The decline of U.S. semiconductor fabs is leaving the Department of Defense with limited onshore access to leading-edge foundry technology that can meet the nation’s long-term chip needs. Intel is stepping in to try to solve the problem.
Source: Department of Defense Enlists Intel to Fab Future Leading-Edge Chips | Source Today
Pyreos, the world’s first supplier of integrated digital SMD pyroelectric sensor subsystems for gas, flame, plus materials analysis applications, and supplier of the world’s smallest SMD pyroelectric detector, announces that it has expanded its refrigerant gas detection range and is now supplying extended-wavelength variants of its ultra-low power, low cost ezPyroTM digital SMD sensors optimized for the latest refrigerant gasses.
The global semiconductor shortage has opened the door for criminals who want to cash in on the scarcity of these valuable components. According to the Wall Street Journal, this has pushed some buyers to take risks that they may not have even considered before.
Source: NIST Wants to Use Atoms to Combat Counterfeit Electronics | Source Today
Several research firms describe the electronics market environment as “stable” entering the all-important calendar Q4. Lead times, for example, have leveled out, according to LevaData and the ECIA, and demand shows no sign of abating. However, logistics experts continue to point to seemingly endless backups at international seaports and retailers are bracing for holiday shipping delays.
Source: Component sales forecast: Stable as she goes :: EPS News | MyNewsletterBuilder
The chip industry is in a constant struggle in predicting demand and that means regular chip shortages every few years and a boom-and-bust market that continues despite access to massive amounts of economic data.
Source: Chip shortage: Here’s why the semiconductor industry gets into trouble predicting the future | ZDNet
In 2001, there was so much excess component inventory in the supply chain that more than $13 billion worth of semiconductors alone was written down or off by component makers, distributors and customers. People still wince at the memory. In 2021, there’s such a severe shortage of semiconductors that the automotive industry is set to lose more than $100 billion in sales because it can’t get chips. “Desperation” is a term that’s been kicked around.
Source: Electronics Component Shortage: A Tale of Two Decades
Industrial, medical, and military demand for high quality, high-voltage multi-layer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) has been hit hard by a shift in production by the world’s largest MLCC manufacturers who are focusing on a seemingly insatiable demand for smaller, lower voltage – and in some way – lower performance MLCCs. This demand has been fueled by the global growth of 5G networks and continued advancements in smart phones and mobile devices who are consuming significantly more MLCCs per device.
The challenges related to semiconductor and other component shortages will be with us for a considerable time, according to more than a dozen manufacturing executives. We asked these decision-makers and their partners about current issues; the impact of shortages; how long the scarcity will last and how they are protecting themselves from counterfeit goods. We also asked what they see as a long-term solution for the severe boom-bust cycles typical of the electronics industry.
Source: Component Shortages to ‘Last Well Into 2022,’ Execs Predict
The U.S. Congress and the Biden Administration are hurtling down the track toward investing billions of dollars in the domestic semiconductor manufacturing industry. But there is a flaw in their approach because they are ignoring the broader manufacturing infrastructure that is needed to combine semiconductors with other parts to create reliable electronic systems.
WASHINGTON—Sept. 3, 2021—The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today announced global semiconductor industry sales were $45.4 billion in the month of July 2021, an increase of 29.0% over the July 2020 total of $35.2 billion and 2.1% more than the June 2021 total of $44.5 billion. Monthly sales are compiled by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization and represent a three-month moving average. SIA represents 98% of the U.S. semiconductor industry by revenue and nearly two-thirds of non-U.S. chip firms.
Capacitor, resistor and inductor markets all showed signs of increased demand in August, with lead times for all three product lines reaching new heights. Lead times increased again in August 2021 by 2.1 percent. This follows a 3.4 percent month-to-month increase in July 2021, which has subsequently taken capacitor demand and lead times back to levels where MLCC shortages were dictating supply and demand back in 2019.
Source: Passive Electronic Components: Global Market Update, August 2021 | TTI, Inc.
Wafer bumps need to be uniform in height to facilitate subsequent manufacturing steps, but a push for 100% inspection in packaging in mission-critical markets is putting a strain on existing measurement technologies.
