Accelerometers and gyroscopes are fueling the robotic revolution, especially the drones’ market segment. However, these MEMS devices are not the only ones on the market place anymore, with environmental sensors penetrating this industry too.
IC Insights’ IC Market Drivers 2018 report also projects good increases in IC sales for medical electronics, wearable systems, cellphones, servers, and gov/mil applications.
Silicon has provided enormous benefits to the power electronics industry. But performance of silicon-based power electronics is nearing maximum capacity.
A group of spintronics researchers at EPFL is using new materials to reveal more of the many capabilities of electrons. The field of spintronics seeks to tap the quantum properties of “spin,” the term often used to describe one of the fundamental properties of elementary particles – in this case, electrons. This is among the most cutting-edge areas of research in electronics today.
Researchers working in the Laboratory of Nanoscale Electronics and Structures (LANES), which is run by Professor Andras Kis, were able to quantify these quantum properties for a category of two-dimensional semiconductors called transition metal dichalcogenides, or TMDCs. Their research projects, which were published recently inACS Nanoand today inNature Communications, confirm that materials like graphene (C), molybdenite (MoS2) and tungsten diselenide (WSe2) offer, either alone or by combining some of their characteristics, new perspectives for the field of electronics – perspectives that could ultimately lead to smaller chips that generate less heat.
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today announced worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $107.9 billion for the third quarter of 2017, marking the industry’s highest-ever quarterly sales and an increase of 10.2 percent compared to the previous quarter. Sales for the month of September 2017 were $36.0 billion, an increase of 22.2 percent over the September 2016 total of $29.4 billion and 2.8 percent more than the previous month’s total of $35.0 billion. All monthly sales numbers are compiled by theWorld Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organizationand represent a three-month moving average.
A*STAR’s Institute of Microelectronics (IME) has established a development line to accelerate the development of fan-out wafer level packaging (FOWLP) capabilities for next-generation Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. The FOWLP development line, which is built upon existing infrastructure at IME’s facilities at Singapore Science Park II, and its new facilities at Fusionopolis Two, will allow IME and its partners (see Annex A for list of partners) to develop technologies that serve a wide range of markets such as that of consumer electronics, healthcare and automotive.
The IoT is set to become the next growth driver for the semiconductor industry, as demand for internet-connected devices continues to soar. FOWLP is an emerging breakthrough chip packaging technology platform aimed at meeting the technology requirements of next-generation electronic devices that require ultra- low power consumption rates, smaller package profiles, higher performance; and all made at a lower cost.
金融時報報導,麥肯錫全球研究院(McKinsey Global Institute、MGI)28日報告稱,當前科技足以讓半數工作自動化,企業可用更少的員工處理更多工作。MGI估計,到了2030年,當前工時有15%可被自動化取代,將摧毀4億份職缺。如果公司採用AI和機器人的速度快過預期,消失職缺可能加倍,已開發國家有1/3工作將不復存在。
The number of IC packages utilizing wafer-level packaging (WLP) will overtake flip chip shipments in 2018 and then continue growing at a compound annual growth rate of 15% (between 2014 and 2020) compared to just 5% for flip chip, according to the report entitled“Flip Chip/WLP Manufacturing and Market Analysis,” recently published byThe Information Network, a New Tripoli, PA-based market research company.
時空環境下為何要用類載板
類載板(Substrate Like PCB; SLP),顧名思義是以類似載板規格形式呈現的主機板,意思是雖然仍稱之為高密度的印刷電路板,但其規格儼然已接近IC封裝用載板的等級了。然而不禁要問,儘管最近幾年為因應下游輕薄短小的需求,已讓PCB的發展從早年應用於PC或NB的多層板進展到近年手機用高密度互連技術板(High Density Interconnect; HDI)的規格,那為何又出現類載板的形式呢?