07/13/2009  July 13, 2009: FEI has joined SEMATECH's advanced metrology development program at the U. of Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) to expand efforts to develop novel technologies to improve process control and yield for 45nm node and below manufacturing.

07/10/2009  WEB EXCLUSIVE: A quick scan across the landscape of suppliers that are betting the farm on nanotubes.

07/09/2009  Changes in market supply-demand dynamics, coupled with less favorable financing conditions brought on by the current credit crunch climate, are together redefining the type of c-Si production equipment required by cell manufacturers over the next few years, explains Coherent's Finlay Colville.

07/08/2009  Magma Design Automation is making its splash into the world of solar photovoltaics with a new software package to help solar cell manufacturers identify and correct causes of yield loss and thus improve energy conversion.

07/07/2009  This technical brief describes the use of commercially available alternative heat transfer fluids as the basis to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from microelectronic manufacturing facilities that use perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and perfluoropolyethers (PFPEs) by 58% to over 99%.

07/07/2009  SST's Debra Vogler visited Owens Design before SEMICON West to see its newest platform, the Element and discuss the company's design process, with which OEMs can deploy a semiconductor "fab-ready" metrology tool.

07/06/2009  This year's VLSI Symposium (June 14-17, Kyoto, Japan) was not as spirited as the past two years, which featured hot topics like high-k/metal gate approaches and bulk vs. SOI CMOS and planar vs. FinFETs, notes John O. Borland, in an exclusive report for SST. Nonetheless, many interesting papers and discussions emerged, notably finding out who else is adopting the same HK+MG scheme, and various analyses of device variability.

07/06/2009  July 6, 2009: SEMATECH has accepted a Veeco Insight 3D atomic force microscope (AFM) to be put to use for non-destructive reference metrology for critical dimension (CD), overlay and contour, and 3D characterization of resist features in extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) lithography.

07/06/2009  KLA-Tencor's new upgrade package for its 28XX broadband brightfield inspection systems enables access to standard IC design layout files, from which the inspection system can use knowledge of the defect's location within the circuit to better estimate its probability of affecting device yield.

07/06/2009  On the heels of new funding and mask tool support from DNP, Mark Melliar-Smith, CEO of Molecular Imprints, lays out his case for imprint lithography vs. EUV for post-193nm lithography, particularly in memory.

07/06/2009  July 5, 2009: On the heels of new funding and mask tool support from DNP, Mark Melliar-Smith, CEO of Molecular Imprints, lays out his case for imprint lithography vs. EUV for post-193nm lithography, particularly in memory.

07/03/2009  Peter Wolters CEO Kay Peterson tells SST how three key capabilities in the company's new double-sided polishing tools meet lithography challenges for 22nm and beyond semiconductor manufacturing.

07/01/2009  July 1, 2009 -- To gain a better understanding of how new and existing wafer metrology technologies can be used, modified, or enhanced to measure and improve 3D interconnect processes, SEMATECH will host a workshop dedicated to 3D interconnect metrology on July 15 in conjunction with SEMICON West in San Francisco, CA.

07/01/2009  Countless benefits can be gained for dozens of industries with the ability to observe invisible elements, especially contaminants, at the nanoscale.

06/30/2009  Chris Moore, leader of Semilab's new USA division, talks to SST about the company's latest acquisition of materials analysis firm SDI, its assembled roster of metrology technologies, and a possible consequence of stalled 450mm discussions: equipment leasing.

06/30/2009  In a pre-SEMICON west technology briefing, SEMATECH's director of lithography, Bryan Rice, gave a sobering assessment of the readiness of EUV mask infrastructure -- currently, there are no commercial suppliers committed to building solutions for high-volume manufacturing mask blank inspection, mask defect inspection, and patterned inspection.

06/26/2009  Samsung engineers discuss advancements in manufacturing using the company's S1 fab, a state-of-the-art 300mm foundry line, as an example in the areas of patterning and closed loop variation control systems.

06/25/2009  Much has been said about capital equipment consolidation, particularly in recent months under the weight of the economic slowdown, but in one of the more concentrated sectors the growth was lousy in 2008 and looks to be twice as bad in 2009.

06/25/2009  Aries Electronics, an international manufacturer of standard, programmed and custom interconnection products, now offers its 27mm CSP (chip scale package)/MicroBGA (ball grid array) test and burn-in sockets with an optional adjustable pressure pad.

06/22/2009  Following are some of the booth highlights from companies exhibiting at SEMICON West, July 14–16, 2009 in San Francisco, CA. Booth demonstrations include cleaning products for flip chips, bonded wafer inspection systems, airborne particle sensor/monitors, die-attach systems, and more for semiconductor manufacturing, packaging, and test.