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#semiconductors
Every story tagged semiconductors, newest first.
The US–China Chip Export Controls: Where They Restrict, and Where They Don't
Painted as a wall or a sieve, the US-China chip controls are really a colander with deliberately sized holes. This maps what the thresholds actually catch, where enforcement leaks, and why the line keeps moving, from FinFET nodes and TPP limits to the A800-to-H200 design-around loop.
Ahmad J · Aug 11, 2026 · 5 min read
Why only a few foundries make the leading-edge chips
Leading-edge chip manufacturing has collapsed to a handful of companies, in practice one clear leader and two challengers. The reasons are structural: staggering cost, an unforgiving learning curve, and a feedback loop that punishes falling behind. Here is how it works.
Ahmad J · Jul 31, 2026 · 8 min read
TSMC's Pricing Power: How One Foundry Sets the Cost of Every Advanced Chip
TSMC sells wafers, not chips, and prices them by process node. Here is how one foundry's leading-edge grip puts a floor under the cost of every advanced phone chip, GPU, and AI accelerator, why switching is nearly impossible, and where the toll actually lands.
Ahmad J · Jul 30, 2026 · 10 min read
How EUV Lithography Works, in Plain Terms
EUV uses 13.5nm light to print the smallest features on modern chips. The way that light is made, lost, and steered off precision mirrors is one of the strangest feats in manufacturing, and by 2026 it is what makes 2nm-class chips possible.
Ahmad J · Jul 30, 2026 · 8 min read