Going Vertical?


The topic of transistor scaling has been traditionally covered at SEMICON West in its own right. This year’s event, however, will also explore scaling in 3D, as well as using packaging to accomplish similar objectives. Along with traditional transistor scaling, speakers will tackle design and metrology considerations for scaling the package, and address the economic decisions that inform dens... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Market research Earlier this year, the IC and equipment markets were projected to be flat. More recently, though, analysts have raised their forecast, including Pacific Crest Securities. “We are raising our 2017 capex outlook meaningfully, with the upside coming predominantly from Samsung,” said Weston Twigg, an analyst with Pacific Crest Securities, in a report. "We're raising our 2017 se... » read more

Fab Spending Hits New High


The latest update to the World Fab Forecast report, published on May 31, 2017 by SEMI, reveals record spending for fab construction and fab equipment. Korea, Taiwan, and China all see large investments, and spending in Europe has also increased significantly. In 2017, over US$49 billion will be spent on equipment alone, a historic record for the semiconductor industry. Spending on new fab cons... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Market research IC Insights has released its capital spending forecast by company. In total, there are 15 companies that are forecast to have semiconductor capital expenditures of $1.0 billion or more in 2017, up from 11 in 2016, according to IC Insights. Four companies—Intel, Samsung, GlobalFoundries, and SK Hynix—are expected to represent the bulk of the increase in spending, accord... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Market research Intel retained its No. 1 position as the largest semiconductor manufacturer and grew its semiconductor revenue 4.6% in 2016, according to Gartner. Samsung Electronics continued to maintain the No. 2 spot with 11.7% market share. The largest mover in the top 25 was Broadcom, which moved up 12 places in the market share ranking, according to the firm. Worldwide silicon wafer a... » read more

200mm Crisis?


Over the last year or so, the IC industry has experienced an acute shortage of both 200mm fab capacity and 200mm equipment amid a surge of demand for certain chips. Right now, though, the 200mm shortfall is much worse than before. But this situation isn’t expected to improve for both elements in the second half of 2017, and perhaps beyond. On the capacity front, chipmakers are generally... » read more

North America Equipment Market Rebounds


Coming off of two consecutive down years, the North America semiconductor fab equipment market is set to experience growth this year and into 2018. The market is primarily being driven by investments from Samsung, Intel, GlobalFoundries, and Micron, which are expected to account for 85 percent of fab equipment purchased in the region this year. These fab equipment purchases are targeted ... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Chipmakers United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) has expanded its process portfolio within its joint fab venture in China. The Taiwan government has approved UMC’s application to license its 28nm technology to its subsidiary company in China--United Semiconductor. The subsidiary has been ramping up 40nm technology. “This licensing approval will help Fab 12X to ramp its manufacturing scale, e... » read more

SEMI Members Mobilize For 2017 SEMI Washington Forum


SEMI hosted 24 industry executives in Washington, DC on March 28 & 29 to take part in the annual SEMI Washington Forum. The Washington Forum, which is supported by SEMI’s North American Advisory Board (NAAB), gives SEMI member company executives a chance to come to the Nation’s capital for a firsthand experience in engaging policymakers on the issues that are pertinent to the industry. ... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Fab equipment and test VLSI Research has released its top 10 semiconductor equipment supplier ranking in terms of sales in 2016. Applied Materials topped the list again, achieving a growth of 18%. ASML was second, followed by Lam Research, TEL and KLA-Tencor. Fig. 1: Ranking based on 2016 sales. Source: VLSI Research. Unic Capital Management, a Chinese-based private equity fund, announ... » read more

← Older posts Newer posts →