02/21/2003  Akrion, an Allentown, Pa.-based maker of equipment for cleaning MEMS and other semiconductor-related devices, has booked two orders during the first quarter, according to a news release.

02/20/2003  FEB. 20--SANTA CLARA, Calif.--National Semiconductor Corp. has announced a restructuring plan, which will cut 500 out of its workforce of 10,000 and seek buyers for its information appliance and cellular baseband operations

02/20/2003  Feb. 20, 2003 - New York, NY - Standard & Poor's semiconductor equipment equity analyst has foresees worldwide semiconductor equipment sales growing 5 to 10% in 2003, a turnaround from the 2001 - 2002 back-to-back drops of 41% and 33%, respectively.

02/20/2003  Feb. 20, 2003 - Santa Clara, CA - National Semiconductor Corp. has unveiled a series of strategic profit-improvement actions that are designed to accelerate the company's return on investments and streamline its cost structure. Among the announced actions is the reduction of its work force by 500 jobs.

02/20/2003  The first generation of tools for molding tiny devices with nanoimprint lithography is on its way to market. NIL encompasses a variety of methods for stamping ultrasmall patterns and structures onto a surface. It could also serve as a low-cost alternative to the photolithography processes currently used to carve out MEMS devices, microfluidic systems and computer chips.

02/19/2003  Feb. 19, 2003 - Santa Clara, CA - Intel Corp. plans to convert Fab 12, a 200mm wafer fabrication facility located in Chandler, AZ, to a 300mm wafer fab. The conversion project, estimated to cost $2 billion, will begin in 1H04 with production scheduled to begin in late 2005. The converted fab will start up production on 65nm process technology.

02/18/2003  Fairchild Semiconductor signed a long-term production deal with OMM Inc. to supply its MEMS wafers for optical networking applications, according to a news release.

02/14/2003  FEB. 14--SINGAPORE-- Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing will close the oldest of its five chip-making plants here by March next year, laying off 500 workers.

02/14/2003  FEB. 14--SAN JOSE, Calif-- Worldwide silicon wafer area shipments increase by 19 percent in 2002 when compared to 2001 area shipments, according to Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) in its quarterly analysis of the silicon wafer industry.

02/13/2003  Feb. 13, 2003 - Fremont, CA - Mattson Technology Inc., a supplier of advanced process equipment used to manufacture semiconductors, has signed a definitive agreement to sell its wet products division to SCP Global Technologies, a wet processing equipment provider.

02/13/2003  Feb. 13, 2003 - Singapore - Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing has outlined its strategy for moving toward a return to profitability. Chartered's strategy includes a consolidation of its Fab 1 business into Fab 2 by March 2004. Approximately 500 employees will be affected by the consolidation.

02/13/2003  EV Group, an Austrian maker of MEMS and semiconductor wafer processing equipment, has completed a multimillion-dollar deal to sell equipment to Asia Pacific Microsystems Inc. (APM) in Taiwan, according to a news release.

02/12/2003  FEB. 12--CHASKA, Minn.--Entegris, Inc, a materials integrity management company has purchased the the silicon wafer and reticle carrier product lines of Asyst Technologies, Inc., a provider of integrated automation systems.

02/12/2003  FEB. 12--HENDERSON, Nevada--Emergency Filtration Products Inc. has received preliminary results from the testing of its nanotechnology-enhanced 2H Technology filtration system that will be integrated into an environmental isolation mask.

02/11/2003  FEB. 11--MARLBORO, Mass.--Shipley Company, LLC., has opened its Advanced Technology Center (ATC), a facility dedicated to the development of lithography, interconnect, low-k dielectric and other critical materials needed to produce new generations of microelectronic devices.

02/11/2003  Feb. 11, 2003 - Singapore, and Milpitas, CA - ST Assembly Test Services Ltd. (STATS), an independent semiconductor test and advanced packaging service provider, has completed qualification of its frontend assembly operations for the packaging of high performance chips from 300mm wafers.

02/10/2003  Feb. 10, 2003 - San Diego, CA - Peregrine Semiconductor, a supplier of ICs for wireless communications, has raised $7.5 million in the third and final phase of its $23 million Series A1 round.

02/07/2003  Is the Bay Area’s status as a nanotech stronghold in trouble? Speakers at a San Francisco nanotech event recently would have you thinking yes. They painted a bleak picture of nanotech’s future, warning that the Valley was in danger of ceding its preeminence to other places. “The Valley is living off its past glories, assuming that this will extend to nanotechnology,” said one VC.

02/05/2003  Feb. 5, 2003 - Marlborough, MA - Shipley Company LLC, has opened its Advanced Technology Center (ATC), a facility dedicated to the development of lithography, interconnect, low-k dielectric and other critical materials.

02/01/2003  According to an updated report from Business Communications Co. Inc., ....