tag: semiconductor

Heterogeneous Design Creating Havoc With Firmware Versions
By Ed Sperling - 01 Apr, 2019 - Comments: 0

Adding different kinds of processing elements into chips is creating system-level incompatibilities because of sometimes necessary, but usually uncoordinated, firmware updates from multiple vendors. In the past, firmware typically was synchronized with other firmware and the chip was verified and debugged. But this becomes much more difficult when multiple heterogeneous processing elements a... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test
By Mark LaPedus - 29 Mar, 2019 - Comments: 0

Materials Wesfarmers, an Australian diversified firm, has made an unsolicited bid to acquire Lynas, one of the world’s largest suppliers of rare earths outside of China. Rare earths are chemical elements found in the Earth’s crust. They are used in cars, consumer electronics, computers, communications, clean energy and defense systems. The big market for rare earths is magnets. In semicond... » read more

Improving SAQP Patterning Yield Using Virtual Fabrication And Advanced Process Control
By Benjamin Vincent - 25 Mar, 2019 - Comments: 0

Advanced logic scaling has created some difficult technical challenges, including a requirement for highly dense patterning. Imec recently confronted this challenge, by working toward the use of Metal 2 (M2) line patterning with a 16 nm half-pitch for their 7nm node (equivalent to a 5nm foundry node). Self-Aligned Quadruple Patterning (SAQP) was investigated as an alternative path to Extreme Ul... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test
By Mark LaPedus - 08 Mar, 2019 - Comments: 0

Chipmakers How bad is the slowdown in the IC industry? The memory market is terrible, while other markets are slowing. One company—Renesas--is feeling the brunt. Citing the IC slowdown, Renesas will temporarily halt production at 13 of the company's 14 production facilities, according to a report from Nikkei. Renesas confirmed the move. “Renesas is considering implementing measures to ... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test
By Mark LaPedus - 01 Mar, 2019 - Comments: 1

Trade Trade tensions between the United States and China continue. The U.S. last year slapped a 10% tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. China retaliated with a 10% tariff on $60 billion of U.S. imports. The U.S. said it wants to increase the tariffs on Chinese goods to 25%, but that action has been postponed. This was the week that the U.S. was supposed to raise tariffs by 25%. I... » read more

Engineering Talent Shortage Now Top Risk Factor
By Mark LaPedus - 25 Feb, 2019 - Comments: 16

Demand is increasing for engineers and related technical fields in the IC industry, but companies are struggling to find enough talent. The problem is even worse in hot new markets such as AI and 5G, where competition is fierce for experienced workers. The talent shortfall starts with college graduates and professionals in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)... » read more

Lithography Challenges For Fan-out
By Mark LaPedus - 12 Feb, 2019 - Comments: 3

Higher density fan-out packages are moving toward more complex structures with finer routing layers, all of which requires more capable lithography equipment and other tools. The latest high-density fan-out packages are migrating toward the 1µm line/space barrier and beyond, which is considered a milestone in the industry. At these critical dimensions (CDs), fan-outs will provide better per... » read more

Meltdown And Spectre, One Year Later
By Paul Kocher - 11 Feb, 2019 - Comments: 0

About this time last year, reports surfaced about security attacks on today’s most popular microprocessors (μPs). Researchers called them Meltdown, Spectre gaining widespread attention. Today, however, the industry and especially μP vendors have made some progress toward stemming these vulnerabilities. Here is my analysis as we enter into 2019. When it comes to these vulnerabilities, we ... » read more

Fearless chip and fab tool forecasts
By Mark LaPedus - 24 Jan, 2019 - Comments: 1

2019 is expected to be a challenging, if not confusing, year for the semiconductor and fab equipment industries. For example, Apple recently issued a warning about lackluster smartphone demand, which impacted several IC vendors and foundries. Then, the memory market is plummeting. In addition, the 10nm/7nm transition has proven to be difficult for many. And let’s not forget the geopolitica... » read more

Fab Equipment Challenges For 2019
By Mark LaPedus - 17 Dec, 2018 - Comments: 0

After a period of record growth, the semiconductor equipment industry is facing a slowdown in 2019, in addition to several technical challenges that still need to be resolved. Generally, the equipment industry saw enormous demand in 2017, and the momentum extended into the first part of 2018. But then the memory market began deteriorating in the middle of this year, causing both DRAM and NAND ... » read more

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