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April 17
- TSMC Q1 profit up 60% YoY and revenue up 42%
➀ TSMC reported a 42% year-over-year increase in revenue to $25 billion and a 60% increase in profit to $11.1 billion for the first quarter.
➁ The company expects 20% growth this year and has set its 2025 capital expenditure at $38-42 billion.
➂ For the second quarter, TSMC forecasts revenue between $28.4 and $29.2 billion, up from $20.8 billion in the same quarter last year.
- US to tackle patent abuse
Yesterday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced the establishment of the Patent Fraud Detection and Mitigation Working Group to address threats to the U.S. patent system and ensure its integrity.
The group aims to limit improper activities in patent applications and reexamination proceedings, and will focus on addressing erroneous fee certifications, monitoring suspicious filings, and identifying potential misrepresentations to the USPTO.
The agency has also launched a new webpage to provide information on new and potential threats in patent applications and reexamination proceedings.
- Q1 smartphone units up 1.5% YoY
➀ Q1 2025 smartphone shipments increased by 1.5% year-on-year to 304.9 million units, according to IDC.
➁ Chinese vendors, supported by government subsidies, saw significant growth in the domestic market.
➂ Samsung led the market, followed by Apple, Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo, with notable growth for vivo and OPPO.
- Light creates a super-solid
➀ An international team of scientists has achieved a super-solid state by shining laser light on gallium arsenide;
➁ This super-solid exhibits properties of both liquids and solids, and is a significant breakthrough in fundamental physics;
➂ The research has potential applications in LEDs and could lead to new ways of building quantum devices.
- Where Is Rare Earth?
➀ China has introduced new controls on the export of several critical minerals and magnets.
➁ The process of obtaining special export licenses is expected to be lengthy, which may lead to a shortage of stockpiles.
➂ China is the world leader in rare earth reserves, holding nearly half of the world's known reserves.
- 1,200V silicon carbide three-phase mosfet bridge
SemiQ has launched three 1.2kV three-phase silicon carbide MOSFET bridge modules in 62.8 x 33.8 x 15mm press-fit six-pack format.
The modules, with power ratings of 20mΩ 263W, 40mΩ 160W, and 80mΩ 103W, are designed for electric vehicle charging, energy storage, and motor drives.
Each module is tested to over 1,350V with 100% wafer-level burn-in.
April 16
- Datacentre Power Consumption To Double By 2030
➀ According to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), global electricity demand from datacentres is expected to more than double in the next five years;
➁ By the end of the decade, around half of the global energy demand for datacentres is expected to come from renewables, including solar PV, wind, and hydro;
➂ A range of energy sources will be needed to meet global datacentres’ growing electricity needs, with coal and natural gas being the next most important energy sources after renewables.
- DESI maps 13m galaxies
➀ The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) project has released a 270TB dataset mapping 13.1 million galaxies and 1.6 million quasars.
➁ The map covers more than 14,000 square degrees of sky, nearly one-third of the entire night sky.
➂ DESI allows researchers to map objects up to 11 billion light-years away and observe patterns in the cosmos called baryonic acoustic oscillations (BAOs).
- Antiferromagnetism discovered in quasicrystals
➀ Researchers from Tokyo University of Science and other institutions have discovered antiferromagnetism in quasicrystals for the first time.
➁ The discovery was made in a novel Tsai-type gold-indium-europium (Au-In-Eu) iQC with unusual symmetries.
➂ The research suggests that quasicrystals with a positive Curie-Weiss temperature are more likely to establish antiferromagnetic order.
- Top Ten Semiconductor Companies 2024
➀ This article lists the top ten semiconductor companies in 2024, based on data from Gartner.
➁ The top five companies are Nvidia, Samsung, Intel, Hynix, and Qualcomm.
➂ The full list includes other notable companies such as Broadcom, Micron, AMD, and MediaTek.
April 15
- Poor Old Intel
➀ The article discusses Intel's sale of 51% of Altera to private equity for $4.46 billion, highlighting the company's poor management over the last 20 years since Andy Grove's retirement.
➁ The deal comes at a difficult time for Intel, with financial pressures and a market downturn.
➂ The article points out that despite raising $3.4 billion, Intel's financial struggles persist, with a significant debt and a rival investing heavily in capex.
- Insights from Blueshift Memory’s Helen Duncan – CHIIPS Podcast Episode 4
➀ This article discusses the insights gained from Helen Duncan, CEO of Blueshift Memory, in the CHIIPS Podcast Episode 4;
➁ Duncan shares her career journey as an engineer and journalist, and her leadership at Blueshift Memory, which introduced non-von Neumann technology to enhance processing speeds;
➂ The article highlights her role in the AI revolution and the impact of her company's technology.
- Korea provides $23bn subsidy to chip industry
➀ The Korean government announced a $23.25 billion support package for its semiconductor industry, an increase from last year's announced 26 trillion won package.
➁ The increased support is a response to competition from China, uncertainties in US policy, and rising costs for chip companies.
➂ The government has also raised the financial assistance program for the chip industry to 20 trillion won, up from the previous 17 trillion won.
- Nvidia to make supercomputers entirely in the US
➀ Nvidia 正在与其制造合作伙伴合作，设计和建设工厂，首次在美国完全生产 Nvidia 人工智能超级计算机；
➁ 该公司与领先的制造合作伙伴已委托超过一百万平方英尺的制造空间，在亚利桑那州的凤凰城生产 NVIDIA Blackwell 芯片，并在德克萨斯州生产人工智能超级计算机；
➂ Nvidia Blackwell 芯片已开始在亚利桑那州凤凰城的台积电芯片工厂生产，公司正在德克萨斯州建设超级计算机制造工厂，与富士康在休斯顿合作，与纬创在达拉斯合作，预计两家工厂的大规模生产将在未来 12-15 个月内启动。
- Northrop Grumman, Intelsat complete historic satellite life-extension mission
➀ Northrop Grumman and Intelsat have successfully completed a historic satellite life-extension mission.
➁ The mission involved the undocking of a Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) from Intelsat’s IS-901 satellite.
➂ The MEV, developed by Space Logistics LLC, added five years of service to the satellite and its customers.
- HMS Hampshire launched on the Clyde
➀ HMS Hampshire, the Royal Navy's second guided missile destroyer, was launched on Clydebank by Princess Margaret last week.
➁ The County class destroyer is expected to join HMS Devonshire in the Fleet next year.
➂ Equipped with advanced technologies, the ship carries guided weapons systems, radar-controlled guns, and has the latest air and surface warning radars.
April 14
- Pimoroni Presto presents a programmable Home Assistant display
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➁ The Pimoroni Presto (Retail Edition) is a 'programmable desktop companion' that packages the Presto hardware in retail wrapping;
➂ It features a 4-inch square touchscreen with RGB ambient lighting.
- European heath body elects Bath covid test pioneer as fellow
➀ Dr. Despina Moschou, an electrical engineer at the University of Bath, has been elected as a fellow of EAMBES, the European Alliance of Medical and Biological Engineering and Science.
➁ She developed 'LoCKAmp', a high-speed COVID-19 test, and has founded two companies.
➂ Moschou also supervises a student engineering team that developed a portable water quality monitor and secured funding for a project to equip engineering graduates with entrepreneurial skills.
- 100V GaN transistor will integrate Schottky diode for hard switching
➀ Infineon is planning a 100V GaN transistor with an integrated Schottky diode for hard-switched power topologies;
➁ The lack of body diode in GaN-based topologies can lead to higher power losses due to the larger effective body diode voltage;
➂ The new device is designed to reduce dead-time and maintain efficiency by connecting a Schottky diode in anti-parallel with the GaN transistor.
- Bosch extends Arrow agreement for automotive components in EMEA
➀ Bosch has signed an extension with Arrow Electronics to distribute its automotive semiconductor components in EMEA;
➁ The agreement includes Bosch’s MEMS sensors, ASICs, and SiC chips;
➂ Two generations of Bosch SiC chips are available, with the latest offering very low on-resistance across the temperature range.
- White Knight to save Shibaura
➀ MinebeaMitsumi has announced a tender offer to acquire thermistor specialist Shibaura Electronics to save it from a hostile takeover bid from Taiwan's Yageo Corp.;
➁ Shibaura Electronics, with a 13.5% world market share in thermistors, is a key player in vehicles, wind turbines, and industrial robots;
➂ Yageo Corp. plans to make a takeover bid on May 7th, offering $29 per share, but MinebeaMitsumi is offering $31 per share, totaling $485 million for the company.
- IQE and X-Fab hook up for GaN
➀ IQE和X-FAB签署了一项联合开发协议（JDA），旨在创建一个基于欧洲的GaN功率器件平台解决方案；
➁ 该协议为期两年，双方将合作开发650V GaN器件；
➂ 该协议将利用IQE的GaN外延设计和工艺专长以及X-FAB的技术开发能力和器件制造能力，为汽车、数据中心和消费应用提供优化的技术-衬底组合。
- Ed Rides The Tariff Roller-Coaster
➀ Ed在日记中透露，关税问题让他感到自豪，他预见到这将是Liz Truss故事的翻版，并相应地应对。
➁ 到周二晚上，关税已使全球股市价值蒸发10万亿美元，而到周四早上，股市又上涨了6万亿美元。
➂ 所有金融人士都说，当政府债券开始抛售时，总统将改变方向，就像Liz在她预算后大量出售金边债券时那样。
April 11
- Axelspace to boost Earth observation microsatellite constellation
➀ Axelspace, a Japanese microsatellite specialist, plans to launch seven Earth observation satellites in 2026;
➁ The satellites, named GRUS-3, will operate in sun-synchronous orbit and capture images of the Earth's surface daily;
➂ The new launches will increase Axelspace's constellation to twelve microsatellites.
- What caught your eye? (Siemens Digital, Compound semis, 3D magnetic sensor)
➀ Siemens Digital acquires Downstream Technologies, expanding its PCB design tool offerings and broadening its design space reach.
➁ The UK Ministry of Defence invests £200m into compound semiconductors and seeks partners.
➂ Diodes introduces a 3D magnetic sensor designed for manual controls, offering compact user interface inspiration.
➃ The Satellite Applications Catapult simulates microgravity at its Westcott facility, upgrading its ISAM facility with a gravity offload system for testing various payloads.
- EW BrightSparks 2024 profile: Jessica Ross, Leonardo / Strathclyde University
➀ Jessica Ross is a Design Engineering Graduate Apprentice at Leonardo, studying at Strathclyde University, balancing her engineering degree with work;
➁ She has taken responsibility for her own projects, including a feasibility study to improve safety in open beam work, which was successfully implemented;
➂ She competes in hockey for Scotland and is passionate about inspiring young girls to engage in sports and engineering.
- Picture of the Day: Gravity offload system to simulate microgravity
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- Allegations of insider trading by ST management
➀ ST Microelectronics' supervisory board has denied allegations of insider trading by two members of its managing board, including CEO Jean-Marc Chery, as reported by Reuters.
➁ Italy's Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti accused Chery and another executive of selling shares a day before reporting negative results.
➂ ST claimed that the stock sales were conducted 'through an automatic procedure' as part of a stock administration plan.
- Nvidia becomes No.1
➀ Nvidia has overtaken Samsung and Intel to become the number one semiconductor company in the world;
➁ Worldwide semiconductor revenue reached $655.9 billion in 2024, up 21% from $542.1 billion in 2023;
➂ Samsung Electronics maintained second place due to gains in DRAM and flash memory, while Intel's revenue grew by only 0.8%.
- Space Foundation report highlights growing U.S. space workforce
➀ The Space Foundation's 2025 Q1 report indicates an 18% increase in the space workforce over five years.
➁ The average salary in the U.S. space industry is $135,000, a 3.1% annual increase and nearly double the average private sector wage.
➂ Pharmaceutical companies are showing increased interest in manufacturing drugs in orbit, with projects like Redwire's PIL-BOX.