Latest Semiconductor News Update on Nov 5 to 11, 2023

Nikon plans to launch a new lithography machine in 2024

Nikon has decided to launch new photolithography machine using mature technology in 2024 after 24 years. Using i-Line light source technology, it can be used to manufacture power semiconductors that require durability. Some analysts believe that Nikon will use common electronic components in new products, so the prices will be 20% to 30% cheaper than Canon.

In the context of the United States' export controls on China, advanced lithography machines and materials such as EUV are prohibited from being exported to China. The relevant person in charge of Nikon said that it is discussing with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan and believes that there are no problems with the new lithography machine and will be sold in the Chinese market.

Qualcomm ends its phone-to-satellite partnership with Iridium

Qualcomm and satellite provider Iridium have ended a deal that was set to provide satellite communication services to mobile phones. The partnership, announced at CES 2023, aims to provide satellite-to-mobile services via Snapdragon Satellite and Iridium satellites based on Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC. Iridium said in a statement that while the two companies had successfully developed and demonstrated the technology, but the smartphone makers had not chosen to include it in its devices, finally Qualcomm had chosen to terminate the agreement.

Statements from both companies indicate that due to the relatively short-lived nature of their partnership, they have not had much success selling the solutions they produce.

Onsemi to start in-house production of CMOS image sensors in 2024

Onsemi has unveiled its strategy to begin producing CMOS image sensors (CIS) in-house in 2024, marking a major shift from its longstanding practice of outsourcing manufacturing to partners.

Its CIS logic circuits includes the 40nm and 65nm generations. The front-end process will be split into two parts, one at the 12-inch (300 mm) wafer fab in East Fishkill, New York, and the other at the Nampa facility in southwestern Idaho focused on microlenses and color filters. Back-end packaging and testing will be performed at the Malaysian factory. However, Onsemi emphasized that not all CIS products will be manufactured in-house, and it will still be flexibly outsourced based on market demand.

Viettel announces successful development of 5G Chips

Vietnam military industries and telecommunications group, Viettel, launched a 5G chip, marking the latest development and confirming that it has complete control of 5G telecommunications infrastructure, covering from wireless transceivers, switching equipment, transmission equipment, wireless access equipment to core networks, which ensures strong protection from within.

Vishay Intertechnology to acquire Nexperia’s newport wafer fab for $177 million

Vishay Intertechnology announced that they have reached an agreement to acquire Nexperia’s newport wafer facilities and operations for approximately $177 million in cash.

In early 2023, Vishay set an ambitious goal to invest approximately $1.2 billion in capacity over three years to enable the company to seize the opportunities created by the electric mobility and sustainability megatrends required for net-zero emissions in the economy. While this transaction is complementary to its capital expenditure investment strategy, adding Newport Wafer Fab to its manufacturing operations will contribute to the business goal of expanding customer capacity.

Synopsys expands its ARC Processor IP Portfolio with new RISC-V Family

Synopsys announced its plans for expanding its processor intellectual property portfolio with the new RISC-V ARC-V family, enabling customers to choose from a variety of flexible, scalable processor options to achieve optimal power consumption performance efficiency for their target applications. And it leverages decades of processor IP and software development kit experience to develop new ARC-V processor IP, which builds on the proven microarchitecture of Synopsys' existing ARC processors and features expanding RISC -V additional benefits of the software ecosystem.

World's first single-crystal diamond wafer ( 100mm) created by Diamond Foundry

Diamond Foundry in the US has created the world's first monocrystalline diamond wafer with a diameter of 100mm. The company plans to offer diamond substrates as a way to improve thermal performance, which in turn could improve AI computing and wireless communications as well as smaller power electronics devices.

The company uses heteroepitaxy technique to deposit carbon atoms and create single crystal diamond on a scalable substrate. It have been produced before, but based on compressed diamond powder and lacked the properties of single crystal diamond.

Japan announced a subsidy of 900 billion yen for TSMC's 7nm fab

The Japanese cabinet issued a supplementary budget bill for semiconductors, which will provide 900 billion yen in subsidies for the second phase of TSMC's advanced 7nm wafer fab. Japan's goal is to become the world's most important semiconductor supply base.

Regarding Japan's subsidies to TSMC, the former chairman and CEO, Morris Chang, once said that Japan's work spirit and advanced technology are very suitable for the development of semiconductors, and he is very optimistic about the long-term semiconductor cooperation between Japan and Taiwan.