tag: TSMC

GF Closes On IBM Chip Business Purchase
By Ann Mutschler - 01 Jul, 2015 - Comments: 0

By Ann Steffora Mutschler, Ed Sperling and Mark LaPedus GlobalFoundries completed its acquisition of IBM's Microelectronics Group today, creating a behemoth that is expected to extend well beyond the combined footprint of the existing companies. To begin with, GlobalFoundries will get two additional fabs, one of which makes RF SOI chips. But while IBM was hesitant to expand that business ... » read more

DoD Scratches Its Head Over Foundry Security
By Brian Bailey - 25 Jun, 2015 - Comments: 1

When the GlobalFoundries deal with IBM to acquire its foundries closes, as it is slated to sometime during 2015, the U.S. Department of Defense has a small problem on its hands. Military programs no longer will have access to a trusted fab to manufacture semiconductors. How do you ensure that the foundry did not modify or alter your design, add backdoor access or implement a remote control mech... » read more

Foundries Expand Planar Efforts
By Mark LaPedus - 18 Jun, 2015 - Comments: 0

Competition is heating up in the leading-edge foundry business, as vendors begin to ramp up their new 16nm/14nm finFET processes. But that’s not the only action in the foundry arena. They are also expanding their efforts in the leading-edge planar market by rolling out new 28nm and 22nm processes. On one front, TSMC is offering new 28nm variants, based on bulk CMOS technology. And on an... » read more

Capex Growing To A Record High In 2015
By Adrienne Downey - 18 Jun, 2015 - Comments: 0

Semiconductor companies are spending more than ever to stay competitive. In 2015, the total amount spent for capital expenditures is forecast to be $68.7 billion, up 9% from 2014’s $63.3 billion. This breaks the previous record set in 2011 at $63.8 billion, as shown in the following graph. Total Semiconductor Capital Expenditures, 2009-2015 Source: Semico Research Corp. The Top 15 A... » read more

SoC Integration Headaches Grow
By Ed Sperling - 16 Jun, 2015 - Comments: 0

As the number of IP blocks grows, so do the headaches of integrating the various pieces and making sure they perform as planned within a prescribed power envelope. This is easier said than done, particularly at the most advanced process nodes. There are more blocks, more power domains, more states and use-model dependencies, and there is much more contention for memories. There are physical ... » read more

Analog’s Day Of Reckoning
By Brian Bailey - 16 Jun, 2015 - Comments: 0

The numbers being touted by the semiconductor industry for IoT edge devices are staggering. How they are going to be used, who will make them, or indeed who will make money from them are much less certain. The industry seems to be clear about the content of these devices. A small processor, some flash memory or possibly even some of the new memory technologies that are coming along, a radio ... » read more

The Week In Review: Design/IoT
By Jesse Allen - 12 Jun, 2015 - Comments: 0

Mergers & Acquisitions Synopsys announced Sunday it would acquire privately held formal verification provider Atrenta, for an undisclosed sum. That was followed quickly by Ansys' announcement that it would buy data analytics firm Gear Design Solutions. Tools IC Manage uncorked its big data predictive analytics tool Envision, which provides real-time design progress analytics to pre... » read more

Semiconductor R&D Crisis?
By Mark LaPedus - 11 Jun, 2015 - Comments: 3

Research and development is a sometimes forgotten but critical element in the semiconductor industry. The delicate R&D ecosystem enables many of the key breakthroughs in the business. But there could be a troubling trend, if not a crisis, brewing on two fronts in the R&D arena. On one front, R&D costs for semiconductor technologies are escalating at each node. Higher R&D costs are not only ... » read more

Board Games?
By Mark LaPedus - 05 Jun, 2015 - Comments: 0

Applied Materials has elected Willem Roelandts as chairman. He succeeds Michael Splinter, who has retired from the board. Splinter, who is no longer associated with Applied Materials, served as chief executive at Applied from 2003 to 2013 and as chairman since 2009. In late April, Splinter was nominated to the board at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC). Splinter, along with ... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing
By Mark LaPedus - 05 Jun, 2015 - Comments: 1

In what was called a defensive measure by some, Intel has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Altera for $54 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $16.7 billion. Here’s what one analyst said about the deal. “We continue to believe Intel’s pursuit of Altera–at a significant premium–was based on a defensive position, rather than the purely accretive str... » read more

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