SEMI: Global semiconductor material sales amounted to USD 46.9 billion in 2017

SEMI (International Semiconductor Industry Association) announced that 2017 global semiconductor materials market grew by 9.6%, global semiconductor sales increased by 21.6%, SEMI report pointed out that in 2017, total wafer fabrication materials and packaging materials totaled 27.8 billion U.S. dollars and 191 respectively. One hundred million U.S. dollars. In 2016, the wafer manufacturing materials and packaging materials market revenue was 24.7 billion US dollars and 18.2 billion US dollars, respectively, year-on-year growth of 12.7% and 5.4%. SAA7356HL
This year, China's Taiwan region has spent 10.3 billion U.S. dollars, and for the eighth consecutive year it has become the world’s largest buyer of semiconductor materials. China is second, followed by South Korea and Japan. Revenues from Taiwan, China, Europe, and South Korea grew the most, while those from North America, Japan, and the rest of the world (ROW) experienced a single-digit increase. (The rest of the world is defined as Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, other parts of Southeast Asia, and smaller global markets.) FTLX8571D3BCL
2016 and 2017 Regional Semiconductor Materials Markets (US$ Billions)

Region	2016**	2017	% Change
Taiwan	9.20	10.29	12%
China	6.80	7.62	12%
South Korea	6.77	7.51	11%
Japan	6.76	7.05	4%
Rest of World	5.39	5.81	8%
North America	4.87	5.29	9%
Europe	3.03	3.36	11%
Total	42.82	46.93	10%

Source: SEMI, April 2018
Note: Summed subtotals may not equal the total due to rounding.

Intel 10-nanometer process slow progress 2021 will be surpassed by other companies

Research institutes released a report on the chip industry, pointing out that Intel has lagged behind in the development of new processes, and its original chip manufacturing technology advantages have almost disappeared. CM600HA-24H
Analyst Linley Gwennap wrote that Intel's 10-nanometer process has been repeatedly delayed, resulting in the sprint of next-generation process progress is not only lagging behind TSMC, Samsung and its partner GlobalFoundries also prepared to overtake.
The report carefully analyzed the circuit density of chips produced by major manufacturers, as well as other technical indicators. The conclusion is that the level of technology used by other competitors is close to Intel, such as the gap between 7-nanometer TSMC and 10-nanometer Intel. The report pointed out that the three major competitors are proactive in purchasing next-generation lithography equipment than Intel. It is not ruled out that the three will surpass Intel in 2021. BSM300GB120DLC
The Intel Moat was attacked by opponents one by one, and the outlook for future revenues is worrying. Recently, it was reported that Apple will replace Intel's processors with some of its Mac computers with its own R&D processor in 2020 at the earliest, threatening Intel's revenue.

Semiconductor heat-recovery Global wafer production before 2019 was 7 to 80% was booked

According to a report recently produced by the Department of Foreign Investment in the United States, it is pointed out that the current supply of global silicon sources is tight. China's Taiwanese wafer wafer manufacturing giant Global wafers, and 70% to 80% of production capacity by 2019 have been sold out.
The foreign investment report pointed out that the global wafer wafer production capacity of 12-inch wafers has increased by 20% since the first quarter of 2017. As for the 8-inch silicon wafers, prices have risen by more than 10% since the third quarter of 2017. In this regard, not only will global wafer management watch the rise of all sizes of silicon wafers likely to continue until 2019, but it also implies that 70% to 80% of production capacity by 2019 before customers have been ordered . dan202ut106
In fact, thanks to the continuous growth of semiconductor demand, coupled with the gradual opening of the capacity of Chinese fabs, the supply and demand of global silicon wafers have been seriously strained. Under such circumstances, Global Wafer's operating performance in 2017 was dazzling. Consolidated revenues reached NT$46,213 million, an increase of 150.8% from the previous year, and pre-tax net profit was RMB6.875 billion, which was also an increase of 411.3% from the previous year. The after-tax net profit attributable to the parent company was 5.275 billion yuan, an annual growth rate of 461.4%, and EPS per share was 12.68 yuan, a record high. lm2678t-adj
After the global wafer was separated from Sino-American crystals, it acquired the SunEdison semiconductor at the end of 2016 and became the world's third-largest semiconductor silicon wafer fab, second only to Japan's Shinho and Shenggao. Since 2017, the semiconductor silicon wafer market has ushered in a super-economy cycle, with tight supply and demand. Prices have been rising all the way, and it has also promoted global wafer operations. Recently, there were rumors in the market that due to the optimistic view of the future development of global wafers in the silicon wafer market, China’s “National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund” (commonly known as the “Big Fund”), which specializes in investment in the semiconductor industry, will acquire the global wafer parent company Sino-US. Crystal to further control global wafer production capacity. However, such news was immediately denied by Sino-American crystal.
Although the news of mergers and acquisitions in the market was denied, it also saw the future development of global wafers. In particular, the semiconductor industry will continue to drive demand for silicon wafers. In addition to the current semiconductor silicon wafers, Global Wafer also invests in the production of new products, SiC and GaN, to meet the needs of customers for new product applications. Will boost sales revenue.

Infineon Acquires Merus Audio: Better Audio Experience for Smart Home Applications

February 26, 2018: Munich, Germany and Copenhagen, Denmark - Infineon Technologies AG announced today the acquisition of Merus Audio. The start-up, headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, was founded in 2010 by Hans Hasselby-Andersen and Mikkel Hoyerby. Merus Audio has created energy-efficient integrated audio amplifier solutions that maximize the audio performance of smart home battery-powered speakers and extend their battery life while minimizing heat and footprint. After integrating Merus Audio, Infineon will be able to offer its customers the full range and cutting-edge Class D audio amplifier portfolio to meet the needs of demanding applications. This complements Infineon's existing PowIRAudio® portfolio of up to 70 watts of power. bc556ap
Andreas Urschitz, president of Infineon's Power Management and Diversity Marketing Group, said: "This move reinforces our ability to bring our customers smart solutions that are fully integrated in the system." Merus Audio's innovative audio amplifier technology is available to Infineon's existing A good complement of sensor and audio processing expertise. "
The fast-growing market for battery-powered smart speakers will benefit particularly from this patented technology, which combines the advantages of extended playback time, compact design and enhanced audio performance. For smart speaker users, the sound quality is more important, the use of speakers to listen to music has become more popular. Merus Audio solutions are based on so-called cascaded converter technology to reduce total harmonic distortion and achieve noise reduction. According to a report released by SAR Insight *, the smart speaker market is projected to have an annual revenue growth of 55% by 2022 (CAGR for 2017-2022). s1227-66bq
Based on Infineon's "From Product to System" strategy, the addition of Merus Audio technology further strengthens Infineon's expertise in human-machine interaction (HMI). For example, Infineon now offers more accurate speech recognition based on Infineon's sensor fusion expertise and uses radar and silicon microphones.
Merus Audio will be fully integrated into Infineon's existing audio business as part of the Power Management and Diversity Marketing Group. Both companies agree not to disclose the financial details of the transaction.
* Source: SAR Insight: Digital Assistant and Voice Interface Services, 2018

IDC: Tablet PC shipments worldwide dropped by 13 quarters

Market research firm IDC released data show that the global tablet PC market has 13 consecutive quarters of landslide. Some analysts said that the sharp decline in shipments of tablets are mainly due to the market is saturated, the product life cycle is long and alternative products increased.
Data show that in the fourth quarter of 2017, the global tablet shipments of 49.6 million units, down from the previous year's 53.8 million units 7.9%, the only good news is that the decline did not reach double digits, lower than in 2016. IDC calculated in the statistics of the traditional Tablet PC, as well as screen and keyboard separable variants. In the fourth quarter of 2017, Apple still occupies the market first, while Amazon surpassed Samsung for the first time in second place. The top five vendors have a market share of 69.6%, up from 61.3% in the same period of last year. bsm150gt120dn2
Apple's shipments were basically unchanged from the previous year. However, due to the poor performance of other tablets, Apple experienced another 2.3% increase in market share after two quarters of increase. Prior to this, the apple market share has dropped for 13 consecutive quarters. With a lower price iPad and an upgraded version of the iPad Pro, Apple maintained its market leadership.
In the fourth quarter of 2017, Amazon's tablet shipments increased by 2.5 million units, with a 6% increase in market share. The holiday season is usually the strongest quarter for the performance of Amazon, but this year's performance is particularly prominent, and the company surpassed Samsung in one fell swoop. IDC said it is due to Amazon offers a substantial discount, as well as the latest Amazon tablet integrated Alexa voice assistant. mg100q2ys42
Samsung's tablet shipments fell 1 million units year on year. IDC data shows that the proportion of detachable keyboards and screens in Samsung's tablet devices has increased, but such growth has not been able to make up for the decline of traditional tablets.
In addition, Huawei ranked fourth over Lenovo. Huawei's market share rose 1.2%, Lenovo fell 0.4%. Both companies shipped about 3 million units.
The rise of the Tablet PC is a coincidence, in the iOS and Android system victory over Saipan system, Apple released iPad running iOS, Andrews camp tablet products are rapidly mushroomed, 2011-2014 is the Tablet PC Rapid growth phase.
Among them, iPad in the tablet PC market has always maintained a dominant position, Android camp wins in the brand many, occupy the other half. In the battle between Android and iOS two camps intensified market, Windows 8 and 10 completed a perfect counter-attack, the three systems officially formed a strong situation.
Insiders pointed out that in the year 2017, the tablet PC market has shown such a trend, so the fourth quarter of the data is not surprising. In other words, the refreshment cycle of tablets is closer to that of traditional PCs, not smartphones, and this is the only category that has seen growth.
IDC analyst Jetsh Ublaney said: "So far, the keyboard and the screen can be detached deformation of the market thanks to the development of Microsoft and Apple in the United States product sales.However, this category can continue to be successful Depends on whether other PC makers are willing to join, more importantly, whether the user in other countries can accept this new type of product. "
However, from the current flat-panel market situation, manufacturers seem to have found a good way - specialization. Unlike the notebook market segmentation, Tablet PC specialization to be relatively simple. At present, Tablet PC products are divided into: adhere to the audio and video entertainment line; take the education line; take handwriting, painting, design line, support stylus.

For the Moore Law continued life: in the computer chip wiring by adding graphene

With the increasing size of the integrated circuit, the current fate of Moore's Law seems to be mostly focused on the improvement of silicon transistors. However, there are gradually researchers starting to start from other components: for example, connect the various transistors to form a complex circuit of copper. And graphene in which played a key role. lm3s9d90-iqc80-a1
In order to improve performance, integrated circuit density continues to increase, and in the same area of ​​the chip which plugged into more transistors, it means that more lines need to connect them. In 2000, the first group of copper interconnects was produced, with 1 km of copper per square centimeter; but today's 14 nm node processors were able to contain 10 km of copper in the same area.
Now the more sophisticated the chip, the copper wire becomes thinner, the resistance also increases, but has to carry more current to speed up the switching speed, improve performance, so will produce electromigration (Electromigration) phenomenon. The electrons of the copper wire will transfer the kinetic energy to the metal ions, so that the ions move toward the electric field in the opposite direction and gradually migrate, resulting in the diffusion and loss of the atoms of the copper wire, resulting in a short circuit.
The current solution is to set the copper wire in the trenches, and the inner walls of the trenches cover tantalum nitride with a thickness of 2 nm, which prevents the escape of copper. But this way top up to 10 nm and 7 nm nodes. As the process continues to shrink, the inner wall of 2 nm will become too thick. s50240
At the IEEE International Conference on Electronic Equipment, held in San Francisco last December, H.-S. Philip Wong from Stanford's electrical engineer and his team found that polystyrene was used to solve the problem of electromigration Phenomenon, and reduce the resistance. Wong said that although researchers have already studied other linings that may block electromigration, including ruthenium and magnesium, graphene can be thinner than any material. In addition, the semiconductor industry in fact try to avoid looking for new materials to spend too much time, but now the situation, if the copper life can no longer continue, you must use new materials (such as cobalt) to replace.
Stanford's team is currently working with Lam Research Corp. and Zhejiang University in China to test composite material routing to allow graphene to be produced online from copper. Corning has developed a special manufacturing method, will not damage the rest of the chip at the temperature (below 400 ℃), this coating of graphene composite material to suppress the effect of electromigration is the general copper 10 times , And only half the resistance.
Moore's Law to go on, in addition to the transistor, the potential is even the memory, lines and so have to join the ranks of improvement, and the role of graphene or will be more eaten.

TI introduces the industry's first zero-drift, zero-crossing operational amplifiers to achieve true high accuracy

Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE: TXN) today introduced its first op amp with zero-drift and zero-crossing technology to set the standard for precision amplifiers. The OPA388 op amp maintains high accuracy over the entire input range and is suitable for a wide range of industrial applications, including test and measurement, medical and safety equipment, and high-resolution data acquisition systems.
The unique architecture of the OPA388 enables industry-leading combinations of ultra-high input linearity and accuracy. TI's zero-drift technology eliminates temperature drift and flicker noise for maximum dc accuracy and dynamic error correction, and its zero-cross topology eliminates offset errors caused by common-mode limits for linear output and true rail-to-rail Input operation. xc17s05pd8i
Key Features and Benefits of the OPA388 Operational Amplifier:
True True Accuracy with Ultra-High Input Linearity: The device's zero-cross topology eliminates the input offset transitions of traditional complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) operational amplifiers to ensure maximum linearity over the entire common-mode input range Degree and minimum distortion.
• Provides high DC accuracy: TI's zero drift technology provides a maximum offset voltage as low as 5μV, typical offset voltage drift of 0.005μV / ° C and a maximum input bias current of 700 pA, and an industrial temperature range of -40 ° C To 125 ° C. Without the need for costly overheating calibration, while increasing the DC accuracy.
Support for wide bandwidth operation: With a 10 MHz gain bandwidth product (GBW), the OPA388 enables high-gain configurations with access to a variety of signal types and frequencies. The OPA388 supports these devices from precision weighing instruments to heart rate monitors.
• High performance and low distortion: -132dBc of ultra-low total harmonic distortion and 7nV / √Hz voltage noise contribute to high-resolution signal chain, suitable for specialized applications, such as programmable logic controllers, precision field transmission And motion control equipment. xc4020xl-3pq160c
Reduced complexity and cost: Zero-drift and zero-crossing techniques reduce the complexity of the signal chain and the number of external components, enabling designers to minimize board space and bill-of-materials (BOM) costs.
Start the design tools and support immediately
TI provides designers of the OPA388 with a range of support tools, including a reference design that demonstrates how to eliminate cross-nonlinearities in digital-to-analog converters using precision op amps. The reference design uses the DAC8830 precision data converter and the REF5050 voltage reference to create an accurate DC calibration system for high-precision applications in wireless infrastructure, test and measurement.

Apple has not admitted iPhone6s battery problem

According to foreign media reports, if you are using the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6s, you may encounter battery problems. The most common situation is that even if the phone shows the battery still has enough power, but the iPhone6 ​​or iPhone 6s may still automatically shut down automatically.
Moreover, this is not a new problem, because the first time earlier this year, users have raised this issue. According to the "Forbes" reported that Apple official forums related information posted, a complaint about non-iPhone 6s models have TV problems post has more than 62 pages of replies, many of which users are said to be upgrading iOS10.2 After the problem, the problem is more obvious after the update, has seriously affected the normal use of the user. ff300r17ke3
Apple officials also launched a limited range of battery replacement items for the iPhone 6s and announced that the software upgrade will help other iPhone models to solve the battery problem. However, from the current situation, the effect of software upgrades seems very limited.
In this regard, "Fortune" magazine editor Jeff - John - Roberts (Jeff John Roberts) that the most annoying thing about this is that Apple refused to clarify where the problem in the end. Moreover, the company has been "pretending" other models do not exist similar problems, but only for some iPhone6s models start a limited range of battery replacement project.
It is reported that Roberts had their own iPhone 6 battery problems encountered, and "Fortune" magazine at least five employees of the iPhone 6 also encountered a similar problem. Roberts revealed that he learned that Apple retail store employees will provide users with an unusual solution, that Apple can re-install the firmware to the iPhone 6 in question, but this method may lead to the loss of important data, including short message content . cm1000ha-24h
Apple officially issued a formal statement to the Fortune magazine, although Apple in the statement written in a lot of text, but always evasive does not directly recognize the safety of its equipment battery, Apple's statement reads as follows:
We always work hard and are committed to providing the best products, user experience and customer support. We believe that this is the Apple user satisfaction in China and the world smartphone manufacturers have been the leading reason.
We have been very serious about customer complaints, including a limited number of iPhone abnormal shutdown. We also need to thank the media for conveying this issue to us. In the face of these problems, we will launch a formal investigation, and will carry out a detailed analysis of the involved equipment. When we find the problem, Apple will provide users with possible solutions.
Company survey found that in September 2015 and October during the production of a small amount of iPhone 6s used in the manufacturing process with too much outside air mixed with the battery parts. Two weeks ago, we launched a free replacement project for affected batteries around the world. Once again, we apologize for the inconvenience this has caused to users, but it must be noted that this is not a security issue.
At the same time, there are a small number of models not affected by the list of users also reflect their own equipment there is the problem of automatic shutdown, it is because some models will be in normal use for the purpose of protecting the device circuit components automatically shut down. To gather more information on this issue, we will have an additional diagnostic feature built into the iOS software update expected next week. By collecting this information, we can improve the algorithm used to manage battery performance and shutdown. And if this improvement proved to be feasible, we will be added to the future of the software update push.

KIT researches multi-core processors for automotive and industrial applications

Safety-critical applications in automotive, aviation and industry 4.0 will require a significant increase in digital computing performance. This can be provided via Multicore technologies. The ARAMiS II project, developed at the KIT, aims to increase safety, efficiency and comfort by using multicore technologies in vehicles, aircraft and production facilities.
The demand for digital computing performance is increasing enormously, among other things by highly automated vehicles and real-time networked machines, but also by the increasing integration and interaction with other products and services. The use of Multicore technologies significantly increases the computing power of embedded systems in vehicles, aircraft or industrial plants. Multicore processors have multiple processor cores that must work in parallel. This can increase the computing power enormously, but the development is more complex for several processor cores - for example, when it comes to timing or critical point critical requirements. 7101j52zqe22
Multicore processors are now used successfully in many applications, such as PCs, tablets and smartphones. However, safety-critical applications in mobility and industry require additional complex requirements, which is why multi-core systems have hardly become established in industrial embedded applications or in the automotive industry. The requirements for strict safety certifications have so far hardly been met by these building blocks .
"In the new ARAMiS II project, we are creating the indispensable methodological prerequisites to increase safety, efficiency and comfort in the use of multicore technologies and make them industrially available. The results of ARAMiS II are supplemented by standardization activities of the domains concerned and are thus made available to other industry partners. "Says Professor Jürgen Becker, spokesman of the institute management of the Institute for Information Technology (ITIV) of the KIT and together with Falco Bapp of the ITIV coordinator of ARAMiS II. 7201k2zge
In its predecessor, the ARAMiS project, KIT has successfully demonstrated with numerous partners from research and industry that multicore technologies can be used and integrated in safety-critical applications. Based on this, ARAMiS II is to develop, develop and optimize the efficient development processes, especially the systematic tool chain and the industrial platforms with the necessary methods, for the reliable use of multicore architectures. Demonstrators in the domains of automotive engineering, aerospace and industrial automation should demonstrate the applicability of the developed concepts and methods across all domains.
In a kick-off meeting on 1 and 2 December 2016, all partners identified the next activities in the six subprojects: applications and requirements, structured multicore development, multicore methods and tools, multicore platforms, and architectural patterns , Implementation and evaluation, results assurance and utilization.
The consortium of ARAMiS II consists of 33 partners. In addition to renowned research facilities, leading manufacturers from the automotive and aerospace industries as well as the industrial sector as well as various suppliers, software and tool manufacturers are participating. Continental, for example, is an industry spokesman in ARAMiS II, Audi, Bosch, Airbus and Siemens.
Like its predecessor, ARAMiS II has been designed for three years; The project volume totals more than 26 million euros. ARAMiS II is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with around 15 million euros.

Chip industry turnover of over 240 billion US dollars within two years

After a series of mergers and acquisitions, the chip industry, traders have to take a break, and the market for them to choose high-quality transactions are not many.
In the past two years, semiconductor companies have completed more than $ 240 billion in mergers and acquisitions, according to Dealogic, a financial data provider. So far this year, the semiconductor industry M & A transaction size of 130.2 billion US dollars, setting a new record, higher than last year's record 16% higher. Large transactions led to the overall transaction volume, but this is not a small transaction. Over the past two years, six deals have exceeded $ 10 billion and three have exceeded $ 30 billion.
Why is the M & A deal in the chip industry slowing? The reason is simple: there are not many high-quality chip companies available in the market, and most of the companies that want to buy have completed their own deals. Qualcomm took out most of its $ 30 billion in cash reserves to fund the acquisition of NXP Semiconductors. Broadcom has completed a $ 37 billion merger with Avago Technologies earlier this year and has invested another $ 5.5 billion to acquire the network equipment company Brocade Communications Systems. According to financial information provider FactSet, Intel spent more than $ 15 billion last year on acquiring Altera, and then acquired or planned to acquire 12 smaller companies. 50yxf100mce8x11.5
This year's chip industry mergers and acquisitions scale set a new record
Regulatory opposition is another factor restricting chip industry M & A transactions, at least in the chip manufacturing equipment segment of the field is the case. Wafer-equipment makers Lam Research and KLA-Tencor canceled a $ 10.6 billion merger last month after a rigorous review by the US Department of Justice. Applied Materials last year to try to $ 29 billion merger with Tokyo Electronics, but also by the United States Department of Justice of the opposition. Regulatory objections may discourage other chip companies from pursuing larger-scale deals.
Price is also an obstacle, the performance of chip stocks far better than other technology industry stocks. So far this year, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has risen more than 25%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index rose only 4%. Nvidia and AMD are often rumored to buy, with the growth rate of growth this year, the two companies' share price has more than doubled. 6437288-2
But chip companies will continue to look for ways to drive growth in low interest rates. Technology companies will be more interested in the automotive field, which acquired from Qualcomm NXP, Samsung 8 billion US dollars acquisition of Harman International can be seen.
A handful of chip companies are not involved in the recent takeover binge. Over the past two years, Nvidia has only acquired a small company, currently sitting on about 3.7 billion US dollars in net cash. Texas Instruments is currently the fourth-largest chip company, since 2011 to $ 6.5 billion acquisition of National Semiconductor, Texas Instruments has never had a deal.
However, these companies will also carefully selected acquisition targets. Texas Instruments CFO in September this year, said at the Investment Conference, the company mainly in the autonomous areas in the next four to five years to bring value-added transactions. In the recent acquisition of frequent transactions, the choice of Texas Instruments less and less.

Three-layer electrode structure design to improve the energy density of lithium batteries 30%

Yang Yuan, an assistant professor at Columbia University's School of Materials Science and Engineering, has developed a new approach to increasing the energy density of lithium-ion batteries. His three-layer structure of electrodes in the bare air environment to maintain stability, thus making the battery more durable, further reduce the manufacturing cost. The study can increase the energy density of lithium batteries 10-30%, related papers published in early October in the "Nano Letters" periodicals.
Graphite / PMMA / Li three-layer electrode in a battery electrolyte for 24 hours before (left) and after (right). Prior to immersion in the electrolyte, the three-layer electrode is stable in air. After soaking, lithium and graphite reaction, the color turns yellow. Source: Columbia University
"When lithium batteries are charged for the first time, they lose as much as 5-20% of their energy in the first cycle," Yang said. "We have been able to avoid this loss through structural improvements. The approach has great potential for increasing battery life and is expected to be used in portable electronic devices and electric vehicles. " gmf32024abtw
During the first charge after production, a portion of the electrolyte in the lithium battery will change from a liquid state to a solid state due to a reduction reaction and adhere to the negative electrode of the battery. This process is irreversible and reduces the stored energy of the battery.
In the current electrode manufacturing technology, this process to bring the loss of about 10%, but for high-capacity next-generation anode material, such as silicon, the loss will reach 20-30%, which will greatly reduce the battery Of the actual available capacity.
In order to compensate for such initial loss, the conventional method is to add some lithium-rich material to the electrode. However, since most of these materials are unstable in the air environment, they must be manufactured in dry air, which is completely free from moisture, and therefore, the manufacturing cost of the battery is greatly increased.
Yang Yuan developed the three-electrode structure is to ensure that the electrode can be completed in the ordinary air environment to complete the manufacturing.
First of all, he used a layer of "PMMA" (that is, common plexiglass material), to isolate the lithium and air and moisture contact; PMMA polymer and then add a layer of artificial graphite or silicon nanoparticles and other active materials; He allows the PMMA polymer layer to dissolve in the cell electrolyte, thereby conducting lithium and the electrode material. msp430f436ipzr
"This allows us to avoid the air contact between unstable lithium and lithiated electrodes, which can be done in normal air environments and make it easier to produce battery electrodes," Yang explained.
Three-layer structure of the electrode production process: PMMA in the initial state to ensure that lithium does not react with the moisture in the air. When PMMA is dissolved by the battery electrolyte, the graphite contacts with the lithium to compensate for the initial loss due to the reduction of the electrolyte. Source: Columbia University
Yang's method reduced the loss of the existing graphite electrode from 8% to 0.3% and the loss of the silicon electrode from -13% to -15% (negative indicates that the capacity of the battery was taught as the initial state due to the addition of the new lithium material There is an increase). The excess lithium can compensate for the loss of capacity in the subsequent cycle, and thus the cycle life of the battery can be further enhanced.
Li-ion battery energy density (or capacity) in the past 25 years has maintained an annual growth rate of 5-7%, and Yang Yuan research to further improve the growth rate provides a feasibility program. His team is now working to reduce the thickness of PMMA coating in order to reduce its proportion in lithium batteries lower, and strive to achieve industrial production.
"The three-layer electrode design is cleverly designed to produce lithium metal-containing electrodes under normal air conditions," said Yale Wang, assistant professor of chemistry at Yale University. "The initial coulombic efficiency of the electrode has been a major challenge for the lithium-ion battery industry, This simple and effective compensation technology will cause great interest.

Intel OEM Spreadtrum 14nm chip sample this month

Intel has the world's most advanced semiconductor technology in the FinFET process than other manufacturers more than two years in advance of production, 14nm FinFET process although the dystocia, but still than TSMC, Samsung earlier, and Intel's process is the best , The gate distance is the real 14nm level, the other two are water. From the beginning of the transition began in the first half, Intel foundry as a breakthrough point, to win over LG Electronics, and now a customer confirmed that China's Spreadtrum will also use Intel 14nm process foundry, the fastest chip-related October You can sample.
Intel has no doubt in the wafer manufacturing strength, there have been sporadic OEM cooperation, but not many customers, mainly FPGA companies such as Altera, the results of Intel's own customers to the acquisition. Spreadtrum for Intel is not an outsider - Spreadtrum and another company Rui Dike were purple company acquired, and later set up a Unisplendour Company, and Intel Corporation to spend $ 1.5 billion stake in exhibition Rui, accounting for 20% of shares, That is, Intel is now a major shareholder of Spreadtrum. VKI50-12P1
Intel spent so much money to buy shares will naturally not be no good, in addition to planning the Chinese market, it is estimated that OEM cooperation is one of the contents of the negotiations before. Spreadtrum's CEO Li Liyou last year, said on 2016 will use Intel 14nm process foundry chip, there are media broke the news that Intel's 14nm process based on the chip can be the fastest in October to sample, progress is still very fast.
The news pointed out that Spreadtrum's 14nm chip will attract Samsung's orders, is expected to related Samsung mid-range phone will come out in 2017. Samsung has long been the company's VIP customers, although we rarely see based on the Spreadtrum chip (but also a lot of Spreadtrum baseband) smart phone, but in the 3G chip and overseas markets, Samsung Indeed there are many mobile phone is the use of Spreadtrum chip.
According to statistics in June of this year, Spreadtrum + Reddy in the global mobile phone chip market share reached 25.4%, more than MediaTek 24.7%.
On the other hand, cooperation with Intel does not mean that Spreadtrum to give up TSMC, they will still use the latter's 16nm and 28nm process, which is the first use of TSMC SC9860 16nm FFC process mobile phone chips, competitors MediaTek P20, The end of this year will be able to market.
Spreadtrum's accession to the Intel OEM business is a good start, after Intel announced the expansion of foundry business, we know that a customer is LG Electronics, in the 14nm and the future 10nm process OEM, LG will be Intel OEM business, an important partner, but LG ARM chip from the research for a long time, has not broken any movement, far worse than the Samsung Exynos processor. PM15CSJ060
According to the original text, Intel now has about 2,000 employees in China, South Korea, Japan and other Asian customers in Shanghai, there is a team dedicated to serving Chinese customers.

LED industry will enter a chip packaging and integration route

LED is a kind of electrical energy into light capable of semiconductor electronic components. Such electronic components appear as early as 1962, can only be issued early low-light red, followed by the development of other versions of monochromatic light, the light energy emitted today throughout visible light, infrared and ultraviolet light, luminosity also increased to a considerable luminosity. The use is also made at first as indicator, display panels; With the continuous advancement of technology, light-emitting diodes have been widely used in monitors, televisions and lighting decorative lighting.
    
2010-2016 LED penetration in the market will have a substantial increase, in which the home market rose from 6% to 49%, outdoor lighting increased from 5-40%, while the largest commercial lighting will appear development, rising from 2-51%. With lower LED costs, prices fall, and the policy out of incandescent light, China LED market is growing rapidly, LED lighting penetration gradually increase in 2015 has reached 32%, has become a mainstream source. LED output value of 154 billion yuan from 2011 to 2015, an increase of 396.7 billion yuan, CAGR of 26.69%. lm2594
    
2016 - 2021 China is the development of LED industry analysis and investment potential study shows that the rapid development of China's LED industry is increasingly competitive. Benefit ratio of domestic chip to enhance access to technology as well flip a mature power efficient high-power LED chips, 2011-2015 upstream LED chip industry output value increased year by year, CAGR of 21.32%. 2015 China LED chip industry output value reached 13 billion yuan, an increase of 8.3% slowdown. Midstream LED packaging industry also developed rapidly. 2011-2015 CAGR of 19.01%. The rapid development of China's domestic packaging companies also intensified global competition, China LED packaging industry has entered a period out of competition.
    
LED artificial intelligence replace the equipment, increase production efficiency, reduce production costs. LED as a typical labor-intensive industries, the upstream, midstream and downstream equipment to replace artificial intelligence, LED is expected to increase production efficiency, reduce production costs, and thus LED intelligent equipment has a huge market space. In LED upstream industry, for photovoltaic involving LED chips Prober. LED chip LED Prober for sorting measurement point links. The accuracy and stability of the test device has a very high demand, mainly Taiwan Whitby, MPI ASM and Hong Kong and other major manufacturers, except for Optoelectronic outside yet there are other domestic enterprises involved. Localization services for photovoltaic has advantages, point measuring machines have been mass production, and by the international manufacturers of quality certification. On the midstream industry, LED spectral taping equipment is part of the LED package of essential tool for LED light products, color, electrical, appearance one by one to detect, classify, and taping receipts, to ensure consistency of the three sex. For photovoltaic technology has a profound accumulation in packaging automation, packaging factory to China positive transformation from labor-intensive to capital-intensive, in line with industry trends to create 4.0 smart factory has promoted. hd74ls00p
    
Quality LED industry core technology and high-end products are generally held in foreign hands, but with the rapid development of China's LED business, our core technology and core patents in foreign manufacturers have quietly changed hands this pattern. Upstream has taken shape throughout the next period of time lead to new competition big changes? Chinese and foreign market background is different, the development of chip and packaging industry in Europe and America and Japan and South Korea is different, whether it is research and development, technology infrastructure, industry or stage of development, the future have the opportunity to take the package and chip integration route.

TSMC 10nm production by the end of Apple's customer lock MediaTek Qualcomm Hass

TSMC 10nm by the end of mass production, according to the equipment industry sources, including sea, MediaTek, Qualcomm, Apple and other four major customers, is expected end of this year is expected to complete chip design decision (tape-out), and have started booking TSMC 10nm production next year. TSMC, the first quarter of next year 10 nanometers can contribute revenue in the 10 nanometer production capacity quickly pulled a quarterly basis, the revenue growth momentum strong operating performance this year will be significantly better.
    
In addition, TSMC 7 nanometers estimated to be completed by the first half of next year chip design finalized, the first quarter of 2018, mass production, which currently includes programmable logic gate array (FPGA) maker Xilinx (Xilinx), graphics chip maker Huida (NVIDIA) two 16 nanometer customers have been identified across the 10 nanometer process generation directly with TSMC 7 nm to cooperate. 20t201da2
    
TSMC in the 12-inch wafer Fab 15 Section 5 has completed the first 10 nanometer capacity building, the recent trial production was better than expected, the first 10-nanometer chip has reached a satisfactory yield, there will be three 10-nanometer chips have been complete the design finalized by the end of the wafer and now there will be more to complete the design finalized, the first quarter of next year is expected to start contributing revenue. TSMC continued expansion section 6 and section 7, in addition to support for future 10-nanometer production, but also in some capacity in 2018 will be converted into 7 nanometers enter mass production.
It is understood that TSMC 10 nanometer customers, Continental Huawei Hass Group's semiconductor operation most active Hass phone network processor chip and has been determined to be the TSMC 10 nm process mass production, the fastest at the end of this year will enter volume production. MediaTek mobile phone chip maker also plans to speed up the miniature 10 nanometer, next year the launch of Helio X30 will use TSMC 10 nm production, the fastest in the first quarter next year may begin to expand the cast sheet. u83133169
Qualcomm next-generation 10 nanometer chip Snapdragon 830 phone still commissioned by Samsung OEM, but Qualcomm branched out into the ARM architecture server high-performance computing (HPC) chip market's first 10 nanometer processors, but not to the Samsung production, but TSMC by the steering committee, the same is expected to be finalized before the end to complete the design and mass production.
    
Moreover, this year, Apple TSMC 16-nanometer production A10 Fusion applications processor, has 14 production volume in the park TSMC 12-inch wafer Fab, next generation applications processor A11 is almost exclusively determined by the generation of TSMC continues to win work orders, A11 is expected to be completed by the end of October the design finalized, the second quarter of next year begin commissioned by the TSMC 10-nanometer process chip foundry cast, and will continue to use TSMC's second-generation integrated fan-out wafer level package (InFO WLP) technology.

2020 global smart solar PV market CAGR of 15.22%

According to Sandler Research released by the global solar PV market intelligence report 2016-2020 shows that one of the key market trends reflected in the growth in demand for services and solutions is growing, mainly due to advances in technology and components, such as smart meters, solar simulation , a smart grid components, services, and smart solar photovoltaic applications.
Most vendors focus on providing a complete solution for intelligent solar energy, ranging from components to the service.
In 2016-- During 2020, Sandler Research expects the global PV market intelligence CAGR growth rate of 15.22%.
According to this report, the increasingly serious environmental problems will be the main driver of market growth. If the global smart energy technologies (including smart solar energy), the global carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced by 15%.
According to geographical area, throughout the Americas region over the forecast period will dominate the smart energy market by 2020, will account for 40% of the total market.
Finding electronic components, www.digicomponents.com is a specialized web for obsolete and hard to find electronic components,most of components types found at our web, such as: mds690 and adsp-21020kg-100, visit our website for more components which your need to buy.

This year a number of agencies downgraded semiconductor output forecast

Average selling prices fell due to the impact, including Gartner (Gartner), and other research institutions have lowered the tone semiconductor output forecast this year, more than previously estimated by the single-digit percentage growth, the recession reduced to single-digit percentage point level.
    
According to the International Semiconductor Industry Association (SEMI) stated that Gartner had forecast this year, the semiconductor industry's output will grow by 1.9%; the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) forecast also the semiconductor industry's output will grow 1.4%.
    
Cowen LRA estimates, the semiconductor output will grow 4.9%; IC Insights estimates, semiconductor output will grow 4%. SEMI said various research coordinating body more than the original estimate, semiconductor output will grow low-single-digit percentage point level.
    
According to WSTS statistics merely the first half of semiconductor output reduction of 6% over last year; SEMI statistics, the amount of semiconductor equipment shipments in the first half decreased by 3% over last year.
    
In addition, the first half of the silicon wafer area shipments are also down 2 percent from a year earlier.
    
Including Gartner and other research institutions have lowered the tone this year, semiconductor output estimates, and more positive growth from the original, into a single-digit percentage decline, falling product prices are the main cause of the recession affect output; that is expected to Gartner, semiconductor output will be reduced by 3%; WSTS also predicts that semiconductor output will be reduced by 2.3%.
Finding electronic components, www.igbtexpress.com is a specialized web for obsolete and hard to find electronic components,most of components types found at our web, such as: mg300j2ys50 and fp50r12ks4c, visit our website for more components which your need to buy.

Diodes Release enables asynchronous communication Octal Transceiver

Diodes has introduced enables asynchronous communication between data bus 74LVT245BB Octal transceiver control pin determines the direction of data flow, and disable tri-state output, allows completely isolated from the general line. Conventional data bus is mainly used for computer applications, and now televisions, set-top boxes, base stations and a variety of other data communication devices are widely used to provide a broad market for a variety of transceiver circuits.
74LVT245BB device is normal asynchronous communication between data bus provides a partial power-down function, thereby disabling the output current backflow and prevent damage when the device is powered down. The device also adopted during power remain tri-stated output to withstand hot insertion. Schmitt trigger input also includes a bus hold function, and therefore do not need to input resistor unused. Combined with better than 500mA latch immunity, these transceivers can contribute to the achievement of a wide range of design, can be hot-swappable application server computer and cellular telephone base stations without having to switch off the device.
74LVT245BB device specified in the 2.7V to 3.6V operating supply voltage range, can drive 3.3V or 5V input, allowing mixed logic voltage applications. The output can absorb 64mA or 32mA current offer and have <125μA leakage current when forced to reach 5.5V. 74LVT245BB device propagation time is 2.7ns (typical), has a driving capability for large bus architecture, and power-down feature to avoid loading the data bus, bringing advantages in power performance ratio, reliability and cost.
Finding electronic components, www.igbtexpress.com is a specialized web for obsolete and hard to find electronic components,most of components types found at our web, such as: SKM100GB128DN and QM100HY-H , visit our website for more components which your need to buy.

Intel's acquisition of Nervana Systems develop artificial intelligence technology

According to the "Wall Street Journal" online edition reported, artificial intelligence technology industry has become a popular trend. In this trend, driven by technology companies are competing to acquire start-up companies in the field of artificial intelligence, Intel became the latest to join the ranks of the acquisition of the company.
Intel on Tuesday announced that it will acquire artificial intelligence start-up companies Nervana Systems, to develop called "deep learning" popular artificial intelligence techniques. Nervana is a company with 48 employees engaged in the semiconductor, software and service development.
Intel did not disclose the purchase price.
Prior to this, Apple on Friday the acquisition of artificial intelligence company Turi Inc. Venture capital research firm CB Insights data show that since 2011, the company acquired a large number of transactions artificial intelligence start-up companies reached 31 pen, these big companies, including Google, Twitter, Yahoo, IBM and Salesforce.com.
PwC calculations included smaller-scale acquisitions, so far this year with AI-related start-up companies has reached 29 pen acquisitions this year, the total transaction volume is expected to exceed last year announced 37 pen.
After the 2010 acquisition of startup Siri, Apple promoted the rapid development of artificial intelligence in the consumer sector. After the acquisition of Turi, Apple is expected to benefit from Turi CEO Carlos Gus Sterling (Carlos Guestrin) expertise, which is the University of Washington professor of machine learning.
"Artificial intelligence will gradually change every industry," a pioneer in the field of deep learning, Baidu's chief scientist and Stanford University associate professor Andrew Ng expressed. He believes that the acquisition of buyer demand for talent to more than technology.
Intel's acquisition of the company's artificial intelligence has a special motivation. Although Xeon chip can handle most computing tasks in the data center, but rival Nvidia GPU faster handling specialized tasks associated with deep learning.
Finding electronic components, www.greenfieldcomp.com is a specialized web for obsolete and hard to find electronic components,most of components types found at our web, such as: cs4385 and pe014005, visit our website for more components which your need to buy.

IBM introduced DeepFlash 150 all-flash array

IBM recently extended its full line of flash memory products, has launched a new all-flash array --IBM DeepFlash 150. The product is intended to be a cost-effective manner and to control the big data, especially unstructured data. As a result, IBM is currently available, covering almost all of the workload of the flash memory product portfolio.
IBM storage systems and file person in charge with the object storage product manager Alex Chen said the new IBM DeepFlash 15 planned sale in the near future, aimed not find the desired functions on a standard all-flash storage solutions for application type. But most of all-flash arrays tend to focus on more traditional applications, such as virtual desktop infrastructure, block storage, and online transaction processing.
IBM DeepFlash 150 can handle large data sets. IBM claims that its new array density per rack or a single rack unit 170TB capacity flash memory capacity 7PB. High-density flash level so that DeepFlash 150 is also ideal for financial services, healthcare, e-commerce, telecommunications, entertainment and media, and cloud service providers. In addition to its high capacity and performance than flash memory, DeepFlash 150 is also very cost effective per GB capacity of not more than $ 1. IBM recommends that customers use their combined DeepFlash 150 IBM Spectrum Scale, in order to provide key functions covered storage services and big data workloads optimized.
Finding electronic components, www.modulesdirect.com is a specialized web for obsolete and hard to find electronic components,most of components types found at our web, such as: FS300R12KE3 and FRS300BA50, visit our website for more components which your need to buy.

ON Semiconductor Introduces Automotive Power Integration Module program

Promote energy efficiency and innovative Semiconductor (ON Semiconductor), further expansion of automotive power integrated module (PIM) product line, launched STK984-190-E. The module is optimized for driving three-phase brushless DC motor (BLDC) for modern automotive applications, comprising six 40 V, 30 A MOSFET configured as a three-phase bridge, and an additional 40 V, 30 A high-side reverse battery protection MOSFET. The MOSFET is mounted onto a direct bond copper (DBC) substrate, resulting in a compact module with excellent heat dissipation, it is only as effective as discrete programs half the board space.
The module is suitable for 12 V automotive motor drive applications, rated power of 300 W, electric pumps, fans and windshield wipers. Using motor controller designers to incorporate such LV8907UW, can create energy efficient BLDC solution with best-in thermal performance and built-in diagnostics, and ultra-small PCB, saving critical dimensions and weight.
Use this module can significantly reduce component count and BOM cost. DBC substrate thermal resistance reduced, thereby reducing the operating temperature of the MOSFET. By reducing the thermal cycling during temperature changes, which reduces the power consumption and increase reliability. Insulation provided by the DBC substrate also enhance the reliability. STK984-190-E specified operating temperature range of -40 ° C to 150 ° C. All integrated MOSFET through AEC-Q101 certification.
Chris Chey, general manager of ON Semiconductor System Solutions Division, said:. "Develop an efficient BLDC drive program usually takes at least 13-15 discrete components, while less than half the number of car components STK984-190-E power modules required in addition to a compact size, STK984-190-E support robust thermal performance with a smaller heat sink. this enables the size and weight of the system is significantly reduced, which means engineers can fully address the challenges currently facing with regard to improve fuel economy and overcoming space constraints. "
STK984-190-E lead-free DIP-S3 package measuring 29.6mm x 18.2mm x 4.3mm.