U.S. launches trade investigation into China; Cohu to buy Tignis; NXP’s new acquisition; flurry of government fundings; Alphawave Semi’s speedy UCIe IP; advanced packaging pilot line; HW-assisted verification for Ethernet; auto radar MMIC; MIT’s high-rise 3D chips.
Updated for 12/20 government fundings and 12/23 for China trade investigation announcements.
President Biden announced a trade investigation into “China’s unfair trade practices in the semiconductor sector.” The announcement stated “PRC semiconductors often enter the U.S. market as a component of finished goods. This Section 301 investigation will examine a broad range of the PRC’s non-market acts, policies, and practices with respect to the semiconductor sector, including to the extent these semiconductors are incorporated as components into downstream products for critical industries like defense, automotive, medical devices, aerospace, telecommunications, and power generation and the electrical grid.”
Cohu, a global supplier of supplier of equipment and services for optimizing yield and productivity, will acquire Tignis, which develops AI-powered process control and analytics software. The deal is expected to close next month.
NXP will acquire Aviva Links, a provider of Automotive SerDes Alliance (ASA)-based asymmetrical links for ADAS and in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) applications, for $242.5 million in cash. Aviva Link’s portfolio supports SerDes point-to-point (ASA-ML) and Ethernet-based connectivity (ASA-MLE) with data rates up to 16 Gbps. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2025.
In U.S. government news:
Japan’s Rapidus installed ASML’s EUV lithography equipment at its IIM-1 foundry in Chitose, Hokkaido. The facility, which will produce 2nm chips, is the first in Japan to use EUV lithography for mass production.
MIT engineers developed a new method for creating multi-layered chips that could significantly increase processing performance. This technique allows for stacking layers of high-quality semiconducting material directly on top of each other without the need for bulky silicon wafers, enabling faster communication and computation between layers.
CISA published “Mobile Communications Best Practice Guidance” amid growing concern about Chinese hacking private communications. The guidance includes iPhone-specific recommendations as well as general recommendations about using SMS-based MFA, end-to end encrypted communications and more.
Alphawave Semi scaled UCIe to 64 gigabits per second, which enables more than 20 terabits per second/mm of bandwidth density using TSMC‘s 3nm process.
Meanwhile, increasing complexity and variation in advanced packaging are forcing chipmakers and OSATs to implement tighter controls and precision.
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Semiconductor Engineering published its Manufacturing, Packaging and Materials newsletter this week, featuring these top stories and special reports:
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And Shortcutting Graduates’ Path To Productivity In Manufacturing And Test.
The APECS pilot line for advanced packaging and heterogeneous integration commenced operation. APECS is a joint research effort funded by the EU Chips Act. Fraunhofer IIS is part of the consortium, and is expanding its capabilities for characterization and testing of chiplets and creating advanced functional demonstrators to verify the capabilities of the pilot line. [APECS=Advanced Packaging and Heterogeneous Integration for Electronic Components and Systems.]
The European Commission approved several state investments in semiconductor manufacturing:
Merck is constructing a new Advanced Materials Development Center at its Shizuoka site in Japan, featuring a 4,500 square-meter facility with cleanrooms and advanced laboratories.
The European Space Agency wants to send 7nm RISC-V processors into space. A consortium that includes Frontgrade Gaisler and imec will create radiation-hardened libraries and IP for the project.
The US Department of Commerce imposed a $3.3 million civil penalty against Integra Technologies, a California-based radio frequency and microwave power solutions engineering and manufacturing company, for the company’s transistors and other shipments to Russia, in violation of U.S. export rules.
Looking for a job in the semiconductor industry? You may find Semiconductor Engineering’s jobs board useful.
KPMG and the Global Semiconductor Alliance surveyed semiconductor executives about their outlook for the industry in 2025. A preview of the report notes a widespread expectation of continued revenue growth, with AI the key driver.
Cadstrom raised $6.8 million in seed funding for its AI-driven validation tools for electronic hardware and PCB design.
Micron issued its latest earning report. Kioxia listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market.
New team-ups:
UMC secured a significant advanced packaging order from Qualcomm for high-performance computing (HPC) chips, reports the Economic Daily News. This move marks UMC’s expansion in the advanced packaging sector, challenging TSMC’s dominance in this area.
IBM published two BEOL papers at IEDM. The first focused on advancements and future directions of Cu and post-Cu dual damascene BEOL interconnect technology. The other focused on the development of a post-Cu alternative interconnect technology with reduced RC delay.
Samsung researchers published “Addressing interconnect challenges for enhanced computing performance,” emphasizing the importance of the 3D integration of semiconductors.
A new technical paper titled “Analysis of Thermal Effects According to Channel and Drain Contact Metal Distance” was published by researchers from Ajou University, Seoul National University, et al.
Siemens Digital Industries Software extended its Veloce hardware-assisted verification platform to support Ethernet Packet Generator and Monitor (EPGM) Ethernet port speeds up to 1.6 Tbps for complex networking designs.
Ansys presented a methodology for using simulation to measure and assess the sustainability impact of decisions made during early design stages and throughout the product lifecycle.
UMC signed a 30-year corporate power purchase agreement (CPPA) with Fengmiao’s offshore wind farm to purchase more than 30 billion kilowatt-hours of renewable energy. The agreement is the largest in UMC’s history in support of the company’s goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
SK hynix introduced a high-capacity SSD product targeted at AI data centers, with up to 61 TB of storage and data transfer speeds u to 32 GT/s.
EQTY Lab, along with Intel and NVIDIA, introduced “Verifiable Compute.” It is a framework for accuracy, transparency and security in AI systems integrated directly into Intel’s 5th Gen Xeon Processors and NVIDIA’s H100/H200 GPUs and forthcoming Blackwell architecture.
Indra selected Keysight’s EW Advanced Simulation Platform to enhance its electronic warfare test and evaluation capabilities.
VeriSilicon uncorked a line of high-performance GPU IP for cloud gaming, AI PC, and both discrete and integrated graphics cards.
S2C debuted a 100M gate FPGA prototyping solution for AI and HPC.
IBM surveyed automotive executives about the state of the industry over the next 10 years. The report explores the shift to software-defined vehicles, which is facing both technical and cultural challenges.
U.S. graphite producers are seeking sharp tariff increases on Chinese graphite, alleging dumping violations of the critical material used in EV batteries.
A hydrogen-powered truck traveled 1,806 miles on a single fill of hydrogen fuel, setting a new world’s record.
Infineon introduced a 28nm radar MMIC with an improved signal-to-noise ratio that is designed for autonomous driving and enables cascading of multiple devices at low frequencies. Additionally, Infineon will supply a complete chipset to battery manufacturer Eve Energy as part of a collaboration on automotive battery management systems.
Synopsys and SiMa.ai are teaming up on a solution for automotive companies that combines Synopsys’ EDA tools, auto-grade IP, and hardware-assisted verification solutions with SiMa.ai’s machine learning accelerator IP and software stack.
Ansys and Sony Semiconductor Solutions offered a combined solution for evaluating and verifying the performance of automotive sensors in all weather conditions. It incorporates Ansys’ autonomous vehicle sensor simulation software and Sony’s high dynamic range Image Sensor Model.
Microchip Technology announced a line of CAN FD System Basis Chips with integrated high-speed CAN FD transceiver and 5V LDO.
Find upcoming chip industry events here, including:
| Date | Location | |
|---|---|---|
| EVENTS | ||
| CES 2025 | Jan 7- 10 | Las Vegas, NV |
| ISS 2025: Industry Strategy Symposium | Jan 12 – 15 | Half Moon Bay, CA |
| IEEE/EPS Hybrid Bonding Symposium | Jan 16 – 17 | Silicon Valley |
| Chiplet Summit 2025 | Jan 21 – 23 | Santa Clara, CA |
| SPIE Photonics WEst | Jan 25 – 30 | San Francisco |
| DesignCon 2025 | Jan 28 – 30 | Santa Clara, CA |
| Find all events here. | ||
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