The foundry sector has seen tight supply across all segments, with 6-inch fab capacity almost fully booked for third-quarter 2021 thanks to strong demand for a wide range of applications, such as analog chips and discrete power devices...

Robust testing demand for 5G chips has started buoying revenues at related suppliers including Sigurd Microelectronics and Sporton International.

Six-inch foundries have seen their fab capacity for the third quarter almost fully booked, driven by a ramp-up in demand for analog chips, such as power management ICs, and discrete power devices including diodes and MOSFETs, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

DRAM and NOR flash memory prices are expected to rise through the second half of 2021, as growth on the supply side fails to catch up, according to industry sources.

DRAM supply has already fallen short of demand with the chip shortages worsening. DRAM contract prices are expected to continue rising in second-quarter 2021. The coronavirus pandemic has decimated many industries, but the semiconductor...

ASML has extended a deal to sell fab tools to China-based foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) until the end of 2021, according to the Netherlands-based vendor.

TSMC was the only pure-play foundry manufacturing ICs using both 7nm and 5nm process nodes, which boosted its overall revenue per wafer significantly in 2020, according to IC Insights.

IC analysis and certification lab Material Analysis Technology (MA-tek) has decided to raise quotes for short lead-time orders by 20-50%, particularly for surface analysis (SA) services, according to company chairperson Yong-Fen Hsieh.

IC testing interface solution provider Chunghwa Precision Test Tech (CHPT) has rolled out new solutions designed for handset application processors and HPC chips, according to industry sources.

The emerging 5G, HPC, AI and automotive applications will be driving the global semiconductor market growth in 2021 and over the next several years, according to Clark Tseng, director of Industry Research and Statistics at SEMI.

The US trade ban may be blocking SMIC from advancing its semiconductor manufacturing processes, but the China foundry is looking to expand its presence in the mature node segments amid industry-wide tight capacity. Qualcomm...

Backend demand for memory controller ICs has been increasingly strong promising clear order visibility for BGA and FC-BGA packaging processes at OSAT firms, but their operations are being disrupted by worsening shortages of ABF substrates, according to industry sources.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) is looking to further grow its mature process business segment, after receiving US licenses to import equipment and materials for use in mature-node processes, according to industry sources.

Qualcomm reportedly has extended the delivery lead times for its mobile chips as the global semiconductor supply chain remains under pressure amid tight capacity, according to industry sources.

Rising foundry and backend quotes are prompting IC design houses to make efforts to pass on higher production costs to customers, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

TSMC is giving priority to expanding its 12-inch fab capacity to ease supply. Now clients stand a better chance of having their orders squeezed into TSMC's production schedule in the second quarter of 2021. Taiwan's inductor...

Worldwide sales of semiconductors reached US$40 billion in January 2021, rising 13.2% on year and about 1% sequentially, according to SIA.

TSMC has prioritized expanding 12-inch fabs over 8-inch ones, and it may be easier for the foundry house to squeeze in extra orders from some clients its 12-inch fabs in the second quarter, according to industry sources.

TSMC is fast expanding capacity for 5nm process to meet strong demand from a host of heavyweight clients, including Apple, AMD and MediaTek. The foundry house's capacity for 5nm process is expected hike by one third in second-half 2021...

Thanks to unexpected strong demand arising from the coronavirus pandemic and the US raising tariffs on China-made products, Taiwan's manufacturing industries, especially high-tech ones, have gained significant growth momentum, and Taiwan's 2021 GDP will grow by over 4% and likely by 5%, according to...

Singapore-based semiconductor packaging equipment vendor K&S has seen strong influx of orders for wire bonders for logic ICs and memory chips with delivery lead times extending to 6-9 months, and is optimistic that equipment demand for miniLED backlight applications may grow exponentially starting...

MediaTek has obtained sufficient 6nm and 7nm process capacity at TSMC, which will allow the mobile SoC specialist to boost its 5G chip shipments in 2021, according to industry sources.

TSMC is poised to scale up its 5nm process manufacturing capacity to 105,000 wafers monthly in the first half of 2021, up from 90,000 units in fourth-quarter 2020, with plans to further expand the process capacity to 120,000 units in the second half of this year, according to industry sources.

As of December 2020, only TSMC was among the wafer capacity leaders in each of the main wafer size categories ranked by IC Insights. The Taiwan-based foundry had the most 200mm wafer capacity last year, and ranked second in 300mm wafer capacity.

IC manufacturing capacity has been tight, resulting in chip shortages that some expect to last into 2020. Shortages amid strong demand are sending product prices up - one of those being MOSFET...