05/08/2008  May 8, 2008 - Hynix Semiconductor and ProMOS Technologies have agreed to a partnership that will allow access to the Korean chipmaker's 50nm-node DRAM stack process technology, and give Hynix access to more 300mm capacity and an 8%-10% ownership stake in the Taiwan memory firm.

05/07/2008  by Ed Korczynski, Senior Technical Editor, Solid State Technology
May 7, 2008 - Applied Materials product manager Paul Miller tells WaferNEWS about the inner workings of the company's new Inflexion edge polishing system that uses mechanical abrasion for removing defects on the wafer edge, touting 2× faster throughput than "competing" tools and an inherently "green" process.

05/02/2008  May 2, 2008 - Despite throwing its market-leading weight around by hiking production as competitors retrench, even mighty Samsung couldn't turn a profit in the DRAM market during a tough 1Q08, according to data from iSuppli.

05/02/2008  May 1, 2008 -- /PRNewswire/ -- EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA -- QSV Biologics, Ltd. has been awarded a cGMP manufacturing contract for a recombinant protein under development by Pfizer, Inc.

05/01/2008  May 1, 2008 - The global semiconductor market is building strength, according to latest industry sales figures, but the SIA admits it's hard to tell because of the weak memory sector.

05/01/2008  Leadframe-based packages accounted for over 70% of the 147 billion IC packages produced in 2007.

05/01/2008  Flash memory has become a fundamental building block in modern electronic systems.

04/29/2008  Apr. 29, 2008 - IBM and Spansion have signed a seven-year patent cross-licensing agreement that is expected to widen Spansion's reach into flash memory design and manufacturing, and support both companies' end-market interests in China.

04/29/2008  Apr. 29, 2008 - IBM and Matheson Tri-Gas, a subsidiary of Japan's Taiyo Nippon Sanso, have signed a four-year deal to jointly develop new high-purity gases and delivery systems for use in semiconductor manufacturing starting at the 32nm node.

04/26/2008  Apr. 25, 2008 - Industry analysis firm iSuppli is upgrading its rating of near-term DRAM market conditions to "neutral," up from a "negative" assessment back in November, saying future conditions look to be positive and indications suggest "the worst is over for DRAM suppliers" -- but the road back to market balance and profitability will still be bumpy in the near term.

04/25/2008  Apr. 25, 2008 - Japan's Elpida Memory plans to buy an ownership stake in 2nd-tier firm ProMOS Technologies through a private placement, even as it explores a DRAM JV with Qimonda and an existing far-reaching JV with regional rival Powerchip Semiconductor, according to local reports.

04/25/2008  Apr. 25, 2008 - Germany's Qimonda AG and Japan's Elpida Memory have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop DRAM chips, targeting 40nm processes by 2010 and subsequently scaling to 30nm.

04/24/2008  Colibrys, supplier of MEMS motion sensors, has appointed Don Stoops to the role of VP, Global Operations. Colibrys is a world-leading supplier of standard and semi-custom MEMS-based motion sensors to the harsh-environment (military, aerospace and energy) and safety critical (industrial and instrumentation) applications.

04/23/2008  Apr. 23, 2008 - Taiwan's Macronix plans to push into NOR flash for handsets within the next three years, placing it in direct competition with Spansion and Numonyx, according to a local report.

04/23/2008  Apr. 23, 2008 - A pending memory recovery later this year and more migrations to smaller technology nodes will spur another round of immersion tool orders for ASML, according to an analysis from FBR Research.

04/22/2008  Apr. 22, 2008 - Renesas Technology and European R&D consortia IMEC have entered into a strategic research collaboration to develop 45nm RF transceivers for Gbit/sec cognitive radios, building on previous work with 130nm RF transceiver (results published at last year's ISSCC).

04/22/2008  Apr. 22, 2008 - Hynix Semiconductor has made an investment in Taiwan's design house Phison Electronics in a bid to prop up its NAND flash memory business, according to local reports.

04/22/2008  April 22, 2008 - Qimonda AG reported a big loss in its fiscal 2Q08, indicating it is still mired in "extremely difficult market conditions," and laid out further cost reduction plans, including some changes to its technology partnerships.

04/21/2008  April 21, 2008 - Micron Technology and Taiwan's Nanya Technology have formalized a recently announced partnership to create a new DRAM JV. An analyst tells WaferNEWS who should be most worried and why.

04/11/2008  Apr. 11, 2008 - Image sensor sales are poised to return to growth in 2008 after a "rare" off year in 2007, rising about 10% to a record ~$7.6B, according to a new report from IC Insights.