Earthquake in Japan affects the electronic components supply chain 

On the evening of the 13th, an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale occurred in the northeastern region of Japan, which affected the production of manufacturers such as Murata, Renesas, and Shin-Etsu. Among them, Murata’s factories in Fukushima and Miyagi have suspended operations; Renesas estimates that it will take a week to resume normal production.

Source: Earthquake in Japan affects the electronic components supply chain – SemiMedia

The world is dangerously dependent on Taiwan for chips 

As China pushes the world to avoid official dealings with Taiwan, leaders across the globe are realizing just how dependent they have become on the democratic nation.Taiwan is being courted for its capacity to make leading-edge computer chips. That is mostly down to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world’s largest foundry and go-to producer of chips for Apple Inc smartphones, artificial intelligence and high-performance computing.

Source: The world is dangerously dependent on Taiwan for chips – Taipei Times

Fearless Chip Forecasts For 2021

It’s been a roller coaster ride in the semiconductor industry. In early 2020, the semiconductor business looked bright, but then the Covid-19 pandemic struck, causing a sudden downturn. By mid-2020, though, the market bounced back, as the stay-at-home economy drove demand for computers, tablets and TVs. The chip market ended on a high note in 2020, but the question is, what’s in store for 2021.

Source: Fearless Chip Forecasts For 2021

ams introduces world’s first AEC-Q102 and ISO 26262 compliant VCSEL flood illuminator 

Premstaetten, Austria (January 11, 2021) — ams (SIX: AMS), a leading worldwide supplier of high performance sensor solutions, today announces the pre-release of the new TARA2000-AUT family of VCSEL (Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser) flood illuminators for automotive applications which are the industry’s first to be qualified to the AEC-Q102 automotive quality standard and the ISO 26262 functional safety standard.

Source: TARA2000-AUT – TARA2000-AUT | ams

Chip shortages hit even as auto chip sales climb 

When COVID-19 caused carmakers to shut down plants around the globe last spring, few envisioned the fourth quarter 2020 jump in sales of cars and auto-related semiconductors.Lately, some North American carmakers are even reporting a chip shortage that has been seen elsewhere around the globe, cutting into their production.  Ford Motor Co. is planning to idle a Louisville, Kentucky, SUV assembly facility for a week because of limited supplies of chips used in displays and transmissions, forcing a temporary layoff of 3,900 workers, according to recent reports, including one from Reuters. Fiat Chrysler is also idling its Brampton facility in Ontario, Canada.

Source: Chip shortages hit even as auto chip sales climb | FierceElectronics

U.S. Takes Strategic Step to Onshore Electronics Manufacturing 

Late last week, the U.S. Congress passed the annual policy law that guides the U.S. Defense Department. Tucked away inside the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021 (NDAA) are provisions that supporters hope will lead to a resurgence in chip manufacturing in the United States. The provisions include authorization for what could be billions of dollars of financial incentives for construction or modernization of facilities “relating to the fabrication, assembly, testing, advanced packaging, or advanced research and development of semiconductors.”

Source: U.S. Takes Strategic Step to Onshore Electronics Manufacturing – IEEE Spectrum

Global Semiconductor Sales Increase 6% in October; Annual Sales Projected to Increase 5% in 2020 

WASHINGTON—Nov. 3, 2020—The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today announced worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $39.0 billion for the month of October 2020, an increase of 6.0 percent compared to the October 2019 total of $36.8 billion and 3.1 percent more than the September 2020 total of $37.9 billion. Monthly sales are compiled by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization and represent a three-month moving average. Additionally, a newly released WSTS industry forecast projects annual global sales will increase 5.1 percent in 2020, followed by an increase of 8.4 percent in 2021. Projections for both years are higher than they were in the previous WSTS forecast released in July. SIA represents 98 percent of the U.S. semiconductor industry by revenue and nearly two-thirds of non-U.S. chip firms.

Source: Global Semiconductor Sales Increase 6 Percent Year-to-Year in October; Annual Sales Projected to Increase 5.1 Percent in 2020 – Semiconductor Industry Association

Vishay Intertechnology 2020 Q3 Earnings Presentation 

The following slide deck was published by Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. in conjunction with their 2020 Q3 earnings call.

Source: Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. 2020 Q3 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (NYSE:VSH) | Seeking Alpha

A Self-Erasing Chip Designed to Defeat Counterfeiting 

Semiconductor products can be counterfeited. That’s an unfortunate fact. But because they control the operation of vital electronics, the failure of a single counterfeit semiconductor component can have catastrophic consequences, presenting important risks to our health – and via security applications, risks to our safety, too.

Source: A Self-Erasing Chip Designed to Defeat Counterfeiting | TTI, Inc.

VCSEL maker LandMark sees revenues growing

LandMark Optoelectronics, a specialist for epitaxial wafers and VCSEL components, is expected to see its revenues hit new highs in two years in fourth-quarter 2020, after witnessing its sales rise 13.1% sequentially to NT$603 million (US$21.09 million) in the previous quarter, according to industry sources.The growth momentum will continue into the fourth quarter as the company just completed a capacity ramp project in September 2020 that doubled its capacity for backend processes, said the sources.

Source: VCSEL maker LandMark sees revenues growing

AMD Confirms Rumored Acquisition of Xilinx 

AMD said it is buying Xilinx for $35 billion, confirming the news leak several weeks ago. AMD made it clear that this deal is all about high performance computing (HPC): it was the headline of its announcement; it is at the top of AMD’s web site today; and it was the first thing CEO Lisa Su said (after “Good morning”) on the company’s conference call with analysts. After all the speculation about what the deal might mean, one can now be fairly confident that the main focus of AMD buying Xilinx is HPC.

Source: AMD Confirms Rumored Acquisition of Xilinx | EE Times

Solid State Devices Releases Hermetic Dual GaN FET PN SGF30E100Z8

La Mirada, CA – Solid State Devices, Inc. (SSDI) continues to expand its hermetic GaN Power FETs line with the SGF30E100Z8, a 1000 volt dual GaN FET. When used in a half bridge configuration, this device delivers 15 amps of continuous drain current, but can also be connected in parallel to achieve 30 amps. Similar to SSDI’s other GaN offerings, the very fast switching SGF30E100Z8 has a low gate charge of 10 nC max and a low RDS(on) of 160 mΩ typ.

Source: News 2020-09-21: SGF30E100Z8