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January 17, 2012

News for and about the microelectronics industry

Today's Tech Buzz

$10 billion a year is needed for IC capex, R&D, Intel exec says
A leading-edge chipmaker will need to spend $104 billion over the next decade on capital expenditures and IC research and development in order to stay at the forefront in semiconductor manufacturing and technology, Intel's William Holt said at the 2012 Industry Strategy Symposium. The cost of not maintaining the leading edge is even higher, Holt estimated, at $302 billion over 10 years. SemiMD.com (1/16), ElectroIQ (1/16)

ICs, Memory & More

Sources: Vendors jostle for smartphone chip orders in China
Broadcom, MediaTek, Qualcomm and Spreadtrum Communications reportedly are competing to supply 1GHz processors for lower-end smartphones that will be sold by China Mobile, China Telecom and China United Network Communications, DigiTimes reports, citing Taiwan-based handset makers. Qualcomm's MSM7227A and MediaTek's MT6575 are gaining much of the potential business, those sources say. DigiTimes (1/17)

Moortec's temperature sensor IP can be made with 28nm features
Moortec reported its embedded temperature sensor intellectual property has been demonstrated on chips made with 28-nanometer and 40nm processes by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The semiconductor IP is intended for applications in thermal management and monitoring. Electronics Weekly (U.K.) (1/16)

Going Green

Will energy-harvesting devices become more commercial this year?
Energy-harvesting devices will find their way into more commercial applications during 2012, IDTechEx analysts predict. One key trend is optimizing power consumption in electronic devices, including the solar-powered "Claremont" processor from Intel. ElectroIQ (1/16)

ARM talks energy-efficiency battle with Intel
Reacting to the news at CES that Intel has scored smartphone design wins for its "Medfield" Atom processor with Lenovo and Motorola Mobility, ARM Holdings CEO Warren East was dismissive, this blog post notes. "Are they ever going to be the leaders in power efficiency? No, of course not," he said. East seems more concerned about getting ARM-based processors into Windows 8 laptops and tablet computers, according to this post. GigaOm (1/16)

Semiconductors in Action

Open-source NFC stack complies with Android 4.0
Inside Secure is offering version 4.3.3 of its open-source near-field communication protocol stack for the Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" mobile operating system. The company said the release complies with Android 4.0's Compatibility Definition Document for NFC. Electronics Weekly (U.K.) (1/17)

Samsung says it will invest $41 billion in operations this year
Samsung Group says it plans to spend $41.4 billion to expand its operations in 2012, with much of that sum expected to go toward production of logic semiconductors and OLED televisions at Samsung Electronics. Samsung may sell up to $1 billion in bonds to finance expansion of its facility in Austin, Texas, where it makes processor chips for Apple and memory devices. Reuters (1/17), Bloomberg (1/16)

The design challenges of using multicore processors
Automotive electronics for safety features often involve multiple-core processors these days. This technical article discusses factors in calculating the power numbers of these system-on-a-chip devices. Electronic Engineering Times (Asia) (1/17)

Testing & Standards

3DIC testing can be made easier, more cost-effective
Engineers from Synopsys and the Industrial Technology Research Institute in Taiwan discuss in this technical article how to handle manufacturing and testing challenges related to three-dimensional chips. EE Times (1/16)

Post-holidays sales decline is seen for IC testing/packaging contractors
The customary slow season for chip packaging and testing contractors comes in the first quarter of the year, and those contractors foresee a decline in revenues of 5% to 10% for this period, compared with the fourth quarter of last year. Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, one of the largest contractors, sees the sales lull extending into the second quarter, before picking up in the third quarter. The China Post (1/16)

JEDEC News

JEDEC publishes breakthrough standard for Wide I/O Mobile DRAM
Widely anticipated by the industry, the new standard is designed to meet industry demands for increased levels of integration as well as improved bandwidth, latency, power, weight and form factor; providing the ultimate in performance, energy efficiency and small size for smartphones, tablets, handheld gaming consoles and other mobile devices. JESD229: Wide I/O Single Data Rate is now available for free download from the JEDEC website.

JEDEC standard for handling electrostatic-discharge-sensitive devices published
JESD625B: Requirements for Handling Electrostatic-Discharge-Sensitive Devices is now available for free download from the JEDEC website. This standard establishes the minimum requirements for Electrostatic Discharge control methods and materials used to protect electronic devices that are susceptible to damage or degradation from electrostatic discharge.

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