The semiconductor supply chain is eyeing the robust demand from 5G commercialization. IC designers are designing chips supporting 5G, and in turn their backend partners are also gearing up development of AiP packaging process to suppor their new offerings. And for 5G smartphones, vendors upgrading camera functionalities is good news for both lens makers and CMOS image sensor suppliers, such as Sony and Omnivision, both of which reportedly see strong demand from Huawei, which is expected to see robust smartphone shipments next year despite the US trade sanctions. And others in China's IC supply chain are also stepping up efforts to improve the country's semiconductor self-sufficiency. YMTC is looking to improve its 64-layer 3D NAND flash memory production yield rate to facilitate commericial production.
IC backend service providers gearing up for AiP packaging: TSMC and other major Taiwanese IC backend service providers including ASE Technology and Powertech Technology (PTI) are ready to offer, or have exerted efforts to develop, AiP (antenna-in-package) packaging process for the manufacture of mmWave 5G devices, according to industry sources.
Sony, OmniVision enjoy robust demand from Huawei: CMOS image sensor suppliers Sony and OmniVision have both enjoyed robust demand for multi-camera smartphones from Huawei, with their regional distributors and backend suppliers being among the beneficiaries of Huawei's strong demand, according to industry sources.
Yangtze Memory to ship 64-layer NAND chips for SSD: Yangtze Memory Technology (YMTC) is aggressively improving its 64-layer 3D NAND flash memory production yield rate, gearing up to ship the chips for SSD applications in the first quarter of 2020, according to industry sources.
