A major foundry based in Asia has become a new customer of Ultratech after placing an order for its LSA100A Laser Spike Anneal (LSA) system. Ultratech now claims that 15 of the top 17 logic manufacturers are using the company's proprietary laser anneal technology. The foundry will use the LSA100A system for 45nm production, according to Ultratech.

Hynix Semiconductor is to provide ProMOS Technologies with its 50nm DRAM stack process technology in exchange for capacity at its 300mm fabs. The company will also make an investment in ProMOS shares of between 8-10 percent, worth approximately $180 million. 

Applied Materials has made its 200th Applied Producer APF CVD system shipment, a tool that uses a self-aligned double patterning (SADP) process to extend optical lithography to 45nm and beyond. According to Applied Materials, the Producer APF has become the CVD patterning tool of record at advanced logic, DRAM and flash manufacturers worldwide. 

Mass metrology equipment manufacturer Metryx has signed a sales, service and support contract with Taiwan-based Hermes-Epitek to promote Metryx’s equipment in Taiwan, China and Singapore. Metryx has already been selling systems into the Asia market. 

According to the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers’ Group (SMG), worldwide silicon wafer area shipments declined 1 percent in 1Q08 compared to 4Q07. Total silicon wafer area shipments were 2,163 million square inches in the first quarter, compared to 2,185 million square inches shipped during the fourth quarter. Compared to the 2007 first quarter, total area shipments increased by 3 percent. 

It may have been a lacklustre year in 2007 for revenue growth on the parts of TSMC, UMC and Chartered Semiconductor, but according to figures released by IC Insights, Samsung Electronics experienced foundry revenue growth of 413 percent in 2007 compared to 2006 and became the 10th largest foundry by sales.

The continued over-supply of memory devices is continuing to impact overall semiconductor growth figures, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). Excluding the memory sector from sales reporting data, the semiconductor industry would have shown an 11 percent year-on-year level of growth, against the actual low single digit increase the industry as a whole experienced in 2007. 

Trading of SigmaTel stock has ceased with the news that Freescale Semiconductor has completed its takeover of the analog and mixed-signal IC company. Freescale paid approximately $110 million – in cash – for SigmaTel, representing $3 per outstanding share. The news of the acquisition was first reported in early February this year. 

TSMC has said that capital spending for 2008 will be approximately $1.8 billion, down from its revised final figure in 2007 of $2.6 billion, a 31 percent decrease year-on-year. Executives had previously stated that CapEx for 2008 would be significantly lower than the figure for 2007 but had not guided to specific levels.