04/18/2007 SEMI released corrections to its January and February book-to-bill estimates for the North America semiconductor equipment manufacturing industry, lowering the ratios to 1.00 and 0.98, respectively. SEMI blames a data-input error for the incorrect averages initially reported.
04/17/2007 By Françoise von Trapp, managing editor
Tessera Technologies, Inc., launched an interconnection platform intended to address technical limitations of current-generation packaging technologies, such as pitch, profile, performance, reliability, and test capacity. The company expects this technology to become a fundamental building block of next-generation mobile, computing, and consumer electronic products.
04/17/2007 April 17, 2007 - In an abrupt about-face, the investor group seeking to snap up Taiwanese packaging services firm Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE) has called off its pursuit, with both sides apparently unable to agree on a final pricetag.
04/17/2007 The SPM ProberStation 150 combines 3-D inspection and modern optical microscopy in a vision inspection system for atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning probe microscopy (SPM) studies. Travel area across the motorized stage accommodates samples up to 150 × 250 mm; measurements are said to be highly repeatable at ±200 nm for measuring surface roughness and features.
04/17/2007 April 17, 2007 - A quick scan of earnings outlooks in Japan shows optimism, despite some bumpy roads in the past couple of months ending the fiscal year, according to several local papers.
04/17/2007 April 17, 2007 - Inventory adjustments and severe pricing pressures in flash and DRAM memory as well as MPUs have bogged down the market, and IC Insights sees enough historical comparisons in the data to cut its outlook for 2007 semiconductor IC sales growth from 7% to just 2%.
04/17/2007 April 17, 2007 - Elpida Memory's offer of equipment to SMIC is seen as an attempt to acquire a stake in SMIC's new 300mm wafer fab and its older 200mm fab, in an attempt to secure more capacity for DRAM and raise the stakes in its battle with rival Samsung, according to the Taiwan Economic News.
04/17/2007 The Materials Research Society's (MRS) spring meeting in San Francisco last week informed a record number of attendees on near- and far-term possibilities for process technology, showcasing research results in electronic materials development: CMOS high-k gate dielectrics, nano-imprint lithography, organic semiconductors, quantum dots, and nano-tubes -- and wilder technologies like neuro-prosthetic interfaces and designs based on structures created by Mother Nature.
04/17/2007 April 17, 2007 - Sematech says its researchers at its Mask Blank Development Center (MBDC) at the U. of Albany (NY)'s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, have successfully detected and cleaned 10nm particles from mask blanks used in EUV lithography.
04/17/2007 April 17, 2007 - Cypress Semiconductor Corp. has licensed its 0.13-micron SONOS embedded nonvolatile memory technology to China's Hua Hong NEC Electronics Co. Ltd. Hua Hong already makes embedded EEPROM and OTP (0.35-micron) as well as embedded flash (0.25-micron) at mass production levels.
04/17/2007 April 17, 2007 - Nano Proprietary Inc. says it has retained Citi's investment banking division to help review financial and strategic alternatives.
04/17/2007 EPM-2480, 2481, and 2482 dielectric gels are designed to encapsulate packages when outgassing-related contamination poses a problem within a device. The products cure to a soft and compliant silicone, and reportedly reduce stress on assemblies during temperature cycling.
04/17/2007 The MicroLine UV cuts openings in polyimide coverlayer foils and flex circuits, performing routing, skiving, drilling, pocket cutting, etch/solder-resist structuring, and ceramic substrate micromachining. It suits prototyping and pre-series production environments.
04/17/2007 StratEdge released "Power Packages," a package series that incorporates beryllium oxide (BeO) ceramic and a copper-composite base to provide thermal management for high-frequency, high-power chips. Package construction directly affects chip performance, said Jerry Carter, senior applications engineer, adding that the series is constructed for design engineers considering performance and reliability of their chips.
04/17/2007 By Meredith Courtemanche, assistant editor
Central to the outsourcing debate is the issue of protection for intellectual property (IP). The U.S. plans to bring copyright and IP violation charges against China to the WTO, highlighting the struggle between industry groups and the outsourcing strategies that maintain the electronics industry.
04/17/2007 April 17, 2007 - Malaysian foundry Silterra Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. has appointed two new top execs, both with backgrounds at China's Hua Hong and SMIC -- Tzu Yin Chiu is Silterra's new president/COO , while Charles Chan has been named president of subsidiary Silterra USA.
04/17/2007 BASF Future Business GmbH is collaborating with Polyera Corporation to develop and commercialize new organic semiconductors and dielectrics for use in CMOS-analog printed circuits. The partners intend to develop these materials as well as a printed prototype CMOS circuit within the next three years.
04/17/2007 SolVision installed a Nano 3D SX bump metrology system at a flip chip substrate manufacturer based in Japan. The repeat order resulted from the machine's flexibility, support for lead-free bumps, and multi-die-substrate capabilities, said Jean-Lévy Beaudoin, product manager, substrate inspection, SolVision. The machine will be used for flip chip substrate inspection.
04/17/2007 Veeco Instruments and Leica Microsystems GmbH have agreed to collaborate to drive biological and nano-medicine research. Initially, the partners will integrate Veeco's BioScope II atomic force microscope with Leica's DMI series of inverted microscopes to enable new, high-resolution imagery.
Veeco Instruments and Leica Microsystems GmbH have agreed to collaborate to drive biological and nano-medicine research. Initially, the partners will integrate Veeco's BioScope II atomic force microscope with Leica's DMI series of inverted microscopes to enable new, high-resolution imagery.