Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Market research What are the hot chip markets for 2020? IC Insights released its rankings of sales growth rates for each of the 33 IC product categories defined by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization. “After posting the two worst growth rates among all IC product categories in 2019, NAND flash and DRAM are forecast to be among the top three fastest-growing IC segment... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Market research The worldwide semiconductor market is forecast to reach $409 billion in 2019, down 12.8% over 2018, according to the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization. Memory fell by 33.0% in 2019, while analog dropped 7.9% and logic declined by 4.3%, according to the WSTS. In 2020, the IC market is expected to recover and grow by 5.9%, according to the WSTS. Optoelec... » read more

Mixed Outlook For Silicon Wafer Biz


After a period of record growth, the silicon wafer industry is off to a slow start in 2019 and facing a mixed outlook. Generally, 200mm silicon wafer supply remains tight. But demand for 300mm silicon wafers is cooling off in some segments, causing supply to move toward equilibrium after a period of shortages. On average, though, silicon wafer prices continue to rise despite the slowdown. ... » read more

Packaging Biz Faces Challenges in 2019


The IC packaging industry is bracing for slower growth, if not uncertainty, in 2019, even though advanced packaging remains a bright spot in the market. Generally, IC packaging houses saw strong demand in the first part of 2018, but the market cooled in the second half of the year due to a slowdown in memory. Going forward, the slower IC packaging market is expected to extend into the first ... » read more

Foundry Challenges in 2018


The silicon foundry business is expected to see steady growth in 2018, but that growth will come with several challenges. On the leading edge, GlobalFoundries, Intel, Samsung and TSMC are migrating from the 16nm/14nm to the 10nm/7nm logic nodes. Intel already has encountered some difficulties, as the chip giant recently pushed out the volume ramp of its new 10nm process from the second half ... » read more

The Week In Review: Design


M&A Design services firm Synapse Design acquired the assets of ACEIC Design Technologies, including the engineering team and verification IP. ACEIC, which was based in Bangalore, primarily focused on verification services for wireless 802.11ac MAC IP. This is only the latest expansion move from Synapse. Earlier this year, the company acquired the services companies Tech Vulcan in San Diego... » read more

Evolution Of The MCU


Microcontrollers are taking on a variety of new and much more complex computing tasks, evolving from standalone chips to more highly integrated devices that can rival complex microprocessors. Microcontroller units (MCUs) are being designed into everything from assisted and autonomous driving to smart cards. They often are the central processing elements for a slew of connected devices that i... » read more

The Week In Review: Design


Tools Ansys updated its simulation suite, improving the speed of PCB and electronic package simulation as well as integrating its embedded systems tool with its failure analysis capabilities. Other updates include a new visual ray tracing capability to aid in antenna placement, improved modeling of the quality of wireless links in the presence of electromagnetic interference and RF interferenc... » read more

How Healthy Is The Chip Market?


By Ed Sperling & Ann Steffora Mutschler The inclusion of semiconductors in more products across more market segments—many of which historically have not been large consumers of chips—is having a big impact on how they are designed and manufactured, as well as how they are tracked and quantified. In the past, semiconductor sales were so closely tied to the success of personal computers... » read more