Consolidation And Innovation


Consolidation is happening across the semiconductor industry, in ways that are very apparent and others that aren't so obvious. On the chipmaker side, NXP's acquisition of Freescale, Avago's acquisition of Broadcom and LSI, and Intel's acquisition of Altera are so big that they require approval by multiple governments. Less obvious are moves such as Apple's build out of its processor team, a... » read more

DAC 2015 Day 2: Keynotes, Tutorials and More


Walking to DAC, you had to pass the Apple Developers Conference. The line to get in wrapped all the way around the block and there were many peaceful protests directed towards them. Large TV trucks, trucks from CNN, MSNBC and many others lined the streets to hear about new capabilities coming to the group of people who create the Apps for Apple devices. None of them were probably even aware tha... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


In what was called a defensive measure by some, Intel has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Altera for $54 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $16.7 billion. Here’s what one analyst said about the deal. “We continue to believe Intel’s pursuit of Altera–at a significant premium–was based on a defensive position, rather than the purely accretive str... » read more

IoT One Year Later


One year ago the Internet of Things didn't exist for most companies. It was a PowerPoint concept filled with ridiculous, impossibly large numbers, and it was almost universally greeted with a healthy dose of skepticism. It wasn't uncommon to hear terms such as the Internet of Nothing, the Internet of Cars, and the Internet of Home Devices. It also wasn't common to hear comments such as, "What, ... » read more

IoT Requires The Evolution Of The “New” 200mm Fab


By Bill Martin & Paul Werbaneth In April, we all celebrated the 50th anniversary of Moore’s Law. While critical for the industry, sometimes “chasing-the-latest-technology” business model is not the answer. Sometimes veering away from Moore’s Law makes more sense and is a better alternative. But, ever since the 1970’s, many product developer minds were conditioned that smaller w... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Merger and acquisition activity continues to heat up across the semiconductor industry. On one front, Avago Technologies continues on its acquisition spree. And on another front, NXP Semiconductors is moving to spin off its RF power business. And there are other deals in the works as well, including Intel’s proposed move to buy Altera. Weston Twigg, an analyst with Pacific Crest Securities... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


After several delays due to a myriad of complex regulatory issues, Applied Materials’ proposed deal to buy Tokyo Electron Ltd. (TEL) has been scrapped. Now, Applied Materials and TEL are separately re-grouping, and are back to where they originally started as competitors in the fab tool market. Applied Materials held a conference call to explain the situation with TEL. Applied Materials... » read more

FinFET Rollout Slower Than Expected


The foundry business is heating up as some new and large players are entering the 16nm/14nm [getkc id="185" kc_name="finFET"] market. But foundry customers are taking longer than expected to migrate to finFETs amid some technical and cost issues. On the foundry front, [getentity id="22846" comment="Intel"] has been the sole player in finFETs for some time. But now, [getentity id="22865" ... » read more

5 Issues Under The Foundry Radar


In the foundry business, the leading-edge segment grabs most, if not all, of the headlines. Foundry vendors, of course, are ramping up 16nm/14nm finFET processes, with 10nm and 7nm in R&D. The leading-edge foundry business is sizable, but it’s not the only thing going on in the competitive arena. In fact, there are battles taking place in many other foundry segments, such as 2.5D/3D packag... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Intel is quietly delaying its process ramp at the 10nm node, according to multiple sources. In an e-mail, a spokesman for Intel said: “We have not disclosed a schedule for our 10nm process and we won't engage in speculation about it.” In March, though, Intel was supposed to make fab tool buys for high-volume manufacturing at 10nm, sources said. But now, those purchases won’t happen... » read more

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