The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Don't look now, but the fab tool market is slowing. "After recent meetings in the supply chain plus examining comments from the largest spenders, we conclude that wafer fab equipment (WFE) could disappoint this year. We calculate approximately $30 billion to $31 billion in WFE spending in 2014, flattish from 2013, compared to expectations of $32 billion to $33 billion, which would be up 10%+. T... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


GlobalFoundries has emerged as the leading candidate to buy IBM's semiconductor unit, according to Reuters, which cited the Wall Street Journal as it source. IBM, which recently put its semiconductor unit on the block, has held discussions with GlobalFoundries, Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. GlobalFoundries did not respond to the reports by press time. GlobalFoundries ... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


A market research firm once said if you want to sell a lot of market studies, you have to report big numbers. And some competitors have done just that, according to Will Strauss, president of Forward Concepts. In fact, some research houses inflated their smartphone shipment numbers, saying that the figure reached 1 billion in 2013, Strauss said. So, did 1 billion smartphones really ship last ye... » read more

Directed Self-Assembly Gains Momentum


At last year’s SPIE Advanced Lithography symposium, directed self-assembly (DSA) grabbed the spotlight as chipmakers provided the first glimpse of their initial work and results with the technology. The results were stunning, thereby propelling DSA from a curiosity item to a possible patterning solution for next-generation devices. Last year, in fact, GlobalFoundries, IBM, Intel and Sams... » read more

EUV Reaches A Crossroads


[gettech id="31045" comment="EUV"] (EUV) [getkc id="80" comment="lithography"] is at a crossroads. 2014 represents a critical year for the technology. In fact, it may answer a pressing question about EUV: Does it work or not? It’s too early to make that determination right now, but there are more uncertainties than ever for the oft-delayed technology. Originally aimed for the 65nm node in... » read more

The Week In Review: Design


Tools Synopsys uncorked the next version of its verification tool, which includes static and formal verification, new debug capabilities, and low-power and X-propagation simulation. The company says the new tool offers up to 5X performance improvement. Cadence rolled out a new version of its verification solution for designs using ARM’s interconnect IP, speeding up verification and analys... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


SanDisk filed a civil suit against Korea’s SK Hynix. Additionally, SanDisk has submitted a criminal complaint with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department against a former employee. These actions relate to the theft of trade secrets related to NAND flash technology by a former engineer of SanDisk who left the company in 2008 to work for SK Hynix. Cadence Design Systems and GlobalFoundrie... » read more

SoC Integration Mistakes


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss integration challenges with Ruggero Castagnetti, distinguished engineer at LSI; Rob Aitken, an ARM fellow; Robert Lefferts, director of engineering in Synopsys’ Solutions Group; Bernard Murphy, chief technology officer at Atrenta; and Luigi Capodieci, R&D fellow at GlobalFoundries. What follows are excerpts of that roundtable discussion. S... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: March 4


Shrimp cocktail manufacturing Harvard's Wyss Institute has devised a new degradable bioplastic material, which was isolated from shrimp shells. The shrimp shell-based material could be used in the large-scale manufacturing of cell phones, food containers, toys and many other products. The material is also superior to most bioplastics on the market today. It could be used in place of existing... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


SPIE Advanced Lithography is a patterning show. At the event, however, Applied Materials revealed more details regarding its selective materials removal opportunity, according to Weston Twigg, an analyst with Pacific Crest Securities, in a research note. Applied Materials presented a paper entitled, “Where Is Plasma Etching Going from Here?” “The presenter outlined concepts for thin layer... » read more

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