03/19/2002  For the most part, 4Q was a painful quarter to cap off what's largely been a painful year. Several companies, however, stood out for one simple fact: Their revenue actually increased from 4Q00 to 4Q01. FEI Co., PDF Solutions Inc., and Numerical Technologies Inc. all saw increases in revenue. Brewer Science doesn't release statements, but the firm said numbers released for the last quarter show overall sales revenue increased by 38% in 2001.

03/15/2002  Researchers at Intel Corp., Santa Clara, CA, have reportedly built the world's smallest SRAM memory cell, measuring only one square micron.

03/13/2002  VLSI Research Inc.'s 2001 Top 10 Equipment Suppliers list saw no movement at the top three spots, but companies four through 10 were jumbled about in the industry's worst year ever.

03/04/2002 
Creating a company is a little like making a baby: you need the right people in the right place at the right time, with the seed of scientific innovation and some fortuitous chemistry. The creation of NanoOpto Corp., a fledgling firm building optical components based on nano imprint lithography, illustrates how every startup has a unique character and incubation.

03/01/2002  Shanghai, China - Photronics Inc. detailed plans to expand into Shanghai, China during a land grant signing ceremony with officials from the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park Development Corp.

02/27/2002  Feb. 27, 2002 - Bilthoven, Netherlands - Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASM Lithography issued a formal denial that it has infringed upon any patents of its major rival, Nikon Corp. of Japan.

02/25/2002  The word "over" has been used recently to describe current problems within the semiconductor industry - oversupply, overcapacity, etc. But in some areas, too much isn't the problem - too little is. Over the next few years, the industry will be dealing with a shortage in helium, and while it's not a major crisis, it is a source of concern, especially for the lithography sector.

02/21/2002  Nikon reports progress on both the optics and the infrastructure for its e-beam projection lithography, and argues it may still be the best available option for printing critical contact layers at 70 to 35nm, even with low throughput.

02/13/2002  Announcements of decreased capex for 2002 were no surprise to most analysts who regard the new year as one for slow recovery, though Intel's announced cut did fluster a previously upbeat Wall Street.

02/07/2002  Netherlands & Germany -- ASML Holding NV and lens partner Carl Zeiss confirmed the availability of 193nm imaging systems in 2002 to satisfy increased market demand for leading edge 0.10-micron ArF imaging solutions.

02/07/2002  Shanghai, China - DuPont Photomasks Inc. plans to upgrade the capability of DuPont Photomasks Co. Ltd., Shanghai, its joint venture photomask manufacturing facility.

01/31/2002  Increased complexity and functionality in semiconductor devices has placed a greater emphasis on interconnects, where delays have become one of the most significant factors affecting chip performance.

01/25/2002  Washington, DC - The US International Trade Commission decided has decided to investigate whether Nikon's patents have been infringed upon by Dutch company ASM Lithography.

01/21/2002  Two more potential big users have signed on to the Low Energy E-Beam Projection Lithography consortium (Leepl). Matsushita Electric Industrial and Sharp will now join Sony, Rohm, NEC, and Texas Instruments in working on developing the low-cost alternative next generation lithography technology.

01/17/2002 
Inkjet technology, one of the first applications of microfluidics, is finding many uses beyond the printed page. Microjets are being put to work printing "plastic" circuitry, fabricating display screens from organic light-emitting diodes and laying down microarrays for DNA research and drug discovery.

01/10/2002  Jan. 10, 2002 - San Diego, CA - Cymer Inc. has unveiled its latest krypton fluoride (KrF) production light source-the ELS-7000.

01/08/2002  Jan. 8, 2002 - Woodbury, NY- Veeco Instruments Inc. and Photronics Inc. have formed a strategic relationship focused on accelerating the development of advanced manufacturing technologies required to fabricate enhanced reticle and next generation lithography mask technologies.

01/03/2002  Toshiba Semiconductor's novel plan to rethink the fab to make small runs of systems chips without big capital investment may not be so far out after all.

12/19/2001  Dec. 19, 2001 - Veldhoven, Netherlands - ASML Holding N.V. announced that it has sold San Jose, CA-based Tinsley Laboratories Inc. to SSG Precision Optronics Inc., a Wilmington, MA, corporation that specializes in the design, fabrication, and testing of space-based and other high performance optical subsystems.

12/14/2001  Dec. 14, 2001 - Chelmsford, MA - Brooks Automation Inc., a supplier of tool and factory hardware and software automation solutions, has completed the purchase of the automation systems group of Zygo Corp.