At the SEMI ISS conference earlier this week, the last speaker in the technology challenges section was Handel Jones of IBS. I’ve known Handel since the mid-1980s when he came to VLSI Technology and told us we were losing money on 90% of the designs we were doing but our cost model was not good enough and so we didn’t even… Read More
The State of 450mm Wafers. And Intel Gossip
Paul Farrar, the General Manager of the Global 450mm Consortium (G450C) presented at the SEMI ISS conference today. What is G450C, it is a public-private consortium to develop a cost-effective 450mm wafer fabrication infrastructure, develop equipment prototypes and coordinate the industry move to 450mm. It is located in Albany… Read More
Technology Challenges: Intel, IBM, Xilinx, GlobalFoundries, IMEC
I spent the day at the SEMI Industry Strategy Symposium in Half Moon Bay. The early part of the day was devoted to technology challenges. Obviously everyone did not say exactly the same things, and had a little bit of a different spin depending on what business they are in. But there was a lot of commonality between Intel, IBM, Xilinx… Read More
SEMI Industry Strategy Symposium
The SEMI Industry Strategy Symposium (ISS) is Jan 13th-15th at the Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay. When I discussed this with my beautiful wife as a possible business trip for us and mentioned the agenda she stopped me and said, “You had me at Ritz-Carlton!” As you can see by the picture it has a beautiful ocean view and includes a world… Read More
Equipment Spending Down 2013; Expect 33% Growth in 2014
SEMI’s World Fab Forecast report, published in November, predicts that fab equipment spending will decline about -9 percent (US$32.5 billion) in 2013 (including new, used and in-house manufactured equipment). Setting aside the used 300mm equipment Globalfoundries acquired from Promos at the beginning of 2013 (NT$20-30 … Read More
The Leading Edge Depends on What You Are Doing
At Semicon Japan a few days ago, Subi Kengeri of GlobalFoundries delivered the keynote. While he covered a number of topics, using Tokyo’s recent win of the 2020 Olympics as a hook, one major theme was the increasing importance of processes other than the bleeding edge digital processes that get all the news.
What is leading… Read More
SEMI Smart Technology Conference
I should start by saying that SEMI Smart Technology is not technology that is only half as smart as our phones, it is a conference on smart technology organized by SEMI. Officially it is called the International Technology Partners Conference with a sort of subtitle of From Smart Cars to Smart Cities: Shaping the Future of Microelectronics… Read More
3D: the Backup Plan
With the uncertainties around timing of 450mm wafers, EUV (whether it works at all and when) and new transistor architectures it is unclear whether Moore’s law as we know it is going to continue, and in particular whether the cost per transistor is going to remain economically attractive especially for consumer markets … Read More
Save the Dates
There are several events in Silicon Valley coming up of general interest to people working in EDA and the semiconductor industry.
SEMI 16th Annual Valley Lunch Forum. August 22nd, 11.30am to 1.30pm, Santa Clara Marriott
- What are the Opportunities for Advanced Semiconductor Devices?
- Where will the year end for 2013?
- Will we have
SEMICON Taiwan 3D
SEMICON Taiwan is September 3rd to 6th in TWTC Nangang Exhibition Hall. Just as with Semicon West in July in San Francisco, there is lots going on. But one special focus is 3D IC. There is a 3DIC and substrate pavilion on the exhibit floor and an Advanced Packaging Symposium. Design tools, manufacturing, packaging and testing solutions… Read More