Silicon Beyond
Matthew Scherer, a semiconductor market research analyst at Databeans Inc, looks at the trends and technologies that will guide the future of the electronics industry in Silicon Beyond.
Researchers take spintronics for a ride
In early May, researchers at Ohio State University combined traditional inorganic semiconductors with organic spintronics, in a device that they claimed to be the first of its kind. With the prototype, the researchers managed to incorporate an organic polymer into a GaA-based device. This was no easy task, in fact according to Dr Ezekiel Johnston-Halperin, leader of the Ohio State team, ...... Read More
Comments (0)Shrinking NAND densities toward oblivion
On April 14, Intel and Micron Technology first officially announced their completion of the industry’s smallest NAND flash process technology at 20 nm. According to the press release, the “20-nm 8GB device measures just 118-mm-sq and enables a 30 to 40% reduction in board space (depending on package type) compared to the companies’ existing 25-nm 8-GB NAND device.” The ...... Read More
Comments (0)Record 2010 brings about capex boost: a bit of prudence may be in order
The year 2010 ended up being a record for semiconductor capital equipment spending, a welcome reprieve after 2009’s dismal numbers. According to Gartner, Inc. worldwide semiconductor capital equipment spending reached “$36.9 billion in 2010, a 122.1 percent increase from 2009 spending of $16.6 billion.” Predictions vary about the capex growth that the entire industry will witn ...... Read More
Comments (0)Silicon carbide moves into the spotlight
The late January release of Cree’s new CMF20120D MOSFET, which the company claims as the “first fully qualified commercial silicon carbide power MOSFET,” marks yet another announcement in a string of new silicon carbide (SiC)-based power products coming from Japanese companies. For example, Rohm announced the industry first mass production of a SiC double-diffusion MOSFET (or ...... Read More
Comments (1)iPad celebrates first birthday as murmurs of its successor continue
January 27, 2011, marked the one year anniversary of the Apple iPad, and after a year of borderline ridiculous sales and PC market share growth of 241 percent, Apple has rocketed up to become the third largest PC maker by sales behind HP and Acer, depending on who you ask. (Research firms like Canalys say they count as PCs, Gartner and IDC say they don’t. Either way, no one can deny that Ap ...... Read More
Comments (2)Looking at CES and beyond
The 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas has winded down and it has left a myriad of new products and technologies in its wake that are leaving the industry buzzing. If last year’s show was all about making existing consumer devices less expensive and greener, the 2011 show focused much more upon the unique and the experimental. Sure, a large portion of the show was devoted to ...... Read More
Comments (0)Introducing the Silicon Beyond
Hello, and welcome to the inaugural edition of Silicon Beyond, a new blog devoted to the trends and technologies that will guide the very future of the electronics industry. Colossal leaps in technology can come in many different forms. For example, minute reductions geometries can bring about huge changes to the semiconductor manufacturing landscape, allowing for cheaper devices that are easier t ...... Read More
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