Semiconductors, Data Centers & AI

The rise of QLC SSDs is challenging hard disk drives in cold storage and beyond. IDTechEx explores how performance, density, and cost are shifting the economics of data storage.

The ability of PICs to precisely manipulate light at the chip level opens the door to various cutting-edge fields beyond data communication, including sensing, LiDAR, quantum computing, and high-performance computing (HPC).While PIC-based transceivers are set to dominate the market, with long-range transceivers for 5G/6G networks forming the second largest sector of the overall market, other applications for PIC are growing steadily.

Conventional printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing is wasteful, harmful to the environment and energy intensive. This can be mitigated by the implementation of new recyclable materials and technologies, which have the potential to revolutionize electronics manufacturing.

At GTC 2025, NVIDIA announced two new networking switch platforms - Spectrum-X Photonics and Quantum-X Photonics - based on Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) technology. Both platforms incorporate TSMC's 3D hybrid bonding technology for its CPO, and these will be the world's first 3D-stacked silicon photonics engine.

With the introduction of collaborative robots and AI agents, household chores could also become a display of the latest intelligent robotics technology. From companionship robots that engage in conversation and play board games to cars that drive themselves safely using radar and artificial intelligence, the possibilities for robotics are endless.

IDTechEx analysts attended Data Centre World in London as part of ongoing data center sustainability and thermal management research. This article highlights three insights from the event.

Front and side radars serve distinct yet complementary roles in ADAS, making them essential for autonomous vehicles. IDTechEx explores the latest radar developments and explores autonomy leveling up, with Level 2+ asserting itself within the US and Europe's autonomous vehicle markets.

Parallel computer architectures, such as those deployed for modern high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) workloads, frequently encounter memory bottlenecks that limit performance, known as the 'memory wall'. IDTechEx assesses the key developments and trends in memory and storage technologies, including high-bandwidth memory (HBM), DDR, NAND, and many more.

Data centers can be likened to an ecosystem of computing facilities that contain many facets required to store and handle data. IDTechEx's latest report, "Sustainability for Data Centers 2025-2035: Green Technologies, Market Forecasts, and Players", unpacks efforts being made in the data center sector towards increased sustainability in response to the rising CO2 emissions from the development of AI.

Chiplets allow for GPU, CPU, and IO components to become miniaturized to suit the rise of smaller and more compact devices and hardware and can bring about a means of integrating various functions into a more simplified, unified design.