09/11/2006  September 11, 2006 - Two investment firm consortiums are in a bidding war to acquire Freescale Semiconductor, with the pricetag for the former Motorola chipmaking arm soaring past $16 billion, according to a New York Times report.

09/11/2006  September 11, 2006 - Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. says it has created a 32Gb NAND flash device using 40nm process technologies, featuring a "charge trap flash" (CTF) architecture which the company says "sharply" reduces intercell noise levels, and enables higher scalability to enable transition from 40nm to 30nm and even 20nm processes.

09/11/2006  Cascade Microtech, a maker of tools and systems for precise electrical measurements on small structures, announced a partnership agreement with Philips' MiPlaza research center and Agilent Technologies to create a new world class Electronic Measurement Laboratory on the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.

09/08/2006  Discera, Inc., a CMOS MEMS-based resonator technology provider, will partner with Excelpoint, a distributor in the Asia Pacific region, to begin full-scale commercial deployment of its timing products. Target markets will include China, Singapore, Hong Kong, and India.

09/07/2006  Motorola Labs, the applied research arm of Motorola Inc., and Arizona State University announce a key advancement in the use of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWNTs) in field effect transistors (FETs) to sense biological and chemical agents.

09/06/2006  September 6, 2006 - Dongbu Electronics said it has completed development of a CMOS image sensor process using 0.13-micron process technologies, created for Seoul Electronics & Telecom Co. Ltd. The foundry plans to begin volume production of the devices in 4Q.

09/06/2006  September 6, 2006 - Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is now shipping 1-2GB samples of its high-density MLC NAND, called "moviNAND," an embedded combination of NAND flash memory, a multimedia card (MMC) controller and onboard firmware, for use in mobile applications.

09/06/2006  September 6, 2006 - Freescale Semiconductor said it has added 32MB of flash memory to its 32-bit MCU targeted at automotive applications, and is sampling what it claims is the industry's largest embedded flash memory on an MCU.

09/06/2006  FEI of Hillsboro, Ore., announced that Japan's JFE Steel Corp. has ordered a Titan 80-300 for its research center in Kawasaki. JFE Steel, a leading global supplier of steel products, is the first Japanese customer to order the Titan S/TEM.

09/06/2006  September 6, 2006 - Focus GmbH and two German universities, Bielefeld and Mainz, working on a European Commission-sponsored project to develop extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) technologies, say they have build a photoemission electron microscope capable of measuring features as small as 20nm without destroying the sample, a key step in development of EUV infrastructure.

09/06/2006  September 6, 2006 - Confirming months of speculation, Intel has announced plans for a sweeping restructuring following an analysis of the company's structure and efficiency, citing plans to shave $3 billion off of annual costs and operating expenses over the next two years.

09/06/2006  September 6, 2006 - Singapore foundry Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing is maintaining its expectations for 3Q06, with sales flat to slightly down in a range of $356-$368 million, and profits of $6-$16 million.

09/06/2006  September 6, 2006 - Chinese foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) has developed a low-power digital reference flow for its 90nm process technology with Cadence Design Systems Inc., and completed a standard design platform with VeriSilicon Holdings Co. Ltd. for its 0.13-micron low leakage process.

09/06/2006  September 6, 2006 - Citing strong demand from DRAM and NAND flash customers, ASML has increased its outlook for tool orders in 3Q by about 50% to be flat with 2Q levels, suggesting an additional $575 million in sales could be on the books in the next year.

09/06/2006  September 6, 2006 - Nova Measuring Instruments, Rehovoth, Israel, is soliciting bids from approximately 100 companies to license six of its patents relating to use of a lithography tool with integrated metrology, and will even accept bids for outright ownership of the technology.

09/06/2006  September 6, 2006 - Nova Measuring Instruments, Rehovoth, Israel, is soliciting bids from approximately 100 companies to license six of its patents relating to use of a lithography tool with integrated metrology, and will even accept bids for outright ownership of the technology.

09/05/2006  September 5, 2006 - Taiwanese power supply maker Powercom Co. reportedly is contracting mainland foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) to manufacture solar cells, with operation scheduled to begin in November

09/05/2006  September 5, 2006 - Synopsys Inc. and Chinese foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) have developed and deployed a third-generation reference design flow based on SMIC's 90nm process.

09/05/2006  A somewhat surprising consensus on future lithography came out of a panel of experts at SEMICON West, with discussions of potential lithography solutions for the 32nm half-pitch node including major problems facing developers of EUV and high-index fluid immersion lithography using 193nm lasers. The message from panelists was clear -- the industry will have to learn how to live with dual-patterning at least for awhile, while toolmakers seek ways to boost throughput limits.

09/05/2006  September 5, 2006 - Promos Technologies has applied for government approval on two planned 300mm flash memory fabs at the Central Taiwan Science Park, with projected costs exceeding $5 billion by the time of projected completion in 2008.