Intel Corporation today announced it has completed the sale of the majority of its smartphone modem business to Apple. This transaction, valued at $1 billion, was announced on July 25, 2019. As previously disclosed, this transaction enables Intel to focus on developing technology for 5G networks while retaining the option to develop modems for non-smartphone applications, such as PCs, internet of things devices and autonomous vehicles.
Design
Industry Strategy Symposium 2020 to Highlight Data-Driven Innovation and Growth
SEMI announced today that Industry Strategy Symposium (ISS) 2020 will take place January 12-15 at the Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay, Calif. with the theme Data Driven Innovation and Growth. ISS is the year’s first executive check-in, offering perspectives from leading analysts, researchers, economists, and technologists on forces impacting the semiconductor industry. The annual symposium provides insights into growth opportunities and industry intelligence to help inform company business plans and forecasts based on current market conditions. Registration is now open.
SEMICON Europa Opens with SMART Mobility, MedTech, Design and Talent in Spotlight
SEMICON Europa, Europe’s largest event connecting the entire electronics design and manufacturing supply chain – from innovation to applications – opens today in strategic co-location with productronica at Messe München, in Munich, Germany. Themed Semiconductors Drive Smart, SEMICON Europa 2019 – Nov. 12-15 – highlights the vital importance of European sectors and ecosystems in propelling the semiconductor manufacturing industry and the broader electronics design and manufacturing supply chain worldwide.
China GDP and PMI Contraction A Risk Factor For Global Economy
IC Insights recently released its October Update to The McClean Report 2019. Part of the update reviewed U.S. and China GDP and PMI trends in light of the current trade friction between the two nations.
Renesas Expands Access to Portfolio of Leading-Edge IP Licenses
Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE:6723), a supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced expanded access to its highly sought portfolio of intellectual property (IP) licenses that allow designers to meet a broad range of customer requirements in a rapidly changing industry. Starting today, customers will have access to IPs such as advanced 7nm (nanometer) SRAM and TCAM, and leading-edge standard Ethernet time-sensitive networking (TSN) IP. Furthermore, Renesas is working on providing a system IP which includes PIM (processing in memory), which attracted attention as an AI accelerator, presented in a conference paper in June 2019.
New Architected Material Shape-Changes to Tune Its Qualities
Architected materials are comprised of micron and nanoscale structures like crossbeams, arches, domes, and spirals, much like the elements of a building’s architecture. Researchers from the California Institute of Technology, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and ETH Zurich have made an architected material that shifts the shapes of these structures. When a slight current is applied, nanoscale beams thicken and bend into arches that increasingly bow as the current is boosted. The material maintains the new shape even when the current is off, and the shape can be changed back by reversing the current. Both are novel characteristics.
North American Semiconductor Equipment Industry Posts September 2019 Billings
North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.95 billion in billings worldwide in September 2019 (three-month average basis), according to the September Equipment Market Data Subscription (EMDS) Billings Report published today by SEMI. The billings figure is 2.4 percent lower than the final August 2019 level of $2.00 billion, and is 6.0 percent lower than the September 2018 billings level of $2.08 billion. “Monthly billings of North American equipment manufacturers declined for the second consecutive month,” said Ajit Manocha, president and CEO of SEMI.
ESD Alliance Takes SMART Design to SEMICON Europa
The Electronic System Design (ESD) Alliance, a SEMI Strategic Association Partner, today unveiled SMART Design, the first system-centric series showcasing advances in electronic system design to be held at SEMICON Europa. SEMICON Europa will begin Tuesday, November 12, through Friday, November 15, at Messe München in Munich, Germany. SMART Design is scheduled for Wednesday, November 13, from 2:30 p.m. until 5 p.m. in TechARENA 1, Hall B1.
New Operational Technology Cyber Security Alliance Launches to Deliver Comprehensive Cyber Security Guidelines for Operational Technology
Cyber-attacks on critical and industrial infrastructure are on the rise, impacting operational reliability and business risk across all industries, including utilities, manufacturing and oil & gas. Threats to operational technology (OT) – the hardware and software dedicated to monitoring and controlling physical devices such as valves, pumps, etc. – can disrupt operations, negatively impact productivity, cause ecological damage and compromise human safety. To help mitigate this risk, a new global alliance focused on cyber security launched today. The Operational Technology Cyber Security Alliance (OTCSA) was established to help companies address the OT security challenges that continue to put operations, and consequently, business at risk.
UCI Scientists Reveal Mechanism of Electron Charge Exchange in Molecules
Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have developed a new scanning transmission electron microscopy method that enables visualization of the electric charge density of materials at sub-angstrom resolution. With this technique, the UCI scientists were able to observe electron distribution between atoms and molecules and uncover clues to the origins of ferroelectricity, the capacity of certain crystals to possess spontaneous electric polarization that can be switched by the application of an electric field. The research, which is highlighted in a study published today in Nature, also revealed the mechanism of charge transfer between two materials.
