The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), representing U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, design, and research, released the following statement from SIA president & CEO John Neuffer regarding the “phase one” U.S.-China trade deal announced today.
Semiconductors
David J. Kenyon appointed CEO and Patrick Sullivan to CTO for Elevate Semiconductor
Elevate Semiconductor, announced that its Board of Directors has appointed David J. Kenyon as Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors. Kenyon previously held the position of Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Elevate. The board of directors also appointed Patrick Sullivan to CTO. Patrick previously held the post of CEO.
City College Leads New Photonics Breakthrough
A new approach to trapping light in artificial photonic materials by a City College of New York-led team could lead to a tremendous boost in the transfer speed of data online. Research into topological photonic metamaterials headed by City College physicist Alexander B. Khanikaev reveals that long-range interactions in the metamaterial changes the common behavior of light waves forcing them to localize in space. Further, the study shows that by controlling the degree of such interactions one can switch between trapped and extended (propagating) character of optical waves.
Global Fab Equipment Spending Rebounds in Second Half of 2019 with Stronger 2020 Projected
Projected 2019 global fab equipment spending has been revised upward to US$56.6 billion on the strength of surging memory investments in the latter part of the year after a weak first half, SEMI reported today in its World Fab Forecast. SEMI data now point to just a 7 percent decline in fab equipment investments from 2018 to 2019, a marked improvement on the previously forecast drop of 18 percent. Rising investments in memory – particularly 3D NAND – leading-edge logic and foundries have powered the turnaround.
MIRISE Technologies to be Launched to Develop Semiconductors in Effort to Achieve Safe and Comfortable Future Global Mobility Society
DENSO Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation today announced that they have named the joint venture to be established in April 2020 MIRISE Technologies (“MIRISE”). The joint venture will conduct research and advanced development of next-generation in-vehicle semiconductors. MIRISE is an acronym for Mobility Innovative Research Institute for SEmiconductors. It also conveys “mirai” (a Japanese word for “future”) and “rise.” Yoshifumi Kato has been appointed President and Representative Director of the new company.
Industry Veteran Dr. Randy Allen Joins SiFive as Vice President of RISC-V Software
SiFive, Inc., the leading provider of commercial RISC-V processor IP and silicon solutions, today announced that Dr. Randy Allen has joined the company as vice president of RISC-V software. Dr. Allen will be responsible for developing and implementing RISC-V software strategy for SiFive. Dr. Allen brings more than 30 years of industry experience and, most recently, served as vice president of software engineering at Wave Computing. He has also served in leadership roles at tech companies such as Mentor Graphics, National Instruments and Cypress Semiconductor.
Tiny Quantum Sensors Watch Materials Transform Under Pressure
Since their invention more than 60 years ago, diamond anvil cells have made it possible for scientists to recreate extreme phenomena – such as the crushing pressures deep inside the Earth’s mantle – or to enable chemical reactions that can only be triggered by intense pressure, all within the confines of a laboratory apparatus that you can safely hold in the palm of your hand. To develop new, high-performance materials, scientists need to understand how useful properties, such as magnetism and strength, change under such harsh conditions. But often, measuring these properties with enough sensitivity requires a sensor that can withstand the crushing forces inside a diamond anvil cell.
Intel Hires Former GlobalFoundries, IBM Chip Executive
Intel Corp (INTC.O) has hired Gary Patton, who was chief technology officer at semiconductor maker GlobalFoundries, according to an internal Intel memo seen by Reuters on Wednesday. Intel spokesman Will Moss confirmed the authenticity of the memo but declined to comment beyond it. Patton declined to comment beyond Intel’s internal memo. A GlobalFoundries spokeswoman confirmed that Patton had left the company last week but declined to comment further.
Kandou Demonstrates Prototype of First USB4 Multiprotocol Retimer at CES
Kandou, an innovative leader in high-speed, energy efficient, chip-to-chip link solutions, will demonstrate a working prototype of the industry’s first USB-C® multiprotocol retimer solution with USB4™ support at CES January 7-10 in Las Vegas, Nev. The prototype will showcase the benefits of Kandou’s Matterhorn USB Type-C® 40 GB/s multiprotocol switch and bidirectional bit-level retimer solution for faster video processing and data transfer connections to drive next-generation USB-enabled devices. It follows the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) specification for USB4 and targets a wide range of applications that include mobile, tablet and desktop PCs, active cables, monitors, docking stations, external hard solid-state drives, and gaming consoles.
CEA-Leti and Partners Demonstrate Potentially Scalable Readout System for Large Arrays of Quantum Dots
Leti, a technology research institute of CEA Tech, and its research partners have demonstrated a potentially scalable readout technique that could be fast enough for high-fidelity measurements in large arrays of quantum dots. In a paper presented at IEDM 2019, the international research team reported its work on developing a toolkit on a SOI MOSFET-based prototyping platform that enables fast reading of the states of charge and spin. The study explored two gate-based reflectometry readout systems for probing charge and spin states in linear arrangements of MOS split-gate-defined arrays of quantum dots.
