08/22/2003  August 20, 2003 - For Big Blue, August has been decidedly unkind: first a blackout shuts down its Fishkill, NY fab, then workers at the company's Vermont plant get pink slips.

08/22/2003  Guest Column: The MEMS industry has seen mixed success over the last decade. Today, there are only a few high-volume MEMS products available. Despite a major infusion of funds, efforts have not yet produced working MEMS in high volumes. The customer-foundry relationship is a significant factor. The “foundry” must be more than just a foundry; it must be a true manufacturing partner.

08/19/2003  Phoseon Technology Inc. has launched an automated optical inspection system for advanced packaging applications in MEMS, according to a news release.

08/18/2003  August 18, 2003 - FASL Japan Ltd., the Japanese arm of a joint venture between AMD and Fujitsu, and GE Global Electronic Solutions have completed a $100 million sale and leaseback of equipment, including machines for lithography, metrology, deposition and tech, and furnace equipment.

08/18/2003  August 14, 2003 - Despite tariffs levied by the US and European Union, Hynix Semiconductor managed to gain on rivals in the DRAM market, according to a new Gartner Dataquest report. The next several quarters, however, will be more telling of the company's resiliency.

08/18/2003  August 14, 2003 - Allied Integrated Patterning Co. (AIPC) says it will complete equipment move-in and begin mass production of TFT-LCD photo masks by 2Q04. The affiliate of Allied Materials Technology Corp. (AMTC) hopes to generate sales of $130.8 million in sales by 2008, after an initial capital investment of $52.3 million.

08/15/2003  August 14, 2003 - Industry bellwether Applied Materials, Santa Clara, CA, says it lost $36.8 million in 3Q03 on $1.09 billion in sales, compared with a $115.2 million profit on revenues of $1.5 billion in 3Q02. The loss was mainly due to a pre-tax realignment charge, without which Applied would have realized a $0.05/share profit during the quarter, beating analysts' estimates.

08/14/2003  August 13, 2003 - NASA scientists have developed a technique to use carbon nanotubes in place of copper conductors as interconnects on ICs, according to a report by the Gale Group. The carbon nanotubes have advantages over copper in that they can carry immense currents (greater than 1 million amps/cm2) with little or no deterioration; comparatively, copper's resistivity is inversely proportional to its size.

08/14/2003  Sensitive electrical measurements provide the underpinning for many nanotechnology discoveries, particularly in the areas of materials and nanoelectronics. They help academic and industrial scientists and engineers fully understand the electrical properties of new materials, and the electrical performance of new nanoelectronic devices and components.

08/12/2003  Organ farming has always been one of the more macabre slices of science fiction: mad scientists growing livers, brains, kidneys and the like in strange tanks, awaiting transplantation into some Frankenstein creation. Dr. Joseph Vacanti is trying to make organ farming a reality. His work is anything but a horror show – and thanks to MEMS technology, it won’t be the stuff of fiction forever.

08/11/2003  August 9, 2003 - Suzhou He Jiang, a mainland Chinese chipmaker, is planning for volume production in September 2003 for its 8-in. wafers made with a 0.18-micron process, according to the Taiwan Economic News. The company, headed up by former UMC execs, projects a monthly capacity of 10,000 wafers/month.

08/11/2003  August 9, 2003 - FormFactor, Livermore, CA, has begun production of its 253 DUT wafer test system, a large-area array probe card aimed at 300mm DRAM manufacturers. The array can test 253 devices per touchdown, thanks to proprietary interconnect technology and design tools.

08/11/2003  August 9, 2003 - Exports of information technology products reached a record $4.88 billion in July, a 31% increase from one year ago, according to data from the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) and the Financial Times. The amount surpassed the previous monthly high of $4.74 billion in October 2000.

08/11/2003  August 9, 2003 - China Resources Logic (CR Logic) plans to restructure its semiconductor business into a $95 million joint venture, with a possible listing by 2005, according to the Financial Times. The business, CSMC Technologies Corp., is a 50/50 JV co-owned by CR Logic and Central Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (CSMC).

08/11/2003  August 11, 2003 - ChipMOS Technologies has signed an agreement to provide wafer testing and IC assembly and testing services to Renesas, Hsinchu, Taiwan. The deal, which expands the company's reach in Japan, covers Renesas' mobile memory chips for use in handheld devices, and low-power memory chips for graphics applications.

08/11/2003  AUG. 11--RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--DuPont Electronic Technologies has formed of a new business unit, DuPont Integrated Circuit (IC) Fabrication Materials.

08/11/2003  AUG. 7--NASHUA, NH--Developed under an alliance with Integrated Dynamic Engineering, the Duofem handler from Robotic Vision Systems Inc. accommodates from 100mm to 300mm wafers, including wafers in film frame.

08/08/2003  August 6, 2003 - Worldwide chip sales hit $37.6 billion in 2Q, up 3.2% from 1Q03, and up 10.4% from 2Q02. Semiconductor sales totaled $12.54 billion in June, up 0.4% from $12.49 billion in revenues in May 2003, according to data from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). The May figures were revised downwards slightly from SIA's earlier estimates of $12.50 billion.

08/07/2003  August 5, 2003 - Advanced Power Technology, Bend, OR, has signed a deal to repackage and sell the SiC Zero Recovery Schottky diode die from Cree Inc., Durham, NC. APT will add its MOSFETs and IGBTs to the diodes in various combinations, including boost and buck configurations and power modules. Volume production is slated for 4Q03.

08/07/2003  August 6, 2003 - DuPont Electronic Technologies has formed a new business unit, DuPont Integrated Circuit (IC) Fabrication Materials. Jerry Coder has been named president; he formerly was president of DuPont EKC Technology, a manufacturer of remover and CMP chemicals used in semiconductor manufacturing. Coder will be based at DuPont EKC Technology headquarters in Danville, CA.