Being the number one EDA and the number one IP company does have its advantages and the resulting foundry relationships are a clear example. One of the DAC traditions that I truly enjoy is the Synopsys foundry breakfasts. Not only does Synopsys welcome scribes, they reserve a table up front for us and Synopsys CEO Aart de Geus has been… Read More
In 2014 Apple released the iPhone 6 which included the first SoC built on a TSMC (20nm) process. This phone started what many call a “Super Cycle” of people upgrading. According to Apple, they now have more than 1 billion activated devices so this super cycle could be seriously super, absolutely.… Read More
When someone says, “2.5D packaging” my first thought is TSMC and my second thought is Herb Reiter. Herb has more than 40 years of semiconductor experience and he has been a tireless promoter of 2.5D packaging for many years. Herb writes for and works with industry organizations on 2.5D work groups and events at conferences… Read More
The TSMC OIP Ecosystem Forum is upon us again. I have yet to meet a disappointed attendee so it is definitely worth your time: Networking with more than 1,000 semiconductor professionals, the food, mingling with the 50+ EDA, IP, and Services Companies, the food, and of course the content. The 7nm and 7nm EUV updates alone are worth… Read More
Artificial intelligence, or AI is really heating up these days. The technology has been around for decades, but of late it is becoming quite a focus for applications such as data center analytics, autonomous vehicles and augmented reality. Why the rebirth? The trend appears to be driven by two forces – availability of data to train… Read More
Last week, TEL (which is the Japanese equivalent to AMAT & LRCX) reported a June quarter which saw revenues drop to 236B Yen from March’s 261B Yen and saw earnings drop from March’s 47B Yen to June’s 41B Yen, a respective 9.3% decrease and a 12.8% decrease in earnings.
We don’t think this is attributable… Read More
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
Thursdays at the Design Automation Conference (DAC) are always a good time to catch up on areas of technology which are adjacent to that which you normally work. The exhibit floor is over and you have more time to spend in seminars. At this year’s DAC, I took advantage of a half day seminar put on by Mentor, a Siemens business, … Read More
The fabless movement was instrumental in disaggregating the semiconductor industry. Vertical product development at the chip and system level has given way to a horizontal structure over the years. This organization of product development has been doing an admirable job of delivering extremely reliable products. However… Read More
I have previously published analysis’ converting leading edge logic processes to “standard nodes” and comparing standard nodes by company and time. Recently updated details on the 7nm process node have become available and in this article, I will revisit the standard node calculations and trends.… Read More
