02/28/2005 In his novel "Cat's Cradle," Kurt Vonnegut created three new words suitable for nanotechnology. Vonnegut defines the words in his collection of essays, "Wampeters, Foma, and Granfalloons": "A wampeter is an object around which the lives of many otherwise unrelated people may revolve. The Holy Grail would be a case in point.
02/24/2005 (February 24, 2005) Nashua, N.H. — On the evening of February 22, 2005, SMT Magazine presented its 2004 VISION Awards at the Hilton Anaheim's Pulse Room. Held annually in conjunction with the APEX/IPC Printed Circuits Expo/Designers Summit show, in Anaheim, Calif., the awards were presented in 15 categories.
02/24/2005 (February 24, 2005) San Jose, Calif. — North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.01 billion in orders in January 2005 (on a three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.80, according to the January 2005 Book-to-Bill Report published by SEMI. A book-to-bill of 0.80 means that $80 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.
02/24/2005 February 24, 2005 - Wafer fab capacity inched up 0.8% from 4Q04 to 1466.4 million wafer starts/week in 1Q05, a 9.4% increase from a year ago, according to industry data released by the Semiconductor International Capacity Statistics (SICAS) in Vessem, The Netherlands.
02/23/2005 (February 23, 2005) Norwalk, Conn. — The worldwide market for electronic waste will rise at an average annual growth rate (AAGR) of 8.8% from $7.2 billion in 2004 to $11 billion in 2009, according to a soon-to-be-released report, titled, "RE-128 Electronic Waste Recovery Business," from Business Communications Company, Inc. (www.bccresearch.com)
02/23/2005 (February 23, 2005) Flemington, N.J. — DEK has opened a new advanced stencil manufacturing facility in Singapore to improve delivery and increase the level of experience and expertise available to its customers in Asia. The 9000-sq.-ft. facility is expected to produce between 600 and 800 electroformed (Eform) stencils and 550 laser stencils per month for customers across the region.
02/23/2005 February 23, 2005 - For manufacturers of semiconductors and semiconductor equipment, January is typically a slow period, sandwiched between the Christmas holiday season and Asia's Lunar New Year -- and January 2005 was no different.
02/23/2005 February 23, 2005 - The semiconductor equipment industry continues to pull away from its peak, as evidenced by an ugly performance in January.
02/23/2005 At $125 a pop, "The Handbook of Nanotechnology" stands out as one of the most expensive nanotech non-textbooks on the market today. But is it worth it? If you are an entrepreneur or investor who is considering rolling your dice in the sub-100 nanometer zone, or a scientist or engineer with no foundation in business but a hankering to found a company, then it may be a bargain.
02/22/2005 February 22, 2005 -- Semi foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) and Japan's Genesis Technology, an independent semiconductor testing company, are the two latest members of the Semiconductor Test Consortium (STC).
02/22/2005 (February 22, 2005) London — Demand for new and improved front-end semiconductor manufacturing technologies, such as wafer cleaning and thin-layer deposition, is expected to stem from the rapid advancements in the IC industry.
02/22/2005 (February 22, 2005) Anaheim, Calif. — Growth of system-in-package (SiP) technology, the end of semiconductor scaling, environmental regulations challenges, and the need for more innovation will be among the topics discussed when the International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) unveils its latest roadmap at the APEX/Printed Circuits Expo/Designers Summit conference, currently being held until February 24, in Anaheim, Calif.
