09/19/2003  Getting a handle on the reliability of devices using new low-k materials and copper interconnects is key to successful integration efforts. Recently, Applied Materials announced it has developed benchmarks for testing the electrical reliability of copper and low-k materials using Agilent Technologies' Parallel Parametric Reliability (PPR) test system.

09/19/2003  September 18, 2003 - Singapore's Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing has taken the wraps off its "NanoAccess" 90nm SoC process technology, based on its development work with IBM.

09/19/2003  September 18, 2003 - Japan continues to push for an industry rebound by posting strong semiconductor equipment sales in July, according to the latest figures from the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ).

09/19/2003  September 18, 2003 - Those anxiously awaiting a market turnaround may be disappointed by the latest semiconductor equipment figures from VLSI -- and downright upset by VLSI's chilly analysis of the numbers.

09/19/2003  Sept. 19, 2003 – Veeco Instruments Inc., a Woodbury, N.Y., provider of metrology products and process equipment tools, filed a lawsuit against Asylum Research Inc. of Santa Barbara, Calif., according to a Veeco news release.

09/18/2003  At the height of the SARS outbreak last spring, Doug Beplate's Emergency Filtration Products Inc. was scrambling to produce as many of its nanoparticle filtration masks as possible, particularly in the Asian markets hardest hit by the communicable virus. Demand has subsided temporarily, but Beplate believes the market for the technology will grow.

09/17/2003  Privacy groups could slow down RFID chip growth The optimism surrounding Wal-Mart's June announcement that strongly encouraged its top 100 suppliers to start using radio frequency identification (RFID) tags by 2005 (see WaferNews, V10n24, June 16, 2003) may have been premature.
(September 17)
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09/17/2003  Sept. 17, 2003 – Silicon Microstructures Inc., a Milpitas, Calif., developer and manufacturer of MEMS-based silicon pressure sensors and custom microstructures, announced the completion of its MEMS fab expansion and renovation.

09/16/2003  September 15, 2003 - Taiwanese chipset maker Silicon Integrated Systems Corp. has proposed a plan to spin off its 8-in. wafer fab into a fully-owned subsidiary, stifling rumors of a possible sale to major shareholder United Microelectronics Corp.

09/16/2003  September 15, 2003 - Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC), Shanghai, China, is reportedly considering buying a stake in an idle chip plant owned by Motorola in Tianjin, China.

09/16/2003  September 15, 2003 - Cascade Microtech, Beaverton, OR, a supplier of wafer test solutions, is opening a new sales office in Singapore.

09/16/2003  September 15, 2003 - Toshiba Corp. plans to quadruple productivity at its new 300mm plant in Oita, Japan, according to local media.

09/16/2003  September 15, 2003 - Bookham Technology, Oxfordshire, UK, has finished consolidating its wafer fab facilities in Caswell, UK, four months ahead of schedule.

09/16/2003  September 15, 2003 - Semitool, Kalispell, MT, a supplier of wafer surface prep and deposition systems, says it will take a $15-$17 million charge in 4Q03 related to inventory writedowns.

09/16/2003  SEPT. 16--OXFORDSHIRE, England--Bookham Technology plc, a provider of optical components, modules and subsystems for fiber optic communication networks, has completed the consolidation of its two main wafer fab facilities, following the acquisition of the Nortel Networks Optical Components businesses (NNOC).

09/12/2003  September 11. 2003 - Renesas Technology Corp., the chipmaking JV between Hitachi Ltd. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp., and PointChips, a fabless USB flash drive controller provider, have announced plans to jointly deliver an ASIC combining Renesas' USB 2.0 technology with PointChips flash controller design.

09/11/2003  Halfway through the third quarter, many big-name chipmaking firms are upping their 3Q performance estimates, and for the most part, Wall Street is cheering. Here's a rundown of recent mid-quarter revelations.

09/11/2003  September 9, 2003 - Schlumberger Technologies, Inc. has transferred its verification systems unit, which develops metrology capital equipment, to Soluris, Concord, MA, a new company formed by the division's management team.

09/11/2003  September 9, 2003 - Nantero, Woburn, MA, a developer of nonvolatile random access memory (NRAM) chips using nanotechnology, has completed a second round of investments totaling $10.5 million.

09/11/2003  September 9, 2003 - IBM says it has developed two new chip manufacturing technologies that could improve CMOS performance by more than 60%.