Impact Of U.S.-China Trade War


The trade war between the United States and China is escalating and it is here to stay. Last year, the Trump administration started the trade war with China for basically two reasons. First, China has a massive trade surplus with the U.S. Second, U.S. companies have been the subject of IP theft in China, which has largely gone unchecked, according to the Trump administration. Many disagre... » read more

Week In Review: Design, Low Power


ANSYS acquired the assets of DfR Solutions, a developer of automated design reliability analysis software. Founded in 2004 and based in Maryland, DfR's tool translates ECAD and MCAE data into 3D finite element models, automates thermal derating and performs thermal and mechanical analysis of electronics earlier in the design cycle. "ANSYS brings industry-leading electronic simulation capabiliti... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Public policy The rise of the digital economy is creating millions of new jobs, but it’s difficult to fill these positions. So, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), a U.S.-based trade group, is encouraging hi-tech companies to offer more apprenticeships. This is especially true for software engineering, networking, data analytics, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. The Semic... » 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

Trade Disputes Increase Market Uncertainty


The World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization held its bi-annual forecast meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona last month, and one of the topics that seemed to be on everyone’s mind is the impact of tariffs and the trade tensions between the United States and China. The need to impose tariffs on U.S. imports of semiconductors is perplexing and frequently confusing. President Trum... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Chipmakers Fujitsu, once a major manufacturer of ICs, continues to move away from chip production. On Semiconductor has completed the incremental 20% share purchase of Aizu Fujitsu Semiconductor Manufacturing, Fujitsu’s 200mm wafer fab in Aizu-Wakamatsu. On Semi will now hold a 60% majority ownership in the fab joint venture. Consequently, the name of the venture will transition to On Semico... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Fab tools Applied Materials has launched a suite of products that will enable cobalt metallization schemes for contacts and interconnects in chips at advanced nodes. The products from Applied enable a complete cobalt fill process. The tools include CMP, CVD, PVD and RTP systems. At advanced nodes, cobalt promises to reduce unwanted resistance in the critical parts of a chip. Cobalt is bein... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Trade President Trump this week announced his decisions on the actions the administration will take in response to China’s alleged unfair trade practices covered in the USTR Section 301 investigation of “China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation.” Trump has proposed import tariffs that amount to about $60 billion on pro... » read more

Memory Market: Will History Repeat Itself?


While updating the Semico Fab Database and capital investment projections for 2018, China's investment in memory capacity sparked a lot of discussion at our weekly Semico roundtable. Will China's investment in memory production capacity be successful, or will it just ruin the party for all memory players? Here are some of the highlights of our discussion. Additional data and insights are includ... » read more

The Week in Review: IoT


Finance Mountain View, Calif.-based FogHorn Systems has received Series B funding of $30 million, led by Intel Capital and Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures. The new round brings the Industrial Internet of Things edge computing startup’s total funding to $47.5 million. Honeywell Ventures is a new investor, joining existing investors Darling Ventures, Dell Technologies Capital, GE Ventures, March ... » read more

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