In the fourth quarter of 2023, the global foundry industry declined 3.5% year-on-year, although it grew 10% sequentially. Against a backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty, the foundry industry began to bottom out, driven by demand for inventory replenishment in the supply chain of the smartphone and personal computer industries. TSMC led the market with a 61% market share in the quarter, driven by strong demand for AI GPUs from NVIDIA and demand for Apple's iPhone 15 on the 3nm process, underscoring its technological leadership in the sub-7nm node. Samsung came in second with a 14% market share, and strong bookings for its S24 series demonstrated the good performance of its 5/4nm process. Meanwhile, Grofound and UMC, each with a 6% market share, performed better than expected, although the Q1 2024 outlook is more conservative. SMIC, on the other hand, accounted for a 5% market share, mainly serving Huawei's Kirin chips and China's domestic CPU/GPU demand. Looking ahead, the foundry sector is expected to return to growth in 2024 as inventories normalize and AI demand continues to be strong.
Tesla, backed by Elon Musk, has signed a major contract with India's Tata Electronics to source chipsets to expand its international operations and supply chain. The partnership marks Tesla's move away from its dependence on a single market and places India in a key position in the global semiconductor value chain. Additionally, Tesla plans to invest in a mass production facility for electric vehicles in India, with announcements expected during Musk's visit to the country this month. Government-backed subsidies and climate change concerns in India have driven significant growth in the electric vehicle market, with sales expected to grow by about 66% this year. This agreement between Tesla and Tata not only demonstrates a realignment of corporate strategy but also signals India's growing role in the global electric vehicle and semiconductor industries.
Infineon's gate driver IC TLE9140, with several functional protections such as time-out watchdog, leakage source monitoring, and over- and under-voltage protection, complies with the ISO 26262 ASIL B standard for functional safety. The device supports operating voltages from 8V to 60V for applications up to 75V but requires an external reverse polarity protection element. A special feature is the adaptive control, which automatically adjusts the gate current to the parameter fluctuations of the MOSFETs in the system, optimizing the electromagnetic radiation and reducing the power consumption. Infineon recommends using this driver with the TLE987x series of microcontrollers for more efficient control. The driver is widely used in devices such as pumps, fans, and windshield wipers in vehicles, electric scooters, and e-bikes and shows good prospects for market applications.
Intel assembled its first High Numerical Aperture (High-NA) EUV lithography machine in Oregon, marking a significant advance in semiconductor manufacturing technology. Dr. Mark Phillips, a senior researcher at Intel, said the introduction of the $373 million machine, which required multiple planes and 20 trucks to transport it from Seattle to Oregon due to its size and weight, will greatly expand Intel's lithography capabilities to support future chip production.
High NA EUV technology will enable chip feature sizes up to 1.7 times smaller than existing EUV technology, enabling higher transistor densities and lower power consumption. The technology is expected to be used in Intel's 14A process chip development starting in 2025, with production scheduled to begin in 2026 and commercialization in 2027. In addition, this advanced lithography technology will provide higher imaging contrast, reduce exposure time, increase wafer yields, and optimize the cost and performance of the manufacturing process.
This investment not only shows Intel's commitment to future technologies but also reflects its determination to seek leadership in the global competition in the semiconductor field. Despite Intel's relatively late adoption of EUV technology, this update is expected to help it close the gap with its competitors and take a leadership position in the next generation of chip manufacturing technology.
At the Embedded World 2024 trade show, edge intelligence and AI technologies were the main focus, especially in the embedded systems space. Several tech giants, including AMD, Analog Devices, the newly renamed Altera (formerly owned by Intel), and Arm, showcased their latest products and solutions for edge intelligence. Sandra Rivera, CEO of Altera, emphasized that FPGAs will be a key component in the drive for intelligence. In addition, Daniel Cooley, CTO of Silicon Labs, mentioned that applying machine learning to battery-run devices is one of their goals. Jim Liu, CEO of ADLINK, also talked about the trend of incorporating more intelligence into edge devices.
The show also covered trends in industrial automation, with Fiona Treacy of Analog Devices discussing the possibilities of software configurations to improve factory flexibility and enhance real-time sensing. Meanwhile, Rob Oshana of Analog Devices emphasized the importance of reducing technological complexity, particularly in the areas of software development and hardware component interoperability, including the use of open-source hardware abstraction layers to enable the convergence of analog and digital components. These discussions and demonstrations bode well for the growing use of edge AI and machine learning in embedded systems, driving the technology forward.
Resources:
1. https://www.circuitdigest.com/news/global-semiconductor-revenue-escalates-to-10-qoq-backed-by-strong-ai-demand
4. https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/intel-assembles-first-high-na-euv-machine-2024-04/
5. https://www.embedded.com/embedded-world-24-edge-ai-ml-everywhere-and-more-with-software/
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