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South Korea’s 5G mobile network, the first and largest 5G network in the world, has come under heavy criticism from consumers. Launched in April 2019, and with over 9 million subscribers, South Korea constitutes approximately 80% of global 5G users, according to industry body GSMA. Demand for 5G was initially driven by a combination of aggressive marketing and subsidies, but now South Korea is seeing users cancel contracts to return to older technologies due to poor connectivity, weak signals, and promised internet speeds not being met. Many consumers have also expressed frustration at the cost of 5G phones and the...

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Following several years of hearsay, AMD has entered into an agreement to acquire FPGA manufacturer Xilinx, involving an all-stock transaction valued at $35 billion. The deal will create the semiconductor industry’s leading high performance computing company, significantly broadening AMD’s product portfolio and customer base across diverse growth markets where Xilinx is already an established leader. It is believed that the deal will be immediately accretive to AMD margins, earnings per share and free cash flow generation, and will deliver industry-leading growth. The acquisition combines two industry leaders, offering complementary product portfolios and customers. The new combined company will offer the...

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The global active electronic components market is projected to exceed US $521.11 billion by 2027, with a compound annual growth rate of 8.2% during the forecast period of 2020 to 2027, according to market analysts at Precedence Research. In 2019, the market size was valued at US $273.25 billion. Active electronic components encompass transistors, diodes, triodes, optoelectronic components, photoelectric tubes, and integrated circuits, among others, and require an energy source to operate, typically in the form of a direct current. Generally, every electronic circuit consists of one active electronic component, and they can control and manipulate the flow of electricity...

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A research team at the University of Arkansas has successfully created a circuit capable of capturing the thermal motion of graphene, and turning it into an electrical current. “An energy-harvesting circuit based on graphene could be incorporated into a chip to provide clean, limitless, low-voltage power for small devices or sensors,” said Paul Thibado, lead researcher in the discovery. The recently published findings prove a theory, developed three years ago, that freestanding graphene – a single layer of carbon atoms – ripples and buckles in a way that shows promise for energy harvesting. The theory of harvesting energy from graphene...

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As of September 15th 2020, non-US suppliers can no longer ship goods to Huawei if their products contain US technology. The US chip ban threatens to cut off supplies of key electronic components to Huawei's smartphones - from semiconductors to displays, to camera lenses, and vital printed circuit boards. How will the tech giant survive the crisis? In the short term, Huawei could rely on its stockpiles. The firm has been stockpiling chips since the end of 2018. In fact, in the past 3 months, its last-minute chip orders increased Taiwan's overall growth by 30% year-on-year. According to Gai Keke,...