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semiconductors

Semiconductor market: Top players, emerging trends, and future opportunities

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The semiconductor industry is the backbone of modern technology, powering devices and innovations that are reshaping our world.

From smartphones and laptops to autonomous vehicles and advanced robotics, semiconductors enable the functionality of nearly every modern device.

As the market evolves, so do its key players, technologies, and competitive dynamics. For investors and technologists, understanding these changes is critical to staying ahead. [Read more…] about Semiconductor market: Top players, emerging trends, and future opportunities

Nexperia to invest $200 million in Hamburg chip-making facility

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Semiconductor manufacturer Nexperia plans to invest $200 million to develop the next generation of wide bandgap semiconductors (WBG) such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), and to establish production infrastructure at the Hamburg site.

At the same time, wafer fab capacity for silicon (Si) diodes and transistors will be increased. The investments were jointly announced with Hamburg’s Minister for Economic Affairs, Dr Melanie Leonhard, on the occasion of the 100-year anniversary of the production site.

To meet the growing long-term demand for efficient power semiconductors, all three technologies (SiC, GaN, and Si) will be developed and produced in Germany starting in June 2024. This means Nexperia is supporting key technologies in the fields of electrification and digitalization. [Read more…] about Nexperia to invest $200 million in Hamburg chip-making facility

Semiconductor robot market set to grow to more than $1 billion

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The global market for semiconductor robots is anticipated to be worth $1.1 billion in 2023 and to grow at a CAGR of 17.5 percent to $5.6 billion by the end of the forecast period, according to Fact.MR. 

Due to their wide range of uses in consumer electronics, automobiles, medical devices, and other products, semiconductors are in high demand worldwide.

To meet this demand, semiconductor manufacturers are increasing their production capacity and implementing semiconductor robots for a better result. [Read more…] about Semiconductor robot market set to grow to more than $1 billion

Bosch to invest a further €3 billion in chip manufacturing business

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From cars and e-bikes to household appliances and wearables – semiconductors are an integral part of all electronic systems. They are the motor that drives the modern world of technology.

Bosch recognized their growing significance early on and has now announced investment of further billions of euros in order to strengthen its own semiconductor business. By 2026, Bosch plans to invest another €3 billion in its semiconductor division as part of the IPCEI funding program on microelectronics and communications technology.

Dr Stefan Hartung, chairman of Bosch, says: “Microelectronics is the future and is vital to the success of all areas of Bosch business. With it, we hold a master key to tomorrow’s mobility, the internet of things, and to what we at Bosch call technology that is ‘Invented for life’.” [Read more…] about Bosch to invest a further €3 billion in chip manufacturing business

Volkswagen to design its own chips for autonomous vehicles

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Automotive giant Volkswagen is planning to design its own chips for autonomous vehicles, according to a report in German newspaper, Handelsblatt.

VW’s CEO, Herbert Diess, is said to have “ordered” the company to “launch the next revolution after electromobility”, and Handelsblatt says that Diess “wants to create the fully networked and self-steering vehicle with its own processor”.

Diess told Handelsblatt: “To achieve optimal performance in light of the high demands that exist for cars, software and hardware have to come out of one hand.” [Read more…] about Volkswagen to design its own chips for autonomous vehicles

Bosch produces its first semiconductor wafers through ‘fully automated’ fabrication process

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Bosch says it has produced the first semiconductor wafers through its “fully automated” fabrication process at its facility in Dresden, Germany.

The industrial giant describes it as “a milestone on the path to the chip factory of the future”.

Bosch says this is a key step toward the start of production operations at the factory, which is scheduled for late 2021. [Read more…] about Bosch produces its first semiconductor wafers through ‘fully automated’ fabrication process

ABB expands project to automate semiconductor factory

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What started out as a small project to automate a single production stage has morphed into an award-winning program to digitally transform one of ABB’s own factories – in what is dubbed Project Genesis. (See video below.) 

The power semiconductors produced by ABB pass through hundreds of production steps, from raw wafer dicing to the final semiconductor module.

Production of the BiMOS semiconductor – one of two types produced at Lenzburg, Switzerland – was labor intensive and tended to generate bottlenecks during high demand. [Read more…] about ABB expands project to automate semiconductor factory

Mitsubishi Electric to acquire Sharp factory to expand power device business

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Mitsubishi Electric has agreed to acquire buildings and land from Sharp Fukuyama Semiconductor, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sharp Corporation located in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.

The acquired properties will serve as a new site where Mitsubishi Electric’s Power Device Works will process wafers for the manufacture of power semiconductors.

New production facilities scheduled to start up in November of next year will enable Mitsubishi Electric to expand its power device business. [Read more…] about Mitsubishi Electric to acquire Sharp factory to expand power device business

Bosch ‘poised for leap’ in e-mobility with new silicon carbide semiconductors

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Bosch says it is poised to make a technological “leap” in electric mobility as a result of developing new silicon carbide semiconductors.

The vast majority of semiconductors today are made using common silicon, which makes up 25 per cent of Earth’s crust, but silicon carbide is generally made from an extremely rare mineral called “moissanite”.

Bosch is secretive about its technology, but Harold Kroeger, member of the Bosch board of management, says: “Silicon carbide semiconductors will transform e-mobility.” [Read more…] about Bosch ‘poised for leap’ in e-mobility with new silicon carbide semiconductors

Volkswagen and NXP in ‘world’s largest’ rollout of V2X technology

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NXP Semiconductors, which claims to be the world’s largest provider of automotive semiconductors, has partnered with Volkswagen to roll out its RoadLINK V2X – vehicle to everything – communication system.

The solution is features in the new Volkswagen Golf, one of the best-selling models of car in the world.

The recently released Golf of the eighth generation is the first volume European car model equipped with V2X, offering a major boost to the deployment of the technology on European roads and beyond. [Read more…] about Volkswagen and NXP in ‘world’s largest’ rollout of V2X technology