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December 28
- Suggestions for Intel's Wafer Fab
➀ Intel needs to fill all its fabs to maintain competitiveness in the semiconductor manufacturing field;
➁ TSMC is rapidly expanding its competitive advantage through partnerships with Japan and Europe;
➂ Creating a universal foundry platform alliance would allow other fabs to utilize their manufacturing capabilities, benefiting Intel;
➃ Intel's failed acquisition of Tower Semiconductor due to regulatory hurdles is a missed opportunity;
➄ TSMC's collaboration with Japanese and European companies to build fabs is a strategic move;
➅ Intel needs to transform and consider establishing a universal foundry platform alliance to fill its fabs and packaging facilities.
- U.S. Chip Efforts: A Boon or a Bust?
➀ The U.S. CHIPS Act has been in the works for over four years, costing $53 billion, aiming to revitalize the U.S. economy and compete with China.
➁ The U.S. Commerce Secretary recently criticized the Act, suggesting that trying to stop China is foolish and that the only way to win is by innovating and staying ahead.
➂ The Act has led to significant investments, but challenges like cultural differences and financial issues have hindered progress.
- Samsung and SK Hynix Diverge on EUV Lithography Technology!
➀ Samsung and SK Hynix, two major South Korean semiconductor companies, are taking different strategies in the EUV lithography technology field.
➁ Samsung is focusing on improving yields, while SK Hynix is focusing on long-term technological progress.
➂ Samsung has invested heavily in EUV lithography machines aims to maximize the production efficiency of various materials and components used in EUV lithography equipment.
➃ SK Hynix has dissolved its EUV TF and integrated it into the Future Technology Research Institute, emphasizing long-term technological progress.
- The Growth Path of KLA: Insights into China's Measurement Industry
➀ KLA is a dominant player in the front-end measurement equipment industry, providing comprehensive detection, measurement, and data analysis products and services.
➁ KLA's journey includes several key acquisitions that have expanded its business into various sectors of semiconductor equipment.
➂ The Chinese measurement industry is currently fragmented, with many companies focusing on low-end AOI, and the country needs 1-2 strong companies to compete with global leaders like KLA.
December 27
- Northern Huace: Achieving Defect-Free 8-inch SiC Superjunction槽蚀
➀ Northern Huace's team has successfully achieved defect-free superjunction device trench etching with a high aspect ratio (>5:1) on 8-inch SiC substrates and rounded trench etching for SiC MOSFET devices, which has great potential for improving the performance of SiC trench power devices.
➁ The SiC trench etching process of Northern Huace has three main advantages: high aspect ratio SiC trench etching without obvious anomalies such as bending, micro-grooves, and 'V'-shaped profiles; SiC trench size is very consistent with subsequent epitaxy processes; and nitrogen introduction can directly realize rounded SiC trench structure etching without annealing.
➂ The team optimized the plasma etching formula to solve the above problems, including adjusting the gas flow ratio for superjunction devices and introducing nitrogen dilution for gate trench devices.
- Former Star Company Bankruptcy Accelerates Silicon Carbide Market Clearance
➀ Beijing Jidu Jinguang Semiconductor Co., Ltd. has filed for bankruptcy liquidation due to financial difficulties;
➁ The rapid expansion of the silicon carbide market has led to intense competition and overcapacity;
➂ The price of silicon carbide has dropped significantly due to excessive supply and competition in the downstream electric vehicle industry;
➃ The industry is expected to see further consolidation and differentiation as new players enter the market.
December 26
- Samsung Holds Global Emergency Meeting!
➀ Samsung recalled overseas general managers from 9 regions including China, North America, and Southeast Asia to discuss emergency business strategies in response to domestic and international uncertainties;
➁ The meeting focused on currency exchange rates, departmental sales strategies, and response plans;
➂ The semiconductor business faced challenges with the appreciation of the Korean won against the US dollar, affecting component prices and overall sales.
December 23
- Apple M5 Series Chip: Advanced Features and Timelines
➀ The M5 series chips will adopt TSMC’s advanced N3P node, with mass production expected in 2025 and 2026.
➁ M5 Pro, Max, and Ultra will use server-grade SoIC packaging and 2.5D封装 for improved yields and thermal performance.
➂ Apple’s PCC infrastructure will accelerate post-high-end M5 chip mass production for better AI inferencing.
- U.S. Takes Action Against China's Traditional Chip Industry
➀ The Biden-Harris administration is investigating China's production of mature process semiconductors under the 301 trade law, citing national security threats and reducing U.S. dependence on these chips.
➁ The U.S. Trade Representative's office is initiating a 301 investigation to review China's targeting of mature semiconductors as a dominant position and its impact on the U.S. economy.
➂ The U.S. is investing in the entire semiconductor supply chain, including upstream materials like silicon carbide and wafers, with billions of dollars in private sector investments.
- U.S. Takes Action Against China's Traditional Chip Industry
➀ The Biden-Harris administration is investigating China's production of mature process semiconductors under the 301 trade law, citing national security threats and reducing U.S. dependence on these chips.
➁ The U.S. Trade Representative's office is initiating a 301 investigation to review China's targeting of mature semiconductors as a dominant position and its impact on the U.S. economy.
➂ The U.S. is investing in the entire semiconductor supply chain, including upstream materials like silicon carbide and wafers, with billions of dollars in private sector investments.
- Vietnam's Goertek Expands Drone Production Lines, Doubling Capacity to 60,000 Units
➀ Goertek Vina plans to expand its drone production lines from 4 to 8 in Binh Duong Province, doubling annual output to 60,000 units;
➁ The expansion includes the introduction of upstream component production to increase Vietnam's manufactured content;
➂ The factory produces two main drone models, Wing/7000 MP3 and Wing 7000 WB, with a focus on high performance and innovation;
➃ The expansion also involves the production of drone accessories like charging equipment and control devices.
- The Legend of Yisiwei: How Wang Dongsheng is Rebuilding a Dynasty
➀ Wang Dongsheng, known as the 'Father of China's Semiconductor Display Industry', has embarked on a transformative journey from 'making screens' to 'making chips'.
➁ Yisiwei Materials successfully submitted an IPO application to the Shanghai Stock Exchange with a valuation of 24 billion yuan in 2024.
➂ China's technology industry needs leaders to fight a hard battle from CRT tubes to the world's first LCD panels, from highly dependent on imports to Yisiwei Materials' independent breakthrough.
- The Legend of Yisiwei: How Wang Dongsheng is Rebuilding a Dynasty
➀ Wang Dongsheng, known as the 'Father of China's Semiconductor Display Industry', has embarked on a transformative journey from 'making screens' to 'making chips'.
➁ Yisiwei Materials successfully submitted an IPO application to the Shanghai Stock Exchange with a valuation of 24 billion yuan in 2024.
➂ China's technology industry needs leaders to fight a hard battle from CRT tubes to the world's first LCD panels, from highly dependent on imports to Yisiwei Materials' independent breakthrough.
- SunPower Electric Announces 2 Major Milestones: 2 Million Units Off the Production Line and SiC Motor Controller Integration into Geely's New Hybrid Model
➀ SunPower Electric announced the production of the 2 millionth unit, marking a significant milestone in the electric vehicle control and power supply field;
➁ The newly produced hybrid dual-control HEM38 product is based on the mature TPAK parallel power module and is equipped with a SiC step-up module, achieving an efficiency of up to 99.9%;
➂ The SiC motor controller has been successfully integrated into Geely's new hybrid model, the Starship 7 EM-i;
➃ The Starship 7 EM-i is Geely's first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) based on the GEA new energy exclusive architecture;
➄ Several leading car manufacturers such as BYD, Toyota, Hongqi, Chery, and Kia have also introduced hybrid models with SiC-based DHT systems.
December 22
- Another Fund Launched in Anhui for Investment in Smart Chips!
➀ Anhui Kexun Artificial Intelligence Venture Capital Fund Partnership (Limited Partnership) was established with a capital of 500 million yuan.
➁ The fund is engaged in private equity investment, investment management, and asset management.
➂ Kedacom, Hefei City Venture Capital Guidance Fund Co., Ltd., and other parties jointly invested in the fund.
➃ This is the eighth subsidiary fund established by Hua'an Jiye, which manages the Anhui Artificial Intelligence Theme Mother Fund, with a subscribed capital of nearly 13.7 billion yuan.
➄ The subsidiary fund focuses on the exploration and commercial application of cutting-edge AI technologies, investing in areas such as smart chips, natural language processing, computer vision, and data analysis.
- Three Forces Driving the Aggressive Development of Silicon Photonics
➀ The rapid development of data centers and the demand for faster and more efficient communication networks are driving the adoption of silicon photonics.
➁ Silicon photonic integrated circuits (PICs) combine the advantages of optics with the scalability of integrated circuits, enabling high-speed data transmission.
➂ The market for PICs is expected to grow significantly, driven by high-speed modules and expanding data centers.
➃ Major semiconductor companies, such as Intel and Broadcom, are investing heavily in silicon photonics technology.
➄ Newcomers like Lightmatter, Celestial AI, and Ayar Labs are also making significant contributions to the field.
➅ Semiconductor foundries are playing a crucial role in the production of silicon photonics products.
December 21
- Amkor Technology's 11.5 Billion USD Factory in Vietnam's Bac Ninh Officially Launched, Reducing 70% of Employees with Automation
➀ Amkor Technology is constructing a $1.6 billion semiconductor packaging and testing factory in Bac Ninh, Vietnam, showing confidence in the market.
➁ The new factory in Bac Ninh will begin operations in October 2024, with an initial capacity of 70% of the designed capacity.
➂ The total investment for the Bac Ninh project is $1.6 billion, with an annual production capacity of 1.2 billion chips upon completion.
➃ The automation of the new factory is expected to reduce the number of employees from the originally planned 10,000 to only 2,800.
➄ The advanced automation technology used in the factory will require skilled technicians for operation and maintenance.
➅ Vietnam's strategic location and government support are driving the growth of the semiconductor industry in the country.
- The Future of China's Semiconductor Industry: Prospects and Challenges
➀ The market sentiment towards China's semiconductor industry is pessimistic due to capital withdrawal and layoffs.
➁ Professor suggests that the good news is that the U.S. is blocking China's advanced technology, not mature technology, which presents an opportunity.
➂ The bad news is that China's advanced semiconductor technology is not promising in the short term, with numerous issues and a lack of original innovation.
- Analyst: Taiwan's Mature Process Should Integrate Quickly
➀ Taiwan's semiconductor industry is expected to grow by 16%, with TSMC's growth at 25%, driven by Intel orders, advanced process capacity, and AI orders.
➁ Analysts suggest that the U.S. restrictions on China's mature process may not be as effective as expected, and Taiwan's mature process companies should consider integration for economies of scale.
➂ TSMC's revenue growth rate is estimated to reach 25% in 2025, but the biggest variable is U.S. policy.
- Sophgo, a Subsidiary of Bitmain, May Be Added to U.S. Blacklist
➀ Sophgo, a subsidiary of Bitmain, is rumored to be added to the U.S. blacklist due to its chips being used in Huawei's AI processors.
➁ Sophgo denies direct business relationships with Huawei, but TSMC has confirmed its chips are used in Huawei's Ascend 910B and has suspended shipments.
➃ The U.S. Commerce Department has imposed sanctions on Sophgo for activities that violate U.S. national security and foreign policy.
- Alternative to SRAM: The New Choice!
➀ SRAM has been used in high-performance computing architectures as embedded cache for decades, but its bit density expansion has slowed down and is affected by standby power issues.
➁ Spin Orbit Torque (SOT) MRAM offers advantages like low standby power, GHz-level switching speed, negligible leakage, almost infinite endurance, high reliability, and scalability, making it a promising alternative to SRAM.
➂ SOT-MRAM uses magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJ) as its basic building block, where the magnetic orientation can be vertical or in-plane, affecting the read and write operations.
➃ Recent advancements in SOT-MRAM technology, including improvements by imec, have demonstrated high switching speeds and durability, addressing key challenges in cache applications.
➄ Imec has developed innovative solutions for field-free switching, low dynamic power consumption, and scaling SOT-MRAM devices to the limit, making it a milestone for high-density SRAM applications.
➅ Further optimization of performance and reliability parameters, such as retention rate and write error rate, is being explored to bring SOT-MRAM closer to real-world specifications.
➆ Imec has also presented a novel composite free layer for MTJ, which improves the reliability of SOT-MRAM devices and reduces sensitivity to external magnetic disturbances.
- Alternative to SRAM: The New Choice!
➀ SRAM has been used in high-performance computing architectures as embedded cache for decades, but its bit density expansion has slowed down and is affected by standby power issues.
➁ Spin Orbit Torque (SOT) MRAM offers advantages like low standby power, GHz-level switching speed, negligible leakage, almost infinite endurance, high reliability, and scalability, making it a promising alternative to SRAM.
➂ SOT-MRAM uses magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJ) as its basic building block, where the magnetic orientation can be vertical or in-plane, affecting the read and write operations.
➃ Recent advancements in SOT-MRAM technology, including improvements by imec, have demonstrated high switching speeds and durability, addressing key challenges in cache applications.
➄ Imec has developed innovative solutions for field-free switching, low dynamic power consumption, and scaling SOT-MRAM devices to the limit, making it a milestone for high-density SRAM applications.
➅ Further optimization of performance and reliability parameters, such as retention rate and write error rate, is being explored to bring SOT-MRAM closer to real-world specifications.
➆ Imec has also presented a novel composite free layer for MTJ, which improves the reliability of SOT-MRAM devices and reduces sensitivity to external magnetic disturbances.
December 20
- SK Hynix Receives 3.3 Billion USD Subsidy!
➀ SK Hynix has been granted a government subsidy of up to 3.3 billion USD by the US Department of Commerce.
➁ The subsidy is intended to help establish an advanced chip packaging factory and AI product development facilities in Indiana.
➂ The factory will also build an assembly line for mass production of next-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, which will be equipped in graphics processing units (GPUs) for training AI systems.
- 重磅！华虹集团换帅！
➀ Shanghai government announced the resignation of Zhang Suixin as the Chairman of Hua Hong Group, to be succeeded by Qin Jian, the Chairman of Shanghai Union Investment Co., Ltd.
➁ Zhang Suixin, during his tenure, was committed to driving technological breakthroughs and industrial upgrades in the integrated circuit manufacturing field, expanding the market share of 8-inch and 12-inch wafer manufacturing, and making significant progress in global layout.
➂ Qin Jian, the successor, has extensive management experience and previously served as the Deputy Chairman of Hua Hong Group.
- 重磅！华虹集团换帅！
➀ Shanghai government announced the resignation of Zhang Suixin as the Chairman of Hua Hong Group, to be succeeded by Qin Jian, the Chairman of Shanghai Union Investment Co., Ltd.
➁ Zhang Suixin, during his tenure, was committed to driving technological breakthroughs and industrial upgrades in the integrated circuit manufacturing field, expanding the market share of 8-inch and 12-inch wafer manufacturing, and making significant progress in global layout.
➂ Qin Jian, the successor, has extensive management experience and previously served as the Deputy Chairman of Hua Hong Group.
- Advanced EUV Lithography: Challenges and Innovations in Photoresist and Etching Techniques
➀ The importance of photoresist in semiconductor manufacturing and the necessity for resolution scaling to utilize new architectures and materials.
➁ The discussion on yield challenges, particularly with edge placement error (EPE) and line edge roughness (LER), and the need for improved understanding and tools to mitigate these issues.
➂ The introduction of directed self-assembly (DSA) as a strategy to reduce line/space photoresist correction errors and its application in 18 nm and 21 nm metal pitch.
➃ The need for new photoresists to match node processes at 12 nm pitch and the impact of defect density on EUV chip cost.
➄ The importance of high-throughput experimental methods, chemical analysis of random defects, and 3D length scale detection in process change exploration.
➅ The industry's demand for high quantum yield photoresists, defect formation analysis, and dry development techniques for organic photoresists.
- This Chinese Boss Rules the Global Semiconductor Critical Metal Market, Yet Remains Little Known
➀ A mysterious Chinese buyer acquired a large amount of rare metals at the 2019 auction of the core assets of the Kunming Non-Ferrous Metals Exchange, which was not widely noticed at the time but became significant later on.
➁ Freiberger, a German company, is facing intense demand from its clients as China tightens the export controls on gallium and germanium, with the company almost entirely dependent on imports from China for its gallium needs.
➂ Zhu Shihui, the founder of Guangdong Xiandao Technology Group, has established a 150-ton annual production base for gallium, the largest single-site gallium production base in the world, in Chongqing Wanzhou.
- US Demands Nvidia Investigate How Chips Were Sold to China
➀ The US Commerce Department has requested Nvidia to investigate how its chips entered China over the past year.
➁ Nvidia has asked Supermicro Computer and Dell Technologies to inspect Southeast Asian clients, as their server products use Nvidia's AI chips.
➂ Nvidia emphasizes compliance with export restrictions and denounces any illegal sales.
➃ Some individuals are suspected of copying serial numbers from Supermicro's servers and connecting them to other servers they have access to.
➄ China's State Administration for Market Regulation has launched an investigation against Nvidia for suspected violations of the Anti-Monopoly Law.
➅ Nvidia's acquisition of Mellanox, a network interconnect product company, has raised concerns about potential monopolistic practices.
➆ The US government has imposed restrictions on the export of advanced AI chips to China, including Nvidia's A100 and H100.
➇ In response to US restrictions, China has taken countermeasures, including restricting exports of certain materials to the US.
- This GaN Company Is About to Dissolve
➀ Odyssey, a US GaN company, has entered the liquidation distribution process and will distribute assets to shareholders by December 23, 2023, with each share receiving $0.11 (about RMB 0.8);
➁ Odyssey held a special shareholders' meeting on June 3, 2023, approving a comprehensive liquidation, dissolution, and asset distribution plan, resulting in the redemption and cancellation of all issued capital stocks;
➂ Odyssey had a cash balance of approximately $1.837 million (about RMB 13.37 million) as of December 17, 2023, with most funds allocated to pay the distribution of $0.11 per share, totaling $1.606 million (about RMB 11.69 million);
➃ Odyssey had previously announced the sale of most of its assets to Power Integrations for $9.52 million (about RMB 67 million) in cash, with key employees joining PI's technical department.
- How Domestic 8-Inch SiC Chips Break Through? Five Experts Share Their Views...
➀ The transition from 6-inch to 8-inch SiC wafers is discussed, with experts expressing concerns about the readiness of the SiC industry for this shift.
➁ The importance of cost reduction and maintaining quality is emphasized, with a focus on the challenges and opportunities in the domestic SiC supply chain.
➂ The need for industry collaboration and the role of research institutions in advancing 8-inch SiC technology are highlighted.