08/18/2006 The book-to-bill ratio for North America-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers dropped slightly from 1.14 in June to 1.06 in July, according to SEMI's report. Billings are at a high level, comparable with April 2001, according to Stanley T. Meyers, president and CEO of SEMI. He added that bookings have decreased slightly.
08/18/2006 August 18, 2006 - NEC Corp. says it has successfully developed a compact gallium nitride (GaN) power transistor amplifier for 3G base stations, with record power output of 400W with low-distortion characteristics.
08/18/2006 August 18, 2006 - Orders for semiconductor manufacturing equipment from North American-based suppliers slipped about 2% in July, the first sequential drop since last November, but the bigger picture of equipment demand is still rosy, according to the latest data from SEMI.
08/18/2006 The IEEE Portable 2007 international conference on portable information devices (PIDs) announced a call for papers for its March 2007 program. IEEE PORTABLE 2007 brings packaging professionals together with other electrical, industrial, manufacturing, materials, mechanical, and reliability engineers and management to discuss challenges, attributes, and pitfalls in PID-related areas of engineering and applied science.
08/18/2006 Accelrys is bringing in some high-powered scientific help to lend a hand on a new initiative designed to sharpen its software development expertise to work as a tool in the hands of nanobiology researchers.
08/17/2006 August 17, 2006 - Global demand for semiconductor manufacturing equipment ended up right about as expected in July, with a little fallback from spiky June numbers in equipment orders, IC sales, and unit shipments, according to the latest data from VLSI Research Corp.
08/17/2006 RVSI Inspection LLC, a semiconductor package and bumped wafer inspection company, will open a customer training, applications, and demonstration center in Chu Pei City, Hsin Chu, Taiwan.
08/17/2006 A SEMATECH-led industry group created to promote semiconductor supplier diversity, along with Natick, MA-based consultant firm Asaba Group, published an industry study outlining business outlooks and strategies for diversity in a volatile market.
08/17/2006 By W. Luo, D. Thon, Cadence Design Systems
With the move to more advanced semiconductor manufacturing technologies, semiconductor companies are finding that modifications to physical design data meant to improve yield can seriously impact integrated circuit (IC) performance and functionality. As a result, IC design houses are focusing growing attention on manufacturing effects at the earliest possible stages of IC design....
08/17/2006 Nanophase Technologies, a Romeoville, Ill., maker of nanomaterials and advanced nanoengineered products, announced the initial order for a new textile application. Details of the customer and application were not disclosed.
08/17/2006 Innovative Micro Technology (IMT), a Santa Barbara, Calif.-based contract manufacturer for MEMS, announced that it received ISO 9001:2000 certification from Det Norske Veritas (DNV).
08/17/2006 Applied MicroStructures, a San Jose, Calif., provider of molecular vapor deposition equipment and contract deposition services, announced it has delivered its first MVD150 automated production system to a leading global manufacturer of MEMS devices for use in the deposition of anti-stiction layers.
08/16/2006 August 16, 2006 - Semiconductor design software provider Synopsys Inc., Mountain View, CA, has officially announced its acquisition of Munich-based simulation software developer Sigma-C Software AG in an all-cash transaction worth $20.5 million.
08/16/2006 August 16, 2006 - A new survey from an industry group led by SEMATECH aims to promote diversity among suppliers in the semiconductor industry, by illustrating the most important strategic goals to achieve.
08/16/2006 August 16, 2006 - As chip equipment suppliers enjoy solid demand for tools in recent months, sales might drop down to single-digit growth rates sooner than expected, according to a new report from Strategic Marketing Associates (SMA) and Wright Williams and Kelly Inc.
08/16/2006 Carsem, a packaging and test services provider, received SiGe Semiconductor's Assembly Supplier of the Year Award for 2005 at a ceremony held in Carsem's Suzhou, China facility. The award's rating metrics include on-time delivery, yield, customer service, quality, competitiveness, responsiveness, and technology.
08/16/2006 Synopsys Inc., a maker of semiconductor design software, announced that it has completed the acquisition of SIGMA-C Software AG, a Munich-based company providing simulation software that allows semiconductor manufacturers and their suppliers to develop and optimize process sequences for optical lithography, e-beam lithography and next-generation lithography technologies.
08/15/2006 August 15, 2006 - Ultratech Inc., San Jose, CA, has officially acquired certain assets of Oraxion Inc., a maker of surface-metrology and stress-analysis equipment for semiconductor and related industries, finalizing a nonbinding letter of intent signed in early July.
08/15/2006 A study testing high-speed, copper-based direct interconnections between IC packages, by means of a flexible circuit, indicates that 20 Gbps signaling on channels of relevant lengths is feasible, but the researchers decided that flex I/O will not enter the mainstream in the immediate future. The results were discussed in a paper authored by a team of Intel scientists and engineers and titled "Flex-circuit Chip-to-chip Interconnects."
08/15/2006 Synova announced that it received financing for $8.1 million, or 10 million Swiss francs (CHF), to develop micromachining centers (MMCs) in several international locations. Swiss banks will fund Synova's worldwide MMC growth strategy. The company plans to construct localized support networks, build application labs offering on-site product demonstrations, and promote laser MicroJet technology applications.
