We covered the ASIC business in Chapter 2 of our book “Fabless: The Transformation of the Semiconductor Industry” using VLSI Technology and eSilicon as shining examples. Neither of which now exist. The ASIC business model was a critical steppingstone in the transformation of the semiconductor industry. Many systems companies… Read More
WEBINAR: Which ASIC Manufacturing Method is Right for You?
Minimizing ASIC production costs is the goal of every company. The problem is that this requires extensive knowledge. You must understand the technical intricacies and the financial implications of multiple activities like wafer production, packaging and QA activities such as electrical tests.
Generally, the more your company… Read More
KLAC- Very Strong Sept & Guide-Foundry up 50%- 5NM & EUV drivers- Outperforming
- KLAC Strong Beat on Both Sept Q & Dec Guide
- Foundry/logic (TSMC) up 50% H2 vs H1
- Gen 5 acceptance and 5NM rollout drive future
Strong beat in Sept results and Dec Guide
KLAC reported revenue of $1.41B and EPS of $2.48 handily beating street estimates of $1.5B and $2.20 in EPS. More importantly the company guided December to be revenues… Read More
AMD Intel TSMC menage a trois and the trouble with trouples
- Its “Complicated”- A 3 way Chip Relationship
- Competing for Wafers, Moore’s Law & Love
- Who’s Competing with Whom?
- All’s Fair
The 3 way relationship is more complex than it seems
On the surface it seems simple. AMD and TSMC compete with Intel making its own chips and TSMC making them for AMD. But… Read More
“Connecting the Divide” at SEMICON Europa
Connecting the Divide between Design and Manufacturing is an overarching theme within the ESD Alliance as these two essential semiconductor disciples become more reliant on each other. It’s also the reason we’re hosting SMART Design, the first system-centric series showcasing advances in electronic system design to be held… Read More
LRCX – A recovery without memory? Korea share gain? TSMC bonus?- all upside
LAM will likely bounce on Korea gains & TSMC
Memory still sucks but TSMC is hot!
Korea upside from share gains?
Japan/Korea – The “Beer Barometer”
Looks like a good Q3….
We think when Lam reports their Q3 this wednesday it will likely be a positive catalyst for the stock as we think the report will be better… Read More
ASML – In Line Qtr but big bookings – Logic Strong! Memory ? EUV?
ASML in line QTR with big Orders
Near term slippage w long term upside
Logic is strong but memory recovery unknown
EUV is finally a reality/commercialized
In line quarter- supplier slippage expected in Q4
Results were revenues of Euro 3B and EPS of Euro 1.49, more or less in line with earnings estimate if a tad bit light in revenue. … Read More
TSMC – Solid Q3 Beat Guide- 5G Driver – Big Capex Bump – Flawless Execution
TSMC puts up solid QTR, Capex increase for 5NM and capacity increase, 5G/mobile remains driver- HPC good 7NM, 27% of revs- Very nice margins!
In line quarter-Good guide
TSMC reported revenues of $9.4B and EPS of $0.62 , more or less in line with expectations, perhaps a touch below ” whisper” expectations which had been… Read More
eSilicon White Paper on Chiplets – Good Read
eSilicon recently released a paper detailing its experiences and its thoughts on the future of chiplets. The author of the white paper is Dr. Carlos Macián. I have also covered a presentation given by Carlos recently at the AI Hardware Summit, and he is well-spoken and quite knowledgeable. To get the white paper, go to the eSilicon… Read More
Comparing Applied Materials with Lam Research
Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) will announce its quarterly earnings on October 23, 2019, and Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) the following month on November 14, 2019. Both companies make equipment used to manufacture semiconductor devices. While private and institutional investors often own both individual stocks, this article… Read More


An Insight into Building Quantum Computers