11/11/2008  IBM now is offering a silicon-on-insulator offering for its 45nm foundry process, including design tools and libraries, following the 45nm ASIC SOI offering it released in mid-2007.

11/06/2008  Next-Generation Factory (NGF) concepts under the International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative (ISMI) call for new standards and more accessible tool operating data so that chipmakers and tool suppliers can collaborate on improving tool utilization and productivity. Many presentations at the recent ISMI Symposium on Manufacturing Effectiveness probed different aspects of this emerging collaboration.

11/06/2008  The industry has established a collection of production-worthy high-k gate stack options, and fabs will adopt their own such processes gradually. While research institutions are winding down their work in this area, there's still future research to be done on high-k dielectric materials (e.g. for memory scaling), as IMEC researchers discussed at their annual press review.

11/05/2008  Tighter registration tolerances for the 45nm node and beyond require a next-generation registration metrology tool with capability to measure EUV masks with diverse substrate materials that might be used in 32nm and 22nm chip production.

11/04/2008  November 4, 2008: Researchers at Boston University working with collaborators in Germany, France and Korea have developed a nanoscale torsion resonator that measures miniscule amounts of twisting or torque in a metallic nanowire. This device, the size of a speck of dust, might enable measurements of the untwisting of DNA and have applications in spintronics, fundamental physics, chemistry and biology.

11/04/2008  November 4, 2008: Oregon researchers have synthesized an elusive metal-hydroxide compound in sufficient and rapidly produced yields, potentially paving the way for improved precursor inks that could boost semiconductor capabilities for large-area applications. The key to a "bottom-up" production of possibly the first heterometallic gallium-indium hydroxide nanocluster was the substitution of nitroso-butylamine as an additive in place of nitrosobenzene.

11/04/2008  FSI exec Scott Becker tells SST how the closed-chamber design of the company's new Orion single-wafer cleaning system addresses cleaning-related issues for 32nm and 22nm process technologies, such as material loss and galvanic corrosion.

11/03/2008  Synergetix test socket interposers for wafer-level chip scale package (WLCSP) testing are used for vertical probing applications. The interposers have a plastic assembly containing IDI's semiconductor probe technology built in. Combined with an easy-to-design-and-fabricate load board, interposers require minimal attention throughout their life cycle.

11/01/2008  The 3D stacked IC (3D-IC) approach calls for a combination of standard single damascene techniques, extreme wafer thinning, and direct Cu-Cu thermo-compression bonding.

11/01/2008  In October, Sematech (Austin, TX) hosted a symposium in Lake Tahoe, CA that could literally shine a new light on semiconductor cleanrooms.

11/01/2008  Through silicon vias (TSVs) are a key component in 3D integration technology. TSV’s improve electrical performance, reduce power consumption, shrink device sizes, and potentially lower costs.

11/01/2008  Clean the wafer not the probe card

10/31/2008  The high-flying NAND flash memory market came crashing back down to earth in 2008, and it looks like it won't pick itself up until after 2009 -- and in this scenario, consumer are the only winners, according to new analysis from iSuppli.

10/31/2008  With a global financial meltdown in full swing, and oil prices whipsawing to historic highs and back down again, will consumers be in a buying mood? Jim Handy of Objective Analysis shares his views on what to expect with the holiday market for electronics goods.

10/31/2008  October 31, 2008: Nanoscience Instruments, a US-based distributor of nanotechnology instrumentation and supplies, is the first worldwide distributor of Advanced Diamond Technologies' NaDiaProbe line of all-diamond atomic force microscopy (AFM) probes.

10/30/2008  October 30, 2008: SEMATECH and the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) at the U. at Albany will use TEL's Telius SP UD system in a 300mm 3D R&D center.

10/30/2008  TDI, an Oxford Instruments company, talks with SST about its hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) technology, which shows promise in growth of high-quality InGaN layers for blue-green LED production.

10/30/2008  Walden C. Rhines, Chairman and CEO, Mentor Graphics, Corp. will be giving the keynote address at the GSA Semiconductor Leaders Forum on November 5, 2008 in Hsinchu, Taiwan, addressing the belief that the electronics industry is maturing, and its glory days are over.

10/29/2008  Seagate Technology and Fujitsu have been biding their time the last few years with respect to solid-state storage devices (SSD). SST spoke with experts of both companies about results from their evaluation of potential market opportunities.

10/29/2008  October 29, 2008: Helios Applied System says its proposal for the world's first HAS1000 commercial nano 2-photon lithography tool has won a grant from Singapore's Technology Enterprise Commercialization Scheme (TECS).