The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today applauded Senate approval of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which passed with strong bipartisan support earlier today. SIA represents U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, design, and research, with members accounting for approximately 95 percent of U.S. semiconductor company sales. “Congressional approval of the USMCA is a major win for free trade and America’s global leadership in semiconductors and the technologies they enable,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “The agreement will help ensure that more products researched, designed, and made in America – including semiconductors – can flow to customers around the world. We applaud the Administration and Congress for negotiating and approving this landmark agreement.”
Semiconductors
Synopsys Joins New Autonomous Vehicle Computing Consortium
Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNPS) today announced that it has joined the new Autonomous Vehicle Computing Consortium. The Consortium brings together leading experts in the automotive, automotive supply, semiconductor and computing industries to help accelerate the delivery of safer and affordable vehicles. As a member of the Consortium, Synopsys will actively contribute to the development of a set of recommendations for system architectures and computing platforms that will be used to address the challenges of deploying self-driving vehicles at scale.
Worldwide Semiconductor Revenue Declined 11.9% in 2019
Worldwide semiconductor revenue totaled $418.3 billion in 2019, down 11.9% from 2018, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. Intel regained the No. 1 position in the market as the downturn in the memory market negatively impacted many of the top vendors, including Samsung Electronics, the No. 1 vendor by revenue in 2018 and 2017. Intel reclaimed its position as the No. 1 global semiconductor vendor by revenue in 2019, recovering the position from Samsung Electronics, which held it for the past two years. Intel’s semiconductor revenue declined 0.7% in 2019, driven by a slowdown in the server market, an ongoing constrained CPU supply and the 4Q19 sale of its cellular modem business to Apple.
Colloidal Quantum Dot Photodetectors Can Now See Further Than Before
Optical sensing in the mid to long infrared (5microns – um) is becoming of utmost importance in different fields since it is proving to be an excellent tool for environmental monitoring, gas sensing, thermal imaging as well as food quality control or the pharmaceutical industry, to name a few. The amount of information hidden within this very rich spectral window opens new possibilities for multi or even hyperspectral imaging. Even though there are technologies that can address these challenges, they are very complex and expensive.
How Sensitive Can a Quantum Detector Be?
Quantum physics is moving out of the laboratory and into our everyday lives. Despite the big headline results about quantum computers solving problems impossible for classical computers, technical challenges are standing in the way of getting quantum physics into the real world. New research published in Nature Communications from teams at Aalto University and Lund University hopes to provide an important tool in this quest.
Synopsys’ John R. Rogers Named 2020 Recipient of the SPIE Rudolf and Hilda Kingslake Award
Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNPS) today announced that Dr. John R. Rogers, principal engineer of imaging optics in the Optical Solutions Group at Synopsys, has been named the 2020 recipient of the SPIE Rudolf and Hilda Kingslake Award in Optical Design. SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, presents the award in recognition of significant achievements in the field of optical design and optical engineering theory.
Generation and Manipulation of Spin Currents for Advanced Electronic Devices
Graphene-based heterostructures of the van der Waals class could be used to design ultra-compact and low-energy electronic devices and magnetic memories. This is what a paper published in the latest issue of the Nature Materials journal suggests. The results have shown that it is possible to perform an efficient and tunable spin-charge conversion in these structures and, for the first time, even at room temperature.
CyberOptics Unveils WaferSense Auto Resistance Sensor (ARS) at SEMICON Korea
CyberOptics® Corporation (NASDAQ: CYBE), a leading global developer and manufacturer of high-precision 3D sensing technology solutions, will exhibit at SEMICON Korea from February 5-7th, 2020 at the COEX in Seoul, booth #C236. During the show, the company will unveil and demonstrate its new WaferSense® Auto Resistance Sensor™ (ARS) with CyberSpectrum™ software for semiconductor tool set-up and diagnostics.
Colloidal Quantum Dot Laser Diodes Are Just Around the Corner
Researchers reach a critical milestone on the path to versatile colloidal quantum dot laser diodes by successfully demonstrating a quantum dot LED that also operates as an optically pumped laser.
Silicon Mobility Names Rainer Kallenbach as CEO
Silicon Mobility, the technology player powering control solutions for a cleaner, safer, and smarter mobility, is pleased to announce the appointment of former Robert Bosch GmbH executive Rainer Kallenbach as CEO of the company as of January 6, 2020. The current CEO Bruno Paucard will remain with the company as COO and on the Board of Directors.