10/31/2007 October 31, 2007 - Konarka Technologies Inc. has expanded its existing licensing agreement with DuPont Displays to include and advance technology for polymer-based photovoltaic applications and related technology.
10/31/2007 October 31, 2007 - IBM says it has developed a method to repurpose scrap semiconductor wafers that's more efficient at pattern removal, to be reused as monitor wafers or sold to solar firms and converted into solar panels. The process, currently in use at IBM's Burlington, VT, facility, and being implemented at its semiconductor fab in East Fishkill, NY, saved $500k in 2006 and an estimated $1.5M this year.
10/31/2007 October 31, 2007 - Samsung Electronics Co. reportedly has acquired TransChip Israel Ltd., an Israel-based CMOS image sensor firm, the first time in a decade the Korean company has acquired a foreign company.
10/31/2007 Small Times' report of Tronics' recent profit announcement has drawn a response from Chris Lumb, CEO of rival Micralyne Inc. "Tronics' profitability claim . . . is wrong: It is not the first pure play contract manufacturer of advanced MEMS devices to achieve consistent profitability," he noted.
10/31/2007 ; VTI Technologies has developed manufacturing concepts that offer better ways of combining MEMS and ASIC technology to create smaller, smarter, and lower cost sensing devices suitable for large volume production. The work being carried out by VTI could open up a raft of new sensing applications for a wide range of handheld devices.
10/31/2007 ; Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc. (ASE) has announced that the Securities Industry Council of Singapore has ruled that the proposed acquisition by ASE Inc. of the remaining shares of its majority-owned subsidiary ASE Test Limited will be conditionally exempted from certain rules of the Singapore Code on Take-overs and Mergers.
10/31/2007 ; In a market-moving shift to offer significant improvements in write speed and operational performance, Texas Instruments Inc. (TI) has unveiled the RF360, the first smart integrated circuit (IC) platform to be developed specifically to meet the rigorous demands of the contactless government electronic identification market.
10/31/2007 Systron Donner Automotive, developer of automotive inertial measurement products, has launched a new brand image and interactive Web site that, according to the company, makes "selecting a MicroGyro feel more like shopping for a new car."
10/31/2007 The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) reports a solution for efficiently and selectively growing nanowires in quantity on sapphire wafers using conventional lithography. The technique produces wires in specific positions and orientations accurately enough to allow attachment of contacts and to layer other circuit elements, NIST says.
10/30/2007 Five Star Technologies Inc., a developer of advanced electronics materials, has completed a US$2M venture loan from Toronto-based MMV Financial Inc. Five Star is a supplier of high-performance inks and dispersions for use in electronics packaging and assembly operations.
10/30/2007 October 30, 2007 - A new public/private R&D initiative is being laid out to replace the MEDEA+ program for cooperative R&D in microelectronics that is set to expire in 2008, which over the past seven years has watched over three generations of CMOS technology, and spearheaded work on fields ranging from smart cards, image sensors, and automotive electronics.
10/30/2007 October 30, 2007 - Demand for NAND flash memory, battles in the MPU space, and pains of big customers' change in strategies have shuffled the rankings of top chip suppliers in 3Q07, just as predicted, according to data from IC Insights.
10/30/2007 October 30, 2007 - Following a court decision overturning an indictment of former UMC execs charged with illegal business dealings with Chinese chip company He Jian, the Taiwan government says it will take another look at whether it should further loosen restrictions on local IC makers' investments in the mainland, and even help them develop domestic 450mm capabilities to support the local IC industry.
10/30/2007 October 30, 2007 - Air Products and its Taiwan subsidiary Air Products San Fu Co Ltd. have agreed to supply nitrogen and bulk gases for Taiwan DRAM producer Rexchip Semiconductor Corp., the Powerchip-Elpida memory JV. Financial details were not disclosed.
10/30/2007 People doing the actual day-to-day work in fabs gathered at last week's ISMI Manufacturing Symposium (Oct. 24-25, Austin, TX), addressing topics on yield improvement/productivity methodologies, ESH, and sustainability. Specific talks focus on how to fix litho "hot spots," cleaning wafer chucks without DI water or solvents, guidelines for detecting/preventing electrostatic discharge (ESD) events, and why process stability may be the deciding factor in the battle over 450mm wafers.
10/30/2007 Qualcomm MEMS Technologies Inc., in collaboration with Audiovox Accessories Corp., will bring to market by November 2007 the industry's first direct-view MEMS display. Unlike traditional displays, Qualcomm says this display is readable even in bright sunlight -- and consumes less power.
10/30/2007 Pioneer Surgical Technology Inc. (PST), has acquired Angstrom Medica Inc., a Woburn, Mass.-based developer of nanotechnology-based medical devices, according to a news release from the Marquette, Mich.-based PST.
10/29/2007 ; Jordan Valley Semiconductors Inc. has been named to the 2007 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 as one of the fastest-growing technology companies in Israel. A manufacturer of next-generation x-ray based semiconductor metrology, Jordan Valley provides patented x-ray technology to semiconductor fabs worldwide.
10/29/2007 October 29, 2007 - Worldwide semiconductor sales rose ~5% for the second consecutive month to a record $22.60 billion in Sept. 2007, riding demand for PCs and cell phones as seasonal patterns build to a head, according to data from the SIA.
10/29/2007 While the industry struggles to continue on the Moore's Law track, 3D approaches superior to those of systems-on-chip may provide an interim solution if the shrink slows down. A SEMATECH-organized workshop in Albany, NY earlier this month (Oct. 11-12) addressed fundamental issues about 3D, including four reasons why every chipmaker has 3D/TSVapproaches on its roadmap, and what needs to be solved before 3D can be effective beyond simple memory.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) reports a solution for efficiently and selectively growing nanowires in quantity on sapphire wafers using conventional lithography. The technique produces wires in specific positions and orientations accurately enough to allow attachment of contacts and to layer other circuit elements, NIST says.
Qualcomm MEMS Technologies Inc., in collaboration with Audiovox Accessories Corp., will bring to market by November 2007 the industry's first direct-view MEMS display. Unlike traditional displays, Qualcomm says this display is readable even in bright sunlight -- and consumes less power.