TABLE OF CONTENTS
Map Of The Semiconductor Industry...........................................................................................................................................................5
Semiconductor Companies....................................................................................................................................................................5
Types Of Semiconductors......................................................................................................................................................................6
Semiconductor End Markets................................................................................................................................................................. 7
Semiconductor Industry Dynamics..............................................................................................................................................................8
Growth....................................................................................................................................................................................................8
The Semiconductor Cycle .................................................................................................................................................................... 12
Pricing .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 14
Capacity................................................................................................................................................................................................ 16
The Rise Of The Foundries..................................................................................................................................................................22
Semiconductor Inventory And The Electronics Supply Chain ...........................................................................................................26
Semiconductor Segments............................................................................................................................................................................32
Analog ..................................................................................................................................................................................................35
Logic .....................................................................................................................................................................................................36
Memory ................................................................................................................................................................................................37
Discrete Components ......................................................................................................................................................................... 38
Sub-Segments Of Interest ................................................................................................................................................................... 41
Microprocessors ........................................................................................................................................................................... 41
Memory.........................................................................................................................................................................................46
Analog...........................................................................................................................................................................................55
Selected Technology Topics ....................................................................................................................................................................... 60
Semiconductor Wafers And Chips ..................................................................................................................................................... 60
Manufacturing Transitions—Line Widths And Wafer Size................................................................................................................ 60
Calculating The Number of Circuits Of A Wafer (Die Per Wafer) ......................................................................................................62
Transistors—What They Are And Some Technical Terms..................................................................................................................63
The 4GB DRAM Ceiling.......................................................................................................................................................................64
Solid State Drives (SSD) Versus Hard Disk Drives (HDD).................................................................................................................65
Appendix A: Semiconductor Companies...................................................................................................................................................67
Appendix B: Glossary .................................................................................................................................................................................69