10/17/2006  October 17, 2006 - ASML Holding NV says it has received the first order from an unidentified customer for a pre-production EUV system, following shipments of two alpha tools earlier this year to IMEC and Albany Nanotech.

10/12/2006  October 12, 2006 - With the exception of two technology sectors, the overall market for semiconductor manufacturing equipment should be flat in 2007, as "enormous quantities" of chipmaking tools ordered in recent months is absorbed and new orders have slowed dramatically, according to analyst firm The Information Network.

10/10/2006  The special Friday session of BACUS '06, organized by Bob Naber of Cadence, addressed the question of industry progress and readiness for DFM, and discussed the remaining challenges as well as proposed solutions. Mark Mason of Texas Instruments pointed out that "DFM is a journey, not a destination," and worried that management did not yet understand how hard it was going to be.

10/10/2006  October 10, 2006 - Nikon Corp. and Brion Technologies Inc. are partnering to combine Brion's high-performance computational lithography technology with Nikon's high-NA immersion equipment, to deliver "lithography-enabled DFM applications."

10/06/2006  October 6, 2006 - ASM International NV directors say they have decided to keep the company intact with both its frontend and backend business, and will concentrate on restoring its frontend business to profitability, negating a proposal from shareholders earlier this year calling for a split of the company's frontend and backend operations.

10/06/2006  John E. Denzel has resigned as president and chief operating officer of Ultratech Inc. Arthur W. Zafiropoulo, the firm's chairman and chief executive officer, has assumed the responsibilities previously performed by Denzel.

10/05/2006  A team of engineers and technicians at International SEMATECH North have successfully used 193 nm immersion technology to pattern features narrower than 45 nm half-pitch in multiple orientations simultaneously.

10/04/2006  October 4, 2006 - Researchers at SEMATECH North in Albany, NY, claim to have successfully patterned features narrower than 45nm (half-pitch) in multiple orientations using 193nm immersion lithography and azimuthal polarization, which allows for aggressive imaging of arbitrary circuit features beyond simple line-and-space test patterns.

10/03/2006  Though growing at just half the rate of the semiconductor industry, the long-suffering maskmaking industry is presently in fine shape, according to experts at the 26_th Annual BACUS Symposium on Photomask Technology in Monterey, CA, Sept. 18-22. Average yields are quite high, and most obvious failure modes are being successfully addressed. EUV maskmaking technology continues to improve, while high-index fluids and double processing technology still present a lot of challenges.

10/03/2006  After leading much of IBM's technology development over a multidecade career, Walter Lange recently joined common platform alliance partner Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing. In an exclusive interview with WaferNEWS during the recent Chartered Technology Forum (Sept. 28), Lange offered frank and insightful comments on Chartered's R&D strategy and its manufacturing goals, and some amusing stories of what it takes to prove a new technology really works.

10/02/2006  October 2, 2006 - Cadence Design Systems Inc. has announced what it calls a "lithography-aware" design flow that links resolution-enhancement technologies (RET) with physical design and verification.

10/01/2006  It was after production units started shipping that the contamination problems cropped up, says Kimberly Subrahmanyan, engineering director for the semiconductor link processing group at Electro Scientific Industries, Inc.

09/25/2006  Synopsys, Inc., a maker of semiconductor design software, and Nikon Corp., a supplier of lithography equipment for microelectronics manufacturing announced that they are collaborating on the development and delivery of advanced lithography software models and DFM enabled lithography manufacturing solutions for 45 nm and below.

09/20/2006  September 20, 2006 - Nikon Corp. and Synopsys Inc. are collaborating to develop "manufacturing-aware" optical proximity correction (OPC) and resolution enhancement technology (RET) lithography simulation models for 45nm-and below semiconductor process technologies.

09/19/2006  Ultratech, Inc., introduced two tools, built on the Unity Platform, that offer lithography solutions for cost-effective manufacturing.

09/19/2006  September 19, 2006 - SEMATECH and its manufacturing-oriented subsidiary, the International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative (ISMI), have signed an agreement to incorporate ASML Holding NV's resolution enhancement techniques (RET) in order to qualify imaging performance of advanced logic patterns, metrology structures, and defect designs for the 45nm, 32nm, and 22nm technology nodes.

09/18/2006  September 18, 2006 - Synopsys Inc. and Magma Design Automation Inc. have agreed to set aside dispute over three patents, but the two firms are still a long way from being nice to one another.

09/15/2006  NIL Technology, a Denmark-based provider of stamps for nanoimprint lithography and nanoimprint services, announced the launch of nanoimprint stamps with standard nanostructure down to 100 nm at a price of 1,950 Euros, or a little under $2,500.

09/15/2006  September 15, 2006 - Fujitsu Ltd. and Advantest Corp. plan to collaborate on development of an electron beam direct lithography to use in semiconductor manufacturing using Fujitsu's 65nm and 45nm process technologies.

09/14/2006  September 14, 2006 - Toppan Photomasks is seeing its lead shrink in the semiconductor photomask this year, as the overall segment adjusts to smaller growth due to design activity and a shift in capex from memory firms, according to a new report from The Information Network.