06/30/2008 by Dr. Paula Doe, Contributing Editor, Solid-State Technology
New technologies in MEMS etching is one of the hot topics at this year's SEMICON West (July 13-17, San Francisco). Growing demand for MEMS systems in consumer gear means higher volumes and price pressures, so device-makers are shrinking geometry die to cut costs -- and the finer processes needed on those smaller die may require new kinds of etching and cleaning processes.
06/27/2008 Credence Systems Corporation and LTX Corporation, both providers of automated test equipment (ATE) for the worldwide consumer semiconductor industry, have entered into a definitive agreement to combine the two companies in a tax-free, all-stock merger of equals.
06/27/2008 Microelectronics is a driving force behind innovation for industries such as automotive, biomedical technology, telecommunications, automation technology, environmental engineering and building technology. Micro-nano systems have become so important that electronica 2008 will dedicate a focus area to sub-miniature electronics. Exhibitors will display micro-nano products for automotive, consumer, medical and environmental applications.
06/27/2008 Silicon South West, the UK network for the region's electronics industry, will host 'Wireless 2.0', a conference intended to gather key players, analysts, and influential academics for an agenda-setting debate on innovation opportunities fror the next generation of wireless technology. The event is set to take place July 10th & 11th, 2008 in Bristol UK.
06/27/2008 The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI), has scheduled a workshop — to be held in conjunction with the ICEPT-HDP conference in Zhangjiang, Pudong — to give industry the opportunity to review "work in progress" on the 2009 iNEMI Roadmap. This workshop is the third of three regional meetings held in North America, Europe and Asia.
06/27/2008 June 27, 2008 - Results presented earlier this year at a SEMATECH workshop indicate that photoresists being developed for use in EUV lithography are twice as sensitive as previously measured. But since exposure times haven't changed, that means the rest of EUV demo systems are only half as effective as they should be -- and the search is on to find out why.
06/27/2008 June 27, 2008 -- Nanocopoeia and WORLDiscoveries have announced a broader agreement to co-develop the biomedical uses of arborescent polyisobutylene-based block copolymers.
06/27/2008 June 27, 2008 -- SUSS MicroTec, Inc., a supplier of process and test solutions for the semiconductor industry, announced that a suite of processing tools, which enable new generations of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), has been selected for SVTC Technologies' facility in Austin, Texas.
06/27/2008 June 27, 2008 -- François Blateyron, R&D director at Digital Surf, received a 2008 Normalisation Trophy 2008 from the UNM, the French union for normalisation in the domain of mechanical engineering, for his work on surface metrology on French and ISO standards committees.
06/27/2008 June 27, 2008 -- The Chair of Display Technology, Universitaet Stuttgart and Nano-Proprietary, Inc.'s subsidiary Applied Nanotech, Inc. (ANI) have achieved significant advancement in the application of carbon nanotubes for the flexible electronics industry
06/26/2008 June 26, 2008 - Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) say they have developed a process to build 3D nanoscale structures using magnetic materials, using techniques "compatible with semiconductor manufacturing," which they say could open doors to new classes of sensors and MEMS devices.
06/26/2008 LORD Corporation, supplier of thermal management materials, adhesives, coatings and encapsulants to the electronics industry, will embark on a $2.5 million renovation to its electronic materials labs in Cary, N.C. The expansion is intended to allow the company to add capabilities for technology development, such as individual package device reliability testing, said John Hill, technology manager for LORD's electronic boards and components industry group.
06/26/2008 June 26, 2008 - Israeli firm Orbotech, a supplier of automated optical inspection equipment for printed circuit boards and flat-panel displays, has agreed to purchase Photon Dynamics for $290M in cash in an effort to spur growth and diversify their FPD businesses.
06/26/2008 June 26, 2008 -- Cambridge NanoTech, a supplier of Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) systems for research and industry, announced the shipment of its 100th ALD System to the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Mumbai, India.
06/26/2008 June 26, 2008 -- Ecliptek Corporation, a supplier of frequency products, has announced significant reduction of lead times for the EMO family of programmable MEMS clock oscillators, on production quantities up to 50,000 units.
06/25/2008 June 25, 2008 - SEMI has published four new technical standards targeting substrate and processes in LCD, MEMS, and semiconductor manufacturing, as part of its triannual standards update.
06/25/2008 June 25, 2008 -- Electro Scientific Industries, Inc., a provider of photonic and laser systems for micro-engineering applications, announced that its newest dual-beam, high-power micromachining system is commercially available.
06/25/2008 June 25, 2008 -- U.Va. School of Engineering and Applied Science and Virginia Tech's Department of Chemistry have teamed up to offer a long distance cross-university team teaching course.
06/25/2008 June 25, 2008 -- Liquidia Technologies announced that Professor Joseph DeSimone, Liquidia Founder and chancellor's eminent professor of chemistry at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (UNC) has received the $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize for outstanding inventors.
06/25/2008 June 25, 2008 - Toppan Printing and IBM have forged a new development agreement extending their photomask process development work to the 22nm node, continuing a longstanding partnership -- but an industry insider tells WaferNEWS that there's a strategic agenda at work that could shake up the market.
