TI’s CHIPS Act funding; security weaknesses in chip’s lifecycle; Huawei’s AI chip; TSMC’s Arizona funding; DOE’s IC energy efficiency; Eliyan’s funding; NIST PQC tools/standards; smarter fabs; power models; CPU performance bottlenecks.
The U.S. Department of Commerce and Texas Instruments (TI) signed a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms to provide up to $1.6 billion in CHIPS Act funding towards TI’s investment of over $18 billion for three 300mm semiconductor wafer fabs under construction in Texas and Utah. TI also expects to get about $6 billion to $8 billion from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Investment Tax Credit and $10 million for workforce development.
NIST published a 22-page report on existing and emerging cybersecurity threats and mitigation techniques for semiconductors throughout their lifecycle.
Fig. 1. Security weaknesses throughout a chip’s lifecycle. Source: NIST
Huawei is close to introducing an AI chip to overcome U.S. sanctions, according to the Wall St. Journal.
TSMC’s board of directors approved a cash infusion of up to US$7.5 billion to TSMC Arizona, its wholly owned subsidiary. This follows April’s announcement of $6.6 billion in CHIPS Act funding.
AMD completed its acquisition of Silo AI to accelerate its AI/ML capabilities across various sectors, including data centers, edge computing, and high-performance computing (HPC).
Eliyan secured a strategic investment from VentureTech Alliance in support of its efforts to advance chiplet interconnect technology. This funding brings total investments in the chiplet interconnect company to more than $100 million.
The U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office released a request for information and feedback on the Energy Efficiency Scaling for Two Decades (EES2) Initiative and the draft EES2 R&D Roadmap, which outline the technology needed to increase the energy efficiency of semiconductor applications 1,000-fold over the next twenty years. Feedback is due Sept 30.
SEMI released recommendations and analysis to increase supply of low carbon energy in South Korea, aiming to increase the industry’s response to climate change.
NIST released three finalized post-quantum encryption standards, including tools to prevent quantum computer attacks and secure electronic information and e-commerce transactions. The tools are ready for immediate use.
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Semiconductor Engineering published its Manufacturing, Packaging & Materials newsletter this week, featuring these top stories:
More reporting this week:
Akeana emerged from stealth mode after raising $100 million in capital. The company will focus RISC-V processors, including 32- and 64-bit MCUs and processors, as well as IP blocks.
Quantum Circuits secured a final Series B investment round of over $60 million to commercialize its quantum systems with error detection built into a more powerful qubit for scalable, higher-fidelity computing.
Global data center power demand could increase 160% by 2030, according to a new report from Goldman Sachs. The firm blamed AI, saying data center power consumption could rise as high as 4%, up from 1% to 2% of global electricity generated today.
New reports from TrendForce:
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) about $3 million in funding for Convergent Graduate Research Training in CMOS + X Semiconductor Technologies.
Penn State‘s Silicon Carbide Innovation Alliance will receive $600,000 from the Appalachian Regional Commission to fund semiconductor training and internships.
The National Institute for Industry and Career Advancement and community colleges nationwide launched a Semiconductor Industry Network of Community Colleges (SINC) to help to develop a pipeline of talent.
Boise State University unveiled an AXITRON semiconductor machine, the first of its kind at a U.S. university. It is a “2D close-coupled showerhead metal organic chemical vapor deposition tool” that can produce wafers as thin as one to three atoms, according to Boise State Public Radio.
NBC reported on Purdue University’s Summer Training on Awareness and Readiness for Semiconductors (STARS) program, now in its second year with an enrollment of 100 students, up from 70 in year one. The aim is to get undergrads into a clean room to entice them to pursue Master’s and PhD degrees.
Austin Community College District received $7.5 million from a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) grant for semiconductor training as part of the wider funding recently awarded to the University of Texas at Austin and the Texas Institute for Electronics.
Recent security research:
Keysight joined the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative, a Congressionally-authorized initiative of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Keysight will provide the collaborative with its security validation tools.
The National Cyber Director launched an Open Source Software Prevalence Initiative.
The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) submitted a report to Congress outlining the strategy to migrate Federal information systems to post-quantum cryptography (PQC).
The Biological Technologies Office (BTO) of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is hosting two events for bio-innovators, blue sky thinkers, and AI/ML experts. In addition, the semifinal competition of the DARPA AI Cyber Challenge culminated at DEF CON 32. Finalist teams have one year to mature their technology before the final in August 2025.
The German Federal Office for Information Security wants to limit cyber companies’ access to the Microsoft Windows kernel, aiming to reduce the risk of a CrowdStrike-style outage, reports the Wall St. Journal.
The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) called for tenders to support its cybersecurity services provision to Member States.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a number of alerts/advisories and security updates.
Lam Research released a video highlighting its “Path to 1000-Layer 3D NAND” technology, with advancements driving the future of data storage.
Movellus joined Silicon Catalyst’s In-Kind Partner network. As part of the partnership, Silicon Catalyst will have access to Movellus high-performance and performance-optimized infrastructure IP for SoCs.
Infineon added eight products to its AIROC CYW20829 Bluetooth Low Energy 5.4 MCU family, featuring SoCs and modules with a dual ARM Cortex core design, ideal for industrial, consumer, and automotive. The company also expanded its 7th generation TRENCHSTOP IGBT7 family with the CIPOS Maxi Intelligent Power Module (IPM) series for low-power motor drives. The IM12BxxxC1 series is packaged in a DIP 36x23D housing.
Vitesco Technologies used Infineon’s CoolGaN Transistors to demonstrate highest power density for DCDC converters.
Qualcomm and Keysight established the first end-to-end interoperability and data connection in the FR3 frequency range. Keysight’s E7515P UXM 5G Wireless Test Platform was used due to its multiformat stack support, rich processing power, and RF resources.
Bruker installed a 1.2 GHz Avance NMR spectrometer at the Korea Basic Science Institute (KBSI). This advanced nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer is expected to enhance research capabilities in structural biology, material science, and other scientific fields by providing ultra-high-resolution data.
Agnisys joined Arm’s Partner Program, with a goal of streamlining the design and verification process for semiconductor design. To mark its membership, the company released a brief addressing the need for functional safety in automotive designs and requirements of ISO 26262.
SignatureIP launched its NoC solutions, designed to align with RISC-V CPU requirements. The NoCs are designed for scalability, flexibility, performance optimization, power efficiency, and interoperability.
North Carolina State University researchers reported on a new technique for printing thin metal oxide films at room temperature, using the method to develop hearty transparent, flexible circuits that can operate at high temperatures.
Samsung and Kyungpook National University published “Design Technology Co-Optimization and Time-Efficient Verification for Enhanced Pin Accessibility in the Post-3-nm Node,” addressing routing congestion issues for 3nm and beyond.
Lam Research drilled into the environmental impact of computational simulation and AI , in a recently published paper “Achieving Sustainability in the Semiconductor Industry: The Impact of Simulation and AI.”
The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE)’s Office of Science named Kristin Persson a 2024 Distinguished Scientist Fellow and she will receive $1 million in direct funding for “pioneering advancements in data-driven materials design and discovery,” according to the Office of Science award citation.
Find upcoming chip industry events here, including:
| Event | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|
| SPIE Optics + Photonics 2024 | Aug 18 – 22 | San Diego, CA |
| Cadence Cloud Tech Day | Aug 20 | San Jose, CA |
| Hot Chips 2024 | Aug 25 – 27 | Stanford University/ Hybrid |
| Optica Online Industry Meeting: PIC Manufacturing, Packaging and Testing (imec) | Aug 27 | Online |
| SEMICON Taiwan | Sep 4 -6 | Taipei |
| DVCON Taiwan | Sep 10 – 11 | Hsinchu |
| AI HW and Edge AI Summit | Sep 9 – 12 | San Jose, CA |
| GSA Executive Forum | Sep 26 | Menlo Park, CA |
| SPIE Photomask Technology + EUVL | Sep 29 – Oct 3 | Monterey, CA |
| Strategic Materials Conference: SMC 2024 | Sep 30 – Oct 2 | San Jose, CA |
| IMAPS 2024: International Symposium on Microelectronics | Oct 1 – Oct 3 | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Find All Upcoming Events Here | ||
Upcoming webinars are here.
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