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Commentary / Analysis

• A methodology for turning an SoC into chiplets (Thursday Jul. 27, 2023)
  Siemens has developed a workflow methodology for homogeneous disaggregation of SoCs into chiplets using hierarchical device planning.
  
  
• Worldwide Silicon Wafer Shipments Rise in Q2 2023, SEMI Reports (Wednesday Jul. 26, 2023)
  Worldwide silicon wafer shipments increased 2.0% quarter-over-quarter to 3,331 million square inches in the second quarter of 2023, down 10.1% from the 3,704 million square inches recorded during the same quarter last year
  
  
• Two IP announcements herald a new normal in chip world (Wednesday Jul. 26, 2023)
  Announcements of an IP acquisition deal and a substantial funding round for an analog IP reuse specialist last week underscore the critical importance of semiconductor IP at a time when more functionality is integrated into a single chip. High-quality IP reduces risk and enables chip designers to speed time-to-market.
  
  
• Has the electronics market bottomed out? (Monday Jul. 24, 2023)
  The current slump in the electronics market began in 2021, says Semiconductor Intelligence, smartphone shipments versus a year earlier turned negative in 3Q 2021.
  
  
• Chip Experts See Talent Shortage as Main Growth Hurdle (Monday Jul. 24, 2023)
  The global semiconductor industry’s shortage of workers is likely the largest impediment to growth—the latest example coming this week from a fab-construction delay announced by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC).
  
  
• Could AMD use IFS? (Monday Jul. 24, 2023)
  Su told the Nikkei at the weekend that AMD will “consider other manufacturing capabilities to ensure that we have the most resilient supply chain.” Su stressed that no such move was currently planned.​
  
  
• Startups Help RISC-V Reshape Computer Architecture (Tuesday Jul. 18, 2023)
  RISC-V has emerged as a game-changing open-source ISA. EE Times Europe has asked Semidynamics, Axiomise and Agile Analog about the future of RISC-V in the computing landscape.
  
  
• Global Semiconductor Equipment Sales Forecast: $87 Billion in 2023 With 2024 Rebound, SEMI Reports (Thursday Jul. 13, 2023)
  Global sales of total semiconductor manufacturing equipment by original equipment manufacturers next year are forecast to bounce back from a projected contraction of 18.6% to $87.4 billion in 2023 following the industry record of $107.4 billion in 2022
  
  
• End-to-end design and verification for PCIe 6.0 (Thursday Jul. 13, 2023)
  PCI Express (PCIe) 6.0 is gaining traction in AI, HPC, and data centres, operating at 64GT/s, twice as fast as the previous generation. Network servers, SSDs, switches, and AI accelerators are all early adopters of PCIe 6.0, and network interface cards (NIC) and CPU host chips are on the horizon.
  
  
• Electronic System Design Industry Logs $4 Billion in Revenue in Q1 2023, ESD Alliance Reports (Monday Jul. 10, 2023)
  Electronic System Design (ESD) industry revenue increased 12% from $3,527.7 million in the first quarter of 2022 to $3,951.1 million in the first quarter of 2023.
  
  
• Bespoke EDA Differentiates Silicon Chips (Monday Jul. 10, 2023)
  For so long, designers used off-the-shelf electronic design automation (EDA) tools from major players, startups and technology companies somewhere in between the two to get their chips produced. It’s been a long-accepted practice that’s shifting to a strategy where the watchwords are proprietary, customized and differentiated.
  
  
• Global Semiconductor Sales Increase 1.7% Month-to-Month in May (Friday Jul. 07, 2023)
  SIA today announced global semiconductor industry sales totaled $40.7 billion during the month of May 2023, an increase of 1.7% compared to the April 2023 total of $40.0 billion but 21.1% less than the May 2022 total of $51.7 billion.
  
  
• Despite Export Ban on Equipment, China's Semiconductor Expansion in Mature Processes Remains Strong, Says TrendForce (Thursday Jul. 06, 2023)
  On June 30th, the Netherlands introduced new export restrictions on advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Despite facing export controls from the US, Japan, and the Netherlands, TrendForce anticipates the market share of Chinese foundries in terms of 12-inch wafer production capacity will likely increase from 24% in 2022 to an estimated 26% in 2026.
  
  
• AI Can't Design Chips Without People (Tuesday Jul. 04, 2023)
  Machines are already building other machines, so it makes sense that artificial intelligence would help build the components necessary for them to exist, including processors and memory devices.
  
  
• Korean prosecutors name ex-Samsung exec who tried to set up copy-cat fab in China and the Taiwanese backer (Thursday Jun. 29, 2023)
  The former Samsung executive accused of trying to set up a chip factory in China based on plans stolen from Samsung has been revealed by Korean prosecutors to be Choi Jinseog who has been in jail in Korea since May.
  
  
• Worldwide Semiconductor Foundry Market Grew 27.9% YoY in 2022, Projected to Decrease by 6.5% YoY in 2023 due to Inventory Adjustments, IDC Finds (Thursday Jun. 29, 2023)
  According to IDC’s Semiconductor Manufacturing Services: 2022 Worldwide Foundry Market: Vendor Ranking and Insight, the worldwide foundry market size grew by 27.9% in 2022, hitting a new record high, benefiting from customers' long-term agreements (LTAs), higher foundry prices, process shrinkage, and plant expansion.
  
  
• Intel and Movellus Develop Different Fixes For IC Voltage Droop (Thursday Jun. 29, 2023)
  Two presentations during the same week from Intel and Movellus highlighted radically different approaches to solving voltage droop, a problem that increasingly plagues SoC designs as device geometries continue marching down the Moore’s Law curve.
  
  
• How Will 5G Advanced Change RF Design? (Monday Jun. 26, 2023)
  The next transformation in cellular networks, 5G Advanced, will bring higher bandwidth, lower latency and higher energy efficiency to applications like enhanced mobile broadband, massive IoT and edge computing. While these are big benefits for mobile network operators, it is causing RF and component design challenges.
  
  
• Rapidus CEO Chasing Single-Wafer-Processing Dream (Monday Jun. 26, 2023)
  Rapidus CEO Atsuyoshi Koike will get a boost from Japan’s CHIPS Act and IBM to start the nation’s sole semiconductor foundry making the world’s most advanced silicon just two years behind industry heavyweight Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), he said in an exclusive interview with EE Times in Brussels.
  
  
• DRAM Alternative Spawns U.K. Startup (Thursday Jun. 22, 2023)
  A startup spurred by technology developed at Lancaster University in Lancaster, Lancashire, England, is putting its hat in the ring with a candidate to displace DRAM.
  
  
• Global Top Ten IC Design Houses Break Even in Q1, Hope for Recovery in Q2 Bolstered by AI Demand, Says TrendForce (Tuesday Jun. 20, 2023)
  TrendForce reports that inventory reduction in Q1 fell short of expectations and coincided with the industry’s traditional off-season, leading to overall subdued demand.
  
  
• Can Any Novel Architecture Topple the Mighty GPU? (Tuesday Jun. 20, 2023)
  Despite many new and novel ASIC designs on the market today, GPUs are still extremely popular for both data centers and edge applications like robotics.
  
  
• Chips Acts' Role in Reshaping a Global Industry (Monday Jun. 19, 2023)
  As the world has navigated multiple macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges in recent years, one thing has become clear to global leaders: Semiconductors are indispensable.
  
  
• Samsung fab cobbling IP offerings for data-intensive SoCs (Thursday Jun. 15, 2023)
  Samsung Foundry is on the offense, this time by cobbling IP partnerships to help design engineers build complex system-on-chips (SoCs) for multiple process generations.
  
  
• Simplifying the Analog and Mixed-Signal IC Design Process (Thursday Jun. 15, 2023)
  This article is focused on the revolutionary approach to the design of AMS circuits developed by Agile Analog. This U.K.-based semiconductor company simplifies and accelerates this process with its scalable platform.
  
  
• MosChip's strategic initiatives in India's rising semiconductor market: acquisitions, collaborations, and innovations (Thursday Jun. 15, 2023)
  In a recent dialogue with Digitimes Asia, Srinivasa Kakumanu, the Executive Vice President of the Semiconductor Business Unit at MosChip, shared the company's plans to focus on specific domains, such as embedded software and AI/ML.
  
  
• Droop response system IP made available for SoC designs (Thursday Jun. 15, 2023)
  A new off-the-shelf synthesizable IP is available for system-on-chip (SoC) designs: an integrated droop response system. Besides detecting and responding to voltage droops, the IP incorporates extensive monitoring and observability features to facilitate valuable insight into silicon health and lifecycle management.
  
  
• Global Semiconductor Materials Market Revenue Reaches Record $73 Billion in 2022, SEMI Reports (Thursday Jun. 15, 2023)
  Global semiconductor materials market revenue grew 8.9% to $72.7 billion in 2022, surpassing the previous market high of $66.8 billion set in 2021, SEMI, the global industry association representing the electronics manufacturing and design supply chain.
  
  
• Intel talking to Arm about becoming an anchor investor in Arm IPO (Wednesday Jun. 14, 2023)
  Intel is reported to be in talks with Arm about becoming an anchor investor in the IPO planned for the autumn.
  
  
• Exec tried to set up copy-cat Samsung fab in China (Wednesday Jun. 14, 2023)
  A 28-year veteran of the Korean chip industry with stints at Samsung and Hynix has been arrested and indicted for a failed attempt to set up a copycat Samsung fab a mile away from a genuine Samsung fan in Xian, China.