09/21/2005  September 21, 2005 - Hitachi Ltd. has announced that it has developed technology that promises to significantly increase the data storage capacity of MRAM (magnetoresistive random access memory) devices, according to the Nikkei English News.

09/20/2005 

09/07/2005  September 7, 2005 - The Brazilian government has announced plans to establish a 990 acre science park to house a new domestic semiconductor industry, starting with a fab to produce high-voltage CMOS, bipolar, BiCMOS, and other processes by 2007.

08/31/2005  August 31, 2005 - Elpida Memory Inc. said yesterday its two largest shareholders, NEC Corp. and Hitachi Ltd., will sell part of their stakes in Elpida, a supplier of DRAM chips in Japan, during the current fiscal year to next March 31, reported Kyodo News International.

08/30/2005  August 30, 2005 - AMI Semiconductor has renewed its partnership with MOSIS, a prototype and low volume production IC fabrication service, to participate in the MOSIS multi-project wafer program and education program. These programs provide access to wafers for IC development, semiconductor prototyping, and test chips as an inexpensive method to prove out silicon to small businesses, start-ups, educational facilities, and other MOSIS customers.

08/23/2005  August 23, 2005 - Toshiba Corp. intends to raise its flash memory output to 150,000 units in terms of 300mm wafers in fiscal 2007, up 150% from the level to be reached next month, company sources said.

08/19/2005  A consortium of companies in the Semiconductor Industry Association announced the launch of the Nanoelectronics Research Initiative.

08/18/2005  Aug. 18, 2005 - Tessera Technologies Inc. has transferred its MicroBGA chip-scale packaging technology to the University of Alaska Fairbanks and to North Dakota State University. This licensing and transfer of technology is a part of the development of an advanced technology center on both campuses.

08/17/2005  August 17, 2005 - Engineers at Sematech's Advanced Materials Research Center (AMRC), Austin, TX, are investigating a nanoscale approach to metrology that will allow them to examine new semiconductor structures at the atomic level, and so prepare the way for next-generation electronics.

08/12/2005  Colorado Springs, Colo. — IC Interconnect (ICI), a wafer bumping service company, now offers lead-free wafer-bumping capabilities as a standard service offering in recognition of the EU's looming RoHS initiatives.

08/11/2005  August 11, 2005 - MOSAID Technologies Inc. and foundry UMC have announced that they are cooperating on the development of comprehensive double data rate (DDR)/DDR2 SDRAM memory controller semiconductor intellectual property solutions for UMC's 90nm and 130nm process geometries.

08/08/2005  August 8, 2005 - IBM has announced the availability of its fourth-generation silicon germanium (SiGe) bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS) foundry technology, 8HP. The company reports that the new 130nm technology is applicable to markets such as automobile safety systems; 60GHz WiFi chips for wireless networks; high-speed A/D and D/A converters; and more.

08/05/2005  August 5, 2005 - A new project, part of the FP6 program of the EU and coordinated by IMEC, is targeted at demonstrating the breakthrough concept of spin torque in a nanoscale microwave integrated oscillator, intended for wireless integrated-device applications.

08/04/2005  August 4, 2005 - Falling prices amid "tepid demand" pushed most DRAM companies into the red in 2Q05, but some companies are shining as signs begin to indicate a recovery may be underway, according to preliminary data from iSuppli Corp.

08/01/2005  Today’s consumer electronics demand higher performance from smaller form factors.

08/01/2005  Freescale Semiconductor Inc. (www.freescale.com) has embarked on a memory technology-magnetic tunnel-junction random access memory, or MRAM-that is proving to have implications for manufacturing in Freescale’s own cleanrooms.

08/01/2005  Micro and nano address matter, devices, and products on a scale where the phenomena differ from traditional science and engineering.

07/27/2005  July 27, 2005 - Elpida Memory Inc., a Japanese supplier of DRAM, has announced that it has reached an agreement with Advantest, Kingston Technology, and Powertech Technology on forming a new start-up company that will serve as reportedly the world's largest wafer testing service. The new company, to be called Tera Probe, is expected to begin operations on October 1.

07/25/2005  July 25, 2005 - IMEC has developed a 90nm low-cost RF-CMOS platform targeting applications in the 5-24GHz range, according to IMEC's July newsletter on this paper, which was presented at the 2005 VLSI Conference.

07/21/2005  The U.S. currency experienced a boost since STMicroelectronics outlined its restructuring strategy in June, but its overall weakness compared to the euro is forcing ST and other companies to engage in a difficult balancing act.