07/17/2006 The 2006 semiconductor equipment market is expected to grow 18% in 2006, with the Chinese market region leading the trend, according to SEMI's Mid-year Consensus Forecast. Respondents surveyed saw a flat market approaching in 2007, with 2008 reviving growth to 18%.
07/17/2006 Advanced Packaging and Solid State Technology Magazines invited SEMICON West attendees to vote for Final Manufacturing and Wafer Processing products that demonstrated capabilities for the next generation in the industry. Winners received Attendees' Choice Awards in categories based on viability, innovation, and adaptability.
07/17/2006 A gold-plated contact, made from beryllium copper plated with nickel and gold (BeCuNiAu), offers a solution for lead-free production test on tin-based device platings. The two-hump profile should operate the same on both exposed and recessed pads. The profile is longer at the base to maintain low contact resistance on the soft surface of matte tin, with a contact length of 2.14 mm.
07/17/2006 The TF series of fluxes conform to the majority of lead-free processes and offer compatibility with various underfill materials. Designed for chip- and ball-attach, Heraeus' fluxes come in no-clean, solvent-clean, and water-soluble versions. The company states that the fluxes offer higher yields through their print and dispense capabilities.
07/17/2006 Designed to protect semiconductors in sealed environments that are vulnerable to moisture ingress through packaging material, NatraSorb 900 and Multiform desiccants remove water vapor and provide crush-resistance at up to 8,000 lb per in2. Multisorb produces the desiccants in pre-molded shapes or blanks for custom fabrication, to be integrated into semiconductor or packaging design.
07/17/2006 July 15, 2006 -- /SiVa/ -- Sunnyvale, Calif. -- The Silicon Valley EOS/ESD Society (a.k.a. SiVa) announces it Annual ESD Discovery to be held Tuesday August 29, 2006 at the AMD Common Building in Sunnyvale, Ca.
07/17/2006 July 17, 2006 - Following its intentions stated several months ago, audio and communications technology developer SRS Labs Inc., Santa Ana, CA, has agreed to sell its Hong Kong-based semiconductor business, Valence Technology Ltd., to a holding company and members of Valence's management team.
07/17/2006 July 17, 2006 - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) has introduced Reference Flow 7.0 for its 65nm process technology, offering statistical static timing analyzer, power management techniques, and various DFM enhancements, including tools from Magma Design Automation.
07/17/2006 July 17, 2006 - The US federal government might be done with a group of DRAM chipmakers for their alleged price-fixing practices several years ago, but for Attorneys General in 34 states the fight is just getting started. A federal lawsuit has been filed in San Francisco, CA, against seven international DRAM chipmakers and their US subsidiaries, seeking damages against consumers in various states, as well as state and local governments.
07/17/2006 July 17, 2006 - Chinese foundry Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. has established a Japanese subsidiary to establish a presence in the domestic market, aiming to drum up business for mature process technologies in a region known for doing things in-house.
07/17/2006 Nanogen Inc., a San Diego developer of diagnostic products, announced that it has expanded its product portfolio to include MGB Alert real-time PCR reagents designed to assist laboratories in developing tests that can detect sequences associated with varicella-zoster virus (VZV, also called Human Herpesvirus 3) and Bordetella bacteria.
07/14/2006 Focusing on complex ceramic products, CMC Interconnect Technologies further expanded its ceramic substrate, module, and package-rework capabilities. The reworked substrates meet the quality standards and product-reliability specifications that apply to new substrates.
07/14/2006 Advanced Packaging Magazine announced its Sixth Annual Advanced Packaging Awards recipients during a presentation at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art on July 12, 2006. The nominees gathered at the Wattis Theater to accept awards and mingle at a reception that followed.
07/14/2006 July 14, 2006 - Intel Corp. says it will lay off 1000 managers, about % of its workforce, following up on its promise to identify underperforming business areas and respark growth.
07/14/2006 July 14, 2006 - Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Siltronic AG have finalized plans to build a $1 billion, 300mm wafer fab in Singapore, with peak output of 300,000 wafers/month by 2010. The partnership, announced earlier this year, represents "a first" for the industry, with a wafer supplier partnering with a major chipmaker in such a venture.
07/14/2006 July 14, 2006 - Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc. (ASE) and Powerchip Semiconductor Corp. have agreed to form a joint venture in Taiwan to provide memory IC-related package and testing services. Power ASE Technology Inc. will offer backend capacity to support Powerchip's growth, while giving ASE expertise in memory testing to support its SIP and SOC offerings to customers, according to the companies.
07/14/2006 July 12, 2006 -- /BUSINESS WIRE/ -- SAN FRANCISCO -- Ferrotec Corporation, a global leader in supplying materials, components, and precision system solutions to the semiconductor manufacturing industry, today announced significant improvements to the standard ferrofluid magnetic liquids which provide the core sealing function in Ferrotec's Ferrofluidic(R) vacuum rotary feedthroughs.
07/14/2006 July 14, 2006 -- /PRWEB/ -- NAPLES, FL -- Industrial Nanotech (OTC: INTK), a company that specializes in nanotechnology innovation and product development, today announced that Trade Werx Pte Ltd., the Company's distributor of Nansulate coatings in the Malaysian and Singapore markets, received an innovative technology award by the HVAC 2006 Trade Show for its launch of Nansulate as an HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning) product in the Asian markets.
07/13/2006 July 13, 2006 - The Fab Owners Association (FOA), a nonprofit group representing largely second-tier semiconductor manufacturers, has added Freescale Semiconductor's Oakhill facility (Austin, TX) as a voting member, and welcomed four other firms as associate members. The organization's devicemaker members currently represent approximately 800,000 200mm-equivalent monthly wafer starts, and more than $21 billion in annual revenue.
07/13/2006 July 13, 2006 - Toshiba and SanDisk have officially laid out plans for their new NAND flash memory venture: a massive 100,000 wafer/month facility, with investments expected to top $3.0 billion through the end of 2008. And reportedly the two have picked a location for their next $5.2 billion megafab, also with 100,000 wafers/month capacity.
