What do you think of when I say the words "MEMS new product development?" Do you envision new categories of newly discovered MEMS hatching somewhere in a university lab? If your answer is "yes," perhaps you should rethink that — because MEMS isn’t new. If we are to grow this $9 billion/year industry to a hundred-billion or even trillion dollar industry as some predict, we need to think of new…
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Conference Report: MEMS Executive Congress Europe
ST’s Carmelo Papa boldly declared that "MEMS is only limited by the imagination" during his opening keynote at MEMS Executive Congress Europe. In many ways this phrase exemplifies the conference itself. All of the speakers on our four panels — industrial, biomedical/Quality of Life (QoL), automotive and consumer — as well as our keynotes — conveyed that frontier feeling that MEMS can truly change the world. Sure we have some challenges…
The Elephant Has Left the Room – 450 mm is a Go!
It’s the day before Semicon opens up, and we have had a slew of announcements on 450 mm, the biggest of which was the joint ASML/Intel notice that Intel will be taking a share of ASML as a way of funding 450 mm and EUV R&D. Simultaneously imec released that the Flemish government would invest in their upcoming 450-mm facility, and imec and KLA-Tencor declared that a 450-mm capable SP3…
Sony’s PS Vita Uses Chip-on-Chip SiP – 3D, but not 3D
At the tail end of last year Sony released their PlayStation Vita, and it was duly torn down by iFixit and others. In due course we took it apart too, though we didn’t post it on our teardown blog. Sony CXD5315GG in the PlaySation Vita Inside we found the usual set of wireless chips, motion sensors, and memory, but the key to the increased performance of the PS Vita is…
Sony’s PS Vita Uses Chip-on-Chip SiP – 3D, but not 3D
At the tail end of last year Sony released their PlayStation Vita, and it was duly torn down by iFixit and others. In due course we took it apart too, though we didn’t post it on our teardown blog. Sony CXD5315GG in the PlaySation Vita Inside we found the usual set of wireless chips, motion sensors, and memory, but the key to the increased performance of the PS Vita is…
The ConFab: Big data is here
Sponsors and delegates arrived today in sunny Las Vegas, for the 8th annual "The ConFab," our conference and networking event that features planned meetings between conference sessions. Everything is set up and we’re ready to go, comfortably ensconced in The Encore at The Wynn. The conference and meals will be in the Bach and Beethoven rooms on the second floor (very nice!) and we have a networking reception event tonight…
Oh, snap!: Pics from The ConFab
Some pics from The ConFab 2012 setup: Getting the conference books ready to distribute (Luba and Karen), inside the book, various signs — sessions, sponsors, Solid State Technology — view down the hall, Sabrina at the conference table, The ConFab map.
Funding the future: How best to spend limited R&D dollars?
One of the big issues now facing the industry is to how best spend limited funding for research and development, when so much needs to be done. Continued scaling to 20nm and below, a transition to 450mm, 3D integration, device new structures, a bevy of new materials with unknown integration challenges – these are all needed. These issues are top of mind since I’ve been asked to moderate a panel on…
Thirty years ago today
Today marks an interesting milestone for me: 30 years ago, I started work as an editor covering the semiconductor industry. I reported to Don Levinthal, publisher of Semiconductor International, at 222 W. Adams in downtown Chicago. The magazine was produced by Cahners, which had recently acquired Kiver Publications. Milt Kiver, as I recall, had won fame and fortune by writing a book on color television repair (Television Simplified, first published…
Intel’s 22-nm Trigate Transistors Exposed
Last week Intel had their Q1 conference call for financial analysts, and revealed that the 22-nm Ivy Bridge parts would make up 25% of their shipment volume in the second quarter of this year. That means that a good quantity will already will have shipped, and we managed to track some down in Hong Kong a few weeks ago. Of course we got in touch ASAP and the parts duly…
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