Chip Industry Week in Review


Check out the Inside Chips podcast for our behind-the-scenes analysis. The U.S. government is rescinding a Biden-era AI export rule that would have imposed complex restrictions on how U.S. chip and AI technology is sold abroad, a move welcomed by companies like Nvidia, reports Bloomberg. While new, simpler guidelines are expected in the coming months, the decision introduces short-term uncer... » read more

Identifying Sources Of Silent Data Corruption


Silent data errors are raising concerns in large data centers, where they can propagate through systems and wreak havoc on long-duration programs like AI training runs. SDEs, also called silent data corruption, are technically rare. But with many thousands of servers, which contain millions of processors running at high utilization rates, these damaging events become common in large fleets. ... » read more

Optimizing Tester Memory Resources With Pooling Technology


The rapid evolution of semiconductor devices has amplified the demand for advanced automated test equipment (ATE) that can handle increasingly complex test scenarios for logic devices. ATE vector memory is becoming an increasingly valuable commodity as scan-pattern volume soars. Extrapolations based on data from the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) indicate that scan d... » read more

Need For KGD Drives Singulated Die Screening


The move to multi-die packaging is driving chipmakers to develop more cost-effective ways to ensure only known-good die are integrated into packages, because the price of failure is significantly higher than with a single die. Better methods for inspecting and testing these devices are already starting to roll out. High-throughput infrared inspection is capable of catching more sub-surface d... » read more

Chip Industry Week In Review


Semiconductor industry energy consumption grew 125% between 2015 and 2023, while direct greenhouse gas emissions rose 23% in the same period, according to the Europe think tank Interface, which analyzed corporate social responsibility reports from 28 global chip manufacturers. CSIS' new report "Understanding U.S. Allies’ Current Legal Authority to Implement AI and Semiconductor Export Cont... » read more

AI Semiconductors Require An Integrated Test Solution


The rapid proliferation of generative pre-trained transformers based on large language models (LLMs) is driving growth in the market for chips that can run the LLMs and other artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) applications. Several types of chips hold promise for accelerating AI computing. Graphical processing units (GPUs) have proven to be capable solutions for the server/c... » read more

Failure To Launch


Failure analysis (FA) is an essential step for achieving sufficient yield in semiconductor manufacturing, but it’s struggling to keep pace with smaller dimensions, advanced packaging, and new power delivery architectures. All of these developments make defects harder to find and more expensive to fix, which impacts the reliability of chips and systems. Traditional failure analysis techniqu... » read more

Chip Industry Week In Review


Intel said its new fab in Licking County, Ohio will be delayed due to financial struggles and a need to align chip production with market demand, reported the Columbus Dispatch. Construction is now estimated to be completed in 2030, with operations to start in 2030 or 2031. The company said it already has invested $3.7 billion locally. Apple plans to invest more than $500 billion in the U.S... » read more

Chip Industry Week In Review


The EU Commission approved €920 million in German State aid to support Infineon in setting up its Smart Power Fab in Dresden. Total funding for the Dresden site amounts to about €1 billion. PDF Solutions will acquire secureWISE for $130 million to expand the reach of its semiconductor manufacturing data platform, providing secure, remote access monitoring and control. Tariffs, trade, and ... » read more

Chip Industry Week In Review


Worldwide silicon wafer shipments declined nearly 2.7% to 12,266 million square inches in 2024, with wafer revenue contracting 6.5% to $11.5 billion, according to the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group. CSIS released a new report, “Critical Minerals and the Future of the U.S. Economy,” with detailed analysis and policy recommendations for building a secure mineral supply chain for semicond... » read more

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