07/07/2003  July 7, 2003 - Ricoh plans to spend 7 billion yen ($59 million) to boost monthly production capacity in its 200mm wafer plant in Yashiro, Japan by more than 15%. The increase from 5,500 wafers to 6,500 wafers will address growing demand for power management chips used in mobile phones.

07/07/2003  When Greg Schmergel was growing up in the 1970s, nanotechnology was the stuff of science fiction. Now the 34-year-old co-founder and chief executive of Nantero Inc. believes carbon nanotubes deposited on silicon wafers eventually will replace every other form of semiconductor memory chip.

07/03/2003  July 3, 2003 - UMC, Hsinchu, Taiwan, and High Bandwidth Access Inc. (HBA), a developer of memory devices, have successfully prototyped HBA's high-speed IC based on the foundry's 90nm process. Volume production is expected later this year.

07/03/2003  July 3, 2003 - International Sematech (ISMT) and Asahi Glass Co. have signed an agreement to co-develop advanced mask technology and materials for use in EUV lithography.

07/03/2003  July 3, 2003 - Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML NV has agreed to sell its 8X and 9X series wafer track spare part supply and maintenance service business to Rite Track, West Chester, OH for an undisclosed amount.

07/03/2003  July 3, 2003 - Worldwide sales of semiconductors totaled $12.50 billion in May, up 2.0% from $12.26 million in revenues in April 2003 and a 9.9% increase from May 2002 revenue of $11.38 billion, according to data from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). The total revenue is the highest in four months. The April figures were revised upwards from SIA's earlier estimates of $12.14 billion, which would have been essentially flat growth from March to April.

07/03/2003  July 3, 2003 - An increasing number of 300mm fabs in use and being built is helping to drive recovery of the semiconductor industry, according to a new report from Strategic Marketing Associates (SMA).

07/02/2003  JULY 2--SAGAMIHARA, Japan--The Japanese government and the semiconductor industry has funded a research center that will open a 300-mm wafer line here to test and develop specifications for 90-nanometer and smaller process technologies.

07/01/2003  July 1, 2003 - An increase in the number of 300mm fabs in use and being built is helping drive the recovery of the semiconductor industry, according to a new report from Strategic Marketing Associates (SMA).

07/01/2003 

07/01/2003  As chip and microelectronics industry organizations scale back forecasts for industries already struggling to reduce costs and boost sales, Asia—China specifically—is continually being selected as the land of manufacturing opportunity, much to the chagrin of a U.S. Senator and presidential candidate.

07/01/2003  Wafer-level packaging has grown in popularity in recent years because manufacturers can now maintain the cost of the IC packaging as a constant percentage of the total wafer cost.

06/30/2003  June 30, 2003 - Kulim, Malaysia - Semiconductor wafer foundry Silterra Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. has appointed Ahman Pardas Senin as executive director, assuming overall management of the company from president and CEO Cy Hannon, who has stepped down to pursue personal interests.

06/27/2003  June 26, 2003 - Recent activity by DRAM companies to rev up advanced chipmaking production could signal an upswing in the DRAM market, according to a recent Dow Jones report.

06/27/2003  June 26, 2003 - Three semiconductor manufacturers are planning to invest over $1 billion to build IC chip plants in Shanghai, according to Interfax.

06/26/2003  June 26, 2003 - In a move to outsource its wafer test operations and cut costs, Cirrus Logic has agreed to sell its semiconductor test operations assets, including analog and mixed-signal testers, handlers, and wafer probers, to ChipPAC for cash and services.

06/24/2003  June 24, 2004 - Sunnyvale, CA - AMD recently presented its "World Class Supplier Achievement Award" to three of its suppliers for providing leading technology, quality, and logistics for AMD and its suppliers and customers.

06/24/2003  June 24, 2003 - Elpida Memory says it has secured $425 million in funding to expand production at its 300mm wafer fab in Hiroshima, Japan.

06/24/2003  June 24, 2003 - San Jose, CA - Prices for CMOS wafers were essentially unchanged from Q1 to Q2 of this year, according to a new study from the Fabless Semiconductor Association (FSA). The "2003 Q2 Wafer Pricing Survey" gauged the average price paid per wafer by 114 fabless companies and integrated device manufacturers (IDMs).

06/24/2003  June 24, 2003 - Fujifilm Microdevices Co. has announced plnas to buy an 8-in. silicon wafer production line from Tohoku Semiconductor Corp., a Motorola subsidiary in Sendai, Japan. Fujifilm Micro will use the line to help it boost output of charge-coupled devices used in digital cameras.