Issue

Major challenges for sub-20nm STI etching include intra-cell depth loading, across-wafer uniformity, etch profile control near the wafer edge, and propensity for pattern collapse. Hui Zhou, Xiaosong Ji, Sunil Srinivasan, Jim He, Xuefeng Hua, Ankur Agarwal, Shahid Rauf, Valentin N. Todorow, Jinhan Choi, and Anisul Khan, Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, CA

The sources of parametric variation are reviewed, with an eye on why these issues become worse as the technology is scaled and how this variation can be monitored and controlled. TIMOTHY TURNER, College of Nanoscale Science & Engineering (CNSE), Albany, NY.

A post-wet clean residue that was causing a yield issue was found and eliminated. Soonhaeng Lee, Wiseok Kang and Hobong Shin, Samsung Electronics, Gyeonggi-Do, Korea; Sungjin Cho, Jaeyoung You and Jeff Hawthorne, Qcept Technologies, Fremont, CA.

A team of researchers from Germany use multiphysics simulation to elucidate the impact of important process variables in the electrochemical etching of silicon and make progress toward the integration of the process for commercial applications. JENNIFER A. SEGUI, COMSOL, Inc., Burlington, MA.

Semicon West 2013, to be held July 9-11 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, will feature over 500 exhibitors, 50 hours of conference programs and more than 30,000 industry attendees. DEBRA VOGLER, SEMI, San Jose, CA

Combo MEMS sensors for automotive applications are off to another exhilarating ride this year as revenue continues to climb, spurred by rapidly accelerating use in car safety systems, according to an IHS iSuppli MEMS and Sensors Report from information and analytics provider IHS.

The fast growing market for sensors for smart phones is re-shuffling the ranks of MEMS suppliers.

In another sign of the worldwide shift in preferred personal devices, PC shipments posted the steepest decline ever in a single quarter, according to the International Data Corporation Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker (IDC).

GLOBALFOUNDRIES announced the accomplishment of a key milestone in its strategy to enable 3D stacking of chips for next-generation mobile and consumer applications.

Intel Corporation announced in May that the board of directors has unanimously elected Brian Krzanich as its next chief executive officer (CEO), succeeding Paul Otellini.