iSuppli showed multiple sets of capacity utilization data at an executive conference sponsored by the Fabless Semiconductor Association and the Institution of Electrical Engineers on Tuesday, September 7. It showed utilization for the industry as a whole reaching a peak of about 92 percent in Q2 2004 and declining to dip below 90 percent in Q1 2005. However, iSuppli still expects significant oversupply in 2006 and showed capacity utilization dropping to about 85 percent in that year.

(September 10, 2004) San Jose, Calif.&#8212Ultratech, Inc., a supplier of lithography and laser-processing systems used to manufacture semiconductors, announced that it received 300 mm advanced packaging lithography-system orders from three of Japan’s top five semiconductor manufacturers. These companies will use the Ultratech tools&#8212expected to ship by the end of 2004&#8212for solder-bump applications.