03/26/2007 March 26, 2007 - NXP Semiconductors says it raked in profits of 325 million euros before earnings and charges, up 16% from 2005, on 9% higher sales of 4.96 billion euros, though it sees a weak market for 1Q07 due to seasonal patterns.
03/26/2007 STATS ChipPAC Ltd. developed a fan-in package-on-package (FiPoP) assembly solution that enables designers to integrate a wider range of die sizes than with conventional PoP packages. The FiPoP reportedly builds on the capabilities of PoP, including use of known good die (KGD) and use of the Z space, without the footprint and ball-height constraints of prior designs.
03/26/2007 March 26, 2007 - Following a week of rumors and leaked info, Intel has confirmed that it wants to build a new 300mm fab in northeast China, its first wafer fab in Asia and first greenfield new fab location in 15 years.
03/26/2007 Arrowhead Research has formed a new subsidiary and agreed to acquire the assets and name of C Sixty, Inc. (C-60), a company pioneering the development of drugs based on buckministerfullerenes. "The future of medicine lies in targeted delivery of therapeutics through nanotechnology," says Arrowhead's chairman. The acquisition forms Arrowhead's third nanomedicine subsidiary.
03/26/2007 Based on the concept of reducing costs through packaging integration, IBM researchers will introduce an optical chipset prototype for supercomputing applications that incorporates optical and CMOS components in one system-in-package (SiP), or optical module, at the 2007 Optical Fiber Conference, March 25–29 in Anaheim.
03/23/2007 Designed for manufacturability and flexibility in various regional climatic conditions, the Multicore LF600 lead-free solder paste from the electronics group of Henkel provides humidity resistance, 24-hour open times, and low voiding.
03/23/2007 March 23, 2007 - Layoffs at Texas Instruments reportedly are ready to begin by as soon as April 3 lasting through year's end, starting with more than 200 positions at the company's Dallas campus.
03/23/2007 March 23, 2007 - Boosted by refreshed inventories and demand for power transistors, sales of discrete semiconductor devices grew faster than IC sales in 2006 for the first time in nearly two decades, and only the second time since the 1970s, according to data from IC Insights Inc.
03/23/2007 The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) awarded $164 million in contracts for engineering, verification, and production to Endicott Interconnect Technologies, Inc. (EI). The project includes organic packaging; module assembly; PCB design and fabrication; board assembly; verification and test of these systems; and support for logistics, shipping, and storage. The end product is a high-reliability, high-performance computing application.
03/23/2007 SUSS MicroTec and Surface Technology Systems (STS) will cohost a MEMS technology showcase, "MEMS Technology: Embracing the Future." The show will debut in Boston on April 20, and include speakers from various aspects of the MEMS manufacturing process.
03/23/2007 MicroChem Corp. introduces two new products that together promise high aspect ratio imaging with vertical sidewalls, enabling the design of tall and dense microplated structures not previously achievable.
03/22/2007 NEXX Systems (Billerica) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd. (TSMC) of Hsinchu, Taiwan, will co-develop processes for cost-effective use of through-silicon vias (TSVs), wafer-level chip-scale packages (WLCSPs), and redistribution layers.
03/22/2007 Antares Advanced Test Technologies will distribute 3M Textool-branded BGA test and burn-in sockets outside of Japan, under a global distribution agreement between the companies.
03/22/2007 March 22, 2007 - After more than tripling the growth rate of the global semiconductor industry in 2006, Taiwan's semiconductor industry growth will be cut in half in 2007 to be right in line with everyone else, according to data from the Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association and reported by the Taiwan Economic News.
03/22/2007 March 22, 2007 - Wafer prober supplier Electroglas Inc. says it has entered into definitive agreements for private placement of $25.75 million of its 6.25% convertible senior subordinated secure notes due 2027.
03/22/2007 March 22, 2007 - Inotera Memories Inc., the memory chipmaking JV of Nanya Technology Corp. and German chipmaker Qimonda AG, plans to spend about $72 million to buy 16.7 hectares of land in a suburban area of Taoyuan County in northern Taiwan, reports the Taiwan Economic News.
03/22/2007 March 22, 2007 - Shu Li, president and CEO of Jazz Semiconductor, has left to "pursue other opportunities," and parent company chairman/CEO Gil Amelio (former Apple exec) will assume his duties "for the foreseeable future," according to the company.
MicroChem Corp. introduces two new products that together promise high aspect ratio imaging with vertical sidewalls, enabling the design of tall and dense microplated structures not previously achievable.