08/01/2005  Micro and nano address matter, devices, and products on a scale where the phenomena differ from traditional science and engineering.

08/01/2005  Integration requires a high level of test coverage across SiPs

08/01/2005  In what president and CEO Edward Grady calls a “strategic combination,” Brooks Automation (www.brooks.com), which provides automation solutions for semiconductor manufacturing, has acquired vacuum-technology leader Helix Technology Corp. (www.helixtechnology.com).

07/28/2005 

Jason Tiffany, Infineon Technologies; Barney Cohen, SensArray Corp.

As linewidths approach 90nm node in volume production, post exposure bake (PEB) uniformity becomes a much larger component of the across-wafer critical dimension uniformity (CDU). In production, the need for PEB plate matching has led to novel solutions such as plate-specific dose offsets.

07/27/2005  July 27, 2005 - Elpida Memory Inc., a Japanese supplier of DRAM, has announced that it has reached an agreement with Advantest, Kingston Technology, and Powertech Technology on forming a new start-up company that will serve as reportedly the world's largest wafer testing service. The new company, to be called Tera Probe, is expected to begin operations on October 1.

07/26/2005  July 26, 2005 -- Intel Corp., Santa Clara, CA, has announced plans to build a new 300mm wafer fabrication facility at its site in Chandler, AZ. The new factory, designated Fab 32, will begin leading-edge microprocessor production in 2H07 on 45nm process technology. The company says construction on the $3 billion project is to begin immediately.

07/26/2005  July 26, 2005 -- IQE Inc., Bethlehem, PA, has begun shipping antimonide (Sb)-based epitaxial wafers, produced using the company's molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) platforms.

07/26/2005  Gyros and optical MEMS are the last of their kind – devices that enter the market at very high prices. The next wave is entering the market in a completely different way.

07/25/2005  July 25, 2005 KLA-Tencor and Aprio Technologies today announced their intent to collaborate on the development of an integrated advanced mask design inspection and repair tool. Both companies assert that this partnership will encourage better collaboration between their customers' design and manufacturing teams. As part of this collaboration, Aprio will provide new functionality to products under development at KLA-Tencor that address automated mask layout inspection.

07/25/2005  July 25, 2005 - IMEC has developed a 90nm low-cost RF-CMOS platform targeting applications in the 5-24GHz range, according to IMEC's July newsletter on this paper, which was presented at the 2005 VLSI Conference.

07/25/2005 

07/22/2005  July 22, 2005 - The US-Taiwan Business Council's most recent report says the US government needs a more balanced perspective on semiconductor manufacturing investment in China. "Semiconductor Report - Second Quarter 2005" is the latest in a series of quarterly reports examining emerging trends in the integrated US-Taiwan-China semiconductor industry. The number of new semiconductor fabs being built in the US is on a steady decline, while China and Taiwan are seeing remarkable growth.

07/22/2005  July 22, 2005 - Ultratech Inc. has announced the appointment of Andrew Hawryluk, Ph.D., to the position of senior VP of engineering for lithography and laser processing. Hawryluk, 51, has over two decades of experience in the semiconductor industry, including high-level positions at Photon Dynamics and KLA-Tencor Corp.

07/21/2005  The U.S. currency experienced a boost since STMicroelectronics outlined its restructuring strategy in June, but its overall weakness compared to the euro is forcing ST and other companies to engage in a difficult balancing act.

07/20/2005  July 20, 2005 - North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.07B in orders in June 2005 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.93, according to the June 2005 Book-to-Bill Report published today by SEMI.

07/20/2005  Startups cocooned themselves as they overhauled products and business plans. This may be the year they re-emerge.

07/19/2005  By Bob Haavind, Editorial Director

Fabs are filling dielectrics with air bubbles, sunning them under UV lamps, and putting on caps to keep molecules in place, but after a decade of development, really low-k (k<3) still has not made it into volume production.

07/19/2005  (July 19, 2005) Bernin, France — Soitec, a manufacturer of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers and other engineered substrates, announces record consolidated sales of 51.2 million Euros for Q1 2005-2006. Sales grew 26.1% over the previous quarter and 57.3% over the same period one year ago. Wafer demand was strong for all major diameters, particularly for 300 mm, which represented 54% of total wafer sales for the quarter.

07/19/2005  Soon educators may get another tool they hope will help students better understand nanotechnology and develop nano-related skills.

07/18/2005  July 18, 2005 - Ushio Inc. said Friday it will acquire an equity stake of 50% in Xtreme Technologies GmbH of Germany, a developer of lithography devices used to make semiconductor chips, from Lambda Physik AG of Germany, reports Jiji news.