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Corner fill inspection
A memory manufacturer adopted Nordson's AOI system with deep learning to inspect IC corner fill, ensuring accurate detection, measurement, and improved reliability in semiconductor assembly.
Nordson Test & Inspection
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AIT ORMET® TLPS for Component Attach
AIT ORMET®TLPS is proven for outstanding reliability for component attaches and MLCC build-up for high temperature applications beyond 175ºC
Ormet® TLPS
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What Year Was It?
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Barbie Makes Her Debut
The first Barbie doll goes on display at the American Toy Fair in New York City. The first mass-produced toy doll in the United States with adult features.
See the answer below.
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High Force and Large area bond tester
The most powerful bond tester to test IGBTs, power modules and large batteries up to 1000 kgf. Sigma HF/L offers flexible positioning and operates with the fastest axis speed. Learn more.
xyztec
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What Year Was It Answer
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Barbie Makes Her Debut Answer: March 9, 1959
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March 10, 2026
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China’s chip bosses endorse semiconductor push in next 5-year plan
China’s semiconductor firms, including AI chipmaker Cambricon and OSAT leader Tongfu Microelectronics, backed the 15th five-year plan prioritizing chips, advanced processes, materials and AI hardware, while officials urged stronger infrastructure, domestic chip adoption and deeper Yangtze River Delta collaboration.
South China Morning Post
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Hermetic Package Seam Seal with HDHS® Technology
Brings a new level of precision and automation for hi-rel microelectronic package encapsulation, increasing seal yields to 99.99% and lowering operation costs for Aerospace, Military, Microwave, Photonics and MEMS.
MicroCircuit Laboratories, LLC
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Fallout From Nvidia-Groq Deal Validates AI Chip Startup Landscape
Nvidia’s $20B licensing deal with Groq signals rising demand for non-GPU AI accelerators and exposes GPU weaknesses in inference. The move validates heterogeneous chip architectures, boosts investor confidence in AI startups, and intensifies competition in inference hardware.
EE Times
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Samsung workers mull late-May strike
Unionized workers at Samsung Electronics began voting on an 18-day strike over pay, with results due March 18. The unions demand a 7% raise and bonus transparency, raising concerns that a May walkout could disrupt memory production for AI chips.
Taipei Times
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Six Trends Driving 3D IC Innovations in the AI Era
Rapid AI compute growth is pushing semiconductor design beyond transistor scaling, driving adoption of 3D ICs. Engineers now rely on system-technology co-optimization, co-packaged optics, advanced materials, and microfluidic cooling to manage interconnect, power, and thermal challenges in next-generation AI systems.
EE Times
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SAWA SC-BM500E Automatic Stencil Cleaner
Ultrasonic combined with spray cleaning provides an excellent solution for all kinds of applications including wafer bump and electroform stencils.
Seika
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RDL Interposers – USA Fabrication
Organic Substrates/High Density Interposers - 20µm Dielectrics - 12µm Traces - 50µm "Stay Flat" Cores - Quick Turns. Learn more.
Advanced Component Labs, Inc.
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Nvidia’s $4B Photonics Venture: What You Need to Know
Nvidia is investing $4 billion in suppliers Lumentum and Coherent to secure components for AI centers. The deal combines equity, supply commitments, and joint R&D to expand indium-phosphide laser capacity and accelerate co-packaged optics for faster GPU cluster interconnects.
EE Times
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China’s chip industry seeks more state support for AI dominance
China’s semiconductor leaders urged stronger state support for AI chips and critical materials during the “two sessions,” proposing pricing oversight and a national computing-power market while leveraging rare-earth dominance and expanding domestic chip equipment and materials to counter foreign restrictions.
South China Morning Post
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Optically Clear, Low Outgassing Epoxy
Master Bond EP4CL-80 is an optically clear, low outgassing epoxy for bonding and sealing that possesses excellent dimensional stability and low shrinkage upon curing.
Master Bond
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Research Bits: Mar. 9
Researchers developed three semiconductor advances: Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology created a low-noise clock circuit, Pennsylvania State University built ultra-miniature 2D-material thermal sensors, and Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology engineered carbon-nanotube “sandpaper” for precise, cleaner chip manufacturing.
Semiconductor Engineering
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The Future of Semiconductors: Engineering in the Convergence era
The semiconductor industry is shifting toward system-level innovation as silicon scaling alone no longer drives progress. Converging domains—software, physics, packaging, and AI—demand integrated design and continuous verification, with digital twins and agentic AI emerging as essential tools for managing growing complexity.
Semiconductor Engineering
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Data Centers In Space?
SpaceX, xAI, startups, and Google research are advancing plans for orbital data centers powered by constant solar energy. Yet huge power needs, cooling limits, launch costs, radiation, and maintenance challenges mean systems would rely on swarms of smaller satellites.
Semiconductor Engineering
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Ubitium Tapes Out First ‘Universal’ RISC-V Chip
German startup Ubitium completed the first silicon tape-out of its universal RISC-V processor on Samsung’s 8-nm process, aiming to replace fragmented embedded chips with a single architecture that handles CPU, AI, and real-time workloads, simplifying development and supply chains.
EE Times
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Apple's First Made-in-U.S. Chips Fall Short of Claim
Apple's claim of producing over 100 million U.S.-made chips in 2026 is partly misleading, as wafers from TSMC's Arizona plant must be shipped to Taiwan for advanced packaging. U.S. facilities won't scale until 2028, keeping reliance on Asia.
EE Times
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Discover consistency for your operations
Explore the reliable solutions for jet dispensing, conformal coating, plasma treatment, and selective soldering from Nordson.
Nordson Electronics Solutions
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| Today's Sponsor |
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Test Your Knowledge
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Which one of the following did not win a Nobel Peace Prize: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Harry S. Truman, Martin Luther King
See answer below.
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Quote of the Day
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You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you. Eric Hoffer
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2026 IEEE ECTC – May 26-29 in Orlando
The Electronic Components & Technology Conference delivers the best in packaging, components & microelectronic technologies, held at the JW Marriott & The Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes Resort, Orlando, FL.
ECTC
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| Cartoon of the Day
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"We could hire a productivity expert, but wouldn't it be cheaper to buy a bigger coffee machine?"
Copyright © Randy Glasbergen
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SB²®-Jet: Your Soldering Game-Changer
SB²®-Jet offers high-precision solder ball jetting technology, handling ball diameters from 40µ-760µm. Perfect for flip chip, PCB, reballing, BGA, CSP applications.
PacTech
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Test Your Knowledge Answer
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Which one of the following did not win a Nobel Peace Prize: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Harry S. Truman, Martin Luther King Answer: Harry S. Truman
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