06/29/2006  Data I/O and Spansion announced their collaboration in sales, marketing, and systems engineering to promote the use of automated Flash memory programming in wireless, consumer, and automotive products. Spansion will assume rights to licensing Data I/O software related to device programming, conduct cooperative engineering development and participate in customer communications and field support.

06/29/2006  June 29, 2006 - Elpida Memory Inc. says it will issue 30 million new shares to raise roughly 141 billion yen (US $1.22 billion) to help finance planned expansion at its 300mm DRAM facility in Hiroshima Prefecture.

06/27/2006  IBM and the Georgia Institute of Technology announced production of a prototype chip that breaks the 500 GHz operating frequency record. Research was supported by IBM, NASA, and the Georgia Electronic Design Center (GEDC), where it was carried out on a specialized high-frequency test system.

06/27/2006  June 27, 2006 - Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. says it has successfully developed a 2GB version of its OneNAND flash memory device using 60nm process technologies, increasing write speeds by more than 80% vs. its 1GB version and exceeding that of NAND flash.

06/23/2006  North American-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers posted $1.65B in orders in May 2006 with a book-to-bill ratio of 1.12, according to SEMI's May 2006 Book-to-Bill Report. Average worldwide bookings in May 2006 equaled $1.65B, up three percent from last month and 62% from May 2005.

06/22/2006  June 22, 2006 - A combination of near-term excess capacity additions particularly for NAND flash, relatively stable demand, and peaking fab capacity utilization levels will result in a decline in semiconductor manufacturing equipment orders in the next quarter, although the slowdown won't be quite as dramatic as some fear, according to a new analyst report.

06/22/2006  June 22, 2006 - The World Trade Organization (WTO) is stepping in to settle a dispute between Japan and South Korea over tariffs levied on DRAM exports, after the two sides could not resolve the situation on their own.

06/21/2006  June 21, 2006 - Expectations of nearly 40% growth this year in the portable media player (PMP) market -- most notably thanks to an upgrade of Apple's still-wildly popular iPod -- will boost already hot demand for NAND flash memory, and could help out the DRAM segment as well, according to a new report from Gartner Inc.

06/19/2006  by Fran

06/19/2006  June 19, 2006 - NEC Electronics and Mosys Inc., are touting a win for Nintendo's new Wii video game console, which uses embedded memory technologies from the two firms.

06/16/2006  June 16, 2006 - Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc. (TAEC) and parent company Toshiba Corp. have developed a multichip package (MCP) memory that incorporates a GB-class NAND flash memory and an SD card interface controller along with standard MCP memories.

06/16/2006  June 16, 2006 - Mosaid Technologies, Ottawa, Canada, and Infineon Technologies and memory spinoff Qimonda AG, have settled a patent dispute involving two sets of litigation in the US.

06/16/2006  June 16, 2006 - At this recent Symposium on VLSI Technology, SEMATECH engineers reviewed technical details on metal electrode materials that can be used to build low-threshold-voltage (Vt) nMOS transistors with high-k dielectric, and discussed a new approach for creating advanced, low-standby-power transistors for the 45nm technology generation.

06/16/2006  June 16, 2006 - Spansion Inc., the former flash JV of AMD and Fujitsu, reportedly will invest $1.2 billion over the next three years to build a new 300mm production line at its plant in northern Japan's Fukushima Prefecture.

06/15/2006  June 15, 2006 - European research consortium IMEC says it has achieved "several breakthroughs" on Ni-based fully silicided (FUSI) gates, achieving "excellent" low-power and high-performance specifications that meet ITRS requirements for use in 45nm-process manufacturing. Results of IMEC's work with FUSI were presented at the 2006 VLSI Symposium.

06/14/2006  June 13, 2006 - Qimonda, the carved-out memory chip arm of Infineon Technologies, said it has won the business to supply graphics RAM for Microsoft's Xbox 360 game console.

06/13/2006  The 9th annual International Interconnect Technology Conference again brought together hundreds of the world's leading semiconductor manufacturers, equipment and materials suppliers, and research centers for three days of comparing notes and competing for bragging rights. Among the highlights: detailed information on likely 45nm dual-damascene Cu/porous-low-k integration, and using dielectric "air-gap" large structured pores as a comparable and perhaps less expensive manufacturing alternative.

06/12/2006  June 12, 2006 - South Korea's Dongbu Electronics says it has completed development of a NOR flash memory process with Taiwan's Eon Silicon Solution Inc. using 0.13-micron process technology on 200mm wafers. Volume production is expected to begin in 3Q06, ramping to 3000 wafers/month in 2007.

06/12/2006  June 12, 2006 - Citing stronger than expected growth in several key end-markets -- notably cell phones -- the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) has brightened its semiannual forecast for the semiconductor industry, following a similar recent upgrade from the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics group (WSTS).

06/12/2006  June 12, 2006 - NEC Electronics America Inc., Santa Clara, CA, says it has developed 55nm standard CMOS process technology (dubbed "UX7LS) to be used with next-generation, ultralow-power consumption systems-on-chips (SoC), as well as the company's CMOS-compatible DRAM technology.