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Commentary / Analysis

• Fabless companies out-performed IDMs in 2012 (Monday Jan. 07, 2013)
  Fabless semiconductor companies as a group outperformed chip makers with their own fabs again in 2012, according to the latest numbers from the upcoming McClean Report 2013.
  
  
• Global Semiconductor Sales Post Best Month of 2012 in November (Friday Jan. 04, 2013)
  SIA today announced that worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $25.73 billion for the month of November 2012, the largest monthly total of 2012 and a 2 percent increase from the prior month when sales were $25.22 billion.
  
  
• IPad 3 called 'unbalanced' as Apple, TSMC rumors fly (Thursday Jan. 03, 2013)
  The Apple iPad 3 is an unbalanced design with an underpowered graphics processor for its high-end display, according to an analysis released Wednesday (Jan. 2) by technology watcher David Kanter.
  
  
• IDC Forecasts Worldwide Semiconductor Revenues Will Grow 4.9% and Reach $319 Billion in 2013 (Thursday Jan. 03, 2013)
  Semiconductor revenues worldwide will see nominal growth this year at less than 1% reaching $304 billion according to the year-end 2012 update of the International Data Corporation (IDC) Semiconductor Applications Forecaster (SAF).
  
  
• Report: TSMC confirms U.S. wafer fab site hunt (Thursday Dec. 20, 2012)
  Amid plans to increase capital spending to a record $9 billion in 2013, Taiwanese foundry TSMC is seeking a location for a wafer fab, with the U.S. as a possibility, according to a local news report.
  
  
• Mentor's Rhines sees 'modest growth' in 2013 (Thursday Dec. 20, 2012)
  Global economic uncertainty is contributing to a down year for the global semiconductor industry, but 2013 could bring “modest growth, according to Mentor Graphics CEO Wally Rhines
  
  
• Gartner Says Worldwide Wafer Fab Equipment Spending to Decline 9.7 Percent in 2013 (Wednesday Dec. 19, 2012)
  Worldwide wafer fab equipment (WFE) spending is forecast to total $27 billion in 2013, a 9.7 percent decline from 2012, according to Gartner, Inc. In 2012, WFE spending is on pace to reach $29.9 billion, a decrease of 17.4 percent from 2011 spending. The market is projected to return to growth in 2014.
  
  
• Globalfoundries mulls third manufacturing option (Wednesday Dec. 19, 2012)
  Globalfoundries Inc. is evaluating a third manufacturing option to follow conventional bulk planar CMOS: super-steep retrograde well (SSRW) technology that creates a ground plane under a transistor using a doping technique.
  
  
• Linley Group Report estimates embedded processor market will exceed $4 billion in 2015 (Wednesday Dec. 19, 2012)
  Estimating that the embedded processor market will top $4 billion in 2015, The Linley Group, the industry's leading source for independent technology analysis of semiconductors for networking, communications, mobile, and wireless applications, released their latest report, “A Guide to Embedded Processors.”
  
  
• Gartner Says Worldwide Semiconductor Revenue Declined 3 Percent in 2012 (Monday Dec. 17, 2012)
  Worldwide semiconductor revenue has totaled $298 billion in 2012, a 3 percent decline from 2011 revenue of $307 billion, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc.
  
  
• Altera eyes FDSOI process for FPGAs (Monday Dec. 17, 2012)
  A senior engineer at FPGA vendor Altera has evaluated fully-depleted silicon on insulator (FDSOI) chip manufacturing process and concluded that the technology could have particular benefits for FPGAs.
  
  
• Foundries not dead, just evolving, says Globalfoundries CEO (Friday Dec. 14, 2012)
  The fabless/foundry model may have its issues, but it’s a long way from being dead, said Globalfoundries CEO Ajit Manocha, speaking at the International Electron Devices Meeting
  
  
• FDSOI roadmap renames next node as 14-nm (Friday Dec. 14, 2012)
  Documents presented at the fully depleted silicon on insulator (FDSOI) workshop in San Francisco this week show that the FDSOI roadmap now omits a 20-nm and goes straight to 14-nm and then on to 10-nm.
  
  
• Gartner Says Worldwide Semiconductor Sales to Reach $311 Billion in 2013, a 4.5 Percent Increase from 2012 (Thursday Dec. 13, 2012)
  Worldwide semiconductor revenue is projected to total $311 billion in 2013, a 4.5 percent increase from 2012 revenue, according to Gartner, Inc. Due to economic headwinds and an inventory correction, the fourth quarter projections have been revised down from the previous quarter's forecast of $330 billion.
  
  
• Intel leapfrogs ARM (for now) with Atom server SoC (Wednesday Dec. 12, 2012)
  Leaping ahead of a growing onslaught of ARM server SoCs, Intel Corp. rolled out its dual-core, 64-bit Atom enterprise SoC, claiming 20 design wins in microservers, comms and storage. It also said it will pack an Ethernet fabric on to its next-generation, Avoton, a 22-nm chip shipping in 2013 that is expected to use out-of-order cores for greater performance.
  
  
• Whither ST? (Wednesday Dec. 12, 2012)
  It is no easy matter turning around a large operation like European chip company STMicroelectronics. That's why its critical to get ahead of the tidal forces that are shaping electronics to buy the time required, particularly when the hole you are in is largely of your own making.
  
  
• Intel's 22-nm tri-gate SoC, how low can you leak? (Tuesday Dec. 11, 2012)
  Intel will describe its 22-nm tri-gate (FinFET) SoC technology for mobile applications Monday (Dec. 10) at the International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) here.
  
  
• Can ST-Ericsson shrink to survive? (Tuesday Dec. 11, 2012)
  How many people does it take to run a mobile chip company these days? Anyone care to guess?
  
  
• SEMI Reports Third Quarter 2012 Worldwide Semiconductor Equipment Figures; Billings US$ 9.06 Billion (Tuesday Dec. 11, 2012)
  SEMI today reported that worldwide semiconductor manufacturing equipment billings reached US$ 9.06 billion in the third quarter of 2012. The billings figure is 12 percent lower than the second quarter of 2012 and 15 percent lower than the same quarter a year ago.
  
  
• ARM founder sees startups hustling in hard times (Monday Dec. 10, 2012)
  The hard-scrabble struggles of a startup are the challenges that energize Sir Robin Saxby. The retired co-founder of ARM Ltd. is back in the startup world, sharing lessons learned as he picks up a lifetime achievement award this week from the Global Semiconductor Alliance.
  
  
• AMD recasts foundry deal to save cash (Monday Dec. 10, 2012)
  Struggling processor vendor Advanced Micro Devices Inc. said it has renegotiated its wafer supply agreement with foundry partner Globalfoundries Inc., moving on to fixed-price wafer deal to reduce its costs during the fourth quarter and into 2013.
  
  
• Qualcomm Rides Wireless Wave to Take Third Place in Global Semiconductor Market in 2012 (Friday Dec. 07, 2012)
  In a miserable 2012 semiconductor market that will see revenue decline at seven of the world’s Top 10 semiconductor suppliers, Qualcomm Inc. is standing out, with a double-digit increase in sales that will make it the world’s third-largest chip maker this year.
  
  
• Report: China approves ARM venture with conditions (Friday Dec. 07, 2012)
  The Chinese government's Ministry of Commerce has approved the formation of a joint venture to integrate security software on ARM-based chips to enable secure payments over mobile phones but with conditions, according to a Market Watch report.
  
  
• Standard PCs Will Lose Status as Largest IC Application in 2013 (Friday Dec. 07, 2012)
  For most of the last two decades personal computers have accounted for a third or more of annual IC sales, but standard PCs are now on the brink of being replaced as the largest end-use product category for integrated circuits, according to IC Insights’ new 2013 edition of IC Market Drivers.
  
  
• EDA vendors cashing in on move to FinFETs (Friday Dec. 07, 2012)
  Despite lingering economic doom and gloom, electronic design automation (EDA) vendors are poised for a strong 2013 as the semiconductor industry prepares to migrate to three-dimensional FinFET transistors while continuing to push the envelope with scaling to smaller process geometries, according to Aart de Geus, chairman and CEO of Synopsys Inc.
  
  
• Broadcom sees rising 20 nm costs amid handset push (Friday Dec. 07, 2012)
  Cost-per-transistor may rise at the 20- and 14-nm generations, Broadcom CEO Scott McGregor said during in the company’s annual analyst day here
  
  
• IHS Downgrades 2012 Semiconductor Forecast to 2.3 Percent Decline (Friday Dec. 07, 2012)
  Amid increasingly weak economic conditions that are depressing consumer and business spending on electronics, IHS is downgrading its forecast for the global semiconductor market in 2012, with revenue now expected to decline by 2.3 percent for the year.
  
  
• Sony and Toshiba Set to Increase Chip Spending in 2013 as They Strive to Recover (Thursday Dec. 06, 2012)
  Despite weak financial results, leading Japanese consumer electronics original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp. during the next two years are expected to increase their semiconductor spending as they invest in a wide range of innovative new products to revitalize their businesses.
  
  
• Global Semiconductor Sales Increase in October, Remain Above Seasonal Rate (Wednesday Dec. 05, 2012)
  The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), representing U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing and design, today announced that worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $25.22 billion for the month of October 2012, a 1.7 percent increase from the prior month when sales were $24.79 billion.
  
  
• Achronix 6 billion-transistor FPGAs: Take two (Tuesday Dec. 04, 2012)
  Achronix’s new 6 billion-transistor device, the first FPGA to be built on a 22-nm manufacturing process at Intel Corp. and promised to start sampling this quarter, won’t arrive in the market until the first quarter of 2013