EMRFD Message Archive 13170

Message Date From Subject
13170 2016-09-21 09:24:12 Chris Trask Semiconductor Industry
Quite a few changes have taken place in the semiconductor industry here in the Phoenix area. Freescale Semiconductor was bought out by NXP, and now I've learned that ON Semiconductor has bought out Fairchild Semiconductor. Pretty soon we won't have much to choose from.


Chris Trask
N7ZWY / WDX3HLB
Senior Member IEEE
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~christrask/
13171 2016-09-21 11:01:29 kb1ckt Re: Semiconductor Industry
Quite a bit of consolidation going on, it seems. Not sure though if it is all bad--I want to say Burr-Brown wasn't doing that great before they got bought by TI? National certainly wasn't.

I know jellybean stuff will be around for a while to come, but one does worry about parts here today, gone tomorrow. I try to vet parts I use in ATE and stick with common, long lived items.

shawn kb1ckt

Sent from my iPad

13172 2016-09-21 11:05:37 Ashhar Farhan Re: Semiconductor Industry
I was walking through an electronics show in bangalore. I could scarcely recognize many of the semiconductor names from asia. Of course, NXP had a big stall and so did the Indian device manufacturer CDIL, but those apart, everyone else was new or a bit of a surprise. At the Murata stall nobody knew about the filters, they were pushing haptic sensors!
- f

13193 2016-10-02 09:27:10 mvs_sarma@ymail.c... Re: Semiconductor Industry
I suppose , we choose a component , not a maker.
After  so called mergers even, the former makers products with no change in device name shall be available.
regards
 sarma
 vu3zmv
 
13194 2016-10-02 22:14:25 Leigh Turner Re: Semiconductor Industry / more upheaval

It’s not so much the mergers and consolidations that worry me...the big concern is when entire RF industry segments shut down and disappear like what’s soon happening with CEL/Renesas.

 

https://www.renesas.com/en-hq/about/press-center/news/2016/news20160802.html

 

Below are the key dates for Last Time Buys.

 

Non-binding last time buy (LTB) forecast for affected part numbers.

Dec 15, 2016

Final last time buy (LTB) / non-cancellable non-returnable (NCNR) orders for affected part numbers.

June 1, 2017

Date for last time shipment (LTS) from CEL.  (Note that deliveries can be scheduled over time through this last time ship date.)

June 1, 2018

 

Their recent shock announcement concerns their high performance compound semiconductor Si bipolar RF devices leaving a gaping hole gap in future discrete devices with decent performance specs :-(

 

RF Design engineers will express dismay and vociferously complain about this shocking decision and announcement to cease future production of this entire RF product line family embracing high performance, high linearity, low-noise, Si bipolar discrete transistors. Most notably this family includes the exceptional NE461M02 / 2SC5337 and NE46134 devices.

 

This situation is a great shame and sadly spells the final death knoll of decent RF discrete devices suitable for HF low noise high intercept RF signal processing parts :-(

 

The RF discrete semiconductor world will be seriously tipped upside down on its head when these highly regarded devices cease to become available. The repercussions of this decision have deep and widespread global implications for folk who have traditionally relied on these exemplary performance high quality semiconductor parts.

 

It is a terrible shame because we are loosing the capability of making low noise figure, low distortion, broadband RF amplifiers at HF and VHF; parts of the RF and radio communication spectrum where important defence and military requirements continue to exist and expand.

 

To make the situation doubly compounding worse they seem to offer no alternative solutions or substitute parts for RF designers to work with. No cross-references to alternate parts or suppliers, etc. Nothing; just the sad end to an era closing shut the door on the availability of high-performance, hi-rel RF discrete parts  :-(

 

The rot and decay for the global RF industry commenced some years back with Motorola pulling out of RF semiconductor parts, then legacy manufacturer Freescale, then NXP pulling back hard on their high-end RF portfolio to the point where mostly generic nondescript mass consumer application junk now remains. Making life very difficult for sophisticated RF system designers. The loss of the venerable 2N5109 part was just the start of this demise; now all the improved performance modern SMD variants are vanishing too.

 

One day the entire bipolar family is listed as recommended for new designs until 2024, the next day they are glibly accelerated to sudden End-of-Life obsolete status!

 

I’m sure CEL must be experiencing a barrage of similar expressions of dismay and complaints from other longstanding customers / users of this very important family of RF parts.

 

The way things are headed with this nearsighted product rationalization program CEL will soon have little of value to sell to large segments of the RF industry :-(

 

It is little wonder RF engineers are becoming a rarefied thin on the ground species; practicing the discipline is becoming increasingly difficult as mainstream semiconductor devices and building blocks disappear with nothing coming on stream replacing them.

 

Leigh

VK5KLT

 


13195 2016-10-03 00:47:23 mvs_sarma@ymail.c... Re: Semiconductor Industry
Yes. Really a worry some situation for RF designers. I do realize after the detailed post, Thanks to Leigh.