11/07/2003  (November 7, 2003) Champaign, Ill.—Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have broken their own record for what is believed to be the world's fastest transistor. Their latest device, with a frequency of 509 gigahertz, is 57 gigahertz faster than their previous record holder and could find use in applications such as high-speed communications products, consumer electronics and electronic combat systems.

11/07/2003  An upcoming industry symposium aims to focus on International SEMATECH's model for analyzing the economic impact of 300mm wafers on the semiconductor industry.

11/07/2003  November 3, 2003 - EV Group, Scharding, Austria, and Silicon Genesis Corp. (SiGen), San Jose, CA, have signed an agreement to develop low-temperature wafer bonding technologies.

11/06/2003  WSTS forecasts market growth
(November 6, 2003) Brussels, Belgium—The World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) recently released its Fall 2003 forecast, which says market indicators are pointing to growth from 2003 through 2005.

11/04/2003  A recent market study that predicts 2004 should be a good year for nanotechnology toolmakers may not be as noteworthy as the motive behind the study, itself – discovering nanotech's "hive intelligence." Think of the nano sector as an ant farm. Input some anonymous, thus possibly more frank, data about individual workers, and the entire industry moves up the intelligence food chain.

11/03/2003  A team at Lucent Technologies' Bell Labs has built a photonic crystal-based laser that could be used in powerful, sensitive optical devices and chemical detectors, according to a news release.

11/01/2003  Recent columns published in Advanced Packaging reported on the moves of IC makers to outsource assembly and test operations based on the argument that if a capability is not something that you put in your sales literature, then maybe that capability should be outsourced.

11/01/2003  The goal of saving time and money by conducting final test in strip or matrix format can be achieved by applying prober-based sort floor technologies and methods to final test handling. While today's sort floors can process multiple types of devices in the same physical format, a wafer, final test has a proliferation of multiple handler types for each package family.

11/01/2003  A major challenge facing the semiconductor manufacturing industry is increasing the efficiency of final manufacturing processes. The migration of cost structure from wafer fab toward final manufacturing has placed it in the crosshairs of fiscal scrutiny and revealed economic and technical issues that could conceivably impair some manufacturers' economic viability.

11/01/2003 

10/31/2003  Amkor's power SiP addresses thermal challenges
(February 3, 2004) Chandler, Ariz.—Amkor Technology Inc. is using its system-in-package (SiP) technology to solve the challenges of thermally demanding DC/DC power-conversion applications.

10/30/2003  (October 30, 2003) Little Falls, NJ—The long, rough ride the semiconductor industry has endured for the past few years is slowly showing signs of recovery. Stock prices are going up, even if revenues are still lower than they were before the tech bubble burst in 2001.

10/30/2003  FormFactor Inc. has proven that a MEMS company could go public. But the company’s experience also highlights how many stars must align to make a compelling IPO – a lesson for small tech startups looking to leap from late-stage venture funding to the public markets.

10/29/2003  Mid-4Q updates: Happy holidays for chipmakers
(December 15, 2003) Halfway through the current fiscal quarter, several big chipmakers are spreading holiday cheer with revised financial outlooks — but one chipmaker will also receive a lump of coal in its stocking.

10/28/2003  OCT. 28--SANTA CRUZ, Calif.--The most recent edition of The Quarterly Spot Report on Semiconductor Fab Projects, released by Strategic Marketing Associates (SMA), shows that the improving economy and growth in chip sales are boosting wafer fab construction activity.

10/28/2003  Oct. 28, 2003 - Nantero Inc. has teamed up with the Netherlands-based ASML Holding NV to prove compatibility between Nantero's carbon nanotube materials and ASML's semiconductor equipment, according to a news release.

10/28/2003  Oct. 28, 2003 - Albany NanoTech has ordered two atomic-layer deposition systems from Genus Inc., a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based developer of semiconductor and data storage device manufacturing equipment, according to a company news release.

10/28/2003  Experts say packaging is hands down the biggest challenge for commercializing more MEMS devices. The technical difficulties involved in packaging can be considerable. But even more problematic is an industry wide mindset that views packaging as secondary – if it is considered at all. The experts say that attitude is beginning to change, though, as the industry matures.

10/27/2003  OCT. 24--GLOUCESTER, Mass.--Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc., a supplier of ion implantation systems, says seven customers located in China, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan have placed orders for the recently-released single wafer VIISta 80HP high current ion implanter to support their advanced device development and manufacturing needs.

10/24/2003  October 23, 2003 - Korea's Hynix Semiconductor reported 3Q03 revenues (not including overseas subsidiaries) of $832 million, up 27% from 2Q03, due in part to a 20% jump in DRAM ASPs.