March 11, 2026

Apple makes about 25% of iPhones in India after China pivot Apple Inc increased iPhone production in India by about 53 percent last year to 55 million units, raising the country’s share to roughly a quarter of global output as the company shifts manufacturing away from China to mitigate tariffs and diversify its supply chain. Taipei Times

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Innolux selling factory in Tainan to ChipMOS Innolux Corp said it would sell a panel module assembly facility in Tainan to ChipMOS Technologies Inc for NT$880 million, aiming to raise capital and restructure operations, while ChipMOS expands chip testing and packaging capacity to meet booming AI-driven memory and logic chip demand. Taipei Times

Current Characterization of Various Cu RDL Designs In Wafer Level Packages (WLP) This study evaluates copper redistribution layer fusing currents in wafer-level packaging through experiments and simulations, finding that silicon thickness significantly improves heat dissipation and fusing performance. Technical Paper

Sponsor Die-on-Tab for Compound Semiconductors This white paper explains why die-on-tab is critical for GaN and GaAs RF power devices, improving heat dissipation, reliability, and system life. Download now. StratEdge Corporation

TSMC reports sales hit record high last month Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. reported record February sales of NT$317.66 billion, driven by strong demand for advanced 3nm AI chips. The chipmaker expects about 30% revenue growth in 2026, with key customer Nvidia fueling expanding wafer demand and capacity plans. Taipei Times

Memory price hikes ‘the new normal’ as AI boom fuels storage demand, Seagate says Seagate Technology warned memory price hikes may become the “new normal” as AI-driven demand triggers an industry supercycle. Rising DRAM costs and booming data-centre needs are pushing storage demand and accelerating new high-capacity drive deployments. South China Morning Post

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Technical Papers Alpha Particle Emissions: An Overlooked Risk for Soft Errors in Advanced Packaging Revolutionizing IC Packaging with High-Density RDL Technology EOTPR Fine pitch probing for die-to-die interconnect failure analysis in chiplet devices Die-on-Tab for Compound Semiconductors: Enabling Advanced RF Power Systems Package Assembly Design Kits: The Future of Advanced Package Design Novel Molded FCBGA Package Platform For Highly Reliable Automotive Applications Eliminating Interfacial Delamination in High-Power Automotive Devices MORE TECHNICAL PAPERS

Sponsor Die-Module Attach for High Power Devices High flexibility film and paste adhesives for large die and module attach. Outstanding thermal conductivity with low moisture absorption stress-free bonding. AI Technology, Inc.

How the Iran war and rising energy prices are threatening semiconductor demand Analysts warn a prolonged U.S.–Israel–Iran conflict could disrupt semiconductor supply chains by threatening Middle East sources of key materials like helium and bromine. Potential shipping disruptions and rising energy costs may also weaken AI-driven chip demand and pressure semiconductor stocks. CNBC

IBM and Lam Research Announce Collaboration to Advance Sub-1nm Logic Scaling IBM and Lam Research expanded their partnership to develop materials, fabrication methods, and High-NA EUV lithography processes targeting sub-1nm logic nodes. The five-year effort aims to enable advanced nanosheet devices, boost chip performance, and support next-generation AI computing. IBM

Sponsor Temporary Bonding Materials Brewer Science offers temporary bonding solutions with high adhesion and high thermal stability (≥ 400˚C) to enable thinning ≤ 50 µm. Brewer Science

Intel Demos Chip to Compute With Encrypted Data Intel unveiled Heracles, a specialized processor that accelerates fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) computing up to 5,000 times faster than server CPUs. The chip aims to make practical large-scale encrypted data processing for cloud services, AI workloads, and privacy-preserving applications. IEEE Spectrum

Samsung Electronics spends 37.7 tln won in R&D in 2025 Samsung Electronics spent a record 37.7 trillion won (US$25.6 billion) on R&D in 2025, up 7.8 percent year on year, to secure an early lead in AI chips. The company also boosted facility investment while advancing next-generation HBM4 memory development and production. Yonhap News Agency

Sponsor Dedicated Tool for Process Development Advanced plating capability at Uyemura Tech Center: Process Development, UBM, pilot production. ENIG, ENEPIG, EPIG/EPAG, RAIG immersion gold; all substrates. On-site analysis. Uyemura

SK Innovation to invest US$380 mln in SK hynix's U.S. AI affiliate SK Innovation will invest $380 million in a U.S. affiliate of SK hynix to pursue opportunities in AI energy infrastructure. The move aims to strengthen participation in the AI data center ecosystem and expand business prospects in global AI markets. Yonhap News Agency

(2nd LD) Seoul shares rebound more than 5 pct on eased Iran woes; won sharply up South Korean stocks rebounded over 5% as bargain hunters returned after the previous session’s steep fall, helped by easing concerns over the U.S.-Iran conflict and lower oil prices. The KOSPI surged, tech and airline shares climbed, and the won strengthened against the dollar. Yonhap News Agency

Sponsor Contamination Control Balazs™ provides technical expertise in identifying and controlling Airborne Molecular Contamination (AMC) and Surface Molecular Contamination (SMC) for improving process and product yields. Balazs Nanoanalysis

Detecting Chemical Variability At Advanced Nodes As semiconductor nodes shrink to angstrom scales and chiplet integration grows, hidden material variations increasingly drive yield loss and reliability risks. Engineers are deploying molecular analysis, circuit monitoring, and AI-driven telemetry to detect subtle chemical and interface defects before they degrade device performance. Semiconductor Engineering

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