10/01/2004  Coupled with a water film device, the inherent rinsing properties of a waterjet-guided laser significantly reduce particle contamination generated in most cutting processes

09/30/2004  September 30, 2004 - JMAR Technologies Inc.'s systems division has received an additional $2.1 million in funding from the US government Naval Air Warfare Center to procure sub-100nm feature x-ray masks for next-generation lithography, and to produce Zone Plate optics for x-ray microscopes and x-ray nanoprobes.

09/30/2004  September 30, 2004 - The Interuniversities Microelectronics Center (IMEC) has launched a new program to find ways nanotechnology can replace and/or extend the life of advanced CMOS manufacturing technologies.

09/29/2004  September 29, 2004 - ASML and Nikon have finalized details of their patent settlement, announced in early September, regarding lithography equipment.

09/29/2004  September 29, 2004 - Agere Systems has announced plans to reduce expenses by eliminating 500 employees and ceasing operations at its Orlando, FL, facility by the end of 2005 if a sale cannot be arranged by that time. Agere said that it is aligning its cost structure to match current revenue expectations and to improve profitability.

09/29/2004  September 29, 2004 - Mainland China's entry into volume production of 300mm wafers officially began in late September with the formal opening of a $1 billion fab in Beijing by silicon foundry supplier Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC).

09/28/2004  September 28, 2004 - More chipmakers are coming forward to downgrade their estimates for 3Q04 performance, claming inventory buildup has become an industrywide problem.

09/27/2004  Much More Than Moore
News Analysis by Jeffrey C. Demmin, Advanced Packaging contributing editor
I must admit that the title of this was stolen from Carlo Cognetti of ST Microelectronics, who gave a very interesting keynote talk titled that at the Napa KGD workshop recently.
(September 27, 2004)

09/23/2004  (September 23, 2004) Shanghai —Testing and packaging houses located in China, including Amkor Technology and Global Advanced Packaging Technology (GAPT), will grow to meet regional increasing demand, as reported by industry makers.

09/22/2004  September 22, 2004 - Akrion has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Goldfinger Technologies LLC, has received an order for five Goldfinger Mach2HP single wafer systems. The Mach2HP cleaners will ship to a DRAM manufacturer in Asia for its most advanced (<130nm) 300mm copper process manufacturing line.

09/16/2004  September 15, 2004 - Infineon Technologies AG said it has agreed to plead guilty to charges of DRAM memory chip price-fixing from the US Department of Justice, and will pay a $160 million fine, one of the biggest antitrust fines ever levied in the US.

09/15/2004  September 14, 2004 - A new joint development program between Synopsys Inc., Mountain View, CA, and Photronics Inc., Brookfield, CT, aims to tighten the links between design software and the production of advanced photomasks for 65nm and below processes.

09/15/2004  September 14, 2004 - Synopsys Inc., Mountain View, CA, and Photronics Inc., Brookfield, CT, are forming a joint program to improve design-for-manufacturing (DFM) and mask synthesis for advanced photomasks.

09/15/2004  September 15, 2004 - ASML MaskTools, Santa Clara, CA, and Micron Technology Inc., Boise, ID, have signed a multiyear deal to develop applications for resolution-enhancement techniques.

09/15/2004  September 15, 2004 - IBM Corp. and Suss MicroTec AG have struck an alliance to commercialize IBM's "C4NP" next-generation wafer solder-bump technology, described as the first flip-chip technology to support 100% lead-free packaging with a combination of fine-pitch connections, low cost, and the flexibility to use most types of solder compositions.

09/13/2004  September 13, 2004 - IBM and SUSS MicroTec AG have signed an agreement to develop and commercialize IBM's next-generation, 100% lead-free semiconductor packaging technology.

09/10/2004  September 10, 2004 - Samsung Electronics Co. has begun mass-production of chips manufactured with a 90nm design rule, claiming the chips are the first of their type in the world.

09/10/2004  September 10, 2004 - Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd. has made working 0.13-micron silicon chips from its first 300mm wafers, the Singapore-based company said in a recent statement to the Singapore stock exchange, according to the Taiwan News.

09/10/2004  (September 10, 2004) London, U.K.—The utilization of manufacturing capacity at wafer fabs all over the world peaked in the second quarter (Q2) of 2004 and likely will dip over the next several quarters as manufacturing capacity is brought on-stream, according to market research firm iSuppi Corp.

09/09/2004  September 9, 2004 - The latest monthly data from the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ) provide more evidence of strong, yet slowing, demand for semiconductor manufacturing equipment.