06/01/2008 According to market research firm Global Industry Analysts, Inc. (GIA–San Jose, CA), the glovebox segment is projected to reach $126.8 million by 2015.
06/01/2008 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared for marketing the Yulex® patient examination glove, which is made from a form of natural rubber latex derived from the guayule bush. Guayule rubber does not contain proteins associated with allergic reactions to latex products from Hevea brasiliensis, the source of traditional latex rubber, according to the Yulex manufacturer, Yulex Corp. of Maricopa, AZ.
06/01/2008 I’m thrilled to formally announce the return of the CleanRooms USA Conference & Exhibition. After a two-year hiatus, CleanRooms USA will return to Boston, MA on May 12
05/30/2008 By Francoise von Trapp, managing editor
Driven by end-system-level design, the next era of electronics will call for the integration of processes across the supply chain, from the chip to the board. This concept is the motivator for the programs at SEMICON West 2008, held July 14-17 at the Moscone Center, San Francisco, which will focus more on back-end processes than ever before.
05/30/2008 May 30, 2008 -- Olympus's new OLS3000IR LEXT IR confocal microscope uses a 1310 nm laser to literally see through the silicon for non-destructive, high-resolution MEMS inspection.
05/30/2008 May 30, 2008 -- Ted Pella, Inc. has introduced "the next generation of silicon dioxide support films" for analytical electron microscopy: smooth, freestanding membranes that promise unsurpassed flatness.
05/30/2008 With over 18 watts of average power at a pulse repetition rate of 200 kHz (pulsewidth < 15 ps), the Talisker, a fiber-based laser from Coherent, enables precision micromachining at high throughput rates with a negligible heat affected zone (HAZ). And with a choice of infrared (1064 nm), visible (532 nm) or ultraviolet (355 nm) output, it can be used on virtually any material type, including metals, polymers, glass and semiconductors.
05/30/2008 Almit's LFM 48 N Dipping Paste is an alternative to gel pastes traditionally used in BGA package-on-package (PoP) stacked device applications and is also suited for holding larger area devices that exhibit warpage during reflow. A combination of ultra-fine solder spheres and a flux vehicle optimized for a long open time in a dipping tray, it offers reliability advantages to board assemblers at both solder melt and peak reflow temperatures.
05/30/2008 eG ViaCoat is the latest in Alchimer's eGTM series of electrochemical coating processes, for the metallization of high aspect ratio through-silicon vias (TSVs) used in advanced 3D packaging applications. It reportedly produces conformal, thin, uniform, and adherent copper seed layers, even on resistive barriers. It is said to enables significant reductions in cost of ownership (CoO) compared to dry vacuum processes.
05/30/2008 The Spectrum S-822 dispensing system from Asymtek allows parallel processing on two shuttle stages for continuous dispensing for reportedly increased productivity in such processes as chip scale package (CSP) underfill and other advanced electronics applications.
05/30/2008 Providing design engineers with a variety of substrate materials to suit specific applications and requirements, TT electronics BI Technologies offers its thin film
resistor networks on both silicon and ceramic substrates. The S Series precision resistor networks are constructed using a silicon substrate, while the Model 660 precision thin film networks use a ceramic substrate.
05/30/2008 Yield improvement and test processing speed are major issues for high-volume manufacturers of LCD driver ICs. The M7522 dynamic test handler from Advantest Corp. was developed to addresses such issues. It offers processing speed and positioning accuracy for fine-pitch tape automated bonding (TAB) and chip-on-film (COF) package devices used in liquid crystal display (LCD) panel ICs.
05/29/2008 May 29, 2008 - Fundamentals in the memory industry are stable and "incrementally improving," with DRAM prices rising again and NAND flash demand seen improving in general, according to analyst firm FBR Research. The next big market indicator is rapidly approaching, in the late-June timeframe with an update of devicemakers' back-to-school build rate schedules.
05/29/2008 May 27, 2008 -- /SEMI/ -- SAN JOSE, CA -- According to the World Fab Forecast report, recently released by SEMI, spending on worldwide fabs equipping is expected to show declines of about 17 percent in 2008, as more companies are forced to postpone fab projects due to global economic uncertainties.
