10/29/2007  October 29, 2007 - Applied Materials Inc. has opened its SunFab Technology Center in Alzenau, Germany, to serve as the company's principal solar R&D center, focusing on boosting module conversion efficiency and lowering production costs.

10/18/2007  October 18, 2007 - Vacuum tool supplier Edwards (nee BOC Edwards) says it has sold multiple exhaust abatement (hot oxidation) systems to Advent Solar for an undisclosed amount, to abate PECVD exhaust gases during solar cell manufacturing at Advent's plant in Albuquerque, NM. The tools already have started shipping.

09/19/2007  September 19, 2007 - Sales of TFT-LCD array processing equipment are stuck in the mud this year, with all the top firms expected to suffer big declines from a year ago, according to data from DisplaySearch.

09/17/2007  September 17, 2007 - AU Optronics shipped 7.6 million thin-film transistor/flat-panel displays (TFT-LCD) in August, exceeding SEC and LPL to become the first Taiwanese firm to unseat Korean suppliers, according to data from DisplaySearch.

08/16/2007  August 15, 2007 - Applied Materials said fiscal 3Q07 profits slid about 7.5% to $473.5M on almost-flat sales of $2.56B, which was better than analysts expected -- though the firm cast some cloudy doubt on prospects for business through the rest of this year, particularly foundry spending that has not rebounded as expected.

08/01/2007  August 1, 2007 - Photronics Inc. says 3Q07 sales will be 6%-14% below previous projections to a range of $101-$103 million, due to a shortfall in photomask orders from FPD and European semiconductor customers.

07/19/2007  July 18, 2007

07/18/2007  July 18, 2007 - Novellus Systems Inc. has launched the VECTOR Extreme plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system and the INOVA NExT with HCM IONX ionized physical vapor deposition (PVD) source at SEMICON West.

07/13/2007  July 13, 2007 - Days after appointing a new CEO and president, Israeli metrology firm Tevet Process Control Technologies Ltd. says it has received $2.75 million in new financing, including support from the VC arm of customer Intel Corp.

07/11/2007  July 11, 2007 - Weeks after securing $4 million in Series A funding and a government SBIR research grant, Semprius Inc., a company developing transfer printing technology for manufacturing semiconductor devices, says it's received a separate "strategic investment" from Applied Ventures, LLC, the VC arm of Applied Materials Inc.

06/04/2007  June 4, 2007 - Applied Materials Inc. has launched an upgraded deposition system to provide advanced barrier low-k technology for 45nm and 32nm chip manufacturing processes.

05/24/2007  The U.S. Display Consortium (USDC) appointed Mark A. Hartney, Ph.D., as chief technical officer (CTO), responsible for directing the partnership's R&D and technical programs in the flat panel display (FPD) industry. Bob Pinnel, Ph.D., will retire from the post, after serving as CTO since USDC's inception in 1993.

05/17/2007  May 16, 2007 - Applied Materials was the biggest supplier of equipment to flat-panel display manufacturers in 2006 with just under $1 billion in sales, after seeing its business grow 24%-30% each of the last two years, according to recent rankings from VLSI Research Inc.

05/07/2007  May 7, 2007 - In the latest legal wrangling between Canon Inc. and Nano-Proprietary Inc., an Austin, TX jury has dismissed fraud claims brought against Canon and all claims against Canon USA, ruling that the US firm had sustained no damages. A previous ruling concerning breach of contract is still in place, though.

05/03/2007  May 3, 2007 - Some equipment suppliers to Taiwanese makers of thin-film transistor liquid-crystal displays (TFT-LCD) are looking to find even greener pastures in the latest hot market: solar cell manufacturing, notes the Taiwan Economic News.

04/16/2007  April 16, 2007 - Semprius Inc., a company developing transfer printing technology for manufacturing semiconductor devices, has closed a $4.1 million round of Series A venture funding

04/09/2007  Tim Archer, SVP of Novellus' dielectrics business group, tells WaferNEWS how the company's latest 300mm wafer Vector PECVD tool increases system throughput >10% for all films, and up to 50% for ultra-thin films through use of a thermal soak.

04/06/2007  Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, says its latest research shows impressive growth for the Finnish nanotechnology sector. The number of Finnish companies active in nanotechnology has more than doubled from 61 to 134 in just two years. More than 40 of these companies already have commercial products based on nanotechnology.

03/15/2007  By Phil LoPiccolo, Editor-in-Chief

The growing consumer appetite for large-area flat-panel displays (FPDs) -- particularly for TVs, but also for notebook computers and PC monitors -- presents enormous opportunities for FPD makers. But to meet demand they must first overcome some major technological and manufacturing hurdles, according to Jyh Chau Wang, VP of Taiwanese LCD supplier Chi Mei Optoelectronics, speaking at the recent Industry Strategy Symposium.

02/23/2007  February 23, 2007 - Nano-Proprietary Inc., an Austin, TX-based firm, says a US District Judge has granted its motion for summary judgment and was entitled to terminate its license with Canon Inc., regarding use of nanotechnology with potential application in displays.