09/02/2003  Focal Point Microsystems LLC of Tucson, Ariz., believes its technology ends the quest for cost-effective nanoscale lithography for MEMS devices – an elusive industry Holy Grail. One of a number of companies pursuing maskless lithography for production of microscopic devices, the firm's technology "is basically like having the ability to produce a book without having to print one page at a time."

09/02/2003  MEMGen Corp. has changed its name to Microfabrica Inc. to put the focus on manufacturing, not MEMS, according to a news release.

09/01/2003 

09/01/2003 

09/01/2003  Despite hard times in the chip and microelectronics industries, a report from a firm that tracks wafer manufacturing says there are more than twice as many fabs under construction this year than in all of 2002.

08/28/2003  August 26, 2003 - Powerchip Semiconductor Corp., Hsinchu, Taiwan, and DRAM JV Elpida Memory, Tokyo, Japan, a DRAM JV between NEC and Hitachi, have extended a previous agreement to exchange foundry services for chip manufacturing processes.

08/28/2003  August 26, 2003 - Elpida Memory, Tokyo, Japan, a JV between NEC and Hitachi, plans to take over NEC's production facility in Hiroshima to bolster its position in the DRAM market.

08/27/2003  In what could be the first of many buyouts of small-tech memory makers, Advanced Micro Devices purchased molecular memory maker Coatue in June. Neil Gordon, nanotechnology partner at Sygertech and president of the Canadian NanoBusiness Alliance, thinks it could be the first of many such purchases as the semiconductor industry searches for new technologies to power the products of tomorrow.

08/26/2003  August 25, 2003 - Tower Semiconductor, Migdal Haemek, Israel, says it has received $2.5 million from wafer and financial partners towards its Fab 2 project, and received a commitment for another $20.4 million.

08/26/2003  August 25, 2003 - ASM International, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, plans to relocate its R&D facilities in from Espoo, Finland, to the University of Helsinki, where the two organizations will jointly develop atomic layer deposition technologies.

08/26/2003  August 25, 2003 - Infineon, Munich Germany, plans to contract with Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) to manufacture memory chips with 0.11-micron processes, according to wire reports.

08/25/2003  Senior Editor needed with writing/editing skills and some knowledge of semiconductor wafer processing. Job involves soliciting and editing articles about semiconductor processing, working with authors, writing some Technology News stories, and attending technical conferences/exhibitions to keep current on the technology areas covered.

08/25/2003  August 21, 2003 - Bolstered by recent decisions from the US and European Union to levy tariffs against Hynix Semiconductor, other DRAM manufacturers also are seeking similar government action against the South Korean chipmaker, according to local reports.

08/25/2003  August 22, 2003 - Sipex Corp., Milpitas, CA, has signed a deal with PolarFab, a Bloomington, MN, foundry, to produce its high-end power management and interface products, as well as wafers for Silex's photo detector DVD products.

08/25/2003  August 22, 2003 - Chip factory utilization surfaced above the 85% level in the second quarter, closing in on the 90% mark where firms traditionally begin investing in new capacity, according to an industry group.

08/25/2003  August 21, 2003 - Metron Technology N.V., San Jose, CA, and Trazar Corp., Santa Clara, CA, have signed an agreement to add Trazar's radio frequency matching networking technology to Metron's Fab Solutions product and service portfolio.

08/25/2003  August 21, 2003 - Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing has promoted Mike Rekuc, president of the company's Americas region, to senior VP of worldwide sales and marketing, replacing Bruno Guilmart who is leaving the company.

08/25/2003  August 22, 2003 - Worldwide manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted a book-to-bill ratio of 1.02 in July 2003, the first time since January 2003 that the ratio has climbed above the parity level, according to VLSI Research.

08/22/2003  By Dar

08/22/2003  August 19, 2003 - DRAM chipmaker Kingston Technology, Fountain Valley, CA, has signed a deal to provide technology to Elpida Memory, Tokyo, Japan, in exchange for non-voting stock.