10/12/2012 

Many early-stage tool development projects lack focus in what is needed for tool functionality and performance. Nevertheless, a disciplined phased approach to can resolve many open issues (technical, commercial and market-related) in the first phase of any project.

10/10/2012 

Nanium says it has shipped its 200 millionth embedded wafer-level ball grid array technology (eWLB) component, a 10% year-over-year productivity increase that reflects full conversion to the company's eWLB overmold technology that allows thinner and more robust packages.

10/09/2012 

Devan Iyer, director of Semiconductor Packaging in Texas Instrument’s Manufacturing Group, has joined the advisory board of The ConFab.

10/08/2012 

Four of the leading micro- and nanoelectronics regions in Europe are joining forces to form a cluster alliance called “Silicon Europe.”

10/05/2012 

Tessera Technologies is giving CEO Robert A. Young a big financial incentive to spin off one of its two businesses by March 2015, one of the company's key long-term strategic goals.

10/04/2012 

Fab equipment spending continues to soften in 2012, and hopes for a reprieve in 2013 are waning, warns one analyst.

10/04/2012 

Applied Materials says it will reduce its work force by between 6% and 9% (900-1300 positions) amid a global realignment deemed necessary to achieve certain strategic objectives, freeing up to $190M annually "to fund key growth initiatives."

10/03/2012 

Even though semiconductor manufacturers in Japan are consolidating and transitioning to a "fab-lite" strategy,  the region still represents a large installed fab capacity and a major market for equipment and materials suppliers.

10/02/2012 

Sand 9 is partnering with GlobalFoundries for high-volume manufacturing of its microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) timing technology, which incorporates silicon-on-insulator (SOI) and through-silicon vias (TSV).

10/01/2012 

Tezzaron Semiconductor is taking over SVTC Technologies' wafer fab in Austin, TX, amid reports that the semiconductor/MEMS development organization is cutting back activities in Austin and in California.

09/27/2012 

Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) say they have developed a novel optical connection process for semiconductors using "photonic wire bonding" that achieves data transmission rates of several Tbit/sec.

09/26/2012 

EV Group says it has received an order for its EVG850 temporary bonding/debonding systems from a leading maker of compound semiconductor-based components, what it says is the first use of its ZoneBOND technology in this area.

09/21/2012 

Demand for chip tools fell again in August and is off by -30% from its peak in early summer, fulfilling fears that the second half of 2012 will be sluggish for chipmaking investments, according to the latest data from SEMI.

09/20/2012 

The first working 3D NAND flash memory at sub-40nm feature sizes will be described by Macronix researchers at this year’s International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM).

09/20/2012 

At this year’s IEDM, a team led by Korea’s Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology will detail a high-speed pattern-recognition system comprising CMOS “neurons” and an array of resistive-RAM (RRAM)-based “synapses,” which demonstrated STDP, a brain-like function.

09/20/2012 

At the upcoming International Electron Device Meeting, Macronix researchers will describe how they built flash memories that could heal themselves by means of tiny onboard heaters that provide thermal annealing just at the spots where it is needed.

09/19/2012 

SPTS' Delta fxP cluster system achieves low-temperature deposition of TEOS oxides and nitrides for via-reveal passivation in 3D IC packaging, solving two key problems of low temperatures and bonding adhesive outgassing.

09/18/2012 

At IEDM, IBM researchers will demonstrate high-performance state-of-the-art CMOS circuits —including SRAM memory and ring oscillators—on a flexible plastic substrate.

09/17/2012 

The 58th annual IEDM will take place December 10-12, 2012 at the San Francisco Hilton Union Square, preceded by a full day of Short Courses on Sunday, Dec. 9 and by a program of 90-minute afternoon tutorial sessions on Saturday, Dec. 8.

09/14/2012 

Singapore’s A*STAR’s Institute of Microelectronics (IME), and Hitachi Chemical Co., will be collaborating on a joint research program to develop high performance material technologies for thin wafer processing for 3D IC packaging.