The Week In Review: Design/IoT


Mergers & Acquisitions Mentor Graphics bought [getentity id="22268" e_name="Flexras Technologies"] for an undisclosed sum. Flexras, based in France, makes FPGA-based prototyping tools. The company was founded in 2009. Deals Sonics won a deal with Toshiba, which is using Sonics' on-chip network technologies and services for application processors targeted at smart appliances, industrial... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Dec. 30


Mechanical switches For years, the industry has been talking about the use of advanced mechanical switches in low-power applications. In theory, mechanical switches have zero off-state leakages, abrupt ON/OFF switching capabilities and small voltage swings. Mechanical switches could overcome the energy efficiency limit of CMOS. In fact, mechanical switches could replace CMOS in some applica... » read more

Chip Business Picks Up In Japan


Japan's semiconductor business is showing signs of recovery after several years of slumping sales due to an overall market recovery, the favorable exchange rate for the yen, and ongoing business restructuring. Consider Renesas, for example. The company went through several downsizing phases, causing a decline in semiconductor sales by 3.9% to 199.6 billion yen ($1.69 billion) in its fiscal Q... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Intel and Royal Caribbean International teamed up to integrate Intel-powered tablets onboard the Quantum of the Seas, the world’s first “smartship.” Royal Caribbean is installing 15,000 Intel-based Dell Venue tablets at point-of-sale locations on the new ship. When will Applied Materials’ proposed acquisition of Tokyo Electron Ltd. (TEL) happen? “Timing-wise we still think that it ... » read more

Solid Years: Cautious Optimism Drives Equipment Spending Into 2015


Worldwide semiconductor capital expenditure growth for this year is expected to be 11% and will increase another 8% in 2015. Throughout 2014, SEMI has tracked 177 facilities worldwide investing about US$34 billion on semiconductor equipment. In 2015, 190 facilities are being tracked with fab equipment spending worth over $40 billion. The double-digit growth in fab equipment spending for this ye... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Jimmy Kimmel, comedian and late night host of Jimmy Kimmel Live, replaces Lily Collins (Mirror, Mirror) as McAfee’s most dangerous celebrity to search for online. Cybercriminals are looking for ways to take advantage of consumer interest around popular cultural events. These criminals capitalize on the public’s fascination with celebrities to lure them to sites laden with malware, which ena... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Front-end fab equipment spending is projected to increase by 20% in 2015 to $42 billion, according to SEMI. In 2015, equipment spending could mark a historical record high, surpassing the previous peak years of 2007 ($39 billion) and 2011 ($40 billion). In 2014, the report predicts growth of approximately 21% for front-end fab equipment spending, for total spending of $34.9 billion. SEMI rep... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Intel announced two new technologies for foundry customers. One technology, dubbed Embedded Multi-die Interconnect Bridge (EMIB), is available to 14nm foundry customers. Instead of an expensive silicon interposer with TSVs, a small silicon bridge chip is embedded in the package, enabling high density die-to-die connections only where needed. EMIB eliminates the need for TSVs and specialized int... » read more

Changes In NAND Flash Market


Things are changing quickly in the NAND flash market. Newcomers are challenging long-time market leaders and shifting the lineup in this market. A survey of NAND flash vendors, conducted by DRAMeXchange, a Singapore market research firm, shows that in Q1 of this year Samsung was firmly in first place with $2.175 billion in revenues, followed by Toshiba with $1.548 billion and SanDisk with $1... » read more

How To Lower LED Costs


The LED market remains hot, particularly in the solid-state lighting segment. In fact, solid-state lighting continues to expand amid a precipitous drop in LED prices. And LEDs are expanding into new fronts, such as automotive and intelligent lighting. The LED boom hasn’t been fun for all parties, however. Amid pressure to reduce their tool costs, LED equipment makers are still in the mids... » read more

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