Chip Industry Week in Review


To listen to the podcast version, click here. TSMC unveiled an unusually detailed roadmap at this week's North America Technology Symposium, including future architectures for 3D-ICs for high-performance computing and small, extremely low-power chips for AR/VR glasses, and two implementations of system-on-wafer. Fig. 1: TSMC's future packaging and stacking roadmap. Source: TSMC The ... » read more

Chip Industry Week In Review


[Podcast version is here.] TSMC said it will produce 30% of its leading-edge chips in Arizona when all six of its fabs are operational, a total investment of $165 billion, Axios reported. In its latest SEC filing, the foundry said it continues to add capacity in Taiwan, Arizona, Japan, and Germany. The Trump administration launched a Section 232 investigation into semiconductors and relat... » read more

Nearly Invisible: Defect Detection Below 5nm


Detecting sub-5nm defects creates huge challenges for chipmakers, challenges that have a direct impact on yield, reliability, and profitability. In addition to being smaller and harder to detect, defects are often hidden beneath intricate device structures and packaging schemes. Moreover, traditional optical and electrical probing methods, trusted for decades, are proving inadequate against ... » 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

Universities Augment Engineering Curricula To Boost Employability


Increasing numbers of universities are offering semiconductor courses in their engineering programs, and also in math, physics, and business degrees. Most universities now offer a broad foundation so students can pivot to other industries during cyclical downturns, or when technology and science create entirely new and potentially lucrative opportunities, such as generative AI, advanced pack... » read more

Global IC Fabs And Facilities Report: 2024


The chip industry made significant capital investments this year to build new fabs and facilities or expand existing premises. A number of sites were dedicated to SiC, GaN, DRAM, HBM, along with packaging and assembly by OSATs, and essential gases, chemicals, and other components. More than a dozen R&D centers were also established for 8-inch wafers, EUV, and advanced packaging. Investments... » read more

NAND Flash Targets 1,000 Layers


The chip industry is pushing to quadruple the stack height of 3D NAND flash from 200 layers to 800 layers or more over the next few years, using the additional capacity will help to feed the unending need for more memory of all types. Those additional layers will add new reliability issues a number of incremental reliability challenges, but the NAND flash industry has been steadily increasin... » read more

Chip Industry Technical Paper Roundup: Nov. 25


New technical papers recently added to Semiconductor Engineering’s library: [table id=386 /] » read more

Chip Industry Week In Review


SK hynix started mass production of 1-terabit  321-high NAND, with availability scheduled for the first half of next year. Rapidus will receive an additional ¥200 billion yen ($1.28B) from the Japanese government beginning in fiscal year 2025, reports Nikkei. This is on top of ¥920 billion yen ($5.98B) Rapidus has already received from the government in support of its goal to reach commer... » read more

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