At IEDM 2019, TSMC revealed two versions of 5nm standard cell layouts: a 5.5-track DUV-patterned version and a 6-track EUV-patterned version [1]. Although the metal pitches were not explicitly stated, later analyses of a 5nm product, namely, Apple’s A15 Bionic chip, revealed a cell height of 210 nm [2]. For the 6-track … Read More
3D IC Design Ecosystem Panel at #61DAC
At #61DAC our very own Daniel Nenni from SemiWiki moderated an informative panel discussion on the topic of 3D IC Design Ecosystem. Panelists included: Deepak Kulkarni – AMD, Lalitha Immaneni – Intel Foundry, Trupti Deshpande – Qualcomm, Rob Aitken – CHIPS, Puneet Gupta – UCLA, Dragomir Milojevic – imec. Each panelist had a brief… Read More
Intel’s Death Spiral Took Another Turn
Does this justify the widespread Intel bashing?
The latest Intel earnings release was another sharp and deeper turn into the company’s death spiral. On the surface, it is just a whole load of bad news, and the web has been vibrating with Intel bashing since the release.
So what are the facts?
From a revenue perspective, Intel was inside… Read More
TSMC’s Business Update and Launch of a New Strategy
What looks like a modest market expansion strategy is all but modest.
Insights into the Semiconductor Industry and the Semiconductor Supply Chain.
As usual, when TSMC reports, the Semiconductor industry gets a spray of insights that help understand what goes on in other areas of the industry. This time, TSMC gave more insight … Read More
TSMC Foundry 2.0 and Intel IDM 2.0
When Intel entered the foundry business with IDM 2.0 I was impressed. Yes, Intel had tried the foundry business before but this time they changed the face of the company with IDM 2.0 and went “all-in” so to speak. The progress has been impressive and today I think Intel is well positioned to capture the NOT TSMC business by providing… Read More
Intel’s Gary Patton Shows the Way to a Systems Foundry #61DAC
#61DAC was buzzing this year with talk of AI and multi-die, heterogeneous design. The promise of making 2.5/3D design and a chiplet ecosystem mainstream reality was the focus of a lot of the panels and presentations at the conference. AI is certainly a driver for this new design style, but the conversation was broader than just AI,… Read More
What if China doesn’t want TSMC’s factories but wants to take them out?
Insights into the Semiconductor Industry and the Semiconductor Supply Chain
I am not an expert in geopolitical issues, but lately, my research has begun to worry me. As I was preparing to be interviewed for Chinese media, I was in my “Chinese Zone”, adapting to what is palatable to a Chinese audience. Maybe my mode provoked the thought:… Read More
VLSI Technology Symposium – Intel describes i3 process, how does it measure up?
At the VLSI Technology Symposium this week Intel released details on their i3 process. Over the last four nodes Intel has had an interesting process progression. In 2019, 10nm finally entered production with both high performance and high-density standard cells. 10nm went through several iterations eventually resulting in… Read More
Pragmatic at the 2024 Design Automation Conference
Pragmatic is pioneering a fundamental shift in semiconductor technology, delivering lower-cost, lower-carbon intelligence to power the Internet of Everything. Its FlexIC – flexible integrated circuit – technology delivers connect, sense and compute capabilities at a fraction of the cost and carbon footprint of silicon… Read More
TSMC Advanced Packaging Overcomes the Complexities of Multi-Die Design
The TSMC Technology Symposium provides a worldwide stage for TSMC to showcase its advanced technology impact and the extensive ecosystem that is part of the company’s vast reach. These events occur around the world and the schedule is winding down. TSMC covers many topics at its Technology Symposium, including industry-leading… Read More
Semiconductors Slowing in 2025