12/30/2011 

Tegal sold over 30 patents from the NLD portfolio, Lots 1-3, covering pulsed-chemical vapor deposition (CVD), plasma-enhanced atomic-layer deposition (PEALD) and NLD.

12/30/2011 

Mohith Verghese, ASM America, covers the gate stack changes expected when 22nm semiconductors ramp in volume production. Topics include high-k gate dielectrics, strained silicon including nMOS strain, and the importance of conformal deposition wafer processing technology.

12/29/2011 

The updated "Garment System Considerations for Cleanrooms and Other Controlled Environments" document includes new sections on measuring footwear, frocks and other garments, as well as a new subsection for tracking system use, such as RFID chips and barcodes.

12/29/2011 

Regardless of transistor architecture, the impact of process variability on device and circuit performance has emerged as a significant concern at 22nm. Effects that until recently were negligible or could be mitigated with improved wafer manufacturing control are now first-order effects, says Howard Ko, Synopsys, who outlines the main culprits.

12/26/2011 

Jenoptik plans to expand its Berlin-Adlershof semiconductor production facility to meet rapidly increasing demand, particularly from Asia, for high-power diode lasers.

12/20/2011 

Semiconductor execs are much less confident about the coming year's business prospects than they were leading into 2011, according to KPMG's annual survey.

12/20/2011 

Novellus authors investigated the film characteristics and process integration of TaN produced using iALD. High-density TaN with low resistivity and excellent conformality is demonstrated. With the adoption of Cu metallization, metal barriers such as TaN are needed to enhance the adhesion of metal to the dielectric and prevent the diffusion of Cu through the dielectric.

12/19/2011 

Mattson Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MTSN) received orders for multiple SUPREMA photoresist strip systems from a leading semiconductor manufacturer.

12/16/2011 

We scan the industry-watcher landscape to gauge reactions to the proposed Lam Research-Novellus combination: technology and customer synergies, valuation questions, and possible M&A aftershocks.

12/16/2011 

North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $973.3 million in orders in November 2011, $1.17 billion in billings, and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.83, according to the November Book-to-Bill Report from SEMI.

12/15/2011 

Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ:LRCX) will acquire Novellus Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:NVLS), in an all-stock deal worth $3.3 billion. In addition, Lam Research announced a $1.6 billion stock repurchase program.

12/13/2011 

SEMI reports worldwide semiconductor manufacturing equipment bookings fell 38% year-over-year in Q3 2011; billings dropped 5% for the same quarter.

12/12/2011 

SEMI is looking for presenters for technical sessions and other opportunities at SEMICON West 2012, July 10-12 in San Francisco, CA.

12/09/2011 

SMIC entered into a settlement agreement with Elpida Memory Inc. to settle all pending arbitration claims and counterclaims relating to the parties' Amended and Restated 200mm Wafer Products Business Agreement.

12/09/2011 

Fraunhofer CNT and semiconductor fab equipment supplier ASM International NV will collaborate under a Joint Development Agreement on various new projects over the next 5 years, including CVD and ALD process development.

12/08/2011 

Siltronic, Wacker Chemie AG

12/07/2011 

A number of big-name frontend equipment firms highlight TSMC's annual supplier awards in 2011, as the foundry expands its list of top suppliers.

12/06/2011 

SEMI projects that worldwide sales of new semiconductor manufacturing equipment will reach $41.8  billion in 2011, decline in 2012, and rebound again in 2013. Front-end equipment experienced an increase in sales this year, while back-end tools saw a decrease.

12/06/2011 

Tokyo Electron Limited (TEL) has successfully demonstrated dynamicing -- device switching/dynamic characteristic (AC) -- of a power device at the wafer level.

12/06/2011 

ASM International N.V. created a new 14nm high-k gate dielectric process that achieved less than 6angstroms equivalent oxide thickness, while maintaining gate leakage below 1A/cm².