The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) Board of Directors today elected Keith Jackson, President, CEO, and Director of ON Semiconductor, as its 2020 Chair and Robert Bruggeworth, President, CEO, and Director of Qorvo, as its 2020 Vice Chair. SIA represents U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, design, and research, with members accounting for approximately 95 percent of U.S. semiconductor sales.
MEMS
Tech to Change the World: Lux Research Releases Annual List of Transformational Technologies
A combination of megatrends, market demand, and new innovations has thrust many technologies into the spotlight. Lux Research – a leading provider of tech-enabled research and advisory services – released its annual report on the tech innovations that are likely to have the greatest impact during the next 10 years. The new report combines the power of insights from technology experts with proprietary data science tools to better guide innovation decision making. Lux’s “20 for 2020” identifies and ranks 20 technologies that will reshape the world, based on innovation interest scores from the Lux Intelligence Engine, along with input from Lux’s leading analysts. It provides data-backed context for the ever-shifting technology landscape and insights into how companies can maximize the investment opportunities these data trends reveal.
Light-Based ‘Tractor Beam’ Assembles Materials at the Nanoscale
Modern construction is a precision endeavor. Builders must use components manufactured to meet specific standards — such as beams of a desired composition or rivets of a specific size. The building industry relies on manufacturers to create these components reliably and reproducibly in order to construct secure bridges and sound skyscrapers. Now imagine construction at a smaller scale — less than 1/100th the thickness of a piece of paper. This is the nanoscale. It is the scale at which scientists are working to develop potentially groundbreaking technologies in fields like quantum computing. It is also a scale where traditional fabrication methods simply will not work. Our standard tools, even miniaturized, are too bulky and too corrosive to reproducibly manufacture components at the nanoscale.
Renesas and Altair Semiconductor Announce Collaboration for Cellular IoT Solutions
Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE:6723), a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, and Altair Semiconductor (altair-semi.com), a leading provider of cellular IoT chipsets, jointly announced a partnership aimed at bringing ultra-small and ultra-low-power cellular IoT solutions to the global IoT market. Cellular IoT device makers will be able to use this combination of best-in-class solutions to create highly differentiated IoT products and services that offer much greater efficiencies and faster time to market. These integrated solutions will be delivered through Renesas’ sales channels, enabling cellular connectivity to all of its markets.
Broadcom Completes Acquisition of Symantec Enterprise Security Business
Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO), a global technology leader that designs, develops and supplies semiconductor and infrastructure software solutions, today announced that it has completed its acquisition of the Enterprise Security business of Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC). Symantec’s Enterprise Security business will now operate as the Symantec Enterprise division of Broadcom and will be led by Art Gilliland as SVP and General Manager.
Boston Semi Equipment Revolutionizes Handling of Multi-Port, Low Pressure MEMS Sensors
Boston Semi Equipment (BSE), a global semiconductor test handler manufacturer and an innovative provider of test automation technical services, announced today that it has enhanced its Zeus gravity feed handlers with the capability of handling extremely low pressure MEMS devices with multiple ports. The first to benefit from this new MEMS handling capability is a leading manufacturer of health monitoring systems who selected BSE’s Zeus pressure MEMS solution for the ability to provide the extremely low-pressure stimulus combined with higher throughput. The Zeus MEMS handler is faster, more economical, and requires significantly less floor space than their existing solution.
NTU Singapore Researchers Create Quantum Chip 1,000 Times Smaller than Current Setups
Researchers at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed a quantum communication chip that is 1,000 times smaller than current quantum setups, but offers the same superior security quantum technology is known for. Roughly 3mm in size, the tiny chip developed by NTU scientists uses quantum communication algorithms to provide enhanced security compared to existing standards. It does this by integrating passwords within the information that is being delivered, forming a secure ‘quantum key’. After the information is received, it is destroyed along with the key, making it an extremely secure form of communication.
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.
Compact Depth Sensor Inspired By Spiders
For all our technological advances, nothing beats evolution when it comes to research and development. Take jumping spiders. These small arachnids have impressive depth perception despite their tiny brains, allowing them to accurately pounce on unsuspecting targets from several body lengths away.
Global MEMS and Sensors Fab Capacity to Grow 25 Percent Through 2023, SEMI Reports
Total worldwide installed capacity for MEMS and sensors fabs is forecast to grow 25 percent to 4.7 million wafers* per month from 2018 to 2023, driven by explosive demand across communications, transportation, medical, mobile, industrial and other Internet of Things (IoT) applications, according to the new MEMS & Sensors Fab Report to 2023 published by SEMI.
