Semiconductors

Quantum computers can be built in many ways. You may be familiar with the competing modalities claiming to offer various advantages over others in terms of quality, scalability, cost, and more. However, it is increasingly apparent across them all that new generations of optics and photonics technologies will be essential. This opens an exciting supply chain opportunity for many players, old and new, in the photonics eco-system.

In the last week Google's latest quantum breakthrough has been splashed across the headlines. This has created a surge of interest in quantum and the revolutionary potential of this technology. IDTechEx has been following key trends in the quantum technology market for many years, and this article picks out key takeaways you should know that go beyond the buzz.

As quantum computing capabilities are becoming more sophisticated, so has engagement from research institutions and supercomputing centers who are investing tens of millions for on-premises installations of the latest machines. So, as pressure mounts on quantum computing to continue showing it is on track to provide a return on investment from governments and private ventures alike - what are the crucial next steps?

Thursday 19 December 2024 - What is quantum computing, and what is the state of the industry?; How is the industry evolving as commercialisation ramps up?; How do scalability challenges vary between quantum computing modalities?; What are some key updates from major players in the eco-system from 2024?; Which trends can be expected in the quantum computing market in 2025 and beyond?

Advanced semiconductor packaging is experiencing significant growth due to the interplay of technological, economic, and market forces. As silicon scaling approaches its limits, advanced packaging offers a viable alternative for boosting chip performance, particularly for high-performance computing (HPC) applications like AI and data centers, which demand increased computational power and bandwidth.

Friday 8 November 2024 - An outline of the ongoing development of specialized AI accelerators and the impact of ARM architectures on the CPU market for HPC; Trends and developments in memory and storage technologies for AI and HPC workloads and the advanced semiconductor packaging technologies to realize next-generation solutions; Examination of the growing role of silicon photonics in high-speed interconnects for HPC and how co-packaged optics will increase bandwidths whilst reducing power consumption; Discussion of the push towards liquid cooling in data centers, driven by increasing AI workloads; Insights from IDTechEx's ten-year forecasting for the HPC market

Wednesday 30 October 2024 - Data Center Liquid Cooling - 6-Fold Market Size Expansion in 10 Years; Air cooling overview; Direct-to-chip cooling: An exploration of technical barriers and advantages of single- and two-phase D2C cooling; Immersion cooling: An examination of single-phase and two-phase immersion and their technical and commercial barriers; Coolant comparison and regulations: A comparative analysis of coolants used in liquid cooling systems, including costs, regulatory requirements and operating temperature; Data center cooling value chain and liquid cooling on the data center facility level; Cost analysis of data center cooling; Thermal interface materials: An overview of the critical TIMs in efficient heat transfer within cooling systems; Market size forecast and future opportunities

The global commercialization of autonomous trucks in 2024 is being shaped significantly by regional regulations and government policies. To enable the growth of autonomous trucking, the U.S., Europe and China have adopted different approaches, primarily influenced by their respective regulatory environments, infrastructure development, and governmental support.

The rapid rise of AI and HPC (high performing computing) applications is driving a fundamental shift in data center cooling strategies. As chips like Nvidia's B200 and Intel's Falcon Shores GPU push the limits of thermal design power, direct-to-chip and immersion cooling solutions are becoming critical to managing the heat loads in modern data centers.

High-performance computing, 6G communication, autonomous vehicle chips, and consumer electronics are all key markets that benefit from advancing semiconductor packaging. IDTechEx's report, "Advanced Semiconductor Packaging 2024-2034: Forecasts, Technologies, Applications", goes into detail about emerging technologies, including 2.5D and 3D packaging.