Specialty IC foundry VIS considering 12-inch fab
Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS), which runs only 8-inch wafer fabs, is considering restarting its 12-inch fab plan that once took shape several years ago, according to industry sources......»»
China chipmakers urged to enhance mature specialty nodes, seek acquisitions
China faces an unprecedented chip shortages, and homegrown chipmakers can address their slow capacity expansions by seeking breakthroughs in mature specialty process nodes and pursuing international cooperation or overseas acquisitions, according to.....»»
MCU makers poised to see significant growths in March and 2Q21
Taiwan-based MCU suppliers are likely to see their revenues increase significantly in March and second-quarter 2021 thanks to capacity support from wafer foundry houses and IC backend service firms, according to industry sources......»»
8-inch silicon wafer prices unlikely to rise in 2Q21
Demand for 8-inch silicon wafers has been rising significantly along with increasingly tight capacity supply at foundry fabs, but prices for such wafers are not expected to rise in the short term, according to industry sources......»»
IC designers may hike quotes to reflect further foundry cost increases
Taiwan's IC design houses will have no other choice but to directly pass increased costs to downstream clients if their foundry partners raise quotes again in the second half of the year, according to industry sources......»»
Winbond board approves capex for new 12-inch fab in southern Taiwan
Winbond Electronics' board of directors has approved a capex budget of approximately NT$13.13 billion (US$463.83 million) to invest in the company's new 12-inch wafer plant located in Kaohsiung, according to the maker of specialty DRAM and flash memo.....»»
Highlights of the day: Mature nodes in demand
Taiwan-based foundry houses are running at full capacity for their 28nm and more mature processes, and are said to have already reached agreements with their clients for supply in 2022. The supply of 28nm and more mature processes has already fallen.....»»
IC vendors grab extra TSMC 5/7nm capacity for 2Q21
Part of TSMC's 5nm and 7nm process capacity for Apple has been released as the US vendor is transitioning from old to new offerings, with the foundry capacity soon shared out by other major chipmaking clients, according to sources from Taiwan's IC de.....»»
SMIC striving to regain chip orders
With the US trade restrictions on Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) reportedly easing, the China-based pure-play foundry is striving to regain orders particularly those for its 14nm FinFET process, according to industry sources......»»
Power IC supplier uPI gains foundry support
Taiwan-based uPI Semiconductor, an Asustek Computer affliate specializing in high-performance power chips and discrete solutions, has obtained sufficient 8-inch fab capacity support from United Microelectronics (UMC) and Powerchip Semiconductor Manuf.....»»
With Bluetooth connectivity, RGB lighting, and wireless charging, are these the coolest dice ever?
As the Pixels can communicate their rolls to a phone or tablet, they can be used with online tabletop platforms such as Roll20 and Foundry, enabling a more authentic experience when playing virtual RPG campaigns......»»
VIS runs at full capacity utilization
Eight-inch foundry Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS) has seen its production capacity fully utilized, which will persist throughout the first half of 2021, according to market sources......»»
Fabless IC firms facing quote hikes at backend partners
Taiwan's IC designers are facing increasingly tight capacity and resultant quote hikes at their backend partners though foundry capacity they booked in fourth-quarter 2020 are being fulfilled starting late first-quarter 2021, according to industry so.....»»
Winbond, Macronix post brisk February results
Winbond Electronics, a maker of specialty DRAM and flash memory, and ROM and flash memory chipmaker Macronix International both saw their revenues for February 2021 come to high levels compared to the same period in previous years......»»
Israeli firm joins TSMC IP alliance
Israel-based proteanTecs has announced its participation in TSMC's IP alliance, which includes major IP companies to provide the semiconductor industry's largest catalog of silicon-verified, production-proven and foundry-specific IPs......»»
Highlights of the day: 8-inch fab tools hard to come by
Foundry houses' attempts to expand 8-inch fab capacity to cash in on extremely strong demand have been prevented by limited suppluy of 8-inch equipment on the market. Chinese semiconductors firms are said to be willing to pay "unreasonably" high pric.....»»
UMC to see 1Q21 revenue hit another record high
Pure-play foundry United Microelectronics (UMC) is poised to see its first-quarter revenue hit another record high, according to market observers......»»
Highlights of the day: 6-inch fab capacity tight
The foundry sector has seen tight supply across all segments, with 6-inch fab capacity almost fully booked for third-quarter 2021 thanks to strong demand for a wide range of applications, such as analog chips and discrete power devices. And short sup.....»»
TSMC sees revenue per wafer surge
TSMC was the only pure-play foundry manufacturing ICs using both 7nm and 5nm process nodes, which boosted its overall revenue per wafer significantly in 2020, according to IC Insights......»»
ASML extends deal to sell chipmaking equipment to SMIC
ASML has extended a deal to sell fab tools to China-based foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) until the end of 2021, according to the Netherlands-based vendor......»»
Highlights of the day: SMIC sees opportunities from mature nodes
The US trade ban may be blocking SMIC from advancing its semiconductor manufacturing processes, but the China foundry is looking to expand its presence in the mature node segments amid industry-wide tight capacity. Qualcomm reporedly has had to exten.....»»