10/22/2008  KLA-Tencor's Rangesh Raghavan discussed the architecture and capabilities of the company's new PlasmaVolt X2 system, which measures plasma chamber conditions in semiconductor wafer processing systems, including above-the-wafer effects.

10/21/2008  By Fran

10/21/2008  What challenges must maskmakers overcome to reach the 32nm node, and what hurdles lie beyond? A star-studded panel of experts assembled at this year's SPIE Photomask Technology Conference (Oct 6-10) to examine the future.

10/15/2008  October 14, 2008: SiOnyx Inc.has exclusively licensed a portfolio of patents from Harvard U.'s Office of Technology Development covering black silicon, a laser implant technique that alters photonic properties of semiconductor devices.

10/14/2008  Viscom AG has broadened its platform into the semiconductor market with the introduction of the MX20000IR fully automatic wafer inspection system. The application scope of the system includes MEMS, wafer bonds, flip chip and photovoltaics. Wafers can be composed of various materials including silicon, gallium arsenide, aluminum oxide or III-IV composites, and others.

10/14/2008  Qimonda's selling its stake in its memory JV with Nanya to Micron, who are already in their own JV (for now) using a different DRAM technology. It's a shakeout for all three parties, in aspect of finance, manufacturing, technology, and strategy. Here's a quick rundown of who gains what.

10/13/2008  Proven for high-volume 300mm manufacturing
By Emmet Hughlett, SUSS MicroTec, Inc.
In July 2007, IBM announced the qualification of C4NP for 200µm pitch lead-free solder bumping for shipped product. Since then, IBM has qualified 150µm pitch C4NP lead-free bumped wafers on a fully populated high-volume production line. SUSS MicroTec is completing build of additional C4NP equipment to meet ramping demand at IBM's Hopewell Junction bumping facility.

10/10/2008  There appear to be two camps of perspective regarding AMD's spinoff off its manufacturing operations into a "Foundry Company" with help from Abu Dhabi investors. From a financial POV it's good to clean up AMD's books -- but strategically it's still unclear how the move will succeed in the foundry sector.

10/07/2008  AMD appears to have finally made the fab-lite move it's hinted at for a long time, spinning off its fab operations to a jointly owned venture with investors from Abu Dhabi.

10/06/2008  October 6, 2008: EV Group (EVG), a supplier of wafer bonding and lithography equipment for the MEMS, nanotechnology and semiconductor markets, announced that three European universities have placed orders for multiple EVG systems worth >$2.9M.

10/03/2008  Rudolph Technologies product manager Tuan Le tells SST about the improvements in its systems for detecting edge defects, necessitated by the switch to immersion lithography at 45nm.

10/02/2008  Formosa Sumco Technology is rolling out a king-sized version of silicon wafer ingots to make 300mm wafers capable of producing 60% more chips, an upgrade that fits into the firm's plans to boost overall wafer output by 23%.

10/01/2008  While moving towards tomorrow’s high-performance 3D packages with through-silicon vias (TSV) has captured most of the attention in the industry, stacked packages and similar established approaches have many 3D advantages and are making substantial, if quieter, technical and market progress.

10/01/2008  There’s a growing consensus that the semiconductor industry has no place to go but up

09/30/2008  DuPont PerMx Series 3000 is a new version of permanent microlithographic polymer films designed for applications such as redistribution, bonding, and structuring. This multi-purpose film features high resolution, low-temperature cure and reportedly outstanding mechanical properties. These films are available in 10, 15 and 20&3181; thicknesses. It is said to achieve high yield and quality through uniform resist thickness across the entire wafer.

09/30/2008  September 30, 2008: memsstar Technology, a supplier of etch and deposition equipment to the global MEMS industry, announced the successful installation and process qualification of one of its sacrificial vapor release (SVR) etch systems at Fraunhofer IMS.

09/25/2008  Rohm and Haas product exec Kristina White tells SST why the company's new CMP pad groove designs improve slurry delivery across the wafer, minimize slurry loss, and reduce defects -- particularly for tungsten applications.

09/23/2008  The road to grid parity for PV power generation will be difficult, needing five or more years to compete with utility power, unsubsidized, on a large scale, noted analyst Mark Thirsk at a PV forecast luncheon. Host group SEMI also laid out its work giving a PV voice to the equipment and materials segment.

09/23/2008  By Meredith Courtemanche, managing editor, SMT Magazine
"In a perfect world." This is a phrase uttered by many a project leader or product designer compiling a bill of materials (BOM) for a new product, new run of an existing assembly, or modified design. In a perfect world, market trends, materials changes, and technology advances would have no effect on the availability of components. No component would ever be obsolesced.

09/16/2008  KLA-Tencor exec Rahul Bammi tells SST about the company's latest version of its Surfscan SP2^XP defect inspection tool, and two of its key features: custom polarizers to enhance sensitivity, and a well-known image-capture technology borrowed from microscope manufacturers.