Applied Materials sues Mattson; materials and equipment markets hit all-time highs; foundry revenues show steep decline; emerging materials substrates capture market share; CEO outlook; flexible, printable metal-free electrode.
Applied Materials sued its Chinese-owned rival, Mattson, over an alleged 14-month effort to steal valuable trade secrets, reports Bloomberg. In court filing, Applied Materials claimed that Mattson engaged in a spree of employee-poaching and covertly transferring semiconductor equipment designs.
Global semiconductor materials revenue grew 8.9% to $72.7 billion in 2022, surpassing the previous market high of $66.8 billion set in 2021, according to a new report from SEMI. The report also shows wafer fabrication materials and packaging materials revenue in 2022 reached $44.7 billion and $28.0 billion, respectively, increasing 10.5% and 6.3%.
SEMI also predicts a growth streak for 300mm fab equipment spending for front-end facilities next year to $119 billion, following a decline in 2023. Strong demand for high-performance computing, automotive applications and improved demand for memory will fuel double-digit spending in equipment investments in 2024-2026.
Meanwhile, the global top 10 foundries saw an 18.6% revenue decline in Q1, compared to the same period in 2022, according to a new report from Trendforce. The decline represents around US$27.3 billion, and is expected to continue into Q2.
Emerging semiconductor substrates, including GaSb, InSb, bulk GaN, Ga2O3, bulk AlN and diamond, as well as engineered substrates and templates, are poised for strong growth according a new report from Yole Intelligence. Emerging substrates are expected to constitute 25% of the power electronics market by 2028, with opportunities in RF, photonics, lasers, LEDs, sensors, and detectors.
Fundamental shifts and persistent problems continue to challenge current and future semiconductor design, according to industry CEOs.
Entegris broke ground on a new $600 million manufacturing center in Colorado Springs. The new facility will manufacture products to address micro-contamination, advanced materials handling, filtration, purification, and wafer carriers.
193i lithography technology is being used to develop chips with higher densities, with new advancements spurring renewed interest.
A report from the first North America Semiconductor Conference summarized the conclusions and recommended actions for supply chain mapping and workforce development.
Smart manufacturing is making gains in automation, data management, and AI utilization.
Synopsys expanded its agreement with Samsung Foundry to develop a broad portfolio of IP aimed at reducing design risk and accelerating silicon success for automotive, mobile, high-performance computing (HPC), and multi-die designs.
GlobalFoundries announced a strategic collaboration with Lockheed Martin to advance U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and innovation, and to increase the security, reliability and resiliency of domestic supply chains for national security systems.
Brewer Science released a 0% shrinkage, high-temperature gap-filling planarization material for advanced ArF and EUV lithography. The spin-on, carbon-based material is designed to fill high-aspect-ratio features and withstand temperatures up to 550°C.
Amkor announced it is developing advanced packaging solutions for future automotive applications due to higher demand for more complex ICs that support autonomous functionality, digital control systems, and vehicle electrification.
ProteanTecs announced that its IP for system-on-chip (SoC) health and performance monitoring and die-to-die interconnect monitoring has received Automotive Safety Integrity Level B (ASIL-B) certification.
Keysight introduced the first PCI Express (PCIe) 6.0 protocol validation tools. The cable-free Protocol Analyzer and Protocol Exerciser enable semiconductor, computer, and peripheral makers to perform complete silicon chip, root complex, and endpoint system verification in a real-time development environment.
TEL announced a new etch technology capable of producing 10 µm-deep memory channel holes in advanced 3D NAND devices with stacks containing over 400 layers.
D2S announced that it has received a milestone order for its 50th GPU-accelerated computational design platform (CDP).
Nordson is set to unveil the new Quadra 7 Pro Manual X-ray Inspection (MXI) System and demonstrate the WaferSense Auto Teaching System (ATS2) at Semicon West.
Renesas provided an update on its progress in providing artificial intelligence (AI) and tiny machine learning (TinyML) solutions one year after announcing its acquisition of Reality Analytics.
MIT engineers developed a soft, printable, metal-free electrode that is as soft and tough as biological tissue. Using a conducting polymer hydrogel the material can conduct electricity similarly to conventional metals.
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