The SIA News Roundup is sent out each Friday compiling relevant clips from the week. You can sign up to receive the SIA News Roundup here.
The SIA News Roundup is sent out each Friday compiling relevant clips from the week. You can sign up to receive the SIA News Roundup here.
INDUSTRY/MARKET
ZDNet According to a recent report carried out by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), the US held 37% of the global chip manufacturing capacity in 1990 – a number that has gone down to 12% today, mostly due to the stagnation of government subsidies to help the industry prosper.
UK car production plummets to lowest level since 1956 amid chip shortage, worker absences CNBC U.K. car production plummeted to a new low last month, marking the worst July performance for the industry since 1956, according to a trade group.
Taiwan seeks again to reassure U.S. over tackling chip shortage Reuters Taiwan is doing all it can to address the global shortage of semiconductors, Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua said on Tuesday after talks with the newly-appointed de facto U.S. ambassador in Taipei, a problem that has idled some auto production lines.
How Chips Will Change Health Care Semiconductor Engineering Jo De Boeck, chief strategy officer and executive vice president at imec, sat down with Semiconductor Engineering to talk about the intersection of medical and semiconductor technology, what’s changing in how chips are being used, and what will happen in the short term and long-term. What follows are excerpts of that discussion. |
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CHINA
EXCLUSIVE Huawei gets U.S. approvals to buy auto chips, sparking blow back Reuters U.S. officials have approved license applications worth hundreds of millions of dollars for China’s blacklisted telecom company Huawei to buy chips for its growing auto component business, two people familiar with the matter said.
South China Morning Post BYD, the Warren Buffett-backed Chinese battery and carmaker, has put on hold the proposed spin off of its semiconductor unit, after the mainland regulator launched an investigation into the law firm advising on the deal.
China swoops on algorithms in latest tech clampdown Reuters China is seeking to tighten oversight of the algorithms technology companies use to drive their business, issuing far-reaching draft rules in Beijing’s latest move to crackdown on its internet sector. |
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TRADE
U.S. and German relations at a crossroads as Afghanistan crisis unfolds CNBC After four years of tension under former President Donald Trump, the relationship between the United States and Germany was already at a crossroads. Now, experts say the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan could add fuel to the fire.
India’s trade deal with the US remains a non-starter for now. Here’s why The Print Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal last week ruled out any trade agreements with the United States in the near future pointing out that the world’s largest economy is not looking at any new trade agreements for now. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGY
Modeling Chips From Atoms To Systems Semiconductor Engineering Complexity in hardware design is spilling over to other disciplines, including software, manufacturing, and new materials, creating issues for how to model more data at multiple abstraction levels.
A Peculiar State of Matter in Layers of Semiconductors Could Advance Quantum Computing SciTechDaily In a study that could benefit quantum computing, researchers show a superlattice embedded with nanodots may be immune from dissipating energy to the environment.
Glass Chip Is Key to New Quantum Architecture IEEE Spectrum Maryland-based IonQ has unveiled a new kind of chip in its quest to scale up its type of quantum computer technology. Its computers calculate using the quantum states of ions electromagnetically trapped in the space near a chip. |
INDUSTRY/MARKETChip Production Shifts Away From Traditional Strongholds Statista Data from Boston Consulting Group and the Semiconductor Industry Association shows how much chip production has moved away from its traditional strongholds – among them Japan – in the last decades. In 1990, Japan, Europe and the U.S. dominated semiconductor manufacturing, but with South Korea, Taiwan and finally Mainland China entering the market, the three initial manufacturing locations were reduced to a combined market share of only around 35 percent in 2020.
Intel CEO Pitches Pricey Chip Plants to Officials at Home and Abroad WSJ Intel Corp.’s chief executive and other board members met with Biden administration officials last month and held a rooftop reception near the White House to push a multibillion-dollar chip-investment plan, according to people familiar with the event.
COVID-fuelled semiconductor crunch chips away at carmakers Reuters In grim warnings this week, major carmakers including Toyota (7203.T) and Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) offered fresh evidence that the auto industry remains firmly in the grip of an ongoing semiconductor chip shortage that shows no sign of abating.
New Milestone for India in Chip R&D ELE Times The natural world is analog while computing is digital. Computers perceive the natural world through sensors, whose analog output is converted through a digitizer chip or an analog to digital converter (ADC). |
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CHINAChina passes major data protection law as regulatory scrutiny on tech sector intensifies CNBC China passed a major data protection law on Friday setting out tougher rules on how companies collect and handle their users’ information. The rules add to Beijing’s tightening of regulation, particularly around data, which could impact the way China’s technology giants operate. China’s semiconductor output hits record high in July as new capacity added to meet strong demand South China Morning Post China’s integrated circuit (IC) output rose more than 41.3 per cent year on year to reach 31.6 billion units in July, a new monthly record, on the back of strong demand for semiconductors and the addition of new production capacity, according to government data released on Monday.
The Register China had over half a billion 5G subscribers and over a million 5G base stations as of June 30, but the nation’s big three mobile carriers have warned of a slowdown. |
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TRADEChaos of Kabul exposes faultlines in UK-US special relationship Financial Times
UK aims to start trade talks with India this year Reuters The United Kingdom said on Tuesday it aims to start negotiations for a trade agreement with India by the end of the year. “We are currently in the pre-negotiation scoping phase of an FTA (free trade agreement), with the aim of starting negotiations by the end of this year,” a spokesperson for Britain’s Department for International Trade said. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYHome-grown semiconductors for faster, smaller electronics Science Daily ‘Growing’ electronic components directly onto a semiconductor block avoids messy, noisy oxidation scattering that slows and impedes electronic operation. A new study shows that the resulting high-mobility components are ideal candidates for high-frequency, ultra-small electronic devices, quantum dots, and for qubit applications in quantum computing.
Angstrom-Level Measurements With AFMs Semiconductor Engineering Competition is heating up in the atomic force microscopy (AFM) market, where several vendors are shipping new AFM systems that address various metrology challenges in packaging, semiconductors and other fields.
A peculiar state of matter in layers of semiconductors MIT News Scientists around the world are developing new hardware for quantum computers, a new type of device that could accelerate drug design, financial modeling, and weather prediction. These computers rely on qubits, bits of matter that can represent some combination of 1 and 0 simultaneously. The problem is that qubits are fickle, degrading into regular bits when interactions with surrounding matter interfere. But new research at MIT suggests a way to protect their states, using a phenomenon called many-body localization (MBL). |
SIA NEWSNVIDIA Founder and CEO Jensen Huang to Receive Semiconductor Industry’s Top Honor Press Release The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today announced Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA and a trailblazer in building accelerated computing platforms, is the 2021 recipient of the industry’s highest honor, the Robert N. Noyce Award. |
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INDUSTRY/MARKETNvidia’s Jensen Huang to get semiconductor industry’s highest honor Venture Beat Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang will receive the chip industry’s highest honor, the Robert N. Noyce Award. SIA president and CEO John Neuffer said in a statement that Huang’s extraordinary vision and tireless execution have greatly strengthened the chip industry, revolutionized computing, and advanced artificial intelligence. He said Huang’s accomplishments have fueled countless innovations — from gaming to scientific computing to self-driving cars — and he continues to advance technologies that will transform the industry and the world.
Nvidia founder Huang honored with top semi industry award Fierce Electronics The founder of Nvidia has won the semiconductor industry’s top annual honor, the Robert Noyce Award, granted by the Semiconductor Industry Association. Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia, is a “trailblazer in building accelerated computing platforms,” SIA said in a statement on Thursday. He will accept the award Nov. 18. The annual award goes to a leader who has made outstanding contributions to the semiconductor industry in technology or public policy.
Nvidia’s Jensen Huang to Receive SIA’s 2021 Robert N. Noyce Award Tom’s Hardware The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) announced Thursday that Jensen Huang, chief executive and a co-founder of Nvidia, will receive the organization’s Robert N. Noyce Award. One of the industry’s most prestigious award is given to recognize Huang’s contributions to the semiconductor industry in general and computing acceleration in particular.
Chip Shortage Keeps CIOs and Other Tech Leaders Scrambling WSJ Companies inside and outside the tech sector are feeling the pinch of the global computer-chip shortage, which is stalling orders and raising prices on laptops, printers, smartphones, videoconferencing equipment and other work gear, corporate technology chiefs say. |
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CHINABusiness Groups Antsy About Stalled China Talks Politico In a letter Thursday to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable, National Retail Federation, the American Farm Bureau Federation and the Semiconductor Industry Association asserted “that Beijing had met ‘important benchmarks and commitments’ in the agreement, including opening markets to U.S. financial institutions and reducing some regulatory barriers to U.S. agricultural exports to China.”
China investors turn to renewables, chips, to avoid regulators’ attention Reuters Investors in China are turning to semiconductors, renewable energy and consumer-focused firms in the belief they offer safe-harbour from a blizzard of regulatory action that has battered confidence and forced funds to overhaul their portfolios.
CNBC Semiconductor veteran Ron Black, the former CEO of the U.K.’s Imagination Technologies which used to design chips for Apple, is among a consortium that is interested in buying the country’s largest chip plant back off Chinese-owned Nexperia. |
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TRADEBiden to Nominate María Pagán as U.S. Envoy to World Trade Organization WSJ President Biden is expected to nominate María Luisa Pagán, a longtime government trade negotiator, as a deputy U.S. trade representative and ambassador to the World Trade Organization, a critical role for accelerating the administration’s engagement with the multilateral organization that has faced multiple challenges in recent years.
In Africa, Biden finds a free trade zone he can embrace Nikkei Asia Eager to tap into a promising market while burnishing his administration’s credentials on free trade now that rejoining the Trans-Pacific Partnership looks as distant as ever, U.S. President Joe Biden appears ready to engage a new free trade zone in Africa. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYNew semiconductor device possibilities using black phosphorous Phys.Org Stress and strain, applied in just the right manner, can sometimes produce amazing results. That is what researchers, led by a team at UC Berkeley’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, discovered about an emerging semiconductor material—black phosphorous (BP)—used to make two types of optoelectronic devices: light emitting diodes (LEDs) and photodetectors.
Semiconductor Engineering Collecting data to determine the health of a chip throughout its lifecycle is becoming necessary as chips are used in more critical applications, but being able to access that data isn’t always so simple. It requires moving signals through a complex, sometimes unpredictable, and often hostile environment, which is a daunting challenge under the best of conditions.
Better Optimization For Many-Core AI Chips Semiconductor Engineering The rise of massively parallel computing has led to an explosion of silicon complexity, driven by the need to process data for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) applications. |
SIA NEWSSIA Calls for House Passage of Bipartisan Research Bills Press Release “The bipartisan NIST for the Future Act will help sharpen America’s edge in research and innovation. The U.S. semiconductor industry relies on foundational research at NIST and other federal research agencies to help create the technologies of the future. We thank the bill’s sponsors for their bipartisanship and leadership in promoting American innovation, and we call on all House members to approve this important legislation. As the legislation advances, we urge Congress to include $52 billion to fund the critical semiconductor research, design, and manufacturing initiatives in the CHIPS for America Act. Investing in domestic chip technology and innovation will help reinforce America’s economy, national security, and global competitiveness.”
Global Semiconductor Sales Increase 29.2% Year-to-Year in June; Q2 Sales Up 8.3% Over Q1 Press Release “Second-quarter semiconductor sales were up significantly compared to Q2 of last year, increasing across all major product categories and in every major regional market,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “Demand for semiconductors is projected to continue to rise substantially in the long term, as the world continues using chips to become smarter, greener, more productive, and better connected. We urge leaders in Washington to enact funding for the CHIPS for America Act so America can capture a larger share of increased semiconductor production and innovation in the years ahead.” |
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CHINAU.S. Businesses Urge Biden to Restart China Talks, Scrap Tariffs Bloomberg The groups include influential organizations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Farm Bureau Federation and the Semiconductor Industry Association. “Due to the tariffs, U.S. industries face increased costs to manufacture products and provide services domestically, making their exports of these products and services less competitive abroad,” according to a copy of the letter obtained by Bloomberg News. “The administration can take immediate steps to relieve increasing inflationary pressures and rising prices for all Americans” by reducing the import tariffs, they said.
Business Groups Call on Biden to Restart Trade Talks With China WSJ Nearly three dozen of the nation’s most influential business groups—representing retailers, chip makers, farmers and others—are calling on the Biden administration to restart negotiations with China and cut tariffs on imports, saying they are a drag on the U.S. economy. The trade groups include some of Washington’s most influential big business associations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable, the National Retail Federation, the American Farm Bureau Federation and the Semiconductor Industry Association.
Antitrust crackdown on China’s tech sector could lead to greater competition, S&P says South China Morning Post Competition is likely to intensify among Chinese internet companies, such as Big Tech firms Alibaba Group Holding, JD.com and Tencent Holdings, as Beijing places greater scrutiny on mergers, overseas listings and anticompetitive behaviour in the technology sector, according to S&P Global Ratings. |
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INDUSTRY/MARKETThe chip shortage is getting worse recode Chipmakers are already producing chips at their maximum capacity, according to Falan Yinug of the Semiconductor Industry Association, a trade and lobbying group that represents the chip industry. “Chip production has, in fact, increased substantially, and more chips have shipped in recent months than ever before,” Yinug told Recode.
Global chip market’s second quarter up 29% year-on-year EE News Europe “Second-quarter semiconductor sales were up significantly compared to Q2 of last year, increasing across all major product categories and in every major regional market,” said John Neuffer, CEO of the SIA, in a statement. “Demand for semiconductors is projected to continue to rise substantially in the long term, as the world continues using chips to become smarter, greener, more productive, and better connected. We urge leaders in Washington to enact funding for the CHIPS for America Act so America can capture a larger share of increased semiconductor production and innovation in the years ahead.”
Global semiconductor sales increase 29.2% YoY in June Evertiq The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reports that worldwide sales of semiconductors were USD 44.5 billion in June 2021, an increase of 29.2% from the June 2020 total of USD 34.5 billion. Sales in June were 2.1% more than the May 2021 total of USD 43.6 billion. Sales during the second quarter of 2021 were USD 133.6 billion, an increase of 29.2% over the second quarter of 2020 and 8.3% more than the first quarter of 2021.
Global semiconductor sales increase 29.2% to US$44.5bil in June The Star “Second-quarter (Q2) semiconductor sales were up significantly compared to Q2 of last year, increasing across all major product categories and in every major regional market,” SIA president and CEO John Neuffer said. He added that the demand for semiconductors was projected to continue to rise substantially in the long term.
June semi sales up 29.2% y-o-y Electronics Weekly “Demand for semiconductors is projected to continue to rise substantially in the long term, as the world continues using chips to become smarter, greener, more productive, and better connected. We urge leaders in Washington to enact funding for the CHIPS for America Act so America can capture a larger share of increased semiconductor production and innovation in the years ahead.”
Biden to Decide on Foreign Chipmaker Grants, Raimondo Says Bloomberg President Joe Biden will ultimately decide whether foreign chip producers will receive some of the $52 billion in funding planned to help ease the shortage that has hammered manufacturing, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said.
Dingell proposes $2 billion in federal semiconductor spending The Detroit News The U.S. government would spend $2 billion on semiconductor chip manufacturing under a bill introduced Wednesday by Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn. The bill comes amid an ongoing semiconductor shortage that has forced shutdowns at auto plants and threatens to cut production by around 3.9 million vehicles globally by the end of the year, according to consulting firm AlixPartners, costing the industry around $110 billion in revenue.
Upton, Meijer send letter to House leadership urging action on semiconductor shortage Holland Sentinel A bipartisan group of lawmakers is urging House leadership to take action on a bill which would prompt emergency spending on domestic semiconductor production. Lawmakers, including Reps. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, and Peter Meijer, R-Grand Rapids, sent House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy a letter Thursday urging the hearing of the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America, or CHIPS Act.
Biden, in a Push to Phase Out Gas Cars, Tightens Pollution Rules NYT President Biden on Thursday announced a multistep strategy aimed at rapidly shifting Americans from gasoline-powered cars and trucks toward electric vehicles — a central part of his plan to reduce the pollution that is heating the planet. |
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TRADEU.S., EU eye steel tariff deal by Nov. 1 Politico The U.S and the EU hope to resolve a three-year-old dispute over former President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs by Nov. 1, and plan to hold the first ministerial-level meeting of the new transatlantic Trade and Technology Council in late September.
U.K. Closing In on Post-Brexit Trade Deal with New Zealand Bloomberg The U.K. and New Zealand are close to finalizing a trade accord that would go beyond the rollover agreement struck when Britain left the European Union. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYNew semiconductor cools computer chips Physics World A novel semiconducting material with high thermal conductivity can be integrated into high-power computer chips to cool them down and so improve their performance. The material, boron arsenide, is better at removing heat than the best thermal-management devices available today, according to the US-based researchers who developed it.
Designing Chips In A ‘Lawless’ Industry Semiconductor Engineering The guideposts for designing chips are disappearing or becoming less relevant. While engineers today have many more options for customizing a design, they have little direction about what works best for specific applications or what the return on investment will be for those efforts.
Astonishing diversity: Semiconductor nanoparticles form numerous structures Science Daily The structure adopted by lead sulphide nanoparticles changes surprisingly often as they assemble to form ordered superlattices. This is revealed by an experimental study that has been conducted at DESY’s X-ray source PETRA III. |
INDUSTRY/MARKETSenate’s semiconductor aid may be opening bid in global race Roll Call The report said U.S. manufacturers suffered from “structural disadvantages in the cost of two factors: labor and utilities.” Labor costs for chip fabrication, construction and operation are 40 percent higher than in Singapore and Taiwan, the report said. But Erik Pederson, director of government affairs at the Semiconductor Industry Association, said the higher U.S. labor cost had less impact on companies’ choice of manufacturing location than subsidies abroad. The association and Boston Consulting’s report said a $50 billion government incentive would attract 19 new U.S. chip fabrication facilities, or 10 more than would be the case without the money. The new facilities would raise U.S. capacity to 14 percent of the market by 2030 from 12 percent, the report said.
Lawmakers from Texas Search for Solutions with Semiconductor Shortage KTRH News Radio Erik Pederson, the Director of Government Affairs at the Semiconductor Industry Association, says solving the shortage is especially important for Texas. “The semiconductor industry employees about 44 thousand people in the entire state, and it’s our second largest state for employment. We have a number of manufacturing facilities,” Pederson said.
WSJ’s Gerald Seib on the global chip shortage and infrastructure bill CNBC – video The push to complete the nearly $1 trillion infrastructure bill is hitting a number of hurdles. Gearld Seib, Wall Street Journal columnist, joins ‘Power Lunch’ to discuss the bill, how to resolve the chip shortage and more.
The Really Critical Infrastructure Need: American-Made Semiconductors WSJ America today is dangerously reliant on foreign producers of semiconductors, crucial components of everything from phones to laptops to cars to smart appliances to much of the equipment in your local hospital. The U.S. share of global semiconductor manufacturing capacity has dropped to 12% today from 37% in 1990, according to a study by the Boston Consulting Group.
Semiconductor shortage hammering automakers, costing billions in lost production and sales The Washington Post The global shortage of computer chips continues to hammer automakers, forcing factory shutdowns and sapping sales and profits, with mixed views on when relief might arrive. Seventeen auto factories in North America and Europe have halted or reduced production in recent weeks over the scarcity of the tiny components, according to Seraph Consulting, which is advising automakers on the shortages. The shutdowns have affected plants in Michigan, Kentucky, Kansas, Mexico, Canada and Germany.
The Washington Post President Biden will today announce a major program outlining how critical industry sectors such as energy, transportation and agriculture should be protecting themselves against cyberattacks. |
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CHINAConsortium prepares bid to buy the UK’s biggest chip plant back off Chinese-owned Nexperia CNBC A consortium is raising money from banks and private equity investors to fund a potential bid for silicon wafer manufacturer Newport Wafer Fab, according to a person familiar with the situation who asked to remain anonymous due to the nature of the discussions.
The Technology 202: China is doing what the U.S. can’t seem to: regulate its tech giants The Washington Post While a slow-burning movement to rein in the U.S. tech industry plods through a gridlocked Congress and various agencies, China’s one-party government is acting swiftly — and harshly — to rein in its own tech titans.
South China Morning Post Shanghai is looking to take a greater role in China’s drive towards technological self-sufficiency, but a new plan unveiled last Wednesday to spur development of emerging industries has scant details, leaving companies waiting to see how serious the city is about its hi-tech ambitions.
China is still falling short of meeting an agreement to reduce its U.S. trade surplus CNBC China’s purchases of U.S. goods are still falling short of trade agreement levels, even as overall Chinese imports from the U.S. have surged. That’s according to analysis out Monday from the U.S.-based Peterson Institute for International Economics. |
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TRADEEU freezes legal steps against Britain after UK request for standstill Reuters The European Commission said on Tuesday it would not move to the next step of its legal action against Britain for unilaterally changing trading arrangements for Northern Ireland, in response to Britain’s request for a “standstill”.
Why would anyone trust Brexit Britain again? CNN Just seven months after singing its praises, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is attempting to rewrite the Brexit deal he signed with the European Union. It’s a risky move that will undermine Britain’s credibility as a trustworthy trading partner at the very moment that the UK government is seeking to forge economic alliances far beyond Europe to justify its “global Britain” sales pitch for Brexit, according to experts.
EU trade chief says US steel deal may fall short of removing all barriers Financial Times |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYChallenges For New AI Processor Architectures Semiconductor Engineering Investment money is flooding into the development of new AI processors for the data center, but the problems here are unique, the results are unpredictable, and the competition has deep pockets and very sticky products.
A Better Way to Measure Progress in Semiconductors IEEE Spectrum One of the most famous maxims in technology is, of course, Moore’s Law. For more than 55 years, the “Law” has described and predicted the shrinkage of transistors, as denoted by a set of roughly biannual waypoints called technology nodes. Like some physics-based doomsday clock, the node numbers have ticked down relentlessly over the decades as engineers managed to regularly double the number of transistors they could fit into the same patch of silicon.
Sweeping Changes Ahead For Systems Design Semiconductor Engineering Data centers are undergoing a fundamental change, shifting from standard processing models to more data-centric approaches based upon customized hardware, less movement of data, and more pooling of resources.
Thin, Fast, and Flexible Semiconductors IEEE Spectrum Amorphous silicon has long been the king of flat-panel displays. It began its reign in PC monitors and high-definition TV, then conquered netbooks, e-readers, and smartphones. No other substance was as suitable for the thin-film transistors that sit behind a display’s hundreds of thousands of pixels, turning each one on or off. |
SIA NEWSPress Release The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) – along with a broad coalition of 19 other tech, auto, medical, defense, and other business and labor groups – today in a letter urged Congress to enact funding for the semiconductor manufacturing, research, and design initiatives authorized in the “Creating Helpful Incentives for the Production of Semiconductors” (CHIPS) for America Act. The Senate on June 8 approved $52 billion in funding for CHIPS as part of the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA), but the House has not yet approved such funding.
The 2021 SIA Databook: Your Source for Comprehensive Semiconductor Industry and Market Data Blog Post The 2021 SIA Databook is now available! Complete with tons of data on the global semiconductor market, the U.S. semiconductor industry, and the top end markets for semiconductors, the 2021 SIA Databook is your go-to comprehensive resource for all things semiconductors. |
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INDUSTRY/MARKETIndustry, Unions Urge Congress to Speed Semiconductor Bills Bloomberg Congress must act quickly to bolster semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S., according to a letter from several trade groups and unions delivered to House and Senate leaders on Thursday. “Strengthening the U.S. position in semiconductor research, design, and manufacturing is a national priority,” reads the letter, organized by the Semiconductor Industry Association.
Chip, auto groups urge Congress to get moving on CHIPS Act Fierce Electronics SIA and SEMI have conducted one of their largest lobbying campaigns ever in connection with the legislation in recent months. SIA again noted in a statement timed with the letter that the U.S. share of global semi manufacturing capacity has decreased from 37% in 1990 to 12% today. “This is largely due to substantial subsidies offered by the governments of our global competitors, placing the U.S. at a competitive disadvantage in attracting new construction of fabs,” SIA said in a statement.
Semiconductor leaders urge action on industry funding IT Pro The Creating Helpful Incentives for the Production of Semiconductors (CHIPS) act, proposed last June and subsequently passed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, legislated a 40% refundable tax credit for organizations building chip fabrication plants in the US. It also promised $10 billion in federal funds to match state incentives for factories and funding for Department of Defense research and development around semiconductors. However, that legislation didn’t provide the funds, which remain unavailable. The letter’s signatories, including the Semiconductor Industry Association, The Telecommunications Industry Association, and the Alliance for Automotive Innovation along with trade unions, warned that carving out the money is now a national priority.
Biden administration sounds the alarm on the semiconductor crisis FORTUNE U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo has a lot on her mind, but one thing tops them all: semiconductors. Semiconductors, or computer chips, act as the brains that power our technological devices. These chips, now smaller than a stamp and thinner than a piece of hair, have revolutionized the modern world. Innovation in the field has led to smarter, faster, and smaller technology (think pacemakers, smartphones, solar energy, self-driving cars, laptops, airplanes, just about everything you use).
Car chip shortage to abate, smartphones could be next Reuters The semiconductor shortage that has gripped the world could last well into 2022 and hit smartphone production next, foreshadowing deficient supply for a range of appliances and industrial equipment, industry executives and an economist said. |
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CHINAU.S. and allies accuse China of global hacking spree Reuters The United States and its allies accused China on Monday of a global cyberespionage campaign, mustering an unusually broad coalition of countries for an initiative angrily rejected by Beijing.
Yellen Says China Trade Deal Has ‘Hurt American Consumers’ NYT Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen has cast doubt on the merits of the trade agreement between the United States and China, arguing that it has failed to address the most pressing disputes between the world’s two largest economies and warning that the tariffs that remain in place have harmed American consumers.
The door is closing on Chinese tech IPOs on Wall Street CNN Tough US laws requiring audits for foreign companies. A growing crackdown by Beijing that threatens to touch every part of the Chinese tech industry. A botched public offering by one of China’s most prominent tech firms.
China Tech Billionaires Ramp Up Donations as Beijing Cracks Down Bloomberg China’s tech tycoons are discovering their charitable side as they come under mounting regulatory scrutiny from Beijing. In the latest example, Xiaomi Corp. co-founder Lei Jun handed over $2.2 billion of shares in the smartphone maker to two foundations, according to filings to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. |
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TRADEAsia Digital Deal Raises Hope U.S. to Rejoin TPP Successor Bloomberg The U.S.’s plans for a digital trade agreement covering Indo-Pacific economies may be a step toward Washington rejoining a regional trade deal that President Donald Trump exited in 2017, Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan said.
U.S.-Asia Digital Pact Held Up by Squabble Among Biden Officials WSJ A skirmish between national security and trade officials in the Biden administration is hindering efforts to forge a digital-services pact with Asian countries, according to people involved in the talks.
UK’s Johnson urges EU to consider post-Brexit proposals seriously Reuters Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday to consider seriously Britain’s proposals to change what he called the “unsustainable” way a Brexit deal is governing trade with Northern Ireland. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYInhibited nonradiative decay at all exciton densities in monolayer semiconductors Science Mag Most optoelectronic devices operate at high photocarrier densities, where all semiconductors suffer from enhanced nonradiative recombination. Nonradiative processes proportionately reduce photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield (QY), a performance metric that directly dictates the maximum device efficiency.
These Bendy Plastic Chips Fit in Unusual Places WIRED Like anyone who designs computer chips for a living, James Myers is, at his core, a silicon guy. “Silicon is brilliant,” he says. Brilliant because it’s a natural semiconductor—able to both conduct electricity and act as an insulator, depending on the conditions—and because it can be engineered at small scale.
Semiconductor Engineering Several companies are implementing the chiplet model as a means to develop next-generation 3D-like chip designs, but this methodology still has a long way to go before it becomes mainstream for the rest of the industry. |
Taking Stock of China’s Semiconductor Industry
Blog Post
Just last month, China sent astronauts into space to board a new space station. Earlier this year, China landed a rover on Mars. Chinese state media reported that inside both China’s space station and the Mars rover were 100% indigenously designed-and-produced semiconductors, signaling China’s increasingly sophisticated microchip capabilities.
The US Needs to Get Back in the Business of Making Chips
WIRED
The number of companies making advanced chips has shrunk in recent years, and cutting-edge manufacturing has moved east. An April report by the Semiconductor Industry Association and Boston Consulting Group found that all chips made with the most advanced methods (known as sub-10 nanometer processes) are made in Asia—92 percent in Taiwan, the remaining 8 percent in South Korea.
Chipmakers Getting Serious About Integrated Photonics
Semiconductor Engineering
Integrating photonics into semiconductors is gaining traction, particularly in heterogeneous multi-die packages, as chipmakers search for new ways to overcome power limitations and deal with increasing volumes of data.
Computer chip shortages are driving demand for refurbished devices in Africa
Intelligent CIO
According to Kwirirai Rukowo, General Manager, Qrent, the chip shortage has affected the production of new laptops, desktops and tablets. “Currently, companies have been waiting for very long lead times for new stock to arrive and original equipment manufacturers (OEM’s) locally and globally cannot meet the demand. Qrent – part of the InnoVent group of companies, is bridging this gap through its stock of refurbished devices thereby enabling Business Continuity,” said Rukowo.
China is buying up chip firms in a push for semiconductor supremacy, says UK lawmaker
CNBC
A U.K. lawmaker believes China is using questionable methods to ensure it becomes a world leader in semiconductor technology. Iain Duncan Smith, a member of parliament and the former leader of the Conservative Party, told the U.K. Parliament on Thursday that China has identified semiconductor technology as a key area it wants to dominate globally.
China’s semiconductor output hits record high as Beijing boosts local production amid intensifying US-China tech war
South China Morning Post
China’s output of integrated circuits (IC) reached an all-time, single-month high in June as the country spares no effort to produce chips amid a severe global shortage of semiconductors, according to data released by the central government on Thursday.
China’s chip imports soar in June as manufacturers build up supply amid global shortage
South China Morning Post
China’s semiconductor imports continued to grow at a fast clip in June, meeting the country’s huge demand for integrated circuits (ICs) used in the production of smartphones, cars, computers and home appliances amid a lingering global chip shortage.
Chinese tech giants look to make business changes in a bid to preempt regulators
CNBC
Chinese technology giants are looking to make changes to their business models and working practices in order to preempt moves by regulators as authorities crackdown on the once free-wheeling sector.
Biden Team Weighs Digital Trade Deal to Counter China in Asia
Bloomberg
White House officials are discussing proposals for a digital trade agreement covering Indo-Pacific economies as the administration seeks ways to check China’s influence in the region, according to people familiar with the plans.
U.S., UK trade chiefs meet, agree to strengthen bilateral ties
Reuters
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and her British counterpart Liz Truss agreed to continue working to strengthen bilateral ties in a meeting in Washington on Tuesday, Tai’s office said in a statement. Tai and Truss agreed that their recent truce in a long-running trade dispute over aid for planemakers Airbus (AIR.PA) and Boeing (BA.N) creates a platform for “future collaboration on shared challenges, including those posed by the anti-competitive practices of China and other non-market economies.”
U.K. Trade Secretary Downplays Outlook for U.S. Trade Deal Soon
Bloomberg
The U.K.’s top trade negotiator said that the nation is focused on getting the “right deal” with the U.S. rather than clinching a quick one, downplaying hopes for an agreement anytime soon.
Semiconductor Crystals Tweaked to Realize Superior Properties for Electronics
AZO Nano
Scientists from Skoltech, together with their collaborators in the United States and Singapore, have developed a neural network that enables the tweaking of semiconductor crystals in a controlled way to achieve excellent properties for electronics.
Researchers develop flexible artificial skin with integrated transistors
ElectroPages
While many examples of flexible electronic circuits can be stretched and manipulated, none of these has proven to be practical. For example, flexible electronic circuits such as RFID tags commonly found on product packaging are actually flexible antenna traces connected to a ridged semiconductor.
Americans Embrace the Importance of Semiconductors to National Security
Blog Post
As Congress considers legislation that would fund domestic semiconductor manufacturing, design, and research initiatives, a new poll finds a strong majority of Americans understand the critical role semiconductors play in advancing U.S. national security. Two-thirds of Americans (66%) say having a strong semiconductor manufacturing base is either “very important” (45%) or “somewhat important” (21%) to national security, according the latest IBD/TIPP poll of U.S. adults.
Global Semiconductor Sales in May Up 26.2% Year-to-Year, 4.1% Month-to-Month
Press Release
“Global demand for semiconductors remained high in May, as sales increased both year-to-year and month-to-month across all major regional markets,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “The industry shipped more units on a three-month moving basis in May than during any previous month in the market’s history, indicating semiconductor production has ramped up significantly to address rising demand.”
Congress must help U.S. industry compete with China — even if it means a break with precedent
The Washington Post
The emerging bipartisan consensus for a more competitive posture toward China has taken legislative form: the Innovation and Competition Act of 2021, which passed the Senate by an impressive 68-to-32 margin on June 8.
Americans View Semiconductor Manufacturing As Vital To National Security
Investors Business Daily
As the U.S. government debates spending billions of taxpayer dollars to support domestic semiconductor chip production and research, public support appears strong for such efforts. That news is positive for semiconductor stocks. The latest IBD/TIPP poll found that 66% of U.S. adults think semiconductor manufacturing is important for national security.
Three months, 700 steps: Why it takes so long to produce a computer chip
The Washington Post
Many of the biggest facilities are in Taiwan, which now produces 20 percent of the world’s semiconductors and over 90 percent of the highest-tech chips, according to a report commissioned by the Semiconductor Industry Association, which calls itself the “voice of semiconductor industry.”
May chip sales up 26%
Electronics Weekly
“Global demand for semiconductors remained high in May, as sales increased both year-to-year and month-to-month across all major regional markets,” says SIA CEO John Neuffer, “the industry shipped more units on a three-month moving basis in May than during any previous month in the market’s history, indicating semiconductor production has ramped up significantly to address rising demand.”
China semiconductors: China Mobile and Apple supplier Luxshare jump on chip investment frenzy
South China Morning Post
China’s semiconductor investment frenzy has received a fresh boost after the country’s largest mobile carrier and a key supplier to Apple jumped on the bandwagon by setting up their own chip units, according to corporate registry information.
Chip shortage pushes China auto sales down 12.4% in June
Retuers
Auto sales in China fell 12.4% in June from the corresponding month a year earlier, industry data showed on Friday, as a global shortage of semiconductors hit autos production in the world’s biggest car market.
China Escalates Its Fight Against Big Tech
NYT
Tensions are growing between China and tech companies inside — and outside — its borders. China is cracking down on domestic tech giants with U.S. ties. On Sunday, Beijing officials ordered Didi, the ride-hailing app, to be removed from the country’s app stores over concerns about the handling of customer data, days after the company completed a blockbuster U.S. I.P.O.
Investors’ views on battered China tech sector after Didi probe
Reuters
Chinese tech firms tumbled on Thursday, the worst day for Hong Kong’s tech index in four months, as investors grew nervous about the widening ambit of a crackdown on the sector.
U.S. Worker-Aid Plan Is Casualty as Trade Deal Fast-Track Ends
Bloomberg
President Joe Biden’s pledge to refrain from pursuing new trade deals is leaving a key training and assistance program for workers — who the administration says are at the center of its agenda — without a clear path for renewal.
Kenya, America trade deal faces fresh hurdle in Congress
Business Daily
Negotiations for a free trade deal between Kenya and the United States face fresh hurdles after the expiry of a key legislative tool for getting faster Congress approval, dimming the prospects for its conclusion.
Brexit: Downing Street rejects EU’s estimate of divorce bill
BBC
Downing St has rejected the EU’s estimate of the UK’s post-Brexit divorce bill after new figures put the total debt at £40.8bn. The sum was published in the EU’s accounts for 2020, which also state that the UK should pay the EU £5.8bn this year.
Ultrathin semiconductors electrically connected to superconductors
Science Daily
Researchers have equipped an ultrathin semiconductor with superconducting contacts. These extremely thin materials with novel electronic and optical properties could pave the way for previously unimagined applications. Combined with superconductors, they are expected to give rise to new quantum phenomena and find use in quantum technology.
5G Chips Add Test Challenges
Semiconductor Engineering
The advent of chips supporting millimeter-wave (mmWave) 5G signals is creating a new set of design and testing challenges. Effects that could be ignored at lower frequencies are now important. Performing high-volume test of RF chips will require much more from automated test equipment (ATE) than is required for chips operating below 6 GHz.
Lower Power Chips: What To Watch Out For
Semiconductor Engineering
Low-power design in advanced nodes and advanced packaging is becoming a multi-faceted, multi-disciplinary challenge, where a long list of issues need to be solved both individually and in the context of other issues.
SIA Calls for House Passage of Legislation to Advance U.S. Technology Leadership
Press Release
“This bipartisan legislation will help ensure the U.S. remains the global research and innovation leader, which will strengthen America’s economy, national security, and global competitiveness. The research initiatives authorized by this legislation will generate advances in a range of scientific fields and build the pipeline of talent needed to enhance U.S. technology competitiveness. The U.S. semiconductor industry relies on these advances as the foundation for creating the technologies of the future.”
SIA Applauds Bipartisan Agreement on Infrastructure Plan
Press Release
“The bipartisan infrastructure deal announced yesterday would modernize U.S. infrastructure and strengthen the U.S. economy, while also driving domestic demand for semiconductors through investments in key industries enabled by semiconductor technology, such as power generation and transmission, broadband, and electric vehicle infrastructure. We look forward to working with Congress and the administration to advance bipartisan infrastructure legislation.”
House Passes Its Version of U.S.-China Competitiveness Bills
Bloomberg
“As the legislation advances, we urge Congress to include $52 billion to fund the critical semiconductor research, design, and manufacturing initiatives” included in previous congressional legislation that was never funded, the Semiconductor Industry Association said in a statement.
House lawmakers consider bipartisan bills to advance tech R&D
FedScoop
According to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), the bills, if passed, would strengthen America’s economy and national security. Commenting on the bills, SIA CEO John Neuffer said: “The U.S. semiconductor industry relies on these advances as the foundation for creating the technologies of the future.” “The research initiatives authorized by this legislation will generate advances in a range of scientific fields and build the pipeline of talent needed to enhance U.S. technology competitiveness,” he added. The lobbying chief also advocated for the inclusion of $52 billion in public funding for semiconductor research, design and manufacturing in the new legislation.
House Passes Bills to Support American Innovation, STEM Education
Tom’s Hardware
Lobbying groups like the Semiconductors in America Coalition (SIAC) lauded S.1260’s passing on June 8, which makes sense given its obvious financial motivations, and the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) called on the House to pass the bill as well. But the House has instead opted for distinct bills like H.R. 2225 and H.R. 3593.
America’s Lack Of Chips Is More Than A Blip
Forbes
The share of global semiconductor manufacturing on U.S. soil has eroded sharply over the last 20 years, from 37% to 12% — and the Semiconductor Industry Association expects it will fall to 10% by 2030. The costs of manufacturing chips in the U.S. are rising too high to be globally competitive: The 10-year cost of a new fab, the factory where semiconductors are produced, on U.S. soil is 30% higher than building the same fab in Taiwan or South Korea, and up to 50% higher than in China.
Thailand offers perks to draw semiconductor, digital investments
Reuters
Thailand has offered incentives to attract investment in the growing semiconductor, digital and packaging industries to meet rising global demand amid coronavirus outbreaks, the country’s investment agency said on Wednesday.
China winning race to manufacture semiconductor chips, Sen. Cornyn says
KXAN
America needs to think differently when it comes to boosting manufacturing of semiconductor chips, according to the senior Senator from Texas. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said in a roundtable discussion with tech leaders Monday that China dominated the semiconductor supply during the pandemic and America’s supply fell behind, causing supply chain problems. “What China is doing is they want to become the dominant economy, and the dominant superpower in the world, and that’s a vulnerability for the United States, both economically and from a national security standpoint,” Cornyn said.
China’s business ‘ecosystems’ are helping it win the global A.I. race
FORTUNE
China’s “Sputnik Moment” is what Kai-Fu Lee, author of the famous book AI Superpowers, likes to call it. Five years ago, when AlphaGo—an artificial intelligence–based program developed by DeepMind, a startup that Google acquired in 2014—defeated two of the world’s best human exponents of the board game Go, it came as an eye-opener to China and its A.I. community.
China semiconductor sector braces for Malaysia lockdown
DigiTimes
The nationwide lockdown in Malaysia was due to expire on the June but has now been extended indefinitely as the number of COVID cases continue climbing. The lockdown has rasied concerns about further constrants to global chip, as Malaysia is home to many semiconductor packaging and testing facilities.
Didi, the Chinese Ride-Hailing Giant, Makes Its Debut on Wall Street
NYT
Didi, the leading Chinese ride-hailing platform, made its Wall Street debut on Wednesday, capping a year in which ride-hailing and travel companies have struggled to overcome intermittent pandemic lockdowns.
U.S. Proposal for 15% Global Minimum Tax Wins Support From 130 Countries
NYT
An effort to push the most sweeping changes to the global tax system in a century gained significant momentum on Thursday when 130 nations agreed to a blueprint in which multinational corporations would pay an appropriate share of tax wherever they operate.
UK aims to gain TPP entry in 2022: trade secretary
Nikkei Asia
The U.K. wants to secure a place in the 11-member Trans-Pacific trade bloc, known as CPTTP, by the end of 2022, British International Trade Secretary Liz Truss told Nikkei, as the nation seeks economic opportunities after its exit from the European Union.
UK, Singapore launch talks on digital trade agreement
Reuters
Britain and Singapore will on Monday start negotiations on a new digital trade agreement that could remove barriers, part of London’s push to become what it calls a “global tech powerhouse” post-Brexit.
Hacks Are Prompting Calls For A Cyber Agreement, But Reaching One Would Be Tough
NPR
The recent ransomware attacks on the U.S. gas and meat industries have sparked renewed conversations about the possibility of an international cyber agreement that would set the ground rules for what is and isn’t permissible, and spell out sanctions for violators.
Challenges In Developing A New Inferencing Chip
Semiconductor Engineering
Cheng Wang, co-founder and senior vice president of software and engineering at Flex Logix, sat down with Semiconductor Engineering to explain the process of bringing an inferencing accelerator chip to market, from bring-up, programming and partitioning to tradeoffs involving speed and customization.
Data Centers On Wheels
Semiconductor Engineering
Automotive architectures are evolving quickly from domain-based to zonal, leveraging the same kind of high-performance computing now found in data centers to make split-second decisions on the road.
IoT Security: Confusing And Fragmented
Semiconductor Engineering
Security regulations for Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices are evolving around the world, but there is no consistent set of requirements that can be applied globally — and there may never be.
Semiconductor shortage and the U.S. auto industry
Reuters
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) believes its industry is “currently doing all it possibly can in the short-term to increase utilization and meet increased demand both in the auto sector and more broadly for all customers.”
SIA lauds Senate FABS Act introduction
Just Auto
“Semiconductors form the foundation of the technologies that drive America’s economy, national security and critical infrastructure,” said president and CEO of Qorvo and 2021 SIA Board chairman, Bob Bruggeworth. “Senate approval last week of funding for domestic chip production and innovation in USICA marked a significant step forward and the FABS Act would build on that momentum and help ensure the US can meet the strong global semiconductor demand and maintain leadership in critical technologies.
UK car output halved as chips shortage bites
Reuters
British automotive production more than halved in May compared with the same month in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic, as a global shortage of semi-conductors and other components continued to weigh on car plants.
U.S. Blocks Chinese Deal for Magnachip
EE Times
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) issued an interim order on June 15 blocking the Chinese private equity fund Wise Road Capital from acquiring Magnachip Semiconductor Corp. of Seoul, South Korea. The regulatory step puts the deal on hold, but observers said it’s unlikely U.S. and Korean regulators would allow it to proceed in its present form, citing national security concerns.
China’s ban forces some bitcoin miners to flee overseas, others sell out
Reuters
China’s sweeping ban on cryptocurrency mining has paralysed an industry that accounts for over half of global bitcoin production, as miners dump machines in despair or seek refuge in places such as Texas or Kazakhstan.
U.S. Commerce Department rescinds TikTok, WeChat prohibited transactions list
Reuters
The U.S Commerce Department said Monday it was rescinding a list of prohibited transactions with TikTok and WeChat that were issued in September as the Trump administration sought to block new U.S. downloads of both Chinese-owned apps.
U.K. Begins Negotiations to Join Trans-Pacific Trading Bloc
Bloomberg
Joining the CPTPP, whose members include Canada, Japan, Mexico and Australia, is a “glittering post-Brexit” prize, International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement. Membership would boost the size of the U.K. economy by 1.8 billion pounds ($2.5 billion) over 15 years compared with its 2019 level, according to a scoping assessment by the Department for International Trade. That would mean an increase of 0.08%.
China backs Hong Kong to join RCEP trade deal in potential boost to city’s flagging logistics sector
South China Morning PostChina’s central government has expressed strong support for Hong Kong joining the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), after its financial secretary said the city intended to become a member of the 15-nation trade bloc in what could be a boost to its flagging logistics sector.
U.S. trade nominee urges ‘robust monitoring’ of aircraft subsidy truce with EU
Reuters
The United States must carry out “robust monitoring” of its five-year truce with the European Union in a 17-year battle over aircraft subsidies, Jayme White, President Joe Biden’s nominee to serve as deputy U.S. Trade Representative, said on Thursday.
Britain’s Pacific trade ambitions won’t compensate for Brexit
CNN
They point to the challenges of doing business with countries that are many thousands of miles away. The United Kingdom also already has bilateral trade deals in place with seven of the 11 CPTPP members — a number that would rise to eight if an agreement in principle with Australia, announced last week, is included. That raises questions as to how much additional benefit membership will deliver.
Thinner Channels With 2D Semiconductors
Semiconductor Engineering
Moving to future nodes will require more than just smaller features. At 3/2nm and beyond, new materials are likely to be added, but which ones and exactly when will depend upon an explosion of material science research underway at universities and companies around the globe.
How AI can transform layering technique for semiconductors
TechXplore
To make computer chips, technologists around the world rely on atomic layer deposition (ALD), which can create films as fine as one atom thick. Businesses commonly use ALD to make semiconductor devices, but it also has applications in solar cells, lithium batteries and other energy-related fields.
Bumps Vs. Hybrid Bonding For Advanced Packaging
Semiconductor Engineering
Advanced packaging continues to gain steam, but now customers must decide whether to design their next high-end packages using existing interconnect schemes or move to a next-generation, higher-density technology called copper hybrid bonding.
SIA Applauds Senate Introduction of FABS Act
Press Release
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today applauded the introduction in Congress of the Facilitating American-Built Semiconductors (FABS) Act, bipartisan legislation that would establish an investment tax credit to incentivize greater semiconductor manufacturing in the United States. The bill was introduced today by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), the Chair and Ranking Member, respectively, of the Senate Finance Committee. Cosponsors include Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.). SIA represents 98 percent of the U.S. semiconductor industry by revenue.
U.S. senators propose 25% tax credit for semiconductor manufacturing
Reuters
The Semiconductor Industry Association praised the proposal, saying it said would “strengthen domestic chip production and research, which are critical to U.S. job creation, national defense, infrastructure, and semiconductor supply chains.”
Government chip aid is ‘not a handout,’ Commerce official contends
Fierce Electronics
SIA and other backers of USICA funds believe the grants are necessary to compete with grants provided by governments in other countries for their own domestic semiconductor production and research. “It’s not a question of when we’re building but where—here or overseas,” Neuffer said. He said over the net decade, there will need to be a 56% increase in demand for chips. “Kind of a super cycle is coming at us; we may even be in one.”
U.S. Takes First Steps Toward Resilient Supply Chains
EE Times
Industry officials note that leading-edge fabs for advanced logic chips cost upwards of $30 billion. “That’s a couple of aircraft carriers,” Neuffer stressed. “We’ve got to do something, otherwise we kind of tip into the abyss in terms of our manufacturing.”
Global Chip Sales Up by Nearly 2% MoM in April
EE Times Asia
“Global demand for semiconductors remained high in April, as reflected by rising sales across a range of chip products and throughout each of the world’s major regional markets,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “The global chip market is projected to grow substantially in 2021 and 2022 as semiconductors become increasingly integral to the game-changing technologies of today and the future.”
House Republicans zero in on Big Tech’s relationships with China
CNBC
House Republicans are zeroing in on the relationship between Big Tech companies and China, expanding their initial platform focused on tech accountability.
China Steps Up Antitrust Pressure on Internet Firms
WSJ
Chinese regulators have intensified scrutiny of dozens of domestic internet companies for possible antitrust violations, people familiar with the matter said.
Restrictions are needed but full US-China tech decoupling isn’t wise, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says
South China Morning Post
The United States needs to curb China’s harmful acquisitions and restrict American investment in some Chinese firms to protect its national security, but a complete severing of technological ties would be worrisome, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told lawmakers on Wednesday.
EU-China investment deal is still possible — but not before 2023, analyst says
CNBC
An investment pact between the European Union and China is still possible, but both sides may wait until 2023 at the earliest to ratify the deal, said an analyst from risk consultancy Eurasia Group.
U.S., EU Forge Closer Ties on Emerging Technologies to Counter Russia and China
WSJ
Microchips are likely to be an early focus of U.S.-EU cooperation, Ms. Vestager said, potentially via the TTC. The EU recently announced the objective of increasing its share of global chip-making from 10% to 20% and pledged more than $150 billion to the effort, which could come from coronavirus relief funding.
The U.S. and Britain end their aircraft subsidy dispute, mirroring an E.U. deal.
NYT
The United States and Britain have agreed to end a long-running trade spat over aircraft subsidies, and not impose certain retaliatory tariffs for five years, the nations announced on Thursday.
UK appeals to Congress in push for trade deal
The Hill
British diplomats are pitching U.S. lawmakers on trade as the Biden administration slow-walks discussions around a bilateral trade agreement.
UK agrees post-Brexit trade deal with Australia
CNBC
The U.K. has agreed a free trade deal with Australia, saying it marked a “new dawn” in their relations. The free trade agreement means it will cost less for British businesses to sell products like cars, confectionery and Scotch whisky into Australia, the U.K. government said Tuesday.
Strained Semiconductor Layers Shift the Paradigm
EE Times
For 40 years since the invention of the transistor, there was one inviolable rule about multiple epitaxial layers of different materials: heterostructures. Figuring out how to get beyond heterostructures has yielded improvements in semiconductor performance, however.
Tuning the energy gap: A novel approach for organic semiconductors
Science Daily
What is already established for inorganic semiconductors stays a challenge for their organic counterparts: Tuning the energy gap by blending different semiconducting molecules to optimize device performance. Now, scientists demonstrated how to reach this goal.
Resourceful solid-state nanopores: From blue energy production to big data processing
Open Access Government
Porous materials were well-known for their applications in liquid filtering and water desalination when J. Kasianowicz and his collaborators proposed to use ion-channels in the lipid bi-layer membranes of human cells as a cheap tool for reliable DNA sequencing.
Geopolitical And Economic Outlook For Chips And Equipment
Semiconductor Engineering
Experts at the Table: Semiconductor Engineer sat down to discuss geopolitical and economic changes and how they affect the chip industry with Jean-Christophe Eloy, CEO of Yole Developpement; Risto Puhakka, president of VLSI Research; Carolyn Evans, chief economist at Intel; Duncan Meldrum, chief economist at Hilltop Economics; and Rozalia Beica, chief strategy officer in AT&S’ Semiconductor Division.
Global Semiconductor Sales Increase 1.9% Month-to-Month in April; Annual Sales Projected to Increase 19.7% in 2021, 8.8% in 2022
Press Release
“Global demand for semiconductors remained high in April, as reflected by rising sales across a range of chip products and throughout each of the world’s major regional markets,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “The global chip market is projected to grow substantially in 2021 and 2022 as semiconductors become increasingly integral to the game-changing technologies of today and the future.”
Senate Passage of USICA Marks Major Step Toward Enacting Needed Semiconductor Investments
Press Release
Senate passage of USICA is a pivotal step toward strengthening U.S. semiconductor production and innovation and an indication of the strong, bipartisan support in Washington for ensuring sustained American leadership in science and technology,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO.
SIA Welcomes White House Report on Strengthening America’s Semiconductor Supply Chains
Press Release
“We appreciate the Biden administration’s focus on ensuring the strength and resilience of America’s semiconductor supply chains and applaud the White House report’s call for federal investments in domestic semiconductor production and innovation. We look forward to working with leaders in the Administration and Congress to swiftly enact needed federal investments in chip technology to help ensure more of the chips our country needs are researched, designed, and manufactured on U.S. shores.”
Senate passes $250 billion bipartisan tech and manufacturing bill aimed at countering China
CNBC
“Senate passage of USICA is a pivotal step toward strengthening U.S. semiconductor production and innovation and an indication of the strong, bipartisan support in Washington for ensuring sustained American leadership in science and technology,” said John Neuffer, CEO of the SIA. “Enactment of these investments would help strengthen America’s economy, national security, technology leadership, and global competitiveness for years to come.”
Senate Passes Sweeping Bill to Help U.S. Compete With China
Bloomberg
“Semiconductors form the nerve center of America’s economy, national security, and critical infrastructure,” said John Neuffer, the president and CEO of the Semiconductor Industry Association. “We look forward to working with leaders in the administration and Congress to swiftly enact needed federal investments in chip technology to help ensure more of the chips our country needs are researched, designed and manufactured on U.S. shores.”
U.S. Senate passes sweeping $250B bill to address China threat
Fierce Electronics
Semiconductor Industry Association President John Neuffer called the passage of USICA “a pivotal step toward strengthening U.S. semiconductor production and innovation and an indication of the strong, bipartisan support in Washington for ensuring sustained American leadership in science and technology…Enactment of these investments would help strengthen America’s economy, national security, technology leadership, and global competitiveness for years to come.”
Five key parts of the Senate’s sweeping China competitiveness bill
The Hill
SIA President and CEO John Neuffer said in a statement to The Hill that “we simply need to be doing more chip research, design, and manufacturing on U.S. shores.” “Other countries’ governments have made huge investments to attract chip manufacturing and research,” Neuffer said. “The semiconductor funding … would help level the global playing field and ensure more of the chips our country needs are made in America, which would benefit U.S. workers, businesses, and consumers alike.”
White House report puts heavy focus on domestic chip production, R&D
Fierce Electronics
“Semiconductors form the nerve center of America’s economy, national security and critical infrastructure,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO, in a statement. He said he looks forward to working with leaders in Congress and the administration.
‘Take the Lead’ on Chip Shortage: White House to Industry
Consumer Electronics Daily
The Semiconductor Industry Association — quoted extensively in the report — wants the administration and Congress “to swiftly enact needed federal investments in chip technology to help ensure more of the chips our country needs are researched, designed, and manufactured on U.S. shores,” said CEO John Neuffer.
Chip sales up 21.7% y-o-y
Electronics Weekly
“Global demand for semiconductors remained high in April, as reflected by rising sales across a range of chip products and throughout each of the world’s major regional markets,” says SIA CEO John Neuffer.
Global semiconductor sales forecast to hit US$527.2b in 2021, says SIA
The Edge Markets
SIA president and CEO John Neuffer said global demand for semiconductors remained high in April, as reflected by rising sales across a range of chip products and throughout each of the world’s major regional markets. “The global chip market is projected to grow substantially in 2021 and 2022 as semiconductors become increasingly integral to the game-changing technologies of today and the future,” he said.
Global semiconductor sales increase in April
DigiTimes
“Global demand for semiconductors remained high in April, as reflected by rising sales across a range of chip products and throughout each of the world’s major regional markets,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “The global chip market is projected to grow substantially in 2021 and 2022 as semiconductors become increasingly integral to the game-changing technologies of today and the future.”
New Chinese semiconductor firms have tripled in 2021 as Beijing and Washington jockey over technological supremacy
South China Morning Post
The number of newly registered chip-related companies in China more than tripled in the first five months of the year from the same period in 2020 in a fresh sign that China is sparing no effort in its pursuit of self-sufficiency in semiconductors, for which the country relies heavily on imports and US technologies to satisfy domestic demand.
China must pursue chip assembly, packaging breakthroughs to catch up with semiconductor leaders, experts say
South China Morning Post
China must pursue breakthroughs in chip assembly and packaging technologies to catch up with global industry leaders, according to experts who spoke on Wednesday at the World Semiconductor Conference held in the eastern city of Nanjing.
China’s Huawei aims to reach driverless car technology in 2025
Reuters
China’s Huawei Technologies (HWT.UL) aims to develop driverless passenger car technology by 2025, an executive said on Thursday, as the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker diversifies its business in the face of U.S. sanctions.
China’s Tech Clampdown Is Spreading Like Wildfire
WSJ
The latest salvos in China’s campaign against its tech companies make one thing clear: Jack Ma’s businesses aren’t the only ones under the regulatory microscope. What started out as a government crackdown on anticompetitive practices among Chinese internet giants has grown into a broader effort to clean up how the country’s fast-growing—and, until recently, freewheeling—tech sector operates.
U.S. trade czar Tai says upbeat on prospects for ‘intense’ trade talks with EU
Reuters
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said on Thursday she will accompany President Joe Biden to Brussels next week for “intense negotiations” to try to resolve trade disputes over aircraft subsidies and steel and aluminum.
Biden wants the G-7 to unite against China. Beijing’s trade wars are helping.
Politico
China will dominate discussion during President Joe Biden’s first foreign trip, as the G-7 summit kicks off Friday. And that’s exactly what he wants. The Communist-led country isn’t a member of the club of rich democracies established in 1975. But the leaders assembled in Cornwall, England, will spend much of their time discussing how to confront its growing influence.
Ireland: UK-EU food safety deal wouldn’t stop UK-US trade pact
Politico
Behind-the-scenes reassurances by U.S. President Joe Biden to Britain should spur a U.K.-EU pact on food standards that simplifies the contentious Northern Ireland trade protocol, Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin said Friday.
Where Europe and the US don’t see eye to eye
Politico
With eight days of glad-handing, photo ops and fanfare, Joe Biden and his team are hoping his trip to Europe will reboot transatlantic relations. That won’t be easy.
Tuning the energy gap: A novel approach for organic semiconductors
Science Daily
Organic semiconductors have earned a reputation as energy efficient materials in organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) that are employed in large area displays. In these and in other applications, such as solar cells, a key parameter is the energy gap between electronic states.
Customizing Chips For Power And Performance
Semiconductor Engineering
Sandro Cerato, senior vice president and CTO of the Power & Sensor Systems Business Unit at Infineon Technologies, sat down with Semiconductor Engineering to talk about fundamental shifts in chip design with the rollout of the edge, AI, and more customized solutions. What follows are excerpts of that conversation.
How GaN is changing the future of semiconductors
TechRadar
The industry has been reliant on silicon for decades, but the chip shortage is helping to make electronic devices more environmentally friendly, more efficient and smaller. More companies are turning to gallium nitride (GaN), because it is easier and faster to produce than silicon chips, among other benefits.
Bipartisan Legislation to Eliminate Per-Country Immigration Caps Would Help Strengthen U.S. Semiconductor Workforce
Blog Post
Bipartisan legislation introduced this week in the House would eliminate the counterproductive per-country cap on employment-based visas in favor of a fair, “first come, first served” system, providing U.S. semiconductor companies with greater access to top talent from around the world needed to compete and innovate.
Global Governments Ramp Up Pace of Chip Investments
Blog Post
The strategic significance of semiconductors and their ever-increasing importance for economic competitiveness and supply-chain resilience has become a focus for governments worldwide.
Biden is worried about Chinese control of ‘strategic technology.’ But which technologies are strategic?
The Washington Post
Earlier this year, the Biden administration made a splash when it announced an executive order requiring the U.S. government to review the nation’s supply chains for critical technologies by June 4. The goal: Ensure that the United States wouldn’t run short of items essential for national security, like semiconductor manufacturing equipment and high-capacity batteries.
Japan puts all chips on the table to lure semiconductor makers
Nikkei Asia
Japan will pull out every policy stop to court overseas semiconductor companies, including offering generous financial incentives, under a draft growth strategy released Wednesday, joining the global race to secure supplies of the crucial component. Taiwan accounts for more than 90% of the global output capacity for smartphone and other advanced chips using 10-nanometer or smaller technology, according to the U.S.-based Semiconductor Industry Association.
Big Changes Ahead For Connected Vehicles
Semiconductor Engineering
Carmakers are reworking their electronic architectures so they can tap into a growing number of external services and internal options, similar to the way a data center taps into various services over its internal network.
Biden expands Trump order by banning U.S. investment in Chinese companies linked to the military or surveillance technology
The Washington Post
The Biden administration is expanding a Trump-era order that banned U.S. investment in Chinese companies that support China’s military to include those selling surveillance technology, calling the entities a threat to U.S. interests and values.
U.S. agency not doing its job to halt tech to China’s military -congressional report
Reuters
The U.S. Commerce Department is failing to do its part to protect national security and keep sensitive technology out of the hands of China’s military, according to a U.S. congressional advisory report seen by Reuters.
China tech policy: Shenzhen’s new data law another signal of intent to rein in Big Tech
South China Morning Post
Shenzhen is moving forward with a new draft law aimed at protecting personal data, in another signal of China’s ambition to rein in Big Tech and build a robust data management regime that balances privacy protection with appropriate business use.
China races to rival the U.S. with its own GPS system — but one analyst says it won’t overtake the U.S. yet
CNBC
China is set to become a major player in the “highly lucrative” satellite navigation market, as it seeks to compete with the U.S. government-owned Global Positioning System (GPS), an analyst said Monday.
UK gets green light to start talks on joining pacific trade deal
Reuters
Member nations of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on Wednesday agreed to allow Britain to start the process of joining the pact, Japan’s economy minister said.
Optimism rises over G7 deal on global corporate tax regime
Financial Times
The UK is “cautiously optimistic” that the G7 group of advanced nations can agree the broad outlines of a global deal on taxing multinationals following intense discussions in recent days, according to people with knowledge of the talks.
India, U.K. Eye Interim Pact to Help Clinch Major Trade Deal
Bloomberg
India and the U.K. are intensifying talks to remove non-tariff barriers and foster greater market access as they work to stitch together the South Asian nation’s first major free trade pact in a decade.
UK strikes trade deal with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein
Reuters
Britain announced a trade deal with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein on Friday, replacing the temporary arrangements that had been in place since it left the European Union.
New method developed to improve durability of nano-electronic components, further semiconductor manufacturing
Phys.Org
University of South Florida researchers recently developed a novel approach to mitigating electromigration in nanoscale electronic interconnects that are ubiquitous in state-of-the-art integrated circuits.
Semiconductors: Your car is a computer on wheels
Financial Express
Have you ever wondered how at the touch of a button the car window opens and closes, how if another vehicle comes closer your car’s sensors start beeping, how a slight push to the accelerator pedal can enhance the power delivery of the engine in a fraction of a second?
The Good And Bad Of Auto IC Updates
Semiconductor Engineering
Keeping automobiles updated enough to avoid problems is becoming increasingly difficult as more complex electronics are added into vehicles, and as the lifetimes of those devices are extended to a decade or more.
Meghan Biery Joins Semiconductor Industry Association as Director of Global Technology and Security Policy
Press Release
“A seasoned policy practitioner with high-level experience in technology security, export control, and related issues, Meghan Biery will be a strong and capable advocate for our industry’s interests in Washington and around the world. We’re excited to welcome her to the SIA team and look forward to her help advancing government initiatives that promote continued growth and innovation in our industry.”
POLITICO Playbook: Transitions
Politico
Meghan Biery is now director of global technology and security policy at the Semiconductor Industry Association. She most recently was senior national security policy adviser at the Bureau of Industry and Security in the Department of Commerce.
Protocol Source Code
Protocol
Meghan Biery is the new director of global technology and security policy at the SIA, where she’ll be involved in helping end the chip shortage and direct U.S. investment in semiconductors.
U.S. chip funding could result in seven to 10 new factories -officials
Reuters
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Monday a proposed $52 billion boost in U.S. government funding for semiconductor production and research could result in seven to 10 new U.S. factories.
Commerce secretary on boosting U.S. semiconductor production: ‘We’re going to get it done’
CNBC
In an interview on CNBC’s “Mad Money,” Raimondo said the global chip shortage that’s rattled a range of industries demonstrates the need for America to boost domestic production capacity and once again become a leader. Asian countries, particularly Taiwan, have come to dominate the industry.
Democrats, GOP team up on bill targeting China as U.S. suffers microchip shortage
CNBC
“We’re really good at the design of semiconductors; we’re really good at the intellectual property part. But we don’t actually make that much here,” he said. “We don’t have a lot of new foundries where you can call in and order, and they can supply anyone.” Modern chip factories can cost tens of billions of dollars to construct and need to be furnished with machines able to imprint circuits just several atoms wide.
US and China trade officials hold ‘candid’ first talks of Biden era
BBC
The Office of the United States Trade Representative said that Ms Tai and Mr Liu “discussed the guiding principles of the Biden-Harris Administration’s worker-centered trade policy and her ongoing review of the U.S.-China trade relationship, while also raising issues of concern.”
A Temporary U.S.-China Trade Truce Starts to Look Durable
NYT
Just days before the coronavirus shut down the Chinese city of Wuhan and changed the world, the Trump administration and China signed what both sides said would be only a temporary truce in their 18-month trade war.
China’s crypto crackdown speeds shift to central Asia, North America mining
Reuters
A crackdown by Beijing is rapidly accelerating a shift in focus by makers of machines that ‘mine’ cryptocurrencies like bitcoin from China to North America and Central Asia as Chinese clients face an uncertain future.
China’s Next-Generation Tech Firms Hit Hard by Market’s Pullback
WSJ
Like technology stocks everywhere, those of newer Chinese companies have suffered as investors have regained their appetite for more modestly valued old-economy businesses. Those stocks are likely to do well as the U.S. and other countries rebound from the pandemic. The Chinese companies are also caught up in an official clampdown on China’s tech sector alongside Alibaba and other big players.
Huawei plans to launch new operating system for phones in June
Reuters
China’s Huawei Technologies (HWT.UL) said it will launch its new Harmony operating system for smartphones on June 2, its biggest move yet aimed at recovering from the damage done by U.S. sanctions to its mobile phone business.
The U.S. Shouldn’t Let China Take the Lead on Trade
Bloomberg Editorial Board
However loudly U.S. politicians vow to compete with China, they seem happy to quit the field and let Beijing win in one crucial area: trade. If President Joe Biden hopes to build a coalition in Asia to counterbalance China’s rise, he can’t afford such defeatism.
U.K. Starts Prep for India Trade Deal in Latest Post-Brexit Push
Bloomberg
The U.K. began formal preparation for a free-trade agreement with India, a post-Brexit target for Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he seeks to prove the benefit of leaving the European Union.
The Increasingly Uneven Race To 3nm/2nm
Semiconductor Engineering
Several chipmakers and fabless design houses are racing against each other to develop processes and chips at the next logic nodes in 3nm and 2nm, but putting these technologies into mass production is proving both expensive and difficult.
Study of promising photovoltaic material leads to discovery of a new state of matter
Science Daily
Researchers have gained new insight into the workings of perovskites, a semiconductor material that shows great promise for making high-efficiency, low-cost solar cells and a range of other optical and electronic devices.
Scaling Simulation
Semiconductor Engineering
Without functional simulation the semiconductor industry would not be where it is today, but some people in the industry contend it hasn’t received the attention and research it deserves, causing a stagnation in performance. Others disagree, noting that design sizes have increased by orders of magnitude while design times have shrunk, pointing to simulation remaining a suitable tool for the job.
Aspinity’s Awesome Analog Artificial Neural Networks (AANNs)
EE Journal
I was just looking at The Decadal Plan for Semiconductors. This is a 150-page report that was published in January 2021 by the Semiconductor Research Corporation, which is a leading non-profit industry-government-academia microelectronics research consortium funding academic research tasks selected and directed by industry and government members.
Robust Federal Incentives for Domestic Chip Manufacturing Would Create an Average of Nearly 200,000 American Jobs Annually as Fabs are Built, Add Nearly $25 Billion Annually to U.S. Economy
Press Release
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), in partnership with Oxford Economics, today released a study analyzing the semiconductor workforce in the United States and the economic benefits that would come from robust federal investment in domestic chip production. The report, titled “Chipping In: The Positive Impact of the Semiconductor Industry on the American Workforce and How Federal Industry Incentives Will Increase Domestic Jobs,” finds the semiconductor industry directly employs more than 277,000 workers in high-paying R&D, design, and manufacturing jobs across 49 states and supports 1.6 million additional American jobs.
SIA Applauds Strong Senate Vote to Proceed with Consideration of Endless Frontier Act
Press Release
“America’s economic strength, national security, and global competitiveness depend heavily on its ability to lead the world in semiconductors and the many technologies they enable. Today’s truly impressive bipartisan vote shows a driving commitment in Congress to boost U.S. competitiveness by moving the Endless Frontier Act one significant step closer to enactment.”
Semiconductor Industry Association and Alliance for Automotive Innovation Convene Joint Industry Workshop on Global Semiconductor Shortage
Press Release
“Leaders from the semiconductor and automotive industries have a shared commitment to resolving the global chip shortage as quickly and efficiently as possible. Today’s workshop was an important opportunity for both industries to exchange information about the shortage and identify areas for continued collaboration to end it.”
Chip funding of $50B would boost domestic jobs in construction, design, study says
Fierce Electronics
The semiconductor industry currently employs 277,000 people in 49 states in the U.S. and supports 1.6 million U.S. jobs, according to the study by the Semiconductor Industry Association and Oxford Economics. In 2020, the industry’s total impact on the U.S. economy surpassed $246 billion. “Leaders in Washington can spur greater U.S. economic growth and job creation, while also strengthening America’s ship supply chains, by investing boldly in domestic manufacturing incentives and research initiatives,” SIA Board Chair Bob Bruggeworth said in a statement. He is also CEO of Qorvo.
Chip industry predicts big boost from federal funding
Axios
Aiming to sway budget-conscious legislators on the value of federal funding, the chip industry’s U.S. trade group says that $50 billion in investment would boost the U.S. economy by $25 billion per year and create hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Senate Weighs Investing $120 Billion in Science to Counter China
NYT
“Doing so would turbocharge U.S. chip production and innovation and help keep America at its competitive best for years to come,” said John Neuffer, the president of the Semiconductor Industry Association.
Industries pressure Washington to act as chip crisis worsens
Politico
“There’s growing recognition among policymakers that — whether it’s the auto chip shortage, or competition with China, or the race for the technologies of the future — all roads lead to semiconductors, and I think it’s getting that level of prioritization among official Washington,” said David Isaacs, vice president of government affairs at the Semiconductor Industry Association.
U.S. senators near deal on $52 billion microchip funding measure
AsumeTech
“To strengthen America’s chip supply chains over the long term, we believe it is critical for President Biden and Congress to fund the domestic semiconductor manufacturing incentives and research initiatives in the CHIPS for America Act,” John Bozzella, CEO of the alliance, said in a joint statement with John Neuffer, CEO of the Semiconductor Industry Association.
Carmakers Don’t Deserve Special Chip Treatment
Bloomberg
When does a car deserve special treatment from the government? That’s the question at the heart of this week’s White House summit on the semiconductor shortage that’s impacted everything from smartphones to tractors, factory equipment and, yes, passenger vehicles.
Tencent profits soar even as China tech crackdown worries linger
CNN
Tencent is pulling in more money and plans on investing more in games and videos, even as Beijing expands its scrutiny of the tech sector. The Chinese gaming and social media giant said Thursday that revenue jumped 25% to 135.3 billion yuan (about $21 billion) for the quarter ended March compared to the same period last year.
China bans financial, payment institutions from cryptocurrency business
Reuters
China has banned financial institutions and payment companies from providing services related to cryptocurrency transactions, and warned investors against speculative crypto trading.
China lands on Mars in major advance for its space ambitions
Associated Press
China landed a spacecraft on Mars for the first time on Saturday, a technically challenging feat more difficult than a moon landing, in the latest step forward for its ambitious goals in space.
TikTok Parent’s Founder Is Latest China Tech Boss to Step Down Amid Government Crackdown
WSJ
The move by the founder of TikTok’s parent company to step down as chief executive makes him the latest in a series of Chinese internet entrepreneurs to leave the spotlight as authorities tighten the reins on the nation’s tech giants.
EU Suspends Plans to Raise Tariffs on U.S. Whiskey, Other Goods
WSJ
The European Union on Monday agreed to postpone plans to raise tariffs on American whiskeys, motorcycles, boats and other items set to take effect June 1 as it begins talks with the Biden administration aimed at lifting U.S. steel tariffs.
UK to offer Australia tariff-free trade deal despite farmers’ fears
Financial Times
The UK will on Friday offer Australia a tariff-free, quota-free trade deal after Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted it should go ahead in spite of warnings it could seriously damage British farmers.
European Parliament to vote on freezing China deal
Politico
The European Parliament is expected to pass a motion on Thursday pushing to formally freeze the EU’s investment agreement with China, in the wake of what MEPs describe as Beijing’s “baseless and arbitrary” sanctions on EU lawmakers earlier this year.
Advanced Packaging’s Next Wave
Semiconductor Engineering
These advanced packages involve a range of technologies, such as 2.5D/3D, chiplets, fan-out and system-in-package (SiP). Each of these, in turn, offers an array of options for assembling and integrating complex dies in an advanced package, providing chip customers with many possible ways to differentiate their new IC designs.
Fast, affordable solution proposed for transparent displays and semiconductors
Phys.Org
The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) under the Ministry of Science and ICT developed a roll-based damage-free transfer technique that allows two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials to be transferred into wafer scale without damage. The proposed technique has a variety of applications from transparent displays and semiconductors to displays for self-driving cars, and is expected to accelerate the commercialization of 2D nanomaterial-based high-performance devices.
What’s Next In Fab Tool Technologies?
Semiconductor Engineering
Experts at the Table: Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography and other next-generation fab technologies with Jerry Chen, head of global business development for manufacturing & industrials at Nvidia; David Fried, vice president of computational products at Lam Research; Mark Shirey, vice president of marketing and applications at KLA; and Aki Fujimura, CEO of D2S. What follows are excerpts of that conversation.
SIA Applauds Committee Approval of Endless Frontier Act
Statement
“The Endless Frontier Act would reinforce U.S. leadership in the critical technologies of the future, including semiconductors, and strengthen America’s economy, national security, and global competitiveness. We appreciate the leadership of Sens. Schumer and Young in advancing this bipartisan legislation and applaud the Senate Commerce Committee for approving it. As the bill moves to the Senate floor, we look forward to working with leaders in Congress to include needed funding for domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research to ensure the United States is home to a bigger share of global chip production and innovation for years to come.”
Semiconductor makers and users form a group to push for chip funding.
NYT
Semiconductor companies and big businesses that use chips have formed a coalition to push for tens of billions of dollars in federal funding for semiconductor research and manufacturing in the United States. The new group, the Semiconductors in America Coalition, announced its formation on Tuesday amid a global semiconductor shortage that has caused disruptions throughout the economy.
Tech Giants Urge Congress to Fund Chip Act, Focus on Long-Term
Bloomberg
The Semiconductors in America Coalition, which also includes Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Cisco Systems Inc., Amazon.com Inc.’s Amazon Web Services, Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc., is sending letters to Congressional leaders asking them to fund the CHIPS for America Act passed earlier this year, according to a statement from the Semiconductor Industry Association, which is a member. Public money would go to provide incentives for manufacturing and research in the U.S.
Tech giants join call for funding U.S. chip production
Reuters
“Robust funding of the CHIPS Act would help America build the additional capacity necessary to have more resilient supply chains to ensure critical technologies will be there when we need them,” the group said in a letter to Democratic and Republican leaders in both houses of the U.S. Congress.
Chip coalition calls on Congress to approve funding for domestic US manufacturing
Electronics 360
“Semiconductors are the brains of the systems and technologies that enable America’s economic growth, national security, digital infrastructure, and global technology leadership,” said John Neuffer, president and CEO of the SIA. “Leaders from a broad range of critical sectors of the U.S. economy, as well as a large and bipartisan group of policymakers in Washington, recognize the essential role of semiconductors in America’s current and future strength.”
New Semiconductor Coalition Pushes For R&D Funding:
Politico
The newly formed Semiconductors in America Coalition is pushing Congress to allocate $50 billion for the CHIPS for America Act, H.R. 7178 (116). The money would support U.S.-based research and manufacturing of cutting-edge semiconductors, which has largely shifted overseas.
Big Tech, semiconductors team up to lobby US government on chip production funding
Fox Business
The share of chips manufactured in the U.S. has fallen from 37% in 1990 to 12% today, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association, which says the decline is mostly due to subsidies offered by foreign governments to global competitors, putting American companies at a disadvantage.
Coalition pushes for funding for US chip manufacturing
Electronics Weekly
The coalition is lobbying the US government to fund the CHIPS for America Act which aims to provide $50 billion for chip manufacturing.
Nearly Every Big Tech Company Joined the New Semiconductors in America Coalition
Tom’s Hardware
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) and President Joe Biden have both lent their support to the act, which was approved by the House and the Senate as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2021 but has not yet been funded.
Exclusive: U.S. senators expected to announce $52 billion chips funding deal – sources
Reuters
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is expected to unveil a $52 billion proposal on Friday that would significantly boost U.S. semiconductor chip production and research over five years, sources briefed on the matter said.
Senate Panel Advances Bill to Counter China in Bipartisan Vote
Bloomberg
The Senate Commerce Committee advanced legislation aimed at ramping up federal support for U.S. research and development in the aim of better competing with China. The package of legislation the committee sent to the full Senate on an 24-4 vote is framed around a $100 billion, five-year injection to American colleges, universities and other research institutions to bolster domestic research and development. It also has $10 billion for regional technology hubs.
Peters’ $2 billion chips amendment added to China bill
The Detroit News
Legislation by Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, to pump $2 billion into semiconductor manufacturing in the United States was added Wednesday to a bill targeting American competitiveness with China.
The Technology 202: The federal government is rolling out record amounts of broadband funding. It could be just the beginning.
The Washington Post
The federal government is starting to disburse more than $10 billion to bring more Americans affordable Internet. Tens of millions of Americans are eligible for a new “Emergency Broadband Benefit” that launched today to help people affected by the pandemic pay their Internet bills.
Chinese EV maker BYD to spin off chip unit amid global shortage
Nikkei Asia
BYD, one of China’s largest makers of electric cars and buses, is moving ahead with plans to list its semiconductor subsidiary even as rivals scramble to acquire chips to keep up production of their vehicles.
China Tech Giants Bet $19 Billion on Global Electric Car Frenzy
Bloomberg
China is shaping up to be the first real test of Big Tech’s ambitions in the world of carmaking, with giants from Huawei Technologies Co. to Baidu Inc. plowing almost $19 billion into electric and self-driving vehicle ventures widely seen as the future of transport.
EXCLUSIVE Tesla in talks with China’s EVE for low-cost battery supply deal -sources
Reuters
Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) is in talks with Chinese battery maker EVE Energy Co (300014.SZ) to add the firm to its Shanghai factory supply chain, four people familiar with the matter said, as it seeks to boost procurement of lower cost batteries.
Solution to disputes with EU over aircraft, metals ‘within reach’ – Tai
Reuters
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said on Thursday that she believes solutions to trade disputes with the European Union on aircraft subsidies and steel and aluminum “are within reach.”
USTR Katherine Tai under pressure on Asia-Pacific trade pact
South China Morning Post
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai came under pressure in a Senate hearing over whether America should seek entry to the Asia-Pacific trade pact that Washington withdrew from in 2017 and faced backlash for her backing of a proposal to waive coronavirus vaccine patent protections.
EU and India Eye Trade Reboot to Confront Threats from China
Bloomberg
The European Union and India are set to resume long-stalled talks on a free trade deal in an effort to strengthen their economic cooperation in the face of an increasingly assertive China.
Chiplets: A Solution For The Shortage Of Chips
Semiconductor Engineering
These days, there are new reports on the shortage of chips almost every day. Currently, this issue is affecting mainly car manufacturers such as Audi, Ford, and more. But other system manufacturers, such as in the machine construction industry, are also facing this challenge.
Harnessing the hum of fluorescent lights for more efficient computing
NanoWerk
The property that makes fluorescent lights buzz could power a new generation of more efficient computing devices that store data with magnetic fields, rather than electricity. A team led by University of Michigan researchers has developed a material that’s at least twice as “magnetostrictive” and far less costly than other materials in its class. In addition to computing, it could also lead to better magnetic sensors for medical and security devices.
Manufacturing Bits: May 10
Semiconductor Engineering
The University of Hong Kong and Northwestern University have developed an organic electrochemical synaptic transistor, a technology that could one day process and store information like the human brain. Researchers have demonstrated that the transistor can mimic the synapses in the human brain. It can build on memories to learn over time, according to researchers.
Mapping Heat Across A System
Semiconductor Engineering
Thermal issues are becoming more difficult to resolve as chip features get smaller and systems get faster and more complex. They now require the integration of technologies from both the design and manufacturing flows, making design for power and heat a much broader problem.
Q1 Global Semiconductor Sales Increase 3.6% Over Previous Quarter
Press Release
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today announced worldwide sales of semiconductors totaled $123.1 billion during the first quarter of 2021, an increase of 3.6% over the previous quarter and 17.8% more than the first quarter of 2020. Global sales for the month of March 2021 were $41.0 billion, an increase of 3.7% compared to the previous month.
Government Should Help U.S. Chip Industry
WSJ – John Neuffer Letter to Editor
In “Government Won’t Fix Chip Shortage” (op-ed, April 29), T.J. Rodgers is right that chip makers and their customers will resolve the current chip shortage without government intervention, but he’s wrong to dismiss the urgent need for government action to strengthen America’s semiconductor supply chains over the long term.
To the Editor: Re “Chip Shortage Creates Chaos for Carmakers” (front page, April 24):
NYT – John Neuffer Letter to Editor
The global chip shortage is one of many economic disruptions caused by the pandemic, and its impact has been felt by automakers and a range of other sectors. Chip demand from automakers fell abruptly after the onset of the pandemic, then rebounded rapidly. And chip makers have been ramping up production for cars to meet that renewed demand. As a result, starting in October 2020, global monthly sales of chips to the auto market were higher than they were the year before, and that trend has continued into 2021.
Despite Chip Shortage, Chip Innovation Is Booming
NYT
A global shortage of semiconductors has cast a cloud over the plans of carmakers and other companies. But there’s a silver lining for Silicon Valley executives like Aart de Geus.
Widespread Commodity Shortages Raise Inflation Fears
NYT
Manufacturing chips can take as long as 26 weeks from when a customer orders them, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association, which represents chip companies. And expanding U.S. chip manufacturing, as Mr. Biden wants to do, is more of a long-term aspiration, given the time and expense required to build new plants.
New Council Launches to Advance Canada’s Semiconductor Industry
Betakit
The creation of this new council comes amid a global shortage of semiconductor chips. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association, Global semiconductor sales increased 6.5 percent in 2020, indicating a high demand for chips.
Q1 semi sales up 17.8%
Electronics Weekly
“Global semiconductor sales remained strong during the first quarter of 2021, topping sales from the previous quarter and substantially outpacing the total from the first quarter of last year,” says SIA CEO John Neuffer, “year-to-year and month-to-month sales in March increased across all major regional markets, and demand grew across a range of product categories.”
EU aims to cut foreign reliance on chips, pharma materials -document
Reuters
The European Union aims to cut its dependency on Chinese and other foreign suppliers in six strategic areas including raw materials, pharmaceutical ingredients and semiconductors, under an industrial action plan to be announced next week.
‘We’re in a competition with China’: Sen. Cornyn holds semiconductor shortage roundtable in Dallas
The Dallas Morning News
“Just because something’s cheaper when it’s being made overseas doesn’t really answer all the questions we have, particularly when it becomes a matter of national security or survival of our economy. We’re in a competition with China,” Cornyn said at a press conference Thursday.
US-China tech war: software maker Kingdee sees opportunity in shift to domestic cloud services market
South China Morning Post
Kingdee International Software Group, China’s biggest enterprise software company, is expanding in cloud services at the expense of short-term profits to capitalise on what its president calls a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity, as the US-China tech war pushes local firms to rethink their reliance on American technology.
China’s tech hub Shenzhen to invest US$108 billion in R&D over 5 years
South China Morning Post
Shenzhen is set to invest more than 700 billion yuan (US$108 billion) in hi-tech research and development over the next five years as it seeks to reinforce its position as China’s innovation powerhouse.
Merkel wants Europe, United States to aim for new trade deal
Reuters
A trade agreement between the United States and the European Union would “make a lot of sense”, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a speech in which she welcomed the United States’ return to the multilateral fold under President Joe Biden.
US downplays prospect of post-Brexit trade deal with UK
Mirror
A transatlantic trade pact is a key goal of Boris Johnson’s post-Brexit plan to boost the economy. But efforts so far have stalled – and a bid for an agreement with Donald Trump’s White House flopped before he was ousted from office. Asked about a pact, Secretary of State Antony Blinken fuelled hopes a deal between America and Britain could be revived. He said: “I am, I was, hopefully very positive because there is no closer relationship.
UK and Japan agree to strengthen trade and security partnership
Reuters
Britain and Japan agreed to deepen their trade and security cooperation, the British foreign office said in a statement after a meeting between Dominic Raab and his Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi in London on Monday.
UK and India to start full trade deal talks in the autumn – UK
Reuters
Britain and India will start negotiations for a full free trade deal in the autumn, British trade minister Liz Truss said on Tuesday.
New Water-Based Approach to Manufacturing Semiconductors
The Financial
With the increasing demand for high-tech devices such as smart phones, wearable watches and portable health monitoring devices, the semiconductor manufacturing industry faces a big challenge of fabricating these devices in a sustainable and cost-effective way, according to University of Oxford.
Steep Spike For Chip Complexity And Unknowns
Semiconductor Engineering
Cramming more and different kinds of processors and memories onto a die or into a package is causing the number of unknowns and the complexity of those designs to skyrocket.
IC Security Threat Grows As More Devices Are Connected
Semiconductor Engineering
Designing for security is beginning to gain traction across a wider swath of chips and systems as more of them are connected to the Internet and to each other, sometimes in safety- and mission-critical markets where the impact of a cyber attack can be devastating.
Following President Biden’s Remarks to Congress, SIA Urges Prompt Action to Enact Bold Investments in Domestic Semiconductor Manufacturing and Research
SIA Statement
“During tonight’s address to Congress and throughout his first 100 days in office, President Biden has demonstrated a commitment to strengthening America’s leadership in semiconductors through robust investment in domestic chip manufacturing, design, and research. The President and a large, bipartisan group of leaders in Congress understand semiconductors are at the heart of our economic strength, national security, digital infrastructure, and global competitiveness, and we appreciate their support and leadership.“
‘This is Infrastructure’: Momentum and Urgency Build for Federal Investments in Chip Manufacturing and Research
Blog Post
On April 12 at the White House, with top CEOs from the semiconductor, automotive, and other sectors joining via teleconference to discuss the ongoing global chip shortage and securing our supply chains, President Biden held up a silicon wafer bristling with semiconductors and said, “This is infrastructure.”
SIA Echoes National Security Leaders’ Call for Federal Investments in Chip Technology
Press Release
“A key part of strengthening U.S. national security is ensuring America’s global leadership in semiconductors, which are essential to a range of critical defense applications. SIA joins defense and intelligence leaders in calling on President Biden and Congress to enact and fund legislation to bolster America’s global technology leadership and semiconductor supply chains through federal investments in domestic chip manufacturing and research. Funding the CHIPS for America Act and enacting the Endless Frontier Act will help ensure more of the semiconductors our country needs are produced on U.S. soil, while also promoting America’s leadership in the strategically important technologies of today and tomorrow.”
Biden delivers speech to joint session of Congress
Reuters
“During tonight’s address to Congress and throughout his first 100 days in office, President Biden has demonstrated a commitment to strengthening America’s semiconductor supply chains through robust investment in domestic chip manufacturing, design, and research. Now is the time for leaders in Washington to shoulder in by enacting legislation that funds these important provisions.”
Washington Wire: After Census Release, a Flood of Lawsuits
WSJ
Trumps Deputy National-Security Adviser Matthew Pottinger signs on to a Semiconductor Industry Association letter backing Biden’s call for more semiconductor and 5G telecommunications spending.
When the chips are down, can 007 save the semiconductor?
Financial Times
As a child in the 1980s, you had a rich choice of debilitating worries. Some lay awake dreading nuclear war, others acid rain. For nerds like me, though, it was the terror of microchip supply disruption.
Electronics companies may take a hit as oxygen crisis sucks nitrogen out
ET Telecom
The government’s efforts to mitigate the oxygen crisis that’s affecting Covid-19 patients may cause a shortage of nitrogen, a gas critical for the electronics manufacturing industry.
Schumer’s Endless Frontier elicits bipartisan pushback
National Journal
“Basic research is essential to our innovation ecosystem. So is applied research,” said David Isaacs, the vice president of government affairs at the Semiconductor Industry Association, one of the most enthusiastic industry backers of Endless Frontier. “The federal government needs to be doing more of both, full stop. I don’t view it as a one-or-the-other thing.”
U.S. auto dealers are winners as chip shortage lifts vehicle profits
Reuters
Mike Bowsher shakes his head in wonder when he hears yet another customer at one of his Buick-GMC dealerships near Atlanta has agreed to pay full sticker price of more than $71,000 for a top-of-the-line GMC Yukon XL Denali SUV that is still being assembled at a General Motors (GM.N) factory.
Senators introduce bill to increase US technology competitiveness against China
The Hill
Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) on Friday introduced a bill to improve U.S. competitiveness against China and other nations by strengthening the nation’s ability to set standards around emerging technologies.
China Warns Large Tech Firms as Industry Faces Rising Oversight
WSJ
China is reining in the ability of the country’s internet giants to use big data for lending, money-management and similar businesses, ending an era of rapid growth that authorities said posed dangers for the financial system.
China on way to self reliance in 28-nm chips; to attain maturity in 14-mm category as well
TeleComLead
In China, major players have stepped up efforts to combat the current shortage by engaging in new production plans and expanding the existing ones. With the support from the government, the semiconductor industry in China is expected to attain self-reliance in popular technologies very soon.
Profits and Politics in China’s Tech Crackdown
WSJ
Is Beijing punishing China’s internet-technology titans because they are too large and too powerful or because tech firms are abusing their market power? Following the dramatic fall from grace of billionaire Jack Ma and his fintech brainchild, Ant Group, that question has become an existential one for current and prospective Chinese internet entrepreneurs—and the economy as a whole.
‘US-China conflict may accelerate US membership in trans-Pacific trade pact’
The Korea Herald
The United States, which under former President Donald Trump ditched talks toward a trans-Pacific trade order, may now be moving to rejoin the club, mostly due to the continuing conflict with China, market observers said Wednesday.
Brexit Trade Deal Gets a Final OK From E.U. Parliament
NYT
The European Parliament has voted by a large margin to give the European Union’s final approval to a Brexit deal already beset by difficulties, complaints and a court challenge.
USTR Tai says any metals tariff deal with EU must address global excess capacity
Reuters
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said she is working hard to resolve a dispute with the European Union over U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs and EU retaliation, but any solution will need to address the problem of global excess production capacity for the metals, largely in China.
Researchers Tweak Low-Cost Semiconductors for Increased Electroconductivity
AZO Materials
Electronic devices have been altered in numerous inventive ways to adapt to the requirements of humans, right from Cat’s-Whisker detectors developed in the early 1900s to electronic circuit chips in modern-day mobile phones.
Spray-on ink produces perovskite semiconductor instantaneously
Chemical & Engineering News
An ink sprayed onto a white canvas almost instantaneously creates a green, glowing face—an image of Marie Curie. But the reaction that created this picture has another purpose.
Security Concerns Rise For Connected Autos
Semiconductor Engineering
The auto industry is transforming itself toward a future in which the automobile increasingly will be connected using V2X and 5G. Driver assistance will improve, and ultimately cars will be guided by AI and machine learning. But all of this will be closely watched by hackers, looking for an opening and a potentially large and untraceable payout.
What They’re Saying: Fund the CHIPS for America Act
Blog Post
A diverse set of stakeholders, representing broad cross-sections of U.S. industry, government, and academia, have called on Congress to fund the CHIPS for America Act. From automobile manufacturers and cloud companies to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and local governments, there is widespread recognition that Congress must cement America’s role as the undisputed global leader in semiconductors.
SIA Applauds Introduction of Endless Frontier Act to Advance U.S. Technology Leadership
Press Release
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today applauded congressional introduction of the Endless Frontier Act (S.1260), bipartisan legislation that seeks to maintain and build on U.S. science and technology leadership – including in semiconductors – by restructuring the National Science Foundation and authorizing more than $100 billion for science and technology initiatives.
Endless Frontier Act will keep US chip market competitive
Electronics 360
“Semiconductors are fundamental to America’s economy, national security and global competitiveness, and the country that leads in chip technology will have a big leg up in deploying the game-changing technologies of the future,” said John Neuffer, president and CEO of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). “We applaud introduction of the Endless Frontier Act and thank its sponsors for their bipartisanship and leadership in promoting American innovation and competitiveness.”
Shortage of semiconductors, dubbed the ‘new oil,’ could dent GDP growth, boost inflation
CNBC
Economic growth could slow and inflation is likely to see at least a momentary bump higher as the semiconductor shortage worsens, economists say.
Why the semiconductor chip shortage could be a good thing
TechXplore
A shortage of the semiconductor chips that serve as the brainpower in millions of electronic devices has stalled the production of everything from cars to cell phones and sent companies racing to buy up as many of the chips as possible before supply runs out.
Why are Semiconductors Needed in Cars?
AZO Materials
In the most visible sense, semiconductors are necessary for various interactivity features that could be accessed by a driver and passengers. They are also necessary for batteries and power trains in an electric vehicle and are key to the essential firmware found in most modern vehicles.
China could rule world’s technology, UK cyber spy chief says
Reuters
The West must urgently act to ensure China does not dominate important emerging technologies and gain control of the “global operating system”, Britain’s top cyber spy said on Friday.
China tech groups hire ex-regulators to fend off Beijing’s crackdown
Financial Times
A growing number of Chinese tech companies have hired former government officials as part of efforts to navigate President Xi Jinping’s intensifying crackdown on the sector.
China’s Xi calls for international collaboration to reduce global carbon emissions at U.S.-led summit
CNBC
Chinese President Xi Jinping called Thursday for countries to work together, while respecting their different responsibilities on reducing carbon emissions. Xi made the remarks at a U.S.-led climate summit.
China chips away at semiconductor woes
China Daily
Carmakers’ production has slipped into low gear as crimped supplies have made semiconductors, which are now integral to new-age vehicles, a precious commodity, company executives and experts said.
US urged to join mega APAC trade deal by China’s former chief trade negotiatorSouth China Morning Post
The United States should rejoin the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (CPTPP) and work with China to merge the agreement with the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to create a huge free-trade area that would include the two largest economies in the world, according to China’s former chief trade negotiator, Long Yongtu.
Few details as Japan, U.S. agree to tackle supply chains
Politico
The U.S. and Japan pledged to cooperate on supply chain issues as part of a new partnership, though their announcement shed no light on how the allies might address the global semiconductor shortage.
EU parliament agrees to April 27 vote on EU-UK trade deal
Reuters
The European Parliament will vote on a post-Brexit trade deal agreed between Britain and the EU next Tuesday after political leaders backed down on a threat not to ratify the accorddue to British changes in Northern Ireland trading arrangements.
Technology Breakthrough Enables Practical Semiconductor Spintronics
SciTechDaily
It may be possible in the future to use information technology where electron spin is used to process information in quantum computers. It has long been the goal of scientists to be able to use spin-based quantum information technology at room temperature.
Putting Limits On What AI Systems Can Do
Semiconductor Engineering
New techniques and approaches are starting to be applied to AI and machine learning to ensure they function within acceptable parameters, only doing what they’re supposed to do.
Tapping Into Non-Volatile Logic
Semiconductor Engineering
Research is underway to develop a new type of logic device, called non-volatile logic (NVL), based on ferroelectric FETs.
Merging Verification And Test
Semiconductor Engineering
While the disciplines of functional verification and test serve different purposes, their histories were once closely intertwined. Recent safety and security monitoring requirements coupled with capabilities being embedded into devices is bringing them closer together again, but can they successfully cooperate to bring about improvements in both?
White House Chip Summit Builds Momentum for Federal Investments in U.S. Chip Manufacturing and Research
Press Release
“We appreciate the White House meeting with industry leaders about the importance of ensuring a strong and resilient semiconductor supply chain, and we commend President Biden’s support for $50 billion in semiconductor manufacturing and research investments to achieve this goal.”
SIA Welcomes Upcoming White House Chip Summit
Press Release
“We welcome this high-level engagement between the White House and industry leaders and see it as an important opportunity for a discussion on the need to fund investments in domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research to help ensure the long-term strength and resilience of America’s semiconductor supply chain.”
Biden Reassures Chip Summit of Bipartisan Support for Funds
Bloomberg
John Neuffer, president and chief executive officer of the Semiconductor Industry Association, said the industry understands “the difficulty the auto sector is feeling right now, and chipmakers are working hard to ramp up production to meet demand in the short term.” For the long term, he said, the industry needs a boost in domestic production and innovation across the board “so all sectors of our economy have access to the chips they need, and that requires swiftly enacting federal investments in semiconductor manufacturing and research.”
White House Convenes Summit To Address Supply Shortage Crippling Auto Plants
NPR
Industry leaders have welcomed the White House attention. “It’s a great opportunity for us to talk about long-term solutions to fix this problem,” said John Neuffer, chief executive officer of the Semiconductor Industry Association. “In 1990, [the U.S.] manufactured about 37% of the world’s semiconductors. Now we only manufacture 12%,” Neuffer said. “That is a supply chain vulnerability that has come into bold relief over the past year.”
White House to hold another semiconductor summit with industry leaders as chip shortage worsens
The Washington Post
“In the short term, government should refrain from intervening as industry works to correct the current supply-demand imbalance causing the shortage. The chip industry is ramping up production, but that process takes time because making chips is highly complex and can take up to 26 weeks,” John Neuffer, chief executive of SIA, said in an emailed statement.
Why the president can’t quickly solve the computer chip shortage
Politico
“In the short term, government should refrain from intervening as industry works to correct the current supply-demand imbalance causing the shortage,” said John Neuffer, the president and CEO of the Semiconductor Industry Association. That could take many months, industry officials have said. “The role we see for government is to ensure the long-term strength and resilience of America’s semiconductor supply chain by acting now to invest in domestic chip manufacturing and research,” he added.
Lawmakers, industry call on Biden to fund semiconductor production amid shortage
The Hill
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), which represents several of the companies Biden met with, commended Biden for his prioritizing investment in chips. “Today’s meeting marks the continuation of a strong partnership between the Biden Administration and industry to strengthen America’s semiconductor supply chain by enacting federal investments in domestic chip manufacturing and research,” SIA President and CEO John Neuffer said in a statement.
Spending $50B on the Chip Industry is a Challenge
EE Times
The SIA’s brief post-meeting statement said it commended President Biden’s support for $50 billion in semiconductor manufacturing and research investments. It noted, “Semiconductors are at the heart of America’s job creation, pandemic response, national security, education system, and growth and innovation across a range of sectors, including aerospace, automotive, cloud computing, medical devices, telecommunications, and many others.”
Semiconductor Industry Association to discuss global chip shortage with US government
Robotics & Automation News
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) is to meet with officials in the administration of newly elected president of the United States, Joe Biden, to discuss the ongoing global shortage in chips, which is affecting many areas of manufacturing and the wider economy.
China semiconductor imports surge to all-time high in March amid global chip shortage
South China Morning Post
Semiconductor imports by China surged to an all-time high in March, according to the latest figures released by the country’s customs authorities, as an acute chip shortage continued to disrupt major industries around the world.
U.S. China hawks seek to cut sales of chip-making tools to Beijing
Reuters
Congressional China hawks are urging the Biden administration to restrict sales of chip-making tools to Chinese companies, similar to an action taken against telecommunications equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co (HWT.UL).
US-China tech war: calls for more tech bans on China get louder in Washington
South China Morning Post
Voices in Washington calling on the Biden administration to tighten technology restrictions on China have gotten louder in recent weeks, making it harder for the two great powers to ease tensions in what has become a bitter hi-tech rivalry.
European Parliament Gives Initial Backing to UK Trade Deal
Reuters
The European Parliament’s committees on relations with Britain on Thursday voted overwhelmingly in favour of the post-Brexit trade and cooperation agreement, clearing the path to its final ratification.
U.S. trade representative uses her first speech to call for action on climate change.
NYT
Katherine Tai, the United States trade representative, made a case on Thursday for using trade policies to fight climate change, devoting her first speech in her new position to addressing one of President Biden’s top priorities.
Japan Wants U.S. Back in the TPP. It Will Likely Have to Wait.
WSJ
China’s rising military might may top the agenda when President Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga meet Friday, but the two leaders also have unfinished business to resolve on the trade front.
Morpheus Turns a CPU Into a Rubik’s Cube to Defeat Hackers
IEEE Spectrum
Last summer, 580 cybersecurity researchers spent 13,000 hours trying to break into a new kind of processor. They all failed. The hack attack was the first big test in a U.S. Defense Advanced Research Program Agency (DARPA) program called Security Integrated Through Hardware and firmware (SSITH).
‘Shedding light’ on the role of undesired impurities in gallium nitride semiconductors
Phys.org
The semiconductor industry and pretty much all of electronics today are dominated by silicon. In transistors, computer chips, and solar cells, silicon has been a standard component for decades. But all this may change soon, with gallium nitride (GaN) emerging as a powerful, even superior, alternative.
Painting with Semiconductors
Printed Electronics World
AMOLF researchers Lukas Helmbrecht and Wim Noorduin have developed a reactive ink that can be painted on an equally reactive canvas. The ink reacts with the material on the canvas to become a semiconductor that emits colored light, an essential part of electronic components such as LEDs.
Many Chiplet Challenges Ahead
Semiconductor Engineering
Advanced packaging is seen as the most likely path to keep Moore’s Law going, but there are several challenges that have yet to be overcome — and several lurking pitfalls for the unaware.
Making Chip Packaging More Reliable
Semiconductor Engineering
Packaging houses are readying the next wave of IC packages, but these products must prove to be reliable before they are incorporated into systems.
SIA Urges U.S. Government Action to Strengthen America’s Semiconductor Supply Chain
Press Release
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Commerce in response to President Biden’s executive order on securing America’s critical supply chains.
Global Semiconductor Sales Up 14.7% Year-to-Year in February
Press Release
“Global semiconductor sales during the first two months of the year have outpaced sales from early in 2020, when the pandemic began to spread in parts of the world,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “Sales into the China market saw the largest year-to-year growth, largely because sales there were down substantially early last year.”
Chip sales up 15% as leaders focus on government subsidies
Fierce Electronics
The SIA last week released a study with Boston Consulting Group that continued SIA’s strong push for government support for bolstering the strength of the domestic semiconductor supply chain. SIA Board Chairman Bob Bruggeworth, also CEO of Qorvo said U.S. investments in semiconductor manufacturing and research “will help address vulnerabilities in the supply chain and ensure more of the essential chips our country needs are produced domestically.”
Chip shortage shows no signs of abating, may drag into 2022
Ars Technica
Making chips is a slow process. Even when manufacturing capacity is in place, it can take up to 26 weeks to produce a chip from the time an order is placed, said Falan Yinug, director of industry statistics and economic policy at the Semiconductor Industry Association. “That’s just the physics of manufacturing chips,” he said. “Good news is coming, but you can’t speed up the process.”
Could more U.S. chip production lead to price increases?
Fierce Electronics
Chip industry officials added their voices to increasing cries for more U.S. investment in chip R&D and domestic manufacturing during a virtual presentation sponsored by the Semiconductor Industry Association.
Feb. Global Semi Sales Up 15%
Printed Circuit Design & Fab
Global semiconductor industry sales were $39.6 billion in February, an increase of 14.7% year-over-year, down 1% sequentially, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association.
U.S. Senate readying legislation on semiconductors, Biden says
Reuters
U.S. Senate leaders are preparing to introduce legislation on semiconductors, President Joe Biden said as the nation wrestles with an ongoing shortage of the critical technology used in a range of devices from cars to computers.
Why threats to Taiwan are a nightmare for tech
Axios
Threats to Taiwan, the self-governing island only slightly bigger than Maryland, are sending shivers through the global tech industry. Why it matters: Taiwan is home to 92% of the world’s leading-edge chip manufacturing operations and a vital center for producing other tech components, including laptops and PC motherboards.
Chinese tech firms with ties to the military added to US blacklist
CNN
The Biden administration is keeping up the pressure on Chinese technology firms by adding more companies to a Commerce Department blacklist. Seven Chinese businesses with ties to the military were added to the so-called Entity List in a move that restricts US firms from dealing with the companies.
U.S. Senate panel to hold hearing on tech bill to combat China
Reuters
The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on April 14 on a bipartisan measure to bolster U.S. technology research and development efforts in a bid to address Chinese competition. The bill, titled the “Endless Frontier Act,” was first proposed in 2020 calling for $110 billion over five years to advance U.S. technology efforts and cosponsored by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Senator Todd Young.
Italy Blocked Chinese Semiconductor Bid, Draghi Says
South China Morning Post
Prime Minister Mario Draghi said he backs an extension of state protection for Italian businesses, after revealing that his government recently blocked a Chinese takeover of a semiconductor company.
U.S. Forges Ahead on $1 Billion Tariff Plan Over Digital Taxes
Bloomberg
The U.S. is pressing ahead with plans to hit six nations that tax Internet-based companies with retaliatory tariffs that could total almost $1 billion annually.
Biden to welcome Japan’s prime minister as administration’s first foreign leader at the White House
Fox News
The White House will welcome Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in April as the first foreign leader to meet with President Biden, officials announced Friday. The visit signals strengthening ties between the U.S. and Japan as the Biden administration seeks to distance itself from U.S. reliance on China.
Half of UK firms expect long-term post-Brexit disruption – survey
Reuters
The majority of British firms have faced disruption with trade with the European Union since Brexit, with many expecting the problem to last for some time, according to a survey. The Survation survey for London First/EY, conducted in February, found 75% had experienced some disruption, even though 71% said they had felt prepared for the changes.
Researchers report breakthrough that enables practical semiconductor spintronics
Phys.Org
It may be possible in the future to use information technology where electron spin is used to store, process and transfer information in quantum computers. It has long been the goal of scientists to be able to use spin-based quantum information technology at room temperature.
Interconnects In A Domain-Specific World
Semiconducting Engineering
Moving data around is probably the least interesting aspect of system design, but it is one of three legs that defines the key performance indicators (KPI) for a system. Computation, memory, and interconnect all need to be balanced. Otherwise, resources are wasted and performance is lost.
Energy Harvesting Shows New Signs Of Life
Semiconducting Engineering
Energy harvesting is seeing renewed activity in select markets, years after some high-profile attempts to build this into consumer electronics stalled out.
AI In Inspection, Metrology, And Test
Semiconductor Engineering
AI/ML is creeping into multiple processes within the fab and packaging houses, although not necessarily for the purpose it was originally intended. The chip industry is just beginning to learn where AI makes sense and where it doesn’t.
Study Identifies Benefits and Vulnerabilities of Global Semiconductor Supply Chain, Recommends Government Actions to Strengthen It
Press Release
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), in partnership with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), today released a study, “Strengthening the Global Semiconductor Supply Chain in an Uncertain Era,” analyzing the benefits and vulnerabilities of the global semiconductor supply chain and recommending government actions to ensure its long-term strength and resilience.
President Biden’s Infrastructure Plan Would Strengthen U.S. Leadership in Semiconductors
Press Release
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) released a statement from President and CEO John Neuffer regarding President Biden’s infrastructure proposal, which would invest in domestic semiconductor manufacturing, research, and workforce development.
Global chip supply chain increasingly vulnerable to massive disruption, study finds
Reuters
A new study from a U.S. industry group, the Semiconductor Industry Association, found that the global semiconductor supply chain has become increasingly vulnerable to natural disasters and geopolitical disruptions because suppliers have become more concentrated in distinct regions.
The Agency at the Center of America’s Tech Fight With China
New York Times
John Neuffer, the chief executive of the Semiconductor Industry Association, said that China accounted for about one-third of his industry’s revenue, and that it would be “disastrous” for semiconductor companies to not have access to such a huge and growing market.
Biden Calls for $50 Billion to Boost U.S. Chip Industry
Wall Street Journal
“Semiconductors are foundational to America’s economy and job creation, national security, and critical infrastructure,” SIA President John Neuffer said in a written statement that supported Mr. Biden’s initiative.
Study Shows How Fragile Semiconductor Industry Still Is
Tom’s Hardware
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) published a report today detailing the, well, semiconductor industry’s weaknesses as the entire world attempts to figure out how to respond to the ongoing chip shortage.
Global Chip Supply Chain Increasingly Vulnerable to Massive Disruption: Study
Gadgets360
Modern chipmaking involves more than a thousand steps and requires complex intellectual property, tools and chemicals from around the world. But the Semiconductor Industry Association, representing most US chipmakers, on Thursday said it found more than 50 places in the supply chain where a single region has more than 65 percent market share.
Business reaction to Biden’s infrastructure plan varies broadly
Fierce Electronics
The Semiconductor Industry Association said Wednesday that the Biden plan “would invest ambitiously in U.S. semiconductor workers, manufacturing and innovation. Semiconductors are foundational to America’s economy and job creation, national security and critical infrastructure. We applaud the president’s leadership.”
Biden’s Infrastructure Plan: Which Sectors Would Benefit?
Wall Street Journal
“Semiconductors are a clear winner,” Mr. Kaminski wrote, with the industry being offered “$50 billion to subsidize domestic research and manufacturing”…. “We applaud the president’s leadership on this issue,” the Semiconductor Industry Association said in a statement welcoming his offer. The group appeared less enthusiastic, however, about Mr. Biden’s plan to fund the subsidies with an increase in corporate taxes, adding that it hoped the president would ensure “a globally competitive corporate tax system.”
China cuts taxes to spur semiconductor development
Associated Press
China announced tax breaks to spur growth of its semiconductor industry following U.S. sanctions that alarmed the ruling Communist Party by cutting off access to American processor chips for tech giant Huawei and some other companies.
China manufacturing rebounds in March amid tech, virus risks
Associated Press
China’s factory activity rebounded in March from a three-month slowdown as export orders rose, a survey shows. A monthly index of manufacturing issued by the China’s statistics agency and an industry group rose to 51.9 from February’s 50.6 on a 100-point scale on which numbers above 50 show activity expanding.
Chip charge: Chinese phone, car, home appliance companies join semiconductor rush
Reuters
Smartphone maker Xiaomi has joined a rush of Chinese tech companies venturing into the semiconductor sector, announcing a new chip to help smartphone cameras process images.
China’s Tech Giants Have Chip Ambitions, Too
Wall Street Journal
China has pushed hard to be self-sufficient in semiconductors, and state-backed chip firms have raised huge sums. But Beijing’s ambitions will ultimately depend on the country’s vibrant private sector, too. Chinese leaders have listed advanced semiconductors among the core technologies they view as choke points vulnerable to foreign pressure, a problem clearly demonstrated by the Huawei saga.
New Trade Representative Says U.S. Isn’t Ready to Lift China Tariffs
Wall Street Journal
The U.S. isn’t ready to lift tariffs on Chinese imports in the near future, but might be open to trade negotiations with Beijing, according to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai.
U.K.-U.S. Trade Deal Is Likely Years Away as Biden Shifts Focus
Bloomberg
The U.K. and the U.S. are unlikely to be ready to strike a trade deal before 2023, in a blow to British hopes of a quick win from Brexit, according to people familiar with the matter. President Joe Biden’s administration is focused on other priorities such as China and investing in domestic programs to boost the U.S. economy, and his legal power to fast-track a trade accord through Congress is due to expire on July 1.
USTR’s Tai tells European officials she wants ‘more positive’ trade ties
Reuters
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai told European officials she wanted to develop “a more positive and productive” trade relationship with Europe, despite disputes over aircraft subsidies and digital services taxes.
Waiting for Quantum Computing? Try Probabilistic Computing
IEEE Spectrum
Computer scientists and engineers have started down a road that could one day lead to a momentous transition: from deterministic computing systems, based on classical physics, to quantum computing systems, which exploit the weird and wacky probabilistic rules of quantum physics.
Computing Where Data Resides
Semiconductor Engineering
Computational storage is starting to gain traction as system architects come to grips with the rising performance, energy and latency impacts of moving large amounts of data between processors and hierarchical memory and storage.
New Uses For AI
Semiconductor Engineering
AI is being embedded into an increasing number of technologies that are commonly found inside most chips, and initial results show dramatic improvements in both power and performance.
How To Measure ML Model Accuracy
Semiconductor Engineering
Machine learning (ML) is about making predictions about new data based on old data. The quality of any machine-learning algorithm is ultimately determined by the quality of those predictions.
SIA Statement on Meeting with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo
Press Release
“We greatly appreciated meeting with Secretary Raimondo yesterday to discuss advancing policies – including federal investments in domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research and ensuring access to global markets – that will strengthen the competitiveness of the U.S. chip industry and spur growth and innovation throughout our economy. We look forward to working with the Secretary and other leaders in the Administration and Congress to ensure continued U.S. leadership in this foundational technology.”
Combating semiconductor shortage a priority, U.S. Commerce chief says
Reuters
“As Secretary of Commerce, combating the semiconductor shortage and investing in American manufacturing of semiconductor technology is going to be a priority of mine and I look forward to working alongside leaders like the Semiconductor Industry Association,” Raimondo said in a statement released by the Commerce Department.
Jobs Act potentially a boon for semiconductor research
Electronics360
“At a time when federal funding for chip research has been flat as a share of GDP for years, even as the governments of global competitors are massively increasing their research investments, robust tax incentives for private sector research assume even greater importance,” said John Neuffer, president and CEO at SIA. “We applaud the bipartisan group of leaders in Congress for introducing this timely legislation to promote U.S. R&D, urge its swift enactment, and look forward to working with policymakers to advance semiconductor research in the United States.”
Bold Federal Investments in Semiconductor Technology Needed to Grow U.S. Economy and Create Jobs of the Future
Morning Consult – Op-Ed by Bob Bruggeworth, 2021 SIA Chair and President, CEO, & Director of Qorvo
To reinforce U.S. leadership in the technologies critical to innovation, jobs, national security, and our resilience to future crises, policymakers must prioritize the bedrock of modern technology — semiconductors.
Raimondo Steps into ‘Privacy Shield’ Talks and Bones Up On the Semiconductor Shortage
Politico
Raimondo met with senior executives from the Semiconductor Industry Association to discuss steps that could be taken to address the current shortage of chips and to boost U.S. production over the long term. “Semiconductors are America’s fourth largest export, and critical to our economic competitiveness and national security,” she said in a statement after the meeting. “I believe we need to make strong investments in domestic manufacturing, research, and workforce, and help strengthen America’s global leadership in semiconductor manufacturing and innovation.”
In charts: Asia’s manufacturing dominance
Financial Times
The Semiconductor Industry Association, a US trade body, and Boston Consulting Group, the consultancy, estimate that a new fabrication facility to produce semiconductors could cost roughly one-third more to build and operate in the US over 10 years than a similar facility in Taiwan, South Korea or Singapore.
From houses to cars and bikes, everything is getting more expensive as supply-chain issues cripple the economic reopening
Business Insider
John Neuffer, the president of the Semiconductor Industry Association, told The New York Times that while chip companies have been working hard to meet demand, it takes time to develop such complex products.
Why a global chip shortage is screwing up America’s pickup trucks
Recode
Because chip manufacturing is a long, complex process — the Semiconductor Industry Association says lead times for semiconductor orders can be as long as 26 weeks — surging demand and limited supply have caused ripple effects that the manufacturers and customers are still feeling a year later. “Making a semiconductor is perhaps the most highly complex manufacturing process on the planet,” Falan Yinug, SIA’s director of industry statistics and economic policy, told Recode. “It can involve more than a thousand process steps and hundreds of advanced machines needed to pack tens of billions of transistors on a chip the size of a quarter.”
US-China tech war: state-led economy crucial to meet challenges of American sanctions, says prominent economist
South China Morning Post
China’s socialist economic model that mixes strong government direction and support within a market economy is the key to faster development and meeting technology challenges posed by US sanctions, according to Bai Chong-en, dean of the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University.
Move Over Huawei, Xiaomi Is China’s New Smartphone King
Wall Street Journal
The swift decline in Huawei Technologies Co.’s smartphone business under the weight of U.S. sanctions has left an opening in the market. A different Chinese technology giant is filling the void, Xiaomi Corp.
China’s tech giants face a reckoning with the regulators
Financial Times
Consumers occupy a peculiar role in China’s tech landscape. They are valued customers of the gigantic platforms such as Tencent, ByteDance and Alibaba, whose strategists try to anticipate their every need. But they tend to lack a collective voice, meaning it is hard to fight privacy violations or manipulative selling strategies.
U.K.-U.S. Trade Talks Can Build on Trump’s Plan, Envoy Says
Bloomberg
Trade talks with the U.S. will seek to build on “well-channeled lines” established during negotiations with the Trump administration while seeking to incorporate new priorities favored by President Joe Biden, the U.K. envoy to Washington said.
U.S. Speaks with EU, U.K. About Resolving Airbus-Boeing Dispute
Bloomberg
President Joe Biden’s trade representative held her first meetings with counterparts from the European Union and U.K. with all sides expressing desire to resolve a dispute over subsidies to manufacturers Boeing Co. and Airbus SE.
U.S. trade chief Tai talks WTO, China, climate in first calls with counterparts
Reuters
New U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai pledged to rebuild alliances and actively engage on international trade in her first calls as the top U.S. trade negotiator with key partners and the World Trade Organization.
Semiconductor qubits scale in two dimensions
Science Daily
The heart of any computer, its central processing unit, is built using semiconductor technology, which is capable of putting billions of transistors onto a single chip. Now, researchers have shown that this technology can be used to build a two-dimensional array of qubits to function as a quantum processor.
Gallium Oxide: The Supercharged Semiconductor
IEEE Spectrum
Today, GaN is the undisputed champion for solid-state RF power applications, and it has arrived in radar, 5G wireless, and will soon be common in the power inverters used in electric vehicles. You can even buy GaN-based USB wall chargers now that have remarkably high power levels for their compact size.
Demand For IC Resilience Drives Methodology Changes
Semiconductor Engineering
Applications that demand safety, security, and resilience are driving new ways of thinking about design, verification, and the long-term reliability of chips on a mass scale.
What Goes Wrong In Advanced Packages
Semiconductor Engineering
Advanced packaging may be the best way forward for massive improvements in performance, lower power, and different form factors, but it adds a whole new set of issues that were much better understood when Moore’s Law and the ITRS roadmap created a semi-standardized path forward for the chip industry.
EUV Pellicles Finally Ready
Semiconductor Engineering
After a period of delays, EUV pellicles are emerging and becoming a requirement in high-volume production of critical chips.
American Innovation and Jobs Act Would Advance U.S. Leadership in Semiconductor Research
Press Release
“The semiconductor industry is among the most R&D-intensive sectors in the world, and semiconductor innovation is critical to America’s ability to create and lead the game-changing technologies of today and tomorrow.”
U.S. Must Fabricate High-End Chips Again
WSJ – Letter to the Editor by John Neuffer
Your editorial “The Semiconductor Shortage” (March 13) is right that government action is not needed to correct the short-term supply-demand imbalance causing the global chip shortage, but wrong that the U.S. can “prod” its way to stronger domestic semiconductor production and more secure chip supply chains in the long term.
World going through unprecedented chip shortage, China trade body says
Reuters
The world is going through an unprecedented chip shortage, Zhou Zixue, a senior official with the China Semiconductor Industry Association, said on Wednesday, after semiconductor sales grew 18% last year.
China slams US plan to expel phone carriers in tech clash
Associated Press
China’s government called on Washington to drop efforts to expel three state-owned Chinese phone companies from the United States in a new clash over technology and security. The Federal Communications Commission voted to begin revoking the companies’ U.S. licenses due to security risk.
China’s top chipmaker to build a $2.35 billion plant with government funding
CNBC
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), China’s largest and most important chipmaker, is building a new factory in Shenzhen that will cost $2.35 billion. The company and the government of the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen will jointly put capital into the project.
US and China trade angry words at high-level Alaska talks
BBC
US and Chinese officials have exchanged sharp rebukes in the first high-level talks between the Biden administration and China, taking place in Alaska. Chinese officials accused the US of inciting countries “to attack China”, while the US said China had “arrived intent on grandstanding”.
US and China trade barbs after Blinken warns of need to respect global order or face a ‘more violent world’
CNN
A first face-to-face meeting between US and Chinese officials got off to a heated start in Anchorage, Alaska, on Thursday as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s statement that the Biden administration would bring up “deep concerns” about some of China’s actions around the world was met with immediate pushback from Chinese counterparts, sparking an unusually public exchange of diplomatic barbs.
Tai confirmed as top U.S. trade negotiator
Washington Post
Katherine Tai, a longtime congressional staff lawyer, won Senate confirmation as the first woman of color to serve as the top U.S. trade negotiator. The Senate approved her nomination 98-0, marking a rare bipartisan agreement in a deeply-divided Washington.
U.S. Trade Czar Tai to Discuss Trade Deal With U.K. Next Week
Bloomberg
Newly confirmed U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai will speak with her British counterpart, Secretary Liz Truss, next week to further talks on a possible trade agreement. The call between Tai and Truss will likely happen Monday, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private.
U.S. Wants India’s Help on China, but There Are a Few Sticking Points
Wall Street Journal
The Biden administration is working to embed India in a network of countries in sharp competition with China, though they need to smooth over disagreements that include human rights and New Delhi’s acquisition of a Russian defense system.
Long Lead Times Seen For Equipment
Semiconductor Engineering
A story that has been overlooked in the many semiconductor stories in 2021 is the long lead times for semiconductor equipment. In some cases, lead times have stretched out to 12 months or more for some equipment. Some tools, including 200mm systems, simply aren’t available.
Designing 2.5D Systems
Semiconductor Engineering
As more designs hit the reticle limit, or suffer from decreasing yield, migrating to 2.5D designs may provide a path forward. But this kind of advanced packaging also comes with some additional business, organizational, and technical challenges.
Chasing After Carbon Nanotube FETs
Semiconductor Engineering
Carbon nanotube transistors are finally making progress for potential use in advanced logic chips after nearly a quarter century in R&D. The question now is whether they will move out of the lab and into the fab.
The semiconductor chip shortage, what’s causing it, why it matters, and what we need to do about it / John Neuffer, President and CEO, Semiconductor Industry Association.
GoodStory
There’s a global semiconductor chip shortage brought on by the massive supply chain disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And it’s hurting U.S. industries in a big way.
China’s Rise Drives a U.S. Experiment in Industrial Policy
WSJ
“This industry is fiercely competitive and fiercely market driven,” said John Neuffer, head of the SIA. “There is one piece here where we don’t have a level playing field, and that’s the semiconductor manufacturing. This one piece of our industry needs fixing.” With a $50 billion incentive program, the SIA predicts the U.S. share of capacity would rise to 14% in a decade. Time, it says, is of the essence: Manufacturers are deciding now on locations that will lift capacity 56% in the next decade.
Is the chip shortage a “crisis”? Depends who’s talking
Fierce Electronics
The large chipmaker trade organization, Semiconductor Industry Association, has notably avoided calling the semi shortage a “crisis” but does refer to it as a “global chip shortage.” In a blog, SIA’s director of industry statistics and economic policy Falan Yinug said the semi industry is “substantially increasing its fab capacity utilization, a term that refers to the percentage of total available manufacturing capacity that is being used at any given time.”
A Global Computer Chip Shortage Shows Danger of U.S. Production Trends
Scientific American
President Joe Biden’s executive order calling for a review of supply chains for critical products put a spotlight on the decades-long decline in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing capacity. Semiconductors are the logic and memory chips used in computers, phones, vehicles and appliances. The U.S. share of global semiconductor fabrication is only 12%, down from 37% in 1990, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association.
Tech Continues Push for Semiconductor Funding
Politico
“Taking these actions will help to spur U.S. chip manufacturing, solidify U.S. leadership in semiconductor research and development, and better meet the projected long-term growth in the demand for chips,” nine associations wrote in a new letter. It is signed by the Information Technology Industry Council, Semiconductor Industry Association, TechNet and BSA | The Software Alliance, among others.
Europe seeks semiconductor boost, first quantum computer
Reuters
The European Union wants to produce a fifth of the global output of cutting-edge semiconductors at the end of this decade and make its first quantum computer in five years, as part of efforts to cut its dependence on non-European technologies.
Apple to open semiconductor center in Germany
Automotive News Europe
Apple plans to establish a European silicon design center in Munich, Germany, and invest more than 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) over the next three years in expanding its team there and in research and development.
Chinese exports surge as global demand recovers from virus
Associated Press
China’s exports surged 60.6% over a year earlier in the first two months of 2021, after factories reopened and global demand started to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. Exports rose to $468.9 billion, customs data showed, accelerating from December’s 18.1% gain and nearly double the growth expected by forecasters.
China’s semiconductor imports surged year-on-year in January-February period amid global chip shortage
South China Morning Post
Despite vows by foundries to quickly ramp up capacity expansion plans, industry experts warned that the supply-demand imbalance cannot be solved by “flipping a switch”. “Semiconductor manufacturing is not suited to rapid and large shifts in demand, since it takes time to ramp up semiconductor production,” US trade group the Semiconductor Industry Association said in a recent report.
China Targets AI, Chips Among Seven Battlefronts in Tech Race With U.S.
WSJ
In a draft economic blueprint unveiled at the country’s annual legislative gathering, officials said they would boost research and development spending by more than 7% annually over the five years to the end of 2025. That will account for a higher percentage of gross domestic product than in the previous five-year period.
U.S. Trade Deficit Widened in January as Americans Bought More Imported Goods
WSJ
The U.S. trade deficit widened in January as American consumers stepped up purchases of computers, cellphones, flat-screen TVs and other imported products. The deficit in trade of goods and services expanded by 1.9% to a seasonally adjusted $68.2 billion in January, the Commerce Department said, compared with a $66.97 billion gap in December.
Biden smooths tensions with Europe, pausing tariffs in Boeing-Airbus dispute
Politico
President Joe Biden moved to smooth over trade tensions with the European Union by agreeing to temporarily suspend duties the two sides have imposed on billions of dollars of each other’s goods in a long-running aircraft subsidy dispute involving aerospace rivals Boeing and Airbus.
UK delays post-Brexit import checks to give more time to prepare
Reuters
Britain delayed the introduction of a range of post-Brexit import checks on goods from the European Union by around six months, saying businesses needed more time to prepare because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Domain-Specific Memory
Semiconductor Engineering
Domain-specific computing may be all the rage, but it is avoiding the real problem. The bigger concern is the memories that throttle processor performance, consume more power, and take up the most chip area.
MRAM Evolves In Multiple Directions
Semiconductor Engineering
Magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM) is one of several new non-volatile memory technologies targeting broad commercial availability but designing MRAM into chips and systems isn’t as simple as adding other types of memory.
Preventing Chips From Burning Up During Test
Semiconductor Engineering
It’s become increasingly difficult to manage the heat generated during IC test. Absent the proper mitigations, it’s easy to generate so much heat that probe cards and chips literally can burn up. As a result, implementing temperature-management techniques is becoming a critical part of IC testing.
AI Commission Calls for Federal Investments in Semiconductor Manufacturing and Research
Blog Post
Today, the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) released its final report outlining a comprehensive strategy to meet the opportunities and challenges of the emerging AI era.
Global Semiconductor Sales Increase 13.2% year-to-year in January
Press Release
“Global semiconductor sales got off to a strong start in 2021, increasing both year-to-year and month-to-month in January,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “Global semiconductor production is on the rise to meet increasing demand and ease the ongoing chip shortage affecting the auto sector and others, and annual sales are projected to increase in 2021.”
Industrial policy: If China does it, why can’t we?
Market Place
“In 1990, we accounted for 37% of global semiconductor production. Now we account for 12%,” said John Neuffer, president of the Semiconductor Industry Association. “Central governments all around the world give massive incentives to build semiconductor fabrication facilities, or fabs. The U.S. government does not do that.” There’s growing bipartisan support now to change that. The defense authorization act passed last year laid the groundwork for multibillion-dollar incentives to build plants.
From Politics to PlayStation 5: A Timeline of the Silicon Chip Supply Disruption
Cheddar
According to the Semiconductor Industry Association, America’s share of the global industry has fallen from 37 percent in 1990 to 12 percent today. While many U.S. industry leaders and politicians have long encouraged and actively facilitated globalization, coronavirus has created a new awareness of the vulnerabilities that can come with a world-spanning supply chain.
Semi sales jump 13% as chipmakers woo Congress for billions
Fierce Electronics
Semiconductor Industry Association President John Neuffer took the growth as an opportunity to note that the production increase is helping meet increasing demand which will “ease the ongoing chip shortage affecting the auto sector and others.” He also noted that annual sales are projected to rise in 2021.
As China Rises, the US Builds Toward a Bigger Role in AI
WIRED
On February 11, the Semiconductor Industry Association asked the president to increase funding for semiconductor manufacturing. The letter notes that America’s share of global chip manufacturing has dropped to 12 percent, from 37 percent in 1990. “Our technology leadership is at risk in the race for preeminence in the technologies of the future,” including artificial intelligence, advanced cell networks, and quantum computing,” the association wrote.
Biden can’t fix the chip shortage any time soon. Here’s why.
The Washington Post
Semiconductor executive Tom Caulfield knew a crisis was brewing when he started getting frantic calls from big automakers just before Christmas. The Santa Clara, Calif.-headquartered company did its best to ramp up production for car manufacturers at its three big factories in the United States, Germany and Singapore, Caulfield said in an interview. But its efforts alone couldn’t fix a supply problem that had been building for months as an unprecedented surge of demand far outstripped supplies across the globe, leaving manufacturers of all kinds in the lurch.
Chipmakers are hustling to make auto chips–and say it’s not a hustle
Fierce Electronics
The Semiconductor Industry Association released a blog that explained how it takes time to ramp up production for the chip shortage. There are up 1,400 steps in overall production of a chip wafer, with up to 26 weeks to manufacture a finished chip. “What this ultimately means is the semiconductor industry is currently doing all it possibly can in the short-term to increase utilization and meet increased demand both in the auto sector and more broadly for all customers,” the SIA blogger wrote.
Global semiconductor sales up 13.2% y-o-y in January to US$40b, says SIA
The Edge Markets
SIA president and chief executive officer (CEO) John Neuffer said global semiconductor sales got off to a strong start in 2021, increasing both y-o-y and month-on-month (m-o-m) in January. “Global semiconductor production is on the rise to meet increasing demand and ease the ongoing chip shortage affecting the auto sector and others, and annual sales are projected to increase in 2021,” he said.
U.S. panel recommends export ‘choke points’ to prevent Chinese dominance in semiconductors
Reuters
The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI), a U.S. national security commission recommended Congress tighten up “choke points” on chipmaking technology to prevent China from overtaking the United States in semiconductors in the coming years.
China will ‘vigorously support’ semiconductor industry, IT ministry head says, as country seeks self-sufficiency in chip-making
South China Morning Post
The head of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said China’s semiconductor industry grew three times faster in 2020 than global peers. The minister also acknowledged geopolitical challenges and addressed a new law regulating rare earths, important elements for chips.
U.S. Enlists Allies to Counter China’s Technology Push
Wall Street Journal
The Biden administration’s goal is to stay ahead of China in semiconductors, artificial intelligence and other advances that are expected to define the economy and military of the future. By combining efforts, the U.S. and its allies can vastly outspend China, whose research-and-development budget now nearly matches the U.S.
Where China is investing in semiconductors, in charts
TechNode
China is vastly increasing investment in semiconductors. In 2020, cash flowing into China’s semiconductor firms amounted to RMB 227.6 billion (around $35.2 billion) through the primary and secondary markets, a stunning 407% increase from the previous year, according to TechNode’s research.
Biden administration to consider carbon border tax as part of trade agenda: USTR
Reuters
The Biden administration said it would consider carbon border adjustment taxes to help cut greenhouse gas emissions in global trade and to combat China’s use of forced labor among Uighur Muslims in its western Xinjiang region.
US suspends tariffs on UK exports in Airbus-Boeing trade dispute
Financial Times
The US will temporarily lift punitive tariffs on £550m worth of UK exports such as Scotch whisky and Stilton cheese, imposed as part of a row with the EU over subsidies to Boeing and Airbus, in an attempt to de-escalate one of the longest trade disputes in modern history.
US Trade Deficit up 1.9% in January on Record Goods Imports
U.S. News & World Report
The level of imported goods to the U.S. in January reached unprecedented levels and pushed the trade deficit 1.9% higher as the coronavirus pandemic continues to distort global commerce.
EU lawmakers stall vote to ratify EU-UK trade deal in protest
Reuters
The European Parliament abandoned its plan to set a date for voting on the EU-UK trade deal, in protest at what the European Union sees as Britain’s unlawful changes to Northern Irish Brexit arrangements.
Scientists induce artificial ‘magnetic texture’ in graphene
Phys.Org
Graphene is incredibly strong, lightweight, conductive … the list of its superlative properties goes on. It is not, however, magnetic—a shortcoming that has stunted its usefulness in spintronics, an emerging field that scientists say could eventually rewrite the rules of electronics, leading to more powerful semiconductors, computers and other devices.
Predicting And Avoiding Failures In Automotive Chips
Semiconductor Engineering
Experts at the Table: New approaches rely on more and better data, but it also requires sharing of data across the supply chain.
Security Provisioning Moves Out Of The Factory
Semiconductor Engineering
Security credentials traditionally have been provisioned during chip manufacturing, often as a final part of the testing process. That’s starting to change. Programmable options could have big impact on supply chain readiness.
Chiplets For The Masses
Semiconductor Engineering
Chiplets are a compelling technology, but so far they are available only to a select few players in the industry. That’s changing, and the industry has taken little steps to get there, but timing for when you will be able to buy a chiplet to integrate into your system remains uncertain.
Auto OEMs Face New Competitive Threats
Semiconductor Engineering
Automotive design and manufacturing are undergoing a fundamental shift to the left as cars increasingly are electrified and chips take over more functions formerly done by mechanical parts, setting the stage for massive disruption across a supply chain that has been in place for decades.
Semiconductor Industry Welcomes President Biden’s Executive Order on Critical Supply Chains
Press Release
“We welcome today’s executive order and stand ready to work with the Biden administration to ensure the strength and resilience of America’s semiconductor supply chains. As part of this effort, we urge the president and Congress to invest ambitiously in domestic chip manufacturing and research. Doing so will ensure more of the chips our country needs are produced on U.S. shores, while also promoting sustained U.S. leadership in the technology at the heart of America’s economic strength and job creation, national security, and critical infrastructure.”
SIA Applauds Sen. Schumer Announcement on Promoting U.S. Competitiveness
Press Release
“We appreciate Sen. Schumer’s strong leadership in advancing legislation to promote U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and research and applaud his announcement today aimed at taking the next critical steps to improve U.S. competitiveness. The key to winning the global competition for leadership in the game-changing technologies of the future is to turbocharge U.S. innovation. To help accomplish that goal, we urge the Biden administration and Congress to invest boldly in domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research. Doing so will help keep the United States on top in this foundational technology, while also strengthening America’s economy, job creation, national security, and critical infrastructure.”
Chip Sales Remain Strong in Challenging Year
EE Times
Chip sales have remained strong in this challenging year, but we at the Semiconductor Industry Association believe that federal manufacturing and research investments present a crucial opportunity. Global demand for semiconductors rose to near-record highs in 2020. With millions around the globe forced to go online for many activities they would have previously done in person — from work to learning to shopping to seeing their friends and loved ones — the world relied more than ever on semiconductors and the technologies they enable. As a result, industry sales for the year ticked up 6.8% from the 2019 total, reaching $440 billion.
Biden Orders Broad Supply-Chain Review Amid Chip Shortages
WSJ
The Semiconductor Industry Association also welcomed the efforts while urging the president and Congress to invest more in domestic chip manufacturing and research. “Doing so will ensure more of the chips our country needs are produced on U.S. shores, while also promoting sustained U.S. leadership in the technology at the heart of America’s economic strength and job creation, national security, and critical infrastructure,” the group said.
Amid Shortfalls, Biden Signs Executive Order to Bolster Critical Supply Chains
NYT
Bob Bruggeworth, the chairman of the Semiconductor Industry Association and the chief executive of Qorvo, a semiconductor company, said his industry was ready to work with the Biden administration. He urged the president and Congress to “invest ambitiously” in manufacturing and research. “Doing so will ensure more of the chips our country needs are produced on U.S. shores, while also promoting sustained U.S. leadership in the technology at the heart of America’s economic strength and job creation, national security and critical infrastructure,” Mr. Bruggeworth said.
Biden to press for $37 billion to boost chip manufacturing amid shortfall
Reuters
The chip industry has pressed the Biden administration and Congress to take action to fund the provisions of the law. “We urge the president and Congress to invest ambitiously in domestic chip manufacturing and research,” the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) said earlier on Wednesday.
Biden Signs Order Seeking Homegrown Fixes For Shortfalls Of Foreign-Made Items
NPR
John Neuffer, the chief executive of the Semiconductor Industry Association, says the shortages caused by the pandemic demonstrated how quickly problems can get out of hand if even just one piece of the supply chain is broken — or delayed. “For the long term, I think what the review is going to find is we need to have more semiconductors made here in the good ‘ol U.S. of A.,” said Neuffer.
Top U.S. Senate Democrat directs lawmakers to craft bill to counter China
Reuters
The Semiconductor Industry Association welcomed Schumer’s announcement and urged Biden and Congress to invest “boldly” in domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research. “Doing so will help keep the United States on top in this foundational technology, while also strengthening America’s economy, job creation, national security, and critical infrastructure,” SIA CEO John Neuffer said in a statement.
Executive Order Paves Way for $37bn to Boost U.S. Chip Capacity
EE Times
The industry clearly welcomed the order. The SIA released a statement from Bob Bruggeworth, president, CEO & director of Qorvo and 2021 SIA board chair. SIA represents 98 percent of the U.S. semiconductor industry by revenue. He said: “We welcome today’s executive order and stand ready to work with the Biden administration to ensure the strength and resilience of America’s semiconductor supply chains. As part of this effort, we urge the president and Congress to invest ambitiously in domestic chip manufacturing and research. Doing so will ensure more of the chips our country needs are produced on U.S. shores, while also promoting sustained U.S. leadership in the technology at the heart of America’s economic strength and job creation, national security, and critical infrastructure.”
Biden signs supply chain order after ‘positive’ meeting with lawmakers
The Hill
“We urge the president and Congress to invest ambitiously in domestic chip manufacturing and research,” SIA said. “Doing so will ensure more of the chips our country needs are produced on U.S. shores, while also promoting sustained U.S. leadership in the technology at the heart of America’s economic strength and job creation, national security, and critical infrastructure.”
Biden signs executive order to address chip shortage through a review to strengthen supply chains
CNBC
In a letter to Biden last week, several industry associations including SIA, the Advanced Medical Technology Association and the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association wrote that the U.S. should incentivize new semiconductor manufacturing plants to be established in the country to compete effectively with other nations that have invested in chip production.
US-China tech war: calls for Biden to fund US semiconductors grow louder in Washington
South China Morning Post
US Republican Senator Tom Cotton, who is on Beijing’s sanctions list, has joined the public debate among industry groups and think tanks in advocating US government support for the country’s semiconductor manufacturing industry as part of a broader effort to win the tech war with China.
Huawei unveils flagship foldable smartphone for China market
Associated Press
Struggling under U.S. sanctions, Huawei unveiled a folding smartphone with an 8-inch (20-centimeter) -wide screen to show off its tech prowess but said it will be sold only in China. The Mate X2 highlights the challenges for Huawei Technologies Ltd. after Washington cut off access to U.S. processor chips and Google services.
US must scrap tariffs and end restrictions on Chinese tech, Wang Yi says
South China Morning Post
Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged the United States to scrap tariffs on Chinese imports and remove restrictions on the tech sector, laying out conditions for restoring damaged China-US relations.
Trade won’t be on ‘back burner’ for Biden, USTR pick Tai tells Senate
Politico
U.S. Trade Representative nominee Katherine Tai pushed back on concerns the Biden White House will “stand still” on trade policy during her confirmation hearing, telling senators she does not expect to be sidelined in policymaking. Senators from both parties pressed Tai on the Biden administration’s pledge to not negotiate any major new trade deals until it secures domestic economic stimulus from Congress.
U.S. partners in Asia may not wait around as Biden prioritizes domestic issues
CNBC
President Joe Biden’s administration has indicated that trade talks are not high on its agenda for now — but that may be what the U.S. needs to get closer to its partners in Asia-Pacific, said two former American trade officials.
Britain agrees to EU request for more time to ratify Brexit trade deal
Reuters
Britain has agreed to the European Union’s request to delay ratification of their post-Brexit trade agreement until April 30. Earlier this month, the EU asked Britain if it could take extra time to ratify the agreement by extending until April 30 provisional application of the deal to ensure it was in all 24 of the bloc’s languages for parliamentary scrutiny.
Completely Autonomous Radar Sensor for Smart Motion Sensing
EE Times
Widely used PIR sensors detect the infrared radiation of a person, an animal, or an object at mid-infrared wavelengths. However, with rising temperatures, their reliability decreases dramatically.
Firmware Skills Shortage
Semiconductor Engineering
Good hardware without good software is a waste of silicon, but with so many new processors and accelerator architectures being created, and so many new skills required, companies are finding it hard to hire enough engineers with low-level software expertise to satisfy the demand.
When Is Verification Done?
Semiconductor Engineering
Even with the billions of dollars spent on R&D for EDA tools, and tens of billions more on verification labor, only 30% to 50% of ASIC designs are first time right. This means more efficient verification is needed but there is no exact science to indicate when to stop verifying.
Broad Coalition of Tech, Medical, Auto, Other Business Leaders Urge President Biden to Fund Domestic Semiconductor Manufacturing, Research in Infrastructure Plan
Press Release
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), along with a broad coalition of 16 other tech, medical, auto, and other business groups, today in a letter urged President Biden to work with Congress to fully fund domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research provisions established in the recently enacted National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
Trade in Transition: The Importance of Re-Establishing U.S. Trade Leadership
Blog Post
The first two months of 2021 saw leadership transitions with major repercussions for global semiconductor trade. In the United States, the new Biden administration is now in charge of leading a post-pandemic economic recovery defined by calls for supply chain resilience in critical technologies.
Global Chip Shortage Challenges Biden’s Hope for Manufacturing Revival
NYT
“Chip companies are working hard to meet demand from the auto and other sectors,” he said, “but these are highly complex products that can take months to produce, so it’s unfortunately not like flipping a switch.” Mr. Neuffer said the shortages highlighted the need for the U.S. government to “invest now in domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research so the new chips we need are produced right here on U.S. shores.”
Automakers, medical device firms ask Biden for U.S. chip factory subsidies
Reuters
A group of chipmakers last week sent a similar letter. Congress authorized programs last year to provide subsides for chip research and factory construction, but U.S. lawmakers still need to provide specific funding for the program. “To be competitive and strengthen the resilience of critical supply chains, we believe the U.S. needs to incentivize the construction of new and modernized semiconductor manufacturing facilities and invest in research capabilities,” the business groups wrote in their letter on Thursday.
Chipmakers, Business Groups Ask for Domestic Funding in Recovery Bill
Politico
A coalition of semiconductor manufacturers and various other industry groups is pushing the Biden administration to include funding to incentivize domestic production of semiconductors in the next stimulus bill. In a letter to President Joe Biden today, the Semiconductor Industry Association and an array of other industry groups like Autos Drive America, TechNet, AdvaMed, the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce called for “robust funding” of programs enacted in this year’s NDAA designed to incentivize manufacturing in the U.S. after demand swings during the pandemic caused chip shortages.
CEOs Urge President Biden to Fund Chips, Executive Order Expected
EE Times
“Semiconductors power essential technological advancements across healthcare, communications, clean energy, computing, transportation, and countless other sectors, and chip-enabled technologies have helped keep us productive and connected during the pandemic,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “By investing boldly in domestic semiconductor manufacturing incentives and research initiatives, President Biden and Congress can reinvigorate the U.S. economy and job creation, strengthen national security and semiconductor supply chains, and ensure the U.S. remains the leader in the game-changing technologies of today and tomorrow.”
SIA board urges president Biden to prioritise funding for the industry
Evertiq
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) Board of Directors, comprised of CEOs and senior executives at U.S. chip companies, has penned a letter to President Biden urging him to include substantial funding for semiconductor manufacturing and research in the administration’s economic recovery and infrastructure plan.
Biden to tackle chip shortage while U.S. semi execs and UAW urge domestic production
Fierce Electronics
In a letter to President Biden, 21 board members of the Semiconductor Industry Association urged him to include funds for incentives for U.S. chip manufacturing and research in the form of grants and tax credits. SIA CEO John Neuffer said that investing in domestic chip production incentives and research, President Biden and Congress “can reinvigorate the U.S. economy and job creation, strengthen national security and semiconductor supply chains and ensure the U.S. remains the leader in the game-changing technologies of today and tomorrow.”
U.S. manufacturing production rises solidly despite semiconductor shortage
Reuters
Output at U.S. factories increased more than expected in January even as a shortage of semiconductors weighed on the production of motor vehicles, pointing to resilience in the manufacturing sector recovery. Manufacturing production rose 1.0% last month after gaining 0.9% in December, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday. That was the ninth straight monthly advance in factory production.
Biden to order review of U.S. reliance on overseas supply chains for semiconductors, rare earths
CNBC
President Joe Biden will direct his administration to conduct a review of key U.S. supply chains, including those for semiconductors, high-capacity batteries and rare earth metals. The White House plans to review gaps in domestic manufacturing and supply chains that are dominated by or run through “nations that are or are likely to become unfriendly or unstable.”
Biden on ‘Short Leash’ as Administration Rethinks China Relations
NYT
And his policies may have worsened American competitiveness in some areas, according to a report published Wednesday by the consulting firm Rhodium Group and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce China Center. The report found steep costs from the kind of economic “decoupling” that Mr. Trump pursued, including a $190 billion annual loss in American economic output by 2025 if all U.S.-China trade was subject to the type of 25 percent tariff that Mr. Trump imposed on $250 billion of Chinese goods.
China’s political power grows with its capital markets
Axios
Thanks to a mandate for outside investment and its strong rebound from the coronavirus pandemic, China’s financial markets are drawing record high chunks of global capital — particularly from U.S.-based investors — and are poised to keep growing.
China overtakes U.S. as Europe’s main trading partner for the first time
CNBC
The latest figures, released by Eurostat, showed that China now has an even bigger role in how European economies perform. European Union exports to China grew by 2.2% last year and imports rose by 5.6%. In comparison, exports to the U.S. dropped by 8.2% and imports fell by 13.2%.
Cutting China off from the U.S. would cost America hundreds of billions of dollars, report says
CNBC
The U.S. economy could lose more than $1 trillion worth of production and long-term global competitiveness if the White House pursues a sharp separation with China, according to a report.
‘Let’s think big’ – Germany wants to work closely with Biden on trade, China, climate
Reuters
Germany wants Europe and the United States to strengthen transatlantic ties with a trade deal to abolish industrial tariffs, a WTO reform to increase pressure on China and a joint carbon-emission trading system to protect the climate.
India trade minister says will work with U.S. on new trade package
Reuters
Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said he will engage with the new U.S. Trade Representative’s office on a trade deal after a previous attempt to seal a limited accord failed. Negotiators from both countries struggled to conclude a ‘mini’ trade package for months as both New Delhi and Washington sparred over a range of issues, including tariffs. Goyal said he would make a new start with the new U.S. administration.
The EU says it’s going to get tough on trade — and that could have ramifications for U.S., China
CNBC
The European Union will take a new approach to international trade, recognizing that it’s time to stand up for itself after challenging times with countries like the U.S.
Shortages, Challenges Engulf Packaging Supply Chain
Semiconductor Engineering
A surge in demand for chips is impacting the IC packaging supply chain, causing shortages of select manufacturing capacity, various package types, key components, and equipment.
Technology based on rodent neurons may point the way to the tactile internet
TechXplore
Imagine you are playing an immersive game in which you are dropped into an unknown landscape with a directive to find a certain location. To advance forward in the game, you must also map the terrain so that you can then share your initial location and your map with another remote player.
Design For Reliability
Semiconductor Engineering
Circuit aging is emerging as a mandatory design concern across a swath of end markets, particularly in markets where advanced-node chips are expected to last for more than a few years. Some chipmakers view this as a competitive opportunity, but others are unsure we fully understand how those devices will age.
FeFETs Bring Promise And Challenges
Semiconductor Engineering
Ferroelectric FETs (FeFETs) and memory (FeRAM) are generating high levels of interest in the research community. Based on a physical mechanism that hasn’t yet been commercially exploited, they join the other interesting new physics ideas that are in various stages of commercialization.
Semiconductor Industry Leaders Urge President Biden to Prioritize Funding for Semiconductor Manufacturing, Research
Press Release
“Semiconductors power essential technological advancements across healthcare, communications, clean energy, computing, transportation, and countless other sectors, and chip-enabled technologies have helped keep us productive and connected during the pandemic,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “By investing boldly in domestic semiconductor manufacturing incentives and research initiatives, President Biden and Congress can reinvigorate the U.S. economy and job creation, strengthen national security and semiconductor supply chains, and ensure the U.S. remains the leader in the game-changing technologies of today and tomorrow.”
U.S. Chip Industry Urges Biden to Support Domestic Production
Bloomberg
The Semiconductor Industry Association sent a letter Thursday to Biden to include “substantial funding for incentives for semiconductor manufacturing, in the form of grants and/or tax credits” in his administration’s stimulus package.
U.S. chip industry calls on Biden administration to fund factories
Reuters
“Working with Congress, your administration now has an historic opportunity to fund these initiatives to make them a reality,” the chip group wrote. “We believe bold action is needed to address the challenges we face. The costs of inaction are high.”
Semiconductor EO Inbound
Politico
In a letter to Biden on Thursday, the Semiconductor Industry Association emphasized the role of semiconductors in helping the U.S. pull out of the pandemic, from fueling economic recovery to improving broadband access and infrastructure. (“Semiconductor-enabled technologies have aided researchers in developing life-saving vaccines and helped Americans work and learn remotely,” the board of directors wrote.) Without more investment, they warned, foreign adversaries making strides in semiconductor manufacturing and research may upstage the U.S. in fields like 5G, AI and quantum computing.
Biden Team Pledges Aggressive Steps to Address Chip Shortage
Bloomberg
The executives, who sit on the board of the Semiconductor Industry Association, asked Biden to include “substantial funding for incentives for semiconductor manufacturing, in the form of grants and/or tax credits” in his recovery and infrastructure plans.
Biden to sign executive order addressing chip shortage
The Hill
“Our share of global semiconductor manufacturing has steadily declined from 37 percent in 1990 to 12 percent today,” the companies wrote. “This is largely because the governments of our global competitors offer significant incentives and subsidies to attract new semiconductor manufacturing facilities, while the U.S. does not. As a result, the U.S. is uncompetitive in attracting investments in new fab construction and our technology leadership is at risk in the race for preeminence in the technologies of the future, including artificial intelligence, 5G/6G, and quantum computing,” they wrote.
Top chip CEOs ask Biden to fund semiconductor incentives.
Washington Post
In their letter, they write: “We therefore urge you to include in your recovery and infrastructure plan substantial funding for incentives for semiconductor manufacturing, in the form of grants and/or tax credits, and for basic and applied semiconductor research. We believe bold action is needed to address the challenges we face. The costs of inaction are high.”
White House scrambles to address global chip shortage
Financial Times (subscription required)
On Thursday, the chief executives of big companies in the semiconductor industry wrote to Biden to demand that funding for domestic semiconductor manufacturing be included in his infrastructure recovery plan…Without further support, the letter warned, the country’s “technology leadership is at risk”.
The Biden Team Wants to Transform the Economy. Really.
The New York Times Magazine
The semiconductor industry has lobbied for tens of billions of dollars to upgrade production facilities and build new ones, on the grounds that semiconductors are a foundational technology — sort of like mechanically engineered stem cells that power everything from 5G mobile networks to autonomous vehicles and the internet of things. John Neuffer, the chief executive of the Semiconductor Industry Association, says supply shortages during the pandemic have focused minds in Washington on the importance of domestic production.
US Chip Sector Continues to Grow as Global Sales Rebound in 2020
Electronic Design
“While global demand for semiconductors is on the rise, the share of global chip production done in the US has declined,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO, in a statement, “and that disparity will only intensify without US government action to level the global playing field. It is imperative the federal government fully fund incentives for more domestic chip production and investments in chip research so the US can benefit from growing demand and product more semiconductors.”
Winning With Uncle Sam’s Help
NYT
To stay competitive against China, should the United States become a little more like it? I’m being provocative, but that’s essentially the question behind the U.S. government’s plans to provide financial help to American-made computer chips, and maybe to other homegrown technologies, too.
Carmakers have been hit hard by a global chip shortage — here’s why
CNBC
Falan Yinug, director of industry statistics and economic policy at the Semiconductor Industry Association, says the chip shortage in the automotive industry is largely the result of substantial swings in demand due to the pandemic and the increased use of semiconductors in advanced vehicles….“Making a semiconductor is one of the most complex manufacturing processes,” he said. “Lead times of up to 26 weeks are the norm in the industry to produce a finished chip. Most industry analysts believe the current short-term supply shortage will ease in the coming months as supply adjusts to meet demand.”
The Biden administration is working to help address global semiconductor chip shortage
The Verge
The group urged the administration to include “substantial funding for incentives for semiconductor manufacturing, in the form of grants and / or tax credits, and for basic and applied semiconductor research,” in the upcoming stimulus package. But it’s unclear if the administration intends to do that.
Biden’s China Tech Policy at Crossroads Over Commerce Security Pick
WSJ
As the Biden administration charts its course on China policy, a coming political appointment to a key Commerce Department post could offer clues to how the White House will address security risks posed by Chinese tech companies.
Biden Raises Concerns With China’s Xi in First Call Since Election
NYT
President Biden spoke Wednesday evening with President Xi Jinping of China, raising concerns about Beijing’s aggressive policies abroad and human rights abuses at home in the first conversation between the two leaders since Mr. Biden’s election.
China issues new anti-monopoly rules targeting its tech giants
Reuters
China’s market regulator released new anti-monopoly guidelines on Sunday that target internet platforms, tightening existing restrictions faced by the country’s tech giants.
U.S. to look at more restrictions on tech exports to China
Reuters
The Biden administration will look at adding “new targeted restrictions” on certain sensitive technology exports to China in cooperation with allies, a senior official said on Wednesday ahead of the new president’s first call with China’s leader Xi Jinping.
China’s SMIC Says It’s Missing Out on the Chip Boom Due to U.S. Restrictions
Wall Street Journal
China’s largest maker of computing chips said restrictions placed by the Trump administration would crimp its pace of growth, despite the booming demand for semiconductors creating a global shortage.
U.K. Favors Comprehensive Over Quick U.S. Trade Deal, Envoy Says
Bloomberg
The U.K. wants to prioritize depth rather than speed in completing work on a free-trade agreement with the U.S., the nation’s ambassador said. Britain anticipates that the Biden administration may want to add issues like labor and the environment to the agreement that the two nations began to negotiate under the Trump administration.
Key House Democrat Hopeful for U.K., Kenya Trade Deals in 2021
Bloomberg
A key House Democrat said he’s hopeful that talks for free-trade deals with the U.K. and Kenya can be completed this year even as President Joe Biden focuses on enforcement of existing agreements with the U.S.’s biggest partners.
Analysis: In a harsher trade world, EU arms itself for future conflicts
Reuters
Hardened by the pain of Brexit, clashes with the Trump presidency and a new realism over China, a bruised European Union is due to set out a future trade policy designed to help it deal with partners it does not trust.
New Type of DRAM Could Accelerate AI
IEEE Spectrum
One of the biggest problems in computing today is the “memory wall”—the difference between processing time and the time it takes to shuttle data over to the processor from separate DRAM memory chips.
DRAM’s Persistent Threat To Chip Security
Semiconductor Engineering
A well-known DRAM vulnerability called “rowhammer,” which allows an assailant to disrupt or take control of a system, continues to haunt the chip industry. Solutions have been tried, and new ones are being proposed, but the potential for a major attack persists.
Usage Models Driving Data Center Architecture Changes
Semiconductor Engineering
Data center architectures are undergoing a significant change, fueled by more data and much greater usage from remote locations.
What Do Feedback Loops For AI/ML Devices Really Show?
Semiconductor Engineering
AI/ML is being designed into an increasing number of chips and systems these days, but predicting how they will behave once they’re in the field is, at best, a good guess.
Merging memory and computing in nanoscale devices for efficient computation
Research Matters
Modern computers carry out computations — also called ‘logical operations’ — on massive amounts of data that are stored in specialised memory devices.
Semiconductor Shortage Highlights Need to Strengthen U.S. Chip Manufacturing, Research
Blog Post
Semiconductors are the brains of modern electronics, enabling highly advanced technologies in healthcare, communications, computing, and transportation, among many other applications. Global semiconductor sales increased 6.5 percent in 2020, demonstrating growing demand for chips across a range of end markets.
Global Semiconductor Sales Increase 6.5% to $439 billion in 2020
Press Release
“Global semiconductor sales increased moderately on an annual basis in 2020, weathering a challenging macroeconomic environment brought on by the pandemic and other factors,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “While global demand for semiconductors is on the rise, the share of global chip production done in the U.S. has declined from 37% in 1990 to 12% today, and that disparity will only intensify without U.S. government action to level the global playing field. It’s imperative the federal government fully fund incentives for domestic chip manufacturing and investments in chip research so the U.S. can benefit from growing demand and produce more semiconductors needed to strengthen our economy, national security, and critical infrastructure.”
Chip Industry Rebounded in 2020 as Lockdown Fueled Demand
Bloomberg
U.S. companies accounted for 47% of total sales last year, maintaining the country’s status as home to the biggest chip companies. But the amount of manufacturing in the U.S. continues to decline. Just 12% of chip production was done in U.S. factories in 2020, down from 37% in 1990. “That disparity will only intensify without U.S. government action to level the global playing field,” SIA Chief Executive Officer John Neuffer said.
Chip sales rose 6.5% globally in 2020 after year-end rush
Reuters
“Over the next 10 years, semiconductor manufacturing is going to grow 56%,” Neuffer said. “We want to make sure we’re getting a bigger piece of the manufacturing pie.”
Semiconductor Sales Rose 6.5% in 2020
The Motley Fool
The SIA quoted its CEO, John Neuffer, as saying, “While global demand for semiconductors is on the rise, the share of global chip production done in the U.S. has declined from 37% in 1990 to 12% today, and that disparity will only intensify without U.S. government action to level the global playing field.”
SIA, IDC Report Strong Q4 Semi Sales, and Demand Headed Up
Printed Circuit Design & Fab
“Global semiconductor sales increased moderately on an annual basis in 2020, weathering a challenging macroeconomic environment brought on by the pandemic and other factors,” said John Neuffer, president and CEO, SIA.
Global semiconductor sales increased by 6.5 percent in 2020 to $439B
The Burn-In
While the global semiconductor industry enjoyed growth during 2020, the same cannot be said for the U.S. market. Neuffer notes that the country’s share of global chip production has dropped to just 12 percent—down more than 25 percent since 1990. He says, “…that disparity will only intensify without U.S. government action to level the global playing field. It’s imperative the federal government fully fund incentives for domestic chip manufacturing and investments in chip research so the U.S. can benefit from growing demand and produce more semiconductors needed to strengthen our economy, national security, and critical infrastructure.”
Auto chip shortage could be helped with supply chain AI technology, analyst suggests
Fierce Electronics
Across chips for all industries, not just autos, the analysts on the SIA event agreed that more semiconductor capacity is coming online because fabs are spending more on capital equipment this year that will be used to make chips. “The future is bright,” Ford said. “I’m an optimist. What drives growth is difficult. How many anticipated the smartphone?”
U.S. senators urge White House action on auto chip shortage
Reuters
A group of 15 U.S. senators on Tuesday including Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican John Cornyn urged the White House to work with Congress to address the global semiconductor shortage that is hampering auto manufacturing.
Ford Expected to Slash Vehicle Production Over Chip Shortage
WSJ
The Covid-19 crisis led many auto manufacturers to pull back on production early on in 2020 and then dial back their forecasts for the remainder of the year. But demand for cars and trucks has since rebounded faster than expected, leading to constraints on certain critical parts, including computer chips. Chip plants have been effectively running flat out, and with manufacturing capacity constrained, car companies and electronics makers are competing for limited output.
China Stockpiles Chips, Chip-Making Machines to Resist U.S.
Bloomberg
China is taking decisive steps to protect itself from a widening U.S. technology ban, with imports of computer chips and the machines that make them surging last year.
China strategies bloom in Washington
Axios
A proliferation of new policy ideas often accompanies a changing of the guard in Washington. But this time around, growing concern over China’s rise has driven debate into overdrive, as numerous stakeholders present competing visions for a U.S. response.
Huawei, SMIC join forces in Sino-US chip war
Asia Times
The Sino-US semiconductor war just got a little more interesting, with big news from China’s industrial chip industry. Experts from China’s public and private sector are joining forces to standardize the mainland semiconductor market to protect national supply chain lines in the ongoing US trade war on China.
China semiconductors: Beijing moves to prevent tax incentive abuse with new policy draft
South China Morning Post
China clarified eligibility rules for semiconductor companies seeking tax incentives in a draft policy issued on Friday, a move aimed at preventing abuse of the system after many firms outside the sector jumped in looking for quick profit gains.
Trump’s trade war on China was a failure in every possible way
Axios
The Biden administration plans to review the phase one U.S.-China trade deal, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday. Based on publicly available data, it’s hard to imagine they’ll find anything other than a debacle.
Britain says China has damaged trust in global trade system
Reuters
Britain said China had contributed to an erosion of trust in the global trade system, offering to work with the European Union, Japan the United States and others to clamp down on what it sees as unfair subsidies for state-owned enterprises.
UK applying to join Asia-Pacific free trade pact CPTPP
BBC
The UK will apply to join a free trade area with 11 Asia and Pacific nations, a year after it officially left the EU. Joining the group of “fast-growing nations” will boost UK exports, the government says.
At USTR, a straight-shooter will have to navigate Biden’s old guard in Washington
Politico
World leaders may experience some whiplash when sitting down to negotiate with U.S. Trade Representative nominee Katherine Tai. Tai is known throughout Washington for her calm, good-natured negotiating style. In many ways, she is the antithesis of her predecessor, the gruff, contentious Robert Lighthizer, who ruffled feathers from Brussels to Beijing.
Dramatically lowering costs of semiconductor electron sources
Science Daily
Engineers have discovered technology that could slash the cost of semiconductor electron sources, key components in devices ranging from night-vision goggles and low-light cameras to electron microscopes and particle accelerators.
Designing Low Energy Chips And Systems
Semiconductor Engineering
Energy optimization is beginning to shift left as design teams begin examining new ways to boost the performance of devices without impacting battery life or ratcheting up electricity costs.
Bridging The Gap Between Smart Cities And Autonomous Vehicles
Semiconductor Engineering
Smart city planners and carmakers are wrestling with similar problems and goals, but they are working at very different paces and often with different technologies — despite the fact that these two worlds will need to be bridged in order to be useful.
Longer Chip Lifecycles Increase Security Threat
Semiconductor Engineering
The longer chips and electronic systems remain in use, the more they will need to be refreshed with software and firmware updates. That creates a whole new level of security risks, ranging from over-the-air intercepts to compromised supply chains.
U.S. Bolsters Domestic Microchip Manufacturing
Engineering.com
“The next step is for leaders in Washington to fully fund the NDAA’s domestic chip manufacturing incentives and research initiatives,” said Bob Bruggeworth, SIA chair and president and CEO of Qorvo, a radio frequency (RF) chipmaker.
Nation Should Invest in Electronics Critical Infrastructure
National Defense
The National Defense Industrial Association’s relatively new Electronics Division has a clear interest in the CHIPS for America Act and the American Foundries Act, which are currently before Congress.
Roaring ’20s For The Chip Industry
Semiconductor Engineering
2020 was a good year for the semiconductor industry and the EDA industry that fuels it, but 2021 has the opportunity to be even better. New end application markets continue to open, and what were once seen as technical hurdles are leading to a multitude of innovative solutions, all of which need suitable tooling.
Expect ‘tough’ quarters ahead as chipmakers look to catch up with auto sector demand, Credit Suisse says
CNBC
It will take months for chipmakers to catch up with a shortfall in supply for the auto sector, predicts Randy Abrams, head of Taiwan research at Credit Suisse’s equity research department.
Huawei moves into smart vehicles as US sanctions stymie 5G and semiconductor ambitions
South China Morning Post
Huawei’s ambitions became more obvious last November when the company merged its smart vehicle business into the consumer segment that handles smartphones. The telecoms specialist is up against fierce competition from rival Chinese tech giants eyeing the same opportunity in smart vehicles and autonomous driving.
China Joins Global Push to Rein in Tech Companies
Wall Street Journal
Beijing is adding new momentum to efforts in Brussels and Washington to curb the power of big tech companies. China recently joined the chorus of governments advancing plans to impose new competition obligations on a small cadre of large technology companies, like Amazon.com Inc., Facebook Inc. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
Commerce Nominee Pledges Tough China Stance, but Mum on Huawei Blacklist
Wall Street Journal
President Biden’s pick for Commerce secretary pledged a tough line against Chinese trade and technology threats, but stopped short of saying she would continue the Trump administration’s blacklisting of Huawei Technologies Co.
China, New Zealand ink trade deal as Beijing calls for reduced global barriers
Reuters
China and New Zealand signed a deal on Tuesday upgrading a free trade pact to give exports from the Pacific nation greater access to the world’s second-largest economy.
Biden reportedly bonded with UK leader Boris Johnson over their mutual love of trains, as the UK pushes for a new trade deal
Business Insider
President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke by phone, with some of their conversation reportedly focusing on a mutual love of train travel. Official readouts of the first Biden-Johnson call focused on cooperation between the two countries in tackling climate change, trade, COVID-19, and “global health security.”
Global economy to grow 5.5 per cent in 2021 after 3.5 per cent contraction in 2020, IMF forecasts
South China Morning Post
China’s economy seen growing 8.1 per cent in 2021 as recovery continues, while the US could rebound to 4.3 per cent growth, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). IMF praises US, European Union and Japan economic stimulus measures but warns that recovery is contingent on control of the coronavirus.
First flashes of Brexit trade trouble appear in UK data
Reuters
Early signs of disruption caused by Britain’s shift to its new, less open trading relationship with the European Union are emerging in economic data. Manufacturers and services firms have been hit hard by supply chain and export disruption, according to data company IHS Markit.
The Good, Bad And Unknowns Of Flexible Devices
Semiconductor Engineering
Flexible hybrid electronics are beginning to proliferate in consumer, medical, and industrial applications due to their comparatively low weight, thin profile, and the ability to literally bend the rules of design.
Big Changes In Verification
Semiconductor Engineering
Verification is undergoing fundamental change as chips become increasingly complex, heterogeneous, and integrated into larger systems.
China boosts semiconductor production in 2020, but imports keep apace, frustrating self-sufficiency goals
South China Morning Post
China’s production of integrated circuits and industrial robots surged in 2020, as the country boosted its output of hi-tech products amid tighter US restrictions, according to official industrial statistics. A similar growth rate in imported chips, however, suggests China remains far from its goal of self-sufficiency in the critical technology.
EXCLUSIVE-Trump slams China’s Huawei, halting shipments from Intel, others -sources
Reuters
In an email seen by Reuters documenting the actions, the Semiconductor Industry Association said on Friday the Commerce Department had issued “intents to deny a significant number of license requests for exports to Huawei and a revocation of at least one previously issued license.” Sources familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there was more than one revocation.
China’s Car-Chip Shortage Could Persist for as Long as a Decade
Bloomberg
China’s automotive-chip shortage could persist for as long as a decade, but it has little to do with the current supply glitches snarling production, according to the official who oversees the nation’s key new energy vehicle technology development platform.
A Year On, China Falls Short on Trade-Deal Targets
Wall Street Journal
The U.S.-China trade pact signed a year ago is being credited for improving business conditions for some American companies, even if a cornerstone of the deal—China’s commitment to greatly increase purchases of U.S. goods—has fallen short.
China car production hit by semiconductor shortages
DigiTimes
Many carmaking plants in China have reduced production in the wake of serious shortages of automotive semiconductor components, according to industry sources.
Domestic investment needed before new trade deals: U.S. Treasury pick Yellen
Reuters
The Biden administration will prioritize domestic investments in workers and infrastructure before embarking on any new free trade agreements, Janet Yellen, U.S. President Joe Biden’s nominee for Treasury Secretary, told lawmakers.
UK would be ‘lucky’ to strike trade deal in Biden’s first term, says former ambassador
The Independent
A former UK ambassador to the US has warned that it is unlikely that Britain will be able to strike a trade deal with Washington in Joe Biden’s first term as president.
Brazil’s Bolsonaro says he wants free trade agreement with U.S. in letter to Biden
Reuters
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro wrote to newly inaugurated U.S. President Joe Biden that he hoped the two countries would pursue a broad free trade agreement during Biden’s tenure.
The Chip Industry’s Next-Gen Roadmap
Semiconductor Engineering
Todd Younkin, the new president and chief executive of the Semiconductor Research Corp. (SRC), sat down with Semiconductor Engineering to talk about engineering careers, R&D trends and what’s ahead for chip technologies over the next decade. What follows are excerpts of that conversation.
Covid-19: Semiconductors at the Heart of Turmoil
EE Times
After two successive high-growth years, the global semiconductor market declined 12% year-over year (YoY) to $412 billion in 2019. We attribute this decline to the cyclicality in product pricing, sluggish smartphone demand, and global trade unrest. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), annual sales declined across all regions: Europe (-7.3%), China (-8.7%), Asia Pacific/All Other (-9.0%), Japan (-10.0%), and the Americas (-23.8%).
German carmakers enlist Merkel as they battle chip shortage
Financial Times
Germany’s carmakers have turned to Angela Merkel’s government in an effort to help ease a massive shortage in semiconductors that threatens to cripple production in one of the country’s biggest industries.
Hidden Costs In Faster, Low-Power AI Systems
Semiconductor Engineering
Chipmakers are building orders of magnitude better performance and energy efficiency into smart devices, but to achieve those goals they also are making tradeoffs that will have far-reaching, long-lasting, and in some cases unknown impacts.
Stronger, Better Bonding In Advanced Packaging
Semiconductor Engineering
System-in-package integrators are moving toward copper-to-copper direct bonding between die as the bond pitch goes down, making the solder used to connect devices in a heterogenous package less practical.
48V Applications Drive Power IC Package Options
Semiconductor Engineering
The manufacturing process and die get most of the attention, but the packaging plays an important part in enabling and limiting performance, manufacturability, particularly when it comes to reliability of power devices.
Hard-To-Hire Engineering Jobs
Semiconductor Engineering
In the United States, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) has long maintained that the U.S. has a shortage of engineers and needs to address that shortage through immigration policies. “SIA member companies experience challenges finding enough qualified U.S. workers with the advanced graduate level education, skills, and expertise needed to compete for the design and manufacture of advanced semiconductors,” according to an SIA white paper.
Worldwide semiconductor market reaches $39.4B, up 7% Y/Y
Seeking Alpha
“Global sales of semiconductors continued to rise in November, increasing on a year-to-year basis by the highest percentage since March. Annual sales in 2020 are tracking well ahead of the total from 2019, despite substantial headwinds caused by the pandemic and other macroeconomic factors. Sales into the Americas remained strong in November, increasing year-to-year by a double-digit percentage for the eleventh consecutive month.” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO.
Lack of Tiny Parts Disrupts Auto Factories Worldwide
NYT
Automakers braced for turmoil when the pandemic hit. They expected supply chain disruptions and plummeting sales. But they never figured that a year later one of their biggest problems would be PlayStations.
Semiconductor shortage forces automobile production cuts
Associated Press
A widening global shortage of semiconductors for auto parts is forcing major auto companies to halt or slow vehicle production just as they were recovering from pandemic-related factory shutdowns.
China’s Huawei backtracks after filing for patent to identify Uyghur faces
CNN
Chinese technology company Huawei is backtracking on a patent application it filed for a facial recognition system intended to identify Uyghurs from other Chinese ethnicities. Filed in July 2018 by Huawei and the government-affiliated Chinese Academy of Sciences, the patent application said the “identification of pedestrian attributes is very important” in facial recognition technology.
China makes new laws to regulate hi-tech sector a major priority for next five years
South China Morning Post
China’s leadership has vowed to ramp up legislation to regulate tech firms and ensure the supporting legal system keeps up with the pace of the country’s digital economy as a policy priority for the next five years.
China 2020 exports up despite virus; surplus surges to $535B
Associated Press
China’s exports rose in 2020 despite pressure from the coronavirus and a tariff war with Washington, boosting its politically volatile trade surplus to $535 billion, one of the highest ever reported.
Biden aims for new course on trade, breaking with Trump and Democratic predecessors
Washington Post
Biden’s handling of trade policy is expected to represent a departure from that of both Trump and past Democratic presidents. Labor and environmental concerns move to center stage.
French think tank calls for united front with US to control semiconductor technology transfers to Chinese military
South China Morning Post
The European Union should create a united front with the US to tighten control of the transfer of semiconductor technologies to China that could be used to advance weapons developed by the Chinese military, according to the recommendation from a French think tank.
France’s hopes lift as US freezes tariffs over tech tax
Associated Press
France’s government breathed a sigh of relief after the U.S. indefinitely delayed tariffs on French cosmetics and other goods designed as retaliation for a French tax on technology giants.
U.K.-U.S. Race for Mini Trade Deal Slowed by Trump’s Mob Crisis
Bloomberg
The U.S. and the U.K. were racing to reach a limited trade agreement before the political crisis in Washington jeopardized plans to announce a deal within days, according to three people briefed on the negotiations.
Die-To-Die Stress Becomes A Major Issue
Semiconductor Engineering
Stress is becoming more critical to identify and plan for at advanced nodes and in advanced packages, where a simple mismatch can impact performance, power, and the reliability of a device throughout its projected lifetime.
Verification’s Inflection Point
Semiconductor Engineering
Functional verification is nearing an inflection point, brought on by rising complexity and the many tentacles that are intermixing it with other disciplines. New abstractions or different ways to approach the problems are needed.
More Data, More Memory-Scaling Problems
Semiconductor Engineering
Memories of all types are facing pressures as demands grow for greater capacity, lower cost, faster speeds, and lower power to handle the onslaught of new data being generated daily. Whether it’s well-established memory types or novel approaches, continued work is required to keep scaling moving forward as our need for memory grows at an accelerating pace.
Testing Silicon Photonics In Production
Semiconductor Engineering
As silicon photonics costs come down, the technology is being worked into new applications, from connectivity to AI. But full commercial production requires testing those photonic circuits before shipping them.
SIA Condemns Lawlessness in Washington
Press Release
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) released the following statement today from president and CEO John Neuffer in response to today’s violence in Washington, D.C. “We condemn the unthinkable chaos and lawlessness in our nation’s capital today and strongly support Congress’ decision to swiftly and safely resume the constitutionally mandated process for affirming the presidential election results. The peaceful transfer of power is the bedrock of our democracy and is essential to America’s ability to overcome the significant, unprecedented challenges facing our country.”
Global Semiconductor Sales Increase 7 Percent Year-to-Year in November
Press Release
“Global sales of semiconductors continued to rise in November, increasing on a year-to-year basis by the highest percentage since March,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “Annual sales in 2020 are tracking well ahead of the total from 2019, despite substantial headwinds caused by the pandemic and other macroeconomic factors. Sales into the Americas remained strong in November, increasing year-to-year by a double-digit percentage for the eleventh consecutive month.”
Semiconductor Industry Applauds NDAA Enactment, Urges Full Funding for Semiconductor Manufacturing and Research Provisions
Press Release
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today applauded Congress for enacting the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), legislation that includes Title XCIX, “Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America,” which authorizes federal incentives to promote semiconductor manufacturing and federal investments in semiconductor research. SIA represents 98 percent of the U.S. semiconductor industry by revenue and nearly two-thirds of non-U.S. chip firms.
Global chip sales climb 7% in November
Fierce Electronics
Global sales for all of 2020 are tracking well ahead of 2019 “despite substantial headwinds caused by the pandemic and other macroeconomic factors,” noted SIA CEO John Neuffer in a statement. The November uptick of 7% was the highest percentage increase on a year-to-year basis since March.
Global semiconductor sales 7% higher year-on-year in November — SIA
The Edge Markets
Global sales of semiconductors rose 7% year-on-year (y-o-y) to US$39.4 billion in November 2020, from US$36.9 billion a year ago, said the US-based Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).
Global Semi Sales Up 7% in November
Printed Circuit Design & Fab
“Global sales of semiconductors continued to rise in November, increasing on a year-to-year basis by the highest percentage since March,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “Annual sales in 2020 are tracking well ahead of the total from 2019, despite substantial headwinds caused by the pandemic and other macroeconomic factors. Sales into the Americas remained strong in November, increasing year-to-year by a double-digit percentage for the eleventh consecutive month.”
The story of semiconductors in 2020: Why initial gloom gave way to optimism
IoT News
Neuffer noted in a statement that annual sales in 2020 were tracking well compared with 2019 ‘despite substantial headwinds’ caused by the pandemic among other factors. Cliff Leimbach, senior analyst for memory and storage at Omdia, noted stay-at-home rules kept demand for data centres and infrastructure strong – as well as 5G and smartphones – enabling a solid uptick for semiconductors.
Global semiconductor sales growth driven by post-pandemic trends in two major regions
The Burn-In
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) recently reported global electronic components sales of $39.41 billion in November, a 7 percent year-over-year increase. That means the worldwide chip market experienced its largest yearly expansion since the first quarter of 2020 last month. The organization also predicts full-year global semiconductor sales in 2020 will exceed 2019’s total despite COVID-19 related disruption.
$2B in grants for smart cities suggested among 24 tech ideas for Biden and new Congress
Fierce Electronics
The CHIPS Act had garnered wide support from U.S.-based semiconductor companies with the Semiconductor Industry Association urging full funding of the semiconductor provisions. SIA has noted a decline in chip production in the U.S. in recent decades, arguing that robust set of incentives could create 70,000 jobs at 19 new semiconductor fabs over the next decade.
5G to fuel semiconductor demand
DigiTimes
Unfavorable macro conditions, including the US-China trade war and COVID-19, have been slowing down 5G deployments across the globe, but 5G will still play a crucial role in driving growth in the semiconductor market, according to industry sources.
Trump bars U.S. transactions with eight Chinese apps including Alipay
Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order banning transactions with eight Chinese software applications, including Ant Group’s Alipay mobile payment app, the White House said, escalating tensions with Beijing two weeks before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.
China’s State Capitalism Collides With Its Technological Ambitions
WSJ
Can China’s hybrid state-capitalist economy learn to worship—or at least genuflect a bit deeper—at the altar of efficiency? As relations with wealthier, technologically advanced countries deteriorate, that is probably the most crucial economic question of the 2020s. There are signs of real progress, much of it ironically driven by foreign pressure and the fear of stagnation as links with more open economies erode. But the enduring power of Chinese state-owned companies and their pull over the financial sector still represent huge vulnerabilities.
Tencent invests in Chinese A.I. chip start-up as part of $279 million funding round
CNBC
Tencent has pumped more money into a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) chip start-up as the technology giant bets on the growing domestic industry for semiconductors.
New York Stock Exchange again says it will delist 3 Chinese telecoms
Axios
The New York Stock Exchange again reversed course and announced it would delist three major Chinese telecom companies — China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom Hong Kong.
US trade deficit jumps to $68.1 billion in November
Associated Press
The U.S. trade deficit jumped to $68.1 billion in November, the highest monthly deficit in 14 years, as a surge in imports overwhelmed a smaller increase in exports. The November gap between what America buys from abroad compared to what it sells abroad rose by 8% from the October deficit of $63.1 billion, the Commerce Department said.
U.S. Says India’s Trade Policies a Barrier for New Investments
Bloomberg
A senior U.S. diplomat has criticized Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trade policies, saying growing restrictions on market access and limits on the free flow of data are standing in the way of the South Asian nation becoming an alternative to Chinese supply lines.
Will the Sudden E.U.-China Deal Damage Relations With Biden?
New York Times
The European Union embarked on a trade deal with China believing that engagement with Beijing was the best way to alter its behavior and make it a committed stakeholder in the international system. But that was seven years ago. The deal was quietly sealed in the final weeks of last year.
Car Industry Changing Under The Hood
Semiconductor Engineering
After an initial burst of autonomous activity, the automotive ecosystem regrouped, re-evaluated its goals, and is now ready to begin deploying new technologies made possible by modern development approaches and forward-looking vehicle architectures.
Testing More To Boost Profits
Semiconductor Engineering
Not all chips measure up to spec, but as more data becomes available and the cost of these devices continues to rise, there is increasing momentum to salvage and re-purpose chips for other applications and markets
Electronics Supply-Chain Trust Standards Emerge
Semiconductor Engineering
Creative new ideas for electronics supply-chain trust are in rich supply, whether securing identity, protecting logistics, or establishing provenance. But underlying these efforts are wide-ranging standards in development from a broad set of organizations.
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