The Universal Chiplet Interconnect Express™ (UCIe™) 1.0 specification was announced in early 2022 and a UCIe 1.1 update was released on August 8, 2023. This open standard facilitates the heterogeneous integration of die-to-die link interconnects within the same package. This is a fancy way of saying the standard opens the door… Read More
The Chip 4: A Semiconductor Elite
Can a 4-member alliance reshape the semiconductor industry?
Semiconductors are ubiquitous in electronics and computing devices, making them essential to developments in AI, advanced military, and the world economy. As such, it is unquestionable that nations attain considerable … Read More
The State of The Foundry Market Insights from the Q2-24 Results
If you work in the Semiconductor or related industry, you know that industry cycles can profoundly impact your business. It is crucial for strategic development to invest at the appropriate time and to rope the sails when necessary.
As a semiconductor investor, you’re accustomed to the ebb and flow of industry cycles. It’s… Read More
Application-Specific Lithography: Patterning 5nm 5.5-Track Metal by DUV
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
Elon Musk Given CHIPS Act & AI Oversight – Mulls Relocation of Taiwanese Fabs