FSI International has received a series of orders from new customers in Korea, Japan and Europe for its ‘ZETA’ spray cleaning systems including its ‘ViPR’ spray batch technology. The ViPR technology is claimed to eliminate the ashing process from the majority of photoresist stripping sequences and to effectively remove residual metals following advanced salicide processes. 

Oxford Instruments has won multiple tool orders from both research and development facilities and manufacturing plants in Russia recently. A total of six tools have been ordered including plasma deposition tools and an ‘Ionfab’ ion beam system. 

Bede X-Ray Metrology has been taken over by Israel-based Jordan Valley Semiconductor effective as of April 14th, 2008. Bede, a supplier of HRXRD metrology for the semiconductor industry, entered into the Administration phase at the end of March and its assets have now been taken over by Jordan Valley. 

Leveraging its many years of experience in image sensor fabrication, Tower Semiconductor has said that it is ramping production of Canesta's 3D image sensors initially for automotive applications. Tower is using a hybrid 200mm wafer 180nm CMOS process at Fab2. 

IBM has said that its Common Platform alliance partners, Chartered Semiconductor and Samsung, will start offering prototype shuttle services for a partner-developed 32nm high-k/metal gate (HKMG) process in the third quarter of 2008. 

IBM’s joint development partners that include Chartered Semiconductor, Freescale, Infineon, Samsung, STMicroelectronics and Toshiba Corporation - but not AMD in this case - have touted performance and low-power consumption results from 32nm high-k/metal gate (HKMG) test chips produced at IBM's East Fishkill, N.Y. 300mm fab. 

Oxford Instruments has acquired Hydride Vapour Phase Epitaxy (HVPE) technology company Devices International, Inc. (TDI) to strengthen its market in the High Brightness Light Emitting Diode (HBLED) market and is planning a strategy to double the size of the group over five years. 

Aviza Technology said that a key foundry based in China has ordered its Omega fxP system, with two Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) process modules. The system will be used for silicon trench and polysilicon etch-back processes in manufacturing power devices. 

Applied Materials has said that it has recently shipped its 2,500th CMP system as well as doubling its 300mm CMP installed base to nearly 1,000 systems in just a two-year period. The majority of these 300mm systems were the Applied ‘Reflexion’ LK platform. 

Chartered Semiconductor will now collaborate with IBM on 22nm bulk CMOS R&D at IBM’s 300mm fab in East Fishkill, N.Y. The companies had previously partnered on 90nm, 65nm, 45nm and 32nm process development.