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
Are AI Powered Robot Soldiers Coming?
2016 will be another defining year for semiconductors and it all starts with the Industry Strategy Symposium in Half Moon Bay next week. If you have not attended one of these you should definitely put it on your bucket list. Not only do you get to hang out in a five star cliff side resort, you get to mingle with semiconductor royalty and… Read More
How to Gain Low-Power at High-Performance
In a world of smart devices, high performance is required in order to address several specific needs such as intelligent and immediate data processing for IoT applications, instant response from mobile devices, highly interactive user interfaces, and so on. Most of these devices are battery operated and hence require lower … Read More
HLS with ARM and FPGA Technologies Boosts SoC Performance
The way SoC size and complexity are increasing; new ways of development and verification are also evolving with innovative automated tools and environment for SoC development and optimization. IP based SoC development methodology has proved to be the most efficient for large SoCs. This needs collaboration among multiple players… Read More
More than just mobile phones for Mali
ARM TechCon 2015 was another tour de force for ARM and its ecosystem. Besides some of the developments in mobile, IoT, and security (more coming soon in the Epilogue of “Mobile Unleashed”), there were two topics that I found very educational and will cover in blogs this week. One was how the Mali family is powering more than just mobile… Read More
Merger Mania: The Future of the Semiconductor Industry
In a semiconductor industry which appears maturing, we are also seeing the technologies unravelling newer transistor structures, memories, processors, and newer ways of designing ICs and electronic systems. The present decade appears to be at the cusp of a new transformation in the semiconductor industry. Amid a slew of mergers… Read More
It’s All about Packaging — In this Material World, Who Is Your Partner?
By Dr. Dan Tracy, senior director, Industry Research and Statistics, SEMI
With the recent release of Apple’s 6s and the form factors of internet-enabled mobile devices and the emergence of the IoT (Internet of Things), advanced packaging is clearly the enabling technology providing solutions for mobile applications and for… Read More
A moment of IoT silence before we disrupt
As I sat down in the SEMI Arizona Chapter breakfast meeting a few weeks ago, a moment of semiconductor history flew right before my eyes before the IoT sessions started.
We were seated in the cafeteria of Freescale Building 94 on Elliot Road in Tempe, a place I’d been many times before, except this time may have been the last. NXP is consolidating… Read More
Moore’s Law and Silicon Forest
When I first moved to Oregon in 1978 the largest industry was forestry, but then the endangered Spotted Owl was found and that put an end to many forestry companies and decimated the economy of many rural cities. Strangely enough it turns out that the Spotted Owl was found in great numbers across multiple states, so it never should’ve… Read More
Quantum Computing Technologies and Challenges