11/06/2006  Purdue University's Discovery Park has appointed Timothy Sands, the Basil S. Turner Professor of Engineering, as director of the Birck Nanotechnology Center.

11/03/2006  The Wafer Level Chip Scale Package Forum, a non-profit group focused on promoting the adoption of wafer-level chip-scale packages (WLCSP) semiconductor devices in consumer electronics products, met for the first time this week in San Jose to discuss WLCSP issues, and to establish industry sponsored "best practices" for their use.

11/03/2006  November 3, 2006 - Worldwide sales of semiconductors reached a record $21.4 billion in September as electronic device manufacturers loaded up for the holiday sales season, according to data from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).

11/01/2006  November 1, 2006 - Semiconductor affiliates under the Formosa Plastics Group are planning to spend roughly $3 billion in 2007 to expand their 300mm wafer fab expansions, collectively exceeding the level of top foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC)

11/01/2006  Harald Okorn-Schmidt, VP of global research with SEZ, will present a paper, Cleaning, Interface Engineering and Surface Preparation — The Challenges Continue at the 4^th International Surface Cleaning Workshop, in Boston, Nov. 4-6, 2007.

11/01/2006  Quik-Pak, a provider of quick-turn integrated circuit (IC) prototype packages, announces the installation of a 200-mm automatic wafer dicing saw from Disco in its expanded San Diego facilities.

11/01/2006  Development of carbon nanotube (CNT) interconnects for the 32nm node is starting to make major strides. Although CNTs could potentially carry the high current densities required for next generation interconnects, it has proved difficult to grow them at low enough temperatures with the right properties. Now, Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. has demonstrated CNT interconnects approaching the target of matching the resistance of copper at CMOS-compatible growth temperatures of 400 degrees C.

11/01/2006  November 1, 2006 - Vishay Intertechnology Inc., Malvern, PA, has agreed to acquire International Rectifier's power control systems business for approximately $290 million, to extend its product offerings for high-power and high-voltage discrete semiconductors.

11/01/2006  November 1, 2006 - Sony Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. say they are also targets of antitrust investigations by US and EU regulators, in an ongoing investigation into price-fixing allegations regarding static random access memory (SRAM) devices, according to several reports.

11/01/2006  Vistec Lithography, a Cambridge, England, developer of electron beam lithography systems for the semiconductor industry, announced that it selected Grant Technologies, a designer and manufacturer of custom scientific and industrial solutions, to develop a bespoke refrigeration system to cool the lens, chamber and handling system within its VB300 electron beam nano-lithography machine.

11/01/2006  In the good old days-say, five years ago-shrinking semiconductor features meant contamination challenges due to eliminating smaller particles.

11/01/2006  With extensive industry feedback, the International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative (ISMI; http://ismi.sematech.org) has detailed the initial scope of its 300 mm Prime (300 Prime) effort

10/31/2006  October 31, 2006 - Chinese flagship foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) posted a net loss of $35.1 million in 3Q06 on 2.1% higher sales of $368.9 million, after posting a $2.2 million in the previous quarter.

10/31/2006  October 31, 2006 - Toshiba Corp. is mulling a possible management buyout of its wafer subsidiary Toshiba Ceramics Co. Ltd., to an investment business owned 50/50 by Unison Capital Group and Carlyle Group.

10/31/2006  Companies evaluating whether to implement environmentally friendly technologies in semiconductor fabs typically weigh the potential environmental benefits vs. the added capital costs. But at the recent ISMI symposium, Texas Instruments' Paul Westbrook revealed how the chipmaker's new 300mm RFAB in Richardson, TX proves that designing and constructing greener facilities not only can reduce harmful effects on the environment -- it can also be a powerful driver of cost savings.

10/31/2006  BOC Edwards, a supplier of technology, equipment and support services to the electronics and microelectronics industries, and Aviza Technology Inc., a supplier of semiconductor equipment and process technologies, announced that they have entered into a joint development agreement to develop Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) technology for advanced semiconductor manufacturing.

10/30/2006  October 30, 2006 - Struggles with consistent high-volume yields of 90nm processes at one DRAM maker has further constricted a supply shortage on the contract market that may extend into November, according to online clearing house DRAMeXchange.

10/30/2006  October 30, 2006 - Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing says it is making a "strategic investment" in Taiwan ASIC/SoC design firm Gateway Silicon Inc., a spinoff of local IDM Macronix International Co. Ltd.

10/30/2006  October 30, 2006 - BOC Edwards and Aviza Technology Inc. have agreed to jointly develop atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology, combining BOC's chemical precursor formulation with Aviza's hardware to optimize deposition processes for high-k materials and metals.

10/30/2006  October 30, 2006 - Fujitsu Ltd. and Advantest Corp. are offering more details about their upcoming 65nm-45nm prototyping service utilizing electron beam direct lithography, which might also pull in Fujitsu's optical prototyping services.