Each technology has its own costs and benefits.Gate-first can be a lower cost solution with quick time-to-market. Products may not reach the same performance levels but there are plenty of end applications begging for a low cost solution today.Many are speculating that gate-first will not deliver as we move to 22nm/20nm.My response to that is 1) each technology node requires its own cost benefit analysis so everything is back on the table at that point and 2) in this industry, most technology has a much longer life as engineers are typically wrong when predicting the usefulness or introduction of new technology.Everyone has the opportunity to improve on the next generation product.
Gate-last may be the longer lived solution but not everyone can afford the initial price and sometimes its more important to be in the race.In addition, gate-first and gate-last are not going to be the deciding factor.Whether it’s the foundry offering the solution or the product we get from the technology, there are a lot of other factors involved in its success.
Competing technologies always bring out the best and the consumers are the beneficiaries.
Joanne, I enjoyed your article and I appreciate the way you treated a complex and tech-heavy article with practical examples that folks like me can understand. There's a missing element that I am hoping you can address. This is the issue of the longer-term winner. You noted that Gate-First and Gate-Last are tied currently. If I was looking at investing in any of the parties pushing either product, what I would be interested in is the future. So, which is going to win eventually? Will it be Gate-First or Gate-Last and why? Where should I put my money? This is not an idle question. In the past, some people bet against Blu-Ray. See where it landed them. I certainly don't want to back the wrong, losing horse.
EBN Dialogue enables and encourages you to participate in live chats with notable leaders and luminaries. Not only editors and journalists, but the entire EBN community is able to comment and ask questions. Listed below are upcoming and archived chats.
Archived Dialogues
Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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