Semiconductors

Amkor, the world's second largest independent outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) service provider, has announced their intention to build a new advanced chip packaging facility in the U.S. Carrying a price tag of around 2 billion dollars, the plant in Arizona will primarily serve to package chips produced by TSMC at its Fab 21 nearby. Adding an interesting (and unusual) wrinkle to the announcement, the notoriously tight-lipped Apple also issued its own press release, officially confirming that it is set to become the largest customer of the facility. All of which has greatly raised the profile of the chip packaging plant. Huge Packaging Facility The planned facility will reside in a huge manufacturing campus covering 55 acres near Peoria, Arizona. Amkor does not disclose planned production...

Samsung Completes Development of 5nm EUV Process Technology

Samsung Foundry this week announced that it has completed development of its first-generation 5 nm fabrication process (previously dubbed 5LPE). The manufacturing technology uses extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) and...

21 by Anton Shilov on 4/17/2019

TSMC Reveals 6 nm Process Technology: 7 nm with Higher Transistor Density

TSMC this week unveiled its new 6 nm (CLN6FF, N6) manufacturing technology, which is set to deliver a considerably higher transistor density when compared to the company's 7 nm...

23 by Anton Shilov on 4/17/2019

TSMC’s 5nm EUV Making Progress: PDK, DRM, EDA Tools, 3rd Party IP Ready

TSMC this week has said that it has completed development of tools required for design of SoCs that are made using its 5 nm (CLN5FF, N5) fabrication technology. The...

33 by Anton Shilov on 4/5/2019

GlobalFoundries and Synopsys Develop Automotive-Grade IP for 22FDX Process Tech

GloalFoundries and Synopsys announced this week that they have jointly developed a portfolio of automotive-gade IP solutions for GF’s 22FDX process technology. The various IP blocks are designed for...

4 by Anton Shilov on 2/22/2019

TSMC’s Fab 14B Photoresist Material Incident: $550 Million in Lost Revenue

TSMC on Friday revealed more details regarding an incident with a photoresist material at its Fab 14B earlier this year. The contaminated chemical damaged wafers on TSMC’s 12 nm...

29 by Anton Shilov on 2/20/2019

Intel Submits Ireland Fab Expansion Plan: $8 Billion Price Tag, With a 4 Year Lead Time

Intel has submitted a proposal to Irish authorities for the expansion of its manufacturing site near Leixlip. According to the plans, Intel is exploring the construction of a brand-new...

27 by Anton Shilov on 2/13/2019

SMIC To Start 14nm Mass Production in H1 2019

Reports have emerged this week that SMIC, the largest foundry in China, is set to start mass production using its in-house developed 14 nm FinFET manufacturing technology in the...

20 by Anton Shilov on 2/8/2019

Intel Details Plans for Its Oregon Fab Expansion: D1X Phase 3

Intel this week revealed the first details concerning its fab expansion plans in Oregon. As it turns out, the company intends to build the third phase of its D1X...

26 by Anton Shilov on 2/5/2019

GlobalFoundries to Sell 200-mm Fab 3E to Vanguard, Exits MEMS Business

GlobalFoundries announced on Thursday that it had agreed to sell its Fab 3E in Singapore to Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS) as part of a broader plan to exit the...

34 by Anton Shilov on 2/1/2019

AMD Amends Wafer Supply Agreement with GlobalFoundries: 7nm Freed, 12nm+ Targets Set Through 2021

AMD on Tuesday said it had amended its wafer supply agreement with GlobalFoundries. Under the terms of the new deal, the two companies agreed about prices and volumes of...

37 by Anton Shilov on 1/29/2019

Intel Considers $11 Billion Fab in Israel

Late last year Intel announced massive plans to increase its global chip production capacities by upgrading, expanding, and equipping four of its fabs. As it turns out, the company...

37 by Anton Shilov on 1/29/2019

TSMC Chip Yields Hit By Bad Chemical Batch

TSMC on Monday said that some of the wafers it has processed recently have lower yields because of a chemical it uses during production. The company began investigation and...

28 by Anton Shilov on 1/29/2019

ASML to Ship 30 EUV Scanners in 2019: Faster EUV Tools Coming

ASML said last week that it planned to ship 30 extreme ultraviolet scanners in 2019, up significantly from 2018. The plan is not surprising, as demand for EUV lithography...

17 by Anton Shilov on 1/28/2019

ASML, Carl Zeiss, and Nikon to Settle Legal Disputes Over Immersion Lithography

Embroiled for some time now in legal disputes concerning immersion lithography, ASML, Carl Zeiss, and Nikon, this week signed a memorandum of understanding relating to a plan to once...

10 by Anton Shilov on 1/25/2019

TSMC: 7nm Now Biggest Share of Revenue

As process node technology gets ever more complex, it costs big dollars to develop and then building chips on the process is also a very costly process. The big...

44 by Ian Cutress on 1/17/2019

Israeli Parliament Approves Intel Fab 28 Expansion Grant

The Finance Committee in Israeli parliament this week approved a grant to Intel to expand its Fab 28 production facility in Kiryat Gat. The decision confirms that Intel’s expansion...

24 by Anton Shilov on 12/28/2018

IBM to use Samsung 7nm EUV for Next-Gen POWER and z CPUs

IBM has announced it has signed an agreement with Samsung Foundry to produce its next-generation processors. This includes processors for IBM Power Systems, IBM z, and LinuxONE systems, all...

24 by Anton Shilov on 12/21/2018

Intel to Expand Production Capacities at Multiple Fabs

Intel this week reiterated plans to expand its production capacities in a bid to more quickly respond to increased demand. In the coming years the company intends to increase...

24 by Anton Shilov on 12/19/2018

Intel Further Boosts CapEx to Meet Demand for 14nm Chips

Earlier this year Intel said that it had reaffirmed its plan to invest $1 billion in a bid to increase the number of chips made using its 14 nm...

21 by Anton Shilov on 12/6/2018

Intel: EUV-Enabled 7nm Process Tech is on Track

Originally planned to enter mass production in the second half of 2016, Intel’s 10 nm process technology is still barely used by the company today. Currently the process is...

79 by Anton Shilov on 12/6/2018

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