The Week In Review: Manufacturing

The SPIE Advanced Lithography conference is next week. “The conference should provide an update on extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) sentiment from chipmakers such as Intel and TSMC, and we expect generally positive sentiment, which should be good for ASML. Still, high-volume adoption timing of EUV appears to be in the 2020 time frame, so it’s very early in the process. We expect a lot of discussion regarding process control and etch, which are critical to lithography roadmaps,” said Weston Twigg, an analyst with Pacific Crest Securities, in a report.

Samsung announced the latest member of its Exynos 7 Octa processor line-up, the Exynos 7 Octa 7870. Using the company’s 14nm finFET process technology, the Exynos 7 Octa 7870 is designed for next-generation mid-range smartphones and other mobile devices.

Samsung said that its Artik platform is available–a big step to enable the Internet of Things (IoT). The platform provides all ardware and software building blocks to allow faster, simpler development of new enterprise, industrial and consumer applications.

Applied Materials reported results for its first quarter ended Jan. 31, 2016. First quarter orders were $2.28 billion, down 6% sequentially and flat year-over-year. Net sales were $2.26 billion, down 5% sequentially and down 4% year over year. For the second quarter of fiscal 2016, Applied expects net sales to be up 5% to 10% sequentially.

Mentor Graphics uncorked an Open Manufacturing Language initiative to provide an assembly-specific “Internet of Manufacturing” language for the PCB industry. The language allows IT teams, solution providers and equipment makers to integrate shop-floor data based on a single, vendor-neutral communication interface.

Nikon has introduced the NSR-S631E. The 193nm immersion scanner is designed for 7nm patterning. It enables mix-and-match overlay to 2.3nm and below, with throughputs up to 270 wafers per hour.

SunEdison Semiconductor, formerly known as MEMC, could be on the block. SunEdison Semi, the last silicon wafer maker in the U.S., has authorized a process to explore a range of strategic alternatives following receipt of unsolicited preliminary indications of interest in the company.

Mobile World Congress 2016 will soon kick off. Roberta Cozza, research director at Gartner, will be attending this year’s event. She shared her views on the new developments in the smartphone market and the rise of lower-priced Chinese vendors.