Semiconductors

The VC ecosystem continues to evolve and according to the National Venture Capital Association, corporate investors are becoming an increasingly important source of venture capital. Applied Ventures discusses what's driving this changing landscape and the unique value corporate VCs bring to the table.

Applied Materials will host a forum at the IITC* conference in Grenoble, France on May 19 to discuss ways of overcoming critical challenges in copper interconnect scaling. While much of the industry’s focus has been on transistor scaling, at the 10nm node and beyond, the interconnect is becoming a major issue. Applied Materials and guest speakers will explore the path that interconnect technology must take to keep pace with Moore’s Law in a panel titled "Advancing the Frontiers of Interconnect Scaling."

What are some of the innovations behind Moore’s Law? As technology advancement continues full steam ahead, Applied Materials recognizes and celebrates Moore’s Law on its 50th anniversary.

For the 5th consecutive year, Applied Materials has been recognized with Intel Corporation’s Preferred Quality Supplier award.

2014 marked an exciting and active year, where Applied Ventures closed four new investments in early stage technology companies. The most recent investment is RayVio Corporation, a solid state ultraviolet (SSUV) light emitting diode (LED) startup first developed at Boston University and backed by some of the world’s leading investors.

Applied’s Ofer Adan, Global Product and Technology manager, discusses the technical innovations of the recently announced metrology tool for 3D devices.

Applied technologists discuss TSV processes and integration, and review new requirements in a typical integration flow. 

At the 2014 Flash Memory Summit, I participated in a panel discussion titled, “Is 3D NAND a disruptive technology for Flash storage?” The consensus is that 3D NAND will be the most viable storage technology in the years to come, although opinions were mixed on when that disruption would be evident.

Innovation is alive and well in the semiconductor industry. That was a key takeaway from the strategic investor panel at the second annual Silicon Innovation Forum at SEMICON West, and one I can’t reinforce enough within the venture capital (VC) community.