03/01/2006  An option for device-stacking applications

03/01/2006  Expanding New Applications Development

03/01/2006  The latest contamination-control innovations and inventions

02/28/2006 

02/27/2006  February 27, 2006 - Amkor Technology Inc., Chandler, AZ, said that it is adding wafer bumping operations to its existing test operations in Singapore, using "copy-exact" processes currently used in bumping operations by its Unitive subsidiary in Taiwan.

02/27/2006  Chandler, AZ — Amkor Technology plans to begin its wafer-bumping operations in Singapore later in 2006, providing wafer-bump and wafer-probe services to support emerging applications on 300-mm wafers at 90- and 65-nm nodes, and using the same processes currently employed by Amkor's Unitive subsidiary in Taiwan. Together with its existing test operations in Singapore, Amkor also will offer a full suite of its 300-mm wafer-bumping services with its existing bumping operation in Taiwan.

02/27/2006 

02/24/2006  February 24, 2006 - In the latest episode of an evolving story of consolidation in the metrology sector, KLA-Tencor Corp. has agreed to acquire inspection systems provider ADE Corp. for $488 million in stock.

02/23/2006  February 23, 2006 - ASML Holding NV says it has produced images down to 42nm, at 84nm pitch and a 1-micron depth-of-focus in a 26 x 33 sq. mm field, on its Twinscan XT:1700i immersion lithography system (NA=1.2), noting a 30% improvement in resolution in dry tools.

02/23/2006  February 23, 2006 - Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. said it is making the driver source code for its OneNAND flash memory publicly available, in an effort to generate interest from the open source community, particularly for designers using the Linux v2.6 operating system.

02/22/2006  By Vincent Wiaux, Eric Hendrickx, Geert Vandenberghe, IMEC, Leuven, Belgium

193nm immersion lithography has become the industry's prime choice for printing critical layers in 45nm node processes. In a research facility, through-pitch imaging solutions for 65nm lines and 80nm contact holes were explored using a preproduction 193nm immersion scanner with a numerical aperture (NA) of 0.85.

02/22/2006  February 22, 2006 - KLA-Tencor has added a new feature spanning its lineup of overlay, CD SEM, and optical CD metrology tools to provide automated real-time analysis of overlay and critical dimension (CD) metrology data during 65nm and below IC manufacturing processes.

02/22/2006  February 22, 2006 - Top foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) says it's achieved near-zero defect rates with test wafers using immersion lithography, comparable to dry lithography results and well within acceptable parameters for volume manufacturing.

02/22/2006  February 22, 2006 - Extending joint work on simulating laser bandwidth on critical dimensions (CD), KLA-Tencor Inc. will add Cymer Inc.'s light source spectra into its Prolith lithography optimization tool, to enable users to model the effects of changes in light source spectral characteristics on their advanced lithography processes.

02/22/2006 

02/21/2006  February 21, 2006 - Taiwanese foundry UMC has fabricated a push-push voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) with an operating frequency of 192GHz using 0.13-micron process technologies, the highest operating frequency for any silicon-based circuit to date.

02/21/2006  February 21, 2006 - IBM Corp., along with Tokyo-based JSR Corp. and its US subsidiary JSR Micro Inc., say they have demonstrated sub-30nm patterning using deep-ultraviolet (DUV) 193nm optical lithography, indicating that immersion lithography can be extended to and beyond the 32nm node.

02/20/2006 

02/17/2006  February 17, 2006 - Mentor Graphics Corp., Wilsonville, OR, said its new Calibre MDP mask data preparation tool suite has been qualified for production at IDMs for 45nm process technology in flows based on the OASIS stream format.

02/17/2006  Nikon Corp. says it has shipped the world's first production immersion lithography system to a memory chip manufacturer using 55nm process technologies, and for R&D on 45nm devices.