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
ASU convenes experts to discuss North America’s semiconductor future ASU Pal-Goetzen noted that the CHIPS Act includes $500 million to support international development where complementary expertise and competitive advantage can be maximized across the nearshore supply chain. She said the industry looks for a few key factors when evaluating sites for expansion. “First would be the trade environment. How easy is it to move items in and out of the country? A chip sometimes goes to hundreds of different locations before becoming a finished product,” she said. “Second is the business environment, including taxes, customs times and ease of permitting issues.”
Chip Makers Find Out How to Get 25% Investment Tax Credit WSJ The Biden administration moved to implement a new 25% investment tax credit for U.S.-based semiconductor manufacturing and proposed restrictions that would make it difficult for companies to expand China operations if they receive certain federal funds.
Biden has big ideas for fixing child care. For now a small workaround will have to do NPR The bill provides, among other things, $39 billion in federal incentives for semiconductor manufacturers to build new fabrication plants in the U.S. There’s no child care money in the bill per se, but late last month, the Commerce Department told companies: If you’re applying for more than $150 million in CHIPS funding, you must come up with a plan to provide affordable child care for your workers. |
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CHINA
United States looks to ensure China doesn’t benefit from $52B CHIPS Act Fox Business The Commerce Department announced a proposed regulation that would prevent adversarial countries like China from using technology developed out of the $52 billion CHIPS and Science Act against the U.S. or its allies.
South China Morning Post China needs to foster a research environment more tolerant of mistakes and give academics more time to push the boundaries of basic research if it wants to become a technological powerhouse, officials and experts said.
Huawei makes breakthroughs in design tools for 14nm chips -media Reuters Huawei Technologies Co Ltd (HWT.UL) has made breakthroughs in electronic design automation (EDA) tools for chips produced at and above 14-nanometre technology, Caijing reported on Friday, citing a speech by a senior executive. |
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TRADE
Biden administration holds second round of IPEF talks in Bali Reuters The Biden administration said on Sunday that it has held a second round of negotiations for its signature Asia engagement project on topics including labor, environment, digital trade and technical assistance.
U.S. lays out possible critical raw materials agreement with EU -Handelsblatt Reuters The United States and the European Commission have negotiated a possible agreement to allow for electric vehicles with critical minerals extracted or processed in the European Union to qualify for U.S. green subsidies, Handelsblatt reported on Thursday.
Biden’s ‘Go It Alone’ Trade Deals Draw Warnings From Congress WSJ The Biden administration is accelerating its efforts to pursue trade agreements that bypass Congress as it seeks to counter China, but the moves have sparked a fight with lawmakers that threatens to upend the president’s trade strategy at a critical point of rising global competition.
German minister visits Taiwan to strengthen semiconductor ties DigiTimes German federal minister of education and research Bettina Stark-Watzinger is paying a brief visit to Taiwan to strengthen Germany’s ties in chip manufacturing technology and to expand talent exchanges. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGY
Semiconductor lattice marries electrons and magnetic moments Science Daily A model system created by stacking a pair of monolayer semiconductors is giving physicists a simpler way to study confounding quantum behavior, from heavy fermions to exotic quantum phase transitions.
Team develops silicon photonic MEMS compatible with semiconductor manufacturing Phys.Org A team of researchers led by the University of Sydney’s Associate Professor Niels Quack has developed a new technology to combine optics and micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS) in a microchip, paving the way for the creation of devices like micro-3D cameras and gas sensors for precision air quality measurement, including their use in mobile phones.
Semiconductor crystals: Molecular teamwork makes the organic dream work Phys.Org The virus responsible for E. coli infection has a secret weapon: teamwork. Always scrappy in its bid for survival, the virus alights on an unassuming host cell and grips the surface with the business end of its tubular tail. Then, the proteins in the tail contract in unison, flattening its structure like a stepped-on spring and reeling the virus’s body in for the critical strike.
New Aging Test Method for Semiconductor Devices AZO Materials The prevalence of semiconductors and embedded chip devices continues to increase, propelled by rising chip integration levels and processing capability, as well as declining costs and power consumption. Aging is a major issue for semiconductors that play a crucial part in applications requiring reliability or safety. |
SIA NEWS
Press Release R&D investments are the lifeblood of innovation in the semiconductor industry, giving rise to technologies that reinforce our economy, national security, and high-tech workforce. The U.S. chip industry plows an average of one-fifth of its revenues back into R&D annually, one of the largest shares of any sector. Those investments propel rapid innovation in semiconductor technologies and seismic advancements in computing, 5G, health care, energy, AI, and more. |
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INDUSTRY/MARKET
NSF eyes science alliances on ‘steroids’ to meet China challenge Roll Call The National Science Foundation has been stepping up partnerships and collaborative investments with allies around the world, one element of the Biden administration’s push to build a coalition of like-minded researchers in biotechnology, artificial intelligence and other areas.
India-US chip partnership could boost global chip supply chain ComputerWorld India is trying to emerge as a competitive alternative to China in the semiconductor sector amid the intensifying chip war between the US and China. |
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CHINAChina’s Communist Party to take science and tech reins to break through US containment South China Morning Post China’s Communist Party will directly oversee science and technology with the creation of a central commission as part of a plan to counter US-led attempts to contain development of Chinese technology.
South China Morning Post China’s integrated circuit (IC) output dropped 17 per cent in the first two months of 2023, as the country’s semiconductor industry grappled with economic headwinds and escalating US trade sanctions.
Chinese auto chips only: Inside Xi’s self-sufficiency campaign Nikkei Asia As Xi Jinping begins his third term as president, China is accelerating efforts to bolster the country’s chip sector — starting with the automotive industry. |
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TRADEIndo-Pacific trade negotiators flock to Bali Politico U.S. trade officials are in Bali, Indonesia, this week for the latest round of negotiations over the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.
United States, EU agree to start talks on critical minerals amid trade tensions Reuters Amid trade frictions between the United States and the European Union, President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed on Friday that the two sides would launch talks on critical minerals used for electric vehicles.
Commerce On March 10, Secretary Gina Raimondo joined Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and announced a U.S.-India Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will establish a Semiconductor Supply Chain and Innovation Partnership.
Japan and South Korea renew ties in first summit in 12 years NPR In their first bilateral summit in 12 years, the leaders of South Korea and Japan portrayed their meeting in Tokyo as a sort of springtime, after an extended period of frosty ties. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYRevisiting semiconductor heat management through nanotechnology Phys.Org Nanotechnology has significantly impacted the semiconductor industry, enabling the production of transistors that are just a few nanometers in size. While the miniaturization of electronic components has resulted in higher transistor densities, it has also increased heat generation.
Phosphorus semiconductor overcomes resistance The Engineer Researchers believe a recently discovered blue form of ultrathin phosphorus – with tuneable electronic properties that enhance the injection of charge carriers into transistors – will help advance next-generation electronic devices.
Compound semiconductor critical to expected 5G mmWave demand spurt DigiTimes Asia 5G, a technology deemed as fundamental to Industry 4.0, began to see large-scale commercial application around the world in 2020. However, 5G still faces problems related to difficulties in penetration and indoor coverage.
Better 2D semiconductors signposted by materials review EE News Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have conducted a computer study of a materials database looking for 2D semiconductors with characteristics that correlate with high mobility. |
SIA NEWS
Global Semiconductor Sales Decrease 5.2% Month-to-Month in January Press Release “Despite record-high sales in 2022, the global semiconductor market cooled considerably during the second half of the year, and that trend continued during the first month of 2023,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “Despite the current short-term cyclical downturn, the long-term outlook for the semiconductor market remains strong due to the ever-increasing role of chips in powering the critical technologies of today and tomorrow.” |
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INDUSTRY/MARKET
US aims to create semiconductor manufacturing clusters by 2030 The Chemical Engineer John Neuffer, CEO of the Semiconductor Industry Association said: “This is a good first step. This is going to take a sustained and significant commitment for a long time. Other governments from around the world have been helping their companies with manufacturing incentives for decades. We have been sitting on the sidelines watching that happen.”
Semiconductor sales dip 18.5% Y/Y in January Seeking Alpha Global semiconductor industry billed $41.3B in January 2023, down 5.2% compared to December 2022 total of $43.6B and down 18.5% Y/Y according to Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).
How Russia Supplies Its War Machine WSJ Part of the problem is that the global semiconductor business is so enormous, particularly at the lower end. The industry shipped over one trillion units in 2021, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association.
Global Semiconductor Sales Down 5% in January EE Times Asia “Despite record-high sales in 2022, the global semiconductor market cooled considerably during the second half of the year, and that trend continued during the first month of 2023,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “Despite the current short-term cyclical downturn, the long-term outlook for the semiconductor market remains strong due to the ever-increasing role of chips in powering the critical technologies of today and tomorrow.”
South Korea Worries About Strings Attached to US Chip Subsidies Bloomberg The US Chips Act imposes a number of onerous demands and still harbors a great deal of uncertainty for companies hoping to benefit from it, South Korea’s trade minister said in Seoul on Monday. |
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CHINASouth China Morning Post A Chinese construction vehicle maker briefly became a leading example of the country’s self-reliance drive in semiconductors when President Xi Jinping asked a delegate from the company whether all the chips it used were domestically produced.
China Favors Chips, AI Executives Over Internet Tycoons at Top Political Meetings WSJ A number of prominent Chinese internet executives have been left out of the country’s top political meetings in Beijing this week, giving way to experts in artificial intelligence and semiconductors as Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s priorities shift amid rising technology competition with the U.S. |
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TRADEIndia, US to sign memorandum of understanding on semiconductors Reuters The United States and India will sign a memorandum of understanding on semiconductors as both countries discuss coordination of investment and continue dialogue around policies to spur private investment, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Thursday.
US, EU in talks on clean technology trade deal -FT Reuters U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the United States and the European Union were in talks about a free trade-style deal around clean technology, the Financial Times reported on Friday.
UK on verge of ratifying free-trade deal with Australia Reuters The United Kingdom is set to ratify a controversial free-trade agreement with Australia as soon as this month, the country’s High Commissioner to Australia said on Wednesday.
India, Wary of China, Expands Trade Ties With the West WSJ As host to foreign ministers from the Group of 20 nations last week, Narendra Modi played the traditionally neutral role of an Indian prime minister, refusing to take sides between Russia and the U.S. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYHuman–machine collaboration for improving semiconductor process development Nature One of the bottlenecks to building semiconductor chips is the increasing cost required to develop chemical plasma processes that form the transistors and memory storage cells1,2. These processes are still developed manually using highly trained engineers searching for a combination of tool parameters that produces an acceptable result on the silicon wafer3.
Semiconductor Digest Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), a world-renowned semiconductor research and workforce development consortium, released an interim report for the Microelectronic and Advanced Packaging Technologies (MAPT) Roadmap – a far-reaching initiative for the semiconductor industry that, to date, has involved the participation of over 100 organizations of all sizes representing government, academia, and industry. |
SIA NEWS
Blog Post A U.S. Semiconductor Industry Association delegation (SIA) will travel to Xiamen, China for the 75th World Semiconductor Council Joint Steering Committee (JSTC) meetings from March 7-10. The meetings will include our industry counterparts from China, Chinese Taipei, the EU, Japan, and Korea.
SIA Welcomes Commerce Department Action to Initiate Critical CHIPS Act Incentives Press Release “Today’s action marks an important step forward in the implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act, a landmark law that will boost U.S. semiconductor production and innovation for years to come. We are carefully reviewing the Commerce Department’s Notice of Funding Opportunity, which lays out the rules of the road for companies to apply for the CHIPS Act’s manufacturing grants. |
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INDUSTRY/MARKET
Biden to require chips companies winning subsidies to share excess profits Reuters The Semiconductor Industry Association said it was carefully reviewing the funding notice that “lays out the rules of the road for companies to apply for the CHIPS Act’s manufacturing grants.”
U.S. Aims to Chart New Course for Chip Industry WSJ The Semiconductor Industry Association, the industry’s trade group, said it was reviewing the provisions but called the program a “historic opportunity.” “We stand ready to work with Secretary Raimondo and leaders in the Commerce Department’s CHIPS Office to ensure the new law is implemented effectively, efficiently, and expeditiously,” said John Neuffer, SIA’s president and chief executive.
Lobbyists to Biden: Unless you want to cede to China, relax microchip rules Politico In a public filing that has not previously been reported, SIA warned that failure to provide chipmakers with an exemption could “pose significant delays in the disbursement of CHIPS funds and result in delays in the construction and operation of facilities.” It urged the Commerce Department to use its administrative powers to “streamline and expedite reviews to the greatest extent possible.” “Time is of the essence,” David Isaacs, vice president of government affairs at SIA, told POLITICO on Thursday.
Biden’s Semiconductor Plan Flexes the Power of the Federal Government NYT Semiconductor manufacturers seeking a slice of nearly $40 billion in new federal subsidies will need to ensure affordable child care for their workers, limit stock buybacks and share certain excess profits with the government, the Biden administration will announce on Tuesday.
Gina Raimondo Becomes China Player in a Job Where Her Predecessor Used to Nap Bloomberg Raimondo’s crowning achievement so far is helping steer the $280 billion Chips Act through Congress, an 18-month slog during which the legislation at one point looked doomed to die with the rest of Biden’s “Build Back Better” plan. (She and her staff celebrated its passage last summer by feasting on an assortment of potato chips.) |
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CHINAAlibaba and Ant venture to launch RISC-V chips for payments Reuters Alibaba Group Holding’s (9988.HK) chip unit T-Head and Alipay, the payment service under Alibaba’s financial affiliate Ant Group, will release computing chips for secure payments based on the RISC-V instruction set architecture, the two entities said.
At China political meeting, internet bosses are out, chip execs are in Reuters Tencent Holdings (0700.HK) founder Pony Ma and others from China’s crackdown-hit internet sector will be absent from this year’s parliamentary sessions, as Beijing boosts representation from the tech hardware sector, delegate lists show.
Experts lay out steps Hong Kong can take to leap ahead in global chip race South China Morning Post Hong Kong should aim to develop breakthroughs in semiconductor materials and chip packaging technology by attracting talent and enterprises if it wants to be a regional leader in microelectronics, experts have said. |
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TRADEUS-Europe trade tensions heat up over green subsidies Financial Times Joe Biden’s administration hopes to unleash a green revolution by offering hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies to clean energy companies, but the US president’s flagship legislation also threatens to spark a fresh trade war.
Yellen says EV battery mineral trade pacts can likely bypass Congress Reuters U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen said on Friday that she expects that future limited free trade agreements focused on battery minerals with the European Union and other trusted allies would not need approval from Congress.
Germany’s Scholz committed for Free Trade deal between India, EU Reuters German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday that he and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi were committed to sealing a free trade deal between India and the European Union (EU). |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYHow To Build Resilience Into Chips Semiconductor Engineering Disaggregating chips into specialized processors, memories, and architectures is becoming necessary for continued improvements in performance and power, but it’s also contributing to unusual and often unpredictable errors in hardware that are extremely difficult to find. |
SIA NEWS
Press Release Secretary Raimondo has been a tireless advocate for the CHIPS and Science Act, the historic new law that will reinvigorate chip production and innovation in America. Since the CHIPS Act was introduced, companies in the semiconductor ecosystem have announced new projects across America totaling hundreds of billions of dollars in private investments and supporting hundreds of thousands of new jobs. These new projects—combined with the new law’s critical investments in semiconductor research—will help strengthen America’s economy, national security, critical supply chains, and leadership in the semiconductor-driven technologies of today and tomorrow. |
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INDUSTRY/MARKET
Chips Act Will Test Whether U.S. Can Reverse Semiconductor Exodus WSJ The Chips Act has already set off an investment boom in the industry. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association, more than 40 projects have been announced with promises for investments of nearly $200 billion in new manufacturing facilities. “This is a good first step. This is going to take a sustained and significant commitment for a long time” from the government, said John Neuffer, president and chief executive of the Semiconductor Industry Association, an industry group.
Kansas tech projects involve billions in funding, hinging on federal CHIPS Act funds KWCH Neuffer said once the CHIPS act passed, “we’ve seen quite an outflow of commitments by our industry.” Neuffer said nationwide, through CHIPS act funding, there are 40 projects announced, equating to more than a $200 billion investment.
U.S. Aims to Create Semiconductor Manufacturing Clusters With Chips Act Funds WSJ The program has already triggered an investment boom, with U.S. and foreign manufacturers unveiling more than 40 projects for total investments close to $200 billion, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association, a trade group.
Commerce Department Names Gatekeeper of Federal Semiconductor Funds WSJ The Commerce Department appointed Todd Fisher, a veteran of private-equity firm KKR & Co., to an important role determining which companies will receive part of $52.7 billion in federal funding intended to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
CHIPS Act will strengthen US national security by boosting access to semiconductors: Raimondo ABC Making semiconductors in the U.S. is critical for national security, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo told reporters on Wednesday, ahead of a speech she’ll give on supporting domestic manufacturing. |
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CHINAChina’s Economic Support for Russia Could Elicit More Sanctions NYT Beijing has remained officially unaligned in the war. Yet China, along with countries like Turkey and some former Soviet republics, has stepped in to supply Russia with large volumes of products that either civilians or armed forces could use, including raw materials, smartphones, vehicles and computer chips, trade data shows.
South China Morning Post Chinese semiconductor companies are scrambling to stockpile chip-making equipment, spare parts and other related materials, while overseas firms continue to fulfil orders as they await clarity on tighter export rules resulting from coordination between the US, Japan and the Netherlands, according to industry insiders.
South China Morning Post Beijing is highly concerned about Tokyo’s moves to control semiconductor exports, China’s commerce ministry said during an economic partnership consultation with Japan on Wednesday. |
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TRADEU.S. Eyes Trade Deals With Allies to Ease Clash Over Electric Car Subsidies NYT he Biden administration hopes to reach limited free trade agreements with countries in Europe and Asia that would not require congressional approval as it looks to ease allies’ concerns about legislation that President Biden signed into law last year, Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said on Friday.
US-Made Rare Earths to Skip China In Supply Deal With Japan Bloomberg America’s only rare-earths producer has agreed a deal to ship output from its new processing plant to Japan, part of a broader move by the US and allies to reduce China’s role in their critical supply chains.
EU Trade Envoy Sees Deal on US Climate Package Ahead of Visit Bloomberg The European Union’s trade chief said the bloc is closing in on an agreement with the US on access to raw materials used in batteries, giving EU companies access to some benefits included in President Joe Biden’s green investment plan. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYResearchers develop innovative tool for measuring electron dynamics in semiconductors Phys.org At the heart of every mobile phone, laptop and autonomous vehicle is a tiny semiconductor whose properties and, ultimately, performance are determined by free electrons. Now, UC Berkeley researchers have developed a new way to measure these electrons that could lead to more energy-efficient semiconductor materials and electronics.
Leveraging Chip Data To Improve Productivity Semiconductor Engineering The semiconductor ecosystem is scrambling to use data more effectively in order to increase the productivity of design teams, improve yield in the fab, and ultimately increase reliability of systems in the field.
Taming Corner Explosion In Complex Chips Semiconductor Engineering There is a tenuous balance between the number of corners a design team must consider, the cost of analysis, and the margins they insert to deal with them, but that tradeoff is becoming a lot more difficult. If too many corners of a chip are explored, it might never see production. If not enough corners are explored, it could reduce yield. And if too much margin is added, the device may not be competitive. |
SIA NEWS
SIA Urges Full Funding of CHIPS & Science Act Research Programs in President’s FY24 Budget Press Release Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) President and CEO John Neuffer today sent a letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young, encouraging her to include in the President’s Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) full funding for research and workforce programs authorized by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. |
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INDUSTRY/MARKET
U.S. Commerce Dept. names financial sector, government experts to chips team Reuters The U.S. Commerce Department said Friday it is naming more than a dozen members to a team overseeing $52.7 billion in government funding to boost semiconductor manufacturing and research.
Five EU countries, EIB launch fund to help promising tech companies grow Reuters Spain, Germany, France, Italy and Belgium and the European Investment Bank launched on Monday a 3.75 billion euro ($4.02 billion) fund to finance the growth of promising European tech companies and boost the EU’s attractiveness as an innovation hub.
AI revolution: Tech finds its next platform Axios Any new technology that checks all these boxes and keeps springing new surprises on us earns the world’s attention — as previous platforms did, from the iPhone to the internet itself all the way back to the rise of the personal computer. |
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CHINAChina’s New Tech Czar Lays Out Plan to Transcend US Sanctions Bloomberg China’s new technology overseer has outlined a sweeping blueprint to counter escalating US sanctions and decoupling supply chains by developing homegrown expertise in areas such as electric vehicles.
Exclusive: Chinese chip designer Unisoc seeks to raise $1.5 bln in private funding -sources Reuters Chinese chip design company Unisoc (Shanghai) Technologies Co is seeking to raise 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) in a new funding round that will value the firm at about 70 billion yuan ($10.3 billion), three people with knowledge of the deal told Reuters.
U.S. sanctions six Chinese tech companies for supporting spy balloon programs CNBC |
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TRADEGreat stride made in India-US trade relationship says US Commerce Secretary The Economic Times Under the Biden administration, India and the US has made great strides in their trade relationships, top US officials have said after President Joe Biden announced that Air India has agreed to a historic purchase of airplanes from Boeing.
Germany rules out spending ‘more and more money’ as Europe hopes to avoid subsidy race with the U.S. CNBC The European Union cannot and will not stump up increasing amounts of new cash to deal with a green subsidy race that’s heating up on both sides of the Atlantic, according to Germany’s top finance official. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYManaging Thermal-Induced Stress In Chips Semiconductor Engineering At advanced nodes and in the most advanced packages, physics is no one’s friend. Escalating density, smaller features, and thinner dies make it more difficult to dissipate heat, and they increase mechanical stress.
Addressing GaN Semiconductor’s Thermal Paradox EE Times Thermal management has always been an important factor in semiconductors because continuously shrinking chip designs manufactured on cutting-edge nodes generate more heat within the same size footprint. As a result, thermal management is intertwined with the size, weight and power consumption of electronic designs.
2D Semiconductor Materials Creep Toward Manufacturing Semiconductor Engineering As transistors scale down, they need thinner channels to achieve adequate channel control. In silicon, though, surface roughness scattering degrades mobility, limiting the ultimate channel thickness to about 3nm. |
SIA NEWS
Despite Short-Term Cyclical Downturn, Global Semiconductor Market’s Long-Term Outlook is Strong Blog Post Global semiconductor sales data released last week showed the industry experienced significant ups and downs in 2022. While chip sales reached the highest-ever annual total in 2022, the slowdown in the second half of the year substantially limited growth.
President Biden Highlights Importance of CHIPS Enactment During State of the Union Address Press Release During tonight’s State of the Union Address, President Biden highlighted last year’s historic enactment of the CHIPS and Science Act, a landmark new law that will greatly strengthen America’s economy, national security, and semiconductor supply chains. Companies in the semiconductor ecosystem have responded enthusiastically since the CHIPS Act was introduced, announcing new projects across America totaling hundreds of billions of dollars in private investments and supporting hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs. |
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INDUSTRY/MARKET
SIA: Long-term semiconductor outlook strong Electronics 360 “During tonight’s State of the Union Address, President Biden highlighted last year’s historic enactment of the CHIPS and Science Act, a landmark new law that will greatly strengthen America’s economy, national security and semiconductor supply chains,” said John Neuffer, president and CEO of the SIA. “Companies in the semiconductor ecosystem have responded enthusiastically since the CHIPS Act was introduced, announcing new projects across America totaling hundreds of billions of dollars in private investments and supporting hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs.”
’22 saw record chip sales, but ’23 is expected to drop 4% Fierce Electronics Semiconductor Industry Association President John Neuffer said 2022 was a year of “significant up and downs,” and also called the last part of the year a “cyclical downturn.”
Industry Urges Biden Administration to Maximize CHIPS Act Impact After President’s Annual Address GovConWire John Neuffer, president and CEO of the Semiconductor Industry Association, has commended the current administration and congressional leaders for enacting the CHIPS and Science Act, which he said will help strengthen U.S. national security, economy and semiconductor supply chains.
Chip suppliers warn on EU plan to bar ‘forever chemicals’ Financial Times Chip suppliers have warned that a European effort to impose a ban on “forever chemicals” will cause widespread disruption to already tight semiconductor supply chains. |
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CHINAWhy Chinese AI and semiconductors could fall decades behind under US chip ban ‘blitz’ South China Morning Post As the US pushes to keep China from getting the latest chip-making technology, tightened sanctions could cause Chinese semiconductor and AI development to fall decades behind, according to industry insiders.
China jobs: labour demand shows signs of heating up as chip makers scramble to find talent South China Morning Post China is witnessing strong demand for labour in semiconductor production and advanced manufacturing, as well as the hospitality and aviation sectors, according to a new report, indicating that economic activities are slowly returning to normal after recent coronavirus outbreaks and the Lunar New Year holiday.
Huawei turns to patents for a lifeline — including those in the U.S. CNBC |
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TRADECNBC Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Wednesday that the U.S. is considering collaborating with India on certain manufacturing jobs in order to boost competition against China.
Japan may opt for milder chip-equipment curbs on China than U.S, says lawmaker Reuters Japan may opt for milder restrictions on chip production machinery sales in China than those implemented by the United States even though they agree on export curbs, an influential Japanese ruling party lawmaker told Reuters on Wednesday.
UK trade minister visits Mexico, targeting new deals Reuters Britain’s trade minister Kemi Badenoch begins a two-day visit to Mexico on Thursday, targeting a bilateral trade deal as well as Britain’s accession to a Pacific trading association as the country builds its trade ties after leaving the European Union. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYChiplets Taking Root As Silicon-Proven Hard IP Semiconductor Engineering Chiplets are all the rage today, and for good reason. With the various ways to design a semiconductor-based system today, IP reuse via chiplets appears to be an effective and feasible solution, and a potentially low-cost alternative to shrinking everything to the latest process node.
The Use of Semiconductors in Solar Energy Technology AZO Materials PV cells are primarily composed of semiconductor materials that have a higher conductivity than insulators. However, these materials are not good conductors of electricity like metals. Different types of semiconductors, such as crystalline silicon (c-Si) and cadmium telluride (CdTe), are used in solar cells.
Nanoscale (5nm) Ferroelectric Semiconductor (University Of Michigan) Semiconductor Engineering A new technical paper titled “Thickness scaling down to 5 nm of ferroelectric ScAlN on CMOS compatible molybdenum grown by molecular beam epitaxy” was published by researchers at University of Michigan, with DARPA funding. |
SIA NEWS
Press Release The U.S. Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) and the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) today jointly announced plans to form a private-sector task force that will strengthen collaboration between the two countries in the global semiconductor ecosystem. |
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INDUSTRY/MARKET
NBC In anticipation of the federal funds, semiconductor companies have already been making billions of dollars in commitments. Since the bill was introduced in the spring of 2020, companies have announced plans for $187 billion in new or expanded semiconductor facilities in 16 states that would create more than 30,000 jobs, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association.
EE News Europe “India is already a major hub for semiconductor research, chip design, and equipment engineering, but its future potential is even greater,” said John Neuffer, CEO of SIA in a statement. “This task force will help identify tangible ways to unlock this potential by increasing collaboration between the US and India within the global chip ecosystem.” Business Today Acknowledging India to be a major hub for semiconductor research, chip design, and equipment engineering, with even greater future potential, SIA President and CEO John Neuffer said, “We are thrilled to kick off this new initiative with IESA, our counterpart in India. This task force will help identify tangible ways to unlock this potential by increasing collaboration between the U.S. and India within the global chip ecosystem.” |
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CHINAU.S. Sanctions Against China Could Hurt Own Domestic Industry: SIA Toms Hardware While the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) — the organization that represents 99% of chip companies in America — understands how important national security is, it believes that curbs against potentially hostile nations could hurt the U.S. semiconductor industry as a whole.
Stymied by the West, Russia is getting critical semiconductors from mainland China, Hong Kong South China Morning Post Despite export controls, Russia has increased imports of semiconductors and electronic circuits, with purchases totalling US$2.45 billion between January and September 2022 – up from US$1.8 billion a year earlier, the IIF said.
Russia Boosts China Trade to Counter Western Sanctions WSJ Moscow boosted imports of technologies critical to its war in Ukraine including semiconductors and microchips from China, the report by the D.C.-based nongovernmental organization Free Russia Foundation said. China’s increased purchases of Russian exports, driven by energy sales, more than offset the declines from major Western trading partners including the U.S., U.K. and some European Union countries. |
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TRADEPolicy Watch: Europe beefs up Green Deal in response to Biden’s climate subsidies Reuters Inflation Reduction Act. The phrase barely trips off the tongue, but the U.S. climate bill was on everyone’s lips at the World Economic Forum last month.
U.S., India partnership targets arms, AI to compete with China Reuters The White House is launching a partnership with India on Tuesday that President Joe Biden hopes will help the countries compete against China on military equipment, semiconductors and artificial intelligence.
UK and EU Nearing Provisional Brexit Deal in Northern Ireland Talks Bloomberg UK and European Union negotiators are nearing a provisional agreement on post-Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland, putting them in touching distance of a final settlement after years of often fraught talks, people familiar with the matter said. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYThe Chip Shortage Isn’t Stopping Automotive Engineers from Racing Ahead Engineering.com According to the Semiconductor Industry Association, the auto industry is the third-largest consumer of microchips, and the rate at which it uses semiconductors is growing faster than that of any other industry. The recent chip shortage has slowed auto manufacturing over the past few years, and many experts believe that the semiconductor deficit will continue through 2023 and into 2024, forcing engineers to find inventive ways to design products with limited supplies.
Researchers develop innovative tool for measuring electron dynamics in semiconductors Berkeley Engineering At the heart of every mobile phone, laptop and autonomous vehicle is a tiny semiconductor whose properties and, ultimately, performance are determined by free electrons. Now, UC Berkeley researchers have developed a new way to measure these electrons that could lead to more energy-efficient semiconductor materials and electronics. |
SIA NEWS
SIA Comments: Export Controls Should Protect National Security Without Undermining Innovation Blog Post SIA has long supported export control policy that safeguards national security without unduly harming the commercial innovation that is essential to America’s economy, national security, and technological leadership. Consistent with these longstanding efforts, SIA recently submitted detailed public comments regarding significant new semiconductor export control rules released on Oct. 7 by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). |
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When it comes to semiconductors, leading is not everything TechSpot According to the Semiconductor Industry Association, the CHIPS Act has had a positive collateral effect by triggering the private sector into investing some $200 billion for US semiconductor production.
Semiconductor fabs: Construction challenges in the United States McKinsey The semiconductor industry is booming, with expected average annual growth of 6 to 8 percent through 2030 and yearly revenues forecasted to reach $1 trillion.
UK to Subsidize Semiconductor Firms in Bid to Make Domestic Chips Bloomberg The UK government will provide direct taxpayer funding to support British semiconductor companies as part of a strategy for a sector that has become a lightning rod in global geopolitics, according to officials familiar with the plans.
Supply Chain Disruptions Are Likely to Continue in 2023. Here’s How to Manage Inc. Various outside forces have disrupted supply chains since the pandemic. High demand and bottlenecks have slowed international trade, the pandemic has transformed the workforce and exacerbated labor shortages, and new policies and regulations have changed the landscape for logistics companies. |
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CHINAJapan, Netherlands to Join US in Chip Controls on China Bloomberg Japan and the Netherlands are poised to join the US in limiting China’s access to advanced semiconductor machinery, forging a powerful alliance that will undercut Beijing’s ambitions to build its own domestic chip capabilities, according to people familiar with the negotiations.
South China Morning Post Funding for China’s technology and internet start-ups halved last year amid pandemic controls and regulatory uncertainty, but the new energy and semiconductor industries are expected to be stand-out performers this year after landing the biggest deals of 2022.
Global Impact: US-China tech war’s toll made visible at world’s largest electronics show South China Morning Post And for many companies on display at the world’s largest electronics show earlier this month, it looked like that is exactly what they were doing. The biggest Chinese names at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas were Lenovo, TCL and Hisense – all computer and television makers. In other words, not the most hi-tech products on the market. |
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TRADEUS and EU Discuss Deal to Widen Access to Inflation Reduction Act Bloomberg The US and the European Union are discussing a possible deal on minerals and critical raw materials in a bid to allow the EU to qualify for benefits in President Joe Biden’s massive new green investment plan, according to people familiar with the matter.
Climate Change May Usher in a New Era of Trade Wars NYT Efforts to mitigate climate change are prompting countries across the world to embrace dramatically different policies toward industry and trade, bringing governments into conflict.
In India-U.K. trade deal, focus on what is acceptable to both countries: Piyush Goyal The Hindu Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that in the talks for the proposed free trade agreement between India and the U.K., the focus is on what is acceptable to both countries and not allow sensitive issues to scuttle the discussions. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYPower Issues Causing More Respins At 7nm And Below Semiconductor Engineering Power consumption has been a major design consideration for some time, but it is far from being a solved issue. In fact, an increasing number of designs have a plethora of power-related problems, and those problems are getting worse in new chip designs.
What Does 2023 Have In Store For Chip Design? Semiconductor Engineering Predictions seem to be easier to make during times of stability, but they are no more correct than at any other period. During more turbulent times, fewer people are courageous enough to allow their opinions to be heard. And yet it is often those views that are more well thought through, and even if they turn out not to be true, they often contain some very enlightening ideas.
Collaboration Widens Among Big Chip Companies Semiconductor Engineering Top equipment and tools vendors see need for earlier cooperation as complexity rises for advanced nodes and packages. |
INDUSTRY/MARKET
Chips Are the New Oil and America Is Spending Billions to Safeguard Its Supply WSJ But the actual fabrication of semiconductors has been increasingly outsourced to Asia. The U.S. share of global chip manufacturing has eroded, from 37% in 1990 to 12% in 2020, while mainland China’s share has gone from around zero to about 15%, according to Boston Consulting Group and SIA. Taiwan and South Korea each accounted for a little over 20%.
5 Months After CHIPS Act, Investment Activity Abounds in the Chip Industry Data Center Knowledge According to the Semiconductor Industry Association, the passage of the CHIPS Act has resulted in:
DTI: Semiconductor Industry Association bullish about PH The Manila Times “While the Chips Act aims to increase the capacity of the US semiconductor industry, we recognize that we cannot do it all in the US. And that’s where countries like the Philippines have an opportunity,” Neuffer said.
Philippines a critical player in global semiconductor industry Phil Star Global US-based Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) recognizes the Philippines as a critical player in the global semiconductor industry and a major hub for semiconductor assembly and test manufacturing. SIA recently shared investment prospects and business opportunities for the Philippines with the passage of the CHIPS Act of the United States.
Are semiconductor chips the new oil? Fox Business According to data from the Semiconductor Industry Association, U.S. businesses have invested roughly $200 billion in 40 separate projects, adding an estimated 40,000 jobs.
Should the U.S. subsidize chip making? San Diego business leaders sound off The San Diego Union-Tribune A Boston Consulting analysis expected it would take $900 billion to $1.23 trillion in spending to create self-sufficient semiconductor supply chains worldwide. For just the U.S., it’s $350 billion to $420 billion. |
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CHINASouth China Morning Post China’s second-largest chip foundry Hua Hong Semiconductor Group, a state-backed semiconductor investment fund and a Wuxi entity signed a deal on Wednesday for a US$6.7 billion wafer fabrication plant in eastern Wuxi, the biggest such investment since Washington imposed stricter sanctions on China’s chip industry in October.
Taiwan fines Foxconn for unauthorised China investment Reuters Taiwan on Thursday fined Foxconn (2317.TW) T$10 million ($329,088) for making an unauthorised investment in a Chinese chip firm, but said the Taiwanese iPhone assembler had cooperated in the case and so received a lesser punishment.
Treasury Secretary Yellen and China’s Liu He talk U.S. tech policy at their first in-person meeting CNBC Chinese Vice Premier Liu He discussed U.S. economic and tech policy toward China in a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday, according to a Ministry of Commerce readout.
South China Morning Post China is rolling out a raft of measures to encourage foreign investors to set up innovation centres in the country and attract professional talent. The move comes amid the country’s stepped-up efforts to accelerate innovation across the board, with leaders and policymakers in the world’s second-largest economy repeatedly highlighting their intentions to turn it into a global tech powerhouse. |
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TRADE‘China cannot be out, China must be in’: France says it’s diverging with Washington on Beijing ties CNBC The European Union does not see eye-to-eye with the United States when it comes to opposing China, the French finance minister told CNBC Friday.
DAVOS 2023-UAE and India discussing settling non-oil trade in rupees Reuters The United Arab Emirates is in early discussions with India to trade non-oil commodities in Indian rupees, Emirati Minister for Foreign Trade Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi said on Thursday. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYWhat Happened to All of Science’s Big Breakthroughs? NYT Miracle vaccines. Videophones in our pockets. Reusable rockets. Our technological bounty and its related blur of scientific progress seem undeniable and unsurpassed. Yet analysts now report that the overall pace of real breakthroughs has fallen dramatically over the past almost three-quarters of a century.
The Path To Known Good Interconnects Semiconductor Engineering Chiplets and heterogenous integration (HI) provide a compelling way to continue delivering improvements in performance, power, area, and cost (PPAC) as Moore’s Law slows, but choosing the best way to connect these devices so they behave in consistent and predictable ways is becoming a challenge as the number of options continues to grow. |
SIA NEWS
Global Semiconductor Sales Decrease 2.9% Month-to-Month in November Press Release “Global semiconductor sales decreased in November, largely due to market cyclicality and macroeconomic headwinds,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “Sales into the Americas were up compared to November 2021, while sales into China decreased sharply on a year-to-year basis.” |
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In Central New York, a test of the CHIPS and Science Act’s promise for economic revitalization Brookings According to Semiconductor Industry Association, over the past two years, semiconductor manufacturers have announced nearly $200 billion in new investments for the next decade. How community colleges fit in to the promise of the CHIPS and Science Act Politico The law has spurred private investments for semiconductor production since the bill was introduced in spring of 2020,according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. More than 40 new semiconductor ecosystem projects were announced across the country, nearly $200 billion in investments were announced across 16 states to increase domestic manufacturing capacity, and 40,000 new jobs were announced in the semiconductor ecosystem as part of the new projects.
The Atlantic All of these measures are projected to trigger huge flows of private-sector investment. The Semiconductor Industry Association reports that since the legislation promoting the industry was first introduced, in 2020, companies have already announced $200 billion in investments across 40 projects in 16 states.
The Places Seeing Growth in the Semiconductor Sector So Far Route Fifty The Semiconductor Industry Association says private sector investment tied to the projects will add up to around $200 billion over the next decade. The group’s analysis comes as the U.S. is redoubling efforts to increase domestic microchip production, with billions of dollars in new federal support flowing to the industry.
Deputy PM calls for more US investment in semiconductor industry NewsWires Receiving SIA President and CEO John Neuffer in Hà Nội, the Deputy PM welcomed SIA’s selection of Việt Nam as one of the destinations to survey in its fact-finding tour of Southeast Asia. He considered this a starting point for cooperation between SIA and the Vietnamese Government, thereby promoting the possibility of Việt Nam’s engagement in global semiconductor supply chains.
Taiwan’s Chips Act Passes, Aims to Protect Its Process Tech Tom’s Hardware Policymakers in Taiwan have passed laws to allow chip companies take 25% of yearly research and development costs and turn them into tax credits, Bloomberg reports. This is part of an attempt to make sure that cutting-edge chip tech stays in Taiwan, as other nations have pushed incentives to strengthen their own supply chains. |
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CHINASouth China Morning Post The decline recorded by China marked the biggest percentage drop among the world’s major markets for integrated circuits (ICs), according to data from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), a Washington-based trade group that represents 99 per cent of the US chip industry.
China’s Giant Chip Ambitions Fall Prey to Covid Turmoil Bloomberg For years, China was the world’s biggest spender on chip incentives, a scale unmatched from Washington to Tokyo. Now, the effort to combat Covid and deal with the threat of a global recession is depleting state coffers and forcing Beijing to rethink that controversial approach.
South China Morning Post China’s eastern Jiangsu province has unveiled a policy package for the semiconductor industry, which includes at least 500 million yuan (US$74 million) a year in financial support over the next three years amid intensifying US trade sanctions. |
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TRADENorth America vows to strengthen economic ties, Mexico energy row rumbles on Reuters The United States, Mexico and Canada on Tuesday vowed to tighten economic ties, producing more goods regionally and boosting semiconductor output, even as integration is hampered by an ongoing dispute over Mexico’s nationalist energy policies.
President Biden really wants to boost chip manufacturing and he needs Mexico’s help to do it Fortune President Joe Biden privately urged his Mexican counterpart to enact new policies to capitalize on the US drive to boost semiconductor production, part of a push to shift supply of some key technology components from Asia to North America.
Japan hugs UK close as it seeks to push back against China Politico Japan increasingly sees the U.K. as a key defense and trade ally in its pushback against China in the Indo-Pacific, say senior Japanese officials, as the country makes a diplomatic push to rally G7 nations this week. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYJUMP 2.0 Consortium Targets Microelectronics Innovation Photonics Semiconductor Research Corp. (SRC), along with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and industry and academic stakeholders, has established the Joint University Microelectronics Program 2.0 (JUMP 2.0).
Approaching the quantum limit in two-dimensional semiconductor contacts Nature The development of next-generation electronics requires scaling of channel material thickness down to the two-dimensional limit while maintaining ultralow contact resistance1,2.
New Technique For Making Thin Films Of Perovskite Oxide Semiconductors Semiconductor Engineering A technical paper titled “Freestanding epitaxial SrTiO3 nanomembranes via remote epitaxy using hybrid molecular beam epitaxy” was published by researchers at University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and University of Wisconsin–Madison. |
SIA NEWS
SIA Applauds Increased Funding for Research, Workforce Development in Year-End Funding Package Press Release Building off the important investments made by the CHIPS and Science Act, SIA applauds increased funding for research and workforce development in the FY2023 Omnibus. Once passed, these investments will help advance innovation, strengthen the American STEM workforce, promote economic growth, and maintain national security by reinforcing the National Science Foundation (NSF), regional technology hubs, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) manufacturing programs. |
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U.S. Pours Money Into Chips, but Even Soaring Spending Has Limits NYT The new spending is set to improve America’s position. A $50 billion government investment is likely to prompt corporate spending that would take the U.S. share of global production to as much as 14 percent by 2030, according to a Boston Consulting Group study in 2020 that was commissioned by the Semiconductor Industry Association. “It really does put us in the game for the first time in decades,” said John Neuffer, the association’s president, who added that the estimate may be conservative because Congress approved $76 billion in subsidies in a piece of legislation known as the CHIPS Act.
Wage Inequality May Be Starting to Reverse WSJ Since Congress proposed in 2020 to subsidize new semiconductor factories in the U.S., 40 projects, $200 billion of investment and 40,000 jobs have been announced, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association.
Carmakers quietly cut ties with China in supply chain shake-up Financial Times
Power Sector Seeks Solutions for Supply Chain Issues Power Mag The shortage of semiconductors was partly addressed by the Biden administration with the signing of the CHIPS and Science Act in August of last year, a measure that provides some $280 billion in funding to boost U.S.-based research and manufacturing of semiconductors. The Semiconductor Industry Association last summer noted that the U.S. share of global modern semiconductor manufacturing capacity had fallen from 37% in 1990 to 12%. |
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CHINABattered by Covid, China Hits Pause on Giant Chip Spending Aimed at Rivaling US Bloomberg China is pausing massive investments aimed at building a chip industry to compete with the US, as a nationwide Covid resurgence strains the world’s No. 2 economy and Beijing’s finances.
South China Morning Post The chip production plans of Huawei Technologies Co have become the subject of fresh speculation within the semiconductor industry after the tech giant filed a patent application for advanced lithography late last year, a key technology used to produce cutting-edge chips.
Taiwan Wants to Join WTO Talks on China’s Protest Against US Chip Sanctions Bloomberg Taiwan has asked to join discussions centered on China’s protest against US chip sanctions at the World Trade Organization, seeking a voice on a debate that could have ramifications for the global chip industry.
South China Morning Post Shenzhen has doubled down on efforts to advance China’s hi-tech self-sufficiency drive by establishing an international sourcing platform for semiconductors and other electronics components amid US trade restrictions. |
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TRADEU.S. and Japan to expand cooperation on key technologies beyond chips Japan Times The United States and Japan have agreed to expand their cooperation on critical emerging technologies beyond semiconductors to include areas such as artificial intelligence and biotechnology, industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said Thursday after meeting with his U.S. counterpart.
6 big trade predictions for 2023 Politico President Joe Biden’s trade agenda came into sharper focus over the last year. His administration launched an economic initiative in the Indo-Pacific, tightened export controls on Chinese entities and embraced industrial subsidies that angered key trade partners.
UK government set to miss 2022 target on global trade deals Financial Times Britain’s government is poised to miss its target to seal deals covering 80 per cent of its trade with the rest of the world by the end of 2022. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYMore Than $250 Million To Be Invested In Seven University Microelectronic Research Centers
Science Daily Creating smart sensors to embed in our everyday objects and environments for the Internet of Things (IoT) would vastly improve daily life — but requires trillions of such small devices. A professor believes that emerging alternative semiconductors that are printable, low-cost and eco-friendly could lead the way to a cheaper and more sustainable IoT.
The Future of Wearable Electronics AZO Materials Flexible semiconductors are crucial for future wearable electronics technologies, but their integration into complex architectures has been problematic. In a recent study published in Advanced Electronic Materials, scientists from Japan have reportedly found a simple method for producing high-quality soft semiconductors for sophisticated electrical circuits.
HPC Wire This year’s Nobel Prize in Physics celebrated the fundamental interest of quantum entanglement, and also envisioned the potential applications in “the second quantum revolution” — a new age when we are able to manipulate the weirdness of quantum mechanics, including quantum superposition and entanglement. |
SIA NEWS
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CHIPS Act Spurs $200 Billion Investments in U.S. Semi Industry Tom’s Hardware Although developers and makers of chips are yet to receive grants enabled by the CHIPS and Science act, its announcement and subsequent enactment have already attracted some $200 billion of private investments in the U.S. semiconductor sector, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association, a lobbying group for the industry.. The new projects will impact both chip production as well as electronics manufacturing in the USA.
U.S. Chip Industry Urges Federal Aid for Chip Design, Too Electronic Design In a report released with the Boston Consulting Group last month, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) urged the U.S. to invest roughly $20 billion to $30 billion in chip design and research and development (R&D) by 2030.
India’s Manufacturing Push Takes an Audacious Gamble on Chips WSJ India plans to transform a vast tract of salty marshland in Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s home state into the most ambitious demonstration of its push to be recognized as a serious player in advanced manufacturing, and an alternative to China.
Germany could become Europe’s big semiconductor producer – Scholz Reuters Germany could become Europe’s big producer of semiconductors thanks to investments being made in the field, said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at a digital summit on Friday. |
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CHINAU.S. widens ban on military and surveillance tech sales to China The Washington Post The Biden administration doubled down Thursday on its high-tech containment of China, expanding a ban on commercial exports of advanced U.S. technology that it said aids Beijing’s military and hypersonics programs and enables human rights violations.
China brings WTO case against U.S. and its sweeping chip export curbs as tech tensions escalate CNBC China initiated a dispute against the U.S. at the World Trade Organization over Washington’s sweeping semiconductor export curbs that look to cut the world’s second-largest economy off from high-tech components.
China Says It Has Taken U.S. Semiconductor Rules to WTO WSJ China’s Ministry of Commerce said Monday it had filed a complaint against the U.S. at the World Trade Organization in response to new controls from Washington on semiconductor trade with China, describing the action as a response to trade protectionism. |
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TRADEU.S. consults with Japan, Netherlands on chip restrictions as China pushes back Reuters The U.S.-China row over technology has ratcheted up this week, with Washington confirming talks with Japan and the Netherlands about tightening exports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China, and Beijing hitting back.
Britain eyes trade agreements with California, Utah Reuters Britain this week inked an agreement aimed at boosting trade and investment with South Carolina, its third such deal with a U.S. state, and is seeking similar deals with California and Utah, the UK junior trade minister, Greg Hands, said on Friday.
Bipartisan duo propose plan for TPP reentry Politico A bipartisan pair of former high-ranking U.S. officials have proposed a plan for the United States to reenter the Trans-Pacific Partnership, arguing a significantly revamped agreement would fit current political realities that have pushed national security concerns to the top of the Biden administration’s trade priorities.
FORTUNE European Union leaders sought ways Thursday to stand up to the United States over its new green technologies plan that they say unfairly discriminates against Washington’s best global ally and demanded the same concessions as American free trade partners Canada and Mexico.
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYWater-based circuit concept switches much faster than semiconductors New Atlas Water is usually something you’d want to keep away from electronic circuits, but engineers in Germany have now developed a new concept for water-based switches that are much faster than current semiconductor materials.
3D-IC Reliability Degrades With Increasing Temperature Semiconductor Engineering The reliability of 3D-IC designs is dependent upon the ability of engineering teams to control heat, which can significantly degrade performance and accelerate circuit aging.
Safeguarding SRAMs From IP Theft (Best Paper Award) Semiconductor Engineering Data recovery has long been a focus of the electronics industry for decades by security experts, focusing on hard disk recovery, a type of non-volatile memory. Unfortunately, none of the existing research, neither from academia, industry, or government, have ever considered data recovery from volatile memories. |
SIA NEWS
Global Semiconductor Sales Decrease 0.3% Month-to-Month in October Press Release “Global semiconductor sales ticked down again in October, with sales decreasing on a year-to-year basis by the largest percentage since December 2019,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “Sales into the Americas market stood out as a bright spot in October, increasing by double-digits compared to the same month last year.” |
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October global chip sales maintain that sinking feeling EE News “Global semiconductor sales ticked down again in October, with sales decreasing on a year-to-year basis by the largest percentage since December 2019,” said John Neuffer, CEO of SIA, in a statement. “Sales into the Americas market stood out as a bright spot in October, increasing by double-digits compared to the same month last year.”
Global semicon sales down 4.6% y-o-y to US$46.9 billion in October The Edge Markets SIA president and CEO John Neuffer said global semiconductor sales ticked down again in October, with sales decreasing on a year-to-year basis by the largest percentage since December 2019.
SIA-Boston Consulting Report Calls for Federal Investment in Chip Design Executive Biz “To ensure economic growth and prosperity for decades to come, Congress should pass an investment tax credit for semiconductor design, attract and retain the world’s top innovative minds, and promote open markets around the world,” Neuffer added.
U.S., EU Agree to Coordinate Semiconductor Subsidy Programs WSJ Top U.S. and European Union officials agreed to work closely to strengthen semiconductor supply chains, including sharing information about their respective programs to provide massive subsidies to promote domestic chip production. |
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CHINATech lay-offs in China extend into year-end as Bilibili and Weibo cut headcount in worsening economy South China Morning Post Job losses in China’s technology sector show no sign of easing as 2022 nears its end, with video-streaming platform Bilibili and Twitter-like microblogging service Weibo laying off hundreds of employees under the name of “business optimisation” amid a challenging economy.
Jack Ma quits as head of leading China business group Financial Times |
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TRADEUK Signs Third US State Trade Pact in Absence of a Broader Deal Bloomberg The UK will sign its third pact with a US state in the absence of a bilateral free trade agreement, as it seeks to bolster its economic ties overseas after its departure from the European Union.
Canada’s IPEF bid has support from all members: trade minister Nikkei Asia Canada’s bid to join the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework has the backing of all current members, the country’s trade minister said Monday, expressing optimism about the prospects of participating in the U.S.-led regional partnership aimed at countering China.
Australian minister urges greater U.S. economic engagement with Indo-Pacific Reuters Australia’s Foreign Minister on Wednesday praised Washington’s commitment to Indo-Pacific security but said its departure from a regional trade pact was still being felt and that enhanced U.S. economic engagement with the region should be a priority.
Japan, Belgium to cooperate in semiconductor production, development PBS A newly founded Japanese semiconductor company aiming to revive Japan’s chip industry signed an agreement on Tuesday to collaborate with a Belgian research organization in developing next-generation chips for production in Japan. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGY‘Innovation Hubs’ Aim to Lift Distressed Areas. Congress Just Has to Fund Them. NYT Included in the bipartisan industrial policy legislation that President Biden signed into law this summer was a $10 billion effort to jump-start economically sputtering regions across the country: a series of “innovation hubs” across 20 metropolitan areas.
Using lasers to bond semiconductor electronics components Phys.Org Today, lasers are well-established in daily life, even if it is sometimes hard to tell what and where they are. As an example, we can find them in CD/DVD readers or medical applications like cancer and eye surgery, being essential tools in a vast range of multidisciplinary fields.
Coffee can increase flow in semiconductor components by up to 100x Fudzilla Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) institute boffins in Japan say the use of a coffee compound can increase current flow in semiconductor components by up to 100x.
Challenges With Adaptive Control Semiconductor Engineering Historically, the performance and power consumption of a system was controlled by what could be done at design time, but chips today are becoming a lot more adaptive. This has become a necessity for cutting edge nodes, but also provides a lot of additional benefits at the expense of greater complexity and verification challenges. |
SIA NEWS
New Report Identifies Challenges to Continued U.S. Leadership in Semiconductor Design, Innovation Press Release Following the historic enactment of the CHIPS and Science Act to reinvigorate domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) today released a report finding continued U.S. leadership in semiconductor design—the critical and high-value-add mapping of a chip’s intricate circuitry—is essential to America’s sustained leadership in semiconductors and the many technologies they enable.
Silicon Labs CEO Matt Johnson Elected Chair of Semiconductor Industry Association Press Release The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today announced Silicon Labs President and CEO Matt Johnson has been elected Chair of the SIA Board of Directors and Texas Instruments Chairman, President, and CEO Rich Templeton has been elected Vice Chair.
New Report Highlights Challenges and Opportunities Facing U.S. Semiconductor Industry Press Release The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today released its annual State of the Industry Report. The report highlights the current challenges facing the semiconductor industry, as well as opportunities for continued growth and innovation. |
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Report warns U.S. chip design market share to plunge without government support Reuters The U.S. share of chip design revenue has been slipping in recent years, dropping to 46% in 2021 from over 50% in 2015. Without government support, that could drop to 36% by the end of this decade, according to the analysis released by U.S. industry body Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) and Boston Consulting Group.
To boost the chip design labor pool: up to $30B in US funds, better marketing Fierce Electronics
Chip industry honors ex-Cadence CEO and VC Lip-Bu Tan Venture Beat The Semiconductor Industry Association awarded its highest honor to Lip-Bu Tan, the former CEO of Cadence Design Systems and the founder of the venture capital firm Walden International.
Shortage of Legacy Chips Keeping Ford CEO Up at Night Bloomberg “It’s too painful. We need to understand your technology roadmap better,” Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley said at the annual Semiconductor Industry Association dinner, in an interview with Texas Instruments Inc. CEO Rich Templeton. “And we need supply chain people from your companies and our companies to get it right.” |
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CHINAU.S. Senate eyes tightened restrictions on Chinese semiconductors Reuters The Democratic leader of the U.S. Senate urged lawmakers on Monday to back his proposal to bar the U.S. government from doing business with companies that use semiconductors made by producers the Pentagon considers Chinese military contractors.
FORTUNE Border officials said on Thursday the woman was arrested on Nov. 25 carrying 202 processors and nine smartphones under a large pregnancy prosthetic, Bloomberg reported. She initially aroused suspicion after claiming to be “about five or six months pregnant but had a big belly that looked like she was in the third trimester.” |
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TRADEBiden Seeks to Resolve Trans-Atlantic Tensions During Macron Visit NYT President Biden and President Emmanuel Macron of France sought to ease trans-Atlantic tensions over Mr. Biden’s domestic manufacturing agenda on Thursday, with both leaders emerging from an official state visit promising to work together on economic policies that have rankled European officials.
EU-US Tensions Mount as Breton Skips Trade Meeting Bloomberg Trade tensions between the US and the EU are intensifying. A high-level meeting next week meant to address thorny issues is losing relevance by the day. Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton pulled out of the Trade and Technology Council last night, in part because the controversial US tax and climate law has been downgraded from a key agenda item to a point of conversation over a 45-minute lunch.
Brexit Britain trapped in the middle as US and EU go to war on trade Politico Three years after leaving the EU to chart its own course, Britain finds itself caught between two economic behemoths in a brewing transatlantic trade war. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYProtons fix a long-standing issue in silicon carbide electronics Science Daily Silicon carbide (SiC) is a semiconductor material that outperforms pure silicon-based semiconductors in several applications. Used mostly in power inverters, motor drives, and battery chargers, SiC devices offer benefits such as a high power density and reduced power losses at high frequencies even at high voltages.
Tesla begins delivering first Semi trucks Axios Elon Musk announced Thursday that Tesla is rolling out its long-awaited all-electric Semi trucks. The first shipment of the Tesla Semi, which was unveiled five years ago, was delivered to PepsiCo’s Modesto, California, factory Wednesday, Tesla Semi program manager Dan Priestley said during a livestreamed event at the electric vehicle company’s Nevada plant. |
SIA NEWS
New Report Identifies Target Areas for CHIPS R&D Investments Press Release The report, titled “American Semiconductor Research: Leadership Through Innovation,” highlights the importance of government-industry collaboration on two historic new entities—the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC) and the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program (NAPMP)—created by the CHIPS and Science Act. |
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U.S. chip industry body urges R&D infrastructure upgrade with Chips Act funds Reuters “In the semiconductor industry, that kind of money, especially when we’re talking about efforts towards scale up, will be spent very, very quickly. So it’s really important that an understanding of where the existing infrastructure is provided, so that it can be leveraged,” said Eric Breckenfeld, director of technology policy at SIA, which released a report with Boston Consulting Group suggesting how the funding could be spent.
5 target areas for the CHIPS Act Electronics 360 “Semiconductor R&D is essential to the innovations powering America’s economy, national security, advanced manufacturing and critical supply chains,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “Enactment of the CHIPS and Science Act was a major step toward reinvigorating domestic chip production and innovation for years to come. The ‘Leadership Through Innovation’ study is a roadmap for implementing the new law’s R&D provisions and ensuring sustained U.S. leadership in chip technology.”
Economic future of U.S. depends on making engineering cool The Washington Post On a recent afternoon, an unusual group of visitors peered through a window at Purdue University students tinkering in a lab: two dozen executives from the world’s biggest semiconductor companies. |
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CHINASouth China Morning Post The municipal government of Shanghai, China’s largest city and semiconductor highland, has launched a new campus to train fresh talent for the domestic chip industry, as the country casts a wide net for skilled personnel after Washington’s latest hi-tech restrictions.
South China Morning Post Shenzhen’s quantum research institute has set up a new unit aimed at achieving breakthroughs in the “choke points” of integrated circuit (IC) technology, a field that China wants to achieve greater self-sufficiency in as the US ramps up trade restrictions.
If China can’t get American tech, maybe US allies will be more open to supplying chips South China Morning Post With the US ban on critical computer chips threatening to derail China’s development in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and supercomputers, analysts say that enhancing coordination with American allies could prove decisive for Beijing. |
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TRADEVon der Leyen tries to demine transatlantic trade dispute Politico The European Union and United States are trying to take the heat out of a transatlantic trade dispute by creating a task force to tackle a dispute over U.S. electric vehicle tax breaks, in a move that will enable wider talks on technology and trade to go ahead.
U.S. should be at center of CPTPP, Japanese foreign minister says Nikkei Asia The U.S. should return to the broad cross-Pacific free trade agreement it helped to forge, Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Saturday, as rising geopolitical tensions in the Indo-Pacific make strengthening cooperation a priority.
Canada to seek membership to Indo-Pacific Economic Framework Reuters Canada will seek membership to the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework to further economic cooperation in the region, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said on Thursday following a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Ottawa.
UK says has completed most of India trade deal, will only sign once happy Reuters Britain has completed the majority of sections of a free trade agreement with India but will only sign off on the deal once happy that it is fair and reciprocal, trade department minister Greg Hands said on Wednesday. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYScience Daily In a study that confirms its promise as the next-generation semiconductor material, UC Santa Barbara researchers have directly visualized the photocarrier transport properties of cubic boron arsenide single crystals.
First online database of photocharged materials developed for battery research Phys.Org Materials chemistry is a rapidly evolving area of research, with thousands of various semiconductors, and more materials being added all the time. What material among this variety would be the best for application in solar batteries, for example? How should such a material look like if it has not yet been synthesized?
Fabless IDMs Redefine The Leading Edge Semiconductor Engineering Large systems companies are looking more like integrated device manufacturers, designing their own advanced chips, packages, and systems for internal use. But because these are not pure-play chip companies, they are disrupting a 10-year cadence of customization and standardization that has defined the chip industry from its inception, and extending the period of innovation without the associated economies of scale. |
CHINA
Tech war: Chinese local governments ramp up chip industry support as US piles on export restrictions South China Morning Post China’s local governments are doubling down on cash incentives and policy support for home-grown semiconductor companies, as part of Beijing’s drive to achieve greater self-sufficiency in the chip sector amid heightened rivalry with the US.
China Summons Chip Firms for Emergency Talks After US Curbs Bloomberg China’s top technology overseer convened a series of emergency meetings over the past week with leading semiconductor companies, seeking to assess the damage from the Biden administration’s sweeping chip restrictions and pledging support for the critical sector.
South China Morning Post The sole semiconductor industry delegate at the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party is advocating for the development of the country’s own industrial information technology (IT) system, independent from the widely adopted Intel–Windows and Android–Arm structures, as tensions intensify between Beijing and Washington. |
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INDUSTRY/MARKETHow using analytics and AI can help companies manage the semiconductor supply chain CBNC Businesses and consumers have been grappling with supply chain issues for months, resulting in annoying shortages of all kinds of products, including all-important semiconductor chips.
Supply chain data eases, giving some hope for U.S. inflation relief Reuters The supply chain pressures that were so instrumental to driving up U.S. inflationary pressures at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic are waning. |
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TRADEAustralia concerned about delays on UK trade deal, PM says Reuters Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday said he was concerned about any potential delays to the free trade deal with Britain arising from the political instability happening there.
What will happen to India-UK trade deal after Liz Truss leaves office? Mint Britain’s third female Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has laid the foundation for the much talked about India-UK free trade agreement (FTA), will walk out of 10 Downing Street in London without cherishing it as a prize under her belt. Truss has always been extremely vocal about her support for India and while the FTA was still taking a shape, she had commented that the two countries are in a “sweet spot of the trade dynamics that are building up”. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYFirst measurement of interactions between Fermi polarons in an atomically-thin 2D semiconductor Phys.org Recent Australian-led research has provided a world’s first measurement of interactions between Fermi polarons in an atomically-thin 2D semiconductor, using ultrafast spectroscopy capable of probing complex quantum materials.
Oregon State University announces $200M education and research center aimed at technology industries JPR Oregon State University announced a new $200 million research and education center on Friday, focused on supporting the semiconductor and general technology industries in the region. The center will be launched by $100 million in donations. |
CHINA
Beijing rebukes Biden’s export controls Politico China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs had harsh words to describe the Biden administration’s new export controls on semiconductor technology: “Out of the need to maintain its sci-tech hegemony, the U.S. abuses export control measures to maliciously block and suppress Chinese companies,” spokesperson Mao Ning said over the weekend.
Biden administration imposes limits on semiconductor exports to China Axios “We are assessing the impact of the new export controls on the U.S. semiconductor industry and working with our member companies and the U.S. government to ensure compliance,” the Semiconductor Industry Association said in a statement.
Biden clamps down on trade to 31 Chinese companies, universities Fierce Electronics The full impact of the rule was still being weighed by US-based chipmakers, as represented by the Semiconductor Industry Association. “We are assessing the impact of the new export controls on the US semiconductor industry and working with our member companies and the US government to ensure compliance,” SIA said in a statement. “We understand the goal of ensuring national security and urge the US government to implement the rules in a targeted way—and in collaboration with international partners—to help level the playing field and mitigate unintended harm to US innovation.” |
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INDUSTRY/MARKETThe case for making chips at home again Market Watch In August of this year, President Joe Biden signed the Chips and Science Act into law. The legislation, which was approved with significant bipartisan support, allocates $52.7 billion in subsidies to the semiconductor — or chip — industry.
Sen. Maria Cantwell says CHIPS Act is ‘unleashing’ response from private sector GeekWire Sen. Maria Cantwell likes what she sees so far with the quick reaction from U.S. companies to the CHIPS and Science Act. “We think it’s unleashing the response from the private sector that we wanted to see,” said Cantwell, speaking at the GeekWire Summit in Seattle last week.
Supply Chain ‘Normal’ Appears on Horizon, With Sights Set on March Bloomberg Few observers have had a better perch to watch the pandemic slowly clog — and now free up — one of the biggest arteries of global trade than Captain J. Kipling “Kip” Louttit.
To Protect America, Loosen Visa Caps for STEM Experts Defense One When it comes to immigration policy, there’s little that the authors—a former Trump administration official and a former Obama administration official—have in common. However, we both recognize that attracting the world’s best in key fields is critical to U.S. competitiveness and national security—and that today’s visa caps are imperiling those efforts. |
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TRADETruss Faces Fresh Headache as India-UK Free Trade Deal Stuck Bloomberg India’s reputation as one of the world’s toughest trade negotiators is becoming more than an inconvenience for UK Prime Minister Liz Truss.
UK Entry to CPTPP Trade Pact Still Under Discussion: Singapore Bloomberg Discussions for the UK’s accession into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) are continuing, Singapore’s trade minister Gan Kim Yong said during a meeting of the trade group.
Chilean lawmakers approve Trans-Pacific Partnership Reuters Chile’s congress voted to approve the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade deal on Tuesday after four years of legislative debate. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYMaterials science engineers work on new material for computer chips Science Daily Members of a multifunctional thin film research group have published two landmark studies that explain how to engineer and enhance the stability of ferroelectric hafnium oxides, which are compatible with mainstream semiconductors.
Foundational Changes In Chip Architectures Semiconductor Engineering We take many things in the semiconductor world for granted, but what if some of the decisions made decades ago are no longer viable or optimal? We saw a small example with finFETs, where the planar transistor would no longer scale. Today we are facing several bigger disruptions that will have much larger ripple effects. |
SIA NEWS
SIA Statement on New Export Controls Press Release “We are assessing the impact of the new export controls on the U.S. semiconductor industry and working with our member companies and the U.S. government to ensure compliance. We understand the goal of ensuring national security and urge the U.S. government to implement the rules in a targeted way—and in collaboration with international partners—to help level the playing field and mitigate unintended harm to U.S. innovation.”
Global Semiconductor Sales Increase 0.1% Year-to-Year in August Press Release Global semiconductor sales growth has stalled in recent months, and month-to-month sales decreased in August by the largest percentage since February 2019,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “Sales into Europe paced all regional markets, while sales into China saw the sharpest declines. |
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CHINA
Biden Administration Clamps Down on China’s Access to Chip Technology NYT The Semiconductor Industry Association said Friday that it was assessing the impact of the export controls on the industry and working with companies to ensure compliance. “We understand the goal of ensuring national security and urge the U.S. government to implement the rules in a targeted way — and in collaboration with international partners — to help level the playing field and mitigate unintended harm to U.S. innovation,” it said in a statement.
U.S. Restricts Semiconductor Exports in Bid to Slow China’s Military Advance WSJ The Semiconductor Industry Association said it was assessing the impact of the new rules. “We understand the goal of ensuring national security,” the trade group said, but added that it hoped the rules could be implemented in a way that wouldn’t result in “unintended harm to U.S. innovation.”
White House Adds New Restrictions on Chip Exports to China Bloomberg The Semiconductor Industry Association, a lobbying group representing all of the largest US chipmakers, said it’s evaluating the impact of the new export controls and will ensure compliance with the restrictions. “We understand the goal of ensuring national security and urge the US government to implement the rules in a targeted way — and in collaboration with international partners — to help level the playing field and mitigate unintended harm to US innovation,” the association said in a statement.
Taiwan Pledges to Keep Advanced Chips From Chinese Military Bloomberg Taiwan pledged to work closely with the US and other allies to prevent China’s military from acquiring state-of-the-art technology, as Washington steps up efforts to contain the world’s No. 2 economy.
South China Morning Post China’s semiconductor sector, a strategic industry that Beijing wants to see less dependent on foreign technology, faces a big skills and knowledge gap, according to an executive at a domestic education agency. |
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INDUSTRY/MARKETSenator Kelly named ‘CHIPS Champion’ by Semiconductor Industry Association Gila Herald “We greatly appreciate the leadership of Senator Kelly in helping to enact the historic CHIPS and Science Act, which will boost U.S.-based production and innovation of semiconductors that are critical to America’s economy, national security, and supply chains. We’re pleased to present Sen. Kelly with SIA’s CHIPS Champion Award as a token of our appreciation and look forward to continuing to work with him to strengthen U.S. semiconductor research, design, and manufacturing,” said Semiconductor Industry Association President and CEO John Neuffer.
Semiconductors: The modern day arms race Electronics 360 Currently, only 12% of all semiconductor manufacturing is done in the U.S. If the situation does not change, it will decline to 10% in the coming decade, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). In 2021, 54% of semiconductors were produced by American companies.
Biden has $52 billion for semiconductors. Today, work begins to spend that windfall NPR President Biden is heading to an IBM manufacturing plant in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on Thursday to tout a new $20 billion investment the company is making in semiconductor research and development as well as other advanced technologies.
Hochul lauds incentivized semiconductor investment in New York Politico New York sought to lure the world’s largest computer chip manufacturers with the biggest incentive package in state history. Now it landed one — thanks to a potential $6 billion in subsidies.
South China Morning Post Taiwanese officials and entrepreneurs from the global tech hub are talking with their counterparts from Brazil about working together to help Latin America’s biggest economy develop its nascent semiconductor industry. |
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TRADEUS moves to implement new EU data-sharing agreement Financial Times US president Joe Biden on Friday signed an executive order detailing the measures the White House will take to implement a new data-sharing agreement with the EU, a move the administration called a “critical step” for transatlantic relations.
India plays hardball on UK trade deal as Liz Truss scrambles for a win Politico India is driving a hard bargain as Britain’s crisis-hit government tries to get a coveted trade deal over the line within weeks. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYBeyond Silicon? The New Materials Charting the Future of Microchips WSJ Microchips are in pretty much all of our electronic devices—if it’s got a plug or a battery, it’s probably got a chip. For the past 60 years, most of these have been made of silicon.
New form of silicon could revolutionize semiconductor industry Phys.Org After a 10-year research study that started by accident and was met with skepticism, a team of Northeastern University mechanical engineers was able to synthesize highly dense, ultra-narrow silicon nanowires that could revolutionize the semiconductor industry. Their research appears in Nature Communications. |
SIA NEWS
Press Release Enactment of the CHIPS Act was an historic win for the semiconductor industry and American innovation, economic growth, and national security. To realize the full benefits of the CHIPS Act’s R&D investments, it is critical for government, industry, and academia to work collaboratively to ensure the new funding bridges key gaps in the current semiconductor R&D ecosystem.
Beating the Drum on ITA Expansion in Geneva SIA Blog While the weather forecast this week in Geneva calls for lots of clouds and rain, the mood of the sizable global industry delegation here to talk expanding the WTO’s Information Technology Agreement (ITA) for a second time is downright sunny. It’s always great to be back in this town working on an affirmative effort to expand trade and bolster the institution of the WTO. |
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INDUSTRY/MARKET
VP Harris seeks computer chip partners in Japan meetings Associated Press Jimmy Goodrich, vice president for global policy at the Semiconductor Industry Association, “there’s a big opportunity and significant space for future investment” involving Japan.
‘India has a big role to play’: New Delhi is trying to turn the country into a chip powerhouse CNBC India could have a large role to play in the semiconductor industry, analysts say, as the world’s fifth-largest economy looks to boost its domestic chip sector.
University of Arkansas to establish semiconductor research center Axios A $10.35 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy will establish a research center dedicated to the manufacturing of semiconductors used in computers and other electronic devices.
Taiwan says chip companies in talks about Europe investment Reuters Some Taiwanese chip companies are in talks with European countries about investments there, a government minister said on Wednesday, adding the administration was “pleased” to see efforts by local companies to work with democratic allies. |
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CHINAUS Senate weighing limits on US investments in Chinese hi-tech businesses South China Morning Post Members of a US Senate committee said Thursday they are considering new rules to block investments in China’s hi-tech sectors, a move they said was needed to stop American money from financing Beijing’s tenacious efforts to out-compete Washington, even as they differed on what form the rules should take.
Apple’s Tech Supply Chain Shows Difficulty of Dumping China Bloomberg American companies have had a growing list of reasons to downgrade their ties with China in recent years. Former President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Beijing’s stringent Covid lockdowns. The US-Sino standoff over Taiwan. Political pressure to “friend-shore” supply chains toward nations aligned with Washington. |
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TRADENew UK trade minister visits United States in first trip overseas Reuters Britain’s new trade minister Kemi Badenoch will visit New York on Wednesday in her first overseas trip, where she will stress the importance of the United States as a trading partner even as talks over a free trade deal between the countries are blocked.
South China Morning Post The United States convened a preliminary meeting of a working group with East Asian countries to discuss semiconductor supply chain resilience and cooperation, a Taiwan official said on Friday.
New Foreign Secretary Cleverly says UK’s strategic shift to Indo-Pacific is ‘permanent’ CNBC The United Kingdom will commit itself more fully to the Indo-Pacific region, beyond its ongoing efforts to join a massive trade deal in the region, the country’s new foreign secretary said Thursday. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYDecreasing Refresh Latency Of Off-The-Shelf DRAM Chips Semiconductor Engineering DRAM is the building block of modern main memory systems. DRAM cells must be periodically refreshed to prevent data loss. Refresh operations degrade system performance by interfering with memory accesses.
Chipotle Mexican Grill will test robotic tortilla chip maker ‘Chippy’ in California restaurant CNBC Chipotle Mexican Grill is moving one step closer to having a robot make its tortilla chips. Restaurants and retailers have been testing robotics and automation to speed up operations and reduce menial tasks for workers. |
INDUSTRY/MARKET
CHIPS Act could make the US a semiconductor powerhouse Automotive World Nevertheless, as demand for new vehicles featuring the latest technology increases, it’s forecasted that the global semiconductor industry will increase manufacturing capacity by 56% in the next decade, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).
Biden administration announces Chips Act implementation team Washington Post The White House and Commerce Department on Tuesday announced the team that will oversee the doling out of $52 billion in federal subsidies for the semiconductor industry, pledging strict oversight to “responsibly spend taxpayer dollars.”
India expects at least $25 bln investment under semiconductor incentive scheme Reuters India is expecting to court a total investment of at least $25 billion as a result of its incentive scheme meant to boost local manufacturing of chip and display panels, junior IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar told reporters on Wednesday. |
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CHINAHuawei dives into chip production to battle U.S. clampdown Nikkei Asia China’s Huawei Technologies is attempting to get its own chips back into production as early as this year by partnering with domestic semiconductor companies to build up “U.S.-free” production lines.
Supply-Chain Decoupling From China Gets Sharper Teeth WSJ Covid-19, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and rising geopolitical risks in Asia have thrown a wrench into global supply chains. That has reinvigorated the push to put key supply links back onshore—particularly those currently located in manufacturing juggernaut China. |
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TRADESouth Korea complains of growing friction with US over high-tech trade Financial Times
Britain’s Truss doesn’t expect UK-US trade deal anytime soon ABC Prime Minister Liz Truss has kicked off her first visit to the United States as Britain’s leader with an admission that a U.K-U.S. free trade deal is not going to happen for years.
Brazil’s Lula Expects to Reach Trade Agreement With EU in Six Months if Elected Reuters Brazilian presidential candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday he should reach an agreement on a trade deal between South America’s Mercosur trade bloc and the European Union within six months, if he wins October’s presidential election. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYSemiconductor Engineering A recent wave of quantum computing investment has given rise to claims of a quantum computing bubble, based on overly optimistic technological claims in a field area that experts say has yet to demonstrate any real utility.
Phys.org Perovskite solar cells have been the subject of much research as the next generation of photovoltaic devices. However, many challenges remain to be overcome for the practical application. One of them concerns the hole transport layer (p-type semiconductor) in photovoltaic cells that carries holes generated by light to the electrode. |
SIA NEWS
Global Semiconductor Sales Increase 7.3% Year-to-Year in July, but Growth Slows Press Release |
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INDUSTRY/MARKET
Global semiconductor sales increased 7.3% YoY in July Evertiq The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reports that global semiconductor industry sales were $49.0 billion in the month of July 2022, an increase of 7.3% over the July 2021 total of USD 45.7 billion, but a decrease of 2.3% compared to the June 2022 total of USD 50.2 billion.
Global Chip Sales Up Over 7% YoY in July EE Times Asia “Global semiconductor sales remained strong in July, easily topping the total from last July, but market growth has slowed substantially in recent months, with year-to-year sales increases dropping into the single digits for the first time since December 2020,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “Sales into the Americas market increased 20.9% year-to-year to lead all regions.”
Chip growth slows as Chinese market contracts EE News Europe John Neuffer, CEO of the SIA, said market growth has slowed substantially in recent months, with year-to-year sales increases dropping into the single digits for the first time since December 2020.
CHIPS Act would give 25% tax credit on new fabs Electronics360 According to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), the U.S. manufactures about 12% of all chips made globally, this is down from about 37% in the 1990s. If the supply chain remains the same or the situation worsens, this will more than likely decline to 10% or less in the coming years as more manufacturing capacity is built in other countries to meet demand.
US Lays Out $50 Billion Chips Plan and May Issue Funds in the Spring Bloomberg The Biden administration published its strategy for subsidizing US output of semiconductors, with the first phase of funding potentially being rolled out next spring, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said.
Biden administration unveils plan for bolstering semiconductor production The Hill The administration will use the majority of the funding, around $28 billion, to establish domestic production of leading edge logic and memory chips through grants, subsidized loans or loan guarantees, the Department of Commerce said in an announcement.
Biden Administration Releases Plan for $50 Billion Investment in Chips NYT The Department of Commerce on Tuesday unveiled its plan for dispensing $50 billion aimed at building up the domestic semiconductor industry and countering China, in what is expected to be the biggest U.S. government effort in decades to shape a strategic industry. |
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CHINAXi Renews Call for China Tech Push After US Escalates Curbs Bloomberg Xi Jinping renewed calls for China to step up the development of technology critical to national security, issuing a forceful reminder just as escalating US sanctions threaten Beijing’s efforts to become self-reliant in semiconductors.
US bans ‘advanced tech’ firms from building facilities in China for a decade The Guardian US technology firms that receive government funding will be banned from building “advanced technology facilities” in China for a decade, the Biden administration has announced, as it outlined plans to increase domestic production of semiconductors. |
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TRADEWhite House Says Change to Brexit Deal May Hurt US-UK Trade Push Bloomberg Any attempt to roll back rules governing the UK’s post-Brexit trade with Northern Ireland could hurt chances of a bilateral trade agreement with the US, the White House said Wednesday.
U.S., Indo-Pacific countries launch trade talks shunning tariff cuts Reuters Economic ministers from the United States and 13 Indo-Pacific countries launched negotiations on Thursday on Washington’s first major pan-Asian trade engagement effort in nearly a decade, but this time any deal will not cut tariffs.
South China Morning Post China and Israel aim to sign a free-trade agreement by the end of 2022, an Israeli official said on Wednesday, in a breakthrough that would give Beijing its first deal in the Middle East plus a boost after years of trade friction with Australia and the United States. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYModified microwave oven cooks up next-gen semiconductors Science Daily A household microwave oven modified by an engineering professor is helping to cook up the next generation of cellphones, computers and other electronics after the invention was shown to overcome a major challenge faced by the semiconductor industry.
3D nanoprinting using semiconductor quantum dots to create optoelectrical materials Phys.org A team of researchers from Tsinghua University, working with a colleague from Jilin University, has developed a new 3D nanoprinting technique that uses semiconducting quantum dots. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes their new technique and provides examples of resulting 3D objects. |
SIA NEWS
Press Release “Lip-Bu Tan is a true technology visionary and a pioneer in venture capital,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “Lip-Bu’s many career accomplishments have greatly strengthened the global semiconductor ecosystem and helped advance companies that drive innovation and growth around the world. We’re pleased to recognize Lip-Bu with the 2022 Robert N. Noyce Award for his many contributions to the semiconductor sector and beyond.”
Global Semiconductor Sales Increase 13.3% in Q2 2022 Compared to Q2 2021 Press Release “Global semiconductor sales were robust during the second quarter of 2022, increasing across all major regional markets and product categories compared to the second quarter of last year,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “Market growth has slowed somewhat in recent months, however, with year-to-year growth in June dipping below 15% for the first time since February 2021. Sales into the Americas continued to lead all regional markets in June, increasing by 29.0% year-to-year.” |
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INDUSTRY/MARKET
Chip billions won’t be a quick fix AXIOS Other countries have incentivized semiconductor manufacturing in a way the U.S. has not, and “and as a result, we have slipped dramatically,” John Neuffer, CEO of the Semiconductor Industry Association, told Axios.
The CHIPS Act won’t solve the chip shortage Vox “This is a very, very good first step,” John Neuffer, the CEO of the Semiconductor Industry Association, told Recode. “But as long as the rest of the world has the subsidy programs in place, we need some kind of incentives to get close to what those subsidies are.”
$52B semiconductor package is a ‘big freakin’ deal for Michigan’ MLive Semiconductors were invented in the United States. The nation remains a leader in innovation and has nearly half of the global market share for semiconductors. However, only 12% of the assembly happens in America, according to the 2021 Semiconductor Industry Association report.
Biden touts chip funding at virtual appearance at Hemlock Semiconductor The Detroit News The Semiconductor Industry Association estimates it costs 30% more to build a chip fab in the U.S. than in Taiwan, South Korea or Singapore and up to 50% more than in China.
Global semiconductor sales increase 13.3% in Q2 2022 Evertiq “Global semiconductor sales were robust during the second quarter of 2022, increasing across all major regional markets and product categories compared to the second quarter of last year,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO, in a press release. “Market growth has slowed somewhat in recent months, however, with year-to-year growth in June dipping below 15% for the first time since February 2021. Sales into the Americas continued to lead all regional markets in June, increasing by 29.0% year-to-year.”
Biden to sign bill to boost chipmakers, compete with China Aug. 9 -White House Reuters President Joe Biden next Tuesday will sign a bill to subsidize the U.S. semiconductor industry and boost efforts to make the United States more competitive with China, the White House said on Wednesday.
Pelosi dined with Taiwan computer chip executives during her brief visit The Washington Post TSMC is the world’s biggest chip manufacturer and a vital supplier to the United States and other Western nations. It is by far the largest of Taiwan’s chipmakers, which together produce more than 90 percent of the world’s highest-tech chips, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association.
Semiconductor giants call for immigration law restructuring The Hill Semiconductor giants are pushing for immigration reform that would allow more highly skilled workers to remain in the U.S. after Congress passed a bill to strengthen domestic chip manufacturing. |
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CHINASouth China Morning Post China’s top memory chip maker Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp (YMTC) is facing fresh pressure amid reports that the US is considering limiting equipment exports to memory chip makers on the mainland.
China’s memory upstart YMTC edges closer to rivals with 232-layer chip Reuters The company unveiled its fourth-generation 3D NAND chip, the X3-9070, and its first to feature 232 layers of memory cells, government-backed media outlet Global Times reported on Wednesday. |
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TRADEU.S., Japan to cooperate on semiconductors as part of new economic dialogue Reuters The United States and Japan launched a new high-level economic dialogue on Friday aimed at pushing back against China and countering the disruption caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYPhys.org Tiny crystals, known as quantum dots, have enabled an international team to achieve a quantum efficiency exceeding 100 percent in the photocurrent generated in a hybrid inorganic-organic semiconductor.
New chip-based beam steering device lays groundwork for smaller, cheaper lidar Science Daily Researchers have developed a new chip-based beam steering technology that provides a promising route to small, cost-effective and high-performance lidar systems.
How human ‘organs on a chip’ can help replace animal testing Fast Company Biotech firm Emulate is one of the companies pioneering this technology. On one version of its tiny “organ on a chip,” roughly the size of a flash drive, human lung cells line two parallel channels carved into a flexible plastic. |
SIA NEWS
SIA Applauds House Passage of CHIPS Act, Urges President to Sign Bill into Law Press Release By passing the CHIPS Act, Congress has risen to a defining challenge of our time, seized an historic opportunity to fortify American semiconductor manufacturing, design, and research, and delivered a big win for our country. The bill’s investments in chip production and innovation will strengthen America’s economy and national security – both of which rely heavily on chips – and reinforce our country’s semiconductor supply chains.
SIA Commends Senate Passage of CHIPS Act, Urges House Approval Press Release Senate passage of the CHIPS Act marks decisive progress toward strengthening America’s economy, national security, and leadership in the key technologies of today and tomorrow. We greatly appreciate the bill’s Senate champions for advancing it, commend today’s strong bipartisan vote, and urge the House of Representatives to swiftly follow suit and send the CHIPS Act to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law. The stakes are high, and the time to act is now.
SIA Applauds Senate’s Procedural Vote to Advance CHIPS Act, Urges Final Passage Press Release Today’s bipartisan vote is a vital step toward enactment of legislation that will strengthen American chip production and innovation, economic growth and job creation, and national security. We thank the bipartisan group of congressional champions for their leadership in advancing the CHIPS Act, applaud today’s Senate vote, and urge swift final passage in both the Senate and House. America has an historic opportunity to re-invigorate domestic chip manufacturing, design, and research, and Congress should seize it before it’s too late. |
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INDUSTRY/MARKET
Pass the CHIPS Act to seize America’s big semiconductor opportunity The Hill – Opinion Piece by John Neuffer The stakes could hardly be higher, and the time to act is now. Congress this week will vote on legislation called the CHIPS Act that would re-invigorate U.S. chip production and innovation, while also strengthening America’s economy, national security, and leadership in key technologies. Congress needs to approve it this week.
How Congress Can Save U.S. Semiconductor Production And Innovation California Business Journal – Opinion Piece by John Neuffer Without action from Congress, though, the U.S. semiconductor sector will be diminished as chip companies open new manufacturing facilities, known as fabs, in countries that provide considerably more incentives to semiconductor businesses than the U.S. does.
WSJ – Opinion Piece by John Neuffer Other governments encourage chip manufacturing, making it up to 50% more expensive to build and operate a chip manufacturing facility, or fab, in the U.S. than overseas. Opposition to “subsidies” impairs the editorial board’s ability to identify the problem: Without government incentives to level the playing field, not enough new fabs will be built in the U.S. That’s bad for businesses, workers and critical infrastructure and defense systems.
Chipmakers got their $52 billion. It will now take years for American chipmaking to flourish. Protocol “By passing the CHIPS Act, Congress has risen to a defining challenge of our time, seized an historic opportunity to fortify American semiconductor manufacturing, design, and research, and delivered a big win for our country,” Semiconductor Industry Association President and CEO John Neuffer said in a statement.
CHIPS Act passage to re-energize US chip-making Asia Times John Neuffer, president and CEO of the US Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), stated that: “By passing the CHIPS Act, Congress has risen to a defining challenge of our time, seized an historic opportunity to fortify American semiconductor manufacturing, design, and research, and delivered a big win for our country. The bill’s investments in chip production and innovation will strengthen America’s economy and national security – both of which rely heavily on chips – and reinforce our country’s semiconductor supply chains.”
Industry Week Semiconductor Industry Association CEO John Neuffer, in a statement, commended the Senate for its “decisive progress towards strengthening America’s economy, national security, and leadership in the key technologies of today and tomorrow” before urging the House to send the bill to the President’s desk quickly.
CHIPS Act moves to House for passage Electronics 360 “Senate passage of the CHIPS Act marks decisive progress toward strengthening America’s economy, national security and leadership in the key technologies of today and tomorrow,” said John Neuffer, president and CEO of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). “We greatly appreciate the bill’s Senate champions for advancing it, commend today’s strong bipartisan vote, and urge the House of Representatives to swiftly follow suit and send the CHIPS Act to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law. The stakes are high, and the time to act is now.”
Senate approves CHIPS Act, as funding windfall inches closer Fierce Electronics The Semiconductor Industry Association was equally effusive, saying in its official statement that the funds resulting from the Act will help rectify a situation that finds U.S. sites accounting for only about 12% of the world’s chip manufacturing capacity today. “Senate passage of the CHIPS Act marks decisive progress toward strengthening America’s economy, national security, and leadership in the key technologies of today and tomorrow,” the statement read. “We greatly appreciate the bill’s Senate champions for advancing it, commend today’s strong bipartisan vote, and urge the House of Representatives to swiftly follow suit and send the CHIPS Act to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law. The stakes are high, and the time to act is now.”
Politico “This higher number includes the amounts called for in the bill’s aspirational research section, called an “authorization.” Authorizations are not spending. Congressional appropriators will decide in the years to come whether to actually fund the authorizations in the CHIPS-Plus bill. This bill does not fund them,” said David Isaacs, Semiconductor Industry Association vice president.
Senate passes CHIPS Act to subsidize domestic semiconductor production Tech Crunch Semiconductor Industry Association President and CEO John Neuffer echoed the sentiment in a statement provided to TechCrunch, noting, “Senate passage of the CHIPS Act marks decisive progress toward strengthening America’s economy, national security, and leadership in the key technologies of today and tomorrow. We greatly appreciate the bill’s Senate champions for advancing it, commend today’s strong bipartisan vote, and urge the House of Representatives to swiftly follow suit and send the CHIPS Act to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law. The stakes are high, and the time to act is now.”
U.S. Senate advances chip funding bill to encourage local semiconductor manufacturing Tech Crunch The Semiconductor Industry Association, a trade group representing chipmakers, with members like AMD, ARM, Intel, and Broadcom, welcomed the Senate’s vote. “Today’s bipartisan vote is a vital step toward enactment of legislation that will strengthen American chip production and innovation, economic growth and job creation, and national security. We thank the bipartisan group of congressional champions for their leadership in advancing the CHIPS Act, applaud today’s Senate vote, and urge swift final passage in both the Senate and House. America has a historic opportunity to re-invigorate domestic chip manufacturing, design, and research, and Congress should seize it before it’s too late,” it said in a statement.
CHIPS backers descend on Washington Politico Chipmakers themselves have sought to push back on critics too. In a blog post Friday, one of the semiconductor industry’s biggest trade groups swatted back at critics conflating the package’s total direct spending and authorizations for its science funding components. The bill’s $52 billion in subsidies and $24 billion in industry tax incentives, the Semiconductor Industry Association’s David Isaacs wrote, is “badly needed” by the industry but “will return huge benefits to American businesses, workers, and consumers.”
The Hill The Semiconductor Industry Association hired Stewart Barber and Molly O’Leary as directors of government affairs. Barber previously served as director of international initiatives and outreach in the Trump White House. O’Leary previously served as policy adviser to Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.).
CHIPS Act clears Congress, ensuring $52 billion boost to US foundries The Verge In a 243-187 vote on Thursday, the House passed the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act to strengthen US science and technology innovation. The bill, a Biden administration priority, includes $52 billion in subsidies to encourage chip manufacturers to build out semiconductor fabrications plants, or “fabs,” in the US. |
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CHINAChina says U.S. chip act will distort global semiconductor supply chain Reuters China’s commerce ministry said on Friday that a major new chips act passed by the U.S. Congress will distort the global semiconductor supply chain and disrupt international trade.
Fortune U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is reportedly scheduling a trip to Taiwan in August, paying visit to the world’s leading producer of semiconductors and the most important supplier of chips to the U.S. The self-governing island produces 92% of the world’s most advanced chips, including the chipsets that power iPhones and most other U.S. tech.
Protocol China has long lagged the U.S., Taiwan and South Korea in the development of advanced chip manufacturing technology, despite having committed hundreds of billions of dollars to eliminate the gap. |
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TRADEU.S. and Japan launch economic dialogue to push back against China, Russia Reuters Long-time allies the United States and Japan launched a new high-level economic dialogue on Friday aimed at pushing back against China and countering the disruption caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
U.S. to host first IPEF ministerial meeting Politico U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will co-host the event, which is the first ministerial level meeting since President Joe Biden formally launched the initiative during a visit to Tokyo in May. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYThe structure of the smallest semiconductor was elucidated Science Daily A semiconductor is a material whose conductivity lies somewhere between that of a conductor and an insulator. This property allows semiconductors to serve as the base material for modern electronics and transistors.
SPIM-WGs: High performance waveguide devices for next generation photonic chips Phys.Org One of the most important elements in photonic chips or quantum chips is the optical waveguide. However, due to limitations in existing fabrication methods, it is tricky to efficiently produce waveguides with high precision control of the 3D cross-section shape and size. |
SIA NEWS
SIA Applauds Senate Advancing CHIPS Act Press Release The Senate CHIPS Act would greatly strengthen America’s economy, national security, and leadership in the technologies that will determine our future. The bill would spur hundreds of billions of dollars in private semiconductor investments in America, create hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs, and help ensure our country has the chips it needs for critical defense applications and sectors of the economy.
Stewart Barber, Molly O’Leary Join SIA Government Affairs Team Press Release “The policy decisions being made in the U.S. and around the world will have a massive impact on the future of the semiconductor industry, a sector that is central to America’s economy, national security, and global technology leadership,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “With extensive experience advancing government policies that promote growth and innovation, Stewart and Molly will be ideal advocates for the semiconductor industry in Washington. We are pleased to welcome them to the SIA team and look forward to their contributions in support of our industry’s priorities.” |
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INDUSTRY/MARKET
Why Congress must help Kentucky manufacturers overcome chip shortage: Opinion Courier Journal – Op Ed by John Neuffer Global demand for semiconductors is high and will only continue to skyrocket. It’s no longer a question of whether chip manufacturers will need to build new fabs to meet demand, but a concern of where these plants will be located. Strengthening the domestic semiconductor environment will make the cost of doing business here more comparable to other countries and establish the U.S. a top destination for innovation.
Tech Bill Aims to Block U.S. Aid for Companies That Build Advanced Chips in China WSJ In a statement, SIA President and CEO John Neuffer said the group is “encouraged the legislation is progressing and look forward to swift enactment of investments that strengthen domestic chip manufacturing, design and research.”
CHIPS Act passes U.S. Senate in 64-34 preliminary vote Fierce Electronics Major semiconductor associations including the Semiconductor Industry Association and SEMI praised the preliminary vote. “The bill would spur hundreds of billions of dollars in private semiconductor investments in America, create hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs and ensure our country has the chips it needs for critical defense applications and sectors of the economy,” said SIA CEO John Neuffer in a statement.
CHIPS bill gets praise — and a ding Fierce Electronics The Semiconductor Industry Association hailed the preliminary vote and joined several government affairs executives from major chip companies in a virtual panel conducted by CQ Roll Call on Thursday. They included representatives from Intel, Samsung, TSMC, Micron and Global Foundries. All the executives urged final passage of the measure to ensure U.S. competitiveness in chip manufacturing and R&D, noting the U.S. share of all chips produced globally has fallen to 12% from 37% in 1990.
Politico The Semiconductor Industry Association has added Stewart Barber and Molly O’Leary as directors of government affairs, working with Congress, the White House and federal agencies to advance the industry’s priorities. Barber was most recently senior vice president of government affairs at Corley Consulting, and O’Leary previously served as director of government affairs at NTCA — The Rural Broadband Association.
Biden Wants Chipmakers Getting US Aid to Curb China Investments Bloomberg The China investment restrictions are still under negotiation and are a target of heavy lobbying by the semiconductor industry. Intel Corp. and the industry’s main trade association, the Semiconductor Industry Association, have been lobbying against the restrictions as currently written, Politico reported earlier Monday.
Key Senate votes expected next week on bill to boost US semiconductor production CNN The Senate is on track to move to final passage as soon as next week on a long-awaited bill aimed at boosting US semiconductor production in a bid to increase American competitiveness.
Fortune Semiconductors are essential to every scrap of modern technology powering society today, including cars, smartphones, and even missiles. Yet the chip industry is dominated by manufacturers in the small island of Taiwan, where a handful of firms churn out roughly 90% of the world’s most advanced chips. Policy makers in the U.S. have started to see that as a problem. |
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CHINAHow China became ground zero for the auto chip shortage Reuters From his small office in Singapore, Kelvin Pang is ready to wager a $23 million payday that the worst of the chip shortage is not over for automakers – at least in China. Pang has bought 62,000 microcontrollers, chips that help control a range of functions from car engines and transmissions to electric vehicle power systems and charging, which cost the original buyer $23.80 each in Germany.
TikTok owner ByteDance explores self-designed chips as China aims for semiconductor self-sufficiency CNBC TikTok owner ByteDance is looking into designing its own chips, joining a slew of Chinese internet giants focused on semiconductors as Beijing tries to become more self-sufficient in the critical technology.
Despite Didi’s $1.2 bln fine, China tech’s regulatory woes may not be over Reuters China’s $1.2 billion fine on Didi Global draws a line under the ride hailing company’s regulatory woes, but the retroactive application of laws and a lack of clarity on the firm’s business revival show the worst for its tech sector may not be over. |
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TRADEYellen says the U.S. and its allies should use ‘friend-shoring’ to give supply chains a boost CNBC U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has reiterated the need for the United States and its trusted trading partners to boost supply chain resilience through “friend-shoring,” but said this does not mean the U.S. is retreating from the rest of world.
‘Unprecedented urgency’ may have pushed India and the EU to revive trade talks after 9 years CNBC In a stunning turnaround, India and the European Union recently revived negotiations for a free trade agreement after talks halted nearly a decade ago — and observers say it could have been driven by “unprecedented urgency.”
Britain Launches Free Trade Talks With Israel Reuters Britain on Wednesday launched free trade talks with Israel, aimed at boosting service and tech sector ties as it seeks new trade deals after leaving the European Union. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYResearchers explore a hydrodynamic semiconductor where electrons flow like water Phys.Org You don’t normally want to mix electricity and water, but electricity behaving like water has the potential to improve electronic devices. Recent work from the groups of engineer James Hone at Columbia and theoretical physicist Shaffique Adam at the National University of Singapore and Yale-NUS builds new understanding of this unusual hydrodynamic behavior that changes some old assumptions about the physics of metals.
Flexible Polymer Paves Way for Organic Semiconductors Design News Researchers have been seeking new organic materials for electronic components to drive down the costs and the environmental impact of manufacturing current devices as well as to meet particular advanced performance needs. Conventional metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) transistors are one of the devices that has reached a material impasse of sorts, with silicon—the current material of choice—facing limits in terms of the current need for simultaneous reduction in size and increased performance. |
SIA NEWS
Global Semiconductor Sales Increase 18.0% Year-to-Year, 1.8% Month-to-Month in May Press Release “Global demand for semiconductors remained high in May, with year-to-year sales increasing strongly across all major regional markets and product categories,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “Continuing high demand for semiconductors will necessitate more chip research, design, and manufacturing in the years ahead. We urge leaders in Washington to swiftly enact bipartisan innovation and competitiveness legislation that ensures a large share of this chip production and innovation occurs on U.S. soil. The clock is ticking.” |
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Chip giants threaten to scale back U.S. expansion without subsidies Nikkei Asia “The CHIPS Act does have strong bipartisan support, as well as the backing of state and local leaders, business leaders, national security experts and two-thirds of American voters,” said John Neuffer, CEO of Semiconductor Industry Association, a U.S. trade association.
‘US semiconductor industry cannot wait’ The Columbus Dispatch – LTE by John Neuffer The June 25 article, “Intel pushes Congress to pass $52B in aid,” is much more than symbolic, as this article identifies it, and instead represents the real loss semiconductor companies face when manufacturing in the U.S. without federal incentives.
The latest: Commerce secretary says McConnell threat is ‘bump in the road’ The Washington Post The House and Senate are working to reconcile different versions of the bill that would invest $52 billion to expand microchip manufacturing and its supply chain to the United States. The country hosts 12 percent of manufacturing, down from 37 percent in 1990, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association — with China, Taiwan, Japan and the European Union making up much of the difference.
Electronics Weekly “Global demand for semiconductors remained high in May, with year-to-year sales increasing strongly across all major regional markets and product categories,” says SIA CEO John Neuffer, “continuing high demand for semiconductors will necessitate more chip research, design, and manufacturing in the years ahead. We urge leaders in Washington to swiftly enact bipartisan innovation and competitiveness legislation that ensures a large share of this chip production and innovation occurs on U.S. soil. The clock is ticking.”
Global Semiconductor Sales Up 18% YoY in May EE Times Asia Global semiconductor industry sales reached $51.8 billion in the month of May 2022, an increase of 18% over the May 2021 total of $43.9 billion and 1.8% more than the April 2022 total of $50.9 billion, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).
Semiconductor Funding Bill Is Likely to Survive McConnell Threat Bloomberg A $52 billion package of incentives and subsidies to bolster US semiconductor manufacturing is far from dead, despite Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell’s threat to scuttle the legislation containing it in order to stall passage of President Joe Biden’s economic plan. |
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CHINAU.S. mulls fresh bid to restrict chipmaking tools for China’s SMIC Reuters The Biden administration is considering new targeted restrictions on shipments of chipmaking tools to China, seeking to hamstring advances by China’s largest chipmaker, SMIC (0981.HK), without slowing the flow of chips into the global economy, five people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
U.S. Aims to Expand Export Bans on China Over Security and Human Rights NYT When Russian forces invaded Ukraine nearly five months ago, the Biden administration led dozens of governments in banning the export of advanced technology to Russia to hobble its economic and military development.
China takes wider aim at foreign tech with national standards plan Nikkei Asia Proposed Chinese national technology standards signal a broader push to restrict foreign manufacturers, presenting them with a potential choice between divulging vital design details or abandoning a vast market. |
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TRADEBiden says U.S.-U.K. ties ‘strong,’ does not mention Johnson Reuters U.S. President Joe Biden looks forward to further close cooperation with the British government, he said on Thursday without mentioning Prime Minister Boris Johnson who resigned in the face of scandal.
China Diplomatic Blitz Counters US as Blinken Visits Asia Bloomberg As US Secretary of State Antony Blinken takes part in Group of 20 meetings on his first visit to Asia in more than six months, his Chinese counterpart is halfway through a two-week diplomatic blitz across the key strategic battleground.
US trade move viewed as wedge ploy in Asia China Daily The so-called Indo-Pacific Economic Framework initiated by the United States but excluding China presents as an instrument at odds with the trend of regional economic integration, say experts who point to China’s vital role in trade and development. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYSpintronics: Giant Rashba semiconductors show unconventional dynamics with potential applications Phys.Org Germanium telluride is a strong candidate for use in functional spintronic devices due to its giant Rashba-effect. Now, scientists at HZB have discovered another intriguing phenomenon in GeTe by studying the electronic response to thermal excitation of the samples.
Using lattice distortions to improve carrier mobility in 2D semiconductors TechXplore Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors are semiconducting materials with thicknesses on the atomic scale, which have exceptional electronic properties. In the future, these materials could have the potential to replace silicon in the development of numerous electronic and optoelectronic devices. |
INDUSTRY/MARKET
McConnell threatens semiconductor bill, prompting White House rebuke The Hill A partisan fight erupted over bipartisan legislation aimed at boosting the domestic semiconductor industry on Thursday, as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) threatened Republican support for the bill if Democrats move forward with a separate reconciliation package.
Scoop: Schumer’s CHIPS Act gambit Axios Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) summoned a dozen Senate Democrats to his office last week with firm marching orders: Call your closest CEOs and ask them to press Republican senators on the China competition bill.
Chip makers warn Congress’ delay could threaten U.S. expansion Axios It’s expensive to build semiconductors — a vital input for wide swaths of the economy — and other countries have already outpaced the U.S. in incentivizing manufacturing on their shores.
The Chip Shortage Was Supposed to Be a ‘Sputnik Moment.’ What Happened? Bloomberg The US promised chipmakers about $52 billion to boost the industry inside the country. Now, it looks like that money might not arrive—a development that’s already threatening to upend manufacturing plans.
Tata Motors and Renesas join hands to build semiconductor solutions for India, emerging markets CNBC Japan-based Renesas Electronics Corporation will help Tata Motors accelerate the development of electric and connected vehicles. The tie-up will also help Tejas Networks, another Tata Group firm, develop semiconductor solutions for next-generation wireless networking.
Semiconductor legislation failures show why the U.S. struggles to compete The Washington Post As President Biden heads toward potentially cataclysmic midterm elections, he has a last chance to show that he can make the machinery of Congress work to pass a big, bipartisan plan to bolster America’s dominance in technology. |
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TRADEChip exports to Russia plunged by 90% after curbs-U.S. official Reuters Global exports of semiconductors to Russia have plummeted by 90% since the United States and allies slapped export controls on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Wednesday.
Taiwan, United States to hold trade talks on Monday Reuters Taiwan and the United States will hold trade talks on Monday under a newly agreed framework, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative said.
U.S. and allies boost engagement with Pacific nations amid China push The Japan Times Three months after China struck a controversial security deal with the Solomon Islands, Washington and four of its allies announced the establishment of a new mechanism to ramp up engagement with Pacific island nations.
EU and New Zealand agree free trade deal Financial Times |
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CHINAChina Is Tightening Its Grip on Big Tech WIRED
China completes overhaul of antitrust law to corral Big Tech Nikkei Asia Chinese tech companies will face stiffer penalties for crossing Beijing’s red lines on competition after lawmakers on Friday approved changes to the country’s antitrust law that were years in the making. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYMaking dark semiconductors shine Science Daily The energy-levels of semiconductors can be rearranged by coupling between light particles (photons) and excited electrons so that a formerly dark material becomes optically active.
New single-mode semiconductor laser delivers power with scalability Science Daily Engineers have created a new type of semiconductor laser that accomplishes an elusive goal in the field of optics: the ability to maintain a single mode of emitted light while maintaining the ability to scale up in size and power. |
SIA NEWS
SIA Applauds Renewal of WTO Tariff Moratorium, Urges WTO to Make it Permanent Press Release After a rocky start, MC12 produced important outcomes for global trade in semiconductors and a range of other essential technologies, services, and industrial products. We greatly appreciate the strong leadership of Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the tireless work of the U.S. negotiating team and all Ministers to deliver positive results, including the agreement to extend the WTO Moratorium on Customs Duties on Electronic Transmissions until the next Ministerial. For nearly 25 years, the Moratorium has supported the explosive growth of global trade for big and small companies across all sectors, including Internet-related services, entertainment, semiconductors, and consumer and industrial electronics. |
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INDUSTRY/MARKET
With Funding Stalled, Chip Makers Warn Congress the U.S. Is Lagging NYT John Neuffer, the chief executive of the Semiconductor Industry Association, said the industry had been under “withering pressure” to build new manufacturing facilities to respond to the explosion of demand for chips. Mr. Neuffer said that building facilities was often 25 to 50 percent cheaper in foreign countries than in the United States, largely because of the manufacturing incentives foreign countries offered. Some U.S. state governments do offer funding to court chip manufacturers, but the federal government “is not in the game,” he added.
2 huge chip makers warn of expansion delays as subsidies bill languishes The Washington Post
Auto industry CEOs urge Congress to quickly pass chips funding Reuters Major automakers and industry suppliers on Wednesday urged Congress to move quickly to pass $52 billion in subsidies for U.S. semiconductor production, according to a letter seen by Reuters.
Democrats in Congress ‘optimistic’ chips deal can happen soon Reuters U.S. Democrats said on Tuesday they were hopeful of reaching a $52 billion bipartisan deal to subsidize U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and boost U.S. competitiveness with Chinese technology. |
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TRADEU.S. business group calls for ‘urgent’ Taiwan free trade talks Reuters The United States should “urgently” start talks with Taiwan on a free trade agreement with the aim to present a completed text for passage in 2024, the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan said in an annual policy paper published on Wednesday.
EU and India to restart trade talks after decade-long gap Financial Times The EU will restart trade negotiations with India after a nearly 10-year pause as western countries try to woo New Delhi away from its historic ties with Russia. |
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CHINAUS Sanctions Help China Supercharge Its Chipmaking Industry Bloomberg China’s chip industry is growing faster than anywhere else in the world, after US sanctions on local champions from Huawei Technologies Co. to Hikvision spurred appetite for home-grown components. Nineteen of the world’s 20 fastest-growing chip industry firms over the past four quarters, on average, hail from the world’s No. 2 economy, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That compared with just 8 at the same point last year.
South China Morning Post China has drafted a grand “digital government” plan through to 2035, as the state seeks to improve its governance of the world’s most populous country through digital technologies.
China’s Tech Giants Lost Their Swagger and May Never Get It Back Bloomberg On trading floors in New York and Hong Kong, the brightening mood toward Chinese technology companies is unmistakable: With stocks like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. surging from multi-year lows, talk of a new bull market is growing louder. Yet speak to executives, entrepreneurs and venture capital investors intimately involved in China’s tech sector and a more downbeat picture emerges. Interviews with more than a dozen industry players suggest the outlook is still far from rosy, despite signs that the Communist Party’s crackdown on big tech is softening at the edges. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYArtificial Neural Network Helps Self-Driving Cars to Learn from Own Memory AZO Robotics By using artificial intelligence to detect pedestrians, other cars and possible impediments, an autonomous vehicle is able to navigate city streets and other less crowded areas. Artificial neural networks, trained to “see” the environment around the automobile and imitate the human visual perception system, are used to do this.
Novel Family Of Semiconductors Semiconductor Engineering A series of novel semiconductors AAe6Si12P20X (A = Na, K, Rb, Cs; Ae = Sr, Ba; X = Cl, Br, I) is reported. Their crystal structures feature a tetrahedral Si–P framework with large zeolite-like pores hosting two types of cations, monoatomic A+ and unprecedented octahedral X@Ae611+. Mixing of the A and Ba cations was detected by single crystal X-ray diffraction and confirmed by multinuclear solid state NMR. The reported compounds are highly stable semiconductors with a bandgap range from 1.4 to 2.0 eV. |
SIA NEWS
SIA Joins 120+ Business Leaders’ Call for Swift Enactment of Competitiveness Legislation Press Release “SIA joins U.S. business leaders in calling on Congress to swiftly pass competitiveness legislation that includes critical funding and incentives for domestic semiconductor research, design, and manufacturing,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “As demonstrated by the breadth of signatories, America’s economy, workforce, national security, and technological leadership are built on semiconductors. Federal investment in the U.S. semiconductor ecosystem will ensure the U.S. continues to lead in the critical sectors of tomorrow, while also creating hundreds of thousands of high-paying American jobs, strengthening our economy, and securing our supply chains for decades to come.” |
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INDUSTRY/MARKET
More than 100 CEOs urge U.S. Congress to pass China competition bill Reuters “The leaders of our industry are under pressure to get fabs up to respond to the growing demand for chips. And they can’t wait,” said SIA CEO John Neuffer, adding that the bill would “ensure that more of those fabs are going to be built in the U.S. rather than overseas.”
Big Tech begs Congress to pass $52bn chip subsidies bill The Register The association said it hopes the final legislation will include a measure for investment tax credits that semiconductor manufacturing and design companies can advantage of in addition to the $52 billion in chip subsidies that has been the heart of the bill.
Over 100 CEOs Including Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft Press For China Competition Bill Benzinga SIA CEO John Neuffer disclosed that the bill would ensure that more of those fabs were built in the U.S. rather than overseas when the industry leaders battled a severe chip crisis.
Tech Bosses Urge Congress to Pass Bill Boosting Chip Sector Support The Street “The competitiveness legislation pending in Congress is critical to the U.S. economy, national security, and supply chain resilience,” the letter said. “The rest of the world is not waiting for the U.S. to act. Our global competitors are investing in their industry, their workers, and their economies, and it is imperative that Congress act to enhance U.S. competitiveness.”
Business Leaders Prod Lawmakers on China Bill Politico The letter, organized by the Semiconductor Industry Association (whose members have $52 billion in subsidies for chipmakers on the line) is short and sweet — the message itself is only three paragraphs, but the list of signatures spans six pages. It appears to reflect a new urgency on behalf of the business community, as it follows reports that negotiations on the bills are on the verge of collapse, “with Republicans growing skeptical of the measure as midterm elections near and Democrats focusing instead on gun violence,” according to Bloomberg.
Big Tech’s ban on political ads comes at a cost Protocol The clock is ticking on the Chips Act. A group of 123 CEOs — including those from Alphabet, Microsoft, Intel, Samsung and Amazon — urged Congress to act quickly to sign competitiveness legislation into law. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has also warned that Congress needed to pass the Chips Act or “companies will have no other choice but to build” abroad.
Chip bosses write to Pelosi to speed up Chips Act Electronics Weekly Although both Houses of Congress passed separate versions of the bill in February, wranglings continue over reconciling the different versions and over where the $52 billion should be allocated , while some Congressmen are having doubts about the value of the whole project. The SIA has organised a letter to Nancy Pelosi asking for action signed by industry notables.
CEOs call for Congress to pass CHIPS for America Act Electronics 360 “SIA joins U.S. business leaders in calling on Congress to swiftly pass competitiveness legislation that includes critical funding and incentives for domestic semiconductor research, design and manufacturing,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “As demonstrated by the breadth of signatories, America’s economy, workforce, national security, and technological leadership are built on semiconductors.”
India to pump $30bn into tech sector and chip supply chain Nikkei Asia India will spend $30 billion to overhaul its tech industry and build up a chip supply chain to ensure it is not “held hostage” to foreign providers, the country’s top diplomat to Taiwan told Nikkei Asia in an interview. |
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TRADEWTO Set to Debate Tariffs on $26.7 Trillion in Global E-Commerce Bloomberg If the moratorium lapsed, “it could set in motion a stampede to impose tariffs on digital flows across borders, put an unnecessary strain on an already battered global economy, and signal to the world that inflation be damned,” according to John Neuffer, the CEO of the Semiconductor Industry Association.
Global tech on edge as WTO weighs e-commerce tariffs Reuters John Neuffer, chief executive of the U.S.-based Semiconductor Industry Association, said tariff-free data flows were essential for countries wishing to attract foreign. They also offered clear benefits to consumers and small businesses, he said. “We heard alarm bells that things were in trouble, with much more risk of the moratorium not being extended,” Neuffer told Reuters. “The risk is that if one or two go, it sets off a torrent of efforts by other countries to do the same thing” – impose tariffs.
Reuters The White House on Monday urged Britain and the European Union to return to talks to resolve differences over implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol, but said it does not expect the issue to impede a U.S.-UK trade dialogue next week. |
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CHINAChina’s semiconductor output in May rebounds as Covid-19 restrictions ease South China Morning Post China recorded a slight uptick in semiconductor output in May compared with the previous month, in a sign that the national economy was improving, although the impact of strict Covid-19 control measures persisted, official data released on Wednesday showed.
China’s tech regulation is getting more ‘rational,’ says top executive of JD.com CNBC Regulation on China’s technology sector is not loosening, it’s just becoming more “rational,” a top executive at e-commerce firm JD.com told CNBC. Over the past 16 months, Beijing has enacted sweeping regulation on the internet industry, a move that has contributed to billions of dollars of value being wiped off from China’s internet sector. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYLet machines do the work: Automating semiconductor research with machine learning Science Daily The development of new thin semiconductor materials requires a quantitative analysis of a large amount of reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) data, which is time consuming and requires expertise. To tackle this issue, scientists identify machine learning techniques that can help automate RHEED data analysis. Their findings could greatly accelerate semiconductor research and pave the way for faster, energy efficient electronic devices.
Atomically thin semiconductors for nanophotonics Phys.Org Atomically thin semiconductors such as molybdenum disulfide and tungsten disulfide are promising materials for nanoscale photonic devices. These approximately 2D semiconductors support so-called excitons, which are bound electron-hole pairs, that can align vertically along the thin plane of the materials.
Variation Making Trouble In Advanced Packages Semiconductor Engineering Variation is becoming increasingly problematic as chip designs become more heterogeneous and targeted by application, making it difficult to identify the root cause of problems or predict what can go wrong and when. |
SIA NEWS
Slapping Tariffs on Digital Data Flows Is a Really Bad Idea SIA Blog The fate of a quarter-century old agreement that has served as a foundation for global digital trade will be decided in a week when trade ministers from around the world meet in Geneva for the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Global Semiconductor Sales Increase 21.1% Year-to-Year, 0.7% Month-to-Month in April Press Release “Global semiconductor sales have increased by more than 20% on a year-to-year basis for 13 consecutive months, indicating consistently high and growing demand for semiconductors across a range of critical sectors,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “High global chip demand will necessitate more semiconductor research, design, and manufacturing in the years ahead, and we urge leaders in Washington to enact innovation and competitiveness legislation that ensures more of this chip production and innovation occurs on U.S. shores.” |
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INDUSTRY/MARKET
Editor’s Corner: Congress should act now to approve $52B for chip manufacturing Fierce Electronics “We’re at a pivotal moment for enactment of semiconductor investments that will greatly benefit the U.S. economy and our national security,” said Daniel Rosso, communications director at Semiconductor Industry Association, via email on Wednesday.
Biden’s $52 Billion Chips Plan Stuck; Lawmakers Eye Election Bloomberg “There needs to be a greater sense of urgency,” said Senator Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat who is one of the authors of the chips legislation. “I worry that there’s some of us, this is our top priority, but it feels like for too many, this is their second.”
Summer deadline looms for $52 billion to boost chip production The Detroit News The final version of Congress’ economic competitiveness bill including $52 billion for semiconductor chip production is still amorphous — a delay that’s a cause of concern for many of Michigan’s state and federal policymakers.
NYT Over half the world’s chip-making capacity — and far more for the most advanced designs — is in Taiwan, which faces growing pressure from mainland China, itself an increasingly powerful player in the industry. As of 2020, according to a report by the Semiconductor Industry Association, the U.S. had 12 percent of global manufacturing capacity. |
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CHINAShenzhen wants to double semiconductor output by 2025 under new plan to boost tech industry South China Morning Post By 2025, Shenzhen aims to develop a semiconductor industry that can bring in 250 billion yuan (US$37.5 billion) in annual sales, compared to the 110 billion yuan in revenue last year, according to an action plan jointly issued on Monday by the Shenzhen Development and Reform Commission and other local authorities.
China is easing its big tech crackdown amid a wounded economy Quartz China’s crackdown on big tech at one point erased billions of dollars of value from some of the country’s most prominent companies. Now, as the country faces an increasingly grim economic outlook, regulators are hinting that they may ease their scrutiny of the sector.
China’s push for education equality China Daily This year a record 11.93 million Chinese students are taking the National College Entrance Exam. The exam, otherwise known as the “gaokao,” is traditionally renowned for its highly competitive nature.
South China Morning Post China plans a sweeping makeover of mainland academic journals, turning them into world-class organs similar to British weekly Nature and peer-reviewed US publication Science, to raise the profile and influence of domestic scientific research, local authorities said in Beijing on Monday. |
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TRADEBiden to offer new economic framework for Latin America Axios President Biden plans to announce a new economic framework for Latin America on Wednesday, focusing on climate change, workers’ rights and supply chains, according to an administration official and people briefed on the plan.
CNBC Amid the fanfare of U.S. President Joe Biden’s new Indo-Pacific strategy, China flew under the radar and hosted a high-level discussion on RCEP, the world’s largest trade pact.
Risking EU clash, Britain pushes post-Brexit Northern Ireland bill Reuters Britain will present legislation to parliament on Monday to unilaterally revise the post-Brexit trade arrangements for Northern Ireland, raising the risk of a trade war and a new clash with Brussels. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYResearchers criticize Senate plan to steer more NSF funding to ‘have not’ states Science Top research universities in just a handful of U.S. states conduct the majority of research funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), while institutions in half the country receive only crumbs. The U.S. Senate wants NSF to correct that longstanding geographic imbalance. But its solution—to immediately allocate 20% of NSF’s budget to what is currently a small program serving those have-not states—is drawing fierce opposition from many universities and nearly 100 members of Congress.
Purdue Starts Comprehensive Semiconductor Degree Programs in U.S. EE Times Purdue University is ramping up what it calls the first “comprehensive” degree program in the U.S. in semiconductor engineering as America aims to rebuild its chip industry. |
SIA NEWS
Press Release “Semiconductors underpin America’s economy, national security, and leadership in the technologies that will determine our future, including autonomous vehicles, supercomputing, virtual and augmented reality, IoT devices, and more,” said Sen. Warner. “To sharpen America’s edge in semiconductor technology, we need to enact final innovation and competitiveness legislation that incentivizes domestic chip manufacturing, invests in U.S. chip research, and promotes greater semiconductor design investments in the U.S.” |
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INDUSTRY/MARKET
Warner Huddles with Chipmakers Politico The Silicon Valley confab was being organized by the Semiconductor Industry Association, whose members include top chipmakers and which has pushed relentlessly for federal assistance in addressing a global chip shortage. While the meeting will undoubtedly touch on the $52 billion in manufacturing and research subsidies for the industry that is the centerpiece of both China bills, the trade group is also “eager to discuss shoehorning into the final package a 25-percent microchip investment tax credit,” Brandon reports.
Strengthening Domestic Chip Research, Design, Manufacturing I-Connect007 “For America to continue to set the global standard economically, militarily, and technologically, we must strengthen U.S. leadership in semiconductors,” said SIA president and CEO John Neuffer. “We greatly appreciate the strong leadership of Sen. Warner – and the bipartisan group of other champions in Congress – in advancing legislation to fortify U.S.-based chip research, design, and manufacturing. Today’s discussion is an example of the type of government-industry collaboration needed to ensure America stays on top in chip technology for decades to come.” New York lining up ‘green’ chip fab incentives Time Union In an attempt to become as competitive as possible for a coming wave of computer chip factory projects being planned across the United States, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s economic development team is looking to codify the amount of state tax breaks it will be willing to offer companies to build here. |
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CHINAZero-COVID, big money: China’s anti-virus spending boosts medical, tech, construction Reuters China’s ‘zero-COVID’ policy of constantly monitoring, testing and isolating its citizens to prevent the spread of the coronavirus has battered much of the country’s economy, but it has created bubbles of growth in the medical, technology and construction sectors.
China Is Leading the Global Decline in Venture Capital Deals Bloomberg China, once the primary rival to Silicon Valley’s technology success, is now leading the global decline in venture capital investments.
Amazon to pull Kindle out of China, other businesses to remain Reuters Amazon.com (AMZN.O) said it will stop supplying retailers in China with its Kindle e-readers from Thursday and will shut its Kindle e-bookstore there next year, in the latest pullback by a U.S. tech firm from the restrictive Chinese market. |
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TRADEU.S.-Taiwan trade talks could outpace Indo-Pacific effort, USTR official says Reuters New U.S. trade negotiations with Taiwan could move more quickly than broader talks with 12 Indo-Pacific countries given strong interest in Taipei and Washington in deepening economic ties, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi said on Thursday.
CNN
The Kiwis make a case on trade Politico New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will visit the White House today with an agenda that includes boosting trade relations across Asia. That will entail discussion of Biden’s newly launched Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, which New Zealand agreed to negotiate last week along with 13 other countries. |
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RESEARCH/TECHNOLOGYPaper-based semiconductor for safer disposable electronics! ElectroPages Recently, researchers have demonstrated a new semiconductor material made entirely from paper-based materials that may have the ability to be used in wearable sensors and disposable electronics.
New Ultra-Thin Electrode Material: Step Closer To Next-Generation Semiconductors Eurasia Review To realize artificial intelligence systems and autonomous driving systems, which is often seen in movies, in everyday life, processors that function as the brain of computers must be able to process more data.
Chip Substitutions Raising Security Concerns Semiconductor Engineering Substituting chips is becoming more common in the electronics industry as shortages drag on, allowing systems vendors to continue selling everything from cars to manufacturing equipment and printer cartridges without waiting for a commoditized part. |
SIA NEWS
SIA Blog With a lot of auspicious sunny weather forecast for the week, a sizable high-tech industry delegation is converging on Geneva to advance the idea of again expanding product coverage of the Information Technology Agreement (ITA), originally launched by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1997 to eliminate tariffs on a broad swath of tech products from cell phones to computers. |
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INDUSTRY/MARKET
Republicans split on adding semiconductor tax breaks to competition bill Roll Call An effort to add bipartisan tax incentives for U.S. semiconductor manufacturing to a larger economic competitiveness package is running into divisions among House Republicans.
Wafer Shortage Improvement In Sight For 300mm, But Not 200mm Semiconductor Engineering The supply chain for bare wafers is off-kilter. Demand is apprecia |