Fan-Out Packaging Gains Steam


Fan-outs are creating a buzz and gaining steam in the market at a pace far beyond what anyone would have expected even at the start of the year. The approach, which has been around for several years, is a wafer-level packaging process that enables ultra-thin, high-density packages. So why the buzz? Apple is apparently moving to [getkc id="202" kc_name="fan-out"] packaging, according to an... » read more

Packaging Wars Ahead


There has been much talk about semiconductor industry consolidation, but the shift into advanced packaging could have more far-reaching effects than all the mega-deals so far. Packaging is big business. Yole Développement has pinned the market at $30 billion, but that's only a thin slice of the pie that's in play. Companies that win the packaging deals also have a good shot of winning the m... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


China is investing billions of dollars in the IC industry and equipment sectors. The nation is also in the midst of an acquisition and an investment spree, especially in IC packaging. For example, Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Technology (JCET), a Chinese OSAT, shook up the landscape by recently announcing a deal to acquire STATS ChipPAC for $780 million. The deal was completed in August of 20... » read more

China’s Fab Tool Biz Heats Up


For years, China has been a steady growth market for suppliers of semiconductor equipment. Internally, though, the country is comprised of trailing-edge fabs and IC-assembly houses, which means equipment vendors sell relatively mature tools and compete on price. That’s about to change, however. Today, the IC equipment business is heating up in China as the nation begins to upgrade and pour... » read more

What China Is Planning


Over the years, China has unveiled several initiatives to advance its domestic semiconductor industry. China has made some progress at each turn, although every plan has fallen short of expectations. But now, the nation is embarking on several new and bold initiatives that could alter the IC landscape. China’s new initiatives address at least three key challenges for its IC industry: 1. C... » read more

Avago Buys Broadcom; NXP Spins Off RF Power Unit


Merger and acquisition activity continues to heat up across the semiconductor industry. On one front, Avago Technologies continues on its acquisition spree. And on another front, NXP Semiconductors is moving to spin off its RF power business. And there are other deals in the works as well, including Intel's proposed move to buy Altera. What’s driving the wave of M&A activity? The sem... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


For years, Altera’s sole foundry was TSMC. Then, not long ago, Altera selected Intel as its foundry partner for 14nm. TSMC still handles 20nm and above work for Altera. This quarter, Altera was supposed to select a foundry partner for 10nm. This week, Altera posted lackluster results in the quarter. Altera did not elaborate on its 10nm plans, nor did it discuss the Intel rumors. "Altera did n... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: April 21


Fan-out packaging consortium A*STAR’s Institute of Microelectronics (IME) and others have formed a high-density fan-out wafer level packaging (FOWLP) consortium in Singapore. Others in the group include Amkor, Nanium, STATS ChipPAC, NXP, GlobalFoundries, Kulicke & Soffa, Applied Materials, Dipsol Chemicals, JSR, KLA-Tencor, Kingyoup Optronics, Orbotech and Tokyo Ohka Kogyo (TOK). T... » read more

Full Steam Ahead For China Inc.


Were you in Shanghai this week? If not, you missed the biggest Semicon event in the world. Semicon China broke records this year. With more than 1,000 companies participating, and 570,000 square meters of exhibition space, Semicon China attracted more than 50,000 visitors, making it the largest Semicon event in the world. All the sessions we attended were standing room only. Key areas of fo... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


China’s ambitious plan in the 1990s to create numerous foundries did not come to fruition. But in 2014, the Chinese government described new semiconductor industry programs that will utilize investments by both the Chinese national government ($19.5 billion) and local government and private equity investors ($97.4 billion). “IC Insights believes that these outlays have the potential to sign... » read more

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