03/21/2006 This July, delegates to an international conference will meet in Geneva, Switzerland, to consider recommendations aimed at improving the risk governance of nanotechnology.
03/20/2006 March 20, 2006 - Elpida Memory Inc. plans to boost production of DRAM chips used in cell phones by year's end to nearly half its total output, in an effort to tap a high-growth market while minimizing its PC market exposure.
03/20/2006 March 20, 2006 - 2005 may have been a soft year for semiconductor sales, but the perennial top three suppliers -- Intel, Samsung, and Texas Instruments Inc. -- all beat the industry's overall growth to solidify their respective spots, according to final 2005 rankings from iSuppli Corp.
03/20/2006 North Billerica, MA — BTU International has completed the previously announced acquisition of Radiant Technology Corp. (RTC)'s product lines, trademarks, and other related assets. RTC supplies near-infrared furnaces, ovens, and dryers for the solar energy, microelectronics, and assembly technology industries.
03/20/2006 Wake Forest University Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials has been selected to receive a $5 million Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program grant from the Department of Defense to develop new negative index of refraction materials that have potential for a range of uses in military and civilian life.
03/20/2006 BASF, the worldÂ’s largest chemical company, is devoting $221 million to nanotechnology research and development between 2006 and 2008. The German corporation is opening up a new nanotech center in Singapore this year as well.
03/17/2006 Denver, CO — Custom Interconnects, a key technology holding of TWP, LLC, has relocated from Cranford, NJ to Denver, CO, effective immediately. The move will not affect corporate structure or practices.
03/17/2006 March 17, 2006 - Honeywell Electronic Materials has developed a new screen printable phase-change material to give chipmakers more flexibility in applying the heat-conducting materials during the semiconductor packaging process.
03/17/2006 San Jose, CA — On a 3-month average basis, North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.30 billion in orders in February 2006 and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.01, according to SEMI's February 2006 Book-to-Bill Report.
03/17/2006 March 17, 2006 - Semiconductor industry capital spending was expected to be flat to slightly up in 2006, but unexpectedly strong investments from chipmakers have caused another analyst firm to raise its capex forecasts to 10% growth in 2006.
03/17/2006 Vicki Colvin has a question for colleagues who study nanoparticles and how they may affect people and the environment. "Exactly what do you mean by size?"
03/16/2006 March 16, 2006 - Demand for chips used in handsets and LCD displays has maxed out older-process capacity at top foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), causing the foundry to use up other lines and refer some orders to affiliate Vanguard Semiconductor International Corp.
03/16/2006 March 16, 2006 - Barely a month after it acquired scatterometry pioneer Accent Optical Technologies Inc. for roughly $80 million, Nanometrics Inc., Milpitas, CA, is back at it again, snapping up overlay metrology firm Soluris Inc. for $7.0 million in cash.
03/16/2006 Newport, Wales — Surface Technology Systems plc (STS) recently received multiple orders for its cluster tools from a supplier of components for wireless communications, reportedly totaling £1M Sterling. STS also has installed multiple cluster tools at the customer's North American production facility over the past 6 years, which include inductively couple plasma (ICP) sources for etching via holes through GaAs wafers.
