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Commentary / Analysis

• Samsung Delivers Its 14 nm (Friday Apr. 10, 2015)
  So here it is, Samsung’s Exynos 7420 fabbed with a 14 nm finFET process. But whose 14 nm process was a question raised a few days ago with the speculation that the “ALB” package marking denoting Albany and perhaps the “G” denoting GlobalFoundries.
  
  
• Intel drops talks to acquire Altera: Sources (Friday Apr. 10, 2015)
  Intel has stopped its talks with Altera about a potential acquisition, according to sources familiar with the situation.
  
  
• Intel's bid for semiconductor firm signals more sector deals (Thursday Apr. 09, 2015)
  Intel’s pursuit of its biggest acquisition yet only builds the case for more semiconductor deals.
  
  
• TSMC Outlines 16nm, 10nm Plans (Wednesday Apr. 08, 2015)
  Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) announced plans to roll out a compact, low-power version of its 16nm FinFET process and revealed its road map for smaller process nodes. The company will begin volume production of its 16nm FinFET Plus (16FF+) in the middle of this year and break ground on a new 10nm fab next year.
  
  
• Why EDA Invests in IP (Tuesday Apr. 07, 2015)
  Collaboration between EDA and IP sectors can open up new opportunities in design, argues an executive from Sonics.
  
  
• SEMI Reports 2014 Global Semiconductor Materials Sales of $44.3 Billion (Tuesday Apr. 07, 2015)
  The global semiconductor materials market increased 3 percent in 2014 compared to 2013 while worldwide semiconductor revenues increased 10 percent. Revenues of $44.3 billion mark the first increase in the semiconductor materials market since 2011.
  
  
• Global Semiconductor Sales Increase in February Compared to Last Year (Monday Apr. 06, 2015)
  SIA today announced worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $27.8 billion for the month of February 2015, an increase of 6.7 percent from February 2014 when sales were $26.0 billion.
  
  
• U.S.-Headquartered Companies Capture Bulk of IDM, Fabless IC Sales (Friday Apr. 03, 2015)
  IC Insights recently released its March Update to the 2015 McClean Report. The Update includes a review of IC company sales by headquarters location. In this example, Samsung’s sales from its fabrication facility in Austin, Texas, are counted as sales from South Korean companies.
  
  
• Analog EDA Finally Automated (Wednesday Apr. 01, 2015)
  Historically analog designers were almost mysterious and old-school as radio frequency (RF) designers. After acquiring years of experience manipulating the many parameters not present in digital designs, analog designers become fountains-of-knowledge in how to add the"secret sauce" to all the different sorts of analog circuits in use today, often reluctant to embrace automation as an alternative.
  
  
• Neural Networks Take on Embedded Vision (Tuesday Mar. 31, 2015)
  The growth in embedded vision systems—systems that extract meaning from visual inputs—is driving demand for more performance- and power-efficient vision-processing capabilities. Many companies have risen to respond to this demand.
  
  
• Analysts Cool on Intel/Altera Combo (Tuesday Mar. 31, 2015)
  Wall Street’s excitement on Friday over reports x86 giant Intel Corp. was in talks to acquire FPGA maker Altera has left some analysts cold on Monday morning.
  
  
• Researchers Claim 44x Power Cuts (Monday Mar. 30, 2015)
  Researchers sponsored by the Semiconductor Research Corp. (SRC, Research Triangle Park, N.C.) claim they have extended Moore's Law by finding a way to cut serial link power by as much as 80 percent.
  
  
• How Will Deep Learning Change SoCs? (Monday Mar. 30, 2015)
  Deep Learning is already changing the way computers see, hear and identify objects in the real world.
  
  
• Intel in Talks to Buy Altera (Monday Mar. 30, 2015)
  Intel Corp. is in advanced talks to buy chip partner Altera Corp., according to people familiar with the matter, a move that would represent the semiconductor giant’s biggest-ever acquisition.
  
  
• NXP-Freescale Fusion Creates Automotive Semiconductor Powerhouse, IHS Says (Friday Mar. 27, 2015)
  According to IHS, the recent agreement to merge NXP Semiconductor and Freescale Semiconductor creates a company that would have reached $4 billion in automotive semiconductor revenues in 2014.
  
  
• 2014 Automotive Semiconductors Supplier Rankings Adjusted Based on Further Analysis, IHS Says (Friday Mar. 27, 2015)
  Leaders in the automotive semiconductor market experienced exceptional results and growth in 2014, according to updated analysis from IHS. Now that final financial reports have been made and analyzed, IHS has adjusted its final rankings of these suppliers (originally reported in January) to accommodate some missed expectations in Europe, as well as currency exchange rates and unexpected strong growth at the end of 2014 by some suppliers.
  
  
• Apple A9 Orders Pivot to TSMC (Tuesday Mar. 24, 2015)
  TSMC will snatch more orders for Apple's A9 processor at the expense of Samsung, which is having yield problems with its most advanced technology node, according to sources interviewed by EE Times.
  
  
• Semiconductors off to slow start in 2015 (Tuesday Mar. 24, 2015)
  A weak first quarter outlook for the semiconductor market is indicating a slow start to 2015. Intel recently lowered the midpoint of its 1Q 2015 revenue guidance from $13.7 billion (down 7% from 4Q 2014) to $12.8 billion (down 13%).
  
  
• In 2020, 10nm Will Occupy 55% of Revenue: TSMC (Friday Mar. 20, 2015)
  Mark Liu, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Co-President at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) gave a speech under the topic “Growth Beyond Mobile” on March 18, referring to Internet of Things (IoT) will be the main growth driver of semiconductor industry, he further forecast that the 10nm will occupy 55 percent of revenue in 2020.
  
  
• North American Semiconductor Equipment Industry Posts February 2015 Book-to-Bill Ratio of 1.02 (Friday Mar. 20, 2015)
  North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.31 billion in orders worldwide in February 2015 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.02.
  
  
• Small Powerful Systems Give Rise to Medical Semiconductor Sales (Thursday Mar. 19, 2015)
  Smaller and more powerful medical systems are driving up sales of ICs, sensors, and other devices for the medical semiconductor market. IC Insights believes medical semiconductor sales growth will strengthen this year and next before sliding back in the next expected economic slowdown in 2017.
  
  
• Industrial IoT Drives Microsemi-Vitesse Merger (Thursday Mar. 19, 2015)
  In a sign that the rash of M&As among chip vendors has yet to subside, Microsemi Corp. announced Wednesday (March 18) its acquisition of Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. for $389 million.
  
  
• Broadcom v ASICs, Part 2 (Wednesday Mar. 18, 2015)
  Broadcom announced the next generation of the high-end communications chips it acquired with Dune Networks. The 28nm StrataDNX line sports capabilities that promise to drive its chips deeper into the lucrative territory of competing with ASICs that OEMs from Cisco Systems to ZTE build for big carrier and data center systems.
  
  
• SEMI Reports 2014 Global Semiconductor Equipment Sales of $37.5 Billion (Wednesday Mar. 18, 2015)
  SEMI today reported that worldwide sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment totaled $37.50 billion in 2014, representing a year-over-year increase of 18 percent.
  
  
• NXP-Freescale Merger to Result in World’s Eighth-Largest Chipmaker and Pose Threat to Other Players, IHS Says (Tuesday Mar. 17, 2015)
  The recent acquisition of Freescale Semiconductor by NXP Semiconductors would catapult the merged entity into the world’s eighth-largest chipmaker, positioning the newly minted giant for an even more formidable presence in key industrial sectors, according to IHS.
  
  
• Layoffs Hit 1,600 in Cypress Deal (Monday Mar. 16, 2015)
  Cypress Semiconductor and Spansion completed their merger Thursday and notified staff of plans to cut as many as 1,600 jobs, according to an internal memo obtained by the San Jose Mercury News. The cuts represent more than 20% of the companies’ combined staff.
  
  
• 11 IC Product Categories to Exceed Total IC Market Growth in 2015 (Friday Mar. 13, 2015)
  Eleven product categories (led by Automotive Special Purpose Logic, DRAM, and Automotive Application-Specific Analog devices) are expected to exceed the 7% growth rate forecast for the total IC market this year.
  
  
• Worldwide Semiconductor Market reported to be US$336 billion in 2014, up 9.9% from 2013. (Thursday Mar. 12, 2015)
  The World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) has published the final semiconductor market figures for 2014. WSTS reports that the world semiconductor market showed a solid growth of almost 10% up to US$336 billion in 2014, driven mainly by double digit growth of Memory product category.
  
  
• FinFETs Race Toward Silicon (Wednesday Mar. 11, 2015)
  As Cadence announced a new physical-design tool, Synopsys said it has 100 production tape outs in FinFET processes, 90% of the advanced chips made to date.
  
  
• Strong Fab Equipment Spending Expected in 2015; Slowing but Positive 2016 (Wednesday Mar. 11, 2015)
  The SEMI report reveals that fab equipment spending in 2014 increased almost 20 percent and will rise 15 percent in 2015, increasing only 2-4 percent in 2016.