A recent article by Peter Clarke, EETimes, ‘TSMC Overtakes Intel in Chip Capex Ranking’ seemed to imply that a lower capital expenditure in 2015 was a bad sign. A growing capital expenditure budget does not always signal good times ahead just as a small capex does not mean disaster. Most companies are talking about the slowing or end of Moore’s law. Intel is one of the few companies that is back on Moore’s Law transistor density curve with their 14nm second generation Tri-Gate process. In fact, Intel has publicly stated that at 14nm they are ahead of Moore’s Law! Increased transistor density typically means smaller die sizes. All other variables being equal, this also translates to higher yields and less wafers required to meet market demand. A reduced capex is one of the benefits of improved efficiencies when a process obtains its sweet spot. Is it possible that others have to spend more in capex in anticipation of larger die sizes, lower yields and the need for more wafer throughput? A growing capex could mean expanding sales or the promise of a new market, but declining capex is not necessarily a bad omen. Remember when the industry experienced huge crashes because of the cycles that were caused by capex overspending? We haven’t experienced one of those in a few years, but I’m sure that can’t be erased from our memories yet.
Captain Chesley B. (Sully) Sullenberger, III to deliver a keynote during the one-day event focused on system-level integration across the entire hardware development process.
The MEMS, sensor and semiconductor industries have long been connected by a shared infrastructure and supply chain, but there are significant differences in the manufacturing of MEMS and sensors, including the use of unconventional materials, wafer bonding, packaging, lack of standard processes, to name a few. As the MEMS and sensor industries scale in volume and usage in conjunction with semiconductor devices, it's important that both industries take a deeper look at our common challenges to identify the issues that would benefit from a collaborative approach.
The market for sensor fusion has been growing rapidly and has seen major changes and shifts in the ecosystem. The market opportunities have attracted more chip vendors. In the span of one year, the number of companies offering a sensor hub controller has grown from 16 to 33 companies. The sensor hub vendors are not only targeting smartphones and tablets, but are also focusing on wearables and the broad range of Internet of Things (IoT) applications.
The market for sensor fusion has been growing rapidly and has seen major changes and shifts in the ecosystem. The market opportunities have attracted more chip vendors. In the span of one year, the number of companies offering a sensor hub controller has grown from 16 to 33 companies.
NFC is known around the world as the enabling technology for easy payments, ticketing and access control. It is quickly becoming a key part of the growth of the Internet of Things as well. Qualcomm recently announced that it will include NXP’s NFC solution in the Snapdragon processor platform which powers mobile devices, wearables, and automotives. A new Semico Research report, NFC: Security at Hand 2015 Update, reports growth in these markets will fuel a 25.7% CAGR in NFC from 2014 to 2020.