09/20/2007 RedShift Systems, provider of next-generation thermal imaging solutions, will join forces with MEMS manufacturer,Innovative Micro Technology (IMT) to produce a solid-state, passive optical component that shifts long-wavelength thermal infrared radiation to visible light to allow standard CMOS and CCD digital cameras to "see heat."
09/20/2007 When is a kilogram actually not a kilogram? News that the world's master reference for a kg mass is off by a not insignificant amount (and nobody knows why) illustrates an important difference between "accuracy" and "precision," and why the semiconductor manufacturing industry has pragmatically grown to primarily rely upon the latter.
09/19/2007 September 19, 2007 - Sales of TFT-LCD array processing equipment are stuck in the mud this year, with all the top firms expected to suffer big declines from a year ago, according to data from DisplaySearch.
09/19/2007 September 19, 2007 - Staking its claim as the first 300mm NOR flash fab, Spansion Inc. says it has begun production of 65mnm process-based MirrorBit NOR flash memory devices at its SP1 300mm fab in Aizu-Wakamatsu, Japan, with shipments due out by year's end.
09/19/2007 Siemens Medical Solutions and Xintek Inc. have agreed to establish a joint venture, XinRay Systems, to develop a new multi-pixel X-ray source technology for diagnostic imaging applications. The partners say their nanotechnology-based technology fundamentally changes how X-ray radiation is generated and used.
09/19/2007 Nanosphere Inc. has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Verigene System, a random access, molecular diagnostics workstation for nucleic acid and protein diagnostics -- and for the Verigene System's first test to determine ability to metabolize warfarin.
09/18/2007 The System 650 universal bond tester offers quick-start modules for wire-pull, tweezer-pull, ball-bond-shear, cold-ball-pull, and die-shear test. Its high-resolution motion-control system measures bond shears down to 1-µm; the system can shear die up to 200 Kgf.
09/18/2007 September 18, 2007 - At its annual developer forum, Intel debuted working test chips built with 32nm process technology, saying it will start production at the next node sometime in 2009. In a Tuesday keynote presentation, Paul Otellini noted that the 32nm SRAMs utilize high-k and metal gate technologies, and house more than 1.9 billion transistors.
09/18/2007 A two-component epoxy adhesive, 40-3900 is filled with pure, non-alloyed silver in the resin and hardener. It is electrically conductive with electrical resistivity of less than 1 × 10-4 Ω/cm.
09/18/2007 Surface-mount and insert-mount, photo-etched leadframes range in thickness from 0.5 to 40 mil, with feature sizes as small as 4 mil on a 0.010 mil center. The leadframes can be reproduced in volume quantities without tooling wear.
09/18/2007 Hysol QMI708 targets applications with copper leadframes and small footprints. It was developed to attach 2.5- × 2.5-mm and smaller die in QFN and SOIC packages.
09/18/2007 Supporting parallel test of up to 32 multisites with 96-pin analog/digital stimulus and measure, the AMX400 modular test system tests a variety of devices, including amplifiers, DC/DC converters, and power-management modules.
09/18/2007 September 18, 2007 - Micromem Technologies Inc. has signed a deal to have pure-play GaAs foundry Global Communication Semiconductors Inc. (GCS) to help make Micromem's first MRAM devices.
09/18/2007 September 18, 2007 - Toppan Photomasks Inc. has joined a consortium led by European research lab CEA-Leti to jointly develop double patterning techniques, seen as a way to extend 193nm lithography to the 32nm and offer an eventual bridge to EUV whenever it enters semiconductor manufacturing (likely after 2013).
09/18/2007 The humble diode is the focal point of what Phiar Corp. hopes will be the beginning of a future that includes non-semiconductor materials for junction transport via quantum tunneling -- and the first credible alternative to semiconductors since the vacuum tube era.
09/18/2007 September 18, 2007 - Nikon Corp. and Synopsys Inc. have delivered what they say is a "manufacturing-aware" system for 45nm and below chipmaking by combining info gleaned from Nikon scanners with Synopsys' Proteus software, to develop sub-45nm litho models.
09/18/2007 Brion Technologies, the computational lithography wing of lithography toolmaker ASML, says its Tachyon system will now do the mask transformations needed for dual dipole lithography, to permit chip designs to approach more closely to the limit of single resist exposure technology. Also, to enhance the process window for repetitive structures in memory, Brion's LithoCruiser can now co-optimize the diffractive optical element needed for custom illumination along with the mask pattern.
09/18/2007 Cadence Design System Inc. reports that over 700 registered designers, design managers, and executives attended this year's CDNLive! Silicon Valley Conference for semiconductor and electronics systems designers held Sept. 10-12, 2007 at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center.
09/18/2007 The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s public meeting on September 6 and 7 discussed nanoscale material characterization details surrounding its proposed Nanoscale Materials Stewardship Program. Small Times guest contributors John Monica and Carlean Ponder report.
09/18/2007 Texas Instruments Inc. will allocate 15 M to fund medical research at selected universities worldwide. The company is excited to partner with universities to develop the next-generation of medical electronics, says Kent Novak, vice president of TI's medical business unit. Targeted R&D areas will include personal medical devices, implantables, medical imaging, wireless healthcare systems, and biosensor technology.
