The move to 450mm semiconductor wafer size will inevitably be an inflection point for the industry, with enormous ramifications for the complete semiconductor ecosystem. Those firms with 450mm capability will enjoy a huge competitive advantage of staying on the More Moore node development roadmap, a potential 30 percent lower die cost advantage, and a more…
While LED lighting is still far from the mainstream, early solid-state lighting products are starting to appear on the market in a variety of form factors and designs. At this stage, it's too early to envisage how LEDs will develop, and what features and applications will prove attractive to consumers, over the coming years. Let's…
At the corporate level, the disruption to manufacturing worldwide caused by the Japan earthquake and tsunami on March 11 will force a rethink of how companies manage their production in the food chain, and especially in chip manufacturing. What if a force-9 earthquake and tsunami hit Taiwan? The 60 percent combined share {complink 5388|Taiwan Semiconductor…
In the first part of this article, I suggested that the Japan earthquake could be the catalyst the electronics industry needs to overhaul and improve its supply chain. (See: Tech Needs a Healthier Supply Chain, Part 1.) In this second and concluding part, I will look at how the industry arrived at its current situation…
Some natural disasters change history. The tragic March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan may well turn out to be one of them. With luck, a much healthier and more soundly based electronics industry supply chain will emerge. We have long voiced concern over what we saw as the industry's offhandedness towards its business practices…
The electronics industry is trying to recover from the effects of the Japan earthquake, but this will not be as easy as it sounds. For a start, the supply chain was already maxed out before the disaster, so even if a firm wanted to place an order elsewhere there is little spare capacity to service…
The chip industry took March's one-two-three knocks with remarkable calm. First, it was hit by the spike in oil prices following the political unrest and near civil wars in North Africa, then the dreadful March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and finally the multi-state coalition military intervention in Libya to implement the United Nations…
Global economic growth will slow in 2011, with developing countries such as India and China providing the lion's share of the expansion. The World Bank estimates global GDP growth at 3.3 percent in 2011, against 3.9 percent in 2010, with emerging markets growing by 6 percent. Economists believe the world is set for a triple-speed…
Many people already know about the Skolkovo Innovation Center, the Russian project that plans to focus development on key sectors of modern technology, as well as provide a special economic environment for major companies. Among the priorities of the so-called “Innograd” (Innovation Town) are: space, telecommunications, medical equipment and pharmaceuticals, energy, information technology, and nuclear…
3D chips based on through-silicon vias (TSVs) have been in the works for several years, but apart from a few special applications they have so far failed to move into the mainstream. While TSV-based 3D has moved into the engineering stage, mass production remains a moving target, with early adopters favoring a so-called 2.5D technique…