The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today announced worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $106.7 billion during the third quarter of 2019, an increase of 8.2 percent over the previous quarter and 14.6 percent less than the third quarter of 2018.
Editor’s Picks
China GDP and PMI Contraction A Risk Factor For Global Economy
IC Insights recently released its October Update to The McClean Report 2019. Part of the update reviewed U.S. and China GDP and PMI trends in light of the current trade friction between the two nations.
Kirigami Inspires New Method for Wearable Sensors
As wearable sensors become more prevalent, the need for a material resistant to damage from the stress and strains of the human body’s natural movement becomes ever more crucial. To that end, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a method of adopting kirigami architectures to help materials become more strain tolerant and more adaptable to movement.
Wafer Capacity by Feature Size Shows Rapid Growth at <10nm
Leading-edge processes (<28nm) took over as the largest portion in terms of monthly installed capacity available in 2015. By the end of 2019, <28nm capacity is forecast to represent about 49% of the IC industry’s total capacity, based on information in IC Insights’ Global Wafer Capacity 2019-2023 report.
2019 Microprocessor Slump Snaps Nine Years of Record Sales
The microprocessor market’s string of nine straight record-high annual sales between 2010 and 2018 is expected to end this year with worldwide MPU revenue dropping 4% to about $77.3 billion because of weakness in smartphone shipments, excess inventories in data center computers, and the global fallout from the U.S.-China trade war, according to IC Insights’ recently updated forecast.
TSMC’s Leading-Edge Fab Investments Set Stage for Sale Surge in 2H19
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s heavy investments in advanced wafer-fab technology are set to pay off significantly for the world’s largest silicon foundry as it continues the production ramp of 7nm ICs in the second half of this year, according to an analysis in IC Insights’ September Update to the 2019 McClean Report.
Samsung Electronics Develops Industry’s First 12-Layer 3D-TSV Chip Packaging Technology
Samsung’s new innovation is considered one of the most challenging packaging technologies for mass production of high-performance chips, as it requires pinpoint accuracy to vertically interconnect 12 DRAM chips through a three-dimensional configuration of more than 60,000 TSV holes, each of which is one-twentieth the thickness of a single strand of human hair.
Global Market Remains Strong for ALD & CVD Precursors in IC Fabs
TECHCET—the advisory services firm providing electronic materials information— announced that the global market for atomic layer deposition (ALD) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) precursors is showing strong growth despite semiconductor fabrication market challenges in 2019.
DRAM, NAND and Emerging Memory Technology Trends and Developments in 2019
Innovation in memory technology is constant. In this article, TechInsights’ Jeongdong Choe reviews the latest developments in DRAM, NAND, and emerging technology, and provide insight on the trends in this space.
Fabs Valued at Nearly $50 Billion to Start Construction in 2020
Investments in new fab projects starting construction in 2020 is expected to reach nearly US$50 billion, up about US$12 billion from 2019, according to the latest update of the World Fab Forecast from SEMI.
