Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Government funding President Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law on Tuesday, saying “America is back and leading the way.” That same day Micron touted a $40 billion investment through to 2030, which it expects will create 40,000 American jobs. “This legislation will enable Micron to grow domestic production of memory from less than 2% to up to 10% of the global market in t... » read more

A Sputnik Moment For Chips


Chip shortages are the new Sputnik moment, and they have created a sense of national and regional panic not seen since the days of the Cold War. For both the United States and Europe, those shortages have sparked some of the largest technology investments by government in the past half-century that are not strictly for the military — and by far the biggest involving semiconductors. Whi... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


The U.S. Congress approved the CHIPS Act, a mammoth bipartisan achievement the New York Times called “the most significant government intervention in industrial policy in decades.” As passed, the full package — now called the Chips and Science Act — contains $52 billion in direct assistance for the semiconductor industry, along with $24 billion in tax incentives. In addition, the bill c... » read more

Week In Review, Design, Low Power


Financial News Cadence announced second quarter revenue of $858 million, an increase of 17.9% compared with the same period a year ago when revenue was $728 million. President and CEO Anirudh Devgan said the company’s results are “emblematic of the megatrends of the long-term strength of semis, systems companies investing more in silicon, and the convergence of system and chip designs.�... » read more

Fab Investments Head Toward Record High


Corporations and governments around the globe are making record-breaking investments in chip manufacturing plants amid a major push to make the semiconductor supply chain more robust and less prone to shortages caused by everything from market variations to geopolitical interruptions. These investments — which range from updating existing fabrication facilities to building entirely new fab... » read more

Week In Review, Manufacturing, Test


Samsung announced initial production of its 3nm process node, which uses a gate-all-around (nanosheet) transistor structure that the company calls Multi-Bridge-Channel FET (MBCFET). The first-generation 3nm process can reduce power consumption by up to 45% compared with a 5nm process, as well as improve performance by 23% and reduce area by 16%, according to the company. The second-generation 3... » read more

Equipment Perspective At U.S. Senate Hearing On Chipmaking


In March, Lam Research President and CEO Tim Archer testified before the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. The hearing examined a variety of issues including the correlation between American competitiveness and semiconductors, the impact of vulnerabilities in semiconductor supply chains and the importance of CHIPS legislation within the U.S. Innovation a... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


The U.S. Senate approved the 2022 America COMPETES act, which has big ramifications for the chip industry. The bill now heads to the House for further reconciliation. If approved, it would provide more than $50 billion in U.S. subsidies for semiconductor chip manufacturing. The SIAC (Semiconductor In America Coalition) urged Congress to act promptly to achieve a bipartisan compromise soon and o... » read more

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