06/17/2008  June 17, 2008 -- Seashell Technology, a nanotechnology development company, has successfully scaled manufacturing processes for silver nanorod and nanowire production to kilogram scale quantities.

06/17/2008  June 17, 2008 -- Unidym Inc., a manufacturer of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), has received a $2 million strategic investment from Entegris Inc. Arrowhead Research Organization, of which Unidym is a wholly owned subsidiary, made a $2 million matching investment.

06/17/2008  June 16, 2008 - Foreign ownership of Japanese frontend process semiconductor equipment firms rose in the fiscal year ended in March, while the opposite was true for domestic firms serving the backend of the manufacturing line, noted the Nikkei daily.

06/13/2008  Bigger and more international than ever, exhibitors at SMT/Hybrid Packaging, June 2-4, Nuremberg, Germany, focused their product showcases around the theme of automotive electronics, or used the venue for the European launch of new products.

06/09/2008  June 9, 2008 - Semiconductor equipment sales in general are expected to slump in 2008, and the automation segment is no exception, though there is some motion in the sector among suppliers, according to a brief analysis by The Information Network.

06/09/2008  Advanced nanomaterials company Angstron Materials LLC has acquired a new 22,000 square foot manufacturing facility where it will provide small to large batch processing and production capacity for its carbon-based nano-graphene platelets (NGPs), and continue research and development efforts. Angstron's NGPs can be blended with other nanomaterials to achieve higher loadings required for various forms of composite lamina as well as nanocomposites for load-bearing and functional applications.

06/06/2008  June 6, 2008—Digital Surf, developer of topographical analysis tools for micro and nano-surfaces, has released Mountains Technology version 5. The new software enables metrological analysis of the evolution of a 3D surface, for instance nanotechnology or a MEMS device, in a fourth dimension.

06/05/2008  Unidym, Inc., a manufacturer of carbon nanotubes, and Battelle, a non-profit independent R&D organization, have formed an alliance focused on multi-functional nanocomposites for aerospace and transportation applications. The companies will collaborate with aerospace and automotive companies, and their composite materials suppliers that require carbon nanotube formulated coatings, sealants, adhesives and load-bearing composites.

06/05/2008  Replisaurus Technologies, Inc., pioneer in nanoscale electrodeposition of metal patterns, has acquired S.E.T. SAS to establish a production site for its integrated and fully automated high-volume manufacturing tools for its proprietary ElectroChemical Pattern Replication (ECPR) technology.

06/04/2008  June 4, 2008—Nantero Inc., a nanotechnology company using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for the development of next-generation semiconductor devices, is collaborating with SVTC Technology, an R&D semiconductor fab. SVTC will install Nantero's "CMOS-friendly" proprietary CNT process at its development fabs. In an exclusive interview, the partners told Small Times that the move will enable semiconductor and MEMS developers to easily create and test nanotube-based electronics.

06/03/2008  by Ed Korczynski, senior technical editor, Solid State Technology
The 11th International Interconnect Technology Conference (IITC) is now underway in Burlingame, CA, presenting the leading-edge of on-chip interconnect technology developments with details on new materials, processes, and structures. 3D interconnects and through-silicon vias are being discussed in serious detail, while work continues on air-gap dielectrics and carbon nanotubes along with new copper barrier materials.

05/29/2008  May 20, 2008 -- /PRNewswire/ -- MOFFETT FIELD, CA -- NASA has developed a revolutionary nanotechnology-based biosensor that can detect trace amounts of specific bacteria, viruses, and parasites.

05/29/2008  May 29, 2008 -- A study published last week by Nature Nanotechnology tells of research findings that long carbon nanotubes injected into mice can behave like asbestos fibers, forming lesions that may lead to cancer. Small Times' Barbara Goode visited with Nanocomp Technologies, known for producing long, highly pure carbon nanotubes, to get a producer's take on the story.

05/28/2008  May 28, 2008 - Qcept Technologies and European R&D organization CEA-Leti have inked a deal to investigate techniques for characterizing leading-edge semiconductor materials and processes, including high-/low-k dielectrics, atomic layer deposition (ALD), fully silicided (FUSI) metal gates, and advanced cleaning technologies.

05/23/2008  May 23, 2008 - Researchers at the U. of California/San Diego say they have created solar cells "spiked" with nanowires in a proof-of-concept experiment that could show the way to improved efficiency in thin-flim solar cells.

05/23/2008  The conservative mood of the industry and impending fab projects that were put on hold unitl early 2009 resulted in a book-to-bill ratio of .81 for April 2008, according to Stan Myers, CEO of SEMI. This reflects an 8% drop in bookings and 2% drop in billings since March for North America based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment. A book-to-bill of 0.81 means that $81 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

05/23/2008  by Fran

05/22/2008  by James Montgomery, News Editor, Solid State Technology
May 22, 2008 - A new report published in the journal Nature Nanotechnologies is raising alarms about apparent health risks associated with carbon nanotubes (CNT), similar to those seen with asbestos. But efforts are already underway to look more closely at potential issues, according to Walt Trybula, former SEMATECH immersion lithography guru and now at Texas State U., in an email exchange with WaferNEWS.

05/22/2008  STAT ChipPAC hosted its inaugural Supplier Day, honoring eleven materials and equipment suppliers for outstanding contribution as key suppliers. The awards ceremony, held on May 13 in Singapore, recognized supplier achievements in 3 categories: outstanding overall performance, outstanding service, and special site outstanding service.

05/21/2008  May 21, 2008 - SEMI touched up its March figures for chip equipment demand, resulting in a little better picture for that month -- but the view on April figures is weak.