07/07/2008 SST sat down with technical execs from Intel, IBM, and IMEC at this year's VLSI Symposium to go over their various papers presented, much of which involved work on 32nm and SOI (or why they used bulk CMOS instead). Plus, a lively panel discussion offered historical perspective (10 years on) and future plans for SOI.
07/07/2008 The EDA Consortium (EDAC) Market Statistics Service (MSS) has reported a 1.2% decline in electronic design automation (EDA) industry revenue for Q1 2008, from a Q4 2007 revenue of $1366.8M to $1350.7M. The four-quarter average growth rate, which compares the most recent four quarters to the same four quarters in the prior year, was up 5.9%.
07/07/2008 July 7, 2008 -- Rigaku Americas Corporation has introduced a high-resolution X-ray diffraction system, the Rigaku RAPID II for applications ranging from applied crystallography to chemical crystallography.
07/07/2008 FEI Company has introduced a new class of instruments called extreme high-resolution scanning electron microscopes (XHR SEMs). The Magellan XHR SEM images samples at very low beam energies, avoiding distortions otherwise caused by the beam penetrating into the material below.
07/04/2008 New technologies are needed to keep the semiconductor industry on track with Moore's Law. Step and Flash Imprint Lithography (S-FIL) has gained traction in recent years among several leading memory manufacturers.
07/03/2008 July 3, 2008 - The overall market for electronic design automation (EDA) declined 1.2% in 1Q08 to about $1.35B from a year ago but was up 5.9% sequentially, and the IC physical design/verification sector showed mix results, according to data from the EDA Consortium.
07/03/2008 July 3, 2008 -- Ludwig-Maximilians University (LMU) has ordered an advanced sputtering tool from Surrey NanoSystems, to support fundamental research into the fabrication of hybrid solar cells. The tool will be used to develop production techniques that utilize precisely ordered nanowire structures as templates for organic material.
07/03/2008 July 3, 2008 -- Epson Toyocom Corporation, a global quartz devices manufacturer, has announced the development of the NS-34R surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonator.
07/02/2008 JUNE 10, 2008 -- Jacobs Engineering Group has received a contract from Estelux to provide engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) services for a new polysilicon manufacturing facility.
07/02/2008 JUNE 10, 2008 -- Located on the campus of the University of Minho in Braga, the 230,000-sq.-ft. project will feature Class 100 and Class 1000 cleanrooms, central characterization, including electron and scanning-probe microscopy, and labs suited for a wide range of scientific disciplines.
07/02/2008 The ITC59200 test measurement unit (TMU), from Integrated Technology Corp. is designed to provide two test functions: die attach and forward bias safe operating area (FBSOA). Die attach testing is performed to detect voids under the die and other types of device construction flaws that could affect the lifetime and safe operating area SOA of the device. The FBSOA non-destructive test is used to determine the SOA of the device.
07/02/2008 The Quick View CT inspection system from Dage allows users to obtain initial computerized tomography (CT) reconstructions within 5 minutes, compared to previous times of over 20 minutes. This quick view CT software makes CT a more viable process tool for production and failure analysis applications
07/02/2008 The BONDJET BJ820, from Hesse & Knipps, is a high-speed, fully automatic wedge bonder for both high-speed round wire and deep access ribbon and wire bonding. It handles all challenging fine pitch wire bonding applications in a single platform - including RF and microwave devices, COB, MCM and hybrids, fiber optics and automotive - using aluminum or gold wire or ribbon. It reportedly offers bond speeds up to 7 wires-per-second.
07/02/2008 The Z-Socket, or impedance socket, from Antares, is an RF QFN test socket developed to combine the reliability of traditional spring-probe technology with the impedance-matching functionality of shorter interconnects at higher price points.
07/02/2008 July 2, 2008 -- For the first time since 1978, there were no venture-backed Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) in the second quarter of 2008 according to the Exit Poll report by the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and Thomson Reuters.
07/02/2008 Amkor Technology, Inc. announced the introduction of a high-performance flip chip packaging technology using an advanced molding process technology that is expected to provide a number of design, cost and performance advantages for field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), CPUs, graphics processors, and ASICs. The company plans to feature this technology during SEMICON West 2008, July 15 - 17, in San Jose, CA.
07/02/2008 July 2, 2008 -- Cypress Semiconductor Corp. and Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (DNS) announced that DNS has acquired Silicon Light Machines (SLM), a Cypress subsidiary. DNS is Silicon Light Machines' largest Grating Light Valve (GLV) customer.
07/02/2008 July 2, 2008 -- Harris & Harris Group, Inc. the publicly traded venture capital company that makes initial investments exclusively in tiny technology, including nanotechnology, microsystems and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), was added to the U.S. small-cap Russell 2000 Index.
07/02/2008 July 2, 2008 -- Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd. has developed a silicone rubber for a stamp that deposits molecules on surfaces, which is essential for micro-contact printing, a key technology of next-generation printable electronics.
