North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $2.06 billion in billings worldwide in May 2019 (three-month average basis), according to the May Equipment Market Data Subscription (EMDS) Billings Report published today by SEMI. The billings figure is 7.4 percent higher than the final April 2019 level of $1.92 billion, and is 23.6 percent lower than the May 2018 billings level of $2.69 billion.
Semiconductors
SiFive Announces New Location in Austin, Texas
Five, Inc., the provider of commercial RISC-V processor IP and silicon solutions, announced today it has further expanded its existing presence in the Austin, Texas, “Silicon Hills” area with the opening of an office to support all aspects of SiFive’s business operations. The Austin office will drive company-wide corporate development, business development, legal, and strategy operations
GaN and SiC Power Semiconductor Market to Hit $3B by 2025
The renewable energy applications in the GaN and SiC power semiconductor market are expected to gain traction during the forecast period as PV inverters, which play a crucial role in converting sunlight into electricity, are expected to adopt these devices to have more efficient power conversion.
Photovoltaic Nanotubes
Physicists discovered a novel kind of nanotube that generates current in the presence of light. Devices such as optical sensors and infrared imaging chips are likely applications, which could be useful in fields such as automated transport and astronomy. In future, if the effect can be magnified and the technology scaled up, it could lead to high-efficiency solar power devices.
ON Semiconductor Completes Acquisition of Quantenna Communications
ON Semiconductor Corp. completed its previously announced acquisition of Quantenna Communications, Inc. for $24.50 per share in an all cash transaction. The goal is to combine Quantenna’sWi-Fi technologies and ON Semiconductor’s power and analog semiconductors to address applications in industrial, automotive, and carrier markets. Quantenna will be integrated into ON Semiconductor’s Analog Solutions Group, headed by Vince Hopkin.
Collaborative Research Charts Course to Hundreds of New Nitrides
Groundbreaking study maps out paths to new nitride materials. An interactive map shows stable ternary nitrides highlighted in blue, indicating that they are good candidates for experimentation.
Tuning Into the LCDs Of Tomorrow: Exploring the Novel IGZO-11 Semiconductor
In 1985, Noboru Kimizuka of the National Institute for Research in Inorganic Materials, Japan had pioneered the idea of polycrystalline indium-gallium-zinc oxide (IGZO) ceramics, with the general chemical formula (InGaO3)m(ZnO)n (m, n = natural number; hereafter referred to as IGZO-mn). Little would he have thought that its curious electrical properties would bring the electronics industry to license thin-film transistors (TFTs) made from these metal oxides for various devices, including touchable displays.
Imec Doubles Energy Density Of Its Solid-State Batteries to 400Wh/Liter
Imec, a research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics, digital and energy technologies and partner in EnergyVille, announced a solid-state Li-metal battery cell with an unsurpassed energy density of 400 Wh/liter at a charging speed of 0.5C
CMP Materials Market Reaches $2.7B Amid Signs of Orders Slowing in 2019
TECHCET announced that the global market for chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) consumable materials in semiconductor manufacturing is forecasted to grow to US$2.7 billion in 2019. However, several suppliers report softening orders for the first half of 2019 due to shifting wafer starts combined with intensified industry efforts to save slurry costs through increasing dilution.
Can We Believe The Hype About China’s Domestic IC Production Plans?
Tariffs and trade issues are forcing China to scale its domestic IC production plans, but do its claims line up with reality? IC Insights believes they do not.
