Siliconica

Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 and Rockchip RK3188 – Battle of the Foundries!

The Snapdragon 800 (Qualcomm MSM8974) is Qualcomm’s leading-edge, low-power, mobile phone app’s processor with built-in 3G/4G LTE modem, using the latest Krait 400 CPU rated at 2.3 GHz and their 450 MHz Adreno 330 GPU. It was launched at this year’s CES International with this rather slick commercial. Significantly, it is fabricated using the TSMC 28HPM (28-nm, High-Performance Mobile) process, which extends TSMC’s high-k, metal gate (HKMG) processing into the mobile space.…

Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 and Rockchip RK3188 – Battle of the Foundries!

The Snapdragon 800 (Qualcomm MSM8974) is Qualcomm’s leading-edge, low-power, mobile phone app’s processor with built-in 3G/4G LTE modem, using the latest Krait 400 CPU rated at 2.3 GHz and their 450 MHz Adreno 330 GPU. It was launched at this year’s CES International with this rather slick commercial. Significantly, it is fabricated using the TSMC 28HPM (28-nm, High-Performance Mobile) process, which extends TSMC’s high-k, metal gate (HKMG) processing into the mobile space.…

A Dispatch from SEMICON West – Applied Materials Launches Epi System Focused on NMOS Strain

Flying in to SFO on July 7, I must have been one of many attendees delayed by the after-effects of the Asiana Airlines crash there the day before. In my case it was only an hour or so (i.e. as normal), but we couldn’t avoid seeing the remains of the aircraft as we landed. Despite the fact that the plane was burnt out, I couldn’t help being impressed that the…

A Dispatch from SEMICON West – Applied Materials Launches Epi System Focused on NMOS Strain

Flying in to SFO on July 7, I must have been one of many attendees delayed by the after-effects of the Asiana Airlines crash there the day before. In my case it was only an hour or so (i.e. as normal), but we couldn’t avoid seeing the remains of the aircraft as we landed. Despite the fact that the plane was burnt out, I couldn’t help being impressed that the…

A Dispatch from SEMICON West – Applied Materials Launches Epi System Focused on NMOS Strain

Flying in to SFO on July 7, I must have been one of many attendees delayed by the after-effects of the Asiana Airlines crash there the day before. In my case it was only an hour or so (i.e. as normal), but we couldn’t avoid seeing the remains of the aircraft as we landed. Despite the fact that the plane was burnt out, I couldn’t help being impressed that the…

Economy Threatens Semi Growth, not Technology – so Say Fab Engineers at ASMC

It’s still spring in the north-eastern part of North America, and that means it’s the time of year for the Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Conference, in the amiable ambiance of Saratoga Springs, New York. The conference took place last month, on May 13 – 16. As the name says, ASMC is an annual conference focused on the manufacturing of semiconductor devices; in this it differs from other conferences, since the emphasis…

Economy Threatens Semi Growth, not Technology – so Say Fab Engineers at ASMC

It’s still spring in the north-eastern part of North America, and that means it’s the time of year for the Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Conference, in the amiable ambiance of Saratoga Springs, New York. The conference took place last month, on May 13 – 16. As the name says, ASMC is an annual conference focused on the manufacturing of semiconductor devices; in this it differs from other conferences, since the emphasis…

Economy Threatens Semi Growth, not Technology – so Say Fab Engineers at ASMC

It’s still spring in the north-eastern part of North America, and that means it’s the time of year for the Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Conference, in the amiable ambiance of Saratoga Springs, New York. The conference took place last month, on May 13 – 16. As the name says, ASMC is an annual conference focused on the manufacturing of semiconductor devices; in this it differs from other conferences, since the emphasis…

Intel Foundries MEMS for Fuel Cell Start-up Nectar

In the last couple of years there have been announcements that Intel will be acting as a foundry for FPGA company Achronix, PLD maker Tabula and programmable network processor provider Netronome, as well as much speculation about making chips for Apple. All these reports refer to using Intel’s leading-edge 22-nm tri-gate process. However, at CES a couple of weeks ago, my eye was caught by a 200-mm wafer on display…

Intel Foundries MEMS for Fuel Cell Start-up Nectar

In the last couple of years there have been announcements that Intel will be acting as a foundry for FPGA company Achronix, PLD maker Tabula and programmable network processor provider Netronome, as well as much speculation about making chips for Apple. All these reports refer to using Intel’s leading-edge 22-nm tri-gate process. However, at CES a couple of weeks ago, my eye was caught by a 200-mm wafer on display…

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