05/05/2005  May 5, 2005 - BOC Edwards announced yesterday it has been selected to supply a majority of the vacuum pump systems for LG.Philips LCD Plant 7, currently under construction in Paju, Korea.

04/01/2005  April 1, 2005 - International DisplayWorks Inc., a designer and manufacturer of liquid crystal displays (LCDs), modules and assemblies, has announced an agreement to purchase all the outstanding stock of Three-Five System's LCD manufacturing facility and business in Beijing, China. Closing of the transaction, which is subject to normal conditions, is expected to occur within two weeks.

03/28/2005  March 28, 2005 - Hitachi Ltd. has reached an official agreement with Fujitsu Limited concerning Fujitsu Hitachi Plasma Display Limited (FHP), a joint venture of the two companies, in accordance with a basic agreement signed on February 2. Under the agreement, both companies will provide financial assistance to FHP and Hitachi will acquire some of Fujitsu's shareholding in FHP and Fujitsu patents relating to plasma display panel (PDP) technology.

03/22/2005  March 22, 2005 - Photronics Inc. has announced plans to expand its flat panel display (FPD) mask capacity through the construction of a state-of-the-art FPD mask fabrication facility in Taichung, Taiwan. This new 10,100 sq. m. facility will support Taiwan's rapidly expanding FPD fabrication industry.

02/15/2005  Back in 1992 a team of researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel was looking for a technology to convert solar energy into electricity. What they found instead was a substance that was an excellent lubricant, had great shock absorbing powers, and was an efficient semiconductor. Today, a U.S.-Israeli startup, ApNano Materials, is commercializing that serendipitous discovery.

01/28/2005 

01/24/2005  (January 24, 2005) Binghamton, N.Y., and San Jose, Calif. — Binghamton University and the U.S. Display Consortium (USDC) announce that the University has been awarded a competitively bid contract from the USDC to establish and operate the Center for Advanced Microelectronics Manufacturing (CAMM).

01/13/2005  January 13, 2005 - Samsung Electronics has announced that it has developed the largest 5-inch transmissive plastic TFT-LCD display for portable applications such as mobile phones and notebook computers. The display delivers qSVGA resolution with 100 pixels/inch.

01/12/2005  (January 12, 2005) Half Moon Bay, Calif. — The semiconductor industry will overcome the hurdle of the next two technology nodes, but the long list of required new materials will need to be shortened to make it economically viable, according to speakers on the second day of SEMI ISS 2005.

11/24/2004  (November 24, 2004) Hsinchu, Taiwan—Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) announces that volume production is available for its 0.18-micron process technology with 40-V capability. The high-voltage process will allow designers to produce single-chip TFT LCD drivers for portable applications that reduce chip count and save space and power.

11/24/2004  November 24, 2004 - Asyst Technologies Inc. has announced that Asyst Shinko, Inc. (ASI), the company's 51%-owned joint venture with Shinko Electric Co. Ltd. of Japan, has resolved the customer contract dispute referenced in the company's press release of Nov. 3, 2004.

11/11/2004  November 11, 2004 - Air Products and Air Liquide have signed a long-term contract with Beijing BOE Optoelectronics Technology Co. Ltd. to supply bulk gases to its newest TFT-LCD manufacturing facility in the Beijing Economic Technological Development Area (BDA).

11/10/2004  November 10, 2004 - BOC Edwards has announced it is making major investments in 7 gas plant facilities to ensure bulk gas supply to 9 new semiconductor and FPD manufacturing fabs under construction, said the company. These pave the way for multiple supply contracts and are being developed as part of a US$75 million investment with BOC's JV partner, BOC Lienhwa Industrial Gases Company Ltd (BOCLH).

11/08/2004  November 8, 2004 - LG Electronics will equip 30% of its liquid-crystal display (LCD) televisions with Taiwan-made panels this year and is planning to team up with Taiwanese suppliers to produce the TVs next year, according to the South Korea electronic giant's executives, said the China Economic News Service.

11/01/2004  November 1, 2004 - ASM International NV, Bilthoven, The Netherlands, has developed a new process that enables porous low-k insulator materials in copper interconnects for 65nm devices.

10/22/2004  October 22, 2004 - In September, consumer electronics shipments in Japan grew 7.6% from a year before to 200.6 billion yen (US$1.8 billion), up for the 10th consecutive month, an industry group said Thursday, according to Jiji Press Ltd.

10/15/2004  October 15, 2004 - Following announcement of its equity position in AUECC (Asia Union Electronic Chemical Corp.), BOC Edwards has said that AUECC is moving forward with plans to supply wet process chemicals to the electronics manufacturing industry in China, and has formed an equity joint venture with Shanghai Huayi (Group) Co. The new venture is called Shanghai Huayi Microelectronic Material Co. Ltd.

09/24/2004  September 24, 2004 - LG.Philips LCD Co. Ltd. has announced that its new sixth-generation TFT-LCD fabrication plant, "P6," in Gumi, South Korea, began mass production last month. The plant will produce TFT-LCDs (thin-film transistor liquid crystal displays) for large- and wide-screen LCD TVs and desktop monitors.

09/09/2004  Wireless communications firm Qualcomm Inc. announced plans Thursday to acquire Iridigm Display Corp., a MEMS-based, flat panel display maker. Qualcomm, which originally invested in Iridigm in 2002 and followed up in July of this year, said it would pay about $170 million for the 86 percent of Iridigm it does not own.

08/09/2004  August 9, 2004 - Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has unveiled what it calls a world's first: a 2.6-in. TFT-LCD with 300ppi (pixels/inch) image quality, built on amorphous silicon (a-Si) rather than polycristalline silicon.