NAND Flash ASP May Tumble in 2H20 Ahead of Expectations:
(Source) With the current COVID-19 pandemic, shipment of NAND memory products has significantly decreased and many flash memory suppliers have scaled back their CAPEX for this year.
The total bit output for the NAND Flash industry is expected to grow this year but only by about 30%. NAND flash average selling price (ASP) has only grown by roughly 5% this quarter and is expected to grow by the same amount in Q2, which is lower than originally projected. Through the first half of this year, NAND contract prices are expected to continue increasing. However, the chance that their trajectory will curve downward in 2H20 is now a real possibility.
STMicro Agrees to a Temporary Production Cut of up to 50% at French Plants:
(Source) On 3.18.20, STMicroelectronics signed an agreement to temporarily cut production in their French facilities by up to 50%. This was done in response to the COVID-19 outbreak and growing concerns expressed by worker unions.
Jean-Pierre Kiledjian, leader of CFE CGC union at STMicro, said that the goal of this accord was to “reduce activity in order to reduce the number of people on production sites as much as possible.”
This agreement will run through April 2nd and the company promises that ‘all production sites will be affected by the measures.’
Bosch develops rapid test for COVID-19:
(Source) In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bosch has created a rapid test for the novel coronavirus in just six weeks. Bosch’s test can detect a SARSCoV-2 coronavirus infection in less than 2.5 hours, which is less time than the tests being used presently take. Also, because this test can be performed directly at the point of care, transportation of the samples is elmiated which saves valuable time.
Dr. Volkmar Denner, chairman of the board, commented on the test saying, “Time is of the essence in the fight against coronavirus. Reliable, rapid diagnosis directly on site with no back and forth — that is the great advantage of our solution, which we see as another example of technology that is ‘Invented for life.”
Nokia and Marvell Enter into Partnership on Silicon Technology for 5G:
(Source) On 3.04.20, Nokia and Marvell announced that they are working together to develop 5G multi-Radio Access Technology (RAT) silicon innovations. In this partnership, Nokia will expand the range of their ReefShark chipsets while decreasing the energy footprint of 5G networks and improving overall performance. The two companies plan to develop items, such as…
- Multiple generations of custom silicon
- Infrastructure processors used in the ReefShark chipsets
- New generations System-on-chip (SoC)
A primary goal of both Nokia and Marvell is to expand on the ReefShark chipsets. These new chipsets will be part of Nokia’s 5G “Powered by ReefShark” portfolio and have been designed with the Nokia AirScale radio access solution in mind. By deploying ReefShark, these solutions see a reduction in power consumption and size as well as increased capacity and performance.
Nokia’s President of Mobile Networks, Tommi Uitto, said about the partnership: “This important announcement highlights our continued commitment to expanding the variety and utilization of ReefShark chipsets in our portfolio. This ensures that our 5G solutions are equipped to deliver best-in-class performance to our customers. As service providers continue to evolve their 5G plans and support growing traffic and new vertical services, the infrastructure and components must evolve rapidly. Adopting the latest advancements in silicon technology is a critical step to better serve our customers’ needs.”
Electrolux Adapts Manufacturing to Offset Difficulties with Supply:
(Source) Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2019, Electrolux has felt the negative impact and seen the financial risks increase significantly as the outbreak spreads globally. These financial risks include a variety of things, namely:
- Disruptions to supply chains
- Government countermeasures
- Changes to consumer behavior
Electrolux has a significant presence, in terms of sales and production, in both East Asia and Italy and has therefore experienced major operational disruptions. Electrolux sources the majority of finished products and components from Asia and Italy which accounts for one quarter of their European production volumes and 10% of global volumes. For health and safety reasons, the company has had to take extensive precautions at all affected sites, which has also caused disruptions. Though Electrolux is confident that they will be able to withstand and recover from this, they feel as though financial implications are inevitable and that the extent of impact can’t be determined until this pandemic ends.
Covid-19 Impacts MLCC, Resistor, Smartphone and 5G Supplies:
(Source) As COVID-19 continues to spread, 30 or so countries around have declared a state of emergency. The mandatory health and safety precautions pose challenges to the electronic components supply chains. Major manufacturing industries in Southeast Asian countries, namely the Philippines, Malaysia, and India, have announced widespread closures.
1. MLCCs - Philippines: Started on 3.15.20, the capital city Manila is "capped" (community segregation) for 30 days. All transportation to and from Manila has been suspended. Multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) capacity will be hit the hardest in the Philippines. Companies like Murata, Samsung Electronics, and Taiyo Yuden have factories in the Philippines. Murata produces 15% of their MLCCs in the Philippines, 40% for Samsung. The suspension of production from Murata and Samsung will have an impact on the high-end MLCC market.
2. Resistors - Malaysia: Announced 3.17.20, Malaysia will be closed for two weeks. This means all transportation, public facilities, domestic enterprises and factories will be non-operational. Resistor production in the country has been halted as a result. Companies like Huaxin Technology, Wang Quan, Murata and Panasonic all operate in Malaysia and the impact is expected to be immense.
3. Smartphone and Networking - Vietnam and India: On 3.24.20, India announced it was closing. In terms of electronics, India manufactures and consumes a lot of smartphone-related products. For instance, part of the production capacity by both Foxconn and Wistron for iPhones and iPads is done in India.Other major mobile phone companies that operate in India are Huawei, Xiaomi, OV, and Samsung. India’s closure is expected to notably affect the supply of related electronic products and may slow down the spread of 5G mobile phone popularization.
New Product Releases:
1. Cypress Semiconductor - Sixth Generation USB-C Controllers:
Earlier this month, Cypress launched their new USB-controllers with power delivery, EZ-PD™ CCG6DF and CCG6SF. These dual and single-port solutions deliver USB-C performance, power and efficiency at low cost. The new controllers also offer the highest BOM integration for next generation PCs and notebooks. These controllers will support the latest Intel Thunderbolt platforms and the new USB4 standard.
2. Marvell - Industry's First Dual 400GbE PHY:
3.09.20, Marvell introduced the industry's first dual 400 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) PHY transceiver with 100GbE serial electrical I/O capabilities. This new product was designed to drive the next-generation of secured high-density optical infrastructure. Marvell's new PHY device enhances bandwidth on datacenter networks and reduces total power consumption and cost per bit. It offers 256-bit MACsec encryption, Class C compliant precision time protocol (PTP) timestamping and 112G PAM4 SerDes technology.
3. Vishay - Intertechnology Automotive Grade Phototransistor Optocoupler:
Vishay announced a new Automotive Grade phototransistor optocoupler on 3.11.20. This new RoHS-compliant, halogen-free product combines a high current transfer ratio (CTR) range with a low forward current in the compact SOP-4 mini-flat package. The device offers 80% lower forward current, saves energy in automotive and high reliability applications, and saves board space with its low profile packaging. The AEC-Q101 qualified device has been optimized for signal transmission, battery management, galvanic and noise isolation, 48 V boardnets, and system control in hybrid and electric vehicles.
4. Murata - Compact 2016 size crystal units for Wi-Fi devices:
Murata released the XRCGB-F-S series this month. This new series is intended for Wi-Fi devices and can withstand high temperatures. It is ideal for a variety of applications, including but not limited to:
- Lighting fixtures
- HEMS/BEMS
- Bluetooth
- Game devices
- Wearable Devices
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