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| US, EU looking toward AI for chip chemical alternatives |
4/5/2024 |
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The US and EU are pledging to find alternatives to forever chemicals used in chipmaking and plan to use AI and digital twins to research the issue, according to a draft statement. Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances are used widely across industries and persist in food and water supplies.
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| TSMC evaluates disruptions after earthquake in Taiwan |
4/4/2024 |
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“There is no damage to our critical tools including all of our extreme ultraviolet lithography tools,” the company said in a statement late Wednesday. A small number of tools were damaged at some facilities, but the company is deploying all available resources to ensure a full recovery.
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| Intel reports foundry losses; CEO predicts upturn |
4/4/2024 |
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Intel, for the first time, has isolated its foundry business in its financial results, reporting a $7 billion operating loss in 2023, up from $5.2 billion in losses the previous year. Sales were $18.9 billion last year, down from $27.5 billion in 2022, but CEO Pat Gelsinger predicted that "Intel Foundry is going to drive considerable earnings growth for Intel over time.
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| NAND flash market prices continue to rise |
4/3/2024 |
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NAND flash contract price increases are expected to continue in the second quarter, according to TrendForce projections, with client solid state drive prices rising to 15%, which is down from the price hike in Q1. Enterprise SSD prices are forecast to increase 20% to 25%,
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| Japan to work with EU on advanced materials to curb China dependence |
4/2/2024 |
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Under what has been tentatively called the Dialogue on Advanced Materials, the sides will launch regular discussions on proposals for collaboration, mainly between secretariats. Institutions in Japan and Europe conducting research in cutting-edge materials will also be involved.
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| SK Hynix reaches $100B market value amid AI demand |
4/2/2024 |
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SK Hynix is now the second largest company in South Korea after Samsung Electronics as demand for high-bandwidth memory has surged for use in AI. The chipmaker saw its market capitalization top $100 billion.
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| AST to Build FC-BGA Substrate Facility in Singapore |
4/2/2024 |
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Advanced Substrate Technologies Pte Ltd (AST) recently broke ground for the construction of its new factory on Pesawat Drive near Jurong Lake District. AST is the Singapore-based subsidiary of TOPPAN Holdings Inc., a Japanese pioneer in printing technologies and a leading supplier of high quality Flip Chip Ball Grid Array (FC-BGA) substrates.
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| Huawei, despite US sanctions, grows revenue by 9.6% |
4/1/2024 |
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Better results from the vehicle and smartphone segments helped China-based telecom company Huawei increase its net profit 144.5% in 2023. Revenue rose 9.6% year over year to more than $99 billion, even with the inability to secure high-quality components from the US because of government sanctions.
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| Sony Begins Operations at Thailand Fab Expansion |
4/1/2024 |
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The new fab, dubbed “Building 4,” will be utilized for the assembly of image sensors for automotive applications and display devices as well as the mass production of laser diodes for data center application.
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| US wants allies to stop servicing equipment in China |
3/29/2024 |
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The US has taken another jab at China's semiconductor sector by asking allies to stop servicing that country's equipment. The White House has already stopped Allied Materials and its US peers from helping certain Chinese projects, but Japan and the Netherlands have not instituted such policies.
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| SK Hynix's HBM chips will benefit from AI boom |
3/28/2024 |
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SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung predicts high-bandwidth memory chips will represent a double-digit portion of the company's DRAM sales this year. SK Hynix, which supplies Nvidia and competes with Samsung and Micron, is the leader in producing HBM chips, a product in the fast-growing AI segment.
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| GlobalFoundries, StarIC join forces in photonics |
3/28/2024 |
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StarIC and GlobalFoundries have agreed to cooperate on advancing innovation in silicon photonics. The deal brings Trans Impedance Amplifiers and Micro Ring Modulator drivers to the GF Fotonix platform, which is gaining favor in the fields of data center connection, AI and quantum computing.
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| Global Chip Sales Up 15% in January |
3/28/2024 |
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“The global semiconductor market started the new year strong, with worldwide sales increasing year-to-year by the largest percentage since May 2022,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “Market growth is projected to continue over the remainder of the year, with annual sales forecast to increase by double-digits in 2024 compared to 2023.”
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