Semiconductors
Production of chips using leading-edge process technologies requires more compute power than ever. To address requirements of 2nm nodes and beyond, NVIDIA is rolling out its cuLitho software library that uses the company's DGX H100 systems based on H100 GPUs and promises to increase performance available to mask shops within a reasonable amount of consumed power by 40 times. Modern process technologies push wafer fab equipment to its limits and often require finer resolution than is physically possible, which is where computational lithography comes into play. The primary purpose of computational lithography is to enhance the achievable resolution in photolithography processes without modifying the tools. To do so, CL employs algorithms that simulate the production process, incorporating crucial data from ASML's equipment and shuttle (test...
SK Hynix to Build $106 Billion Fab Cluster: 800,000 Wafer Starts a Month
Capping off a busy week for fab-related news, South Korea authorities this week gave SK Hynix a green light to build a new, 120 trillion won ($106.35 billion) fab...
41 by Anton Shilov on 4/2/2021TSMC to Spend $100B on Fabs and R&D Over Next Three Years: 2nm, Arizona Fab & More
TSMC this week has announced plans to spend $100 billion on new production facilities as well as R&D over the next three years. The world's largest contract maker of...
45 by Anton Shilov on 4/2/2021EUV Pellicles Ready For Fabs, Expected to Boost Chip Yields and Sizes
Foundries started limited usage of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography for high-volume manufacturing (HVM) of chips in 2019. At the time, ASML's Twinscan NXE scanners were good enough for production...
35 by Anton Shilov on 3/31/2021SMIC to Build a New 28nm Fab in Shenzhen: Production to Start in 2022
As further evidence that the ongoing chip crunch is hitting every level of the chip manufacturing chain, Chinese chipmaker SMIC has announced plans to build a new 28nm manufacturing...
12 by Anton Shilov on 3/20/2021AI Meets Chipmaking: Applied Materials Incorporates AI In Wafer Inspection Process
Advanced system-on-chip designs are extremely complex in terms of transistor count and are hard to build using the latest fabrication processes. In a bid to make production of next-generation...
11 by Anton Shilov on 3/19/2021GlobalFoundries to Invest $1.4B in Expansion, Potential Earlier IPO
GlobalFoundries this week reiterated plans to invest $1.4 billion this year in expansion of its manufacturing capacities across the world. Around one third of the sum will be co-invested...
21 by Anton Shilov on 3/4/2021Report: Semi Demand 30% Above Supply, 20% Year-on-Year Growth
Semiconductor foundry offerings are thriving due to unprecedented demand for semiconductors and processors in recent quarters. Analysts from TrendForce believe that in Q1 2021 foundries will increase their revenue...
31 by Anton Shilov on 2/25/2021TSMC Details 3nm Process Technology: Full Node Scaling for 2H22 Volume Production
At TSMC’s annual Technology Symposium, the Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer detailed characteristics of its future 3nm process node as well as laying out a roadmap for 5nm successors in the...
58 by Andrei Frumusanu on 8/24/2020Marvell Unveils its Comprehensive Custom ASIC Offering
Last week Marvell had updated us with an overview of the company’s new more extensive and comprehensive custom ASIC offerings, detailing the company’s design abilities gained through the company's...
6 by Andrei Frumusanu on 7/27/2020Altair Semiconductor Renames to Sony Semiconductor Israel
Today, after more than four years of being acquired by Sony, Altair Semiconductor is renaming itself as Sony Semiconductor Israel. The IoT focused company over the last few years...
4 by Andrei Frumusanu on 7/21/2020Analog Devices To Buy Maxim Integrated
Today Analog Devices has announced that it will be acquiring Maxim Integrated in a transaction estimated at $21bn. The combined company value is said to end up being valued...
17 by Andrei Frumusanu on 7/13/2020TSMC To Build 5nm Fab In Arizona, Set To Come Online In 2024
In a big shift to their manufacturing operations – and a big political win domestically – TSMC has announced that the company will be building a new, high-end fab...
100 by Ryan Smith on 5/15/2020Samsung to Produce DDR5 in 2021 (with EUV)
Samsung is on track to start volume production of DDR5 and LPDDR5 memory next year using a manufacturing technology that will take advantage of extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL). In...
20 by Anton Shilov on 3/25/2020SMIC Details Its N+1 Process Technology: 7nm Performance in China
SMIC first started volume production of chips using its 14 nm FinFET fabrication process in Q4 2019. Since then, the company has been hard at work developing its next...
20 by Anton Shilov on 3/23/2020GlobalFoundries & Everspin Extend MRAM Pact to 12nm
GlobalFoundries and Everspin have announced that the two have extended their Spin-transfer Torque (STT-MRAM) joint development agreement (JDA) to 12LP (12 nm FinFET) platform. The extension will enable GlobalFoundries...
4 by Anton Shilov on 3/13/2020TSMC & Broadcom Develop 1,700 mm2 CoWoS Interposer: 2X Larger Than Reticles
With transistor shrinks slowing and demand for HPC gear growing, as of late there has been an increased interest in chip solutions larger than the reticle size of a...
18 by Anton Shilov on 3/4/2020A Big Bet on SOI: GlobalFoundries Preps Another Supply Agreement for 300mm SOI Wafers
Having dropped out of the race for leading-edge manufacturing technologies in order to focus on specialty fabrication processes, GlobalFoundries has pinned some big hopes in manufacturing RF-SOI chips for...
26 by Anton Shilov on 2/27/2020GlobalFoundries' 22FDX with MRAM is Ready
GlobalFoundries on Thursday said that it had completed development of its 22FDX (22 nm FD-SOI) technology with embedded magnetoresistive non-volatile memory (eMRAM). The technology can be used for a...
7 by Anton Shilov on 2/27/2020Samsung Starts Mass Production at V1: A Dedicated EUV Fab for 7nm, 6nm, 5nm, 4nm, 3nm Nodes
Samsung Foundry has started mass production of chips using its 6LPP and 7LPP manufacturing processes at its new V1 fab. The new facility employs one of the industry’s first...
30 by Anton Shilov on 2/20/2020ASML Ramps Up EUV Scanners Production: 35 in 2020, Up to 50 in 2021
ASML shipped 26 extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) step-and-scan systems to its customers last year, and the company plans to increase shipments to around 35 in 2020. And the ramp-up...
22 by Anton Shilov on 1/23/2020