Because most semiconductor companies today are either fabless or embracing the model to some extent, the need to thoroughly understand how to conduct business in the fabless, or outsourced, industry environment has increased.

Understanding Fabless IC Technology focuses on the differences between the IDM and fabless business model and provides the reader with an overview of how to conduct business in the outsourced semiconductor industry environment as well as discusses technical, cultural and global issues. It also discusses key business topics such as negotiating with outside fabrication companies, choosing the right electronic design tools, protection of intellectual property and business plans, and maintaining quality control.

The book contains nearly 300 pages of graphs, tables and valuable information that will inform on important topics regarding fabless IC techniques. Based on the wealth of knowledge included, this book can now be your company's main source for gaining knowledge on the outsourced semiconductor business model.

View Book Excerpt

Acknowledgements
Preface

PART 1 — Manufacturing Strategies: Understanding Fabless IC Technology

CHAPTER 1. More than a Decade of Transition in the Semiconductor Industry
CHAPTER 2. Fabless Semiconductor Manufacturing
CHAPTER 3. Qualities of Successful Fabless Companies

PART 2 — An In-Depth Understanding of the Fabless Semiconductor Business Model

CHAPTER 4. Semiconductor Manufacturing Basics
CHAPTER 5. Fabless ASICs
CHAPTER 6. Electronic Design Automation
CHAPTER 7. Intellectual Property
CHAPTER 8. e-Commerce
CHAPTER 9. Quality and Reliability
CHAPTER 10. Test Development

PART 3 — Becoming a Best-in-Class Fabless Company

CHAPTER 11. Best Practices for Fabless Companies
CHAPTER 12. Building the Right Partnerships
CHAPTER 13. Building the Right Relationships with the Board and VCs

PART 4 — The Fabless Business Model: A Look into the Future

CHAPTER 14. Perspectives into the Future of Fabless

Appendix: Overall Semiconductor Revenues in 2006 (Public Companies)
Bibliography
Glossary of Terms and Acronyms
About the Authors
About FSA
Index

This book will address many important design/production questions, such as:

• How does a fabless company transfer its design data to the foundry?
• How is work-in-process (WIP) information accessed from the foundry?
• What are the fabrication process design rules - how do fabless companies know when they are mature and ready for production?
• What about circuit SPICE models and design libraries - should they be obtained directly from the foundry or from third-party suppliers?
• Should assembly and test be performed by the same foundry supplier or by a separate company?
• Who handles product characterization?
• What roles do e-commerce and information technology (IT) and management information systems (MIS) play in the fabless model?
• Ensuring proper execution by learning to deal with various cultures, languages, time and social differences in implementation within the global environment

• Fabless employees seeking to gain a broader understanding of the overall industry
• IDM employees transitioning their integrated environment to an outsourced environment
• Supplier employees who want an in-depth understanding of the issues and concerns faced by their current and potential customers
• Investors and venture capitalists requiring a thorough understanding of the business issues as they impact the valuation and funding of the outsourced semiconductor environment
• Legislative bodies and government organizations needing to understand and recognize the value of this business model as a significant source of innovation and research and development investment in high-tech arenas
• Entrepreneurs planning a semiconductor start-up company
• College students planning their careers in an outsourced environment

Whether you purchase one copy or purchase several copies and make them mandatory reading for your employees, this book will provide a valuable resource for you and your company.

Non-Member Price         $69.95 
GSA Member Price*       $52.46

*GSA Members will receive a 25% discount off the list price. Log in here to receive the promo code which will need to be entered at checkout.

Member Login

Username   Password  

For decades the semiconductor industry has been a driver of global economic growth and social change. Semiconductors, particularly the microchips essential to most electronic devices, have transformed computing, communications, entertainment, and industry. In Chips and Change, Clair Brown and Greg Linden trace the industry over more than twenty years through eight technical and competitive crises that forced it to adapt in order to continue its exponential rate of improved chip performance. The industry's changes have in turn shifted the basis on which firms hold or gain global competitive advantage.

These eight interrelated crises do not have tidy beginnings and ends. Most, in fact, are still ongoing, often in altered form. The U.S. semiconductor industry's fear that it would be overtaken by Japan in the 1980s, for example, foreshadows current concerns over the new global competitors China and India. The intersecting crises of rising costs for both design and manufacturing are compounded by consumer pressure for lower prices. Other crises discussed in the book include the industry's steady march toward the limits of physics, the fierce competition that keeps its profits modest even as development costs soar, and the global search for engineering talent.

Other high-tech industries face crises of their own, and the semiconductor industry has much to teach about how industries are transformed in response to such powerful forces as technological change, shifting product markets, and globalization. Chips and Change also offers insights into how chip firms have developed, defended, and, in some cases, lost global competitive advantage.

Acknowledgments   ix
Introduction   1
Crisis 1 Loss of Competitive Advantage   15
Crisis 2 Rising Costs of Fabrication   39
Crisis 3 Rising Costs of Design   61
Crisis 4 Consumer Price Squeeze   77
Crisis 5 Limits to Moore’s Law   95
Crisis 6 Finding Talent   107
Crisis 7 Low Returns, High Risk   137
Crisis 8 New Global Competition   165
Conclusion: The Way Ahead   199
Notes   215
Reference 233
Index 241

Highlights to come.

• All semiconductor professionals who work with industry challenges

Whether you purchase one copy or purchase several copies and make them mandatory reading for your employees, this book will provide a valuable resource for you and your company. This book can be purchased at any online book retailer. GSA members can receive a discount off the list price.*

Listed Price	$35.00
GSA Member Price*	$24.50

 
*GSA members must log in to receive the 30% discount.

Member Login

Username   Password  

This complementary book to Understanding Fabless IC Technology describes in more detail the challenges faced by fabless companies in the development of integrated circuits.

Fabless Semiconductor Implementation takes you step-by-step through the challenges faced by fabless firms in the development of integrated circuits. This expert guide examines the potential pitfalls of IC implementation in the rapidly growing fabless segment of the semiconductor industry and elaborates how to overcome these difficulties. It provides a comprehensive overview of the issues that executives and technical professionals encounter at fabless companies.

Preface
Why This Book?
Acknowledgments

CHAPTER 1. Industry Perspectives
CHAPTER 2. The Big Picture
CHAPTER 3. Lifecycle of a Fabless IC Company
CHAPTER 4. Selecting the Implementation Approach
CHAPTER 5. Selecting the Technologies
CHAPTER 6. Implementing the COT Approach
CHAPTER 7. Managing Cost
CHAPTER 8. Managing Quality
CHAPTER 9. Managing the Implementation Program

Filled with more than 150 on-target illustrations, this business-building tool presents a clear picture of the entire lifecycle of a fabless enterprise, describing how to envision and execute fabless IC implementation.

Inside This Comprehensive Guide to Fabless IC Design

• Define and specify the product
• Understand the customer requirements, the value chain, and the supply chain
• Select the right implementation approach, including "make" vs. "buy"
• Choose the best technologies and supply chain
• Implement IC design, fabrication, and manufacturing
• Build the operations infrastructure to meet cost and quality requirements
• Program-manage the distributed supply chain

Chapter 10. Future Trends
Appendices (Business Plan Example, Term Sheet Outline, Transistor Scaling, Yield Models, Quality)

• Fabless employees seeking to gain a broader understanding of the overall industry
• IDM employees transitioning their integrated environment to an outsourced environment
• Supplier employees who want an in-depth understanding of the issues and concerns faced by their current and potential customers
• Investors and venture capitalists requiring a thorough understanding of the business issues as they impact the valuation and funding of the outsourced semiconductor environment

Whether you purchase one copy or purchase several copies and make them mandatory reading for your employees, this book will provide a valuable resource for you and your company. This book can be purchased at any online book retailer. GSA members can receive a discount off the list price.*

Listed Price	$99.95
GSA Member Price*	$79.96

 
*GSA members must log in to receive the 20% discount.

Member Login

Username   Password