tag: business

Shortages, Challenges Engulf Packaging Supply Chain
By Mark LaPedus - 18 Feb, 2021 - Comments: 0

A surge in demand for chips is impacting the IC packaging supply chain, causing shortages of select manufacturing capacity, various package types, key components, and equipment. Spot shortages in packaging surfaced in late 2020 and have since spread to other sectors. There are now a variety of choke points in the supply chain. Wirebond and flip-chip capacity will remain tight throughout 2021... » read more

The SEMI Industry Strategy Symposium Outlook
By Paul McLellan - 04 Feb, 2021 - Comments: 0

In mid-January, SEMI organized the two-day Industry Strategy Symposium. Presentations ranged from the outlook for the overall global economy, to purifying gases and materials to parts per quadrillion, to how TSMC took the leading-edge process crown from Intel. The first day was focused on the economy and business environment, along with its impact on the semiconductor supply chain. The secon... » read more

Using Analytics To Reduce Burn-in
By Anne Meixner - 12 Jan, 2021 - Comments: 3

Silicon providers are using adaptive test flows to reduce burn-in costs, one of the many approaches aimed at stemming cost increases at advanced nodes and in advanced packages. No one likes it when their cell phone fails within the first month of ownership. But the problems are much more pressing when the key components in data warehouse servers or automobiles fail. Reliability expectations ... » read more

EDA, IP Revenue Up 15%
By Ed Sperling - 11 Jan, 2021 - Comments: 2

EDA and IP revenues blasted off in Q3 of 2020 in every geography and every sector, despite a trade war, a pandemic, and slowdowns in the automotive and avionics sectors. Revenue grew to $2.95 billion, up 15% over the $2.57 billion in the same period in 2019, according to a just-released report from the Electronic System Design Alliance Market Statistic Services (MSS). The four-quarter moving... » read more

CEO Outlook: 2021
By Ed Sperling - 04 Jan, 2021 - Comments: 0

The new year will be one of significant transition and innovation for the chip industry, but there are so many new applications and market segments that broad generalizations are becoming less meaningful. Unlike in years past, where sales of computers or smart phones were a good indication of how the chip industry would fare, end markets have both multiplied and splintered, greatly increasin... » read more

2020: A Turning Point In The Chip Industry
By Brian Bailey - 28 Dec, 2020 - Comments: 3

At the start of 2020, most of the industry was upbeat and sales forecasts for the year were good. Then the pandemic hit, and fear gripped most of the industry — but not for long. New markets emerged, demand increased, and the levels of innovation went far beyond what had been forecast. While hope is on the horizon that the virus will be contained during 2021, life will not return to the ol... » read more

Stretching Engineers
By Brian Bailey - 22 Dec, 2020 - Comments: 1

Engineering has one constant — you innovate or fall by the wayside. That is true both for the things that are designed and for the engineers who design and build them. Today’s systems are putting new strains on engineers who can no longer be "tall and thin" or "short and fat." Those descriptions pertain to an engineer who is either highly specialized or one who has much broader experience. ... » read more

200mm Demand Surges
By Mark LaPedus - 17 Dec, 2020 - Comments: 1

A surge in demand for various chips is causing shortages for select 200mm foundry capacity as well as 200mm fab equipment, and it shows no signs of abating in 2021. Foundry customers will face a shortfall of 200mm capacity at select foundries at least in the first half of 2021, and perhaps beyond. Those customers will need to plan ahead to ensure they obtain enough 200mm capacity in 2021. Ot... » read more

Digital Test Bulks Up – Or Down
By Bryon Moyer - 08 Dec, 2020 - Comments: 2

Large digital integrated circuits are becoming harder to test in a time- and cost-efficient manner. AI chips, in particular, have tiled architectures that are putting pressure on older testing strategies due to the volume of test vectors required. In some cases, these chips are so large that they exceed reticle size, requiring them to be stitched together. New testing efficiencies are needed... » read more

The Cyber-Industrial Revolution
By Ed Sperling - 07 Dec, 2020 - Comments: 0

Semiconductors won't save the world, but they certainly will help. In fact, it's arguable whether any significant progress will be made on such issues as global warming or future medical breakthroughs without the aid of ICs. After decades of struggling just to get chips to work at each new process node, the semiconductor industry is moving into a new phase. Processing is now almost ubiquitou... » read more

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