05/15/2009  but more effective — method is to perform a horizontal cross-section.

05/15/2009  New integration trends and disruptive packaging technologies, notably 3D TSVs, will cause major technical changes in the memory semiconductor sector, but ultimately pave the way for future growth, according to a recent report from Yole Développement.

05/14/2009  With the rapid increase in demand (both consumer and commercial) for PV products, it is essential that the PV industry fulfill the perception of being a green industry by avoiding many of the past environmental, health & safety (EHS) pitfalls encountered during the expansion of similar high-technology industries, says Andy McIntyre from EORM.

05/13/2009  Top global foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is looking to broaden its profile (and boost margins) by exploring work in the renewable energy sector, notably solar panels and photovoltaics, according to local reports.

05/12/2009  A recent collaboration between SEMATECH and Japan's TOK presents an opportunity for a look at the consortium's Resist Materials and Development Center, and its 22nm litho efforts and progress toward "manufacturable EUV."

05/12/2009  Lasertec describes a proposal for a new NGL that uses a DUV light source oscillating at 172nm or 175nm -- at this wavelength, higher-index materials such as BaLiF₃ can still be used enabling 32nm half-pitch by a single exposure.

05/08/2009  The memory semiconductor industry is about to go through major technological changes as new integration trends and disruptive packaging technologies pave the way to the future growth, reports Yole. The study presents the end applications driving the use of 3D integrated memories and their key players. It also includes an overview of the memory packaging market, its forecasted evolutions with new applications and growth in flash and DRAM.

05/06/2009  IMEC researcher Pol Van Dorpe gives SST a look at the physics and structure behind a new method to integrate high-speed CMOS electronics and nanophotonic circuitry based on plasmonic effects, which has promise in applications from biosensing to thin-film solar cells.

05/05/2009  In BEOL lithography layers, microbridge defects can manifest as catastrophic single-line open circuit faults in the metal lines of the finished device. Enhanced filtration of bi-layer resist and post-develop ozonated UPW is shown to contribute significantly to reduction in post-litho microbridge defects, and ultimately reduction in single-line opens at e-test.

05/04/2009  May 4, 2009: European independent nanoelectronics research consortium IMEC says it has developed a method to integrate high-speed CMOS electronics and nanophotonic circuitry based on plasmonic effects.

05/01/2009  The trends of decreasing dimensions and new materials motivated the investigation of how these may affect the dielectric reliability of the interconnect structures.

05/01/2009  Signs that the DRAM market hit a bottom in 1Q and is poised to rebound don't quite paint the whole picture, which from a broader perspective still shows things plodding along, far from a meaningful recovery.

04/30/2009  Amid several recent examples of silicon supply contract renegotiations (and for equipment too), one partnership has taken an unusual turn: Conergy plans to sue MEMC in order to terminate (and renegotiate) their already-reduced 10-year contract, days after MEMC indicated it wouldn't budge on the terms.

04/29/2009  IITC 2009 program chair Mike Shapiro (IBM) and publicity chair Mike Armacost (Applied Materials) brief SST on selected papers from the more than 80 technical presentations expected at the summer conference, held for the first time in Japan.

04/28/2009  IMEC provides more details and some broader perspective on its progress using EUV lithography, now on 22nm SRAMs on both the contact and metal-1 layers.

04/27/2009  Get a sneak-peek at Novellus' new CoolFill tungsten CVD process, which the company says offers a larger process window to achieve void-free fill that meets the ITRS' electrical property requirements for 32nm DRAM and logic devices.

04/27/2009  Toppan Photomasks exec Franklin Kalk talks with SST about the joint work with IBM on photomasks for 32nm and 28nm semiconductor manufacturing, the key differences vs. 45nm-40nm work, the emergence of OMOG and SMO -- and eventually (and carefully), EUV.

04/22/2009  In an SST exclusive, Intermolecular CTO Tony Chiang summarizes several talks from last week's MRS Spring meeting, on materials characterization, solar-cell technology, CMOS gate-stacks (high-k/metal gates), and the search to replace traditional flash memory with a manufacturable alternative.

04/21/2009  April 21, 2009: NIL Technology now offers a Quick Polymer Stamp (QPS), facilitating a fast nanoimprint approach. The QPS is a working stamp, easily produced from a silicon or quartz master, to be directly used for UV nanoimprint lithography.

04/21/2009  Micronic Laser Systems AB intends to acquire MYDATA automation AB. In the proposed transaction, Micronic would acquire MYDATA from Skanditek Industriförvaltning and the minority shareholders against payment in the form of newly issued shares in Micronic. Combining Micronic and MYDATA will create large potential within the market for electronic packaging using Micronic's and MYDATA's complementary imaging and deposition technologies.