Wendell Brooks

TSMC Completes Construction of Second Arizona Fab Ahead of Schedule Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) has completed construction of its second chip fabrication plant in north Phoenix earlier than planned, according to CEO C.C. Wei during the company’s April 17 earnings call. The second fab is being expedited to support surging demand for AI-related chips and will use 3-nanometer process technology. While a specific production start date was not disclosed, TSMC had previously targeted 2028 for the facility’s launch. The timeline may now be significantly accelerated. Looking ahead, TSMC also plans to begin construction on a third Arizona fab later this year, pending permit approvals. This new facility will feature 2-nanometer and A16 process technologies, reflecting the company’s strategic push to maintain leading-edge capabilities in advanced semiconductor manufacturing. TSMC’s multi-fab Arizona investment is part of a broader trend among global chipmakers reshoring operations to meet geopolitical, economic, and technological shifts. How soon will TSMC ramp up U.S. volume production? And how will these fabs impact the domestic chip supply chain? Thanks again to KTAR FM for the full article with more background and insights click the source link in the comments below. #Semiconductors #TSMC #ChipsAct #AI #Arizona #ChipManufacturing #AdvancedNodes

123

5 Comments

Unlocking 2nm Potential with Backside Power Delivery As TSMC hurtles toward 2026 mass production of its 2nm node, Backside Power Delivery (BSPDN) stands out as the game-changer. By moving power rails to the wafer’s backside, BSPDN slashes IR drop, frees up precious front-side routing, and paves the way for higher transistor densities, lower power consumption, and boosted performance. High Complexity, High Payoff Implementing BSPDN requires a series of technically demanding and tightly integrated processes, including: ▫️ Growing a SiGe etch-stop layer and a thin silicon cap layer for device fabrication. ▫️ Wafer bonding the device wafer to a carrier and then thinning the original wafer using CMP and etching down to the SiGe layer. ▫️ Performing Nano Through Silicon Vias (NTSV) by: - Passivating the wafer backside. - Etching nanoscale holes. - Depositing insulating layers via ALD. - Filling the vias with tungsten (W) for electrical connectivity. TSMC’s intricate BSPDN flow—spanning wafer bonding, ultra-precise thinning, and nanoscale through silicon vias that will not only drive chipmakers forward but also unleash new opportunities for equipment suppliers in bonding, CMP, etch/deposition, and inspection. Intel is rolling out its own backside PD (“PowerVia”) on the 18A node, and Samsung has slated similar technology for its 1.4nm equivalent process. The sub-2nm era is truly a power delivery battleground. Reference source: https://lnkd.in/gSrKPS9d Let’s shape the future together: 👉 https://lnkd.in/gJ3SSg8c #Semiconductors #2nm #BSPDN #TSV #TSMC #PowerVia #IntelFoundry #SamsungFoundry #AdvancedPackaging

125

13 Comments

What’s Driving the $25.1B Power Semiconductor Market? here is the breakdown The global Power Semiconductor market reached $25.1 billion in 2022. Under this $25.1B umbrella, the Power IGBT segment—including global sales of IGBT power devices (bare dies), discretes, and modules—accounted for $8.2B. In the same year, other standard power product lines such as Power BJT and FET (MOSFETs, JFETs, IPMs) brought in about $1.1B and $14B, respectively. In this context, “Power Semiconductor” refers to medium-to-high-voltage (≥100V) devices in discrete or modular form—covering BJT, IGBT, FET, GaN, SiC, and Si/SiC diodes/modules. -> Power IGBT Market (2022): $8.2B • Infineon: 28.95% • Mitsubishi Electric: 16.69% • Fuji Electric: 12.58% -> Power SiC Market (2022): $1.6B • STMicro: 37.21% • Infineon: 20.46% • Wolfspeed: 13.29% • ROHM: 9.49% • onsemi: 7.08% -> Overall Power Semi Leaders • Infineon: 19.11% • onsemi: 8.35% • STMicro: 5.98% -> Power GaN Snapshot (2022): ~$200M Still early-stage, but growing fast—up 60% YoY. Leading players by estimated share: • Power Integrations (24.6%) • Navitas (18.5%) • GaN Systems (15.8%) • EPC (14.7%) • Innoscience (11.9%) • Transphorm (5.3%) • Infineon (2.2%) • Others (7%): onsemi, ST, Nexperia, VisIC, NexGen, etc. Note: This post focuses on Power GaN, distinct from RF GaN, which powers 5G, Wi-Fi 6/7, and satellite comms. RF GaN—currently a ~$2.5B segment—will be covered in a future post. Key takeaway: Power semiconductors are being redefined. SiC and GaN are no longer emerging—they’re strategic. With automotive, renewables, and energy systems pushing for more efficiency, these technologies are becoming central to the future of power electronics. P.S. If you're looking to understand semiconductors in simple, visual terms, check out our blog The Semiconductor World. Link in comments. #Semiconductors #PowerDevices #SiC #GaN #IGBT #PowerElectronics #EV #EnergyTech #ChipMarket #Infineon #STMicro #Wolfspeed #TestFlow #ATOMS #TechoVedas #Packaging #HighVoltage #MIMOCPE #RFIC #SemiconInsights

292

9 Comments

10 potential Investment opportunities in Semiconductor Industry 1. Logic Fabs Facilities dedicated to producing high-performance logic chips used in processors, GPUs, and AI accelerators. Cost: 5-7 Billion Dollars or More 2. Analog fab Focused on analog chips for power management, sensors, and signal processing. Cost: 3-5 Billion Dollars 3. Compound fab Manufacture chips using materials like GaN, SiC, or InP for high-power and high-frequency applications. Cost: <1 Billion Dollars 4. Display Fab Focused on producing LCD, OLED, or microLED panels for TVs, smartphones, and AR/VR devices. Cost: 1-2 Billion Dollars 5. LED Fab Manufacture LEDs for lighting, automotive, and display backlighting. Cost: <1 Billion Dollars 6. OSAT/ATMP fab Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) facilities for packaging and testing chips. Cost: 200 Cr Onwards 6. Semiconductor Equipment Manufacturing Description: Production of lithography tools, etching machines, and metrology equipment. Cost: 0.5 Billion dollar Onwards 7. Aquisition of International Fabs Strategic acquisitions to secure supply chains and technology. Cost: Depends on type of fab- but can start from 700 Million Dollar onwards 8. Chemical & Gas Supply Providing specialty chemicals and gases used in semiconductor manufacturing. Cost: 100 Cr 9. Water and ancillary plants Supporting fabs with ultra-pure water (UPW) systems, power, and waste management. Cost: <100 Cr 10. AR/VR Skilling Training programs for AR/VR development using semiconductor technologies. Cost: <50 Cr If you are investing in semiconductors and need any help, shoot us a DM. For all semiconductor and AI related content, follow TechoVedas -------- If you are looking to invest in semiconductors & need expert advice, drop us a DM. Read "The Chip Packaging Saga" A book that demystifies everything about chip packaging in simple words. Link in comments.

249

15 Comments

The cover of this week's The Economist, featuring #semiconductors, is a powerful new indicator of just how critical this industry has become. The article also highlights the "unorthodox" nature of the U.S. administration's industrial policies, citing its offer to take a 10% stake in Intel—what the author terms "quasi-nationalisation." However, I believe the article's opening statement, "𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘺 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯," doesn't do the company justice. While it's true the industry's once-undisputed champion is facing severe challenges, the call to split the company and "move on" to other alternatives feels short-sighted. I found a more compelling analysis from this week's interview with Dylan Patel of SemiAnalysis to Guido Appenzeller at Andreessen Horowitz, a leading VC. According to Dylan, "𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘰. 𝘐𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘛𝘢𝘪𝘸𝘢𝘯, 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥", ahead of other alternatives. He also directly addresses the idea of splitting the company, saying that in principle "Intel should be separate", but at this current stage, Intel's CEO "𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦'𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘹 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺." By the way, Dylan diagnoses Intel's core problem as its long development cycle: "𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 5-𝘵𝘰-6 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵... 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘱... 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 14 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 1 𝘵𝘰 3." This happens to be a challenge that Lip-Bu would certainly be up to: through his experience at Cadence and numerous other startups that would be dead if they couldn’t get their chip working after 1-2 iterations. 

74

10 Comments

Intel to sell majority stake in Altera for $4.46 billion to fund revival effort Intel Corporation has agreed to sell a 51% stake in its Altera programmable chip business to buyout firm Silver Lake for $4.46 billion, in the first major move by new CEO Lip-Bu Tan to revive the struggling American chipmaker. Monday's deal values Altera at just $8.75 billion compared to the nearly $17 billion Intel paid in 2015, but the sale will provide the company much-needed cash after hefty bets on contract manufacturing by former CEO Pat Gelsinger strained its finances. https://lnkd.in/ejR34pfj #embedded #embeddedsystems #SSD #IIOT #industry40 #DRAM #NAND #flashmemory #CPU #AI #semiconductor #electronics #technology #data #storage #memory #automotive #automation

34

3 Comments