Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Chipmakers, OEMs UMC plans to build a new fab next to its existing 300mm fab in Singapore. The new fab, called Fab12i P3, will manufacture wafers based on UMC’s 22nm/28nm processes. The planned investment for this project will be $5 billion. The first phase of this greenfield fab will have a monthly capacity of 30,000 wafers with production expected to commence in late 2024. To account fo... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Chipmakers TSMC posted its results for the quarter and confirmed its long-awaited plans to build a fab in Japan. It’s not a leading-edge fab, but rather a plant for 28nm/22nm processes. “The company confirmed plans to build a new fab in Japan for 22nm + 28nm,” said Aaron Rakers, an analyst at Wells Fargo, in a research note. “An average 22/28nm fab costs ~$4-5B range per 45k wspm. Fab ... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Jan. 17


GOOI FETs The next-generation power semiconductor market is heating up. Two wide-bandgap technologies—gallium nitride (GaN) on silicon devices and silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs—are ramping up in the power semi market. In addition, the industry is also exploring various futuristic technologies, such as bulk vertical GaN, diamond FETs and others. Purdue University has demonstrated another... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Jan. 5


New materials for 3D printing HRL Laboratories has developed a new ceramic technology for 3D printing. The technology overcomes the limits of traditional ceramic processing, thereby enabling high-strength components. Ceramics are much more difficult to process than traditional 3D printing materials, such as polymers or metals, according to HRL, a corporate R&D laboratory owned by The Boeing... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: April 28


CIA and 3D printers Voxel8, a supplier of 3D printers, has closed a strategic investment and technology development agreement with In-Q-Tel (IQT), the venture capital arm of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Voxel8, founded by technologists from Harvard University, is commercializing a new platform for 3D printing. The company enables engineers to create products with embedded 3D ... » read more