05/06/2008 The Qual-Fil QF Series combines ECI Technologies' chemical monitoring technology with dosing capabilities to address the need for precision metal plating in advanced packaging applications. The modular system supports both electroplating and electroless deposition. It can manage multiple plating baths simultaneously due to online monitoring and automatic replenishment of multiple components.
05/06/2008 When the IEEE International Interconnect Technology Conference convenes at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Hotel, Burlingame, CA, June 1-4, the focus will be squarely on 3D technologies. Attendees will have the opportunity to gain both fundamental knowledge and practical manufacturing advice from 3D experts at chip companies and universities from around the world.
05/06/2008 May 6, 2008 - The top four foundries stayed comfortably ahead of the pack in 2007, with SMIC and Chartered still battling for third place behind TSMC and UMC, according to IC Insights. But making a big push into the top 10 is a big-name IDM with a burgeoning foundry biz of its own.
05/06/2008 Taiwan-based Asia Pacific Microsystems (APM), an independent MEMS foundry service provider, says that MEMS pioneer Dr. Kurt Petersen has joined its technical advisory board. Petersen, who co-founded SiTime, Cepheid, and NovaSensor, will advise APM on its 8-inch transition strategy, advanced technology roadmap, new MEMS applications, and new partnership opportunities.
05/06/2008 May 6, 2008 - Three of the world's top chipmakers -- Intel, Samsung, and TSMC -- have agreed on a due-date of 2012 to have a 450mm-wafer-capable pilot line tested and ready -- putting everyone in the semiconductor chain, from materials and equipment developers/suppliers to other chipmakers, on the clock to get 450mm technologies ready in four years.
05/06/2008 May 6, 2008 - The semiconductor metrology/inspection equipment market grew 7.2% in 2007, according to calculations from market research firm The Information Network. Good news: That's double the ~3% growth it expected at the mid-year point. Bad news: it's still well below the 11% growth for the frontend wafer processing side of the equipment sector.
05/06/2008 By Daniel F. Baldwin, Ph.D. and Paul Houston, ENGENT, Inc.
With advances in wafer-thinning technology, 3D packaging now provides a robust platform for achieving high levels of integration, small package footprints, and thin package profiles. Further component miniaturization with the added benefit of 3D integration can be realized by face-to-face bonding of fine-pitch flip chip components and low-profile passives onto a redistribution layer (RDL) of another silicon component.
05/06/2008 Master Bond Polymer System EP21BAS is a radio-opaque two-component epoxy compound that cures readily at ambient or more quickly at elevated temperatures. A user-friendly, one-to-one (1/1) mix ratio by weight or volume facilitates processing. Additionally, properties of the cured system can be adjusted by altering the mix ratio.
05/06/2008 Dolomite, a MEMS/microfluidics specialist based in the U.K., says it has been working with Newcastle University to explore using microfluidics to synthesize nanoparticles for biochemistry applications.
05/05/2008 May 5, 2008 - A new technique to literally melt away defects in etching microchip structures, and significantly reduce line-edge roughness (LER), has been revealed by scientists at Princeton U.
05/05/2008 Oerlikon Esec, provider of automated chip assembly equipment and system solutions for the semiconductor industry, formally introduced the introductory platform of an entirely new product family at an official unveiling during SEMICON Singapore. The Die Bonder 2100 xP targets the high-volume epoxy die attach market.
05/05/2008 May 5, 2008 - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) has unveiled plans to enter the MEMS business, presenting a roadmap of the MEMS process and desires to cover trends in MEMS production at "CMOS integrated MEMS foundries," according to Nikkei Microdevices magazine.
05/05/2008 Amkor Technology, Inc. announced that Ken Joyce has been appointed President of the company. Joyce, 61, will also continue as COO and will report to James Kim, Chairman and CEO. Joyce joined Amkor in 1997 and was CFO for more than 8 years before becoming Chief Administrative Officer in November 2007 and Chief Operating Officer in February 2008.
05/05/2008 May 5, 2008 -- Structured Materials Industries (SMI) Inc. says it has received an order for a metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) tool to grow nano-scale oxide films in environments exceeding 1200 degrees C. "This project will create a tool for oxide film growers unique to the industry," the company boasts.
05/05/2008 Aside from performing cutting edge research in nanotechnology, the Asylum Research MFP-3D atomic force microscope (AFM) was in the spotlight on the CBS hit television show CSI: Miami. The AFM was featured in the episode 619 "Rock and a Hard Place" on May 5, 2008.
05/05/2008 May 5, 2008 -- SVTC Technologies, a semiconductor foundry offering MEMS services, is launching a photovoltaics (PV) development center. Solar industry veteran Kurt Laetz will head up SVTC Solar, which aims provide "the most complete set of capabilities available in the U.S."
05/02/2008 May 2, 2008 - Despite throwing its market-leading weight around by hiking production as competitors retrench, even mighty Samsung couldn't turn a profit in the DRAM market during a tough 1Q08, according to data from iSuppli.
05/02/2008 April 29, 2008 -- /SEMI/ -- SAN JOSE, CA -- Semiconductor equipment and materials suppliers face serious and mounting challenges in intellectual property protection, with adverse economic consequences for the entire microelectronics industry, according to a new white paper published by SEMI.
05/02/2008 May 1, 2008 -- /PRNewswire/ -- ROCKVILLE, MD -- The 5,000-sq.-ft., $5 million pilot and commercial-scale manufacturing plant will be used to produce vaccines addressing a broad range of infectious diseases.
