GLG News by Council Members who Know Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductors

John BergChief Technology Officer AMERICAN SEMICONDUCTOR, INC.

When will Phase Change Memory make an Impact in the IC business?

July 1, 2008

Analysis of:Spansion: Numonyx' PCM is 'marketing fluff' | www.eetimes.com

Bertrand Cambou, CEO of Spansion, has an opinion on Numonyx' push into phase-change memories: "Phase-change memory is pure marketing fluff." Although Cambou is correct that existing Numonyx phase change memories are not ready for prime time, the situation will be quite different below 32nm, which is a technology node that Spansion may never reach, if it continues to hemorrhage cash as it is. Below 32nm, the issues surrounding FLASH will require an architectural change in order to scale products to the 22nm node and below. Phase change memory is a leading contender to replace the traditional double poly FLASH cell. Samsung, Hynix, and Numonyx are actively pursuing this technology. Mr. Cambou's company is behind the curve, as a failure to plan for the future in high tech is a plan for failure.

Dieter MackowiakPrincipalIndependent Consultant (Dieter Mackowiak)

Seagate Needs To Move Or Loose

June 23, 2008

Analysis of:Will Seagate buy Intel's stake in NAND JV? | www.eetimes.com

SSD's will replace HDD's in Notebooks and Blade servers within the next five years. Anybody who wants to participate in this market needs access to competitive NAND flash products and have stability of supply. 

James "Jim" CantorePresident & Chief AnalystJLC Associates LLC

If We Build It, A 450 mm Wafer Fab, Will Customers Come?

May 7, 2008

Analysis of:Will industry build 450-mm fabs? | www.eetimes.com

1. New Markets will be created, enabled by the 450mm revolution. 2. Opportunity is there for new equipment strategic alliances with major chip players. 3. Smarter, simpler electronics projects need very intelligent, very large 450mm wafer-based chips.

John BergChief Technology Officer AMERICAN SEMICONDUCTOR, INC.

Intel and NAND FLASH: Santyana was correct; Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it

March 14, 2008

Analysis of:Analysis - Intel NAND woes and cardinal sins | www.electronicsweekly.com

Intel is a terrific company. Since 1985, it has focused mostly on MPU's, as the expense of everything else, and consequently, it has dominated the market. Prior to 1985, it was also a memory company - competing against the Japanese. Intel used GCA steppers - an utterly inferior product - while the Japanese uesed 1x projection systems - which made larger die with fewer defects. Who won? The Japanese, of course. Today it is not just the Japanese, but the Koreans as well - Samsung and Hynix.

John BergChief Technology Officer AMERICAN SEMICONDUCTOR, INC.

Is Micron spinning out its Image Sensor Division?

March 10, 2008

Analysis of:Bloodied Micron tries extreme (re)makeover | www.eetimes.com

Micron announced last week that its newly named sensor business, Aptina, will run as an independent division within Micron. The divsion will have independent sales, marketing and profit-and-loss functions in order to be more "responsive to the market." Aptina employs about 700 people and represented 12 percent of Micron's total net sales. Aptina will continue to use Micron's fabs but will be allowed to pursue manufacturing alliances with Asian foundries. This move is signaling that Micron is putting its sensor business for sale. Micron already breaks out the revenue and operating profit (loss) of its imaging business in in its annual and quarterly reports. The latest quarter saw the imaging business dip into the red. Selling this asset would be apropos for Micron, as sensors have little in common, either in manufacturing or in sales channels, with Micron's main business: DRAM and FLASH memories.

James "Jim" CantorePresident & Chief AnalystJLC Associates LLC

How Can AMD Save Itself and Stay Independent? Is Nvidia AMD's Savior?

March 4, 2008

Analysis of:Nvidia-AMD: Deal or no deal? | www.eetimes.com

1. AMD got itself in a precarious position by failing to execute. 2. Nvidia acquiring AMD is not the solution. Nvidia does not need an AMD headache. Neither aspirin nor anything stronger will help Nvidia. 3. AMD needs financial and engineering resources.

James "Jim" CantorePresident & Chief AnalystJLC Associates LLC

What's Up With Yet Another Numonyx Delay?

March 3, 2008

Analysis of:Could it be another Numonyx delay? | www.eetimes.com

1. The NOR market is a money loser, no matter who the players are. 2. If Numonyx, (Intel + STMicroelectronics), was such a great money making proposition it would have been funded months ago. 3. The financial world is well aware that the last big NOR Flash venture between AMD and Fujitsu, Spansion, resulted in a public company that to date has never ever made a profit.

Chris HareChief Executive OfficerThe nTete Group

Fugly?? Is that it?

February 6, 2008

Analysis of:Review: Nokia E90 Communicator Acts Like a Laptop, Makes Calls Like a Phone | blog.wired.com

Nokia communicators reviewed in the US is important, we've missed the point for a while here, so coverage is cool. Seeding the enterprise driven smartphone market with a real device that bridges submini notebooks and high end phones is an important door opener/wedge to get business ready to support phones in a better way. ID isnt everything.  Its not a consumer device - clearly, but you dont use this to look good.

James "Jim" CantorePresident & Chief AnalystJLC Associates LLC

AMD Looks Uphill: Bluster Dims Lost Luster

February 4, 2008

Analysis of:AMD: Is The Worst Over? | seekingalpha.com

Does AMD keep close enough tabs on the details? Risk underestimation cripples bold initiatives. Crisp execution and coordination of all the risks is something AMD needs to do better. AMD overpaid for ATI, ran short of cash and had to go overseas for capital.AMD will give up precious market share to Intel.AMD profitability remains just out of reach.At current market valuation AMD may be a takeover target.  

Mel BurksFounder / Senior PartnerTech Quest Research, LLC

Alternatives for Cost Reduction in Solar Cell Manufacturing – Nano Flakes

January 4, 2008

Analysis of:Nano Flakes May Revolutionize Solar Cells | www.sciencedaily.com

Development of silicon and III-V compound semiconductor nanostructures offers yet another path for low cost production and increased photovoltaic efficiencies. The real question is when how soon these advanced methods will become commercialized. The decisive factor for the success and production of solar modules is the manufacturing cost and how to drive cost lower while improving conversion efficiency.  

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