3DIC Physical Verification, Siemens EDA and TSMC

3DIC Physical Verification, Siemens EDA and TSMC
by Daniel Payne on 02-07-2023 at 10:00 am

3DIC min

At SemiWiki we’ve written four times now about how TSMC is standardizing on a 3DIC physical flow with their approach called 3Dblox, so I watched a presentation from John Ferguson of Siemens EDA to see how their tool flow supports this with the Calibre tools. With a chiplet-based packaging flow there are new physical verification… Read More


Hynix historic loss confirms memory meltdown-getting worse – AMD a bright spot

Hynix historic loss confirms memory meltdown-getting worse – AMD a bright spot
by Robert Maire on 02-03-2023 at 8:00 am

Memory Meltdown

-Hynix reports worst downturn in 10yrs – Already in red ink
-If the #2 memory maker is already negative what does it say?
-Confirms our view of 2023 write off- maybe 2024 better?
-Micron Mangled? & Toshiba Toast?- Buyers advantage

Hynix posts record $1.4B loss- worst in 10 years

Not all that surprisingly Hynix reported… Read More


CEO Interview: Stephen Fairbanks of Certus Semiconductor

CEO Interview: Stephen Fairbanks of Certus Semiconductor
by Daniel Nenni on 01-20-2023 at 6:00 am

Stephen Fairbanks headshot 1 1

Trained as a semiconductor Analog and RF Circuit Designer, Stephen Fairbanks has been designing and developing process-specific I/O and ESD libraries for 24 years. His foundational training began while attending Brigham Young University designing highspeed 32 GSPS data acquisition systems and RF interfaces for a time-of-flight… Read More


Who will Win in the Chiplet War?

Who will Win in the Chiplet War?
by Daniel Nenni on 01-16-2023 at 6:00 am

Chiplet APEC

The first Chiplet specific conference is coming up which is a milestone in itself. As we know the only thing new about chiplets is the name but when there is a dedicated conference to such a specific thing you know it has officially “arrived”. There is even a cool new tagline: Chiplets make huge chips happen!

“The First Annual Chiplet… Read More


IEDM 2022 – TSMC 3nm

IEDM 2022 – TSMC 3nm
by Scotten Jones on 01-02-2023 at 6:00 am

TSMC CPP

TSMC presented two papers on 3nm at the 2022 IEDM; “Critical Process features Enabling Aggressive Contacted Gate Pitch Scaling for 3nm CMOS Technology and Beyond” and “A 3nm CMOS FinFlexTM Platform Technology with Enhanced Power Efficiency and Performance for Mobile SOC and High Performance Computing Applications”.

When … Read More


High-End Interconnect IP Forecast 2022 to 2026

High-End Interconnect IP Forecast 2022 to 2026
by Eric Esteve on 12-04-2022 at 10:00 am

TSMC Revenue by Platform 1Q22 1

The Interface IP market has grown with 21% CAGR from 2017 to 2021 and we review the part of this market restricted to the high-end of PCIe, DDR, Ethernet and D2D IP made of PHY and controller targeting the most advanced technology nodes and latest protocol release. We will show that an IP vendor focusing investment on the high-end interconnect… Read More


Samsung Versus TSMC Update 2022

Samsung Versus TSMC Update 2022
by Daniel Nenni on 12-02-2022 at 6:00 am

TSMC Versus Samsung

After attending the TSMC and Samsung foundry conferences I wanted to share some quick opinions about the foundry business. Nothing earth shattering but interesting just the same. Both conferences were well attended. If we are not back to the pre pandemic numbers we are very close to it.

TSMC and Samsung both acknowledged that there… Read More


AMAT and Semitool Deja Vu all over again

AMAT and Semitool Deja Vu all over again
by Robert Maire on 11-24-2022 at 6:00 am

Lam SemiWiki SemiSysco

-Lam/Semisysco is a repeat of AMAT/Semitool
-Adds wet processing that larger companies lack
-Semisysco tools amazingly similar to those made by Semitool
-Lightning strikes twice for Ray Thompson

Deja Vu all over again

In a clear example of history repeating itself, Lam Research bought Semisysco, a company founded by Ray Thompson,… Read More


A Perspective on Semiconductor Manufacturing Initiatives & Strategies

A Perspective on Semiconductor Manufacturing Initiatives & Strategies
by Sagar Pushpala on 10-17-2022 at 10:00 am

A Perspective on Semiconductor Manufacturing Initiatives

My name is Sagar, and I’ve been a long-time executive in the semiconductor manufacturing world — holding key positions at large multi-nationals, a leading semiconductor foundry, and partnering with many of the top-tier foundries and OSATs. Since “retiring”, I’ve also spent time advising and investing in start-ups through Read More


Chip Train Wreck Worsens

Chip Train Wreck Worsens
by Robert Maire on 10-16-2022 at 4:00 pm

Train Wreck Semiconductors 2022

-Semi Equip go from bad to worse as TSMC cuts capex
-Numbers will be slashed for December quarter
-So far just a handful of exceptions to blockade but temporary
-China’s response could be very ugly

Fast motion train wreck

Just when some people thought that Fridays department of commerce announcement couldn’t get worse,… Read More