01/29/2003  JAN. 29--WOODBURY, N.Y.--Veeco Instruments Inc. has signed a joint agreement with International SEMATECH (ISMT) to utilize Veeco's NEXUS Low Defect Density (LDD) Ion Beam Deposition (IBD) System for the development of certain advanced manufacturing technologies required to fabricate next generation extreme ultraviolet (EUV) photomask technology.

01/29/2003  JAN. 29--ALBANY, N.Y.--The University at Albany (UAlbany) and International SEMATECH (ISMT), the global consortium of semiconductor manufacturers, have completed negotiations on a joint five-year program to accelerate the development of next generation lithography.

01/29/2003  FEI Co., a Hillsboro, Ore., provider of nanoscale metrology and fabrication tools, reported a fourth quarter loss of $3.5 million, or 11 cents per share, versus earnings of 24 cents per share for the fourth quarter of 2001.

01/28/2003  Jan. 28, 2003 - Leuven, Belgium - IMEC's board of directors has announced the construction of a new 300mm cleanroom.

01/28/2003  Jan. 28, 2003 - Austin, TX, and Albany, NY - The U. at Albany (UAlbany) and International SEMATECH (ISMT), a global consortium of semiconductor manufacturers, have completed negotiations on a joint five-year program to accelerate the development of next generation lithography.

01/28/2003  JAN. 28--LEUVEN, Belgium--IMEC's board of directors says the company will move ahead with the construction of a new 300 mm cleanroom.

01/28/2003  Jan. 28, 2003 - Hsinchu, Taiwan - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) expects to start production at its planned wafer fabrication facility in China in 2H04 at the earliest, Chairman Morris Chang said.

01/28/2003  Anvar Zakhidov, associate director of the University of Texas at Dallas' NanoTech Institute, will receive an Asian-American Engineer of the Year award from the Chinese Institute of Engineers/USA.

01/24/2003  Ardesta LLC, an Ann Arbor, Mich., small tech investment firm and company builder, has invested in San Francisco-based Angstrovision Inc., according to a news release. The amount of the investment is not being released, an Ardesta spokeswoman said.

01/23/2003  JAN. 23--SALT LAKE CITY, Utah--Daw Technologies, Inc. an designer and installer of controlled environment components, has launched its new wall, floor and ceiling systems designed for 300--mm semiconductor cleanrooms.

01/23/2003  Intense Photonics Ltd., a High Blantyre, Scotland, developer of photonic integrated circuits, announced that it has added 1,000 square feet of clean room to its semiconductor fabrication facility, according to a company news release.

Parametric test hardware for ultralow-current measurements

01/22/2003  By: David Rose, Qi Wang, Keithley Instruments Inc., Cleveland, Ohio

Increasingly, parametric testing of MOSFETs in CMOS ICs requires very accurate measurement of various source, drain, and gate currents, and characterization of low current phenomena. The tester, cabling, and chucks used must be properly integrated... MORE

01/22/2003  Jan. 22, 2003 - Singapore - UMCi, the Singapore-based 300mm joint venture between UMC, Infineon Technologies AG, and EDB Investments (the Singapore Economic Development Board's investment arm), said that equipment move-in has begun for the fab, beginning with copper processing equipment from US-based Applied Materials and Japan's Tokyo Electron Ltd.

01/22/2003  Akustica Inc., a Pittsburgh developer of MEMS-based acoustic chips, extended its first round of financing to $4.5 million, according to a company news release. Akustica previously closed the round in October at $2.25 million.

01/22/2003  Mancal Corporation Ltd., a Calgary, Alberta, diversified holding company, has increased its stake in Edmonton, Alberta-based MEMS foundry Micralyne Inc., according to Chris Lumb, Micralyne's president and chief executive. Mancal increased its share in Micralyne to a percentage "in the teens," Lumb said.

01/21/2003 

01/20/2003  JAN. 20--HIGH BLANTYRE, Scotland--Intense Photonics has added 1,000 square feet of cleanroom space at its Scottish semiconductor fabrication facility for more optoelectronic life test, assembly and packaging development.

01/20/2003  Jan. 20, 2003 - Tokyo, Japan - Seiko Instruments Inc. will join the LEEPL Technology Consortium, formed by a group of companies from Japan and overseas to develop technology for a next-generation stepper that uses an electron beam as the light source for lithography.

01/20/2003  Jan. 20, 2003 - South Portland, ME - An estimated 100 employees will lose their jobs as Fairchild Semiconductor invests $15 million to shift computer chip production to 200mm silicon wafers, company officials said.

01/20/2003  Silicon Microstructures Inc. (SMI), a subsidiary of Elmos Semiconductor AG, is almost done transferring equipment from its Hawthorne, Calif. facility to the Milpitas, Calif., foundry it purchased in July from the IC Sensor Division of Measurement Specialties Inc. and has commenced an expansion of its MEMS wafer foundry capabilities.