Electronics trends for 2019

Electronics technology and market trends for 2019:

Markets: The Future of the Semiconductor Industry is Bright. Demand is rising for AI and automotive, flat for mobile phones, with trade uncertainty looming over everything. Foundries see growth and new issues in 2019. WSTS industry forecast projects annual global market growth of 2.6 percent in 2019.

Politics: Superpower politics may start to unravel semiconductor industry. China – USA market war is going on or starting. Trade Disputes Increase Market Uncertainty. The need to impose tariffs on U.S. imports of semiconductors is perplexing and frequently confusing. For example GoPro says it will move production of US-bound cameras out of China by summer 2019 due to fear of future tariffs, as US-China trade war escalates.

More-Than-Moore Markets: Software developers have come to expect ever-growing compute and memory resources, but the CPU no longer can deliver the kinds of performance benefits that scaling used to provide. CPUs no longer deliver the same kind of of performance improvements as in the past, raising questions across the industry about what comes next. The growth in processing power delivered by a single CPU core began stalling out at the beginning of the decade. The escalating costs of following Moore’s Law have shifted the semiconductor industry’s focus to More-than-Moore (MtM) technologies, where analog/mixed-signal, RF, MEMS, image sensing, power or other technologies may be integrated with CMOS in a variety of planar, 2.5D and 3D architecturesNew Metrology and Inspection Technologies Needed for More-than-Moore Markets. Maximum flexibility is no longer the reliable path to product success. With scaling no longer happening for many companies, competitiveness now comes from better design, better performance and lower power.

Memory: DRAM fastest growing market in four of past six years, demonstrating very cyclical market. For the last two years, DRAMs have been sold more than any other semiconductors and market has been strongly growing. DRAM growth ends in 2019. New memory technologies like GDDR6 and HBM2 impacts system design. By 2018, embedded memory has become pervasive in a system-on-chip (SoC) and the area devoted to memory has risen to 72% and Semico Research predicts that this will rise to 79% by 2021.

AI: AI/ML/DL is now cropping up everywhere, and that trend shows no sign of abatement. AI and machine learning were considered distant future technologies until a few years ago, but now AI is suddenly pushed into the mainstream. ML support is showing up at all levels. The almost ubiquitous rollout of AI and its offshoots—machine learning, deep learning, neural nets of all types—will require significantly more processing power as the amount of data that needs to be processed continues to grow by orders of magnitude. What isn’t clear yet is how that will affect semiconductor manufacturing or how quickly that might happen. Your Next SoC Will Probably Include AI Acceleration. China has never had a real chip industry, but in making specialized AI chips, though, it’s got a head start. Today, selling custom chips for artificial intelligence is still a small business – the current market at $2.5 billion which is one half of one percent of the estimated value of the 2018 global semiconductor market). It could be worth $20 billion in 2021.

Heterogeneous processing: It used to be that the only processing device was an x86. Now almost all data centers have added both FPGA and GPU processors in various configurationsThis heterogeneous approach is particularly apparent in AI/ML designs. This means that processors are no longer the one-size-fits-all answer for processing which means faster rate of innovation. Addition of multiple processing elements and memories is causing design challenges. System-on-chip (SoC) solutions continue to get more complex as more specialized hardware is added to optimize the SoC for new applications. Designers today are faced by a “whole system” problem: a problem of systemic complexity. Making Sure A Heterogeneous Design Will Work is hard. While existing tools still work well enough, no one has yet figured out the most efficient way to use them in a variety of new applications. A growing push toward more heterogeneity and customization in chip design is creating havoc across the global supply chain.

Prototyping: Faster innovation is what every engineering team is striving for. The speed of progress, however, can be hindered by how fast you can iterate through a prototyping cycle. Electronics prototyping is constrained by PCB manufacturing which is often opaque, slow and error prone.

Equipment: After a period of record growth, the semiconductor equipment industry is facing a slowdown in 2019, in addition to several technical challenges that still need to be resolved. Both DRAM and NAND vendors are expected to push out their equipment orders. On the positive side, foundry vendors continue to ramp up their 7nm processes, propelling equipment orders in the logic space. Still, the demand for leading-edge and mature tools can’t make up for the downturn in memory. Total fab equipment spending in 2019 is projected to drop 8 percent.

Advanced nodes: Intel plans to ship products based on 10nm in the second half of 2019. TSMC and Samsung are ramping up 7nm, which is equivalent to Intel’s 10nm. 7 nm is important node. It’s becoming harder to prepare a wafer at advanced nodes. There are considerable challenges of planarizing a thin film on a wafer for etch and optical control at 7nm and beyond. Intel is working on 7nm and 5nm.

MEMS: Small but mighty, micro-electrical mechanical systems (MEMS) were the driving force behind many of the most surprising devices at this year’s CES. MEMS are tiny machines made of components between 1 and 100 micrometers in sizeEvent-driven MEMS sensors consume no power while standing by. A triggering mechanical or thermal event closes a contact within the sensor to activate its circuitry and telemetry. Compared to traditional RF relays, RF MEMS switch technology can provide a relay replacement solution that is smaller, faster, more reliable, and use less power than conventional electromechanical relays.

Packaging: Although IC packaging industry braces for slower growth in 2019, advanced packaging remains a bright spot. Intel has demonstrated a new Foveros 3D ‘stacked’ packaging technology for face-to-face stacking of logic. Foveros extends the 3D packaging concept to include high-performance logic such as CPU, graphics, and AI processors.

Printed electronics: Printing electronics using conductive ink rather than lithography is starting to move out of the research phase, with chipmakers now looking at how to commercialize this technology across a broad range of sensor applications.

Sensors: New sensors could vastly extend the reach of electronics, creating new markets and new opportunities within existing markets. The sensors market be segmented on the basis of technology, named as CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor), MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System), NEMS (Nano Electromechanical System) and others. It is expected to increase due to increasing adoption of sensors in automotive sector, escalating use of sensors in industrial products, strong demand for sensors in smart home and building applications, growing adoption of sensors in healthcare equipments, etc. Yet the market faces some challenges such as declining personal computers (PCs) shipments.

EDA: Digital circuit design is largely automated today, but most analog components still are designed manually. Analog electronics design is needed very much today, especially in IoT applications where same chips need to have both analogue and digital functionality. As analog design grows increasingly complex and error-prone, design teams and tool vendors are focusing on how to automate as much of the design of analog circuits as possible. We need new ways to find defects in multi-technology devices.

Power consumption: Today, information and communication technologies globally consume 8% of electricity and doubles every year. New low power technologies are needed in both hardware and software.

2019 Will Be the Year of Open Source from software and even hardware. It seems that it is the time for RISC-V to rise to the challenge. It is possible that there is a bright future for RISC-V, as the biggest concern isn’t even choosing “the core” as designers today are faced by a “whole system” problem. Open hardware/software platforms like Arduino and Raspberry Pi are inresingly important in many applications.

Regulations: More restrictive regulations like those from EU’s REACH are pushing companies to produce products free from halogens and phthalate.

Compliance: The IEC 62368-1 standard represents an important transition for designers of ICT and audio-visual equipment because it is set to supersede the outgoing IEC 60950-1 and IEC 60065 electrical safety standards. It applies to to the end systems and also to components such as power supplies. The implementation date is by the December 2020.

289 Comments

  1. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Intel’s View of the Chiplet Revolution
    Ramune Nagisetty is helping Intel establish its place in a new industry ecosystem centered on chiplets
    https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/semiconductors/processors/intels-view-of-the-chiplet-revolution

    Reply
  2. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Huawein seuraava prosessori tekee historiaa
    http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9366&via=n&datum=2019-04-16_15:26:34&mottagare=30929

    Taiwanilainen TSMC on ilmoittanut ryhtyvänsä valmistamaan Huawein seuraavaa älypuhelinprosessoria eli Kirin 985 -piiriä volyymeissä toisen neljänneksen aikana. Mullistavaa on se, että Kirin 985 on ensimmäinen 7 nanometrin EUV-litografialla valistettava volyymituote.

    Reply
  3. Tomi Engdahl says:

    New Material Could Transform How Electronics Are Built
    https://www.designnews.com/materials-assembly/new-material-could-transform-how-electronics-are-built/131907181260549?ADTRK=UBM&elq_mid=8159&elq_cid=876648

    A new family of crystal materials can serve a dual purpose in electron movement in electronic devices, potentially changing how they will be designed in the future.

    Reply
  4. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Multi-Physics At 5/3nm
    https://semiengineering.com/multi-physics-at-5-3nm/

    Why process, voltage and temperature are so interrelated at future nodes, and what impact that has on design.

    Reply
  5. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
    Intel slightly beats with Q1 revenue of $16.1B, flat YoY, “data-centric” revenue down 5% YoY, and PC revenue up 4% YoY; stock down 7%+ after hours

    Intel’s wave of high-performance chips pushes it to bigger Q1 earnings
    https://venturebeat.com/2019/04/25/intel-beats-expectations-as-q1-revenue-hits-16-1-billion-on-wave-of-10-nm-chips/

    Reply
  6. Tomi Engdahl says:

    http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/9397-vuoto-paljastaa-intel-on-jattimaisissa-vaikeuksissa

    Intel lupasi tammikuun alussa CES-messuilla ryhtyä toimittamaan 10 nanometrin prosessoreita vuoden toisen neljänneksen aikana. Nyt hollantilainen webbisivusto on julkistanut salaisen muistion, jonka mukaan 10 nanometrin prosessorit eivät tule pöytäkoneisiin ennen vuotta 2022.

    Pitää muistaa, että alun perin Intelin piti tuoda 10 nanometrin prosessorit markkinoille vuonna 2016. Puolijohdealalla kyse on ilman muuta historian suurimmasta myöhästymisestä. Samalla Intel on menettänyt teknologisen etumatkansa.

    https://tweakers.net/nieuws/151984/roadmap-toont-dat-intel-in-2021-nog-desktop-cpus-op-14nm-maakt.html

    Reply
  7. Tomi Engdahl says:

    TSMC unveils 6nm process
    https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20190416PR203.html

    Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has announced its 6nm (N6) process, which provides a significant enhancement from its 7nm (N7) technology

    Reply
  8. Tomi Engdahl says:

    TSMC’s Half-Node Shrink from 7nm to 6nm
    https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1334601

    TSMC gave details on a new 6nm process expected to provide customers a simple migration from the company’s current 7nm node. The new node wasn’t part of the company’s original roadmap, which went from 7nm to 7nm+ and 5nm.

    N6 will have design rules that are 100% compatible with N7, allowing customers to directly migrate from N7

    “The numbers N6 and N5 look pretty close, but actually the performance — they still have a big gap,” Wei said. “N5 compared with N7, actually, the logic density increases by 80%. N6 compared with N7 is only 18%.”

    Reply
  9. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Lithography Options For Next-Gen Devices
    https://semiengineering.com/lots-of-lithography-options-for-next-gen-devices/

    EUV is the clear winner down to 5nm, but what comes after that may be a combination of tools and techniques.

    Chipmakers are ramping up extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography for advanced logic at 7nm and/or 5nm, but EUV isn’t the only lithographic option on the table.

    Reply
  10. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Finding The Bottom Of The Memory Trough
    https://semiengineering.com/finding-the-bottom-of-the-memory-trough/

    Will the memory slowdown continue or is a rebound on the near horizon?

    Reply
  11. Tomi Engdahl says:

    US, China Vying for AI and 5G Supremacy
    https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1334589

    The US-China trade war is all about tech supremacy, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI) and 5G, and we might end up with the world taking sides to divide into US-led and China-led spheres.

    Reply
  12. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Ju-min Park / Reuters:
    Samsung posts a profit of $5.4B in Q1, down 60% YoY, as its semiconductor and mobile businesses post a 64% drop and a 40% drop in operating profits respectively
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-samsung-elec-results-idUSKCN1S52C8

    Reply
  13. Tomi Engdahl says:

    IP-ytimiä myytiin 3,6 miljardilla dollarilla
    http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/9415-ip-ytimia-myytiin-3-6-miljardilla-dollarilla

    IPNestin tilastojen Arm:n IP-myynnin arvo oli viime vuonna 1,61 miljardia dollaria. EDA-talo Synopsys oli toiseksi suurin IP-toimittaja 629,3 miljoonalla dollarilla. Kolmanneksi suurin, niin ikään EDA-talo Cadence oli jo selvästi pienempi 188,8 miljoonan dollarin IP-myynnillään.

    Reply
  14. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Intel cuts forecast as China data center sales remain weak
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-intel-results/intel-forecasts-weak-second-quarter-cuts-full-year-outlook-idUSKCN1S12KP

    Chipmaker Intel Corp on Thursday cut its full-year revenue forecast and missed analysts’ estimates for first-quarter sales for the data center business that has driven growth as PC sales declined in recent years, sending its shares down as much as 7.5%.

    Reply
  15. Tomi Engdahl says:

    New Copper Material Could Replace Precious Metals in Electronics
    https://www.designnews.com/electronics-test/new-copper-material-could-replace-precious-metals-electronics/87168999360641?ADTRK=UBM&elq_mid=8440&elq_cid=876648

    A new copper-based material could be used to replace more expensive precious metals like silver and gold in next-generation and printed electronics.

    Researchers in Japan have developed a technique to turn a copper-based metal into a material that can mimic the properties of precious metals such as gold and silver, paving the way for cheaper fabrication of next-generation electronic devices for the Internet of Things (IoT).

    A collaboration between researchers at Tohoku University and Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co. Ltd in Tokyo successfully synthesized copper nanoparticles that can solidify at much lower temperatures than previously possible while remaining pure, they said.

    Reply
  16. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Focus Shifting From 2.5D To Fan-Outs For Lower Cost
    https://semiengineering.com/shifting-from-2-5d-to-fan-outs-for-lower-cost/

    Experts at the Table, part 2: Interposer costs continue to limit adoption of fastest and lowest-power options, but that’s about to change.

    Reply
  17. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Uhnder: Digital Radar Chips
    https://semiengineering.com/uhnder-digital-radar-chips/

    Startup developed a single-chip solution that will dramatically decrease the cost and increase the performance of radar systems in cars.

    Reply
  18. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Survey: China’s Fabless IC Firms Optimistic …
    Half of China’s fabless companies are expecting double-digit growth, according to a survey conducted by EE Times China.

    Survey: China’s Fabless IC Firms Optimistic on Sales Growth
    https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1334624

    Reply
  19. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Intel Cuts 2019 Sales Forecast
    https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1334618

    Intel’s first-quarter sales and second-quarter forecast fell short of Wall Street’s expectations, while company executives reiterated plans to launch its first 10-nm products late this year.

    Intel (Santa Clara, California) also cut its sales target for 2019 after customers in China and elsewhere reduced orders. Intel said that it now expects sales of approximately $69 billion for the year, down from a forecast of $71.5 billion that it gave in January. Revenue of $69 billion would represent a 3% decrease from 2018.

    Reply
  20. Tomi Engdahl says:

    The Case For Embedded FPGAs Strengthens And Widens
    https://semiengineering.com/embedded-fpga-becomes-a-viable-option/

    Combining the flexibility of a FPGA with the performance and cost benefits of an SoC is pushing this technology well into the mainstream.

    Reply
  21. Tomi Engdahl says:

    TSMC upbeat on chip outlook after Apple-Qualcomm settlement; first quarter disappoints
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tsmc-results/tsmc-upbeat-on-chip-outlook-after-apple-qualcomm-settlement-first-quarter-disappoints-idUSKCN1RU0MV

    Taiwan’s TSMC struck an upbeat note about the outlook for the depressed global chip market, betting that a rollout of faster 5G mobile network would buoy demand, even as it posted its steepest quarterly profit drop in more than seven years.

    Reply
  22. Tomi Engdahl says:

    ‘Korea will become non-memory chip powerhouse by 2030′
    http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/tech/2019/05/133_268069.html

    The government will extend all possible support in the non-memory chip sector to Samsung and other companies to make Korea a global powerhouse by 2030, President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday.

    Reply
  23. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Global Semiconductor Sales Down 15.5 Percent in First Quarter of 2019
    https://www.semiconductors.org/global-semiconductor-sales-down-15-5-percent-in-first-quarter-of-2019/

    “Global semiconductor sales slowed during the first quarter of 2019, falling short of the previous quarter and Q1 of last year by double-digit percentages,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “Sales in March decreased on a year-to-year basis across all major regional markets and semiconductor product categories, consistent with the cyclical trend the global market has experienced recently.”

    Silicon Wafer Shipments Drop to Lowest Level Since Fourth Quarter of 2017
    http://www1.semi.org/en/silicon-wafer-shipments-drop-lowest-level-fourth-quarter-2017

    Worldwide silicon wafer area shipments dropped 5.6 percent during the first quarter 2019 when compared to the fourth quarter 2018 and are now at their lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2017 after silicon wafer shipments for the most recent quarter declined 1 percent quarter-over-quarter, according to the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) in its quarterly analysis of the silicon wafer industry.

    Reply
  24. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Xilinx Excels as Strategy Shifts to Data Centers
    https://www.electronicdesign.com/industrial-automation/xilinx-excels-strategy-shifts-data-centers?NL=ED-005&Issue=ED-005_20190501_ED-005_463&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=25234&utm_medium=email&elq2=2f6494670b8e40d89a4cc27c5bb6ea50

    Over the last year, Xilinx has expanded its efforts around artificial intelligence, networking and storage chores in data centers. Under chief executive Victor Peng, who was hired last year, the company claims that its programmable FPGAs are competitive with rival CPUs, GPUs and ASICs. The company has also been trying to lower the bar for programming FPGAs. The plan is starting to pay off.

    Reply
  25. Tomi Engdahl says:

    GF Sells Ex-IBM Fab to ON Semi
    $430M deal starts ON Semi’s multi-year shift to 300-mm wafers, 45-/65-nm nodes
    https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1334595

    GlobalFoundries will sell its 300-mm Fab 10 in East Fishkill, New York, to ON Semiconductor for $430 million.

    The deal is the largest step to date in GF’s decision in August 2018 to pivot away from pursuing leading-edge process technology. It also underscores the increasingly competitive nature of the business of making semiconductors.

    For ON, the deal marks a low-cost route to its first 300-mm fab as well as access to GF’s 45-nm and 65-nm processes to compete with ON’s analog rivals.

    Reply
  26. Tomi Engdahl says:

    ON Semiconductor acquires Wi-Fi specialist Quantenna in bid for low-power industrial, automotive connectivity share
    https://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2019/04/on-semi-acquires-quantenna-wifi.html?cmpid=&utm_source=enl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cim_data_center_newsletter&utm_content=2019-04-22&eid=289644432&bid=2424856

    ON Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: ON) and Quantenna Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: QTNA) on March 27 announced that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement for ON Semiconductor to acquire Quantenna for $24.50 per share in an all cash transaction.

    Reply
  27. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Survey: Chinese IC Designers Continue to Lag in Pay
    https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1334636

    The vast majority of engineers working for Chinese fabless chip companies earn less than $50,000 per year, according to a recent survey conducted by EE Times China, a statistic that illustrates the continued discrepancy between Chinese semiconductor industry workers and their higher-paid counterparts in the West.

    Reply
  28. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Q1 Chip Sales Drop Among Largest on Record
    https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1334635

    Global chip sales sank by 15.5% sequentially in the first quarter, among the largest quarter-to-quarter declines for the industry in the last 35 years.

    Chip sales totaled $96.8 billion in the first quarter, down from $114.7 billion last year

    Reply
  29. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Fifty Years of AMD, a Tech Leader
    https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1334630

    While Intel’s Andy Grove famously said, “Only the paranoid survive,” AMD’s mantra might well be “Only the tenacious survive.”

    Today, a new AMD, forged from hardships, is emerging under the leadership of CEO Dr. Lisa Su.

    AMD was founded the year after Intel. As with Intel, AMD’s founders, including CEO Jerry Sanders, were alumni of Fairchild Semiconductor. While Intel’s founders came from the semiconductor pioneer’s engineering and management ranks, Sanders came from the sales department at Fairchild, where he was a top salesman. AMD eventually began selling MSI logic products, including the Am9300 shift register and the Am2501 binary/hex up/down counter.

    AMD built a number of second-source products, but during the 1980s the company transitioned to more innovative chips based on AMD research and development. AMD built one of the earliest Ethernet controllers (the Am7990) and an early 802.11b controller (before if became known as Wi-Fi).

    Although it eventually left the memory market, AMD also built memory chips, including SRAMs, DRAMs, and content addressable memories (CAMs). In particular, AMD had a major share of the NOR flash business until it spun off the nonvolatile memory division as Spansion in 2005 (later purchased by Cypress).

    Reply
  30. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test
    https://semiengineering.com/week-in-review-manufacturing-test-42/

    Here comes the battle between 5nm and 6nm processes at two foundry vendors—Samsung and TSMC. Meanwhile, Intel is behind and scrambling to get 10nm out the door. (Intel’s 10nm is equivalent to 7nm from the foundries.)

    Last week, TSMC announced delivery of a complete version of its 5nm design infrastructure. TSMC’s 5nm technology is based on a finFET.

    This week, Samsung announced that its 5nm finFET process technology is complete in its development and is now ready for sampling. Compared to 7nm, Samsung’s 5nm finFET process provides up to a 25% increase in logic area efficiency with 20% lower power consumption or 10% higher performance. Like 7nm, Samsung has implemented extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography for metal layer patterning, thereby reducing mask layers and providing better fidelity.

    Also, Samsung is collaborating with customers on 6nm, a customized EUV-based process node.

    This week, TSMC also introduced a 6nm finFET process using EUV.

    Reply
  31. Tomi Engdahl says:

    IP Requires System Context At 6/5/3nm
    https://semiengineering.com/ip-requires-system-context-at-6-5-3nm/

    At each new process node, gates are free. That opens the door to a lot more IP blocks, and a lot of new challenges.

    Reply
  32. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Breathable E-Textile Proven for RF Wearable Apps
    https://www.mwrf.com/materials/breathable-e-textile-proven-rf-wearable-apps?Issue=MWRF-001_20190502_MWRF-001_288&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=25283&utm_medium=email&elq2=3bb265f968d94caa8e65cb75f179f5b5

    This novel technology allows for the creation of conductive tracks on fabric, making it a potential solution for a wide range of wearables.

    Reply
  33. Tomi Engdahl says:

    How Intel and AMD are using ‘chiplets’ to build next-gen CPUs | Upscaled
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-4hxNKvEY0

    CPU performance has been stagnating for years, but in 2019 that might finally change. We run through the problems with making CPUs faster, and look at the tech AMD and Intel are trying to use to speed up their next processors.

    Reply
  34. Tomi Engdahl says:

    https://semiengineering.com/week-in-review-manufacturing-test-44/

    Cree posted its results for the third quarter of fiscal 2019 ended March 31. Revenue from continuing operations was $274 million, a 22% increase compared to revenue from continuing operations of $225 million in the like period a year ago.

    As previously announced, Cree executed a definitive agreement to sell its Lighting Products business to IDEAL. As a result, Cree’s Wolfspeed unit has become the largest part of the company. Wolfspeed makes power semiconductors based on silicon carbide (SIC) as well as RF devices built around gallium nitride (GaN).

    Cree is also converting some LED fab capacity to GaN in order to meet demand for RF GaN. RF GaN is seeing growth for 5G.

    Reply
  35. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Worst Chip Sales Decline in 10 Years Projected
    https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1334653

    With conditions in the semiconductor market deteriorating rapidly since the beginning of the year, market research firm IHS Markit has slashed its forecast for chip sales by more than 10%.

    The chip market is now poised to decline by 7.4% to $446.2 billion in 2019, according to IHS. The firm had previously projected that chip sales would increase by 2.9% this year.

    A decline of 7.4% in chip sales would mark the worst down year for the semiconductor industry since the Great Recession in 2009, when the semiconductor market declined by nearly 11%, IHS said.

    Reply
  36. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Color-Tunable LEDs Open Up Possibilities Of Configurable Semiconductors
    https://hackaday.com/2019/05/06/color-tunable-leds-open-up-possibilities-of-configurable-semiconductors/

    The invention of the blue LED was groundbreaking enough to warrant a Nobel prize. For the last decade, researchers have been trying to take the technology to the next level by controlling the color of emission while the device is in operation. In a new research paper, by the guys over Osaka University, Lehigh University, the University of Amsterdam and West Chester University have presented a GaN LEDs that can be tuned to emit different colors from the same substrate.

    Color-Tunablility in GaN LEDs Based on Atomic Emission Manipulation under Current Injection
    https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsphotonics.8b01461

    Reply
  37. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Calibrator Market Expected to Grow
    https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1334656

    From fruits and vegetables to semiconductors, we’d have no idea what we’re buying without calibrated scales, meters, and probes. The ever-increasing need for quality pushes measurement equipment manufacturers for more accurate measurements, and that, in turn, leads to an increasing market for calibration equipment.

    Reply
  38. Tomi Engdahl says:

    AnandTech:
    Intel shares its chip roadmap through 2023, says the 10nm product family will be available from the middle of this year, plans first 7nm product for 2021 — At Intel’s Investor Day today, CEO Bob Swan and Murthy Renduchintala spoke to the ability of the company with respect to its manufacturing capabilities.

    Intel Details Manufacturing through 2023: 7nm, 7+, 7++, with Next Gen Packaging
    by Ian Cutress & Anton Shilov on May 8, 2019 4:35 PM EST
    https://www.anandtech.com/show/14312/intel-process-technology-roadmap-refined-nodes-specialized-technologies

    the delay of its 10nm process has obviously raised multiple question marks, and has done for several years.

    Back in 2013, Intel envisoned its 10nm to succeed the 14nm by providing 2.7x density, with new technologies such as Self-Aligned Quad Patterning (SAQP), Contact over Active Gate (COAG), Cobolt Interconnects, and new packaging technologies such as EMIB and Foveros. Intel admits that this was an ambitious plan

    This ended up pushing 10nm out into a later time frame. In this case, Intel pushed 10nm out to 2019 (technically they shipped Cannon Lake in small quantities on 10nm in 2017, however that is nothing more than a curio in the timeline of semiconductors), and filled the gap with 14+ and 14++.

    Intel has stated that its 10nm product family (beyond Cannon Lake) will start to be available from the middle of this year (2019), with Ice Lake on client platforms (notebooks).

    Intel will be launching multiple 10nm products through 2019 and 2020, including server based 10nm in the first half of 2020:

    Intel states that it will have 7nm in production and launching a product in 2021. That sounds very aggressive for a company that has had issues with 10nm.

    Intel provided this slide, which shows a monolithic PC-Centric die with a multi-die Data-Centric chip built on both Foveros and EMIB. This corroborates our discussion with Intel’s chiplet and packaging team, who also stated that we would see Foveros and EMIB on a combined product – specifically the GPU.

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  39. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Intel Targets 2021 for 7-nm
    https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1334677

    Intel also plans to begin shipping 7-nm processors in 2021, executives told analysts at the company’s annual investor day. The 7-nm process technology will mark Intel’s first use of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography.

    Reply
  40. Tomi Engdahl says:

    3-Phase-Input, 5-kW AC-DC Power Supply Offers High Flexibility
    https://www.powerelectronics.com/power-management/3-phase-input-5-kw-ac-dc-power-supply-offers-high-flexibility?NL=ED-003&Issue=ED-003_20190509_ED-003_456&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=25462&utm_medium=email&elq2=b7998ca152c4466ea30c896ed56cd7c9

    The HPT5K0 series features resonant zero-voltage switching with ITE/industrial and medical agency approvals.

    Built-in digital control allows both the output voltage (0-105%) and output current (0-110%) to be set via analog and digital control interfaces. A graphical user interface (GUI) is provided to support system development and define unique user profiles, allowing tailoring of the HPT5K0 units to the end application, including signals and controls, without hardware changes, thereby reducing design time. This capability also allows the same base unit to be used across multiple applications, reducing cost by driving economies of scale. The HPT5K0 series supports I²C, RS232 and RS485 serial buses with multiple digital protocols, including PMBus, CANopen, MODBUS and SCPI, offering flexibility to designers. Full documentation is provided.

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  41. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Cree Pumps $1 Billion into Silicon Carbide Chip Production
    https://www.electronicdesign.com/power/cree-pumps-1-billion-silicon-carbide-chip-production?NL=ED-003&Issue=ED-003_20190509_ED-003_456&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=25462&utm_medium=email&elq2=b7998ca152c4466ea30c896ed56cd7c9

    Cree says it will spend $1 billion over the next five years to boost its overall silicon carbide production amid escalating demand, particularly in China. Silicon carbide (SiC) is an emerging alternative to silicon used in power semiconductors to reduce the charging time and increase the range of electric vehicles. It’s also used to enhance the efficiency of solar inverters, industrial motors and cellular infrastructure.

    Silicon carbide chip sales are projected to jump from $615 million in 2019 to $1.58 billion in 2023 as the cost of discrete chips falls and other challenges are resolved

    Sales of SiC and GaN components used in electric car powertrain inverters could surge to $10 billion by 2027

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  42. Tomi Engdahl says:

    The Growing Uncertainty Of Sign-Off At 7/5nm
    https://semiengineering.com/the-growing-uncertainty-of-sign-off-at-7-5nm/

    Checking the electrical characteristics of circuits is becoming much more challenging.

    Reply
  43. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Raising The Abstraction Level For Power
    https://semiengineering.com/raising-the-abstraction-level-for-power/

    Finding the right abstraction for power analysis and optimization comes from tool integration.

    Reply
  44. Tomi Engdahl says:

    MIT’s FoldTronics Fabrication Technique Allows Electronics to Be Integrated Into 3D Folded Objects
    https://blog.hackster.io/mits-foldtronics-fabrication-technique-allows-electronics-to-be-integrated-into-3d-folded-objects-19622ba0ebdb

    Engineers at MIT’s Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab have designed a new technique, based on the Japanese art of origami, to integrate electronics into 3D structures. Known as FoldTronics, the process employs a cutting plotter to create 2D plastic sheets into a 3D honeycomb structure, but before the folding takes place, electronics and circuitry are added.

    https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=3290605.3300858

    Reply

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