Blockchain Attempts To Secure The Supply Chain


Blockchain technology is starting to be deployed more widely In the battle against counterfeiting, often coupled with component IDs to allow device authentication. Securing the supply chain is a complex challenge, particularly as more IP from more vendors in more locations makes its way into chips, packages or even systems. Being able to attest to the history of the device to prove its prove... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Market research VLSI Research has raised its forecast for semiconductors and fab equipment in 2020. In its previous forecast, VLSI Research projected that the equipment market would reach $84.8 billion in 2020, up 10.1% over 2019. Now, in its latest forecast (See page 2), the equipment market is projected to hit $89.8 billion in 2020, up 16.6%. “The equipment business is booming,” said ... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Trade and government The U.S. continues to tighten its export controls for hi-tech, including a move to restrict fab technologies that enable 5nm chip production. The U.S. Department of Commerce has imposed controls on six more technologies, bringing the total to 37. They include: hybrid additive manufacturing/computer controlled tools; computational lithography software designed for EUV masks... » read more

Deals That Change The Chip Industry


Nvidia's pending $40 billion acquisition of Arm is expected to have a big impact on the chip world, but it will take years before the effects of this deal are fully understood. More such deals are expected over the next couple of years due to several factors — there is a fresh supply of startups with innovative technology, interest rates are low, and market caps and stock prices of buyers ... » read more

Blog Review: Sept. 23


Arm's Matthew Mattina introduces a method to reduce the cost of neural network inference by combining both low-precision representation and the complexity-reducing Winograd transform while maintaining accuracy. Cadence's Paul McLellan checks out some of the biggest machine learning systems from Nvidia, Google, and Cerebras that were presented at the recent Hot Chips. Mentor's Robin Bornof... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Chipmakers and OEMs Apple has launched a new Apple Watch and iPad. Missing from the announcement was the iPhone 12, which may appear next month, according to Krish Sankar, an analyst at Cowen. What was interesting about this week’s announcement? Apple unveiled the iPad Air with the A14 Bionic, Apple’s most advanced chip. “Apple revealed the new 8th gen iPad (starting at $329) powered by ... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Market research What’s in store for the IC market in 2020 and 2021? Here’s the latest IC forecasts from IC Insights, Semico, Semiconductor Intelligence, WSTS and others. “We at Semiconductor Intelligence find it difficult to expect much of an increase in the world semiconductor market in 2020. However, the strength of the PC market and the relatively optimistic 3Q 2020 guidance of severa... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Trade As reported, the U.S. recently implemented more restrictions on U.S. chip sales to Huawei. In response, SEMI has released the following statement in response to the new export control rule changes announced by the U.S. Commerce Department: “SEMI recognizes the role of export control measures to address threats to U.S. national security. However, we are very concerned the new export ... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Chipmakers Nvidia is in advanced talks to acquire Arm from Softbank, according to numerous reports. In addition, TSMC and Foxconn are looking at possible investments or stakes in Arm, according to a report from Nikkei Asia Review. Infineon posted mixed results for the third quarter of the 2020 fiscal year. "Infineon has so far coped well with the challenging situation caused by the coronavi... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Chipmakers and OEMs As reported, Intel this week reorganized its operations following delays with its 7nm technology. Intel is behind TSMC and Samsung in technology. As a result, TSMC’s foundry customers, such as AMD, Nvidia and others, are also pulling ahead of Intel. In addition, reports have surfaced that Intel will outsource some of its leading-edge chip production to TSMC. To solve t... » read more

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