Chip Business Picks Up In Japan


Japan's semiconductor business is showing signs of recovery after several years of slumping sales due to an overall market recovery, the favorable exchange rate for the yen, and ongoing business restructuring. Consider Renesas, for example. The company went through several downsizing phases, causing a decline in semiconductor sales by 3.9% to 199.6 billion yen ($1.69 billion) in its fiscal Q... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Is the sky falling on the ATE market? The ATE market is expected to hit $2.8 billion in 2014, up from $2.28 billion in 2013, according to Pacific Crest Securities. “Overall, we are now modeling overall semiconductor test demand to decline by 2% in 2015, a significant change from our previous estimate of up 10%,” said Weston Twigg, an analyst with Pacific Crest Securities, in a report. “Te... » read more

The Week In Review: Design


M&A CEVA bought RivieraWaves, which makes IP for WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. CEVA said the deal will boost its market to 35 billion connected devices within six years. The two companies have been collaborating in the WiFi market for the past couple of years. Total cost of the deal is $19 million. Mentor Graphics acquired XS Embedded GmbH, a German-based developer of automotive-read... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


As semiconductor technology becomes more challenging, expect more mergers and acquisitions in the fab tool sector. In a research report issued this week, Weston Twigg, an analyst with Pacific Crest Securities, sees several possible M&A scenarios in the future. There is no evidence that any deal is pending right now. But according to Twigg, here are some possible M&As that could happen i... » read more

Better Software. Faster!


As virtual prototyping has seen a wide adoption over the last couple of years, it felt like the right time to work with industry leaders across multiple applications and publish a book that captures the best practices in virtual prototyping. As editor of the book: Better Software. Faster!, I had the privilege to work with some incredibly knowledgeable people who have been deploying virtual prot... » read more

Japan: Latest Investment Activities


By Dan Tracy and Yoichiro Ando Restructuring and consolidation has led to a new focus for the semiconductor manufacturers in Japan. As a result, the semiconductor equipment market in Japan will experience double-digit growth in both 2013 and 2014, driven by higher spending for memory production and in spending increases planned for the manufacturing of power semiconductors and “More than Moo... » read more

The Week In Review: July 22


By Mark LaPedus ASML Holding has been under pressure to bring extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography into mass production. EUV is still delayed. Now, in their latest roadmaps, leading-edge chipmakers are counting on ASML’s 300mm EUV scanner for insertion at the 10nm node. Yet, at the same time, ASML also is working on a 450mm version of the EUV tool. “EUV (on 300mm) is a higher priority th... » read more

The Week In Review: July 19


By Ed Sperling Synopsys rolled out a 28nm data converter IP portfolio for analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters, as well as integrated PLLs. Synopsys says the new architecture saves up to 76% of the power and 86% of area. Mentor Graphics added intelligent software-driven verification to its functional verification platform. New is the ability to automatically generate embedded ... » read more

Wanted: New Metrology Funding Models


By Mark LaPedus The shift toward the 20nm node and beyond will require new and major breakthroughs in chip manufacturing. Most of the attention centers around lithography, gate stacks, interconnects, strain engineering and design-for-manufacturing (DFM). Lost in the conversation are two other critical but overlooked pieces in the manufacturing puzzle—wafer inspection and metrology. ... » read more

Swimming In Data


By Ed Sperling So many warnings about data overload have been issued over the past decade that people generally have stopped paying attention to them. The numbers are so astronomical that increases tend to lose meaning. Nowhere is this more evident than in the semiconductor metrology world, where files are measured in gigabytes. And at each new process node, as the number of transistors a... » read more

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