Foundry Wars Begin


Leading-edge foundry vendors are gearing up for a new, high-stakes spending and technology race, setting the stage for a possible shakeup across the semiconductor manufacturing landscape. In March, Intel re-entered the foundry business, positioning itself against Samsung and TSMC at the leading edge, and against a multitude of foundries working at older nodes. Intel announced plans to build ... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Chipmakers and OEMs Micron will cease development of 3D XPoint, a next-generation memory technology. Micron also plans to sell a fab that produces 3D XPoint chips. For some time, Intel and Micron have co-developed 3D XPoint, which is based on phase-change memory technology. Intel sells solid-state storage drives (SSDs) using 3D XPoint. In a fab located in Utah, Micron is producing this memo... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Government policy The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) this week submitted its final report to Congress and the President. The goal is to develop a national strategy to maintain America’s AI advantages related to national security. As part of the long and complex report, the NSCAI came to a sobering conclusion: “The U.S. government is not prepared to defend t... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Chipmakers The U.S. Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) and several chip executives have sent a joint letter to President Biden, urging the administration to include substantial funding for semiconductor manufacturing and research in the U.S. As reported, the share of global semiconductor manufacturing capacity in the U.S. has decreased from 37% in 1990 to 12% today. “Semiconductors pow... » 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

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Government and trade The U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has expanded its export control regulations for U.S.-based hi-tech companies. The BIS has added more companies to its “Military End User” (MEU) list. The list involves 103 entities, which includes 58 Chinese and 45 Russian companies. The U.S. government has determined that these companies are “military end users” or th... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Chipmakers SMIC’s shares fell following the resignation of the company co-CEO, according to a report from Bloomberg. Liang Mong Song, co-CEO of the Chinese foundry company, has proposed to resign and the company has become aware of Liang’s intention of conditional resignation, according to a filing. A former technologist at TSMC and Samsung, Liang has opposed the appointment of a new board... » read more

200mm Demand Surges


A surge in demand for various chips is causing shortages for select 200mm foundry capacity as well as 200mm fab equipment, and it shows no signs of abating in 2021. Foundry customers will face a shortfall of 200mm capacity at select foundries at least in the first half of 2021, and perhaps beyond. Those customers will need to plan ahead to ensure they obtain enough 200mm capacity in 2021. Ot... » read more

Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


Security The United States Department of Defense added China's SMIC to its blacklist for its alleged cooperation with the Chinese military, reports Reuters. U.S. investors are asked not to invest in SMIC, among 35 other companies based in China on the list. Intel Labs launched the Private AI Collaborative Research Institute with Avast and Borsetta, to advance and develop technologies in pri... » 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

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