Round-up 2013: Best of semiconductors, electronics and solar

Friends, here’s a review of 2013! There have been the usual hits and misses, globally, while in India, the electronics and semiconductor industries really need to do a lot more! Enjoy, and here’s wishing everyone a Very Happy and Prosperous 2014! Be safe and stay safe!! DEC. 2013 What does it take to create Silicon

SEMICON Europa 2013: Where does Europe stand in 450mm path?

SEMICON Europa was recently held in Dresden, Germany on Oct. 8-10, 2013. I am extremely grateful to Malcolm Penn, chairman and CEO, Future Horizons for sharing this information with me. SEMICON Europa included a supplier exhibition where quite a few 450mm wafers were on display. One highlight was a working 450mm FOUP load/unload mechanism, albeit

IEF 2013: New markets and opportunities in sub-20nm era!

Future Horizons hosted the 22nd Annual International Electronics Forum, in association with IDA Ireland, on Oct. 2-4, 2013, at Dublin, Blanchardstown, Ireland. The forum was titled ‘New Markets and Opportunities in the Sub-20nm Era: Business as Usual OR It’s Different This Time.” Here are excerpts from some of the sessions. Those desirous of finding out

Global semiconductor industry to grow 7.9 percent in 2013

According to Malcolm Penn, CEO, Future Horizons, the outlook for the global semiconductor industry in 2013 is likely to be +7.9 percent. This means, the global semiconductor industry will likely grow to $315.4 billion in 2013. Should this happen, it would be significant, given that this is the third year in a row that the

Semiconductor supply chain dynamics: Future Horizons @ IEF2011

The last decade heralded a dramatic transformation in supply chain dynamics, driven by the complexity challenge of staying on the More Moore curve. On the demand side, the high cost of fabs persuaded almost all integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) to use foundries for their leading-edge wafer supply. The ever-increasing process complexity and its negative impact

March’s ‘one-two-three’ calamity! What now for chip industry?

This is a summary by Malcolm Penn, chairman and CEO, Future Horizons. For those who wish to know more, please get in touch with me or Future Horizons.   It was all going so well at the beginning of March when January’s WSTS results were released. The oil and North African issues were being taken

Aftermath of Japanese earthquake: Implications for global electronics industry!

This is a commentary on industry trends from Malcolm Penn, chairman and CEO, Future Horizons. Importance of Japan Japan is a major producer of semiconductor components accounting for around 22 percent of global semiconductor production. The Flash memory market sector – crucially mobile phones, iPads and their derivatives, digital cameras, and portable storage devices, account

Boom turned to bust? Chip industry’s future!

Malcolm Penn, chairman and CEO, Future Horizons, asked the question at the SEMI ISS2011 Europe event at Grenoble, France, early this week: Whether this is the time to rethink the industry assumptions? For instance, fabs have no strategic value, until you haven’t got one and lost control of your business. ASPs will keep on falling,

It’s Q1 seasonal slowdown, and yearly time for denial!

This is a summary by Malcolm Penn, CEO, Future Horizons. For those who wish to know more, please get in touch with me or Future Horizons. December’s WSTS results were as boring as they were predictable, with no serious data revisions (thankfully) and the results right where we expected. December’s year-on-year IC unit growth was

WSTS Dec. 2010 results boringly predictable!

This is a summary by Malcolm Penn, CEO, Future Horizons. For those who wish to know more, please get in touch with me, or, with Future Horizons. December’s WSTS results were as boring as they were predictable, with no serious data revisions (thankfully) and the results right where we expected.  December’s year-on-year IC unit growth