Semiconductors

SEMICONDUCTORS ARTICLES



EKC Expanding

08/30/2001  August 30, 2001 -- DANVILLE, CA -- Wafer cleaning supply manufacturer EKC Technology is expaning its Hayward, California manufacturing facility after having moved its corporate headquarters to a new location.

Report: Hynix Moving Ahead With Plant Upgrade

08/29/2001  August 29, 2001 -- EUGENE, OR -- Less than a month after cutting 600 jobs from its Eugene plant, computer chip maker Hynix is reportedly ready to call back the workers and complete a $156 million renovation of the facility.

TAEC introduces EDRAM core with 12-ns access time for SRAM replacement

08/29/2001  August 29, 2001 - Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. (TAEC) today announced that its fast access embedded dynamic random access memory (FADRAM) core with an access time of 12-nanoseconds (ns) and a typical latency of 1 clock cycle has been silicon validated for use with the company's TC260 technology library for application specific integrated circuits (ASICs).

Conexant signs agreement and alliance with Photronics; Photronics to acquire Conexant's photomask manufacturing assets

08/29/2001  August 29,2001 - Newport Beach, CA and Jupiter, FL - Conexant Systems Inc., and Photronics Inc., announced a strategic technology alliance and multi-year supply agreement under which Photronics will become the primary supplier of photomasks to Conexant, providing the company with access to advanced photomask process technologies and services.

Unitive supports production requirements for Amkor

08/29/2001  August 29, 2001 - Research Triangle Park, NC - Unitive Inc. and Amkor Technology announced the qualification of Unitive's wafer bumping technology for use in Amkor's flip chip product family.

Embeddable, reprogrammable IP cores from Actel

08/28/2001  August 28, 2001 - Sunnyvale, CA - Actel Corporation has announced the availability of its SRAM-based VariCore embedded programmable gate array (EPGATM) IP cores on the 0.18-micron process from Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing.

Toshiba to cut about 20,000 jobs; mulls memory merger with Infineon

08/27/2001  Aug. 27, 2001 - Tokyo, Japan - Toshiba Corp. is considering plans to merge its memory chip business with Germany-based Infineon Technologies as part of a global restructuring that includes cutting about 20,000 jobs from the Japanese company's work force of 188,000 by FY03.

TSMC, UMC sales remain unsteady

08/27/2001  Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) saw sales edge up 1% in July over the June, though they were still down 43% from July last year. United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) meanwhile saw a 5% month on month drop, with sales off 59% from a year ago.

K&S licenses Flip Chip Technologies' wafer bumping technology to STATS

08/23/2001  August 23, 2001 - Willow Grove, PA.- Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. announced that ST Assembly Test Services Ltd. (STATS) has signed a technology licensing agreement for wafer bumping technology with Flip Chip Technologies L.L.C. (FCT), which is wholly owned by K&S.

Ibis elects Yuri Erokhin as VP of wafer technology

08/23/2001  August 23, 2001 - Danvers, MA - Ibis Technology Corp. has elected Yuri Erokhin as its VP of wafer technology. Ibis also announced the resignations of two directors, Geoffrey Ryding and Peter Rose, who resigned to pursue other business opportunities together.

Semitool receives cleaning patents

08/21/2001  Aug. 21, 2001 - Kalispell, MT - Semitool Inc. has received two US patents for a novel technology capable of reducing the cost of semiconductor manufacturing by eliminating expensive chemicals, reducing cycle times, and decreasing water consumption. The patents, numbers 6,267,125 and 6,273,108, are for applications and systems using ozone and water for cleaning and stripping semiconductor substrates.

Japanese startup recruits backers to unique 100nm - 70nm litho approach

08/20/2001  A bold little Japanese startup has big plans to challenge all the big names with its own alternative approach to next generation lithography. LEEPL Corp., Machida, said it will have two beta tools out by the end of the year that will use a simple, low-cost combination of conventional e-beam and proximity x-ray lithography technology to write 100nm to 70nm lines through a 1:1 stencil mask.

NEW! THE WEEKLY WRAP FROM WAFERNEWS

08/17/2001  A Few SEMICON Superlatives
Now that the dust has settled, we can report on some of the other interesting things from SEMICON West last month. Instead of the usual updates about who claimed the largest market share, read on for an update on Razor Scooters and booth decor.

Taiwan DRAM makers to forge ahead with 300mm

08/17/2001  Aug. 17, 2001 - Taipei, Taiwan - Taiwan's top five DRAM makers (ProMos Technologies, PowerChip Semiconductor, Winbond Electronics, Nanya Technology and Vanguard International Semiconductor) said they will proceed with plans to build 300mm fabs.

Motorola to phase out 2 AZ chip production lines

08/16/2001  August 16, 2001 - Austin, TX - Motorola's semiconductor products sector will phase out two wafer fabrication lines at its Mesa, AZ facility over the next two and a half years, in a continuation of its manufacturing renewal strategy to improve asset management.

Tower to manufacture ICs for ON Semiconductor

08/15/2001  August 15, 2001 - Migdal Haemek, Israel - Tower Semiconductor Ltd. is set to sign a five-year wafer supply agreement to manufacture CMOS logic ICs for ON Semiconductor, Phoenix, AZ.

EXPERIENCED HAND GUIDES NANOTECH
FROM RESEARCH TO BUSINESS LEVEL


08/15/2001 
Martha Krebs spent six years in the Washington Beltway helping to move the political machinery inside the National Nanotechnology Initiative. Now, she's eager to move to the next level of business/research collaboration as founding director of the new California NanoSystems Institute.

Mask houses try to keep costs down

08/13/2001  Rapidly rising photomask costs may be hurting the maskmakers as well as the chipmakers, according to one analyst, but two prominent mask houses say they're trying to keep costs low - despite skyrocketing tool overheads.

RosettaNet execs cut through babble, enabling fast standards introduction

08/10/2001  The RosettaNet consortium recently released the news of its Semiconductor Manufacturing (SM) Board's first completed milestone. The standard, called the Distribute Manufacturing WIP Status, or PIP 3D8 (Partner Interface Process), defines an environment for automatically tracking work between a manufacturing facility and customers or partners.

NEW! NEW PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS

08/09/2001  Credence Offers Automated Desktop Tester
The Automated Personal Kalos is a desktop test system that features an automated device handler. (August 10, 2001)

Laser-scanning Modules from RVSI
A new line of 3-D laser-scanning modules is designed for integration into OEM or factory-floor equipment.
(August 10, 2001) Click here for these and more product briefs.




WEBCASTS



Environment, Safety & Health

Date and time TBD

The semiconductor industry is an acknowledged global leader in promoting environmental sustainability in the design, manufacture, and use of its products, as well as the health and safety of its operations and impacts on workers in semiconductor facilities (fabs). We will examine trends and concerns related to emissions, chemical use, energy consumption and worker safety and health.

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Wafer Processing

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As the industry moves to 10nm and 7nm nodes, advances in wafer processing – etch, deposition, planarization, implant, cleaning, annealing, epitaxy among others – will be required. Manufacturers are looking for new solutions for sustained strain engineering, FinFETs, FDSOI and multi-gate technologies, 3D NAND, and high mobility transistors.

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