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Microprocessor suppliers (from 23)
Many application-specific system-on-chip
(SoC) designs with integrated CPU cores
are also not counted in the mP rankings.
X86 Micro-architecture
Top-ranked Intel and fourth-place Ad-
vanced Micro Devices supply processors
built with the x86 micro-architecture
for traditional personal computers run-
ning Windows operating system software
from Microsoft, inexpensive Chromebooks
backed by Google, some tablets, and the
vast majority of servers used worldwide.
Intel and AMD also sell x86 designs for
embedded mP applications. The rest of the
top five mP suppliers sell mobile designs
(primarily cellphone application proces-
sors) and embedded system-on-chip (SoC)
microprocessors containing RISC architec-
tures and CPU design cores licensed from
the U.K.-based ARM subsidiary of Japan’s
SoftBank holding company.
The top four mP suppliers are headquar-
tered in the U.S. while fifth-ranked Medi-
aTek is based in Taiwan.
Revenue gap growing
While the combined marketshare of top
five suppliers has steadily increased in the
past 10 years, the revenue gap between
long-time mP leader Intel and the rest of
four largest companies in the ranking con-
tinues to narrow.
IC Insights estimates that Intel’s 2021
microprocessor revenues grew just 3%
to $52.3 billion, which was 50.9% of the
total MPU market last year, compared to a
55.7% share in 2020 and 58.4% in 2016.
Rival x86-processor supplier AMD saw its
MPU sales surge 56% to $9.2 billion in
AUGUST 2022
2021, grabbing revenue away from Intel
and moving up its total microprocessor
marketshare to 8.9% last year compared
to 6.5% in 2020 and a woeful 3.3% in
2016 prior to the company’s dramatic
turnaround in CPUs for PCs and server
computers in the past five years.
icinsights.com
SEMI R&D program creates
solder with lower melting point
MILPITAS, Calif. — The SEMI FlexTech
R&D program, designed to identify,
fund and manage advanced technolo-
gy development projects in the area of
flexible hybrid electronics (FHE), re-
cently completed a project with SAFI-
Tech to create a solder material with a
substantially lower melting point than
conventional solder paste.
The solder is activated in a reflow oven
at lower temperatures, which reduce the
thermal stresses created by high-temper-
ature processing currently used for new,
smaller packaging technologies with more
densely packed circuits. The supercooled
liquid metal microcapsules were comprised
of BiSn-based alloy both with or without
1wt.% silver. semi.org
EVENTS
Aug. 23-25, SPIE Photonics, San Diego, spie.
org
Aug. 31-Sep. 2, MedTec China, Shanghai,
medtecchina.com/en-us/
Sep. 14, SEMICON Taiwan, Taipei, semicon-
taiwan.org
Sep. 25-30, International Test Conference,
itctestweek.org, Anaheim, Calif.