03/25/2008 ; Sonoscan has introduced a new capability for its line of C-SAM acoustic microscopes that reveals the external surface topography of a device at the same time as its internal features. Known as the acoustic surface profile (ASP) module, this important mode can be used to measure warpage of plastic integrated circuits, flip chips, substrates, circuit boards
03/25/2008 by Bob Haavind, Editorial Director, Solid State Technology
Problems with complex circuit patterns using alternating phase shift masks for low k1 lithography led Intel to experiment with using trillions of pixels for imaging. A number of papers at this year's SPIE Advanced Lithography Conference described the techniques developed to successfully do the critical first metallization layer (M1) on a microprocessor using pixelated phase-shift masks.
03/25/2008 Mar. 25, 2008 - Chip test firm King Yuan Electronics Co. (KYEC) is spinning off its memory testing business as an individual company in order to narrow the parent company's focus on logic chip testing operations, according to local reports.
03/25/2008 Mar. 25, 2008 - Hynix Semiconductor and Korean fabless firm Fidelix have signed a deal centering on the firm's mobile DRAM and PSRAM, and Hynix will take a 10% stake in the company, in a deal that helps Hynix diversify its portfolio and better utilize its 200mm facilities, according to reports.
03/25/2008 March 25, 2008 -- /PRNewswire/ -- HARLEYSVILLE, PA -- Raymond J. De Hont, chairman and CEO of Met-Pro Corporation, announced today that a $1.2 million order originally reported on October 30, 2007 to supply Strobic Air Tri-StackTM fans for use in a research facility located in the Middle East has been increased to $2.3 million, making it one of the largest projects of its kind ever awarded in the region.
03/25/2008 Mar. 25, 2008 - Intel's decision to locate a 300mm fab in Dalian, China, has spurred interest in the area for other industries, including LED makers from Taiwan, with Epistar and Everlight Electronics considering building a joint facility there, according to the Taiwan Economic News.
03/25/2008 Mar. 25, 2008 - ATMI and Ovonyx say they have agreed to develop chemical vapor deposition (CVD) precursor materials and processes for use in high-volume manufacturing of phase change memory ("PCM") products based on Ovonyx's PCM technology.
03/25/2008 Mar. 25, 2008 - Worldwide sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment increased about 5.7% in 2007, almost entirely due to a spending splurge by Taiwan firms and to a lesser extent Korea, and underpinned by extensive memory investments and the continued ramp of 300mm wafer manufacturing, according to the latest data from SEMI.
03/25/2008 March 25, 2008 -- /FDA/ -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an import alert regarding entry of cantaloupe from Agropecuaria Montelibano, a Honduran grower and packer.
03/25/2008 March 25, 2008 -- /SAN JOSE, CA/ -- SEMI, the global industry association for companies that supply manufacturing technology and materials to the world's chip makers, reports that worldwide sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment totaled $42.77 billion in 2007, representing a year-over-year increase of six percent.
03/25/2008 NanoBioMagnetics Inc. (NBMI) has been issued its first patent by the US Patent and Trademark Office. The patent, titled "Method and Apparatus for Improving Hearing," is based on the use of magnetically responsive nanoparticles implanted in the organs of the middle ear to drive tissue vibrations in the amplification of sound.
03/24/2008 by Katherine Derbyshire, Contributing Editor, Solid State Technology
Traditionally, achieving high resolution with negative imaging has been difficult. Research presented by Fujifilm Electronic Materials at this year's SPIE Advanced Lithography conference showed how to tune the resist imaging threshold to clear "dark" and "bright" regions, and ultimately double the pitch frequency and thus the density of lines and spaces.
03/24/2008 Mar 24, 2008 -- /Marketwire/ -- OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- Health Canada testing of heparin products marketed in Canada has identified a contaminant in products from manufacturer B. Braun Medical Inc.
03/24/2008 Mar 24, 2008 -- /Marketwire/ -- OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- Health Canada is warning parents and caregivers not to use a certain lot of PediaCol drops, a product for infants taken orally to relieve symptoms of excess gas associated with colic.
03/24/2008 ; Watlow has announced that its on-off temperature and limit controllers are now compliant with the European Reduction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive (2002-95-EC). Watlow's on-off line of products include the Series CV, LV, CF, LF and TM controllers. These controllers are now compliant by design rather than by exception to the RoHS directive. This means Watlow uses components that meet hazardous material restrictions in the directive.
03/24/2008 March 19, 2008 -- /FDA/ -- In an important development, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has received approval from the U.S. State Department to establish eight full-time permanent FDA positions at U.S. diplomatic posts in the People's Republic of China, pending authorization from the Chinese government.
03/24/2008 March 19, 2008 -- /Boston, MA/ -- Slade Gorton & Co. is issuing a voluntary recall of its Icybay cooked, ready to eat, frozen langostinos because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.
03/24/2008 March 19, 2008 -- /SAN JOSE, CA/ -- North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.23 billion in orders in February 2008 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.93 according to the February 2008 Book-to-Bill Report published today by SEMI.
03/24/2008 March 20, 2008 -- /ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL/ -- Several new seminar topics will be offered to contamination control professionals at ESTECH 2008, the Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology (IEST) 54th annual technical meeting and exposition.
