China Passes Americas And Japan In IC Capacity


Back in 2012, China ranked fifth among seven regions worldwide in IC wafer capacity but surged past the Americas and Japan in 2018 and 2019 to claim the number three position (figure 1). That’s a big deal given that ICs account for the largest share of wafer capacity excluding discrete, opto, MEMS and sensors. China’s IC wafer capacity growth accelerated to tune of 14% in 2019 and 21% in... » read more

Blog Review: Feb. 17


In a video, Synopsys' Tim Mackey warns that IoT device manufacturers are dealing with a serious challenge when it comes to security and points to the types of software threats that could impact IoT products. Siemens' Paul van Straten finds that the rise in vehicle complexity and intensified global competition means traditional automotive OEMs will need to explore new approaches to vehicle de... » read more

Blog Review: Feb. 10


Cadence's Paul McLellan finds out some of the pressing technological challenges and opportunities at the recent SEMI Industry Strategy Symposium, from the purity of gases and other materials used in semiconductor manufacturing to increasing cost and time-to-market pressures. Siemens EDA's Harry Foster examines trends in low power ASIC and IC design, including active management of power and t... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


OEMs and chipmakers In recent times, automotive companies have been impacted by chip shortages, forcing vendors to temporarily shutter their plants. OEMs are experiencing manufacturing disruptions due to semiconductor shortages as some semiconductor foundries allocate production, according to IDC. "Semiconductor content growth in vehicles continues to outpace vehicle unit sales growth, with gr... » read more

The SEMI Industry Strategy Symposium Outlook


In mid-January, SEMI organized the two-day Industry Strategy Symposium. Presentations ranged from the outlook for the overall global economy, to purifying gases and materials to parts per quadrillion, to how TSMC took the leading-edge process crown from Intel. The first day was focused on the economy and business environment, along with its impact on the semiconductor supply chain. The secon... » read more

Blog Review: Feb. 3


Cadence's Paul McLellan listens in on the outlook from SEMI's recent Industry Strategy Symposium, which looked at the prospects for global recovery, the application areas where growth is expected, and how segments have recently performed. Siemens EDA's Harry Foster takes a look at trends in the adoption of languages and libraries for IC and ASIC designs and finds continued interest in System... » read more

Roaring ’20s For The Chip Industry


2020 was a good year for the semiconductor industry and the EDA industry that fuels it, but 2021 has the opportunity to be even better. New end application markets continue to open, and what were once seen as technical hurdles are leading to a multitude of innovative solutions, all of which need suitable tooling. No company can afford to invest everywhere, and so for EDA companies, their rel... » read more

Blog Review: Jan. 27


Synopsys' Godwin Maben finds that applications like high-performance computing and AI are bringing new dynamics to the power equation, and the key power considerations for chip design that will likely emerge over the course of the year. Siemens EDA's Harry Foster checks out trends in verification technology adoption for IC and ASIC design, with increasing numbers of designs using both dynami... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Chipmakers Intel posted its quarterly results. But the big question is whether the chip giant will outsource more of its production to the foundries. As reported, Intel has fallen behind TSMC and Samsung in process technology. And Intel may need to outsource some of its chip production to stay ahead. All of this rests on Pat Gelsinger, the new CEO at Intel. Gelsinger will be taking over for... » read more

Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


Automotive/Mobility Former U.S. president Donald Trump pardoned the former Google engineer who plead guilty to taking Google’s self-driving car trade secrets before becoming the head of Uber Technologies’ self-driving car unit. Anthony Levandowski was sentenced 18 months in prison in August after pleading guilty in March to one count of a 33-charge indictment, according to a story in Reute... » read more

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