01/17/2003  Two small tech equipment makers had hoped that by merging they could offer researchers a package of tools. But as Veeco Instruments and FEI Co. blamed last week's breakup on bad economic timing, one nanotech analyst said such a marriage just wasn't meant to be.

01/15/2003  From gas control to optics, MEMS are used in an increasing number of areas in the semiconductor-making process. Right now, the market is small, but it should grow as semiconductor feature sizes shrink and MEMS-based devices prove themselves in chip-making equipment. Historically, chip makers have changed technologies to get the results they need. MEMS simply represent the next logical step.

01/14/2003  As computer chip components continue to shrink into the nanoscale, their smaller dimensions and complexity have created a growing demand for nanoparticles in the chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) phase of the chip-making process. Experts are citing CMP as one of the hottest and most immediate markets for nanoparticles.

01/13/2003  A small Wisconsin company is gearing up to become a big supplier of microscopic components for nanotech research and design. Its CEO estimates the market at $74 million per year, with an additional $35-million-per-year market in semiconductor chip lithography. Newer markets in nanotechnology for life sciences and defense hold additional promise.

Positive versus negative resist

01/10/2003  T.A. Brunner, C. Fonseca, IBM SRDC, Hopewell Junction, NY

Simulations imply that narrow resist lines print best with a positive tone resist process while narrow trench geometries are best with a negative tone process, even if the resist performance parameters are unequal. Simple development bias models appear to capture... MORE

01/10/2003  Veeco Instruments and FEI Co. said Thursday they won't merge as planned, citing continued poor economic and market conditions.

01/09/2003  Jan. 9, 2003 - Auburn, CA - A team of engineers formerly with IBM Microelectronics' wireless division have formed a new radio and analog IC design company, Tahoe RF Semiconductor Inc.

01/09/2003  Jan. 9, 2003 - Woodbury, NY and Hillsboro, OR - Veeco Instruments Inc. and FEI Co. have mutually terminated the merger agreement that they entered into on July 11, 2002.

01/08/2003  Jan. 8, 2003 - Austin, TX - International SEMATECH has lost two of its member companies, Europe's STMicroelectronics NV and Korea's Hynix Semiconductor Inc.

01/08/2003  Jan. 8, 2003 - Sunnyvale, CA, and East Fishkill, NY - AMD and IBM have entered into an agreement to jointly develop chipmaking technologies for use in future high-performance products.

01/08/2003  Centrex Inc. and Emergency Filtration Products Inc. have teamed up to make and sell a complete biological detection system.

01/07/2003  Jan. 7, 2003 - Syracuse, NY and Zurich, Switzerland - INFICON Holding AG, a manufacturer of vacuum instrumentation and process control software, has acquired the privately held company, New Vision Systems, a provider of APC and lithography analysis for semiconductor manufacturing.

01/06/2003  Jan. 6--MIAMI, Fla.--Supply chain and transportation management company Ryder System says it will work with Santa Clara, Calif.-based Applied Materials to streamline wafer tool maker's supply chain management operations in Austin, Texas.

01/06/2003  Jan. 6, 2003 - Tokyo, Japan - NEC Corp. and Hitachi Ltd. have started negotiations with Intel Corp., requesting that Intel take a stake in their joint venture.

01/06/2003  Jan 6., 2003 - Shanghai, China - Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) and Elpida Memory Inc. have signed a five-year arrangement.

01/01/2003  Continuing functional enhancement of portable consumer and computing products challenges electronics industry OEMs to provide these products in smaller and lighter form factors.

12/20/2002  Dec. 20, 2002 - San Jose, CA - Silicon wafer demand will begin a major expansion between the second half of 2003 and 2004; the expansion will be driven by a combination of a recovery of device demand and the startup of 300mm fabs, according to Dataquest Inc., a unit of Gartner Inc.

12/20/2002  Dec. 20, 2002 - Sunnyvale, CA - Sandisk and Toshiba are planning a substantial increase in memory production at their Flashvision joint venture from 2003. They are also considering the construction of a new fabrication plant to handle an anticipated increase in demand in the second half of this decade, the companies have announced.

12/18/2002  Dec. 18, 2002 - Boise, ID - Micron Technology Inc. reported a wider fiscal first quarter net loss on Tuesday, saying the average selling prices for its products dropped about 12% from the prior quarter, according to Reuters.

12/18/2002  Dec. 18, 2002 - Austin, TX - More than 100 of the world's top lithography experts attending an International SEMATECH (ISMT) workshop to review the state of immersion lithography technology urged the consortium to help coordinate and accelerate a feasibility study on the technology.