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450mm Semiconductor Manufacturing Debate

450mm Semiconductor Manufacturing Debate
by Daniel Nenni on 05-23-2010 at 2:39 pm


This blog posting is sponsored by EVA airlines, as I’m in the EVA executive lounge eating free food (I blog for food). “Fly EVA, the lesser of evils for Taiwan air travel!” EVA Air has a perfect safety record in 9 years of operation, China Air on the other hand has the worst safety record in the industry!

This blog was inspired by one of … Read More


2010 Semiconductor Foundry Update: Consolidation!

2010 Semiconductor Foundry Update: Consolidation!
by Daniel Nenni on 05-16-2010 at 6:46 pm

It has been an interesting month in the semiconductor business. Record revenues, profits, aggressive expansion plans, something we have not seen before and may not see again. Let’s start in Taiwan then move to Silicon Valley, Upstate New York, China, and Korea, with a look at: financials, capacity, and consolidation.

TSMC and… Read More


Cadence EDA360 Redux!

Cadence EDA360 Redux!
by Daniel Nenni on 05-09-2010 at 9:02 pm

“Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDNS), the global leader in EDA360………”

Of course, why wouldn’t Cadence be the global leader in something they just made up? As a follow-up to my yawningly successful blog Cadence EDA360 Manifesto:

One of the problems I have with EDA360 is the fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) it attempts … Read More


Cadence EDA360 Manifesto

Cadence EDA360 Manifesto
by Daniel Nenni on 05-02-2010 at 8:54 pm

EDA360 is said to be a blueprint or high-level vision for the EDA industry and not a Cadence specific document, based on the challenges that customers are experiencing. What EDA36o really is, is a manifesto, a public declaration of intentions, opinions, objectives, or motives, issued by a specific organization. The question … Read More


Moore’s (Empirical Observation) Law!

Moore’s (Empirical Observation) Law!
by Daniel Nenni on 04-18-2010 at 10:49 pm

“What would you like your legacy to the world to be? Anything but Moore’s Law!”

 

Gordon Moore, May 2008.

Moore slightly altered the formulation of the law over time, bolstering the perceived accuracy of Moore’s law in retrospect. Most notably, in 1975, Moore altered his projection to a doubling every two years. Despite popular… Read More


TSMC Earthquake Damage Redo

TSMC Earthquake Damage Redo
by Daniel Nenni on 04-14-2010 at 10:54 pm

As you may know I enjoy poking fun at the current state of semiconductor design and manufacture media; sloppy reporting, editors with little or no actual semiconductor experience taking corporate marketing spins on news/events and passing it along as fact.

Last week it was the EETimes parroting the Samsung foundry business pressRead More


Redefining the Semiconductor Foundry Model: Abu Dhabi versus Taiwan

Redefining the Semiconductor Foundry Model: Abu Dhabi versus Taiwan
by Daniel Nenni on 04-11-2010 at 2:53 pm

It was a pleasure to see the GlobalFoundries (GFI) corporate pitch at the Mentor Graphics U2U Conference last week. Wally Rhines is a tough act to follow but Mojy Chian, Senior Vice President of Design Enablement at GlobalFoundries, presented a compelling argument for a refined foundry business model. The GFI people were also … Read More


Redefining the Foundry Model: TSMC versus GlobalFoundries

Redefining the Foundry Model: TSMC versus GlobalFoundries
by Daniel Nenni on 04-10-2010 at 2:08 am

The 17[SUP]th[/SUP] annual TSMC Technical Symposium finished its North American tour in Boston, a day before the Boston Marathon. I would like to be clever and say the foundry business is also a marathon but it clearly is not. If you watch TSMC, the foundry business is both a sprint AND a marathon!

In contrast to the previous blog onRead More


TSMC 2011 Forecast and 28nm Update!

TSMC 2011 Forecast and 28nm Update!
by Daniel Nenni on 03-31-2010 at 10:05 pm

My visit to Taiwan last week was very encouraging. No earthquake, no typhoon, and both TSMC and UMC again posted record financial results, giving a peek into what 2011 has in store for us semiconductor professionals around the world.

A transcript from the TSMC earnings call can be foundhere, the UMC transcript is here. The TSMC transcript… Read More


Semiconductor Industry 2025

Semiconductor Industry 2025
by Daniel Nenni on 03-21-2010 at 8:56 pm

The 2010 ISSCC theme was all about “Sensing the Future” and was one of the most inspiring semiconductor conferences I have experienced. The halls were filled with the top names in semiconductor design and manufacture from around the world. The sessions highlighted not only technology breakthroughs (first 4G silicon), but new… Read More