Electronics Industry News & Analysis | Market Outlook & Trends

Chang Steps Down as CEO of TSMC

Industry legend Morris Chang lets go the CEO title at TSMC but, as expected, hangs on to the reins of power.

EDA Startup Claims TSMC Design Win

Scottish startup with focus on the impact of statistical variation and transistor-level simulation of advanced processes has won leading foundry TSMC as customer for compact model extraction tool.

Globalfoundries Gets Slice of Apple Pie

Globalfoundries is preparing to make application processors for Apple in New York State, according to a local report.

TI Launches Reference Design Library

New reference design format to emphasize consistency, quaility in offering designers a credible starting point.

Chip Firms and OEMs to Enjoy Strong Revenue Growth as Year Finishes

Semiconductor companies as well as original equipment manufacturers (OEM) will finish 2013 enjoying significantly higher revenue than when they started out at the beginning...

Foundry Sales Dipped in October

October sales reported by TSMC and UMC both dipped sequentially and in the case of TSMC could indicate the start of an inventory correction predicted by the company since the middle of the year.

Startup Claims SRAM Halves Power Consumption

UK semiconductor IP startup SureCore has taped out an SRAM test chip in STMicroelectronics' 28-nm fully depleted silicon-on-insulator process.

Surprise Uptick in PC Sales Projected in Q4

Is the PC making a comeback? Despite consumers opting increasingly for tablets, IHS projects that PC sales will increase on a sequential and annual basis in the fourth quarter for the first time in a while.

China Local Design Chip Industry to Grow 4 Percent by Year-End

China’s domestic semiconductor design industry is set to reach $39.84 billion as the close of 2013, spurred by the extensive use of semiconductors on the part of Chinese-based original...

FDSOI Gains Memory IP Support

Memoir Systems has joined the growing ecosystem in support of STMicroelectronics' fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FDSOI) manufacturing process.

Microwave Signals Used to Harvest Energy Through Metamaterials

Researchers develop a wireless device that converts "lost" energy into electric power.

Micron to Spotlight ReRAM at ISSCC

SK Hynix and Micron Technology will report on 16-nm NAND flash non-volatile memories at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference, but papers by Samsung on 3-D NAND and Micron on a 16-Gbit resistive RAM are likely to be highlights.

Printed Circuit Board Shipments Grew Nearly 10 Percent in September

North American printed circuit board shipments increased 9.7 percent in September compared to August, while bookings grew 6.5 percent, reflecting normal seasonal patterns, according to the Association Connecting Electronics Industries.

Processors Focus on Data Center at ISSCC

Multiple papers from IBM and Intel—and a first ARM showing—will ensure the focus is on servers and the data center at the 2014 ISSCC.

Qualcomm Results Shine, but Outlook Mixed

San Diego wireless giant continues to prosper selling application processors for cell phones, but sales growth forecast is muted, possibly on increasing price pressure from rivals.

IMEC Builds Compound FinFETs on Silicon

Belgian research institute successfully substitutes III-V compound semiconductor for silicon in FinFET on 300-mm diameter wafers; claims it could open the way to hybrid CMOS-compound circuits.

LCD Panel Market Owes Growth So Far This Year to Tablets

Tablets appear to be singlehandedly driving the global market for large-area liquid-crystal display (LCD) panels this year, mitigating the losses from most other sectors of the LCD...

M/A-COM to Buy Mindspeed Without Wireless

M/A-COM will pay about $272 million for most of Mindspeed. The communications processor business is being sold separately.

Tabula Teams with Belfast Startup for Networking

Tabula, which offers a time-sliced FPGA architecture, has formed a partnership with Titan IC Systems Ltd., a 2007 startup from Belfast, Northern Ireland, specializing in networking.