02/22/2001  February 22, 2001--San Diego, California--Peregrine Semiconductor, an innovative developer and supplier of high-performance communications-based ICs to the optical networking and wireless markets, today introduced PE9701 and PE9702, the world's first space-qualified 3GHz phase locked loop (PLL) ICs. These products are targeted for space and defense customers, with sampling to begin mid-March.

02/22/2001  February 22, 2001--San Jose, California--KLA-Tencor Corp. today introduced the Archer 10, the latest in its suite of optical metrology overlay tools. Incorporating several significant improvements in automation, throughput, productivity, and precision over previous generation systems, the Archer 10 is one of the industry's most competitive cost-of-ownership overlay solutions for 300mm manufacturing at the sub-0.13-micron node.

02/22/2001  February 22, 2001--Belmont, California--Nikon Corp. has accelerated its Electron Projection Lithography (EPL) development program initiated in 1995 with IBM, based on the determination that major IC manufacturers are relying on the availability of EPL production tools for critical level fabrication at the 70-nm node.

02/22/2001  February 22, 2001--Osaka, Japan--Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. and its semiconductor subsidiary Matsushita Electronics Corp. today announced the development of a 32-bit microcontroller with 512KB flash memory, featuring the industry's lowest power consumption and highest signal processing speed. At the same time, Matsushita announced development of a 512KB mask ROM version of the same 32-bit microcontroller. Shipment of samples is planned for the second quarter of 2001.

02/22/2001  February 22, 2001--Hsinchu, Taiwan--United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) announced today the successful implementation of RosettaNet 3D8 and 3D9 product configuration standards using software developed by ecom Software to link to UMC's backend supply chain partner, Siliconware Precision Industries Ltd (SPIL). By using RosettaNet's Partner Interface Process (PIP), UMC and SPIL can easily retrieve engineering data and track their wafers through the backend.

02/22/2001  February 22, 2001--Tokyo, Japan--Hitachi, Ltd. and Nissei Sangyo Co., Ltd. announced today an agreement under which Hitachi's Instruments Group and Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment Group will be separated and merged with Nissei Sangyo on October 1. At that time, Nissei Sangyo will change its name to Hitachi Advanced Technologies, Ltd.

02/21/2001  February 21, 2000--Tokyo, Japan--NEC Corp. has revised its financial results forecast for fiscal year 2001. Against a background of decreasing IT-related investments since NEC made its financial results statement on October 26, 2000, the company's business environment has become increasingly severe--with falls in the prices of memory devices and wavering demand in the domestic and overseas markets for personal computers.

02/21/2001  February 21, 2001--Taipei, Taiwan--Winbond Electronics Corp. recently announced that its annual revenue for 2000 was NT $49.158 billion, an increase of approximately 52% compared with NT $32.347 billion in 1999. Overall, the financial results for 2000 are the most profitable to-date in the company's 14-year history.

02/21/2001  February 21, 2001--San Jose, California--The top 10 semiconductor equipment suppliers set all kinds of records last year, reports market research firm VLSI Research Inc., with 2000 being the first year that all top 10 companies' sales exceeded $1 billion. The top 10 includes: Applied Materials; Tokyo Electron Ltd.; Nikon Corp.; Teradyne, Inc.; ASML; KLA-Tencor; Advantest; Lam Research Corp.; Canon Inc.; and Dainippon Screen Manufacturing.

02/21/2001  February 21, 2001--BOC Edwards Kachina is nearing completion of a state-of-the-art semiconductor component cleaning facility in Hillsboro, OR. The 22,000-sq-ft facility will be the third full service BOC Edwards Kachina operation in the U.S., providing chipmakers with a range of cleaning processes, component management, and support services. The facility is scheduled to become operational in May.

02/21/2001  SANTA ANA, CA - Advanced contract electronics manufacturing services provider announces second major expansion within a year.

02/20/2001  FEB. 20 Austin, Texas--Legerity today announced the opening of its new, advanced communication IC design center in Ottawa, Ontario. The center will focus on communication system design and validation and CMOS integrated circuit design and verification, which are key technologies for the company's global growth plans.

02/20/2001  FEB. 20 Catania, Italy--STMicroelectronics recently began construction of a state-of-the-art fab, known as M6, in Catania, Italy. The company plans to invest $1,500 million over the next several years in the new facility, which will focus on flash and other nonvolatile memory technologies.

02/16/2001  SINGAPORE -- Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing recently announced plans for a new 300 mm facility that will house more than 170,000 square feet of cleanroom space in Singapore.

02/16/2001  FEB. 16 Boise, Idaho--Micron Technology, Inc. has signed a $25 million (3 billion yen) acquisition agreement to purchase Kobe Steel Ltd.'s equity interest in KMT Semiconductor Ltd., a DRAM fab located in Nishiwaki City, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.

02/15/2001  FEB. 15 San Jose, California--Silicon Valley Group, Inc. (SVG) has resolved the last of its legal disputes with six vendors of semiconductor processing and manufacturing equipment.

02/15/2001  February 15, 2001--Munich, Germany--Infineon Technologies AG recently introduced a new DRAM product line for the strongly growing market of handheld devices. The Mobile-RAM family combines three important features specifically needed in handheld battery-powered applications such as very low power consumption, small form factor, and low cost per bit.

02/14/2001  FEB. 14 Kulim, Malaysia--Silterra Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., a full-service semiconductor manufacturing provider, today announced that it has successfully produced fully functional, high-yielding product wafers in its CMOS22, 0.22-micron process technology. The wafers were delivered to one of Silterra's strategic customers last month.

02/14/2001  FEB. 14 Singapore--Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing today detailed its plans for Singapore's first 300mm fab. Pilot production on Fab 7, Chartered's largest wafer fab project, is now scheduled to begin in 2002 at an estimated cost of $3.5 billion.

02/13/2001  FEB. 13 Santa Clara, California--GHz Technology Inc., a supplier of power transistors for radio frequency (RF) and microwave applications, today announced it has modernized its wafer fab and added state-of-the-art assembly and test capabilities to its Santa Clara facility.