Using Fab Sensors To Reduce Auto Defects


The semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem has begun collaborating on ways to effectively use wafer data to meet the stringent quality and reliability requirements for automotive ICs. Silicon manufacturing companies are now leveraging equipment and inspection monitors to proactively identify impactful defects prior to electrical test. Using machine learning techniques, they combine the monitor ... » read more

More Fabs, More Equipment Spending


Global fab equipment spending will increase 14 percent this year to US$62.8 billion and is expected to rise 7.5 percent, to US$67.5 billion, in 2019, marking the fourth consecutive year of spending growth and the highest investment year for fab equipment in the history of the industry, according to the latest World Fab Forecast Report published by SEMI. Investments in new fab construction are a... » read more

China Moves To Top Spot In Fab Equipment Spending


By Clark Tseng, Dan Tracy & Gavin Wang of SEMI With 20, and possibly more, new fab projects underway or announced in China since 2016, spending on fab equipment will surge to $10 billion or more, annually, by 2018 and to even higher levels in the following two years. As a result, China is projected to be the top spending region for fab equipment in 2019 and 2020. Robert Maire, of Semicon... » read more

Challenges And Opportunities for China in the Semiconductor Industry


By Allen Lu China’s new industry investment and government promotion policies represent major opportunities for China and global semiconductor companies. The global industry is closely watching the details of the policy and its implementation ─ both because of the resources China’s government has dedicated and the potential impact to the global semiconductor manufacturing supply chain. I... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Since the global economic recession of 2008-2009, the IC industry has pared down older fab capacity. From 2009-2014, semiconductor manufacturers have closed or repurposed 83 wafer fabs, including a few 300mm plants, according to IC Insights. Are 3D DRAMs finally here? SK Hynix is shipping mass production volumes of its first-generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM1). Samsung is also backing it... » read more

Capex Growing To A Record High In 2015


Semiconductor companies are spending more than ever to stay competitive. In 2015, the total amount spent for capital expenditures is forecast to be $68.7 billion, up 9% from 2014’s $63.3 billion. This breaks the previous record set in 2011 at $63.8 billion, as shown in the following graph. Total Semiconductor Capital Expenditures, 2009-2015 Source: Semico Research Corp. The Top 15 A... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


It’s official: IBM appears to be exiting the chip business. After months of talks, IBM has agreed to pay GlobalFoundries $1.5 billion to take Big Blue’s chip unit off its hands, according to reports from Bloomberg. IBM will also receive $200 million worth of assets, according to the reports. At the upcoming IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM), Intel and IBM will present... » read more

How To Buy Used Fab Tools


Buying used equipment is a good way to find viable tools at reasonable prices. But the used equipment market is not a simple place to shop for good deals. As reported in this article, it’s a complex market. For example, buyers of fab tools can procure used gear from several sources—an OEM; a used equipment company; a broker; and through eBay. Some IDMs also sell used equipment. So what a... » read more

Fujitsu Reorgs For Manufacturing


Fujitsu officially announced its intention of reorganizing its semiconductor manufacturing businesses, including dividing the Aizu Wakamatsu factory and Mie factory as branches of the foundry companies. The rest of the organization, including the system memory department and Fujitsu Electronics will become a part of Fujitsu’s semiconductor group. The new Foundry Company will also be a part of... » read more

Preparing For Change


Throw out the most optimistic and the most pessimistic predictions about the future of the foundry model and you probably arrive at a reasonable approximation of how things will actually play out. It's clear that the number of customers at the front end of process technology will shrink after 20nm. It simply costs too much to design and manufacture a chip, and there aren’t enough markets c... » read more

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