, but chip customers must now decide whether to implement their next designs using EUV-based multiple patterning at 5nm/3nm or wait for a new single-patterning EUV system at 3nm and beyond. This scenario revolves around ASML’s current extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography tool (NXE:3400C) versus a completely new EUV system with... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Dec. 3
By Mark LaPedus - 03 Dec, 2019 - Comments: 0

Microscopic movie star Using a 3D printer and a scanning electron microscope (SEM), a group has created a short animated film featuring the world’s smallest 3D figurine. The stop motion film, called Stardust Odyssey, features a 3D human-like figurine with a height of 300 microns, or close to the size of a grain of dust. This beat the previous record for the smallest figure in a film. N... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test
By Mark LaPedus - 29 Nov, 2019 - Comments: 0

Packaging and test TrendForce has released its top-10 OSAT rankings in terms of sales for the third quarter of 2019. ASE was in first place in the rankings, followed by Amkor and JCET. “According to the latest research from TrendForce, the decline in the global OSAT industry showed signs of a gradual halt in 3Q19, since the drop in memory prices began to slow down, and smartphone sales stead... » read more

Making And Protecting Advanced Masks
By Mark LaPedus - 27 Nov, 2019 - Comments: 0

Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss lithography and photomask trends with Bryan Kasprowicz, director of technology and strategy and a distinguished member of the technical staff at Photronics; Thomas Scheruebl, director of strategic business development and product strategy at Zeiss; Noriaki Nakayamada, senior technologist at NuFlare; and Aki Fujimura, chief executive of D2S. What fol... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Nov. 25
By Mark LaPedus - 25 Nov, 2019 - Comments: 0

RF carbon nanotubes For years, the industry has been working on logic and memory devices based on carbon nanotubes, although these technologies remain in R&D. Now, there is a new device type using carbon nanotubes--RF. Startup Carbonics has developed an RF-based carbon nanotube technology that operates at frequencies over 100GHz. The technology exceeds the cutoff frequency of today�... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test
By Mark LaPedus - 22 Nov, 2019 - Comments: 0

Chipmakers For some time, Intel has experienced supply constraints and shortages for its 14nm chip products. Apparently, the company is still having issues with both 14nm and 10nm. “Despite our best efforts, we have not yet resolved this challenge,” according to a statement from Michelle Johnston Holthaus, executive vice president and general manager of the Sales, Marketing and Communicati... » read more

RF GaN Gains Steam
By Mark LaPedus - 21 Nov, 2019 - Comments: 0

Wide-bandgap semiconductors are hot topics these days. One wide-bandgap semi type--silicon carbide (SiC)--is the talk of the town and is gaining steam in electric vehicles and other systems. But let’s not forget about gallium nitride (GaN). GaN, a binary III-V material, has 10 times the breakdown field strength with double the electron mobility than silicon. GaN is used for LEDs, power ... » read more

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