[Core Information] The rise in flash memory bit shipments will encounter obstacles, and TSMC’s 3nm shipments will reach a peak

1. NAND flash memory: unit prices continue to rise but bit shipments are hampered, putting growth under pressure in the third quarter

TrendForce's latest survey shows that the NAND flash memory market showed a price increase and a decrease in volume in the second quarter of 2024: Affected by the end of server terminal inventory adjustments and AI-driven demand for large-capacity storage, the average sales unit price of NAND flash memory increased by 15% quarter-on-quarter, with total revenue reaching US$16.796 billion, a quarter-on-quarter increase of 14.2%; however, dragged down by high inventories of PC and smartphone manufacturers, bit shipments decreased by 1% quarter-on-quarter.

At present, all NAND flash memory suppliers have returned to profitability and plan to expand production capacity in the third quarter to adapt to the strong demand for AI and servers. However, the weak PC and smartphone markets in the first half of the year have led to a sluggish peak season.TrendForce predicts that in the third quarter, the average unit price of all NAND flash memory products will increase by 5%-10% quarter-on-quarter, bit shipments will decrease by at least 5% quarter-on-quarter, and industry revenue will be roughly the same as the previous quarter.

2. TSMC’s 3nm process reaches peak shipments, and full-year revenue growth exceeds expectations

TSMC's 3nm process is entering a period of explosive shipments. It is expected that full-year revenue growth will reach 34%, significantly exceeding the previous estimated range of 26%-29%. The leading edge of advanced processes continues to be consolidated.

In terms of order support, the A18 processor used in Apple's iPhone 16 series uses this process, which has become the core driving force for this round of shipment peaks; Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen4, MediaTek Dimensity 9400 and other upcoming 5G flagship chips will add further impetus to fourth-quarter performance and attract more mobile phone brand manufacturers to place orders.

The field of AI chips has also received important orders: AMD AI chip MI350 series plans to use TSMC's 3nm process, and Nvidia has determined to use this process in Rubin GPU in 2026, locking in long-term order stability for TSMC.

3. Shin-Etsu Chemical: 12-inch GaN epitaxial QST substrate officially released

Japan's Shin-Etsu Chemical announced on September 3 that it has successfully developed a 300mm (12-inch) QST substrate for gallium nitride (GaN) epitaxial growth and has started supplying customer samples.This substrate technology is patented from the US company Qromis. Its thermal expansion coefficient is highly matched with GaN, which can significantly reduce the risk of defects in the GaN epitaxial layer on large-size substrates and is suitable for the manufacturing of high-voltage, large-thickness GaN devices.

Shin-Etsu has previously launched 6-inch and 8-inch QST substrates. The launch of the 12-inch product will help increase the scale of GaN production capacity, reduce long-term production line operating costs, and promote the price reduction and popularization of GaN products.

4. NXP launches the industry’s first on-chip radar processor Trimension SR250

NXP (NXP) launched the Trimension SR250 single-chip solution, which is the industry's first product to integrate on-chip processing capabilities, short-range UWB radar and safe ranging functions. It belongs to NXP's extensive UWB product portfolio, covering the three major application areas of automotive, mobile and Internet of Things.

The chip works in the 6-8.5GHz frequency band and has the advantage of low power consumption. It can realize new applications such as UWB mapping, human body/object detection, and safe positioning. It can provide convenient and safe privacy protection functions in smart home scenarios, and can be used in industrial scenarios for personnel and cargo tracking, access control, and anti-collision detection, empowering safety and productivity improvements in many fields.

5. Wolfspeed launches 200mm wafer-based silicon carbide module and joins hands with EPC Power to expand applications

Wolfspeed, a major silicon carbide (SiC) manufacturer, has launched a cutting-edge substrate-less silicon carbide power module, developed based on its most advanced 200 mm SiC wafer, suitable for 1500V DC bus applications, aiming to improve the efficiency, durability and scalability of the renewable energy, energy storage, and high-capacity fast charging industries.

At the same time, Wolfspeed announced a cooperation with EPC Power, a North American utility-scale inverter manufacturer. The latter will use this module in utility-scale solar and energy storage systems to optimize the performance of energy storage and photovoltaic systems with its high power conversion, high-performance control and system redundancy features.

6. SK Hynix releases high-performance SSD PEB110 E1.S for data centers

SK Hynix announced on September 11 that it has developed PEB110 E1.S, a high-performance SSD product dedicated to data centers. It is currently conducting product verification with global data center customers and plans to mass-produce and launch it on the market in the second quarter of 2025.

This product uses the fifth-generation PCIe interface, with bandwidth doubled compared to the fourth generation, data transmission speed up to 32GTs, performance doubled compared to the previous generation, and energy efficiency increased by more than 30%. It is available in three capacity versions of 2TB, 4TB, and 8TB, and supports OCP3 version 2.5, which can greatly improve compatibility with global data centers and adapt to the high computing power and high reliability requirements of data centers.

7. Synopsys launches the industry’s first 40G UCIe IP to empower AI computing chips

Synopsys announced the launch of the industry's first complete UCIe IP comprehensive solution, with operating speeds of up to 40Gbps per pin. It is specially designed to meet the high computing performance requirements of AI data centers. It is planned to be officially launched by the end of 2024 and is suitable for multiple wafer foundries and processes.

This IP solution supports organic substrates and high-density advanced packaging technology, providing developers with flexible packaging options, including physical layer, controller and verification IP. It is a core component of Synopsys' multi-chip system design solution and can achieve rapid heterogeneous integration from architecture exploration to manufacturing, helping to upgrade the performance of AI computing chips.