Bravely Marching in the Wrong Direction

Excerpt

All the things that were once planned for a European semiconductor industry: From MEDEA in the 2000s to ENIAC/CATRENE in the 2010s, billions were planned to be invested in micro- and nanoelectronics to at least just match the pace of the massively funded Asian manufacturers. 20 years ago, the goal was to achieve leaps forward in terms of technology for European Fabs of 130-nm structure up to 90/45 nm; in 2010 it was about completely different dimensions in terms of 25 nm and also investment. Unfortunately, analyses such as "Especially in Asian countries […] state-backed R&D efforts are increasing, particularly in order to become more competitive in terms of chip design and to win market share. Therefore, an increase in state-backed and private R&D activities in Germany would have a significant effect in research competitiveness" (BMBF) did not necessarily lead to the correct conclusions or were not consistently followed. Today, thanks to EUV-Litho, we have 5-nm structures, currently only mastered by TSMC/Samsung: The epicenters of the semiconductor world are Taiwan, South Korea, USA and possibly also China. Even if we do not forget Infineon, NXP or STMicro, none of the ten largest protagonists is located in the EU and the trend is still "size matters." …