Orbital Data Centers Are Souped-Up Satellites – For Now


Key Takeaways: Today’s orbital data centers are better described as compute centers in space, as they resemble satellite constellations more than terrestrial data centers. The most common power solution is sun-synchronous solar at the poles, but this requires a multi-hop data relay from power-hungry compute to standard satellite constellations in the low-orbit mesh, then to Earth. ... » read more

Chip Industry Week In Review


TSMC is expected to reduce its Fab 14 mature-node capacity by 15% to 20% to free up resources for its advanced packaging technologies, reports Counterpoint. The foundry will likely rely on its VIS affiliate site in Singapore (operational in late 2026) and other overseas fabs to ensure continued supply for older nodes. Memory The U.S. threatened 100% tariffs on South Korean memory compan... » read more

Planning EDA’s Next Steps


Anirudh Devgan, Cadence's new CEO, and the recipient of the Phil Kaufman Award in December, sat down with Semiconductor Engineering to talk about what's next in EDA, the underlying technology and business challenges and changes, and new markets that are unfolding for floor-planning, verification, CFD, and advanced packaging. SE: Where does EDA need to improve? Devgan: We have made it much... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Jan. 30


SRC’s new R&D centers The Semiconductor Research Corp. has launched a network of research centers within its recently-announced Joint University Microelectronics Program (JUMP). SRC officially launched the 5-year, $200 million program on Jan. 1. With various research centers, the mission of JUMP is to lay the groundwork that extends the viability of Moore’s Law through 2040. The idea is... » read more