TSMC recently held their annual Technology Symposium in San Jose, a full-day event with a detailed review of their semiconductor process and packaging technology roadmap, and (risk and high-volume manufacturing) production schedules.… Read More
Attending DAC in Austin for Free
I love getting a good deal, and free is always compelling, so how about attending DAC in Austin for free this year? Sound too good to be true? Thanks to the generosity of three EDA companies – ATop Tech, ClioSoft and OneSpin, now you can can attend parts of DAC for free by registering here. This is now the 8th year that the I LOVE DAC… Read More
SPIE – Interview with Greg Mcintyre of IMEC
One of the things I really like about major technical conferences is the opportunity to meet with people for networking and interviews. On Wednesday at the Advanced Lithography Conference I had the opportunity to interview Greg Mcinttyre, the director of advanced patterning at IMEC.
IMEC researchers are the first author on 32… Read More
TSMC 2016 Technology Symposium and Apple SoCs!
It is that time again, time for the originators of the pure-play foundry business to update their top customers and partners on the latest process technology developments and schedules. More specifically, all of the TSMC FinFET processes (16nm, 10nm, 7nm, and beyond), TSMC IP portfolio (CMOS image sensor, Embedded Flash, Power… Read More
The Age of Automotive Electronics
One of Intel’s most advanced fabrication sites is called Ronler Acres, located in Hillsboro, Oregon and I jumped at the opportunity to visit this site on April 26th when members from the SEMI Pacific Northwest Chapter are meeting to discuss a timely topic, “The Age of Automotive Electronics”. The previous … Read More
ASML and IMEC EUV Progress
Day 1 of the SPIE conference featured a number of customer updates on the status of their EUV programs. On Tuesday morning we got to hear ASML’s update on their work.… Read More
TSMC and Intel on the Long Road to EUV
Today is the first day of the SPIE Advanced Lithography Conference and Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) updates were a big focus.… Read More
The Fine Art of Engineering
There’s a small art gallery near the office. It features a new set of paintings by a local artist every two weeks. As I walk by I tend to check out what’s hanging in there. Sometimes I turn up my nose at what I see – a bit too wacky, a bit too abstract, a bit too paint by numbers. Sometimes I walk in to take a closer look but leave the shop empty-handed… Read More
The Best Analyst Presentation at SEMI ISS 2016!
The problem I have with semiconductor analysts and media today is that they rarely have depth in what they are talking about. Some because they have never actually worked in the industry and others because they have not worked in the industry since the 1970s. One famed analyst even repeated the mythical “Fabs cost $10B” generalization… Read More
The China Semiconductor Market Explained!
The overwhelming theme of the SEMI Industry Strategy Symposium in Half Moon Bay this week was China. On day number two Sunny Hui, SVP of SMIC, did one of the best overviews of the China market I have seen, absolutely. While I’m not allowed to post the presentation in its entirety I can post up to three slides (the prettiest ones) and summarize… Read More
Intel’s Path to Technological Leadership: Transforming Foundry Services and Embracing AI