Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Fab tools and materials Applied Materials is expected to remain the world’s largest semiconductor equipment supplier in terms of projected sales for 2018, according to a preliminary forecast of the rankings from VLSI Research. Applied will have $14 billion in sales in 2018, according to the firm. Applied is the leader in terms of overall projected sales in 2018, followed in order by ASM... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


OEMs and chipmakers Apple has reduced its revenue outlook to $84 billion for the quarter, down from $89 billion to $93 billion in its original forecast. The consensus on Wall Street was $91 billion. “The guide down was mostly attributed to weaker-than-expected iPhone demand in emerging markets, predominantly China,” said John Vinh, an analyst with KeyBanc Capital Markets, in a research not... » read more

Fab Equipment Challenges For 2019


After a period of record growth, the semiconductor equipment industry is facing a slowdown in 2019, in addition to several technical challenges that still need to be resolved. Generally, the equipment industry saw enormous demand in 2017, and the momentum extended into the first part of 2018. But then the memory market began deteriorating in the middle of this year, causing both DRAM and NAND ... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Fab tools/manufacturing Lam Research has accepted Martin Anstice’s resignation as chief executive and a member of the board. Lam has named Tim Archer as president and chief executive effective immediately. Archer, who served as Lam’s president and chief operating officer, has been named to the board. One analyst provided a comment on the situation at Lam. “In our view, Mr. Archer is very... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


R&D Imec and CEA-Leti have signed a memorandum of understanding under which the two R&D organizations will form a strategic partnership in the domains of artificial intelligence and quantum computing. Europe hopes to accelerate its effort in both AI and quantum computing. Market research TrendForce announced the ranking of top 10 fabless IC design houses worldwide based on their revenues f... » read more

Survey: EUV Optimism Grows


The confidence level remains high for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, although the timing of the insertion remains a moving target, according to a new survey released by the eBeam Initiative. At the same time, the outlook for the overall photomask industry is bullish, according to the survey. On the downside, however, there appears to be no progress in terms of improving mask turnaro... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Chipmakers and OEMs Tesla Motors has been struggling to get its new electric car, the Model 3, out the door. And it recently implemented a layoff amid ongoing losses. But the struggling car maker could be in the midst of a rebound. “Based on our checks, we believe the perceived quality of Model 3s coming off the lines continue to improve relative to prior checks, and we view this as one of t... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Trade The trade tensions are building between the U.S. and China. In the latest move, the U.S. Department of Commerce has imposed a ban on U.S. companies selling chips to ZTE, a Chinese telecom equipment and mobile phone vendor. The ban has been implemented on ZTE for seven years after the firm “was caught illegally shipping U.S. goods to Iran,” according to a report from Reuters. This ... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Chipmakers 3D NAND continues to gain steam, but is the industry headed towards a capacity glut in the overall NAND market? Time will tell. In any case, Toshiba is moving forward with its plans to invest in its Fab 6 facility in Japan. The fab will produce the company’s 96-layer 3D NAND devices. Then, Samsung plans to invest $7 billion to double the production capacity for NAND flash memor... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Fab tools and test Applied Materials reported record revenue and operating profit in its first quarter ended Jan. 28. Compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2017, Applied grew net sales by 28% to $4.20 billion. In the second quarter of fiscal 2018, Applied expects net sales to be in the range of $4.35 billion to $4.55 billion. “AMAT posted F1Q results above guidance as NAND demand, in p... » read more

← Older posts Newer posts →