Samsung has another record quarter in chips

Samsung has another record quarter in chips
by Robert Maire on 04-29-2018 at 7:00 am

Samsung throws further gas on the fire of weak handset and CAPEX not set but will be down versus 2017. Samsung reported revenues of KRW 60.56 Trillion and KRW 15.64 Trillion operating profit ($56B and $15B). Chips accounted for whopping KRW 11.55 Trillion in operating profit on revenues of KRW 20.78 Trillion ( $11B and $19B)….a… Read More


Cleaning Trends for Advanced Nodes

Cleaning Trends for Advanced Nodes
by Scotten Jones on 04-09-2018 at 12:00 pm

I was invited to give a talk at the Business of Cleans Conference held by Linx Consulting in Boston on April 9th. I am not a cleans expert but rather was invited more to give an overview talk on process technology trends and the impact on cleans. In this write up I will discuss my presentation. I discussed each of the three main leading-edge… Read More


LithoVision 2018 The Evolving Semiconductor Technology Landscape and What it Means for Lithography

LithoVision 2018 The Evolving Semiconductor Technology Landscape and What it Means for Lithography
by Scotten Jones on 02-25-2018 at 5:00 pm

I was invited to present at Nikon’s LithoVision event held the day before the SPIE Advanced Lithography Conference in San Jose. The following is a write up of the talk I gave. In this talk I discuss the three main segments in the semiconductor industry, NAND, DRAM and Logic and how technology transitions will affect lithography.… Read More


ISS 2018 – The Impact of EUV on the Semiconductor Supply Chain

ISS 2018 – The Impact of EUV on the Semiconductor Supply Chain
by Scotten Jones on 01-18-2018 at 8:00 am

I was invited to give a talk at the ISS conference on the Impact of EUV on the Semiconductor Supply Chain. The ISS conference is an annual gathering of semiconductor executives to review technology and global trends. In this article I will walk through my presentation and conclusions.… Read More


Is there anything in VLSI layout other than “pushing polygons”? (5)

Is there anything in VLSI layout other than “pushing polygons”? (5)
by Dan Clein on 01-11-2018 at 12:00 pm

Being new in Ottawa and trying to get some momentum towards automation in full custom layout I was telling industry people that I am interested to work with everybody to move this agenda forward. My Director of Engineering at that time, Peter Gillingham, took me to visit Carleton University in Ottawa. One of his professor friends,… Read More


2017 Semiconductors +20%, 2018 slower

2017 Semiconductors +20%, 2018 slower
by Bill Jewell on 12-24-2017 at 7:00 am

The global semiconductor market in 2017 will finish with annual growth of about 20%. Recent forecasts range from 19.6% to 22%. World Semiconductor Trades Statistics (WSTS) data is finalized through October, thus the final year results will almost certainly be within this range. We at Semiconductor Intelligence have raised … Read More


Do investors understand the new memory paradigm?

Do investors understand the new memory paradigm?
by Robert Maire on 10-11-2017 at 7:00 am

Micron put up a great quarter beating both quarterly expectations and guidance. Even though the stock was up 8% and we still think it has a long way to go as investors have not fully embraced the upside ahead in the memory market.… Read More


2017 Semiconductor Growth Approaching 20 Percent!

2017 Semiconductor Growth Approaching 20 Percent!
by Bill Jewell on 10-01-2017 at 7:00 am

The 2017 semiconductor market is shaping up as the strongest since 2010 – when the market grew 32% as it bounced back from the 2008-2009 downturn. According to World Semiconductor Trades Statistics (WSTS), the second quarter 2017 semiconductor market was up 5.8% from 1Q 2017 and up 23.7% from a year ago. Much of the market vitality… Read More


Semicap Thoughts: ASML AMAT INTEL SAMSUNG TSMC MICRON

Semicap Thoughts: ASML AMAT INTEL SAMSUNG TSMC MICRON
by Robert Maire on 07-27-2017 at 12:00 pm

ASML reported results in line and slightly ahead of expectations which helped push ASML and the other semicap stocks back to their original valuations prior to the two step pull back that lasted about a month. We are now back to relatively high, record valuations not seen or ever seen previously (at least for a long time) by many companies.… Read More


Memory drives semiconductor boom in 2017

Memory drives semiconductor boom in 2017
by Bill Jewell on 06-03-2017 at 7:00 am

The semiconductor market was down 0.4% in first quarter 2017 from 4Q 2016 and up 18.1% from a year ago, according to World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS). The 0.4% decline in 1Q 2017 versus 4Q 2016 is strong compared to an average 4% decline from 4Q to 1Q over the previous five years. The relative strength in 1Q 2017 was driven… Read More