A2 Global Electronics + Solutions https://a2globalelectronics.com/ Tue, 12 Mar 2024 17:30:10 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://a2globalelectronics.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/cropped-A2-Global-FavIcon-2-150x150.png A2 Global Electronics + Solutions https://a2globalelectronics.com/ 32 32 Delays Pile Up In The Construction Of Planned Fabs https://a2globalelectronics.com/electronics-news-trends/delays-pile-up-in-the-construction-of-planned-fabs/ Tue, 12 Mar 2024 17:29:15 +0000 https://a2globalelectronics.com/?p=22778 Delays in construction of planned fabs


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Factors like current market conditions, rising equipment costs, a lack of skilled workers, geopolitical tensions, and the slow rollout of government grants are causing delays in the construction of many planned fabs.

Across the industry, stakeholders are grappling with the challenge of aligning production with evolving market demands. Many chipmakers are planning new semiconductor fabrication plants, or fabs, to increase their production capacity—often with the help of government funding. But things aren’t going exactly as planned.

The Race for New Fabs

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted some of the biggest vulnerabilities in the global semiconductor supply chain. Chip shortages and transport bottlenecks made companies realize they could no longer depend on a single location for chip supply. The Russian war in Ukraine has further underscored the dangers of relying on a small number of chipmakers, many of them in politically volatile regions. This has encouraged a mindset shift across the industry. Manufacturers are considering moving some of their factories to different regions, and OEMs are working to geographically diversify their supply chains. Meanwhile, several governments have started incentivizing the growth of onshore chip manufacturing in an attempt to prepare for future market disruptions.

Rapid post-pandemic growth in many industries has driven a surge of demand for chips, which has sparked many chipmakers to consider expanding—and government funding seems poised to make this easier than ever. The CHIPS Act set aside over $50 billion in R&D funding, tax credits, and new fab grants to bolster semiconductor manufacturing in the US. Japan and the European Union have passed similar measures, and India has launched an ambitious project to become a global semiconductor hub.

As a result, companies are announcing new fabs left and right. At least 70 new projects are in the works in the US alone, including from industry leaders Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). Infineon is working on a $5 billion fab in Germany, and Samsung has plans to invest $230 billion in a handful of new fabs in South Korea. But planning and funding new fabs is the easy part—getting them up and running is another matter. There are many factors contributing to the recent series of new fab delays.

What are the challenges of building new semiconductor fabs?

Fabs are large, complex buildings that can manufacture millions of chips every hour. They require huge air handling facilities to maintain the stringent temperature, humidity, and cleanliness standards necessary for chip manufacturing. They also require hundreds of advanced tools and machines, some costing millions of dollars themselves. Building a fab, then, is no easy feat—it typically takes 18 to 24 months to get a fab fully up and running, and that’s if everything goes smoothly.

But in today’s climate, new fabs face several challenges that threaten to delay the industry’s efforts at growth. For one thing, the government funding that many new fabs rely on has been slow to materialize. Though the CHIPS Act was passed in July 2022, it wasn’t until December 2023 that the first grant—$35 million to BAE Systems—was awarded. Larger awards to major players like TSMC, Intel, Samsung, and Micron are slated for later this year, but for now, these companies are still locked in negotiations with the government.

Another factor is market conditions. After a prolonged shortage, many chip types are seeing a slump in demand right now. Companies that made ambitious expansion plans a few years ago, when chips were in short supply, are suddenly dealing with excess inventory and little spare cash for new fabs. US manufacturer Microchip applied for CHIPS funding two years ago, when the company was struggling to keep pace with its orders, and was approved for $162 million. But sales have since declined so much that the company recently had to shut down two of its factories for two weeks. Microchip says it still plans to use its CHIPS funding, when it arrives, to upgrade some of its facilities—but it will have to postpone other projects until business improves.

Some chipmakers are continuing with their expansion plans, basing new fabs on projected future demand rather than current demand. But these companies are running into other challenges, like the rising cost of equipment and lack of skilled workers. Take TSMC, which is in the process of building two factories in Arizona. In 2023, the company announced that both fabs would be delayed at least another year, citing the slow rollout of federal funding and local workers’ lack of expertise in installing sophisticated equipment. Intel also postponed their new $20 billion Ohio plant, which now isn’t slated to go live until 2026, due to a combination of slow market conditions and uncertainty over federal funding.

What do fab delays mean for the market?

Although chipmakers are racing to build new fabs, recent delays mean it will be a few years before the market sees the fruits of these labors. With explosive growth projected in many industries, companies that continue with expansion plans in today’s sluggish market will be glad they did. The upcoming flood of federal funding should help chipmakers prepare for the future, so that when demand picks up again, production capacity will be able to keep pace.

However, it’s important to keep in mind that most new fabs are designed for building high-tech, next-generation chips — not legacy products. High-reliability industries like automotive and defense & aerospace still depend on legacy chips and have been reluctant to transition to newer, unproven chips. Even when today’s new fabs come online, these industries will likely still face shortages. To combat this, companies should invest in building resilient supply chains, find creative ways to source legacy parts, and transition to advanced chips when possible.

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3 Moves To Make Now To Ensure A Robust Chip Supply In 2024 https://a2globalelectronics.com/shortage-mitigation/3-moves-to-make-now-to-ensure-a-robust-chip-supply-in-2024/ Mon, 04 Mar 2024 21:28:57 +0000 https://a2globalelectronics.com/?p=22749 Chip Supply In 2024

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For OEMs, building a robust and resilient supply chain has never been more critical.

The semiconductor industry is at a crossroads, facing unprecedented challenges that demand innovative solutions. Here are three key strategies to help mitigate supply constraint risks:

1. Establish a Solid Network of Suppliers

Supply chains are increasingly interconnected. OEMs can mitigate risks by building a network of resilient suppliers, both globally and in proximity to their operations. This approach provides flexibility and options when shortages arise, reducing the risk of disruption caused by unexpected events in key production hubs.

Specific strategies for strengthening supply chains are recommended for different industries, from automotive to defense and aerospace. But all OEMs need to be strategic in how they select and communicate with their suppliers — especially when sourcing hard-to-find parts.

“Not all OEMs have the resources in place nor the technical expertise to effectively collaborate with semiconductor makers. It is a steep learning curve and onboarding the industry experts that really understand semiconductors and their capabilities and limitations is challenging,” said Dave Schellenberger, marketing manager of Microchip’s automotive unit. “To be most effective, OEMs need to have people that can communicate their needs and requirements in a clear, comprehensive way that will help them make the right strategic decisions.”

2. Anticipate and Act

Recognizing and addressing supply chain disruptions proactively is a central component of building a resilient strategy. Instead of waiting for issues to escalate, OEMs should monitor the industry landscape closely and adapt quickly to changes. Proactivity enables companies to stay ahead of potential disruptions and implement timely solutions.

For example, while the 2022 US CHIPS Act was staged to boost domestic resilience to supply chain disruptions and did indeed impact semiconductor mergers and acquisitions in 2023, things aren’t going quite as planned. Chip makers like TSMC, Intel, and Microchip Technology, which were planning on expanding their production capabilities domestically, have run into issues with funding and resources. “Nothing has failed yet,” said Emily Kilcrease, director of the energy, economics, and security program at a Washington think tank, as reported by the New York Times. “But we’re going to have to see some progress and those factories actually coming online in the next few years for the program to be considered a success.”

This success — or failure — of the CHIPS Act will strongly impact the global supply chain, particularly when considering China’s anticipated impact. “Western nations need a plan for when China floods the chip market,” said Chris Miller, author of Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology, in Financial Times. It will be critical for OEMs to stay on top of these and other local and global industry developments to effectively prepare for the future.

3. Maximize Insights by Employing Advanced Analytics

In the fast-paced semiconductor industry, staying informed is paramount. OEMs can leverage advanced analytics by utilizing reliable, up-to-date sources for market forecast information. While comprehensive market reports such as The Global Market for Advanced Semiconductor Packaging 2024-2035 will provide a truly in-depth view, not everyone has time to read 330 pages of detailed analysis cover-to-cover — plus, that only provides information from a single, though reliable source.

Instead, it’s best to commit to a handful of trustworthy sources of information that provide highlights of reports conducted by multiple third parties, for a broader, more balanced view of the state of the industry. Gartner, for example, predicts the semiconductor industry to grow by nearly 17% and worldwide demand for memory chips to climb by 66.3% in 2024. The International Data Corporation is even more optimistic, with an annual growth rate projection of 20% for the industry. On the other hand, the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics only anticipates a 13% growth and 40% increase in demand for memory chips. Utilizing resources that compare advanced analytics from multiple, reliable sources helps to paint a more accurate picture of what the future may hold.

What comes next?

“In my opinion, the semiconductor industry is undergoing a tectonic shift, and the ripples of this transformation will be felt far and wide.” — Jorge Gonzalez Henrichsen, Forbes Councils Member and Co-CEO of The Nearshore Company

The semiconductor industry will likely emerge stronger and more resilient after the last few years of tumult. But we’re not quite out of the water, yet. Organizations that focus on risk mitigation strategies will be better positioned to weather constraints – both now and in the future.

Read more:

What’s Driving the Continued Automotive Chip Shortage?

4 Tips for Sourcing Hard-to-Find Parts in the Current Global Shortage Market

3 Reasons Why an Independent Distributor is Your Best Electronic Supply Chain Partner

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Need Chips? Node Size Determines Semiconductor Availability https://a2globalelectronics.com/shortage-mitigation/need-chips-node-size-determines-semiconductor-availability/ Mon, 26 Feb 2024 17:06:00 +0000 https://a2globalelectronics.com/?p=22731 semiconductor availability

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While experts anticipate a normalization of the chip supply chain by the middle of this year, a new normal is emerging — one characterized by episodes of limited supply of some node sizes.

After several years of shortages, driven in large part by the rapid growth of industries like AI, EVs, 5G, and IoT, the semiconductor market is starting to rebalance. But those market fluctuations aren’t completely behind us. Here’s what you should know about node-specific disruptions, and proactive measures you can take to prepare.

Node Size is the Biggest Factor in Semiconductor Availability

Node size refers to the size of the components on a chip. As technology advances, node sizes keep shrinking. Today’s smallest nodes (under 11 nm) are used in cutting-edge products that require the most power efficiency in the smallest packages, such as AI, cloud storage, and electric vehicles. The largest nodes (65 nm and up) are considered legacy parts, but they’re still needed in areas like automotive and defense & aerospace.

Since the smallest nodes are in highest demand and have the greatest profit potential, semiconductor manufacturers are pouring capital into new fabs specifically for small-node chips. It can take years to get a new fab up and running, so small-node demand may continue to outpace supply for the short term before balancing out.

Large-node legacy chips are a different story. As manufacturers focus their energy on small-node parts, large-node supply will only continue to shrink — while demand remains steady, or is even rising, in legacy-reliant industries. To combat these challenges, OEMs are finding innovative ways to strengthen their supply chains.

Prepayments are Becoming the Norm

Though long-term purchase agreements are nothing new, more and more companies are willing to prepay for chips, investing hefty sums far in advance to secure the parts they’ll need down the road. American chipmaker Micron collected $600 million in prepayments in fiscal Q1 2024 alone. In late 2023, NAND flash memory company Phison announced its plans to start prepaying for chips to ensure a stable supply in the coming years, when the NAND market is predicted to spike and a chip shortage seems likely.

In December, AI leader NVIDIA made a total of $775 million in upfront payments to various chipmakers to secure cutting-edge high-bandwidth memory chips. This strategic move helps position NVIDIA at the forefront of the AI industry, which relies on the most advanced memory chips. It could also put NVIDIA’s competitors at a disadvantage by placing NVIDIA first in line for sought-after, limited-capacity chips.

Companies are also getting more creative in their long-term purchasing agreements. In 2023, General Motors inked a first-of-its-kind deal with Global Foundries to establish a dedicated capacity corridor exclusively for GM chips, part of the company’s long-term plan to keep pace with the rapid electrification of vehicles.

Market Forecasting is More Important Than Ever

Of course, prepaying for chips long before you’ll be able to use them — and recoup their cost — is no small investment. To ensure this strategy pays off in the long run, companies must be strategic about which parts to purchase and how many. Must-have and high-risk components are the first ones to consider for prepayment. These include legacy products in high-reliability industries like defense & aerospace, where supply is low and obsolescence potential is high.

When it comes to signing long-term purchase agreements or prepaying for large quantities of components, market forecasting is critical. Keeping your finger on the pulse of market trends and technological developments is key to accurately predicting which parts warrant prepayment. Fortunately, today’s advanced analytic tools and interconnected global supply chain make this easier than ever before.

Companies are Viewing Suppliers as Business Partners

As companies adapt to the semiconductor market’s new normal, the traditional mindset of “customer and supplier” is beginning to shift. Smart companies are treating their suppliers more as business partners and collaborating more actively throughout the design, development, and production stages. Collaborating with suppliers during every step of the process can help you align your purchasing order timelines with manufacturer lead times — and ensure you get the parts you need when you need them. It also bolsters your market forecasting capabilities by sharing market predictions as well as production, sales, and inventory data.

Though the recent period of volatility seems to be calming down, future market disruptions are inevitable. The best way to prepare is to consider creative solutions like prepayments, embrace market forecasting, and find a trusted supply chain partner.

Read more:

End-of-Life Management: The Reactive VS. Proactive Approach

Electronics Supply Chain Outlook for 2023: Part 2, A Longer Horizon

3 Reasons Why an Independent Distributor is Your Best Electronic Supply Chain Partner

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Demystifying 3D Integrated Circuits: The Next Generation Of Semiconductors https://a2globalelectronics.com/defense-aerospace/demystifying-3d-integrated-circuits-the-next-generation-of-semiconductors/ Wed, 14 Feb 2024 19:47:51 +0000 https://a2globalelectronics.com/?p=22718 3D Integrated Circuits


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In the field of semiconductor research, three-dimensional integrated circuits (3D ICs) have emerged as a promising solution to the constant demand for more power in a smaller package.

But what are 3D ICs, exactly, and where is this technology headed?

In general, electronic signals are transmitted faster as the density of transistors increases within a given space. For years, this meant squeezing smaller transistors into more compact footprints, but this tactic is reaching its physical limitations.

Theoretically, manufacturing larger chips would help, but this isn’t a viable option for two reasons. Firstly, it’s geometrically easier to fit more, smaller chips onto a silicon wafer than a handful of larger chips. Secondly, all it takes is a particle of dust to contaminate a clean room and ruin the manufacturing process; producing small batches of large chips is effectively gambling on putting all your silicon eggs in one wafer-shaped basket. Instead, manufacturing smaller chiplets allows for little mistakes that don’t impact the entire wafer.

The object of the game then becomes to discover how to connect multiple chiplets as efficiently as possible to reap the same performance benefits of one big chip in a petite, budget-friendly package. Enter, die stacking technologies.

The evolution of die stacking

Die stacking has been around since the earliest multi-chip modules (MCMs) of the 1970s, but there hasn’t been a need for engineers to advance this tech and make it scalable until the recent AI boom. These developments have largely been centered around the introduction of the interposer: a layer of (typically) silicon embedded with insulated copper pathways called Through-Silicon Vias (TSVs) that connect the ICs on systems in packages (SiPs).

When SiPs are “stacked” side-by-side, they’re referred to as 2.5D; when they’re stacked vertically, they’re referred to as 3D — however, as Dick James, Senior Technology Analyst at Siliconics, puts it, these devices are “3D, but not 3D.” That title is reserved for monolithic 3D integrated circuits.

“Compared with TSV-based 3D ICs, monolithic or sequential 3D ICs present “true” benefits of going to the vertical dimension as the stacked layers can be connected at the transistor scale,” reported a study led by Perrine Batude of the CEA-Leti research institute in France.

Francoise von Trapp, the “Queen of 3D” at 3DInCites tasked herself with the duty of explaining the difference between the two categories of 3D integrated circuits on a deeper level.

“3D TSVs involve taking two finished device wafers (either from the same or different fabs) and vertically interconnecting them at the chip level with Through-Silicon Vias,” she explains. “On the other hand, with monolithic, you never have [a] second wafer, but rather a 100nm layer of crystallized silicon, which results in a multiple order of magnitude of difference in both the size of the vias and the final device size….The end device will be smaller and thinner, [and the] interconnection is 10,000 times higher due to the number of vertical connections.”

Design challenges to true 3D integrated circuits

While monolithic ICs have major performance advantages over 3D TSVs, all this power in a tiny footprint comes with a price — both literally and in the form of heat.

True monolithic 3D ICs are the metropolises of semiconductors and, like all major cities, they’re expensive and crowded. In the technical world, this translates to high design costs and overheating that greatly impacts efficiency. Researchers are dabbling with high thermal conductivity insulators and configurations of atomically-thin transistors to try to solve the overheating issue, which is why we aren’t seeing true 3D integrated circuits on commercial markets, yet.

Despite this unresolved solution to a complex problem, one thing is certain: vertical stacking ICs have caught the interest of those across the industry. With major players already investing in R&D for 3D stacking technology, we will likely witness a race to see who will come out on top.

Read more:

How Uneven Circuit Aging Impacts the Procurement of Electronic Components

Fabless OEMs Are Making Semiconductor Chips Faster And Smaller — What That Means For Organic Substrate Packaging

When Planning For Obsolescence, Stay Current To Stay Ahead

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On-Chip Monitoring Enables Proactive Auto Maintenance https://a2globalelectronics.com/electronics-news-trends/on-chip-monitoring-enables-proactive-auto-maintenance/ Wed, 07 Feb 2024 19:07:28 +0000 https://a2globalelectronics.com/?p=22708 on-chip monitoring


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Artificial intelligence and on-chip monitoring in the automotive industry are fueling the drive towards a proactive maintenance revolution and safer roads for all.

The advantage of artificial intelligence to countless industries is in its ability to help humans compile and analyze huge quantities of data to draw actionable insights. When it comes to vehicles, people can generally spot the big issues — such as a smoking engine or a flat tire — but subtle changes in vehicle operations often elude human detection until it’s too late.

What’s Behind The Push Toward Predictive Maintenance?

Identifying early warning signs, such as slight fluctuations in vibrations or temperature over time, could help identify anomalies that lead to failures before they happen. The most ideal situation is not just to manufacture vehicles that can capture these data points, but to create self-diagnosing vehicles that proactively alert drivers before any critical components reach their breaking point. These self-diagnosing cars would extend vehicle lifecycles and even save lives, but the shift towards predictive maintenance in the automotive sector is largely motivated by a shared goal to make reliable autonomous vehicles a reality.

Ensuring Safety Through The Design Of Fail-Safe and Fail-Operational Systems

Any system can fail — automakers know that, which is why designers put a contingency system in place to safely manage failures. For example, if a system failure occurs in a human-driven vehicle, the human will (hopefully) notice the symptoms in time to bring the vehicle to a stop safely. Similarly, in a fail-safe system for an autonomous vehicle, the human driver would be entrusted to take over for the vehicle during a critical system failure.

To that end, Israeli-based software company proteanTecs has designed an on-chip monitoring solution that collects performance data to train machine learning algorithms embedded in their deep data analytics solutions. The idea is not only to provide the data to support a fail-safe system, but to continuously collect and analyze data to catch indications of failures before they happen.

But true autonomy means a fail-operational system is at the helm — which relies on other automated systems to handle failures instead of a human backup. That can be a tough-to-swallow concept for most (particularly regulating bodies), but automotive fail-operational systems are on the horizon. Chassis Autonomy, a Sweden-based startup, has already designed the world’s first fail-operational steering system, and the team is working on a fail-operational braking system too. Here’s how their co-founder and CTO, Thomas Li, describes the firm’s work:

“In autonomous vehicles where a human driver is no longer available as the final line of redundancy; our fault-tolerant, fail-operational steering system ensures steering functionality and availability even in the event of a vehicle or system fault. It will set the new state-of-the-art for critical actuation systems and enable the safe unrestricted operation of autonomous vehicles on the world’s roads.” 

Collaborative Efforts Propel Automotive Sector Forward

In order to keep self-diagnosing vehicles safe and financially viable for a large consumer base, collaborations between semiconductor manufacturers, auto companies, and regulatory bodies must standardize a framework for automotive predictive maintenance. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) recently published the TR 9839 technical report to set the stage for the release of the third edition of ISO 26262, which will underpin these standardizations. Part of this edition includes a functional safety standard through the Automotive Safety Integrity Level B (ASIL-B) certification. Paving the way for future developments in the field, proteanTecs was awarded ASIL-B certification in mid-2023.

Safety is the central component in the widespread adoption of autonomous vehicles. While we’re still years away from self-driving cars usurping human-controlled vehicles, the safety and self-diagnosing technology built on AI and on-chip monitoring continues to advance each year. The days of reenacting strange sounds to your mechanic may be over sooner than you think.

Read more:

● Legacy vs Advanced Chips: The Dance Between Chipmakers And Auto Manufacturers

● What’s Driving the Continued Automotive Chip Shortage

Inside the Auto Industry’s Revolutionary Transformation

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Inside the Auto Industry’s Revolutionary Transformation https://a2globalelectronics.com/shortage-mitigation/inside-the-auto-industrys-revolutionary-transformation/ Thu, 25 Jan 2024 23:24:43 +0000 https://a2globalelectronics.com/?p=22590 automotive industry


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The convergence of smart vehicles, connectivity, and electrification is transforming the auto industry – and its electronic supply chain.  

Cars have more capabilities than ever before, and thus greater needs from the electronic supply chain. To keep pace with the rapidly increasing demand for electronics, and the highly skilled workforce required to make and maintain them, the auto industry must take a proactive approach.

How Electronics are Changing the Auto Industry

The past two decades have seen a surge of technological growth in the auto industry. Cars are becoming, essentially, computers on wheels. Here are some of the ways in which electronic components are taking over modern vehicles.

Radar

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAs) rely on radar to sense elements of the vehicle’s surroundings like speed, distance, and obstacles. Radar is also the foundation of autonomous vehicles (AVs), which are no longer the stuff of science fiction. As demand for ADAs and AVs has spiked, so has demand for automotive radar systems. New car models are expected to incorporate up to 10 high-precision, multi-functional radar sensors per vehicle by 2025.

Connectivity

Vehicles are becoming increasingly connected, incorporating features like navigation, emergency assistance, and personalized infotainment. These features all enhance a vehicle’s driving experience and safety, but they also demand more electronic components than ever before. Car connectivity will only continue to grow, especially with new technologies like AI-powered virtual assistants, and so will the semiconductor content per vehicle.

EV infrastructure

Electric vehicles (EVs) incorporate more electronic components than their gas-powered predecessors, and these chip-heavy vehicles are driving up demand. But it’s not just the vehicles themselves—don’t forget about the EV infrastructure needed to charge and maintain the next generation of clean cars. EV charging stations require high power and voltage, and thus semiconductors with minimal power loss. This is driving demand for cutting-edge semiconductors like silicon IGBTs (insulated gate bipolar transistors) and silicon carbide MOSFETs (metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors).

Help Wanted: A New, Highly Technical Workforce

Chips aren’t the only area where the auto industry may experience a shortage. As cars become more advanced, automakers face the challenge of finding skilled workers to ensure the performance and safety of new high-tech systems. It could be a tall order for an industry already struggling to keep up. Automotive companies are already feeling the pressure of a lack of skilled workers. A 2022 report from Ennis & Co. predicted the automotive industry will face a shortage of 2.3 million skilled workers by 2025 and 4.3 million by 2030. As the number of EVs on the road is increasing exponentially, the number of technicians with the qualifications needed to build and repair them isn’t keeping pace.

Automakers need to hire and keep chip engineers, despite competition from more established companies in the technology space. To keep up with the electronic revolution, the auto industry must invest in building a chip-savvy workforce and establishing itself as an innovator in the semiconductor field. With the market for cutting-edge vehicles exploding, the auto industry has a major opportunity for growth—but it must expand its search for talent now to prepare for the future.

The automotive sector’s increasing demand for chips could put a strain on the global supply chain in the coming years. Some component manufacturers have taken notice and have started investing in capacity expansion to meet the rising demand for chips. Others have entered into collaboration with automakers to develop new chip technologies. As electronics continue to revolutionize the auto industry, vehicles will keep evolving—and so must the semiconductor supply chain.

Read more:

● Legacy vs Advanced Chips: The Dance Between Chipmakers And Auto Manufacturers

● What’s Driving the Continued Automotive Chip Shortage

● Automotive Electronic Components: An Emerging Industry to Watch

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3 Strategies to Strengthen Your Military or Aerospace Electronics Supply Chain https://a2globalelectronics.com/defense-aerospace/3-strategies-to-strengthen-your-military-or-aerospace-electronics-supply-chain/ Wed, 17 Jan 2024 14:36:18 +0000 https://a2globalelectronics.com/?p=22557 military and aerospace supply chain

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Today’s fast-paced world of rapid technology development, dubbed the Fourth Industrial Revolution, presents unique difficulties for tightly regulated industries like defense and aerospace.

Yet, these industries aren’t immune to the slings and arrows of supply chain variability. Here are three strategies for overcoming defense and aerospace supply chain challenges.

Commit to a Culture Shift

Steady yourself, because we’re starting with perhaps the most important strategy of all: a culture shift — and that doesn’t come easy. Of all the challenges organizations face when making a push to become more agile, transforming the culture and “standard” ways of working is cited as being the most prevalent — more than twice as common as any other challenge.  

Learning to “think agile” — and getting the rest of the organization to as well — requires a concept known as reframing, viewing the reality of a situation in a different, more productive light. As McKinsey describes it, “Agile is a way of working that harnesses change as a competitive advantage, rather than a liability.”

Agile is particularly important for the military and aerospace sectors, which must remain competitive in the global market for national security. Mac Thornberry, former Texas congressman currently serving as a board member of CAE USA, a member of the Defense Innovation Board, and a senior adviser to the Silicon Valley Defense Group, urges that “To truly innovate and remain at the forefront of global competition, we must work together to drive collaboration and build agile organizations that embrace risk. The culture we create will mean the difference in success and failure and ultimately the security of our nation.” 

Design with Intent

Aerospace companies need more than a can-do attitude, they need designs that are built to evolve with new technological innovations. “They need the ability to add a new capability without a wholesale replacement of the existing cockpit,” says Chris Polynin, Director of Product Management at L3Harris Commercial Aviation Solutions. “Our products, for example, are designed to play well with others, utilizing standard interfaces.”

Along with standard interfaces, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) offer a software solution to solving hardware upgrade problems. FPGA microchips can be completely reprogrammed by users, making them a powerful tool when changes need to happen fast. Radiation-tolerant FPGAs are particularly making headlines for defense applications. In September 2023, Mercury introduced the SCFE6933, the first space-qualified FPGA using AMD’s Xilinx Versal AI core. Shortly thereafter, Microchip Technology Inc.’s PolarFire FPGA was awarded the Qualified Manufacturers List (QML) Class Q designation for integration into space flight systems.

Embrace Data

With a seemingly infinite volume of data capture, data-driven decision-making may seem like an easy strategy to implement, yet some industries are still slow to fully embrace adoption. Longstanding precedents of lengthy qualification and funding procedures along with stringent performance standards can make leadership hesitant to fix something that isn’t broken.

But unused data is money left on the table, and it’s a broken system that’s not making use of its most valuable resources. Research projects that advance the digital maturity of the aerospace aviation and defense value stream could unlock $20 billion in annual revenue. The engines alone onboard a Boeing aircraft can generate up to 40 terabytes of data per hour; in addition to in-flight information crucial for pilots and dispatch, this data can also help stakeholders with making decisions related to performance, predictive analytics, upgrades, and sourcing.

One particularly promising implementation of big data in aerospace and defense is in digital twins, software replicas of engineering systems. Digital twins are powerful tools for everything from prototyping and testing, to performance monitoring for predictive maintenance and efficiency optimizations. Internet of Things (IoT) technology can mirror real-time aircraft conditions on the digital twin platform for risk-free testing and lower-cost upgrades. In fact, 75% of Air Force executives have cast the vote of confidence in favor of using the digital twin concept.

Today’s electronic supply chain is volatile for everyone with a stake in the market. While general best practices for preparing for market shortages will help, project leaders in defense and aerospace must advocate for a strategically agile culture, flexible designs, and big data harvesting to safeguard the future of their products.

Read more:

Use These 3 Strategies To Prepare For The Next Shortage Market 

Fabless OEMs Are Making Semiconductor Chips Faster And Smaller — What That Means For Organic Substrate Packaging

Open Market Distributors of Electronic Components Can Offer Shorter Lead Times and Pricing Flexibility

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In-house Semiconductor Chip Design: Benefits And Challenges https://a2globalelectronics.com/shortage-mitigation/in-house-semiconductor-chip-design-benefits-and-challenges/ Wed, 10 Jan 2024 14:43:00 +0000 https://a2globalelectronics.com/?p=22540 semiconductor chips


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Enough with supply chain disruptions: Big Tech companies are taking chip design into their own hands.

As the saying goes, if you want a job done right, do it yourself. And Big Tech companies with the skilled labor and resources to invest in in-house semiconductor chip design are doing just that.

For some, in-house chip design offers a welcome solution to the widespread chip shortage spurred by a surge in demand for personal electronics, IoT products, emerging electric vehicle technology, and AI/ML advances with high computing power requirements.

How Are Companies Scaling Up In-House Semiconductor Chip Design?

Prices skyrocket when limited availability meets high demand. NVIDA’s industry-leading H100 GPUs are being sold for over $40,000 — so it’s not surprising to hear rumors of in-house semiconductor chip design at companies like Microsoft specifically to sidestep these high price tags. “The trend could eventually threaten Nvidia and other chipmakers, who have exploded in the AI boom,” says Richard Nieva, technology reporter and senior writer at Forbes.

The initial capital investment required to begin in-house semiconductor chip design can be cost-prohibitive to smaller companies, and there are inevitable delays when starting a new venture. Yet, for those who manage to overcome these hurdles, there are inherent advantages to getting exactly what they need out of their chips. As shortages restabilize, companies that have already adjusted their systems and made the investments will likely continue to produce their own.

“Building custom silicon solutions, especially for the first time, is a significant undertaking. From this initial program, we have learned invaluable lessons that we are incorporating into our roadmap, including architectural insights and software stack enhancements that will lead to improved performance and scale of future systems,” said Meta on the release of its first generation of the Meta Training and Inference Accelerator (MTIA) ASIC in May 2023.

In-House Chip Design in Action

Meta and Microsoft are hardly the only companies shifting to in-house semiconductor chip design. Apple’s M1 was introduced to consumers in November 2020, followed by its M2 release in 2022, and the company is set to release the R1 in early 2024 specifically for real-time sensor processing in its upcoming Vision Pro virtual/augmented reality headset.

With the ability to tailor designs for specific use cases and budgets, tech companies are rapidly shifting to acquire existing chip manufacturers or fabless models. In-house design also means companies benefit from in-house innovations — like how Google’s DeepMind is using artificial intelligence to automate optimized AI chip designs, which will be used to give their new chips a boost.

In December 2023, Google announced its fifth generation of Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) — application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) specifically designed to accelerate machine learning algorithms. The new TPU trains large language models (LLMs) 2.8 times faster than the previous model, with 2.3 times price performance improvements. In a similar vein, Amazon is on the second generation of its Trainium machine learning training accelerator and Inferentia deep learning AI accelerator chips.

While semiconductor design companies aren’t going away any time soon, the winds are certainly shifting. With Meta, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon, and other major tech companies transitioning to in-house semiconductor chip design as a way of minimizing risk in their supply chains, capitalizing on in-house innovation, and keeping costs low, it’s likely that both the semiconductor and information technology industries will continue to evolve in tandem.

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A2 Global’s Top 5 Posts of 2023 https://a2globalelectronics.com/electronics-news-trends/a2-globals-top-5-posts-of-2023/ Wed, 20 Dec 2023 14:15:46 +0000 https://a2globalelectronics.com/?p=22466 Top 5 Posts of 2023

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As we reflect on the past year, we’d like to present our most read blog posts of 2023. 

Find out what topics sparked the most interest among our readers and what had people clicking most. 

Here are our top 5 posts of 2023:

5

How the U.S. Space Force is Rethinking Electronic Component Procurement and Design

As the U.S. Space Force builds its testing and training enterprise, one outcome will be that new satellites and sensors are to be assessed in realistic simulated environments to develop familiarity and test for quality. This means that electronic components will be necessary in both physical and virtual environments—physical to build the models and testing environment as well as the NSTTC itself, and virtual for training engineers and operators to become intricately familiar with parts’ potential structural changes within a virtual environment. Read the post here.

4

Rapid Growth of Electronic Warfare (EW) to Drive Increased Demand for Military Electronic Components

Recent advancements in defense technology have driven an increased demand for military electronic components. In fact, there’s been a notable uptick in the electronic warfare market over the last decade. And, estimates show that, by 2030, the global market will grow from about $9 billion to roughly $28 billion in annual expenditures. These figures represent a nearly 50% rise in spending, and this does not include the coinciding investments in R&D. Read the post here.

3

Generative AI Taking Off In The Aerospace Industry

With more than 100 million users, ChatGPT may be one of the highest-profile examples of recent AI technology – but it is just one of many in a larger generative AI movement. Generative AI applies Natural Language Processing (NLP) to Large Language Models (LLMs) so people can use simple prompts to create word, image, video, and even music responses from an infinite repository of data.

And there’s a major component of generative AI that gets lost in translation: processing huge amounts of data quickly and without coding. The applications for generative AI in the aerospace industry are immense; as SpaceNews predicts, “We will likely see more impact from these new models in the next 1-3 years than in the last 10 combined.” Read the post here.

2

Electronics Supply Chain Outlook for 2023

After the COVID-19 pandemic upended the market for electronic components, 2022 saw uneven recovery across industries, component types, and geographic regions. The environment remained delicate into early 2023, but supply constraints began to ease alongside a softening of demand in some industries. In this post, we covered what we predicted we'd see from the market in 2023. Read the post here.

And finally…the most read A2 Global Electronics + Solutions post of 2023 is:

1

2023 semiconductor M&A Activity Intensifies

In early 2023, semiconductor manufacturers increasingly turned to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to enhance their capabilities, expand their market share, and gain access to crucial resources. Semiconductor M&A activity painted a vivid picture of the priorities, trajectory, and concerns of semiconductor companies in their efforts to overcome the previous year's global chip shortages. Read the post here.

What will rise to the top in 2024? Follow us here and on social media for the latest updates.

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How Glass Substrates Will Impact Performance, Flexibility, and Scaling https://a2globalelectronics.com/global-sourcing/how-glass-substrates-will-impact-performance-flexibility-and-scaling/ Sat, 09 Dec 2023 03:11:37 +0000 https://a2globalelectronics.com/?p=22424 glass substrates


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Engineers are turning to packaging substrates to optimize electronic devices in preparation for an era that relies heavily on big data and computationally enormous artificial intelligence algorithms.

One specific branch of packaging substrate research aims to find a scalable solution that will shift the semiconductor industry from carbon-based substrates to glass. Glass substrates aren’t new, but their use has picked up steam as major tech companies plan next-generation releases for the latter part of this decade, with Intel leading the charge. Here’s why.

It's no contest between carbon and glass substrates in terms of performance.    

Georgia Tech’s 3D Systems Packaging Research Center (PRC) is the largest academic center in the world that focuses on advanced packaging. The PRC is a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center that collaborates with 14 universities and 48 government and industry organizations, including Intel. In fact, Intel Fellow Dr. Ravi Mahajan was one of the PRC’s initial Industry Advisory Board members announced in 2022. A full list of big-name collaborators hints at the scale that this technology is likely to be deployed once all the kinks are worked out.

PRC Director, Madhavan Swaminathan, describes seven key benefits of glass over traditional, organic (carbon-based) substrates, including:

  1. smoothness, which enables dense connectivity between chips;
  2. tailorable thermal expansion, which improves reliability;
  3. stiffness, which eases manufacturability;
  4. zero moisture absorption, which improves stability;
  5. low thermal conductivity, which isolates hotspots;
  6. dielectric insulation, which improves performance;
  7. and large-area panel processing, which reduces cost.

In academia, these factors could enable novel research in disciplines spanning computer science, aerospace, engineering, biomedical — pretty much any field that requires (or would benefit from) computational analysis. In industry, glass substrates could be particularly impactful for high-performance computing, high-temperature environments such as automotive or aerospace, 6G wireless, and miniaturized consumer electronics.

“The PRC has been pioneering glass substrate technology for many years,” says Swaminathan. “With applications emerging in artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and high-end communications, we expect glass substrates as being the next technology of the future.”

So if glass substrates undeniably outperform organic substrates, why has it taken so long for companies to shift gears to glass?

This is why we can’t have nice things — yet.

The downside is that glass electronics have to be handled like they’re…well, made of glass. When Apple first released its iPhone fitted with external glass components, consumers were concerned — if not downright mad. They saw glass products as a tactic that would cause them to need to replace already expensive consumer electronics more frequently.

That consumer backlash hasn’t stopped Apple. The tech titan has been racking up patents for glass electronics for years, including an all-glass iPhone. As one commenter responded to the news, it’s easy to picture the all-glass iPhone as having “all the ergonomics of a bar of soap,” which is exactly what manufacturers fear in the manufacturing and assembling stages of glass substrates. Or, as Intel put it, their priority is “basically, saving glass from itself.”

Srini Pietambaram, Principal Engineer and Module Engineering Pathfinding Lead on the Substrate Packaging Technology Development team at Intel, says they’re working on designing a manufacturing ecosystem that will be able to handle the glass substrates produced at mass volume.

There’s no doubt that as research progresses glass substrate functionality will continue to be refined and scaled to meet Intel’s goal to deliver 1 trillion transistors on a package utilizing glass substrates by 2030. For now, we’ll have to be content with this video footage from inside Intel’s Assembly and Test Technology Development factory.

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