May 20, 2026

The Next 15 Years of Moore's Law, According to Imec Imec outlines a semiconductor roadmap showing CFET transistors entering production around 2033, stacking PMOS and NMOS to boost density, followed by 2041 adoption of two-dimensional materials to cut power use as CMOS scaling continues to evolve. IEEE Spectrum

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Strengthening U.S. Semiconductor Leadership Through Smart Export Control Policy SIA urged policymakers to strengthen U.S. semiconductor leadership through targeted export controls, bipartisan legislation, and tougher enforcement. It also backed policies that protect security while expanding innovation and adoption of chips. Semiconductor Industry Association

Novel Molded FCBGA Package Platform For Highly Reliable Automotive Applications This study demonstrates that molded flip chip BGA packages with optimized EMC materials and process parameters achieve superior warpage control and reliability performance compared to conventional FCBGA designs. Technical Paper

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"Today's chip boom won't last" Semiconductor revenues surge, shattering quarterly records as AI demand drives investor enthusiasm and talk of a $1 trillion industry arriving years early. Future Horizons analyst Malcolm Penn warns the market remains unbalanced & increasingly fragile beneath the headlines. Bits and Chips

Samsung Plans To Transform Your Smartphone & Tablet Into On-Device AI Powerhouses With High-Bandwidth Memory Chips Using Complex Packaging Samsung develops advanced HBM packaging for smartphones and tablets to boost on-device AI performance with faster bandwidth and better heat control. Its FOWLP and VCS innovations aim to deliver server-grade memory speeds to future mobile chips. wccftech

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Technical Papers Automated X-Ray Metrology: Enhancing Quality and Efficiency in Wafer and Panel-Level Applications Alpha Particle Emissions: An Overlooked Risk for Soft Errors in Advanced Packaging Revolutionizing IC Packaging with High-Density RDL Technology EOTPR Fine pitch probing for die-to-die interconnect failure analysis in chiplet devices Die-on-Tab for Compound Semiconductors: Enabling Advanced RF Power Systems Package Assembly Design Kits: The Future of Advanced Package Design Novel Molded FCBGA Package Platform For Highly Reliable Automotive Applications MORE TECHNICAL PAPERS

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Scaling Down Is the New Scaling Up At Embedded Vision Summit, Meta Reality Labs said it is building AI agents for phones and wearables. Vikas Chandra said Meta will move beyond chatbots by using quantization, runtime, architecture, and vision advances to ease memory bandwidth limits. EE Times

AI exports are armoring trade in Asia Oxford Economics reports Asia's chip exports show a record gap between value and volume, driven by AI demand and pricing power in advanced chips. The surge boosts regional trade resilience and decouples it from external shocks. Taipei Times

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NXP eyes deeper collaborations NXP Semiconductors NV is expanding collaborations with Inventec and other Taiwanese partners to accelerate rollout of its zonal processors for software-defined vehicles, developing S32K and upcoming S32N automotive MCUs on 16nm and 5nm nodes with AI capabilities in Taiwan. Taipei Times

ADI to Acquire IVR Tech to Join Data Center's Power Gold Rush Analog Devices (ADI) plans to acquire Empower Semiconductor for about $1.5 billion, targeting its integrated voltage regulators that sit inside processor packages. The technology boosts AI chip power efficiency, cuts footprint, and challenges traditional power delivery in data centers. EE Times

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China's rapid chipmaking expansion threatens AI memory chip boom, Samsung adviser warns Samsung adviser Kyung Kye-hyun warns the AI-driven memory chip super cycle could weaken by 2028 as Chinese manufacturers expand capacity and global tech firms cut spending, despite strong near-term demand and prices driven by AI data centres. South China Morning Post

Imec's Patrick Vandenameele: Full-stack Innovation Is the Name of the Game imec CEO Patrick Vandenameele said AI is driving five semiconductor shifts: system-wide co-optimization, silicon photonics, memory-centric design, edge chiplets, and quantum industrialization, pushing deeper XTCO collaboration across the industry. EE Times

Sponsor What do 81.3 % of automotive chip specialists agree on? That high-performance packaging materials are essential for reliability. The Research Report from Henkel Adhesive Technologies puts a number on what the industry feels. Henkel AG & Co.

Research Bits: May 19 Researchers at the University of Washington created a low-power photonic chip that retains programmed states without electricity using phase-change materials. The reconfigurable design could speed AI prototyping while improving optical networks and data center efficiency. Semiconductor Engineering

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