Deploying Artificial Intelligence At The Edge


By Pushkar Apte and Tom Salmon Rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have made this technology important for many industries, including finance, energy, healthcare, and microelectronics. AI is driving a multi-trillion-dollar global market while helping to solve some tough societal problems such as tracking the current pandemic and predicting the severity of climate-driven events lik... » read more

Greenfield Projects Needed To Meet Silicon Wafer Demand


After logging record shipments in the first quarter of 2021, the silicon wafer industry may need to start greenfield projects as soon as this year to boost capacity over the next two years as market demand and average selling prices continue to improve. One segment hamstrung by a supply shortage is 300mm epitaxial wafers, a shortfall we expect to drive continuing price increases in the comin... » read more

Revenue Soars For Semiconductor Equipment Power Subsystems


Sales of process power and reactive gas subsystems for semiconductor manufacturing equipment are on track to achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23% between 2016 and 2021 – far outpacing the critical subsystems industry average of 16.4% due to multiple positive factors. Process power and reactive gas subsystems account for approximately 13% of all expenditures on critical subsy... » read more

Robust Growth And Strong Outlook For Semiconductor Materials


2020 was a year that made a mark in the history of mankind as well as the semiconductor industry. It was a year of business and personal disruptions caused by COVID-19, supply chain interruptions, and exceptional agility of industries coping with the new normal imposed by the pandemic. Nevertheless, it was a year of extraordinary growth for the semiconductor industry, including semiconductor ma... » read more

Global Fab Equipment Spending Poised To Log Three Straight Years Of Record Highs


Fueled by surging pandemic-inspired demand for electronics devices, the global semiconductor industry is on track to register a rare three consecutive years of record highs in fab equipment spending with a 16% increase in 2020 followed by forecast gains of 15.5% this year and 12% in 2022, SEMI highlighted in its quarterly World Fab Forecast report. Fabs worldwide will add about $10 billion ... » read more

Washington Takes Key Steps to Bolster U.S. Semiconductor Manufacturing And Supply Chains


Recent semiconductor supply chain constraints have drawn the attention of Washington policymakers at every level. Exasperated by the global pandemic, customers of semiconductor manufacturers have sounded the alarm about the chip shortage and the downstream consequences for end-user companies and consumers. Global automakers have suffered the brunt of the impact, shuttering factories and slashin... » read more

ALD Coatings For Critical Chamber Components


With each transition to a new technology node, fab requirements for metal and particle contamination become more stringent, posing challenges for existing coating methods such as anodization or plasma spray that may not provide complete protection against contamination especially on critical chamber components with complex geometry. SEMI spoke with Beneq business executive Sami Sneck about... » read more

China Passes Americas And Japan In IC Capacity


Back in 2012, China ranked fifth among seven regions worldwide in IC wafer capacity but surged past the Americas and Japan in 2018 and 2019 to claim the number three position (figure 1). That’s a big deal given that ICs account for the largest share of wafer capacity excluding discrete, opto, MEMS and sensors. China’s IC wafer capacity growth accelerated to tune of 14% in 2019 and 21% in... » read more

Mobility And 5G Drive Adoption Of New Materials For Power Devices


Electric mobility, renewable energy, and other technology innovations like IoT, 5G, smart manufacturing, and robotics all require reliability, efficiency, and compact power systems, fueling the adoption of silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) to support lower voltages in significantly smaller devices. But chip designers must overcome the technological and economical challenges of int... » read more

Chip Equipment Billings Soar In 2020


The global economy has started down a gradual path to recovery from COVID-19 in recent months as the world continues to combat the virus. Yet one sector – semiconductors – has shown impressive growth powered by a transformation hastened by the pandemic across industries ranging from education and work-from-home to healthcare. Semiconductor sales increased 12% in September to mark a secon... » read more

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