Hacker News with Generative AI: Semiconductors

Intel principal engineer bemoans potential TSMC takeover, touts 18A advantage (tomshardware.com)
With Trump's Help, Intel Could Hand Control of Chip Plants to TSMC (nytimes.com)
Intel, a fallen Silicon Valley icon trying to restore its reputation as America’s most prominent semiconductor company, is working with the Trump administration on a plan to turn over the operation of its chip-making plants to a giant Taiwanese rival.
Arm to launch its own chip in move that could upend semiconductor industry (ft.com)
US gov't pushing TSMC and Intel to create joint venture in the US: Report (tomshardware.com)
Arm secures Meta as first customer for ambitious new chip project (ft.com)
TSMC faces tough choices amid rumors for Intel foundry collaboration (techsoda.substack.com)
Following a routine board meeting that did not present any surprises to the market, TSMC executives, alongside Taiwan’s Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs, are set to engage in negotiations with the U.S. government, according to industry sources.
TSMC 2nm Process Disclosure – How Does It Measure Up? (semiwiki.com)
TSMC presented its 2nm Platform Technology at IEDM 2024, focusing on energy-efficient nanosheet transistors and 3DIC co-optimization for various applications.
SoftBank could soon buy Renee James' Ampere chip company for about $6.5B (techcrunch.com)
Ampere, the semiconductor business founded by former Intel exec Renee James, is reportedly on the cusp of selling itself to SoftBank — the latest in an ongoing saga over the company’s future ownership.
Japan's Semiconductor Photoresist Monopoly [video] (youtube.com)
Bill Gates says Intel has lost its way, hints that Pat Gelsinger exited too soon (tomshardware.com)
SoftBank Nears Deal to Acquire Chip Designer Ampere (yahoo.com)
SoftBank Group Corp. is in advanced talks to acquire Ampere Computing LLC, people familiar with the matter said.
Trump eyes up to 100% tariffs on foreign semiconductors, TSMC in crosshairs (theregister.com)
Americans could soon see the price of electronics skyrocket in response to a 25-100 percent import tariff on computer chips promised by US President Donald Trump on Monday.
AMD adds RF-sampling data converters to Versal adaptive SoCs (2024) (electronicsweekly.com)
AMD is to add integrated direct RF-sampling data converters to  its Versal adaptive SoCs.
Trump to impose 25% to 100% tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, impacting TSMC (tomshardware.com)
Chinese semiconductor production equipment makers set sales records (tomshardware.com)
First all-Indian chips to debut this year, 25 more local designs in the works (theregister.com)
India's ambition to become a semiconductor manufacturing player will bear fruit later this year with the debut of the first silicon designed and built in the nation.
Extraction of Secrets from 40nm CMOS Gate Dielectric Breakdown Antifuses (arxiv.org)
CMOS one-time-programmable (OTP) memories based on antifuses are widely used for storing small amounts of data (such as serial numbers, keys, and factory trimming) in integrated circuits due to their low cost, requiring no additional mask steps to fabricate.
TSMC reportedly pauses production after strong earthquake hits Taiwan (theregister.com)
Taiwan has experienced an earthquake so significant that chipmaking champ TSMC has shuttered plants.
Impact of Low Temperatures on the 5nm SRAM Array Size and Performance (semiengineering.com)
A new technical paper titled “Novel Trade-offs in 5 nm FinFET SRAM Arrays at Extremely Low Temperatures” was published by researchers at University of Stuttgart, IIT Kanpur, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Khalifa University, and TU Munich.
TSMC reportedly pauses production after strong earthquake hits Taiwan (theregister.com)
Taiwan has experienced an earthquake so significant that chipmaking champ TSMC has shuttered plants.
The AMD Radeon Instinct MI300A's Giant Memory Subsystem (chipsandcheese.com)
AMD acquired ATI in 2006, hoping ATI's GPU expertise would combine with AMD's CPU know-how to create integrated solutions worth more than the sum of their parts.
Sources Say Intel Is an Acquisition Target (semiaccurate.com)
About two months ago, SemiAccurate was read an email about a company trying to acquire Intel, whole. We have absolute faith in the accuracy of this email but it took months to confirm it.
100x defect tolerance: How we solved the yield problem (cerebras.ai)
Conventional wisdom in semiconductor manufacturing has long held that bigger chips mean worse yields. Yet at Cerebras, we’ve successfully built and commercialized a chip 50x larger than the largest computer chips – and achieved comparable yields.
Taiwan clears TSMC to make 2nm chips abroad – country lowers 'Silicon Shield' (tomshardware.com)
Apple will soon receive 'made in America' chips from TSMC's Arizona fab (tomshardware.com)
TSMC's Arizona Fab 21 is already making 4nm chips (tomshardware.com)
TSMC Arizona allegedly now producing AMD's Ryzen 9000 and Apple's S9 processors (tomshardware.com)
Why we invested in Silicon Box and the advanced chiplet packaging (medium.com)
Why We Invested in Silicon Box and the Advanced Chiplet Packaging
Morris Chang and the Origins of TSMC (construction-physics.com)
If you were making a list of the most important companies in the world, you’d find Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or TSMC, somewhere very close to the top.
The Nvidia Way (thechipletter.substack.com)
On the most superficial level, Nvidia’s rapid rise to vie for the title of the world’s most valuable company is easy to explain. AI is emerging as a technology that will be both pervasive and revolutionary. Nvidia makes the best chips for AI. QED.