Micron Misses (MU) – No surprise – Needs focus on NAND/XPoint not diving DRAM

Micron Misses (MU) – No surprise – Needs focus on NAND/XPoint not diving DRAM
by Robert Maire on 12-26-2015 at 12:00 pm

We are surprised that everyone is surprised at DRAM, DRAM oversupply/weak demand is systemic so Micron needs to focus on NAND/XPoint.We find it somewhat amusing that many “analysts” were caught off guard about the weakness in Microns results and poor guidance. Why would you think DRAM would be OK???…Have Read More


IEDM Blogs – Part 2 – Memory Short Course

IEDM Blogs – Part 2 – Memory Short Course
by Scotten Jones on 12-16-2015 at 12:00 pm

Each year the Sunday before IEDM two short courses are offered. This year I attended Memory Technologies for Future Systems held on Sunday, December 6[SUP]th[/SUP]. I have been to several of these short courses over the years and they are a great way to keep up to date on the latest technology.… Read More


Samsung to cut Semi Capex 20% due to over capacity

Samsung to cut Semi Capex 20% due to over capacity
by Robert Maire on 09-24-2015 at 4:00 pm

Article confirms market fears…
An article in the Korea Times cites sources that say Samsung will cut Semi Capex by 20% due to current oversupply and weak pricing. This is obviously a huge negative as Capex for 2016 will certainly be down significantly from 2015 given these cuts which follow on cuts by Intel and others. We can
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Jen-Tai Hsu Joins Kilopass and Looks to the Future of Memories

Jen-Tai Hsu Joins Kilopass and Looks to the Future of Memories
by Paul McLellan on 08-18-2015 at 7:00 am

Kilopass has a new VP of engineering, Jen-Tai Hsu. I sat down with him last week to find out where he came from and where he and Kilopass are going.

He grew up in Taiwan and went to National Taiwan University where he studied electrical engineering. Then he came to the US and went to Case Western Reserve University to get a masters degree,… Read More


PDK Generation Needs Paradigm Shift

PDK Generation Needs Paradigm Shift
by Pawan Fangaria on 04-28-2015 at 4:00 pm

For any semiconductor technology node to be adopted in actual semiconductor designs, the very first step is to have a Process Design Kit (PDK) developed for that particular technology node and qualified through several design tools used in the design flow. The development of PDK has not been easy; it’s a tedious, time consuming,… Read More


Moore’s Law is dead, long live Moore’s Law – part 3

Moore’s Law is dead, long live Moore’s Law – part 3
by Scotten Jones on 04-19-2015 at 4:00 am

In the second installment of this series we reviewed the cost drivers that have enabled the semiconductor industry to continue to cost reduce the cost per transistor year after year. In the next three installments we will discuss the product specific issues beginning with this installment discussing DRAM.… Read More


Breakfast was Fab: West Coast Wafers to Wall Street

Breakfast was Fab: West Coast Wafers to Wall Street
by Paul McLellan on 04-07-2015 at 7:00 am

SEMI describes themselves as “the global industry association serving the manufacturing supply chain for the micro- and nano-electronics industries.” That is a pretty broad remit. One of the things that they do as a neutral party is produce the World Fab Forecast. This is actually a bottom-up database that tracks fabs as they … Read More


AMAT Earnings Call: Next Generation FinFETs?

AMAT Earnings Call: Next Generation FinFETs?
by Paul McLellan on 02-15-2015 at 9:00 am

The Applied Materials earnings call was last week. As usual I”m not all that interested in the financial details of the quarter and I’m certainly not the person to pick whether the stock is going to go up or down in the immediate future. However, there is always interesting information to be gleaned from the semiconductor… Read More


Samsung Continues to Top 300mm Wafer Capacity

Samsung Continues to Top 300mm Wafer Capacity
by Pawan Fangaria on 02-03-2015 at 7:00 am

In 1992, when Samsungbecame the largest producer of memory chips, it was not in top10 list of semiconductor companies. It was ranked at #11. Since then it has strived to attain higher ranks in the top10 list. In around 2000, it climbed to the ranks of top5 and then since 2002 until now it is at #2 in the worldwide semiconductor sales which… Read More