01/04/2005  By J. Robert Lineback, Senior Technical Editor
Ready or not, the semiconductor industry is attempting to work up the gumption and early development strategy for the next big wafer challenge: 450mm diameter silicon substrates. Nearly all experts agree that the industry is dragging its collective heels in organizing an effort to define and create R&D programs needed to put 450mm wafers into production by 2011-2012.

01/04/2005  January 4, 2005 - In an effort to accelerate the development of new-generation transistors, Soitec has announced its participation as the SOI substrate supplier in a development program led by the Advanced Technology Development Facility (ATDF), the new independent subsidiary of Sematech for advanced semiconductor R&D in Austin, TX.

01/03/2005  (January 03, 2005) San Jose, Calif. — Worldwide sales of semiconductors grew to $19.02 billion in November 2004, an increase of 1.3% from the $18.8 billion in October 2004, and an increase of 18% from the $16.12 billion in October 2003, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reports.

01/03/2005  January 3, 2005 - Worldwide sales of semiconductors grew to $19.02 billion in November, an increase of 1.3% from the $18.8 billion in October, and an increase of 18% from the $16.12 billion in October 2003, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reported today.

01/01/2005  Extraction (www.extraction.com) has unveiled technology designed to both detect and measure molecular contamination for 193-nm lithography processes.

01/01/2005  Research has demonstrated that ozone can offer a more environmentally friendly alternative to existing cleaning processes and, in many instances, can outperform them.

12/30/2004  December 30, 2004 - Toppan Printing Co. has formed a joint venture with Chinese chip foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) to make on-chip color filters and micro lenses for image sensors, according to Jiji Press Ltd.

12/27/2004  December 27, 2004 - The board of directors of PowerChip Semiconductor Corp. (PSC) have approved a plan to open a 200mm wafer fab in mainland China and have decided to put 20% of the firm's net worth of NT$69.3 billion (US$2.1 billion) into the investment, said the Financial Times.

12/23/2004  December 24, 2004 - SEH America Inc. will begin producing 300mm silicon wafers at its Vancouver plant, reported The Oregonian. The news, which the company announced Tuesday, comes as SEH's Japanese parent company undertakes a major expansion to make the larger-diameter wafers.

12/22/2004  December 22, 2004 - Sony Corp. said Tuesday it will invest 60 billion yen (US$575 million) in fiscal 2005 and 2006 to boost production of semiconductors at Sony Semiconductor Kyushu Corp, according to Kyodo News International.

12/22/2004  December 22, 2004 - Renesas Technologies Corp., the world's fifth-largest chipmaker, said Tuesday it will merge its wholly-owned unit, Trecenti Technologies Inc., into its parent entity in March 2005, according to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun America.

12/22/2004  December 22, 2004 - Shin-Etsu Handotai Co. plans to invest more than 200 billion yen to more than double capacity for production of 300mm silicon wafers in Japan and the US, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported today.

12/21/2004  December 20, 2004 - Artisan Components Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, has agreed to support 0.18-micron process technologies from a pair of Chinese foundries: Shanghai Hua Hong NEC Electronics Co. Ltd. (HHNEC), and HeJian Technology Suzhou Co. Ltd.

12/21/2004  December 21, 2004 - Micronic Laser Systems AB, Taby, Sweden, has agreed to license its patents relating to spatial light modulator (SLM) and datapath technologies to ASML Netherlands BV for use in optical maskless lithography for semiconductor applications.

12/21/2004  (December 21, 2004) Stamford, Conn.—Worldwide semiconductor capital equipment spending is on pace to increase 61% in 2004, but spending in 2005 is projected to decline 15%, according to Gartner Inc. The packaging and assembly equipment market will experience a 22% decline in 2005, with revenue of approximately $3.5 billion.

12/21/2004  December 21, 2004 - Researchers at SEMATECH North have reached a milestone in reducing deposition tool-generated defects in mask blanks used for extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL). They have deposited EUV multilayers with as few as one defect/mask at 80nm resolution, which translates into 0.005 defects/square centimeter.

12/21/2004  December 21, 2004 - Synopsys Inc. and UMC have announced that UMC is using Synopsys' alternating aperture phase-shift mask (AA-PSM) technology to enhance manufacturability for its 90nm process.

12/20/2004 

12/16/2004  December 16, 2004 - Toshiba Corp. and NEC Corp. said Wednesday they have jointly developed some key technologies for magnetic random access memory, or MRAM, chips for use in future mobile electronic gadgets, according to Nihon Keizai Shimbun.

12/16/2004  December 16, 2004 - Coherent Inc. today announced its Lambda Physik subsidiary would discontinue future product development and investments in the semiconductor lithography market due to market conditions. Lambda will continue to support its installed lithography base.