05/14/2007 Nanocomp Technologies says it has produced a new textile material based on its extremely long (hundreds of microns to millimeters) nanotubes. Company CEO Peter Antoinette says, "we have a product platform with vast real-world functionality and . . . we aim to determine just how broad the benefits can extend."
05/11/2007 SIX SIGMA, a division of Winslow Automation, Inc., integrated its SolderQuik reinforced column grid array technology onto six FPGAs on the Los Alamos National Laboratory Cibola Flight Experiment Satellite (CFEsat). SIX SIGMA reconfigured the FPGAs for Los Alamos to allow these components to withstand extreme thermal cycling while the satellite monitors weather patterns.
05/11/2007 By Matt Wilson and Rajiv Roy, Rudolph Technologies, Inc.
The value of fast, accurate inspection capability, which can detect existing defects and preempt further process investment, is multiplied in multichip packaging (MCP) applications by the large investment already made in multiple, fully processed die and the unrecoverable nature of the packaging process. One serious defect can kill its own die and take the rest of the stack down as well.
05/11/2007 May 11, 2007 - Chinese flagship foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing
International Co. (SMIC) has signed six letters of intent to purchase a total of $1.86 billion worth of semiconductor manufacturing equipment over three-year periods from US vendors.
05/11/2007 SUSS MicroTec AC opened its Applications & Measurement Center for the Asia-Pacific region. The Singapore center hosts test equipment for wafer test and semiconductor characterization.
05/11/2007 Meggitt PLC has created its Meggitt Sensing Systems (MSS) division by merging the company's Aerospace Systems and Electronics groups. The new entity includes Endevco and other notable sensor companies.
05/10/2007 TT electronics OPTEK Technology opened an in-house visible LED laboratory with resources to assess LED packages on junction temperature variation, optical performance, and other parameters. The lab aids in design, manufacturing, and test.
05/10/2007 Intel Capital, the venture capital branch of Intel Corporation, invested in six new companies, totaling $31 million. In the semiconductor space, Intel invested in China-based Phoenix Microelectronics.
05/10/2007 May 10, 1007 - International SEMATECH is moving its headquarters from Austin, TX, to its operations located at the U. of Albany, and will launch a significant expansion there, matching $300 million in state investments for facility upgrades.
05/10/2007 BIOIDENT Technologies Inc. has announced what it claims is the industry's first complete, functional lab on a chip: the PhotonicFlow System. The product is "a significant milestone for BIOIDENT and for the industry," the company says, and is "set to transform" diagnostics and analysis in multiple markets.
05/10/2007 Netzsch Fine Particle Technology, LLC has introduced its MicroSeries line of agitator bead mills for wet grinding of small batches with particles of 10 to 20 nanometers. Designed for laboratory and sample grinding, each mill is to different applications.
05/10/2007 Amtech Systems, Inc., supplier of production and automation systems and related supplies for the manufacture of semiconductors, solar cells and wafers, has entered into a manufacturing agreement with DSG Technologies to manufacture a vertical microwave system, combining Amtech's vertical furnace platform with DSG's Micro-Mode Microwave (M3) heating technology.
05/09/2007 May 9, 2007 - Solar PV silicon startup Solaicx says it has closed a Series C round of funding totaling $27.1 million, led by the D.E. Shaw group, with participation from several VC firms as well as an increased investment from Applied Materials' VC arm.
05/09/2007 Nordson Corporation acquired YESTech, Inc., adding the AOI and X-ray supplier to its Dage Holdings company; and PICO Dosiertechnik (PICODOSTEC), a piezoelectric dispensing system company that will join Nordson's Asymtek subsidiary, in two separate purchases. The total acquisition cost about $53 million. Nordson expects to leverage the business' core technologies across its advanced technology segment for packaging and electronics assembly products.
05/09/2007 Shizuka Ishikawa, president of Samsung partner Tomen Devices Corp., shares his opinions with the Nikkei Business Daily about ongoing memory price volatility, and whether memory firms are investing too heavily in DRAM.
BIOIDENT Technologies Inc. has announced what it claims is the industry's first complete, functional lab on a chip: the PhotonicFlow System. The product is "a significant milestone for BIOIDENT and for the industry," the company says, and is "set to transform" diagnostics and analysis in multiple markets.