04/28/2005  (April 28, 2005) Herndon, Va. — The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) announces that most of its OEM and EMS members strongly support unique part-number use for RoHS-compliant components, including Alcatel, Celestica, Cray Inc., Dell, Delphi, HP, Intel Corp., Jabil Circuit, Lucent Technologies, Microsoft, Plexus Corp., Sanmina-SCI Corp., Solectron Corp., StorageTek, and Sun Microsystems.

04/28/2005  April 28, 2005 - Honeywell has announced the opening of a new semiconductor foundry in Plymouth, MN, where it says the industry's first radiation-hardened, 150nm ASICs will be produced. The computer chips are designed for use in military and aerospace systems.

04/27/2005  April 27, 2005 - Toshiba Corp. plans to lift monthly production of NAND flash memory chips at its plant in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, to the equivalent of 21,500 300mm wafers by the end of 2005, more than double its initial plans, The Nihon Keizai Shimbun learned Tuesday.

04/26/2005  (April 26, 2005) Schärding, Austria — EV Group (EVG) has installed a low-temperature wafer-bonding system at Silicon Microstructures Inc. (SMI), a silicon pressure and inertial sensors provider for automotive, medical, and industrial applications.

04/26/2005  April 26, 2005 - Using a selected set of tools and processes, SEMATECH engineers have achieved twin breakthroughs in channel mobility and reliability of high-k/metal gate transistors, putting high-k technology for CMOS within reach at the 45nm technology node.

04/25/2005  April 25, 2005 - This year won't be as bad as previously thought for semiconductor manufacturing equipment investments, but the improved outlook will come at the price of next year's karma, according to new forecast data from IC Insights Inc.

04/25/2005  April 25, 2005 - Toppan Printing Co. Ltd. has announced the successful completion of the acquisition of DuPont Photomasks Inc. Under the terms of the definitive agreement previously announced on Oct. 5, 2004, DuPont Photomasks shareholders will receive US$27 in cash/share. The equity value of the transaction is approximately US$650 million (approximately 68 billion yen) on a diluted basis. The acquisition was approved by shareholders of DuPont Photomasks on March 28, 2005.

04/25/2005  (April 25, 2005) San Sebastián, Spain — The CIDETEC (Centre for Electrochemical Technologies) Technological Centre is investing in nanotechnology development by participating in the European NAPA (Emerging Nanopatterning Methods) project. This research institution is directing a working subgroup to develop new thermoplastic polymers for applications in nanopatterning and nanolithography.

04/22/2005  April 22, 2005 - Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates Inc. has announced that it has won multiple orders for its single wafer VIISta HC high-current ion implanter from ProMOS Technologies Inc. ProMOS ordered the tools to support the expansion of its 300mm memory fab in Taichung, Taiwan.

04/22/2005  April 22, 2005 - South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor agreed to pay a $185 million fine to settle allegations that it participated in a global price-fixing conspiracy, US Justice Department officials said Thursday, reported the Agence France-Presse.

04/21/2005  April 21, 2005 - Although US semiconductor manufacturers still have 47% of the worldwide microchip market, only 20% of new, state-of-the-art production facilities now under construction are in the US. Lower tax rates and incentives that reduce the cost of capital in other countries - not lower labor costs - are the principal reasons why most new manufacturing facilities currently being built are outside the US, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).

04/21/2005  GLOUCESTER, MA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 04/21/2005 -- Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc. announced today that it has won multiple orders for its single wafer VIISta HC high current ion implanter from ProMOS Technologies, Inc. ProMOS ordered the tools to support the expansion of its 300mm memory fab in Taichung, Taiwan.

04/21/2005  (April 21, 2005) Austin, Texas — SEMATECH announces and identifies its Top Technical Challenges for 2006, continuing to underscore advanced gate stack, 193-nm immersion and EUV lithography, mask infrastructure, and low-k dielectrics with process compatibility. For the first time, consortium leaders also placed planar bulk transistor scaling on the list.

04/21/2005  April 21, 2005 - Following through on its intentions to invest in high-growth opportunities-at the expense of other promising businesses-Cypress Semiconductor Corp., San Jose, CA, announced it plans to spin off its SunPower silicon solar-cell subsidiary in an initial public offering

04/21/2005  Whether you are a section manager overseeing new technology initiatives in a corporate lab or a project leader shepherding technology development in a startup, chances are you could use more resources. Underfunded projects and overburdened staff make the goal of beating your competition seem a quixotic dream. In my experience, vertical integration of resources, compared to sharing resources, provides the most effective method of quickly getting to market.

04/20/2005  AUSTIN, TX -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 04/19/2005 -- SEMATECH announced its Top Technical Challenges for 2006, continuing to underscore advanced gate stack, 193 nm immersion and EUV lithography, mask infrastructure, and low-k dielectrics with process compatibility. Consortium leaders also placed planar bulk transistor scaling on the list for the first time.

04/20/2005  April 20, 2005 - Global orders for Japanese semiconductor manufacturing equipment fell 14.1% in March from a year earlier to Y115.38 billion, according to preliminary data released Tuesday by SEAJ, said the Nihon Keizai Shimbun.

04/20/2005  Oregon's nanotechnology initiative appears to be holding steady even if one of its leading industrial supporters has faced a bumpy start this year. Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI), one of the state's signature research centers, is on the docket for more state and federal funding, and continues to win the support of its business and political leaders.

04/19/2005  By J. Robert Lineback, Senior Technical Editor

During the past nine years, South Korea's $20 billion-plus chip industry has been hammered and reshaped by a variety of financial and semiconductor market forces. What has emerged is a more diversified semiconductor supplier base in Korea, consisting of four major chipmakers pursuing very different business models, but memory products still dominate the country's output.

04/19/2005  Thirteen years ago, five of the top 10 DRAM producers were in Japan. What a difference a decade - and a punishing downturn - make.