07/18/2007  Cleaning wafers for flip-chip applications represents a growing area for Zurich, Switzerland-based SEZ, says Kurt Lachenbucher, executive VP and CEO. Though it's a niche market, it is an increasingly important area (~20% growth regularly), he explained. At the 45nm and 32nm technology nodes, particle issues become so critical that single-wafer cleaning can improve semiconductor yields. Cleaning can damage the wafer surface; therefore, methods that prevent damage grow in importance.

07/18/2007  In a Tuesday analyst/press event at SEMICON West, Novellus execs discussed the company's soft-yet-optimistic 2Q07 results, why copper is already king among memory firms, and why they see empty economic promises in the solar market

07/18/2007  July 17, 2007 - In a Tuesday analyst/press event at SEMICON West, Novellus Systems Inc. said its 2Q07 profits rose roughly 9% to $57.3M -- its slowest in four quarters -- on ~5% higher revenues of $416.3M, though slightly better than expected. Orders evaporated, though, dropping >19% Q-Q TO $332.2M, with a similar slide predicted for 3Q (shipments, meanwhile, rose ~12% Q-Q to $436.4M).

07/17/2007  Days before Semicon West, WaferNEWS caught up with Christopher Moore, president/CEO of Advanced Metrology Systems (AMS), nee Philips AMS, to chat about how life is different nine months after taking the private equity route.

07/17/2007  What happens when you put a design software vendor, a chip manufacturer, and a photomask maker all at one table and ask them to talk about yield? Not surprisingly, the software vendor finds himself on the hot seat.

07/16/2007  July 16, 2007 - Rudolph Technologies Inc. is unveiling two metrology tools at SEMICON West, targeting DRAM, multi-surface macroinspection, as well as data analysis system to capture and analyze process performance information.

07/16/2007  targeting compact fluorescent lam (CFL) assemblies — combines a high-side 625-V gate-driver circuit, two 550-V MOSFETs, a frequency-control circuit, and a shunt regulator in an 8-DIP system-in-package (SiP).

07/16/2007  July 16, 2007 - Synopsys Inc. has agreed to purchase certain of Mosaid Technologies Inc.'s semiconductor IP assets, consisting mainly of DDR memory controllers and phase-locked loop product families, for $15 million in cash, to bolster its DesignWare IP portfolio of standards-based connectivity IP.

07/13/2007  July 13, 2007 - After posting a Samsung Electronics posted a six-year low in fiscal-year profits in 2Q07, but the company indicated it actually could exceed its 2007 capex plans, and maybe increase 2008 capex as well.

07/12/2007  July 12, 2007 - Qimonda AG says it has started sampling ultralow-power 512Mbit DRAM devices for mobile applications, using a 75nm low-power trench technology, that consume just 20% of power as equivalent-density standard DRAMs. Target end-devices include smart/feature phones, portable GPS, digital cameras, and MP3 players.

07/11/2007  July 11, 2007 - Vesta Technology Inc. and SEMATECH's Advanced Technology Development Facility (ATDF) say they are touting a pair of technology achievements: a nondamaging process that allows deposition of plasma-enhanced TiN films at 30% lower temperatures than conventional methods, and a "super high-k" offering nearly twice the dielectric constant than HfO₂- and ZrO₂-based films.

07/11/2007  July 11, 2007 - Following its plan to carve out its flash memory business in a JV with Intel, STMicroelectronics says it will shut down three of its manufacturing locations over the next two years, resulting in about 4000 employee layoffs.

07/10/2007  As another SEMICON West opens, IMEC's experts discussed with WaferNEWS what they see are they major keys to the future of semiconductor industry: exploring new markets, bringing finFETs into manufacturing, mastering 3D integration, and addressing sub-32nm low-k deposition challenges.

07/10/2007  July 10, 2007 - PULLNANO, a European Commission-sponsored research project, says it has developed a functional demo of a CMOS SRAM built with 32nm design rules.

07/10/2007  Nantero, Inc. says it is working with HP to explore the use of HP inkjet technology and Nantero's carbon nanotube formulation to create flexible electronics products and develop low-cost printable memory applications.

07/10/2007  Grandis, Inc. has received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop and commercialize spin-transfer torque random-access memory (STT-RAM). STT-RAM is a next-generation non-volatile technology designed to enable excellent scalability and unlimited endurance with low power and fast read/write capability.

07/06/2007  July 7, 2007 - DRAM price plunges will push Powerchip Semiconductor Corp. into the red in 2Q07 with a $91-$106 million loss, but revenues are expected to be better than 1Q, and losses should ease in the next few months as the company moves to 70nm process technologies, according to the Taiwan Economic News.

07/06/2007  EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW This month's edition of Chip Forensics by analyst Dick James delves into Flash technology, including the Samsung K9F2G08U0M 2-Gb single-level cell (SLC) Flash.

07/05/2007  July 5, 2007 - UMC and Belgian firm Melexis say they are shipping ICs using 0.18-micron processes with embedded flash memory (eFlash process and eFlash macro) to auto-module producers for assembly, targeting applications such as automotive sensors.

07/03/2007  July 3, 2007 - In a teardown analysis of Apple's iPhone, iSuppli Corp. finds several surprises and newcomers to the device component party, including Infineon, National, and Balda. But the big winner may be a Korean memory giant.