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
Real Men Use ASIC
As we watch the gravitational collapse of the semiconductor industry, it becomes increasingly obvious that the tech zeitgeist, with investment in close lockstep, is squarely centered on complete solutions, not enabling technologies. That this seems unfair (they couldn’t do it without us, and what we do is really, really hard)… 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
Semiconductor market going negative?
The outlook for the semiconductor market for the remainder of 2015 is mixed. Intel’s 3Q 2015 revenues were up 10% from 2Q 2015 and guidance is for 2.3% growth in 4Q 2015. Most other companies which have announced 3Q 2015 results expect revenue declines in 4Q 2015. The most severe drops (based on the midpoint of company guidance) are… Read More
Diversity of chip segments had tempered downturns but no more?
* The Current Downturn is more Broadly Based…
* Back to the “bad old days” of Lemmings off a cliff???
* Its not just a Foundry thing…
* All corners of the chip industry are impacted!!!… Read More
The best possible merger in the Semiconductor Capital Equipment Business history!
A new powerhouse to dominate over AMAT
Combination of best of Breeds
KLAC shareholders get $32 cash plus stock
The wedding invitation…….
Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ: LRCX) (“Lam”) and KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) (“KLA-Tencor”) today announced that they have entered… Read More
SEMI Releases Industry’s First “Global 200mm Fab Outlook to 2018” and Announces Webinar
SEMI, the global industry association advancing the interests of the worldwide electronics supply chain, today (October 19) published a new report, “Global 200mm Fab Outlook to 2018.” According to the report, worldwide 200mm semiconductor wafer fab capacity is forecast at 5.2 million wafer starts per month (wspm) in 2015 and… Read More
3 Self-Service Semiconductor Design and Manufacturing Wins!
As the semiconductor consolidation continues and thousands of semiconductor professionals update their LinkedIn profiles, the march to create new silicon opportunities is increasing at a rapid pace. It is 1980s deja vu all over again when the fabless business model reenergized the semiconductor industry and brought affordable… Read More
IMEC and Cadence Disclose 5nm Test Chip
Recently imec and Cadence disclosed that they had fabricated 5nm test chips. This afternoon Dan Nenni and I had a conference call with Praveen Raghavan, principal engineer at imec, and Vassilios Gerousis, distinguished engineer at Cadence to get more details on what the test chip is and what was learned.
First off Vassilios really… Read More
Flynn Was Right: How a 2003 Warning Foretold Today’s Architectural Pivot