Lam Research performing like a Lion – Chip equip on steroids

Lam Research performing like a Lion – Chip equip on steroids
by Robert Maire on 04-29-2021 at 10:00 am

NASDAQ LRCX LAM

– Business is about as good as it gets- $75B WFE in 2021?
– China remains strong at 32% despite SMIC lack of license
– NAND remains 48% of revs versus 31% foundry
– DRAM steady @ 14% – Service was record $1.3B

Strong results in a strong market

Lam reported revenues of $3.85B and EPS of $7.49 for the March… Read More


Certitude: Tool that can help to catch DV Environment Gaps

Certitude: Tool that can help to catch DV Environment Gaps
by eInfochips on 04-13-2021 at 2:00 pm

Certitude 9

Design verification (DV) is still one of the biggest challenges in the ASIC based product world. In last two decades, we have seen many changes in terms of HVLs and methodologies used for design verification. System Verilog is the most popular HVL these days and UVM is the most popular verification methodology.

Even after such an… Read More


Semiconductor Startups – Are they back?

Semiconductor Startups – Are they back?
by Karthee Madasamy on 04-02-2021 at 6:00 am

Semiconductor Startups – Are they back

Semiconductor startups used to rule the roost in Silicon Valley. The very name, Silicon Valley, comes from the birth of the semiconductor industry in the San Francisco bay area 60+ years ago. Large percentage of venture financing used to go to semiconductor startups, even as recently as 15 years ago. As a chip designer doing startups… Read More


SALELE Double Patterning for 7nm and 5nm Nodes

SALELE Double Patterning for 7nm and 5nm Nodes
by Fred Chen on 03-28-2021 at 6:00 am

SALELE Double Patterning for 7nm and 5nm Nodes 4

In this article, we will explore the use of self-aligned litho-etch-litho-etch (SALELE) double patterning for BEOL metal layers in the 7nm node (40 nm minimum metal pitch [1]) with DUV, and 5nm node (28 nm minimum metal pitch [2]) with EUV. First, we mention the evidence that this technique is being used; Xilinx [3] disclosed the… Read More


Podcast EP11: Semiconductor Shortages and the CHIPS Act Explained

Podcast EP11: Semiconductor Shortages and the CHIPS Act Explained
by Daniel Nenni on 03-12-2021 at 10:00 am

Dan and Mike are joined by Terry Daly for a thoughtful and informative overview of global semiconductor supply challenges and an excellent overview of the CHIPS for America Act, an ambitious piece of US legislation aimed at establishing investments and incentives to support U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, research and development,… Read More


Semiconductors up 6.5% in 2020, >10% in 2021?

Semiconductors up 6.5% in 2020, >10% in 2021?
by Bill Jewell on 02-14-2021 at 6:00 am

Feb 2021 co revised 9

Semiconductor sales in 2020 were $439.0 billion, up 6.5% from $412.3 billion in 2019, according to World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS).

We at Semiconductor Intelligence have been tracking the accuracy of semiconductor market forecasts from various sources for several years. We look at publicly available projections… Read More


Need Electromagnetic Simulations for ICs?

Need Electromagnetic Simulations for ICs?
by Daniel Nenni on 02-11-2021 at 6:00 am

RaptorH in Virtuoso

Electromagnetic (EM) simulations have been performed on die metal structures since the 1990s. Originally, the analysis was restricted to a single device (e.g., a spiral inductor). The number of on-die devices simulated simultaneously grew with the increasing capabilities of the computers performing the computations. This… Read More


Podcast EP5: Verification, Evolution and Revolution

Podcast EP5: Verification, Evolution and Revolution
by Daniel Nenni on 01-29-2021 at 10:00 am

Dan and Mike are joined by Dr. Bernard Murphy. Bernard has recently published a book on entrepreneurship and the importance of storytelling. In this podcast, Bernard talks about his journey from a PhD in Nuclear Physics at Oxford University to a storied career in EDA and verification. Bernard discusses a fundamental shift in… Read More


Semiconductor Boom in 2021

Semiconductor Boom in 2021
by Bill Jewell on 11-23-2020 at 6:00 pm

Top Semiconductor Revenue 2020

The third quarter 2020 semiconductor market totaled $114 billion, up 11.0% from second quarter 2020, according to World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS). The 3Q20 growth was the highest since 11.6% in 3Q16. The strong 3Q20 growth follows a 2.1% decline in 2Q20 versus 1Q20. The second quarter is normally a healthy growth … Read More


The Impact of AI-enabled EDA Tools on the Semiconductor Industry

The Impact of AI-enabled EDA Tools on the Semiconductor Industry
by Richard Wawrzyniak on 11-22-2020 at 10:00 am

AI Tools Blog 111820

The semiconductor industry today is faced with several substantial issues—the continuing rise in design costs for complex SoCs, the decrease in the incidence of first-time-right designs and the increase in the design cycle time against shrinking market windows and decreasing product life cycles. An additional factor has … Read More