12/20/2007 ; Electro Scientific Industries Inc. has announced that ProMOS Technologies has placed a multiple-system order for its model 9830HDE link processing tool. The tool features a high-throughput, 100-kHz laser and high-velocity stage, and is compatible with ProMOS' existing installed base of ESI 9830 laser systems.
12/20/2007 ; Rudolph Technologies Inc. has signed an agreement to acquire the net assets of the semiconductor business of Applied Precision LLC, a provider of precision wafer probe card metrology systems and wafer probe process management systems to semiconductor final manufacturing facilities. Applied Precision will become part of Rudolph's newly-formed Probe Card Test and Analysis Division.
12/20/2007 ; The restructuring of BE Semiconductor Industries N.V. (Besi), completed this fall, focuses on the centralization of certain global developing, manufacturing, sales, and service activities in order to streamline processes, reduce overhead in the subsidiaries, and improve profitability. The new organizational structure should also facilitate the designing of shared system platforms.
12/19/2007 December 19, 2007 - Keeping with its "flexible manufacturing" (i.e. fab-lite) initiative, Cypress Semiconductor says it will "exit" its Fab 2 chip factory in Round Rock, TX by late 2008, transitioning the production work to its newer 200mm Fab 4 in Bloomington, MN, and to external foundry partners.
12/19/2007 December 19, 2007 - In a bid to extend into wafer probing, Rudolph Technologies has acquired the semiconductor business assets of Applied Precision LLC, a provider of wafer probe card metrology systems and wafer probe process management technologies.
12/19/2007 CVD Equipment Corp. has signed a contract to purchase a 13,300 square foot facility in Ronkonkoma, NY for expansion of its First Nano Laboratory in Q1, 2008. The larger facility will enable First Nano, a division of CVD, to work with multiple startup and established companies in the nano, solar, energy and semiconductor fields for commercialization of their intellectual property.
12/19/2007 Steinmeyer, Inc. has announced a new high precision XY linear stage model KT 310 - 210 - DC. Manufactured from high strength anodized aluminum, the standard table promises travel of 200 mm in both axes with positioning accuracy of 5 µm (micrometer), straightness/flatness of 3 µm and repeatability of +/- 1µm.
12/19/2007 It is widely believed that potential risk associated with nanomaterials development requires a higher level of user and environmental protection. But possible hazards can be reduced through the use of good laboratory practices and engineering controls designed to minimize worker and environmental exposure, says Delp & Associates.
12/18/2007 December 18, 2007 - Toshiba has extended its two-year collaboration with IBM on 32nm-and below node technologies to now include 32nm bulk CMOS process technology, joining five other participants in the work.
12/18/2007 A partnership between Prognosys Biosciences Inc. of La Jolla, Calif., and the German biotech company Febit Biomed GmbH is offering a new genome-to-array service.
12/18/2007 Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have unveiled important details about a class of catalysts that could help improve the performance of fuel cells. The researchers established that a small amount of ceria or titanium makes gold extremely active.
12/18/2007 ; The Dutch rollable display company Polymer Vision has joined the Holst Centre, an initiative of the Flemish and Dutch research centers IMEC and TNO. During the partnership, Polymer Vision will research and develop organic transistor technology and patterning processes in the open-innovation setting of Holst Centre, collaborating with other researchers from other companies joining the program.
12/18/2007 December 17, 2007 - Worldwide semiconductor revenue will increase just 2.9% to $270.3B this year, with mixed performances among the top vendors, notes Gartner in its newest preliminary figures.
12/17/2007 December 17, 2007 - Researchers at Taiwan's National Chung Hsing U., working with the Industrial Technology Research Institute, say they have created a nonvolatile organic memory device (16b), made stable by using gold nanoparticles mixed with a polymer.
12/17/2007 December 17, 2007 - A pair of financial analysts are taking the low road on a pair of big memory firms, citing continued concerns about inventory and soft pricing, though one of them sees light at the end of the tunnel for investors.
12/17/2007 ; In line with the increasing use of LED backlight modules in display applications, Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd. (CPT) reportedly plans to step into upstream LED manufacturing, according to industry sources, reported CENS. CPT reportedly plans to have its affiliated Sintronic Technology Inc. take charge of LED packaging, and San Chih Semiconductor Co., Ltd. will be responsible for LED epitaxy.
12/17/2007 WaferNEWS gets the scoop about Axcelis' new Optima XE high-energy single-wafer ion implanter, and why its broad energy range and even broader range of device applications addresses a particular need for fab managers working with high product mixes.
12/17/2007 Omron's new MEMS-based air flow sensor, suitable for flow rate monitoring and dumper control in HVAC/VAV (variable air volume) applications, is now available through TTI. The D6F-P delivers uni- or bi-directional sensing; a key feature is its integrated, patent-pending dust-segregation system.
12/17/2007 At first glance, flat-panel displays and solar cells seem to have a lot in common: both depend on diodes and transistors, usually implemented in silicon, and both are highly competitive markets where throughput and process control are essential to keep costs down and yields up. Yet these similarities are relatively superficial, and understanding the markets' different priorities in cost, process control, and device performance is critical to success.
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have unveiled important details about a class of catalysts that could help improve the performance of fuel cells. The researchers established that a small amount of ceria or titanium makes gold extremely active.
Omron's new MEMS-based air flow sensor, suitable for flow rate monitoring and dumper control in HVAC/VAV (variable air volume) applications, is now available through TTI. The D6F-P delivers uni- or bi-directional sensing; a key feature is its integrated, patent-pending dust-segregation system.