Latest Blogs and Commentary
50 Billion Transistors in 50 Years
Microprocessors have improved by seven orders of magnitude—from 2,300 to 54 billion transistors—in only five decades. To illustrate these changes, we highlight a handful of industry-defining products.
Apple Scales M1 GPU to the Max
Apple’s M1 Max processor delivers a massive boost in integrated-graphics performance compared with the original M1, offering throughput similar to that of Nvidia’s top-end laptop GPU card.
Order activity for semiconductor equipment hit a new high for the year
Many find Pat Gelsinger’s foundry strategy for Intel to be counter-intuitive. One thing is for sure, his IDM 2.0 strategy is on a Grove-ian level of doing the unexpected.
Copper Replacement. IFS. Shortages Hold Up Fab Capacity Expansion. Semiconductor Inflation.
Engineers always break through Moore's Walls with semiconductor innovation, which is really what Moore's Law is all about. And now a breakthrough out of quantum mechanics development is driving a replacement for copper that is as revolutionary as copper was to aluminum...
SEMICON West 2021 Hybrid to Highlight Solutions to Global Challenges, Smart Technologies, Talent
Optimal readiness and stronger alliances across the semiconductor supply chain to confront future global disruptions will come into sharp focus at SEMICON West 2021 Hybrid, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.
Semiconductor Sales Jumped Higher
Growth continued to slow due to tougher 2020 comps rather than a real decline. Still, 2021 will be the year in which semiconductor sales blew past a Half-a-Trillion and Logic at a Quarter-Trillion!
Pixel 6 Packs Semicustom Processor
For the first time, Google designed the main processor in its flagship smartphone. The Tensor SoC is based on a Samsung design but integrates Google’s AI accelerator and image processor (ISP).
R-Car S4 Boosts Connected-Car Safety
The Renesas R-Car S4 serves as a vehicle’s central networking hub, but it also integrates ASIL-capable application CPUs, real-time CPUs, and safety microcontrollers along with multiple hardware security features.
Syntiant Grows Into Computer Vision
Following its success in low-power wake-word detection, Syntiant has expanded into computer vision with its newest chip. The NDP200 can handle simple video tasks such as presence detection.
Visibility Is Clear Well into 2022
Order activity for semiconductor equipment hit a new high for the year; All segments edged higher except for Memory; Visibility for equipment manufacturers has expanded well into 2022; At the macro level, demand remains strong, especially on the enterprise side; Businesses are flush with cash and labor-starved so they're ramping up capital spending to become more efficient and productive
SEMI VetWorks: A Guide to Growing Your Talent Pipeline by Recruiting Military Veterans and Active Reservists
As the microelectronics industry looks to fill job vacancies, and as we approach Veterans Day, it’s important to turn our attention to the many contributions of veterans and why hiring them is both the right thing to do and a sound business strategy.
Semiconductor Sales to Pass Half-A-Trillion
Semiconductor Sales growth continues to slow due more to 2020 comps than a real decline. Still, 2021 will be the year in which semiconductor sales blew past a Half-a-Trillion and Logic at a Quarter-Trillion!
Intel’s Foundry Strategy for Growth & IDM 2.0: What’s different?
Many find Pat Gelsinger’s foundry strategy for Intel to be counter-intuitive. One thing is for sure, his IDM 2.0 strategy is on a Grove-ian level of doing the unexpected.
Worldwide Silicon Wafer Shipments Reach Record High in Third Quarter of 2021, SEMI Reports
Worldwide silicon wafer shipments increased 3.3% to 3,649 million square inches in the third quarter of 2021 compared to the previous quarter, a new industry record, the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) reported in its quarterly analysis of the silicon wafer industry.
ACM Research Announces Orders for Ultra C PR Wet Stripping System for Semi Manufacturing
ACM Research, Inc. (ACM) (NASDAQ: ACMR), a leading supplier of wafer processing solutions for semiconductor and advanced wafer-level packaging (WLP) applications, today announced receipt of two orders for ACM’s Ultra C pr wet stripping system from a leading global integrated device manufacturer (IDM).
FLEX Conference to Co-locate with SEMICON West in 2022
SEMICON West, North America’s premier microelectronics exhibition and conference that unites players across the entire electronics manufacturing and design supply chain, and FLEX Conference, the annual event focused on flexible hybrid and printed electronics innovations, will co-locate at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, July 11-14, 2022.
Semiconductor sales edged higher as IC weather warms
Semiconductor sales jumped by another 1% W/W while Y/Y growth continued to decelerate.
The Number of Design Completions Is Expected to Increase Over 2% in 2021
The number of design completions is expected to increase over 2% in 2021 on the back of a strong semiconductor market.