SEMICON West 2009, SAN FRANCISCO, USA: Semiconductor Research Corp. (SRC), the world’s leading university-research consortium for semiconductors and related technologies, teamed with the National Science Foundation (NSF) to announce funding of $2 million in new supplemental grants for nanoelectronics research.
Researchers at six major NSF centers inside leading US universities will contribute to the goal of finding a replacement for the transistor -– the foundational building block of computing technology for decades -– and discovering a new digital switching mechanism using nanoelectronics innovation.
During his presentation at Semicon West, Dr. Jeff Welser, director, Nanoelectronics Research Initiative (NRI) for SRC, will express the importance of this research to the semiconductor industry, national competitiveness and the world.
“There is no question semiconductor technology has played a critical role in driving the global economy for the past half century,” said Welser.
“But the current transistor technology is rapidly reaching its limits, and long-term fundamental research is needed now to be ready for 2020 and beyond. The joint NSF-NRI projects put the country’s best minds together for a common goal –- finding a new device that will continue our leadership in the nanoelectronics era.”
Until recently, manufacturers were able to double the number of transistors on a chip at half the power for each transistor by shrinking them smaller and smaller in each new generation of semiconductor technology. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to continue decreasing the power needed to turn the device off and on, making it difficult to continue the pace of product innovation from scaling alone.
“These investments in nanoelectronics align closely with NSF’s support for engineering and scientific research that furthers discovery,” said Dr. Lawrence Goldberg, senior engineering advisor at NSF. “We believe these grants, which support graduate students and postdoctoral associates, will create innovative technologies and help find a solution to this significant issue facing the semiconductor industry today.”
The joint NSF-NRI supplemental grants were awarded to teams at six NSF centers in nanoelectronics research:
* Network for Computational Nanotechnology, directed by Dr. Mark Lundstrom at Purdue University, working with Kaushik Roy and Supriyo Datta.
* Center for Integrated Nanomechanical Systems (COINS), a Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center, directed by Dr. Alex Zettl at University of California at Berkeley, working with Sayeef Salahuddin and Jeffrey G. Grossman.
* Center for Materials Science and Engineering, a Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, directed by Dr. Michael Rubner at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, working with Caroline Ross and Stuart Wolf (University of Virginia).
* Northwestern University Materials Research Center, a Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, directed by Dr. Monica Olvera de la Cruz at Northwestern University, working with Mark Hersam.
* Center for Advanced Materials Research, a Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, directed by Dr. William Curtin at Brown University, working with Rod Beresford.
* Center for Materials for Information Technology, a Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, directed and led by Dr. William Butler at the University of Alabama.
The NSF-NRI grants are for three years and are, in addition to the 18 grants made to NSF centers over the last three years, expanding and strengthening the commitment to the program.
Companies participating in NRI are GLOBALFOUNDRIES, IBM, Intel, Micron Technology and Texas Instruments. These companies will assign researchers to collaborate with the university teams.
Strong interactions with the NSF-supported centers will be instrumental in NRI reaching its goal of demonstrating the feasibility of novel computing devices in simple computer circuits during the next five to 10 years.
Showing posts with label transistors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label transistors. Show all posts
Wednesday, 15 July 2009
Tuesday, 12 May 2009
Demand returns, pricing stabilizes in analog chips and transistors
EL SEGUNDO, USA: Although conditions in the global market for analog semiconductors and transistors are stabilizing due to rising demand and slowing price erosion, a real industry recovery is still far away, according to iSuppli Corp.
“Analog semiconductor and transistor suppliers are reporting that demand now has returned after a virtual halt in new orders in the fourth quarter of 2008 and first quarter of 2009,” said Marijana Vukicevic, senior analyst for power management at iSuppli. “This has caused pricing to stop falling at alarming levels.”
The average worldwide contract price for analog-monolithic semiconductors will decline by 3.9 percent in the second quarter, compared to 7.8 percent in the first quarter and 4.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Prices in the third quarter are expected to rebound slightly, rising by 0.7 percent, as demand continues to rise due to the arrival of the pre-Christmas build season.
Average pricing for transistors is set to decrease by 3.8 percent in the second quarter, a sharp reduction from a 9 percent decline in the first quarter and a 7.3 percent reduction in the fourth quarter. The rate of transistor price erosion will dwindle to 0.2 percent in the third quarter and to a mere 0.04 percent in the fourth quarter.
The figure presents the average worldwide price change forecast for analog and discrete components.
“Because transistors and analog-monolithic semiconductors are generic parts that can be used in all kinds of electronic products, sales of these devices can serve as a barometer of larger electronics industry trends,” Vukicevic said. “Thus, these events could be interpreted as a positive sign for the electronics industry as a whole. However, pricing trends for these parts also are influenced by factors within the transistor and analog-monolithic market.”
One major factor influencing pricing in the industry is the level of inventory, which had swelled to excess in 2008. Despite the poor demand situation in the first quarter, the electronics supply chain managed to reduce its stockpiles significantly in the first quarter. The inventory reductions were regarded as a positive signal by the investment community because stockpiles will have to be increased again as demand begins to rise, boosting demand and stabilizing prices.
Compared to many other semiconductor products, analog-monolithic semiconductors and transistors cannot be reduced to rock-bottom levels. With demand visibility severely limited right now, most suppliers must maintain relatively high inventory levels in order to respond quickly to any increase in demand.
Real recovery still not here
“While demand is rising, the analog-monolithic semiconductor and transistor industries still have a long way to go before their sales recover to the levels seen before the fourth quarter of 2008,” Vukicevic said. “Analog and discrete suppliers are reporting improvements in book-to-bill ratios, but the overall order visibility remains low — anywhere between two and three weeks depending on the customer and the end product.”
With analog and transistor revenue rising, utilization rates at fabs producing these products are increasing as well. Utilization rates for analog and transistor fabs in the first quarter were in the low 40 percent range. In the second quarter, utilization is expected to increase to the 60 percent level. Rising utilization is expected to contribute to stabilized prices and even an increase in analog-monolithic in the third quarter.
“Analog semiconductor and transistor suppliers are reporting that demand now has returned after a virtual halt in new orders in the fourth quarter of 2008 and first quarter of 2009,” said Marijana Vukicevic, senior analyst for power management at iSuppli. “This has caused pricing to stop falling at alarming levels.”
The average worldwide contract price for analog-monolithic semiconductors will decline by 3.9 percent in the second quarter, compared to 7.8 percent in the first quarter and 4.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Prices in the third quarter are expected to rebound slightly, rising by 0.7 percent, as demand continues to rise due to the arrival of the pre-Christmas build season.
Average pricing for transistors is set to decrease by 3.8 percent in the second quarter, a sharp reduction from a 9 percent decline in the first quarter and a 7.3 percent reduction in the fourth quarter. The rate of transistor price erosion will dwindle to 0.2 percent in the third quarter and to a mere 0.04 percent in the fourth quarter.
The figure presents the average worldwide price change forecast for analog and discrete components.
“Because transistors and analog-monolithic semiconductors are generic parts that can be used in all kinds of electronic products, sales of these devices can serve as a barometer of larger electronics industry trends,” Vukicevic said. “Thus, these events could be interpreted as a positive sign for the electronics industry as a whole. However, pricing trends for these parts also are influenced by factors within the transistor and analog-monolithic market.”
One major factor influencing pricing in the industry is the level of inventory, which had swelled to excess in 2008. Despite the poor demand situation in the first quarter, the electronics supply chain managed to reduce its stockpiles significantly in the first quarter. The inventory reductions were regarded as a positive signal by the investment community because stockpiles will have to be increased again as demand begins to rise, boosting demand and stabilizing prices.
Compared to many other semiconductor products, analog-monolithic semiconductors and transistors cannot be reduced to rock-bottom levels. With demand visibility severely limited right now, most suppliers must maintain relatively high inventory levels in order to respond quickly to any increase in demand.
Real recovery still not here
“While demand is rising, the analog-monolithic semiconductor and transistor industries still have a long way to go before their sales recover to the levels seen before the fourth quarter of 2008,” Vukicevic said. “Analog and discrete suppliers are reporting improvements in book-to-bill ratios, but the overall order visibility remains low — anywhere between two and three weeks depending on the customer and the end product.”
With analog and transistor revenue rising, utilization rates at fabs producing these products are increasing as well. Utilization rates for analog and transistor fabs in the first quarter were in the low 40 percent range. In the second quarter, utilization is expected to increase to the 60 percent level. Rising utilization is expected to contribute to stabilized prices and even an increase in analog-monolithic in the third quarter.
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