Spansion and IBM have signed a cross-licensing agreement that includes both companies' leading-edge flash memory technology. Included in Spansion's patent portfolio are patents relating to its charge-trapping ‘MirrorBit’ technology. IBM is including its recently revealed ‘racetrack’ magnetic domain walls technology that could be developed into 3D memory devices. 

Nova Measuring Instruments has said it has reached a new company milestone with the the installation of its 100th NovaScan Optical Metrology system in South Korea. The company said it had now installed more than 650 NovaScan 300mm Optical CD and thin-film metrology systems worldwide. 

Independent semiconductor development foundry SVTC Technologies has announced big plans for developing a strong R&D presence in the rapidly expanding photovoltaics industry. Its aim is to compete with the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany and proprietary centers in Japan. In doing so, SVTC believes it can become the main center for PV technology development in North America. 

A collaboration between IBM and Matheson Tri-Gas, a subsidiary of Taiyo Nippon Sanso, Japan, has been signed to develop high purity gas molecules and new delivery systems for the 32nm node and below using atomic level deposition (ALD) techniques. 

Analog Devices has presented photomask manufacturer Photronics with its Supplier Excellence Award in the Critical Indirect Materials category, one of only sixteen suppliers to be recognized in six categories. 

ASM International has said that it will not be a player in the rapid thermal processing (RTP) market from 2009 onwards. The equipment company hopes to transfer its ‘Levitor’ RTP tool and small customer installed base to a third party by the end of the year. 

KMG Electronic Chemicals is set to raise its prices for a range of high-purity process chemicals for the North American market by between 5 and 18 percent. KMG said that the price hikes were due to the ongoing increases in raw material prices as well as transportation costs due to the increases in the cost of fuel. 

Chartered Semiconductor’s overall fab utilization rates have climbed from 70 percent in 1Q07 to 86 percent in 1Q08 and are expected to top 88 percent in 2Q08, the company noted in its first quarter 2008 financial results. 

IMEC posted revenues of €244.5 million in 2007 of which €39.1 million was granted by the Flanders Government as part of its long-term commitment to the R&D centre. IMEC is confident about prospects in 2008 and beyond as it continues to attract companies to its research programs from all over the world. IMEC noted that 35 percent of its workforce had been guest researchers in 2007. 

There would seem to be a slight glimmer of hope for DRAM memory manufacturers as iSuppli Corp. has upgraded its rating of near-term conditions for suppliers to “neutral,” up from its “negative” assessment issued in November 2007. 

Carl Zeiss SMT has moved to a new North American base in Peabody, Massachusetts, which houses the company’s research, development and production as well as the Carl Zeiss Nano Solutions Center Peabody. The 53,000 square foot facility will be the workplace of over 150 employees and will serve as the company’s North American base for sales and service of the company’s product range. 

Mattson’s ‘Suprema’ photoresist strip system has been selected by a major Korea-based NAND flash memory manufacturer. The tool is due to be shipped to the customer’s 300mm fab for use in FEOL manufacturing. 

Qimonda AG and Elpida Memory have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop DRAM cell sizes using both Qimonda’s Buried Wordline technology and Elpida’s advanced stack capacitor technology for the 40nm node and below. The compnaies are targeting 4F² cell concept by 2010 and aim to scale it to the 30nm generation. 

Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials is claiming that a new groove design for its ‘IC1000 AT’ and ‘VisionPad’ CMP pads achieves up to a 35 percent reduction in slurry consumption, which equates to approximately a 20 percent reduction in the total cost of consumables for tungsten CMP. 

Both AMD and Intel grew microprocessor market share in fourth quarter of 2007, according to new figures released by iSuppli Corp. AMD in the fourth quarter grew its share by 0.3 percentage points compared to the third quarter of 2007, while Intel increased its revenue by 0.2 percentage points sequentially. 

POWERLASE has been awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category in recognition of the company’s expansion in overseas markets. The company has displayed significant success in the Korean marketplace, and has also been recognised for its R&D efforts with global academic institutions. 

The first 90W argon fluoride (ArF) laser light source to enter the market has been installed at Nikon’s Kumagaya, Japan facility by Cymer. The system is designed for volume immersion and double patterning photolithography at the 32nm node and beyond. 

Infineon Technologies has reclassified the assets and liabilities of Qimonda into “Assets Held for Sale” in its consolidated balance sheet in preparation for its planned disposal of its investment in Qimonda.  Under current fair value terms, Infineon has made a write-down of €1 billion. Infineon currently holds a 77.47 percent interest in Qimonda.