The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Fab tools In response to SEMI members and partners, SEMI says it is not organizing Semicon Russia 2017, or any other events in Russia this year. “In light of the current market conditions and SEMI stakeholder concerns, SEMI reached out to members and customers over the last six months to assess how to provide the most value for our community in Russia,” said Laith Altimime, president of SE... » read more

The Week In Review: Design


SoftBank plans to sell a 25% stake in ARM to Vision Fund, a $100 billion technology fund created last year by SoftBank and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. SoftBank and Saudi Arabia are investing $25 billion and $45 billion in the fund, respectively. Another potential major player is Mubadala Development Co., the government-owned Abu Dhabi investment firm which owns GlobalFoundries and, a... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


SPIE news At this week’s SPIE Advanced Lithography conference, the industry paid close attention to the progress of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. Here’s the general report card: EUV is making noticeable progress, but there are still some challenges ahead, such as the power source, resists and pellicles. Several issues need to be resolved before chipmakers can put EUV into mass... » read more

Blog Review: March 1


In a video, Mentor's Wally Rhines discusses the evolution of test methodologies and the forces that will change test priorities. Cadence's Priya Balasubramanian explores memory trends in data servers driven by the Internet's massive need for bandwidth. Synopsys' Aadil Trikha presents a primer on the types of AMBA ACE barrier transactions. ARM's Simon Segars examines the state of IoT de... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Chipmakers Recently, Intel announced plans to invest more than $7 billion to complete its previously-announced fab in Chandler, Ariz. Targeted for 7nm processes, Fab 42 will be completed in 3 to 4 years. As reported, the fab announcement was made by U.S. President Donald Trump and Intel CEO Brian Krzanich at the White House. There is more to the story. Typically, Intel has two fabs for a gi... » read more

MEMS: A Tale Of Two Tough Markets


The MEMS market is growing rapidly, profits not so much. In most market segments, this would be a signal that more automation and standardization are required. But in the microelectromechanical systems world, fixes aren't so simple. And even where something can be automated, that automation doesn't work all the time. In fact, while MEMS devices are extremely difficult to design, build and ma... » read more

Blog Review: Feb. 22


Mentor's Brian Derrick digs into the state of the electric vehicle industry and whether established OEMs will be able to make the changes required to meet new consumer demands. Cadence's Paul McLellan listens in on how to greatly improve the efficiency of machine learning, without using custom hardware, in a talk by Stanford's Kunle Olukotun. Synopsys' Robert Vamosi warns not to overlook ... » read more

Fractilia: Pattern Roughness Metrology


A new startup has emerged and unveiled a technology that addresses one of the bigger but less understood problems in advanced lithography--pattern roughness. The startup, called Fractilia, is a software-based metrology tool that analyzes the CD-SEM images of pattern roughness on a wafer. Fractilia, a self-funded startup, is led by Chris Mack and Ed Charrier. Mack, known as the gentleman sc... » read more

Semiconductor CapEx To Increase 4.3% In 2017


Semiconductor capital expenditures are an important bellwether for the industry. Based on preliminary findings, Semico Research predicts 2017’s total will increase 4.3% to $69.7 billion, a record high, and a slightly larger increase than in 2016. Semico tracks more than 80 companies for CapEx and R&D spending, although many of those companies have merged, have been acquired, or gone ba... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Chipmakers Toshiba’s problems have gone from bad to worse. “Toshiba postponed its earnings call by up to one month, and the chairman resigned. The provisional results show large losses in its nuclear power business, while the NAND operations remain very profitable,” said Weston Twigg, an analyst with Pacific Crest Securities, in a research note. “The next few months appear very uncerta... » read more

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