07/14/2015  The demand for 4-mask layer Cu-plated wafer-level chip scale packaging (WLCSP) is increasing rapidly, and the current capability for in-line Cu height measurements is not suitable for high volume manufacturing (HVM).

07/06/2015  Moving to the next design rule can be stressful for the inspection and metrology engineer. Like everything else in the fab, process control generally doesn’t get any easier as design rules shrink and new processes are introduced.

07/01/2015  GLOBALFOUNDRIES today announced that it has completed its acquisition of IBM’s Microelectronics business.

06/29/2015  Research led by Michigan State University could someday lead to the development of new and improved semiconductors.

06/25/2015  Deca Technologies, an electronic interconnect solutions provider to the semiconductor industry, announced today that it has shipped more than half a billion units since the company's launch.

06/23/2015  The joint venture company will focus on R&D towards next generation CMOS logic technology and build China's most advanced integrated circuit (IC) development R&D platform.

06/22/2015  United Microelectronics Corporation, a global semiconductor foundry, today announced it has collaborated with ARM to tape out a process qualification vehicle (PQV) test chip on UMC's 14nm FinFET technology to help validate an ARM Cortex-A family core on the advanced foundry process node.

06/22/2015  Fan-in WLP is experiencing continuous growth and attracting new applications, according to Yole Développement's latest report “Fan-in Wafer Level Packaging: Market & Technology Trends."

06/18/2015  North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.56 billion in orders worldwide in May 2015 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.99.

06/04/2015  Fab equipment spending is forecast to depart from the typical historic trend over the past 15 years of two years of spending growth followed by one of decline. For the first time, equipment spending could grow every year for three years in a row: 2014, 2015, and 2016.

05/29/2015  The semiconductor industry is facing a new era in which device scaling and cost reduction will not continue on the path they followed for the past few decades, with Moore’s law in its foundation.

05/29/2015  SEMI this week announced the SEMICON West 2015 test and packaging program agendas.

05/29/2015  NXP Semiconductors and Stora Enso have entered into joint development of intelligent packaging solutions.

05/21/2015  A book-to-bill of 1.04 means that $104 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

05/21/2015  SK Hynix moves into top 5, MediaTek climbs into top 10, and Sharp and UMC move into the top 20 ranking.

05/20/2015  Today, at the IEEE IITC conference, nano-electronics research center imec and Tokyo Electron Limited (TEL) presented a direct Cu etch scheme for patterning Cu interconnects.

05/19/2015  University of Utah engineers have taken a step forward in creating the next generation of computers and mobile devices capable of speeds millions of times faster than current machines.

05/19/2015  During the IEEE IITC conference in Grenoble, the nanoelectronics research center imec and Lam Research Corporation today presented a novel bottom-up prefill technique for vias and contacts.

05/19/2015  Worldwide silicon wafer area shipments increased during the first quarter 2015 when compared to fourth quarter 2014 area shipments according to the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) in its quarterly analysis of the silicon wafer industry.

05/14/2015  There are three main phases to semiconductor manufacturing: research and development (R&D), ramp, and high volume manufacturing (HVM). All of them are expensive and time is a critical element in all three phases.