The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Fab tools and test VLSI Research released its annual "Customer Satisfaction Survey" and listed "THE BEST Suppliers" of 2018. VLSI Research received feedback from more than 94% of the chip market and 76% of subsystems customers for this year’s survey. Who are the winners? Applied Materials reported its second quarter results, along with its business outlook. Compared to the second quarter ... » read more

FinFET Metrology Challenges Grow


Chipmakers face a multitude of challenges in the fab at 10nm/7nm and beyond, but one technology that is typically under the radar is becoming especially difficult—metrology. Metrology, the art of measuring and characterizing structures, is used to pinpoint problems in devices and processes. It helps to ensure yields in both the lab and fab. At 28nm and above, metrology is a straightforward... » read more

More Lithography/Mask Challenges (Part 3)


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss lithography and photomask technologies with Gregory McIntyre, director of the Advanced Patterning Department at [getentity id="22217" e_name="Imec"]; Harry Levinson, senior fellow and senior director of technology research at [getentity id="22819" comment="GlobalFoundries"]; Regina Freed, managing director of patterning technology at [getentity id="... » read more

Toward A 5G, AI-Centric World


The market environment over the coming years will continue to experience an explosion of data generation from a variety of new sources such as smart cars, smart factories, smart hospitals and smart network infrastructure. Data explosion combined with artificial intelligence (AI) will create a renaissance of computing and storage hardware. Mobile World Congress 2018 (MWC) reinforced this market ... » read more

New Patterning Options Emerging


Several fab tool vendors are rolling out the next wave of self-aligned patterning technologies amid the shift toward new devices at 10/7nm and beyond. Applied Materials, Lam Research and TEL are developing self-aligned technologies based on a variety of new approaches. The latest approach involves self-aligned patterning techniques with multi-color material schemes, which are designed for us... » read more

Searching For EUV Defects


Chipmakers hope to insert extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography at 7nm and/or 5nm, but several challenges need to be solved before this oft-delayed technology can be used in production. One lingering issue that is becoming more worrisome is how to find defects caused by [gettech id="31045" comment="EUV"] processes. These processes can cause random variations, also known as stochastic effects... » read more

More Lithography/Mask Challenges (Part 2)


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss lithography and photomask technologies with Gregory McIntyre, director of the Advanced Patterning Department at [getentity id="22217" e_name="Imec"]; Harry Levinson, senior fellow and senior director of technology research at [getentity id="22819" comment="GlobalFoundries"]; Regina Freed, managing director of patterning technology at [getentity id="... » read more

Blog Review: Apr. 11


Mentor's Dennis Brophy looks at how the black box nature of IP means it's hard to tell if a block is free from security risks, even if verification IP and open-source design code can help. Synopsys' Sri Deepti Pisipati explains Panel Self Refresh, a power saving mechanism in Display Port that allows for turning off the video processor and its circuitry when an image is static. Cadence's P... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Trade wars China and the United States are in the midst of a trade war. Click here for the latest from CNN. Meanwhile, click here for a list of the winners and losers so far. Display Supply Chain Consultants, a research firm, provides more insights from a hi-tech perspective. Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the U.S.-based Consumer Technology Association (CTA), issued a statement abo... » read more

TEL Sells Packaging Tool Unit


Tokyo Electron Ltd. (TEL) has signed a definitive agreement to sell its packaging equipment unit, TEL NEXX, to ASM Pacific Technology. With the proposed deal, ASM Pacific enters some new markets. ASM Pacific sells wire bonders, pick-and-place systems, leadframes and other products. Established in 2001, TEL NEXX sells electrochemical deposition (ECD) and physical vapor deposition (PVD) s... » read more

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