JEDEC released JESD264, the first industry-wide reliability standard for silicon photonics, covering modulators and waveguides. This addresses the lack of optical-specific testing protocols compared to CMOS. TSMC is also advancing mass production of 200Gbps modulators, signaling industry progress.
Silicon PhotonicsModulatorsPhotodiodesJEDEC, TSMC and 4 totalTrendForceTechnical
Altman-backed Volantis plans to use photonic interposers to boost AI accelerator memory bandwidth to 240 TB/s and capacity to 10 TB, overcoming current electrical interconnect limitations.
AI AcceleratorPhotonic InterposerHBMVolantis, AMD and 3 totalThe RegisterTechnical
ITEN expands its solid-state battery family with a 1,500 μAh device and reaches a 30 million unit/year production capacity milestone at its French pilot plant. This expansion targets IoT and MedTech applications requiring higher energy density. Impact: Neutral (Capacity increase signals future supply growth).
IBM's gen 5 FlashCore Modules (FCM5, IBM's proprietary SSDs featuring hardware compression, deduplication, die striping and cyber-attack detection, using QLC NAND with an SLC incoming write zone, with raw capacity points of 6.6, 12.2, 26.4, 52.8 and 105.6 TB) use Everspin MRAM instead of capacitors to protect against data loss from power failures. Because MRAM is non-volatile, the drives do not need super-capacitors to write consistency data to NAND on power loss; the metadata is held in MRAM and persists through power loss, allowing IBM to reclaim SuperCap space and populate it with more NAND chips to increase capacity. The report cites a page-21 FCM5 board illustration in the Redbook 'IBM FlashCore Module (FCM) Product Guide' showing an Everspin chip. The article also recalls that in April 2024 Everspin announced IBM chose its PERSYST EMD4E001G 1 Gb STT-MRAM chip for FlashCore Module 4 drives, specifically for data protection on power loss; prior FCM3s used up to 128 MB of Toggle MRAM for that purpose; and IBM has used a few hundred megabytes of Everspin MRAM inside FCMs for several years as a small, non-volatile write cache and journal. Everspin says its MRAM products have more than 2,000 customers, 20 years in production and more than 200 million chips shipped.
AI-driven electricity demand surge is transforming energy developers into direct buyers of IT equipment. Beyond grid access, some energy operators are moving up the technology value chain. Bullish: Energy giants entering the market will significantly boost demand for servers and power supplies.
China stockpiled 343 DUV systems (270 NXT:1980i) spending over $13B in 2024-25, supporting 7nm production despite export controls. This confirms strong demand for ASML equipment, with China accounting for 33-41% of its net sales.
DUV Lithography SystemsImmersion DUV SystemsASML, Huawei and 3 totalTrendForceCapacity Change
Advantest and Teradyne dominate the global memory testing equipment market, but HBM4 orders and the rise of Chinese suppliers like TBSTest are reshaping the landscape. Chinese firms secured over 300 systems from TBSTest and are targeting 15% market share by 2026, challenging the 80% import dependency. The increasing complexity of HBM4 is driving demand, with Digital Frontier and UniTest receiving over 280 billion KRW in orders.
HBM4DRAMNAND FlashAdvantest, Teradyne and 8 totalTrendForceMarket Analysis
Related manufacturers
Advantest, Teradyne, Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, Micron, TBSTest, Digital Frontier, UniTest
TSMC is exploring a joint venture with Elon Musk's Terafab to establish advanced semiconductor manufacturing in the US, potentially focusing on secondary capabilities rather than the latest nodes. This collaboration aims to provide dual-source expertise for Intel's 14A node, though the specific technology transfer details remain uncertain.
Advanced NodesTSMC, Terafab and 3 totalTechPowerUpPartnership/M&A
Heraeus demonstrates laser etching technology for RF thick-film gold circuits, discussing the potential of copper conductive inks to replace silver. This technical showcase highlights manufacturing process evolution but currently has no direct impact on spot prices or supply.
Micron reported Q4 FY2026 revenue and profit beats and announced expanding HBM capacity at four Taiwan sites. The company anticipates tighter supply in 2027-2028 driven by AI demand. Bullish for HBM prices as capacity expansion targets strong AI demand.
SK hynix outlines a vision for a memory-centric AI ecosystem. As AI workloads shift toward inference, data movement efficiency becomes critical, driving a paradigm shift from processor-centric to memory-centric architectures. Bullish: This structural shift reinforces the long-term demand outlook for HBM and high-speed memory technologies.
Huawei has reclaimed the global smartwatch crown but remains in fourth place for wireless earbuds, trailing Apple, Xiaomi, and Samsung Electronics. This uneven momentum highlights distinct competitive dynamics between its wearables and audio accessory segments.
Smartwatch ChipsWireless Earbuds ChipsHuawei, Apple and 4 totalDigiTimes AsiaMarket Analysis
Toshiba plans a 60 billion JPY investment to double AI data center HDD capacity by FY2027. Driven by AI infrastructure demand and SSD shortages, the HDD market remains tight. Bearish: Capacity expansion signals future supply relief, pressuring current tight prices.
Hard Disk Drives (HDD)Nearline HDDsToshiba, Western Digital and 3 totalTrendForceCapacity Change
TDK Corporation launched the B3272*A/G/T series DC-link film capacitors rated for continuous operation at +135°C without derating. These components target high-power-density automotive and industrial applications requiring enhanced thermal headroom. (Watch: New product launch, short-term price impact neutral).
Synopsys and OpenAI announced a multi-year partnership to develop GPT-Synopsys, an AI model integrated with EDA tools. This collaboration aims to optimize chip design workflows and PPA. The immediate trading impact is neutral as it represents a long-term strategic development rather than a supply shock or price movement.
Renishaw selected AdaCore's CodeSonar to verify the motion control software for its neuro | mate® robotic platform, supporting procedures like deep brain stimulation.
Motion Control SoftwareRenishaw, AdaCoreeeNews EuropeTechnical
Aspirity Partners acquired a majority stake in Onomondo, leading a combined investment exceeding €100 million to scale its IoT infrastructure and connectivity platform. This funding aims to expand international market presence and deploy hybrid networks, particularly for maritime logistics. The move signals strong confidence in the physical AI and edge intelligence infrastructure sector.
BOE seeks closer ties with Samsung and LG to expand into semiconductor glass substrates and advanced packaging. This move aims to leverage partners' expertise to push BOE into the semiconductor packaging supply chain. Watch: The partnership signals potential capacity expansion in glass substrates, requiring monitoring of future execution.
Glass SubstratesAdvanced PackagingBOE Technology, Samsung Electronics and 3 totalDigiTimes AsiaPartnership/M&A
Related manufacturers
BOE Technology, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics