As Intel has reportedly been working out options to navigate the company through crisis, its possible moves are said to include selling off Altera, putting a halt to its investment project in Germany, and though, less unlikely, sale of its foundry business. However, if this restructuring does happen, according to South Korean media outlets The Korea Times and The Korea Herald, Samsung and TSMC are unlikely to be buyers for Intel’s foundry operations.

A Risky Move for Samsung to Make

Intel’s thoughts on its foundry business has been casting ripples in the global semiconductor industry, as the market has been speculating who the buyers might be and whether the falling giant will take action on the potential divestiture of its foundry operations.

Nevertheless, a report by The Korea Times notes that as Intel’s foundry market share is currently small, the impact to its competitors may be minimum. Therefore, it is unlikely that this sale will immediately boost Samsung’s chip market share.

According to TrendForce’s latest analysis, top five rankings in the foundry sector remained unchanged in the second quarter, with TSMC (62.3%), Samsung (11.5%), SMIC (5.7%), UMC (5.3%), and GlobalFoundries (4.9%) stood steadfast in their positions.

Moreover, industry officials cited by the report notes that it could be a risky move for Samsung to make another large investment in Intel’s foundry. Samsung’s non-memory chip division, which encompasses foundry and large-scale system integration devices, reportedly incurred an operating loss of 300 billion won (USD 2.24 million) in the second quarter of this year, according to the report.

On the other hand, Washington’s attitude could also pose a challenge for current market players like TSMC and Samsung, the report indicates. Given that the U.S. regards semiconductor manufacturing as a matter of national security, GlobalFoundries might be the most likely buyer, as it is a U.S. company and aligns with the policy of protecting U.S. national security, according to a semiconductor industry official cited by the report.

An Emerging Foundry Opportunity for Samsung: AI Chips

A report by The Korea Herald observes that Samsung, in a way, has been facing similar difficulties with Intel, as the company finds it challenging in securing significant orders from big techs. While TSMC is known for having close ties with tech giants, Samsung, on the other hand, is seeing increased orders from startups and automotive firms.

However, a turning point may have arrived. IBM unveiled its new AI chips for servers, the IBM Telum II Processor and IBM Spyre Accelerator, at Hot Chips 2024 last week. The report notes that these upcoming chips will be manufactured by Samsung using its 5nm process technology.

The report further suggests that it would be more advantageous for Samsung to focus on identifying potential clients in the AI industry and securing their orders, rather than trying to compete with TSMC on all areas of the logic chips sector.

Read more

• [News] AMD Could Emerge as a Prospective Buyer for Intel’s Potential Sale of Altera
• [News] TSMC May Benefit from Intel’s Potential Altera Sale Due to Close Ties with Buyers

(Photo credit: Samsung)

According to an earlier report from Bloomberg, the Dutch government may restrict ASML’s after-sales services for Chinese customers. Regarding the matter, the Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof has stated that the government’s decisions will prioritize ASML’s actual interests to avoid jeopardizing its global position, according to a report by Reuters.

ASML derives about 20% of its total revenue from after-sales services. Per the same Reuters’ report, while Dick Schoof did not comment on rumors that Netherlands would put more curbs on ASML’s China chip business, he highlighted that negotiations are progressing smoothly.

Moreoever, the Dutch government is particularly focused on balancing ASML’s interests with other risks, as the authority has acknowledged that the economic interests are extremely crucial, he noted.

He reiterated that ASML represents an extremely important and innovative industry for the Netherlands and should not face any setbacks, as that would harm its global standing, according to Reuters.

ASML plays a crucial role in the global semiconductor supply chain, as the production of advanced chips heavily reliant on its lithography machines.

Per another Reuters report, in 2023, China became ASML’s second-largest market, accounting for 29% of its total revenue, following Taiwan. This surge in China’s market share was driven by a rush to purchase ASML’s DUV machines before stricter U.S. export restrictions took effect.

Due to U.S. government pressure, the export of the most advanced Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines to China has been banned.

Recently, ASML has expressed dissatisfaction with the Dutch government’s lack of support, with former CEO Peter Wennink even reportedly threatening to relocate the company’s headquarters if its development continues to be constrained.

Wennink has publicly opposed export restrictions to China, warning that such measures could stimulate China to develop new technologies and compete with ASML.

Read more

• [News] ASML Might Not Be Able to Provide Advanced Chipmaking Maintenance Services to China as Early as 2025
• [News] ASML Claims the World Counts on China for Legacy Chips; So Do Chip Equipment Giants

(Photo credit: ASML)

Reuters previously reported that Intel is considering selling its stake in Altera, a FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) manufacturer, as part of its business restructuring and cost-cutting efforts, as AMD and Marvell are said to be potential buyers.

As per a report from Economic Daily News citing sources, it’s believed that if the sale goes through, a significant portion of Altera’s orders could be redirected to TSMC, which would be highly beneficial for the Taiwanese foundry giant.

The same report indicated that Altera used to be a major customer of TSMC. However, after Intel acquired Altera in 2015, the orders were redirected to Intel. TSMC’s rapid growth, bolstered by orders from clients like Apple, AMD, and NVIDIA, helped mitigate the impact of losing Altera’s business though.

If Altera is no longer part of Intel, as it might be is acquired by companies like AMD or Marvell, which are currently key clients of TSMC, it is likely that Altera’s orders may return to TSMC in significant volumes.

Intel acquired Altera for USD 16.7 billion in 2015, and has previously indicated plans to sell a portion of its stake through an initial public offering (IPO), though no specific date has been set.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, Reuter’s report suggested that Intel’s plan does not currently include splitting up the company or selling its foundry business to buyers like TSMC, Reuters notes.

Intel had already begun segregating its wafer foundry business into an independent division and financials, starting from the first quarter of this year.

Per Reuters, the company has established a wall between its foundry and IC design business to ensure that the design division’s potential customers cannot access the confidential technologies of Intel’s foundry clients.

Read more

• [News] AMD Could Emerge as a Prospective Buyer for Intel’s Potential Sale of Altera
• [News] Intel Reportedly Mulls to Sell FPGA Unit Altera and Freeze USD 32 Billion German Project amid Crisis

(Photo credit: Intel)

As per a recent announcement by Nanjing Release, the National Third-Generation Semiconductor Technology Innovation Center (Nanjing) has successfully developed a key technology for the manufacturing of trench-type silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFET chip after four years of independent research. This breakthrough surpasses the performance limitations of planar SiC MOSFET chip, marking the first achievement of its kind in China.

SiC is one of the main representatives of wide bandgap semiconductor materials, characterized by its wide bandgap, high critical breakdown electric field, high electron saturation velocity, and high thermal conductivity. SiC MOSFET primarily comes in two structures: planar and trench, predominantly the former in current SiC MOSFET chip field.

Planar SiC MOS structure features simple process, good cell consistency, and relatively high avalanche energy. However, it faces the issue of JFET effect caused when current is confined to a narrow N-region near the P-body, which increases the on-resistance, and the large parasitic capacitance.

Trench structure refers to embedding the gate into the substrate to form a vertical channel, which allows for increased cell density, elimination of the JFET effect, optimal channel mobility, and significantly reduced on-resistance compared to planar structure. However, the trench process is more complex, with poorer cell consistency and lower avalanche energy.

“The key lies in the process,” explained Huang Runhua, Technical Director at the National Third-Generation Semiconductor Technology Innovation Center (Nanjing).

He noted that SiC is extremely hard, so converting from a planar to a trench structure means “digging a trench” in the material, which must be done with precision to avoid unevenness. During fabrication, the etching process’s precision, etching damage, and residual surface materials critically impact the development and performance of SiC devices.

To address these issues, the Innovation Center organized a core R&D team along with a full support team, and finally established a novel process flow following four years of continuous experimentation with new processes.

They overcame the challenges of precise, stable trench etching and successfully manufactured trench-type SiC MOSFET chip, improving conduction performance by about 30% compared to planar type.

The center is currently developing trench-type SiC MOSFET chip, with the goal of launching trench-type SiC power devices within a year, which are expected to be introduced to applications such as electric vehicle drivetrains, smart grids, photovoltaic energy storage.

What impact does this breakthrough have on our lives and the semiconductor industry? Huang explained, using electric vehicle as an example, that SiC power devices inherently offer power-saving advantages over silicon devices, potentially increasing lifespan by about 5%, and trench structure allows for designs with even lower resistance.

With the same conduction performance, this enables a higher-density chip layout, reducing chip usage costs.

Now, the National Third-Generation Semiconductor Technology Innovation Center (Nanjing) has already started research on SiC superjunction devices. “This structure outperforms the trench-type structure and is currently under development,” Huang Runhua revealed.

Read more

• [News] A 8-Inch SiC Wafer Fab Co-Built by San’an and ST to Start Production Soon
• [News] ST to Build a New 8-Inch SiC Facility in Italy with EUR 5 Billion

(Photo credit: DRAMeXchange)

Taiwanese Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo, who was invited to visit Japan, attended a forum on August 30 organized by the Taiwan-Japan Research Institute and delivered a keynote speech. As reported by Kyodo News citing the interview with Kuo, he indicated that TSMC plans to build a third fab in Japan, but with a projected timeline after 2030.

However, Kuo emphasized that the final decision on whether to proceed with the expansion in Japan rests with TSMC, and he refrained from discussing specific site locations.

In addition, in response to Kuo’s comments, the Ministry of Economic Affairs clarified that any details regarding TSMC’s potential third fab should be confirmed with the foundry giant itself.

Reportedly, Kumamoto Prefecture Governor Takashi Kimura visited TSMC’s headquarters on the afternoon of August 26 and held talks with TSMC’s senior executives.

Notably, Takashi Kimura, who took office in April, stated in an report from Bloomberg on May 11th that he would spare no effort to persuade TSMC to establish a third fab in the region, believing that during the preparations for TSMC’s first fab in Kumamoto, the region already possesses better-quality road and water infrastructure and an education system that better supports international school students, which could be advantageous.

TSMC’s fabs in Kikuyo Town, Kumamoto Prefecture (Kumamoto Fab 1) is set to begin mass production in Q4 (October-December), utilizing 28/22nm and 16/12nm process technologies, with a monthly production capacity of 55,000 wafers.

The Kumamoto Fab 2 is scheduled to begin construction at the end of 2024, with the goal of starting operations by the end of 2027, focusing on 6/7nm processes. The combined monthly production capacity of TSMC’s Kumamoto fab 1 and 2 is estimated to exceed 100,000 wafers.

TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei mentioned in June that after the successful operation of the first and second fabs, TSMC would consider building a third fab if it receives the approval of the local residents.

Read more

• [News] TSMC Reports No Major Damage to Kumamoto Plant after 7.1 Magnitude Earthquake near Kyushu, Japan
• [News] TSMC’s Kumamoto Fab 2 Reportedly Begins Land Preparation

(Photo credit: TSMC)