Asianometry

In the 1970s and 80s, the Soviet Union put 5 landers on the surface of Venus - a planet that, by the way, exists - and none of them lasted more than two hours. No one has tried it since. 

It has been over 40+ years since the last Venera probe. We know a lot more now about the conditions on Venus. And technology has progressed in leaps and bounds. 

So is it possible to create a probe with today's technology capable of lasting hours, days, weeks, or even months on the Venusian surface? I have been thinking about this idea ever since my last video on the subject matter. So in this short video, we are going to look at several key new technologies that make a Venus landing a little more possible. 

In this video, I want to talk about Apple's latest technology plaything: the mini-LED panel in the 2021 model of the 12.9 inch iPad Pro.

The reviews on the iPad have invariably noted how nice the display looks. And it appears that the technology is mooted to show up in some of Apple's other products as is their tendency. 

Tech publications like Linus Tech Tips and the Verge have talked about what makes mini-LEDs special. Definitely check those out too. But in this video, I want to take a look at the company supplying this interesting technology. One of the world's biggest LED vendors, Hsinchu-based Ennostar Group. 

Germany-based Carl Zeiss AG is a fascinating company. Fascinating, even if you do not take into account that they make lenses and optics for some of the coolest systems in the world. 

When you are etching patterns as wide as a small virus, you have graduated beyond simple lens. Now we refer to them as "optics systems". These massive multi-component systems are at the very heart of the multi-million dollar photolithography machines that ASML makes. Without them, ASML has no machine to deliver to TSMC, Samsung or Intel. 

In this video, we are going to continue with our deep dive into the semiconductor industry’s critical suppliers with a look at one of ASML’s closest partners. The makers of the optics systems that let high-energy UV light etch wafers. And a company with an utterly fascinating history. Carl Zeiss. 

AMD began as an integrated design manufacturer competing directly with Intel - meaning they designed and made their own chips. When the company's internal manufacturing operations started to lag behind Intel, the company transitioned into being a fabless manufacturer.   Even after the transition, its foundry partner GlobalFoundries struggled to keep up with the company's technical and yield demands. Eventually the company would turn to the Taiwanese giant TSMC for its leading edge processes. Today, TSMC is AMD's closest foundry partner and the manufacturer of some of its best products.   In the video, we will look at the chip designer's move away from its manufacturing roots, its up-and-down relationship with GlobalFoundries, and how it came to fab its most advanced products at TSMC. 

ASML is one of TSMC’s big suppliers and the only maker of EUV photolithography machines in the world. They make the machines that TSMC uses to fab its chips. But there is so much more to semiconductor production than just photolithography.   I want to continue my series on the industry’s supply chain with another multi-billion dollar semiconductor equipment supplier that flies under the radar: Tokyo Electron Limited or TEL.   They are Japan’s biggest semiconductor equipment maker and one of its most valuable companies with a $68 billion market cap. That is as big as Nintendo or Honda.   In this video, we will look at Tokyo Electron's history, what they actually do, and where they are within the semiconductor manufacturing supply chain. In the meanwhile we will get to learn more about the process of making a semiconductor.   

Error at 3:07: Meant Bretton Woods, not Plaza Accords 

My father was a chip designer. I remember barging into his office as a kid and seeing the tables and walls covered in intricate diagrams and drawings. I watched him work in fascination as he painstakingly drew lines I did not understand. 

These days, nobody draws circuits anymore by hand. In this video, we are going to dive into a critical software tool for chip designers - Electronic Design Automation or EDA. Without this unheralded software, many of today's most advanced chips cannot be made. 

In December 2015, Singapore's investment fund Temasek agreed to sell its shares in Neptune Orient Lines or NOL to French shipping line CMA CGM. The board unanimously approved the transaction.   For nearly fifty years, NOL was Singapore's national shipping line. Rising up from nothing to a top 15 shipping line, NOL reflected Singapore's rise in the global economy.   But as the industry changed, the company's performance started to fall behind its competitors. Burdened with a high cost base and unable to invest in its future, NOL lost the ability to compete. And that would lead to its decline and eventual sale.   

In this video, we are going to take a deep look back at what had been a Singaporean national champion.   

2020 was a crazy year for ASML. Between COVID outbreaks and worldwide economic instability, ASML found itself juggling whipsawing customer demand. 

TSMC lost Huawei as a flagship customer. As a result, they did not need so many EUV machines and they cut their allocation.  

Then, Intel delayed their roadmap by 6-12 months, and the EUV order book shrank yet further. 

Suddenly, ASML found itself making more EUV machines than their customers needed. So they cut their 2021 budget. They told their entire supply chain to hunker down. 

Well, you know what happened next. The economy came roaring back and everyone needs chips now.