02/04/2008  by James Montgomery, News Editor, Solid State Technology
Feb. 4, 2008 - In war, most battles end with winners and losers, though in some cases the difference might be relative. So it was with the DRAM market during and at the end of 2007, according to data from iSuppli and Gartner. And unless the DRAM makers get their act together, a decade from now they could be faced with collective $100B investment requirements just to maintain growth trends.

02/04/2008  The Multicore DA100 dispensing grade die attach solder paste dissipates the heat in power semiconductor devices such as rectifiers, power transistors, amplifiers, voltage regulators and other automotive and consumer packages. The paste also provides ease of removal during cleaning processes, low voiding, ease of use, and cost efficiency.

02/04/2008  Feb. 4, 2008 - Having tallied the top semiconductor manufacturers' final reporting and projections for 2008, Gartner has come to a sobering conclusion: its initial forecast of an upcoming spending slowdown, cast just six weeks ago, wasn't nearly slow enough.

02/04/2008  ; Infineon Technologies has announced it is shipping in volume RF switches that are manufactured in a CMOS-based process on silicon wafers and offer the equivalent performance of RF switches manufactured in gallium arsenide (GaAs) process technology. Infineon went on to say that, previously, CMOS-based RF switches had to be manufactured on dedicated and more expensive sapphire wafers to reach the performance of GaAs switches.

02/03/2008  Feb. 2, 2008 - Panasonic/Matsushita Electric Industrial and Samsung Electronics have settled patent infringement lawsuits in the US and Japan, and signed 10-year cross-licensing agreements to use the DRAM and other semiconductor technologies.

02/02/2008  Feb. 2, 2008 - Elpida Memory is significantly slowing its production of 65nm products and shifting its gaze to 50nm work ahead of schedule, anticipating tighter DRAM supplies as some firms get squeezed out of the market, according to an interview with the Nikkei Business Daily.

02/02/2008  Feb. 2, 2008 - Intel and Micron say they have jointly developed (through their "IM Flash" JV) a NAND flash chip that reads/writes data 5x faster than conventional NAND flash chips. Samples are now at OEMs and controller manufacturers, with mass production slated for 2H08.

02/01/2008  Feb. 1, 2008 - Global sales of semiconductors took their typical seasonal dip in December following their prior-months ramp-up for the holiday season, and for the full year chip sales managed to squeak out 2.5% growth, according to the latest data from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).

02/01/2008  Acceleware Corp. and Synopsys Inc. have released a new product that, according to the companies, enables up to 20-times faster electromagnetic simulation of optoelectronic devices such as micro image sensors based on CMOS.

02/01/2008  ; Electro Scientific Industries Inc., a provider of photonic and laser systems for micro-engineering applications, regrets to announce the passing of former senior VP Edward J. Swenson on January 28. He began his tenure with ESI in 1961, and worked his way up the chain of command throughout the years from applications engineer, earning numerous patents along the way.

02/01/2008  Feb. 1, 2008 - Within discussions about its 4Q07 results and 2008 outlook, SMIC indicated it will set up a new independent unit in Shenzhen to run new 200mm-300mm lines, the latter utilizing 45nm process technology recently licensed from IBM, and both drawing on significant support from the municipal government.

01/31/2008  January 29, 2008 -- LEUVEN, BELGIUM, AND HSINCHU, TAIWAN -- Powerchip Semiconductor Corporation, a leading Taiwan-based memory semiconductor supplier offering dynamic random access memory chips and flash memory chips, has entered into a partnership with IMEC, Europe's leading independent nanoelectronics research center, to perform research and development for the sub-32 nm memory process generations.

01/28/2008  Jan. 28, 2008 - Nanya and Inotera both forecast a global recovery in DRAM gaining steam by 2Q08 that will lead to tighter supplies of memory chips in the second half of the year, according to local press reports.

01/23/2008  Nanochip Inc., a developer of advanced MEMS silicon data storage chips, has completed a $14 million financing round that will enable the company to complete development of its first prototypes this year, and begin design verification and sampling in 2009.

01/22/2008  An insightful analysis of what chipmakers need to do to thrive in a period of "profitless prosperity" by Steve Newberry, president and CEO of Lam Research, set the stage for a spirited Wall Street panel at the Industry Strategy Symposium at Half Moon Bay, CA (Jan. 16).

01/21/2008  Jan. 21, 2008 - STMicroelectronics has made its 45nm CMOS process available for prototyping via French brokerage service CMP to academia, R&D labs, and companies for multiproject wafer services, and has added its 65nm CMOS SOI process for academia.

01/18/2008  Jan. 18, 2008 - Taiwan DRAM manufacturers bleeding red ink are asking for a break from their chip assemblers, who still are enjoying profitability despite the current market softness, notes a report in the Taiwan Economic News.

01/18/2008  Jan. 17. 2008 - Analysts and investors voted with their feet after the industry's bellwether company talked about its 4Q07 results, and outlook for 1Q08 and FY08. But what's the takeaway message for the rest of the semiconductor industry and its suppliers?

01/18/2008  Jan. 17, 2008 - As it weathers softness in the memory markets and domestic allegations of executive mismanagement and slush-fund coverups, Samsung Electronics is increasingly worried about a future showdown with rapidly progressing Japanese rivals, according to a local press report.

01/18/2008  Jan. 17, 2008 - The weak memory market continued to weigh on Samsung's bottom line in 4Q, with sales declines in its semiconductor business and plunging profits, and oversupplies and price pressures are seen continuing through 1H08.