The Case for GaN HEMTs in Class-D Audio
Class‑D audio amplifiers are overtaking linear topologies as efficiency demands rise across consumer, professional, and automotive markets. While silicon MOSFETs have traditionally handled the high‑speed switching, their parasitic capacitances and body‑diode recovery limit performance at higher frequencies. Gallium‑nitride (GaN) high‑electron‑mobility transistors (HEMTs) offer dramatically lower gate charge and faster switching, cutting losses up to tenfold and enabling operation near 1 MHz. The EPC‑9192 demo board showcases these gains, delivering over 96% efficiency at 700 W per channel with pristine audio fidelity.
This New Chip Could Slash Data Center Energy Waste
Engineers at UC San Diego have unveiled a hybrid DC‑DC converter that blends a piezoelectric resonator with conventional capacitors, achieving 96.2% efficiency when stepping 48 V down to 4.8 V—levels typical for data‑center GPUs. The prototype delivers roughly four times the output...
TSMC Posts 35% Jump in Q1 Revenue
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. reported first‑quarter revenue of $35.6 billion, a 35% year‑over‑year rise and roughly $36 billion when converted from 1.13 trillion New Taiwan dollars. March alone saw a 45.2% YoY jump to about $13.3 billion in NTD terms. The surge was driven...
South Korean Chipmaker Partners with SKT, Arm for Sovereign AI
South Korean chipmaker Rebellions has teamed with SK Telecom and UK‑based Arm to build next‑generation AI inference systems that pair Arm’s newly designed data‑center CPU with Rebellions’ energy‑efficient AI chips. The joint solution will be tested in SK Telecom’s AI...
AI Chips Are A Looming Battlefield In U.S.-China Trade. What Investors Should Know.
The United States and China are intensifying a battle over AI‑chip supremacy as trade talks loom, with both sides racing to secure advanced semiconductor capacity. Washington is tightening export controls on Dutch‑maker ASML’s lithography tools, while China pushes 7 nm production...
Snap and Qualcomm Expand Strategic Collaboration to Advance Intelligent Computing Experiences on Specs
Snap subsidiary Specs Inc. announced a multi‑year strategic agreement with Qualcomm Technologies to power the upcoming Specs AR glasses with Snapdragon XR system‑on‑a‑chip solutions. The partnership will integrate on‑device AI, high‑performance graphics and multi‑user capabilities, creating a scalable platform for...
SKT Develops Its Own AI Inference Tech
SK Telecom has teamed with UK chip designer Arm and Korean AI‑chip startup Rebellions to build AI inference server solutions that pair Arm’s newly announced AGI‑class CPU with Rebellions’ RebelCard accelerator. The joint offering targets inference workloads, promising higher performance...
SKT Forges Alliance with Arm and Rebellions to Develop AI Servers for Data Centers
SK Telecom (SKT) has signed a strategic MoU with chip designer Arm and AI‑accelerator startup Rebellions to build AI inference servers for next‑generation data centers. The collaboration will fuse Arm’s new AGI CPU with Rebellions’ RebelCard accelerator, targeting higher power‑efficiency...
TSMC Tops Q1 Sales Target On Strong AI Chip Demand
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) reported first‑quarter 2026 sales that topped analyst expectations, propelled by surging demand for artificial‑intelligence (AI) chips. The company’s revenue beat forecasts for both March and the full quarter, prompting a modest rise in its stock...
Memory Crunch Hammers Down Smartphone Shipments
A severe DRAM and NAND memory crunch, driven by AI data‑center construction, has squeezed the smartphone supply chain, pushing component prices up about 90% QoQ in Q1 2024. Apple emerged as the sole market‑share leader, posting a 21% share and...
Silex, Edge Impulse Team on Edge AI Development
Silex Technology and Edge Impulse have teamed up to integrate Edge Impulse’s end‑to‑end AI development platform with Silex’s EP‑200Q system‑on‑module, which runs on Qualcomm’s Dragonwing QCS6490 processor. The joint solution bundles a Wi‑Fi 7 driver and AI acceleration to simplify the...
Chip Industry Week In Review
Intel announced three major moves: joining Elon Musk’s Terafab AI‑robotics fab targeting 1 TW of compute, expanding its multi‑year AI and cloud partnership with Google to include custom IPUs, and showcasing the world’s thinnest GaN chiplet from its foundry. Broadcom will...
China AI Firm Discloses $92 Million of Banned Nvidia Chip Servers to Beijing
Sharetronic Data Technology, a Shenzhen AI‑data‑center firm, disclosed invoices for 276 Super Micro servers equipped with Nvidia H100/H200 chips, valued at 632 million yuan (about $92 million). The hardware is subject to U.S. export bans that have been in place since 2022, yet the...
Cirrus Logic (CRUS) Valuation Check As Apple Recognition And Face ID Win Reshape Growth Outlook
Cirrus Logic (CRUS) re‑entered investor focus after Apple officially named it a supplier for the next generation of Face ID chips. The stock surged, posting a 19% gain in the past month and a 31% rise over the last 90 days,...
The Race to Secure Data
Chip makers are racing to secure data both at rest and in motion as AI models expose software flaws faster than ever. Broadcom’s SecureHBA line now embeds post‑quantum cryptography on 64‑Gb/s Fibre Channel adapters and has taped out 128‑Gb/s silicon...
Anthropic Mulls Building Its Own AI Chips
Anthropic is weighing the development of its own AI chips as the industry grapples with a persistent silicon shortage. The move follows a surge in demand for its Claude chatbot, which pushed run‑rate revenue to roughly $30 billion, up from $9 billion...
Low-RDS(on) MOSFETs in Automotive Power Systems
STMicroelectronics has launched a new series of low‑RDS(on) MOSFETs built on its Smart STripFET F8 platform, beginning with the STL059N4S8AG – a 40 V, 420 A N‑channel device featuring a 0.59 mΩ on‑resistance and housed in a compact PowerFLAT 5×6 package. The technology reduces conduction...
Scientists Develop Three-in-One Diode
Researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China have unveiled a GaN‑based PN junction photodiode that simultaneously handles photosensing, memory storage, and processing. By inserting an n‑AlGaN charge‑storage layer, the device can switch among three functional modes using...
Marktech Launches High Power 280nm UVC LEDs
Marktech Optoelectronics has introduced a family of high‑power 280 nm UVC LEDs available in single‑, two‑ and four‑chip formats. The devices deliver wall‑plug efficiencies up to 7% and are rated for more than 15,000 hours at the L70 degradation point. By...
Riber Delivers Strong Earnings Growth in 2025
Riber posted 2025 full‑year results showing a modest 2% dip in revenue to €40.3 million (about $44 million) but a 27% jump in net income to €5.2 million ($5.7 million). The company’s operating margin improved to 13% of sales, aided by a favorable product...
Japanese Team Achieves 2 Μm-Band PCSEL Laser Oscillation
Asahi Kasei Microdevices (AKM) and Kyoto University have demonstrated laser oscillation in a 2 μm-band photonic crystal surface‑emitting laser (PCSEL). The breakthrough showcases PCSEL’s ability to deliver high directionality and ultra‑narrow linewidth in a compact infrared source. By operating at 2 μm,...
QuinAs Links Memory Device Physics to AI Performance
QuInAs Technology has published research linking its ULTRARAM compound‑semiconductor memory device directly to AI system performance. The paper introduces a physics‑based compact modelling framework that captures resonant tunnelling and floating‑gate dynamics, enabling hardware‑aware benchmarking of ULTRARAM as a synaptic element...
CEA-Leti, CEA-List and PSMC Collaborate
CEA‑List, CEA‑Leti and PSMC announced a collaboration to merge RISC‑V processor IP with silicon‑photonic interconnects on PSMC’s 3D‑stacking platform, targeting next‑generation AI systems. The joint effort will embed customizable RISC‑V compute blocks and microLED‑based optical links into high‑bandwidth chiplet architectures,...
AI Compute Boom Propels Foundry 2.0 Market to $360 Billion
The AI‑driven compute boom is pushing the Foundry 2.0 market toward a $360 billion valuation in 2026, with advanced nodes and CoWoS packaging remaining scarce. TSMC raised its 3 nm capacity target to 165,000 wafers per month and aims for a 44% market...
Gartner Forecasts Worldwide Semiconductor Revenue to Exceed $1.3 Trillion in 2026
Gartner projects worldwide semiconductor revenue to exceed $1.3 trillion in 2026, reflecting a 64 % year‑over‑year increase. Memory revenue is expected to triple as DRAM and NAND flash prices surge 125 % and 234 % respectively, a phenomenon Gartner dubs “memflation.” AI semiconductors will...
Panmnesia Wins Government Project to Develop AI Accelerator Link Controller
Panmnesia announced on April 8 that it secured a South Korean government‑backed project to develop AI accelerator link controllers and switches using open‑standard interconnects. The initiative, part of the K‑Cloud AI semiconductor program, focuses on UALink and Ethernet technologies, with silicon...
A New Memory Chip Survives 700°C and Could Enable AI in Space
Researchers at the University of Southern California have demonstrated a memristor memory chip that functions at 700 °C (1,300 °F) without degradation. The device uses a tungsten electrode, hafnium‑oxide insulator and a graphene interlayer that blocks tungsten filament formation. It retains data...
Compute Domains & Multi-Node NVLink in Kubernetes: Scaling GPU Workloads
NVIDIA’s ComputeDomains add a Kubernetes‑native layer that dynamically creates and tears down multi‑node NVLink communication groups for GPU workloads. By extending the Dynamic Resource Allocation driver, the feature makes cross‑node bandwidth a schedulable resource rather than a static configuration. This...
Photovoltaic Driver Streamlines EV Power Designs
Vishay introduced the VODA1275, a photovoltaic MOSFET driver designed for high‑voltage automotive applications. It offers a 20 V open‑circuit output, 20 µA short‑circuit current, and an 80 µs turn‑on time—about three times faster than rival parts. The AEC‑Q102‑qualified device targets EV pre‑charge circuits,...
RISC-V SoC Supports Voice-Enabled IoT Devices
Espressif Systems began sampling its new ESP32‑S31, a dual‑core RISC‑V SoC that bundles Wi‑Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, Thread, Zigbee and Ethernet. Running at 320 MHz, the chip delivers 6.86 CoreMark/MHz, a 128‑bit SIMD path, 512 KB SRAM and up to 8‑bit DDR PSRAM for edge...
Coherent Advances Silicon Carbide Thick Epitaxy Capabilities for High-Voltage AI Datacenter and Industrial Power Applications Up to 10kV
Coherent Corp announced new thick silicon‑carbide (SiC) epitaxy platforms on 150 mm and 200 mm wafers that support power devices up to 10 kV, with demonstrated capability beyond that threshold. The technology targets high‑efficiency, high‑power‑density converters for AI‑intensive datacenters and industrial electrification such...
SiFive Announces $400M Series G Round
SiFive announced a $400 million Series G financing that lifts its valuation to $3.65 billion. The round was led by Atreides Management and attracted marquee backers such as NVIDIA, Apollo Global Management, Point72 Turion and T. Rowe Price. SiFive says the capital will speed development...
Infineon Talks Powering AI and Infrastructure
Infineon highlighted its strategy to power AI across the electrical grid and data‑center cores, emphasizing power electronics as a critical enabler for automotive, industrial and consumer applications. The company showcased its silicon‑carbide (SiC) and gallium‑nitride (GaN) product portfolio, along with...
At APEC 2026, AOS Showcases Its Expanding Portfolio with Advanced Controllers, Power Stages, and Protection Solutions
At APEC 2026, AOS unveiled a suite of new power‑management ICs aimed at AI‑centric workloads. The lineup includes the 16‑phase AOZ73216QI GPU controller, Intel‑compatible CPU controllers supporting up to nine phases, and compact Smart Power Stages for high‑performance compute. AOS...
Hypertec Becomes Key Partner for Nvidia in Canada
Hypertec Group’s Ciara division has been named Nvidia’s first original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partner in Canada, granting the Montreal‑based firm early access to GPU silicon, engineering support, and joint marketing. The partnership elevates Hypertec’s visibility and credibility, allowing it to...
Group‐III Nitride‐Based Wide‐Spectrum Multifunctional Synapses for Encrypted Light Communication and Image Recognition
Researchers have engineered InGaN core‑shell nanorod synapses that combine wide‑spectrum photodetection with stable photo‑electric memory. The devices achieve a peak responsivity of 31.47 A/W and sub‑250 µs response times under 810 nm illumination, while delivering tunable synaptic plasticity at 365 nm UV light. By...
WEKA Claims Nvidia CMX Support Plays to Its Strengths
Nvidia’s GTC 2026 announcement introduced the CMX KV‑cache extension for RDMA‑connected SSDs, prompting industry speculation that it could erode WEKA’s advantage with local SSDs in GPU servers. WEKA counters that its NeuralMesh client and server software already supports Nvidia Grace...
Siemens Accelerates AI Chip Verification to Trillion‑cycle Scale with NVIDIA Technology
Siemens and NVIDIA announced that Siemens’ Veloce proFPGA CS hardware‑assisted verification platform can capture tens of trillions of pre‑silicon design cycles in just a few days. The breakthrough combines Siemens’ scalable FPGA‑based architecture with NVIDIA’s performance‑optimized chip designs, dramatically accelerating AI/ML system‑on‑chip...
Intel: In-House Fabrication and Market Challenges
Intel continues to manufacture its chips in‑house, a rare model among major semiconductor firms, while facing mounting competition from fabless rivals like TSMC, AMD, and Samsung. The loss of Apple as a customer in 2020 and a delayed Ohio megafab,...
Even Nvidia’s Own Research Teams Can’t Get Enough GPUs Amid the Race for AI Computing Power
Nvidia’s own research groups are scrambling for GPUs, highlighting a sector‑wide shortage of the $30,000‑plus chips that power AI model training. At the HumanX conference, applied‑deep‑learning lead Bryan Catanzaro confirmed that even internal teams must fight for compute allocations. The scarcity...
Nvidia N1 Engineering Sample Motherboard Leak Shows 128GB LPDDR5X Configuration
Nvidia’s upcoming N1 ARM‑based processor was spotted on a Chinese marketplace as an engineering‑sample motherboard, indicating early validation of the chip for thin‑and‑light devices. The board packs eight LPDDR5X modules for a total of 128 GB memory running at 8533 MT/s, and...
Intel's EMIB-T Packaging Technology Set for Fab Rollout This Year — as TSMC CoWoS Capacity Remains Limited,EMIB-T Is Preparing for...
Intel announced that its next‑generation EMIB‑T advanced‑packaging technology will enter fab production this year, positioning the company to capture AI‑accelerator demand as TSMC’s CoWoS‑L capacity stays oversubscribed. EMIB‑T adds through‑silicon vias to the existing embedded bridge, enabling HBM4‑class power delivery...
Taming Skyrmions: Atom-Thin Magnets Point to Ultra-Dense, Low-Power Memory
Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory used cryogenic Lorentz transmission electron microscopy to directly image magnetic domains and skyrmion evolution in atom‑thin Fe₃GeTe₂ (FGT). The study shows that sample thickness and applied magnetic field precisely control skyrmion size, density, and reversal...
Nvidia Invests In CPU Chip Startup SiFive
Nvidia disclosed a strategic stake in SiFive, the RISC‑V processor startup, as part of a $400 million oversubscribed financing round that values SiFive at $3.65 billion. The new capital will accelerate SiFive’s development of custom RISC‑V CPUs and AI IP aimed at...
World Briefs | Intel and Google Focus on AI CPUs in Expanded Partnership
Intel and Google have broadened their alliance, with Google committing to deploy Intel’s latest Xeon 6 processors for AI inference and general‑purpose workloads. In Brazil, the government plans to appeal a court decision that halted a newly imposed 12% oil export...
HRL’s T3L 40nm GaN-on-SiC Technology Achieves Manufacturing Readiness Level 6
HRL Laboratories announced that its 40 nm T3L gallium‑nitride on silicon‑carbide (GaN‑on‑SiC) technology has attained Manufacturing Readiness Level 6, confirming production‑grade manufacturability under U.S. Department of War standards. The milestone paves the way for high‑volume manufacturing through a partnership with MACOM Technology...
Chip Can Project Video the Size of a Grain of Sand
Researchers from MIT, the University of Colorado, Sandia National Laboratories and MITRE have unveiled a sub‑0.1 mm² photonic chip that can steer light with unprecedented speed. The device uses voltage‑actuated metallic cantilevers to project up to 68.6 million light spots per second...
Advanced iBGA Image Sensor Encapsulation
DELO introduced a PFAS‑free encapsulation material designed for automotive image sensors used in advanced driver‑assistance and autonomous systems. The formulation delivers low warpage, fine‑pitch flow control, and automotive‑grade reliability, addressing the harsh temperature, vibration, and moisture conditions of vehicle environments....
Amazon CEO Says Chip Business 'On Fire' As AWS Steps Up Challenge To Nvidia
Amazon’s cloud unit reported a $15 billion annual AI revenue run rate and a custom‑chip business now exceeding $20 billion, double the Q4 figure. CEO Andy Jassy highlighted the rapid growth of its Trainium 3 accelerator, which promises better price‑performance than Nvidia GPUs....
Nvidia Rubin GPUs May Be Delayed, Slowing the Next Phase of AI Infrastructure
Nvidia’s next‑gen Rubin GPUs, slated for late‑2024 shipment, face supply delays due to HBM4 memory validation, CX9 interconnect rollout, and higher power and cooling demands. TrendForce now projects Rubin to represent only 22% of Nvidia’s 2026 shipments, down from an...