Semiconductors

SEMICONDUCTORS ARTICLES



ASML illuminates a dry path to 40nm

01/02/2007  The ITRS plots a route to 45nm half-pitch through water immersion lithography for critical levels, but ASML is giving its customers an alternative by request -- one that employs familiar dry DUV exposure and the double pattern method being considered for 32nm.

Is Powerchip selling its 200mm fab to Vanguard?

01/02/2007  January 2, 2007 - Conflicting reports suggest that Taiwan's Vanguard International Semiconductor Co. is about to buy Powerchip's only 200mm wafer fab to add badly needed foundry capacity, although another report says the companies are still weighing their options.

Compact All-optical Buffers on a Silicon Chip

01/01/2007  he use of light signals to connect different chips within a computer or different parts within a chip has attracted lots of attention due to the huge bandwidth provided by optics.

Responding to flashy-and not so-competition

01/01/2007  For disk-drive makers, contamination control is part of fighting the law, Hwang’s law to be precise.

Particles

01/01/2007  News snippets from the world of contamination control.

Relating statistics to particle counting measurements and standards

01/01/2007  Statistics are the essence of cleanroom air cleanliness classification, yet the reasons behind this are often not well understood or appreciated.

Fluxless Wafer Bumping by Electron Attachment

01/01/2007  One of the keys to successful wafer bumping is the removal of surface oxides on the deposited solder during reflow, usually done by using organic fluxes.

Decontaminating the process

01/01/2007  Whether it’s a maker of tools, filters, spaces, air quality monitors, or manufacturer of the wafers themselves, each member of the industry has a role to play in keeping the production environment clean.

New Products

01/01/2007  Each month, CleanRooms brings you a collection of the latest product innovations in the contamination-control industry.

Wafer-probe Cleaner

12/19/2006  Developed for IC chip manufacturing markets to address probe contamination challenges during test, the SnoScrub wafer-cleaning product uses non-contact CO2-composite spray for adjustable (soft-to-hard cryoparticles), microscopic scouring called cryochemical ablation. This technology cleans wafer probes and high-speed test sockets, removing resistive buildup such as aluminum oxides and human contaminants.

EV Group, Sawatec extend agreement

12/15/2006  EV Group (EVG), a St. Florian, Austria supplier of wafer-bonding and lithography equipment for the MEMS, nanotechnology and semiconductor markets and Sawatec, a manufacturer of advanced components and manual loaded instruments for photolithography, have signed a reseller agreement.

austriamicrosystems announces 50V high-voltage CMOS process with embedded flash

12/15/2006  austriamicrosystems' foundry business unit announced a 50V High-Voltage CMOS process with embedded Flash. The company says this is the consequent next step in extending austriamicrosystems' position in High-Voltage CMOS technology.

SEMI Announces Competition

12/13/2006  SEMI put out a call for innovations for the fifth annual Technology Innovation Showcase (TIS) to be held in conjunction with SEMICON West 2007, July 17 – 19, 2007, in San Francisco. Nanotechnology, MEMS, test, assembly, packaging, and wafer processing submissions are sought by February 2, 2007.

Discera names Japanese distributors

12/11/2006  Discera Inc., a San Jose, Calif.-based company developing MEMS resonator technology and provider of MEMS-based timing solutions, announced a pair of partnerships to distribute Discera's MEMS resonator-based timing products.

Bock resigns from Nanosys board

12/11/2006  Larry Bock has resigned as executive chairman of the board of directors of Palo Alto, Calif.-based Nanosys Inc., a nanotechnology platform and product development company working in a variety of industries, including developing military-related applications using nanomaterials for use in biosensors, solar cells and memory devices.

SemiSurplus revamps site

12/08/2006  SemiSurplus Inc. of West Chester, Ohio, launched a new web site for sales of semiconductor, MEMS, and nanotechnology equipment.

Pac Tech Purchases Facility in Malaysia

12/07/2006  Pac Tech GmbH announced the purchase of a 53,512 sq. foot wafer bumping facility on Panang Island, Malaysia. The new company, Pac Tech Asia, will provide equipment and services for wafer bumping and wafer level packaging.

ISSYS Selects Wafer Bonder for MEMS

12/06/2006  Integrated Sensing Systems (ISSYS), Ypsilanti, MI, purchased and installed an AML Bonder from OAI, along with a mask aligner system. ISSYS purchased the stand-alone wafer bonder and complementary mask system to increase production of MEMS devices.

Portable In-circuit Emulator

12/05/2006  Measuring 120 × 100 × 30 mm, the RTE870/C Light Emulator comprises a 60-Kbyte emulation memory, interfaces for an MCU probe and host-connection, and other functions.

Motorized Take-up System

12/05/2006  A motorized take-up option gathers the protective liner from dicing tape operating on wafer mounters. The system gathers the liner into a disposable core.




WEBCASTS



Environment, Safety & Health

Date and time TBD

The semiconductor industry is an acknowledged global leader in promoting environmental sustainability in the design, manufacture, and use of its products, as well as the health and safety of its operations and impacts on workers in semiconductor facilities (fabs). We will examine trends and concerns related to emissions, chemical use, energy consumption and worker safety and health.

Sponsored By:

Wafer Processing

Date and time TBD

As the industry moves to 10nm and 7nm nodes, advances in wafer processing – etch, deposition, planarization, implant, cleaning, annealing, epitaxy among others – will be required. Manufacturers are looking for new solutions for sustained strain engineering, FinFETs, FDSOI and multi-gate technologies, 3D NAND, and high mobility transistors.

Sponsored By:

More Webcasts