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March Book-to-Bill Continues to Rise

04/19/2006  San Jose, CA — In March 2006, and on a 3-month-average basis, North American-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers posted $1.35 billion in orders and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.04, according to SEMI's March 2006 Book-to-Bill Report.

SEMI: Tool bookings maintain strength in March

04/19/2006  April 19, 2006 - Demand for semiconductor manufacturing equipment continued to steam ahead in March with single-digit sequential gains, according to new data from SEMI.

Strong demand means better year for tool sales, says VLSI

04/19/2006  April 19, 2006 - The first quarter of the calendar usually means a seasonal slowdown in demand for semiconductor manufacturing equipment. But this year demand remains high, and so VLSI Research Inc. has hiked its projections for the full year to double-digit growth.

Princeton, USDC to make flexible TFT materials

04/19/2006  April 19, 2006 - The US Display Consortium (USDC) and Princeton U.'s Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials (PRISM) have signed a two-year, $1.7 million agreement to develop amorphous silicon thin-film transistors (a-Si TFTs) on a clear, high temperature-capable polymer foil substrate.

Three ISO cleanroom documents now American National Standards

04/19/2006  April 6, 2006 -- /IEST/ -- ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. -- The Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology (IEST) announces that three ISO documents have become American National Standards: ISO 14644-3 - Test Methods, ISO 14644-5 - Operations, and ISO 14644-7 - Separative devices (clean air hoods, gloveboxes, isolators, minienvironments).

WD purchases California head manufacturing facility

04/19/2006  April 5, 2006 -- /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- LAKE FOREST, Calif. -- Western Digital Corp. (NYSE:WDC) today announced that it has completed the purchase of the Fremont, Calif., facility in which it has been fabricating semiconductor wafers for the production of hard drive recording heads since 2003. The purchase price was not disclosed.

Gas control panels, manifolds and cylinder storage racks meet customer filling requirements

04/19/2006  April 6, 2006 -- /MARKET WIRE/ -- CAMPBELL, Calif. -- Cryotech International, Inc., a leader in liquid nitrogen and gas delivery systems, is pleased to announce a new line of gas control panels, manifolds and cylinder storage racks that are available to help customers meet their cylinder filling requirements.

SCD's EM technology used to attack Hurricane Katrina mold

04/19/2006  April 6, 2006 -- /PRWEB/ -- Kansas City, MO -- SCD (Sustainable Community Development, L.L.C.), a leading producer of natural biotechnology, has been supporting the clean up efforts in New Orleans with products to combat mold.

LSI to sell Gresham fab to ON Semiconductor for $105 million

04/19/2006  April 6, 2006 -- /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MILPITAS, Calif. -- LSI Logic Corporation (NYSE:LSI) today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its Gresham, Oregon semiconductor manufacturing facility to ON Semiconductor Corporation's (NASDAQ:ONNN) primary operating subsidiary, Semiconductor Components Industries, LLC, for approximately $105 million in cash.

Improperly refrigerated crab meat seized

04/19/2006  April 7, 2006 -- /FDA News/ -- At the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and with the approval of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, the U.S. Marshals Service yesterday seized approximately 31,800 lbs. of crabmeat being held at American President Lines Limited, a shipping company located in South Kearny, N.J.

Bausch & Lomb temporarily suspends U.S. shipments of ReNu(R) with MoistureLoc(R) produced at Greenville, S.C., manufacturing facility

04/19/2006  April 10, 2006 -- /BUSINESS WIRE/ -- ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Bausch & Lomb (NYSE:BOL) announced today that it is temporarily suspending U.S. shipments of ReNu(R) with MoistureLoc(R) produced at its Greenville, S.C., manufacturing facility in order to facilitate the further investigation of reports of fungal keratitis infections among contact lens wearers in the United States.

ISPE-PCC announces Certified Pharmaceutical Industry Professional™ (CPIP™ ) Eligibility Criteria

04/19/2006  April 10, 2006 -- /ISPE/ -- TAMPA, Fla. -- The ISPE Professional Certification Commission (PCC) today announced the eligibility criteria for the Certified Pharmaceutical Industry Professional (CPIP), a new competency-based pharmaceutical industry credential.

Soitec tops record sales in 4Q, FY06

04/18/2006  April 18, 2006 - Soitec, a French manufacturer of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers, said its sales in both fiscal 4Q and FY06 topped new records, thanks to heavy demand for 300mm wafers.

Electronics Materials Specialist to Present at IMAPS

04/18/2006  Irvine, CA — Brian Toleno, Ph.D., of the electronics group of Henkel will speak at the IMAPS Symposium, April 26, 2006, in Algonquin Heights, IL. Toleno, considered an electronics materials expert, will cover underfill technologies and their role in reliability enhancement for advanced CSP and BGA devices. The presentation will also offer an overview of a successful lead-free process implementation.

Taiwan DRAM firms fattening wallets for quick expansion

04/18/2006  April 18, 2006 - Three of Taiwan's top DRAM memory producers have raised substantial amounts of cash this year -- about $4.6 billion collectively -- to support immediate capacity expansions, according to the Taiwan Economic News.

SEMI extends High Tech U to Phoenix

04/18/2006  April 18, 2006 - SEMI is expanding its High Tech U program, which introduces high school students to the semiconductor manufacturing industry, to the greater Phoenix, AZ area.

Cimetrix launches Interface A services business

04/18/2006  April 18, 2006 - Cimetrix Inc., Salt Lake City, UT, is adding a services unit to its software-sales business to help provide yield and manufacturing data management services for fabs and fabless semiconductor companies.

Analyst: MEMS sales slowing, demand shifting

04/18/2006  April 18, 2006 - Sales growth for MEMS devices slowed dramatically in 2005 despite "very strong" unit shipments, with demand increasing for newer markets outside the mainstays, according to a new report by In-Stat.

Firm touts electro-optic silicon replacement

04/18/2006  April 18, 2006 - PSI-Tec Corp. says it has successfully tested an engineered organic material with better electro-optic properties to convert electronic signals into optical signals for telecom and navigational systems, and possibly eventually optical interconnects and all-optical transistors.