09/29/2005  September 29, 2005 - Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has joined the SEMATECH semiconductor consortium to address next-generation semiconductor technologies, including lithography and materials, both of which are crucial to future semiconductor transistor development. Officials for both companies announced the decision yesterday, following the signing of a formal member participation agreement in Giheung.

09/29/2005  September 29, 2005 - SEMATECH researchers have identified a dual damascene method for interconnect integration that could achieve an aggressive industry target for ultra low-k dielectric materials in semiconductor manufacturing. The two-level metal, dual damascene process uses two Zirkon interlayer dielectric (ILD) films from Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials to demonstrate a copper/ultra low-k (ULK) integration with a k-effective (k_eff) value of 2.5.

09/28/2005  September 29, 2005 - In a move to expand its foundry resources to support expected continued growth, California Micro Devices has announced the completion of a wafer supply agreement with Seiko Epson Corp. (Epson). This accord engages the Japan-based Epson foundry as a high-volume wafer manufacturing resource for CMD's ICs, targeting the mobile handset, personal computer, and digital consumer electronics markets.

09/26/2005  September 26, 2005 - Straatum Processware Ltd., a Dublin, Ireland-based supplier of real-time fault detection and classification (FDC) software for semiconductor manufacturing, has opened a global sales office in San Jose, CA.

09/26/2005  The Foresight Nanotech Institute, a public interest think tank with a 20-year history at the forefront of nanotechnology theory, wants to become involved in its more immediate uses as well. Scott Mize was brought on as president a year ago to help execute that transition.

09/22/2005  September 22, 2005 - Orders and sales of equipment and ICs showed tiny sequential declines in August, as the industry prepared to ramp up to meet demand going into the consumer-centric holiday season.

09/22/2005  September 22, 2005 - Apple's new iPod nano music player includes some "surprising" choices in its semiconductor components, and its heavy use of NAND flash will "radically change the market dynamics of both thememory market and the MP3 player," according to iSuppli Corp.

09/22/2005  San Jose, Calif. — On a 3-month average in August 2005, North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.12 billion in orders and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.05, according to SEMI's August 2005 Book-to-Bill Report.

09/22/2005 

09/21/2005  London, England — Lead-free wafer bumping and electronic packaging are emerging as an effective means of creating better performance semiconductor devices and gaining a competitive edge in a crowded market, furthered by growing environmental concerns from authorities such as the RoHS Directive. End-user demand for low-cost products, fuelled by the influx of Southeast Asian companies, is also prompting European participants to up the ante in innovation.

09/21/2005  September 21, 2005 - Hitachi Ltd. has announced that it has developed technology that promises to significantly increase the data storage capacity of MRAM (magnetoresistive random access memory) devices, according to the Nikkei English News.

09/21/2005  September 21, 2005 - North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.12 billion in orders in August 2005 and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.05, according to SEMI's August 2005 Book-to-Bill Report. "The book-to-bill ratio is above parity for the first time in a year driven in large part by orders for test and assembly equipment," said SEMI president and CEO Stanley T. Myers.

09/21/2005  Two large nanotech-related private financings were announced on Tuesday. Molecular Imprints raised $17 million in the first closing of a Series C round. Kereos announced a $19.5 million Series B.

09/20/2005  September 20, 2005 - ASML Holding NV today announced that electronics giant Toshiba Corp. purchased a license for its patented lithography technology that helps manufacturers increase their chip yields. Toshiba joins more than 20 chipmakers and foundries in adopting ASML's Scattering Bar Technology. Toshiba will use the technology in the production of semiconductor devices.

09/20/2005 

09/20/2005 

09/19/2005  Colorado Springs, Colo. — IC Interconnect (ICI) is now offering wafer test, laser marking, die singulation, and tape-and-reel capabilities as standard services. The equipment set gives ICI installed capacity to process approximately 2 million bumped die per week for small- to moderate-volume processing of 100 to 500 wafers/week.

09/19/2005  September 19, 2005 - Intel Corp. said it will invest $345 million for upgrades to its wafer fabs in Massachusetts and Oregon, just a month after agreeing to build a new $3 billion 300mm fab in Arizona. Under the plans, Intel will spend $190 million to add a second cleanroom to its Fab 23 in Colorado Springs, for final processing of microprocessors produced on 300mm wafers at other locations prior to final testing and packaging.

09/16/2005  September 16, 2005 - At the recent 2nd International Symposium on Immersion Lithography, held in Brugges, Belgium, the Interuniversity MicroElectronics Center (IMEC) presented the first conclusive exposure results on its newly upgraded ASML XT:1250i immersion lithography tool.

09/16/2005