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Report: EU to tweak Hynix tariffs

04/12/2006  April 12, 2006 - The European Union reportedly will cut back its countervailing tariff on memory chips from South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor Inc. to 32.9% from 34.8%, following a recommendation from the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Osram touts laser bar efficiency mark

04/12/2006  April 12, 2006 - Osram Opto Semiconductors says its laser bars have achieved a efficiency record of 808nm at optical output of 120W, under a project sponsored by the German government, double the mark of conventional devices

Lexar files NAND flash complaint vs. Toshiba

04/12/2006  April 12, 2006 - Lexar Media Inc., Fremont, CA, has filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission (ITC) alleging that Japan's Toshiba Corp. and its US subsidiaries are infringing upon its patented NAND flash technologies.

Henkel Restructures Asia-Pacific Operations

04/12/2006  Irvine, CA — Some strategic organizational appointments at the electronics group of Henkel's Asia-Pacific operations aim to propel the company's growth in that region, particularly in delivering advanced technology solutions for high-volume production applications.

Nantero touts success with 22nm memory switch

04/12/2006  April 12, 2006 - Nantero Inc. says it has successfully demonstrated scalability of its nonvolatile random access memory (NRAM) technology, with fabrication and testing of a 22nm NRAM memory switch.

Analyst: Mobile-phone memory set to explode

04/12/2006  April 12, 2006 - Average embedded memory density in mobile phones will increase by a factor of more than 40x from 2005-2010 as new utility and entertainment features demand more storage, according to iSuppli Corp.

Atom probe maker acquires competitor

04/12/2006  Imago Scientific Instruments Corp., a Madison, Wis., maker of atom probe tomography tools, announced on Tuesday that it has acquired Oxford nanoScience Ltd., a UK-based competitor, from Polaron plc. The deal, which was for a total of $4.35 million, includes $2.25 million in cash and the issue of $2.1 million in preferred stock.

Startup tips first MEMS oscillator samples

04/11/2006  April 11, 2006 - Silicon Valley startup SiTime Corp. is readying engineering samples of its first MEMS-based oscillator product lines, based on 200mm standard CMOS manufacturing processes.

Agilent Names President and CEO for Semiconductor Test Spin-off

04/11/2006  Palo Alto, CA — Agilent Technologies Inc. named Keith Barnes as president and CEO for its semiconductor test subsidiary, Verigy Pte. Ltd., effective May 1, 2006 (for more on Verigy, please click here). Agilent foresees Verigy's completion by October 31, 2006, which is the end of its fiscal year.

Silterra adds capacity, still pushing 95% utilization

04/11/2006  April 11, 2006 - Wafer fab Silterra Malaysia has increased production capacity by 20% to 33,500 wafer starts/month for its 0.13-micron copper processes and 0.18-0.16-micron processes.

Applied starts work on China site

04/11/2006  April 11, 2006 - Applied Materials Inc. has begun groundbreaking for a new global development center in Xi'an, China, to provide engineering and software support services to global customers across several time zones.

Samsung, Sony expanding JV to 8G LCDs

04/11/2006  April 11, 2006 - South Korea's Samsung Electronics Corp. and Japan's Sony Corp. plan to invest $2.0 billion for a new facility to produce 8G LCD panels at their existing JV in Tangjeong, South Korea.

Micron raises capex roof for 2006

04/11/2006  April 11, 2006 - Micron Technology posted mixed results in its fiscal 2Q06, helped by a big payment from flash memory partner Intel, and has raised its capex budget for the year.

BE Semi sees better demand, softer sales in 1Q

04/10/2006  April 10, 2006 - Demand for conventional leadframe and array connect assembly applications gave a hefty boost to new orders in 1Q06, according to equipment provider BE Semiconductor Industries NV, Drunen, The Netherlands.

Hitachi Chemical eyes China PCB film output

04/10/2006  April 10, 2006 - Hitachi Chemical Co. plans to build a new facility in Suzhou, China, to begin making photosensitive dry films used in fabricating printed circuit boards.

Sonics, CoWare Form SoC Platform Partnership

04/10/2006  Mountain View and San Jose, CA — System-on-chip (SoC) solutions supplier Sonics Inc. and platform-driven electronic system-level (ESL) design software and services supplier CoWare Inc. recently entered into a strategic agreement, in which CoWare will distribute SystemC language versions of Sonics' SMART Interconnects solutions.

"Oversized" Altis cutting costs, workforce

04/10/2006  April 10, 2006 - Facing increasing pressure particularly from Asian competition, Altis Semiconductor, the chipmaking JV of Infineon Technologies and IBM, said it will lay off 323 workers (about 15% of total workforce) in an effort to reduce its "oversized" operation.

Nanophase announces new application order

04/10/2006  Nanophase Technologies Inc., a developer of nanomaterials and advanced nanoengineered products, announced the initial order for a new application for industrial UV and antimicrobial protection for the transportation and marine markets.