Most Read articles – Nvidia No.1, IC lithography, Arm IPO

What are the topics covered this week? There’s the first high-energy laser weapon system to be tested and integrated in the UK, Open-source hardware, the No.1 semiconductor company for revenue this year, China building a huge particle accelerator for advanced IC lithography, and Arm share price developments…

5. Raytheon UK aims for delivery of first high-energy laser weapon system
Raytheon UK is set to receive what it describes as the first high-energy laser weapon system to be tested and integrated in the United Kingdom. The goal is to improve the understanding of how such systems can be fielded. Designed to stop aerial threats such as unmanned aerial vehicles, the 15-kilowatt laser is the latest development in the UK Ministry of Defence’s Land Demonstrator programme, said the company. It is operationally ready and the portable defensive weapon system will be integrated onto a Wolfhound military vehicle.

4. Open-Source Hardware [Mannerisms]
In 2016, when chip industry growth was slow, the Global Semiconductor Alliance proposed a way to get it going again – open-source hardware. At the chip level, there’s the possibility for groups or individuals to set up micro-fabs based on older equipment and processes combined with open-source design tools and libraries. At the system level, open-source hardware like Raspberry Pi and Arduino “give users a low-cost way to design simple computers, robots, thermostats and other devices,” says the GSA report.

3. Nvidia to be No.1 this year, says SI
Nvidia will likely become the No.1 semiconductor company for revenue this year, says Semiconductor Intelligence which estimates Nvidia’s 2023 revenue at about $52.9 billion, and Intel’s at $51.6 billion. Nvidia’s 2023 revenue will be almost double its 2022 revenue on the strength of its AI processors. Intel has been the top semiconductor company for most of the last twenty-one years – except for 2017, 2018 and 2021 when Samsung was number one.

2. China to build huge particle accelerator for litho
China plans to build a huge particle accelerator for advanced IC lithography in an attempt to sidestep the need for ASML’s EUV machines, says the South China Morning Post. The plan is to build a particle accelerator with a circumference of between 100-150 metres (328-492 feet). A site has not yet been chosen but the intention is to have the accelerator serve multiple litho machines acting as a foundry hub. The science behind the plan is the Stanford-developed steady-state microbunching (SSMB) approach.

1. Arm shares return to offer price
Eight days after its IPO, Friday’s market close saw Arm shares at 32 cents above the $51 offer price after hitting $63 in the days immediately after the offer. The spike in the price may have owed more to media hype than commercial fundamentals. It was suggested that Arm is an AI stock and that it is about to increase revenue by adding more system knowledge to its IP.