tag: Applied Materials

Dealing With Atoms
By Mark LaPedus - 13 Jul, 2015 - Comments: 0

Chipmakers are ramping up a new range of device architectures, such as 3D NAND and finFETs. But to enable current and future devices, IC vendors will require new breakthroughs, including tools that can process tiny structures and films, even at the atomic level. The problem? There are gaps in terms of techniques that can process chips at the atomic level. Looking to help fill part of the ... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing
By Mark LaPedus - 26 Jun, 2015 - Comments: 0

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC), Huawei, Imec and Qualcomm have announced the formation of the SMIC Advanced Technology Research & Development (Shanghai) Corp., an equity joint venture company. Located in China, the joint venture company will focus on R&D towards next-generation CMOS logic technology. The current focus will be on developing 14nm logic technology, ... » read more

Getting Over Overlay
By Mark LaPedus - 18 Jun, 2015 - Comments: 0

Chipmakers continue to migrate to the next node, but there are signs that traditional IC scaling is slowing down. So what’s causing the slowdown? Or for that matter, what could ultimately undo [getkc id="74" comment="Moore's Law"]? It could be a combination of factors. To be sure, IC design costs and complexity are soaring at each node. Scaling challenges are also playing a role. And ov... » read more

Speeding Up E-beam Inspection
By Mark LaPedus - 18 Jun, 2015 - Comments: 0

Wafer inspection, the science of finding killer defects in chips, is reaching a critical juncture. Optical inspection, the workhorse technology in the fab, is being stretched to the limit at advanced nodes. And e-beam inspection can find tiny defects, but it remains slow in terms of throughput. So to fill the gap, the industry has been working on a new class of multiple beam e-beam inspectio... » read more

Fab Tool M&A Slowdown?
By Mark LaPedus - 18 Jun, 2015 - Comments: 0

The semiconductor industry is in the midst of a dizzying array of mergers and acquisitions. At the current pace, some 32% of all U.S. publicly traded semiconductor companies are projected to get acquired in 2015, according to FBR. But in reality, the M&A activity will slow and edge towards a 15% consolidation rate for the year, according to the firm. Still, the IC industry is bracing for... » read more

The Future Is Flexible
By Max McDaniel - 18 Jun, 2015 - Comments: 0

For the next installment in my display survey series, I will focus on advanced display technologies coming down the pipeline and how materials engineering solutions will enable tomorrow’s TVs and mobile devices to be flexible, bendable and foldable. [caption id="attachment_20529" align="alignnone" width="438"] Source: Samsung[/caption] I touched on this topic at the recent SID Display W... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing
By Mark LaPedus - 12 Jun, 2015 - Comments: 0

Christopher Rolland, an analyst at FBR, made a startling statement in a recent report. “At the pace of consolidation set thus far this year, 32% of all U.S. publicly traded semiconductor companies would be acquired in 2015! While this run-rate is not likely sustainable and should slow as the year progresses, we still expect ~15% consolidation rates for the remainder of this cycle (above low-t... » read more

Board Games?
By Mark LaPedus - 05 Jun, 2015 - Comments: 0

Applied Materials has elected Willem Roelandts as chairman. He succeeds Michael Splinter, who has retired from the board. Splinter, who is no longer associated with Applied Materials, served as chief executive at Applied from 2003 to 2013 and as chairman since 2009. In late April, Splinter was nominated to the board at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC). Splinter, along with ... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing
By Mark LaPedus - 05 Jun, 2015 - Comments: 1

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

The Week In Review: Manufacturing
By Mark LaPedus - 22 May, 2015 - Comments: 0

At an event, Samsung rolled out its 10nm finFET technology. The company also showed a 300mm wafer with 10nm finFET transistors. "We have silicon-based PDKs out," said Kelvin Low, senior director of foundry marketing for Samsung. Samsung plans to move into production with its 10nm finFET technology by the end of 2016, he said. IC Insights released its chip rankings in terms of sales in the fi... » read more

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