06/13/2012 

Semiconductor manufacturing equipment billings and bookings were virtually tied in Q1 2012, reports SEMI, with $10.61 billion in billings and $10.07 in bookings. This is a 13-14% improvement sequentially, and 9% below the same quarter last year.

06/11/2012 

The Full Service Foundry business unit of ams extended its dedicated test solutions for foundry customers, offering known good die (KGD), with customers' complex analog/mixed-signal ICs 100% electrically tested according to their own test specification.

06/11/2012 

In the second installment in a series called Process Watch, the author provides tips on how to make sure you’re reviewing the yield killing defects and not wasting time reviewing nuisance events. Authored by experts at KLA-Tencor, Process Watch articles focus on novel process control solutions for chip manufacturing at the leading edge.

06/06/2012 

Tom Jefferson, G450 Consortium, shares an update on 450mm wafers for semiconductor manufacturing. The consortium is adding staff and ramping its silicon supply, and getting ready for equipment selection.

06/06/2012 

Fab equipment spending has improved in 2012, breaking the barrier into positive growth for the year, shows SEMI. Semiconductor makers will invest $39.5 billion in fabs, up 2% from 2011 spending. Fab capex will hit a record in 2013, $46.3 billion or 17% above 2012.

06/06/2012 

Mike Fury reports on Day 2 of the 15^th IITC (International Interconnect Technology Conference), from San Jose, CA.

06/05/2012 

W. L. Gore & Associates and CT Associates developed a method for measuring <50nm particles in ultra-pure water (UPW) used in semiconductor processes, and removing particles as small as 12nm, through a combination of ultrafiltration and microfiltration.

06/05/2012 

The 15^th IITC (International Interconnect Technology Conference) opened Monday, June 4 at the Doubletree Hotel in San Jose, CA. Recurring themes this year were variations on 3D and TSV, novel systems and packaging, and back end memory. Mike Fury reports.

06/04/2012 

At The ConFab’s opening session, “The Economic Outlook for the Semiconductor Industry,” capex was a major point of interest. Jackie Sturm of Intel, Dan Hutcheson of VLSIresearch, and Jim Feldhan of Semico all touched on it, with Hutcheson expanding on the idea of capex trends to present an entire ecosystem of semiconductor business management.

06/04/2012 

AKHAN Technologies will collaborate with the Center for Nanoscale Materials at Argonne National Laboratory to fully characterize Miraj Diamond devices and materials, which are made by doping n-type diamond and can be used in the semiconductor industry.

06/04/2012 

AKHAN Technologies will collaborate with the Center for Nanoscale Materials at Argonne National Laboratory to fully characterize Miraj Diamond devices and materials, which are made by doping n-type diamond and can be used in the semiconductor industry.

05/31/2012 

Sanjay Rajguru, director of ISMI, will present “Tool Obsolescence and the Impact on 200mm Manufacturing” at The ConFab 2012’s final session, Maximizing the Longevity of Investments.

05/29/2012 

Rudolph Technologies Inc. will deliver 14 NSX Series 320 inspection systems to a large outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) provider.

05/29/2012 

KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) measures a 70% increase in fab process steps from 90nm to 32nm semiconductor nodes. This doubles the critical inspection steps required, report Citi analysts.

05/29/2012 

In this first installment of a series called "Process Watch,” experts from KLA-Tencor explain why a defect might be classified as “Not Found” or “SEM Non-visual (SNV),” and how a SNV count can disguise or hide real problems.

05/25/2012 

Michael A. Fury reports on the NCCAVS CMP Users Group meeting, held on May 16th.

05/25/2012 

At imec's International Technology Forum, An Steegen, Senior Vice President Process Technology at imec, discusses the three technology knobs that are key for a further system scaling.

05/25/2012 

At imec's International Technology Forum, the research consortium's CEO, Lec van den Hove, draws attention to the need for the industry to solve the world's health problems.

05/25/2012 

THE BEST rankings from VLSIresearch identify the highest-rated suppliers of wafer processing, assembly, and test equipment. Check out the top-rated suppliers of wafer processing equipment, by company size and customer ranking.

05/25/2012 

VLSIresearch polled semiconductor manufacturers about their tool suppliers, asking chipmakers to rank equipment providers on customer satisfaction. This year’s results show renewed focus on fab needs.