06/13/2006  The 9th annual International Interconnect Technology Conference again brought together hundreds of the world's leading semiconductor manufacturers, equipment and materials suppliers, and research centers for three days of comparing notes and competing for bragging rights. Among the highlights: detailed information on likely 45nm dual-damascene Cu/porous-low-k integration, and using dielectric "air-gap" large structured pores as a comparable and perhaps less expensive manufacturing alternative.

06/13/2006  June 13, 2006 - The market for fab automation tools, characterized as "extremely volatile" and often trending opposite to the rest of the equipment industry, is poised for significant growth over the next two years thanks to the ongoing migration to using 300mm wafers in semiconductor manufacturing, according to one analyst.

06/12/2006  June 12, 2006 - South Korea's Dongbu Electronics says it has completed development of a NOR flash memory process with Taiwan's Eon Silicon Solution Inc. using 0.13-micron process technology on 200mm wafers. Volume production is expected to begin in 3Q06, ramping to 3000 wafers/month in 2007.

06/12/2006  June 12, 2006 - Citing stronger than expected growth in several key end-markets -- notably cell phones -- the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) has brightened its semiannual forecast for the semiconductor industry, following a similar recent upgrade from the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics group (WSTS).

06/12/2006  June 12, 2006 - NEC Electronics America Inc., Santa Clara, CA, says it has developed 55nm standard CMOS process technology (dubbed "UX7LS) to be used with next-generation, ultralow-power consumption systems-on-chips (SoC), as well as the company's CMOS-compatible DRAM technology.

06/12/2006  June 12, 12006 -- Intel Corp. is ready to show off results of its work with CMOS tri-gate transistors at this week's VLSI Symposium in Hawaii, touting its successful integration of high-k gate dielectrics, metal gate electrodes, and strained silicon to offer considerably lower leakage and consume much less power than today's planar transistors. The devices could become the basic building blocks for future microprocessors beyond the 45nm node.

06/12/2006  QD Vision Inc. announced it has manufactured a quantum dot display. The company said the monochrome display demonstrates the manufacturability and commercial feasibility of quantum dot technology as a foundation for next generation displays.

06/09/2006  June 9, 2006 - The latest batch of midquarter outlooks are out from several semiconductor manufacturers and equipment suppliers, with mixed results. Kulicke & Soffa says its wire bond customers aren't clear about long-term spending plans, while Novellus is getting a boost from memory manufacturers' expansions.

06/09/2006  June 9, 2006 - FormFactor has unveiled new wafer probe card technology to address challenges associated with one-touchdown 300mm flash wafer probing.

06/09/2006  June 9, 2006 - BOC Edwards and JV partner BOD Lien Hwa have begun work on the next phase of expansion of the company's nitrogen production pipeline distribution network in the Hsinchu Science Park in northern Taiwan.

06/08/2006  June 8, 2006 - Fresh off a $300M infusion to support expansion at its Tianjin facilities, Chinese flagship foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) said its Shanghai subsidiary has closed a five-year, $600 million secured term loan facility with a consortium of international and Chinese banks.

06/08/2006 

06/07/2006  ArF immersion lithography has started to reveal defectivity and overlay numbers comparable to dry ArF lithography, indicating that the technology is rapidly maturing and will soon be ready for introduction in volume manufacturing.

06/06/2006  The IX-200 ChromaDice DPSS version is a high-precision wafer dicing system suitable for wafer trimming and scribing applications.

06/06/2006  The ULTRAMIC 600 advanced ceramic heater offers a high thermal conductivity aluminum nitride (AIN) ceramic composition paired with a proprietary, thermally matched heating element to enable a fast-responding heater configured in a low-mass package, suited to semiconductor processing, wire and die bonding equipment, analytical instrumentation, aerospace and medical device applications.

06/06/2006  June 6, 2006 - Brion Technologies and Crolles2 Alliance partners STMicroelectronics, Philips Semiconductors, and Freescale Semiconductor, have incorporated Brion's Tachyon LMC lithography manufacturability verification technology into production on a fully automated 65nm process flow, and agreed to continue working to develop optical-proximity correction (OPC) technology for 45nm device fabrication.

06/06/2006  We are entering a new era, in which nano-fabrication is moving beyond IC fabrication. Chasing Moore's Law is still an important challenge, but there are now other interesting challenges, such as making electronics ubiquitous, particularly in the medical field, and harnessing Nature's self-assembly methods. These were among the paths followed at the Electron, Ion, & Photon Beam Technology & Nanofabrication (EIPBN) held May 29 to June 2 in Baltimore, MD.

06/05/2006  June 5, 2006 - Renesas Technology Corp., the chipmaking JV between Hitachi and Mitsubishi Electric, has expanded its technology license to Powerchip Semiconductor Co. to supply the Taiwanese company with flash memory devices, according to local news reports.

06/05/2006  Over the past 30 years, photovoltaics technology has made its share of false starts, and has earned a reputation as being impractical without government subsidies. However, recent advances and conditions are converging to create what this time promises to be a sustainable market -- and a significant business opportunity market for the semiconductor industry.

06/05/2006  June 5, 2006 - Intel Corp. reportedly has put several of its money-losing communications businesses up for sale amid efforts to refocus on core microprocessor business and reverse a slump, and other units could be for sale "if the price is right." Among the questions unanswered: is the company's longtime lossmaking flash business next?