In this article discuss about Semiconductor Products and classifications.
Integrated circuits (ICs) and transistors are types of semiconductor devices manufactured by semiconductor companies.
It was founded around 1960 when the manufacture of semiconductor devices became a viable enterprise.
Since then, the industry’s yearly semiconductor sales income has risen to near about $600 billion as of 2022 and is predicted to reach $1 trillion by 2030.
Historical Growth Semiconductor Products:
The semiconductor industry has a rich history that dates back to the early 20th century. Here is a brief historical overview of the semiconductor industry and its growth trends
Semiconductor Products Early Discoveries (1900’s – 1940’s):
The groundwork for the semiconductor industry was laid with the discovery of the semiconductor effect in materials like germanium and silicon.
Early semiconductor devices, such as vacuum tubes and diodes, were used in radios and early computing machines.
Semiconductor Products Transistor Invention (1947):
The watershed moment in semiconductor history came with the invention of the transistor by John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley at Bell Labs in 1947.
Transistors marked a revolutionary shift from bulky vacuum tubes to small, reliable, and energy-efficient devices. Physics Nobel Prize was awarded to them for this invention.
Integrated Circuits (1950’s – 1960’s):
The development of Integrated Circuits (IC’s) by engineers like Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s was another major milestone.
IC’s packed multiple transistors onto a single chip, leading to the miniaturization of electronics and paving the way for modern computers and electronic devices.
Microprocessors (1970’s):
The invention of the microprocessor, such as the Intel 4004 in 1971, marked the birth of the modern computing era.
Microprocessors are the heart of computers, and their widespread adoption led to the personal computer revolution.
Consumer Electronics (1980’s):
The 1980’s saw the semiconductor industry expanding into consumer electronics, with the production of memory chips, microcontrollers, and digital signal processors for products like video game consoles, videocassette recorder (VCR’s), and early cell phones.
Mobile Devices (2000’s):
The rise of smartphones and mobile computing in the 2000’s led to a surge in demand for semiconductor components such as application processors, memory chips, and sensors.
Internet of Things (IoT) (2010’s – Present):
In the era of Internet of Things, semiconductor manufacturing continued to grow.
These include sensors, microcontrollers, and connectivity chips that enable everyday objects to connect to the internet and communicate with each other.
Miniaturization:
A consistent trend in the semiconductor industry has been the miniaturization of components. According to Gordon Moore’s Law, which was proposed in 1965, the number of transistors on a microchip would double every two years, resulting in increasing processing power and reduced manufacturing costs.
Diversification:
The industry diversified into various sectors, including telecommunications, automotive, healthcare, and aerospace, as semiconductor technology found applications beyond traditional computing.
Manufacturing Advances:
Advances in semiconductor manufacturing processes, such as the transition from 200mm to 300mm wafers and the development of FinFET transistors, have increased chip performance and energy efficiency.
Artificial Intelligence (AI):
The growth of AI and machine learning applications has driven demand for specialized AI hardware, including GPU’s (Graphics Processing Units) and TPU’s (Tensor Processing Units).
Conclusion:
As the semiconductor supply chain became global, with design, fabrication, assembly, and testing often occurring in different regions, reflecting a highly interconnected global industry. Such is a globally diversified ecosystem of Semicon that today almost every geo / continent contributes majorly.
In recent years, the semiconductor industry has increased supply chain and manufacturing dependency on the Greater Asia region, while on one hand significantly improving the efficiencies and manufacturing costs on the other hand there are perpetual challenges of supply chain strain due to lockdowns, geopolitical tensions, environmental / natural calamities and ever-increasing natural resource constraint – Water, Energy. Not to forget the growing need for investment in advanced semiconductor fabrication facilities.
semiconductor (product) companies Vendors like Samsung, Intel, Broadcom, Qualcomm, Media Tek, AMD etc. In November. 22. 2023, Broadcom Completes Acquisition of VMware. As a landmark event, Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware signals significant changes for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) worldwide