Author's Latest Posts


Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Chipmakers and OEMs Fujitsu Semiconductor and United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) announced that UMC will acquire all of the shares of Mie Fujitsu Semiconductor Limited (MIFS), a 300mm wafer foundry joint venture between both companies. In addition to the 15.9% of MIFS shares currently owned by UMC, Fujitsu Semiconductor will transfer the remaining 84.1% of its shares in MIFS to UMC, making MI... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: June 26


Gummy bear chips The Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Forschungszentrum Jülich have developed a 3D inkjet printing technique to print electrodes on several soft substrates, including gummy bears. The main application is to develop a new class of sensor-based implants for life sciences. For this application, electrodes or microelectrode arrays (MEAs) are developed and printed on sof... » read more

Where Is Selective Deposition?


For years, the industry has been working on an advanced technology called area-selective deposition for chip production at 5nm and beyond. Area-selective deposition, an advanced self-aligned patterning technique, is still in R&D amid a slew of challenges with the technology. But the more advanced forms of technology are beginning to make some progress, possibly inching closer from the la... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Chipmakers Intel has announced the resignation of Brian Krzanich as chief executive and a member of the board. The board has named Chief Financial Officer Robert Swan as interim chief executive, effective immediately. Intel was recently informed that Krzanich had a “past consensual relationship” with an Intel employee. This is a violation of Intel’s non-fraternization policy, which ap... » read more

What’s Next In R&D?


Luc Van den hove, president and chief executive of Imec, sat down with Semiconductor Engineering to discuss R&D challenges and what’s next in the arena. The Belgium R&D organization is working on AI, DNA storage, EUV, semiconductors and other technologies. What follows are excerpts of that conversation. SE: Moore’s Law is slowing down. And it is becoming more expensive to move fr... » read more

Dealing With Resistance In Chips


Chipmakers continue to scale the transistor at advanced nodes, but they are struggling to maintain the same pace with the other two critical parts of the device—the contacts and interconnects. That’s beginning to change, however. In fact, at 10nm/7nm, chipmakers are introducing new topologies and materials such as cobalt, which promises to boost the performance and reduce unwanted resist... » read more

Big Trouble At 3nm


As chipmakers begin to ramp up 10nm/7nm technologies in the market, vendors are also gearing up for the development of a next-generation transistor type at 3nm. Some have announced specific plans at 3nm, but the transition to this node is expected to be a long and bumpy one, filled with a slew of technical and cost challenges. For example, the design cost for a 3nm chip could exceed an eye-p... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: June 19


Cellulose nanopaper The Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology (QIBEBT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in China has developed a new type of cellulose nanopaper (CNP). CNP is a renewable material with good mechanical and optical properties. Potentially, CNP could be used in several applications, such as electronic devices, visual display substrates, batteries and barrie... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Chipmakers and OEMs Tesla Motors has been struggling to get its new electric car, the Model 3, out the door. And it recently implemented a layoff amid ongoing losses. But the struggling car maker could be in the midst of a rebound. “Based on our checks, we believe the perceived quality of Model 3s coming off the lines continue to improve relative to prior checks, and we view this as one of t... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: June 12


Elastic diamonds A group has developed a way to make elastic diamonds, enabling tiny diamond needles that can flex and stretch. Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the City University of Hong Kong and Nanyang Technological University have developed a process that enables elastic diamonds. Elastic diamonds could one day... » read more

← Older posts Newer posts →