Chip Industry Week in Review

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is ramping up R&D for next-gen EUV and plasma-based particle sources, aiming to increase the EUV laser source power by an order of magnitude while also making it more energy-efficient. Specifically, the goal is to replace today’s CO₂-based laser with a solid-state laser, using a thulium-doped yttrium lithium fluoride medium to increase the laser’s power and intensity.

Fig.1: More powerful and efficient EUV laser. Source: Janelle Cataldo/LLNL

The U.S. Department of Energy will contribute $179 million for three new Microelectronics Science Research Centers, which will focus on research into solutions that bridge sensing, edge processing, AI, and HPC; heterogeneous integration of electronics for extreme environments; and plasma-based nanofabrication, EUV photon sources, 2D-material systems, and extreme-scale memory.

A $285 million CHIPS Act award was finalized to Semiconductor Research Corporation Manufacturing Consortium Corporation (SRC) to support a new North Carolina institute for digital twins technologies.

Synaptics and Google are teaming up on Edge AI for the IoT, integrating Google’s MLIR-compliant ML core on the Synaptics Astra hardware with open-source software and tools.

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology said it has developed a maskless microLED-driven DUV light source that sharply reducing the heat generated by today’s mercury-power systems.

About 50% of TSMC‘s Arizona employees came over from Taiwan, according to the NYT.

AI data centers are consuming huge amounts of power and creating “bad harmonics,” distorting the normal flow of electricity to homes. That, in turn, is causing electronics to run too hot, leading to new vulnerabilities and potentially causing electrical fires, according to research by Whisker Labs and DC Byte, reports Bloomberg.

Quick links to more news:

Global
In-Depth
Markets and Money
Product News
Automotive
Security
Events and Further Reading

Global

Micron Technology will invest up to $2.17 billion to expand its DRAM manufacturing operation in Manassas, Virginia.

All new devices sold in the European Union must now support USB-C charging.

UMC received a temporary occupation permit for its Fab 12i Phase 3 expansion in Singapore, a key step in ramping to production. The fab will target 22nm and 28nm chips for 5G, IoT, and automotive applications, according to the company.

Plans for South Korea’s Yongin Semiconductor National Industrial Complex were approved three months ahead of the original target date. The multi-tenant complex will include six fabs, three power plants, and more than 60 small and midsize partner companies. The complex is expected to add 1.6 million jobs, with construction slated to begin in December 2026.

Natcast, the agency created by the U.S. Department of Commerce to operate the National Semiconductor Technology Center, announced 18 inaugural members, including a number of universities, as well as representatives from Synopsys, SEMI, GlobalFoundries, TI, Samsung Austin, Micron, Northrop Grumman, and Apple.

The Netherlands launched the ChipNL Competence Centre, aimed at boosting the Dutch semiconductor industry through access to pilot lines, a design platform, and talent development, with €12 million (~$12.6 million) in backing from the European Commission and the Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland.

Markets and Money

GlobalFoundries and IBM settled their legal differences, ending all litigation involving breach of contract, trade secrets, and IP.

NAND Flash prices are projected to drop more than 10% this quarter due to higher inventories and lower demand, predicts TrendForce.

In acquisition news:

• POET Technologies, a maker of optical interposers and integrated optical engines, acquired Super Photonics Xiamen to boost production of 800G transceivers.
• Littelfuse acquired Elmos Semiconductor’s 200mm power semiconductor fab in Dortmund, Germany.
• NVIDIA closed its acquisition of Run:ai, a provider of AI infrastructure orchestration software. The deal reportedly is worth $700 million.
• Edge AI company Syntiant completed the acquisition of Knowles‘ Consumer MEMS Microphone business for $150 million in cash and stock.

InspireSemi, a designer of high-performance chips based on RISC-V, has delisted from the TSX Venture Exchange.

In-Depth

Semiconductor Engineering published its Systems & Design newsletter, featuring these top stories and special reports:

• Strain, Stress In Advanced Packages Drives New Design Approaches
• Improving Verification Performance
• SLM Evolves Into Critical Aspect Of Chip Design And Operation
• Distributed Voltage And Frequency Scaling Gaining Traction
• Chip Companies Play Bigger Role In Shaping University Curricula
• RISC-V Profiles Help Conformance
• Design And Verification Issues In 2024: top EDA stories (opinion)

Semiconductor Engineering published its Manufacturing, Packaging and Materials newsletter, featuring these top stories and special reports:

• NAND Flash Targets 1,000 Layers
• Baby Steps Toward 3D DRAM
• Navigating Increased Complexity In Advanced Packaging
• Challenges In Powering Electrification With GaN And SiC

Security

Chinese hackers launched a cyberattack on U.S. Treasury workstations, a major breach that provided access to unclassified documents.

The U.S. government issued an advance notice of proposed rule-making (ANPRM), seeking public comment to inform the potential development of a rule to secure and safeguard the information and communication technology and services (ICTS) supply chain for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones.

Recent security research:

• “Interstellar: Fully Partitioned and Efficient Security Monitoring Hardware Near a Processor Core for Protecting Systems against Attacks on Privileged Software” was published by researchers at KAIST.
• “T-Edge: Trusted Heterogeneous Edge Computing” was published by researchers at National University of Singapore.
• “Identifying and understanding the nonlinear behavior of memristive devices” by researchers from Ruhr University Bochum et al. looks at the nonlinear behavior of memristive devices using Fourier analysis, which is crucial for applications such as neuromorphic computing and hardware security.

Find more security research here.

Product News

LG unveiled an bendable 5K2K gaming monitor with the ability to transition from completely flat to a 900R curvature within seconds.

Weebit Nano is licensing its ReRAM technology to onsemi.

CEVA uncorked multi-protocol connectivity platform IP that supports Bluetooth High Data Throughput (HDT) technology, alongside IEEE 802.15.4 for Zigbee, Thread, and Matter.

Rigetti Computing debuted a 84-qubit superconducting quantum computing system with a 99.5% median two-qubit gate fidelity.

Automotive

Tesla reported its first annual sales decline in at least 9 years. Meanwhile, China’s BYD vehicle sales climbed more than 41% annually.

In Norway, EV’s comprised 89% of new car sales in 2024.

China plans to tighten export restrictions on battery parts, as well as technologies and processes for two critical metals, metallic gallium and lithium.

Ansys, Kontrol, TÜV SÜD, and Microsoft launched a virtual homologation toolchain that enables high-fidelity simulation to be used as evidence in automotive certification processes for meeting regulatory compliance and safety standards. Additionally, Ansys’ automotive sensor simulation software was made accessible through Cognata’s Automated Driving Perception Hub.

The automotive ecosystem is in the midst of an intense evolution as OEMs and tiered providers grapple with how to deal with legacy technology while incorporating ever-increasing levels of autonomy, electrification, and software-defined vehicle concepts.

Events and Further Reading

Find upcoming chip industry events here, including:

Semiconductor Engineering’s latest newsletters:

Automotive, Security and Pervasive Computing
Systems and Design
Low Power-High Performance
Test, Measurement and Analytics
Manufacturing, Packaging and Materials