12/19/2006 The KTE V5.2 interactive test environment software is compatible with the series S600 parametric test system. The software is said to increase throughput for circuit-materials testing, including radio frequency (RF) materials. The KTE test environments suit wafer-level test development and execution.
12/19/2006 A report by NanoMarkets, LC, "Organic Electronics: A Market and Technology Assessment," predicts the market for organic LEDs (OLEDs), transistors, and other organic-material electronics to reach $34.4B in 2014. The research firm cites several trends in the organic-electronics industry as indicators of commercialization.
12/19/2006 Amkor Technology, Inc., signed a licensing agreement for Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) to use its lead-free electroplated wafer-bumping technology. Terms remain undisclosed.
12/18/2006 In a continued effort to expand product offerings and offer a complete suite of technologies leveraged across the image sensor and optical device market, Tessera Technologies, Inc., introduced SHELLCASE RT. With a profile of 500 µm — RT stands for razor-thin — the technology is claimed to be one of the thinnest wafer-level chip-scale packaging (WLCSP) technologies.
12/18/2006 Applied Wave Research, Inc., (AWR) and DuPont Microcircuit Materials of DuPont Electronic Technologies created a process design kit (PDK) that enables radio-frequency (RF), microwave, and millimeter-wave designers to access DuPont's GreenTape low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technology within AWR's Microwave Office 2006 software.
12/18/2006 With the aim of powering implanted medical devices with "two feet and a heartbeat," a U.K. industry consortium will develop prototypes — expected in 2007 — for medical devices powered by the human body. The self-energizing implantable medical micro-system (SIMM) project, with collaboration from the Department of Trade and Industry, will use microgenerators created as MEMS devices to convert human energy expenditure into electrical power.
12/18/2006 ITOCHU Corp. of Japan announced it will invest $8.5 million in solar energy company NorSun AS of Oslo, Norway, which is planning to produce monocrystalline silicon wafers for solar cells.
12/15/2006 unwanted dimensional changes, de-lamination, etc. — arise when silicone swells with solvent. Shrinking silicones can put stress on metal bonds, potentially bending and even shearing them.
12/15/2006 Growing industry concern about the known environmental and health hazards of lead-free solders has led the European Union (EU) to request public comments on a proposal to exempt lead solder in electronics from the RoHS ban.
12/15/2006 Nanoscience Instruments of Phoenix announced the release of the Nanosurf Nanite automated AFM, a new easy to use AFM designed to provide true walk away time.
12/15/2006 Nordson Corporation completed acquisition of Dage Holdings, Ltd., adding the test-and-inspection company to its advanced technology systems segment.
12/15/2006 Entrepix Inc., a Tempe, Ariz., provider of CMP foundry and equipment services, announced the signing of a CMP FastForward volume pricing agreement with a leading aerospace defense contractor.
12/15/2006 EV Group (EVG), a St. Florian, Austria supplier of wafer-bonding and lithography equipment for the MEMS, nanotechnology and semiconductor markets and Sawatec, a manufacturer of advanced components and manual loaded instruments for photolithography, have signed a reseller agreement.
12/15/2006 austriamicrosystems' foundry business unit announced a 50V High-Voltage CMOS process with embedded Flash. The company says this is the consequent next step in extending austriamicrosystems' position in High-Voltage CMOS technology.
12/14/2006 STMicroelectronics will realign product segments into application specific, flash, and industrial and multisegment sectors, beginning January 1, 2007. Philippe Geyres resigned from the company, where he held positions as executive vice president and general manager of its home, personal, communication (HPC) sector.
12/14/2006 The SMTA will present awards and plaques to winners of best conference, proceedings, and international papers from SMTAI 2006, held in September in Rosemont, Ill. Two of the top three papers address advanced packaging.
12/13/2006 CORWIL Technology Corporation added services to its system-in-package (SiP) and multi-component packaging (MCP) module customers. The semiconductor assembly and test services (SATS) provider joined substrate design and fabrication sources to provide reportedly turnkey SiP module design, substrate fabrication, and packaging services.
12/13/2006 The alloy composition of TOUGHBOND series bonding wire ranges from 99 – 99.9% pure gold. Compared to 4N and Au/Pd alloy wires, the series reportedly shows improved gold-to-aluminum ball-bond reliability and is less likely to corrode after aging at a high temperature.
Nano-Now, which airs on Fox 23 News in Albany, N.Y., interviewed Small Times Editor David Forman for its Dec. 17 television broadcast. View the streaming video here.
Nanoscience Instruments of Phoenix announced the release of the Nanosurf Nanite automated AFM, a new easy to use AFM designed to provide true walk away time.