Online information source for semiconductor professionals

A third-consecutive month of growth in semiconductor sales has the SIA cautiously optimistic about an industry recovery, though shied away from calling the next upturn. Worldwide sales of semiconductors in May rose to US$16.5 billion, an increase of 5.4% from April’s figure of US$15.6 billion. Read more >>

Dai Nippon Printing (DNP), producer of semiconductor photomasks, and Molecular Imprints, producer of nanopatterning systems and solutions, are collaborating to speed production of nanoimprint lithography for high-volume semiconductor device manufacturing. DNP is the official provider of funds and support for Molecular Imprints to develop a new mask replication platform aimed at lowering the cost of imprint masks. Read more >>

SUSS MicroTec, supplier of process and test solutions for microstructuring applications in semiconductor markets, is changing the structure of its sales in Asia and basing the new office in Singapore. ZMC Technologies will act as general sales representative for interests in Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. This adds to SUSS MicroTec’s presence in Seoul, Shanghai, Yokohama, and Hsinchu. Read more >>

Macquarie Electronics has been selected to sell core equipment from Qimonda’s 300mm fab in Dresden Germany, according to an EETimes report. The semiconductor equipment reseller and lease specialist, part of Macquarie bank is to offer selected mainstream tools for sale from Applied Materials, KLA-Tencor, Tokyo Electron, and ASML, the report says. Read more >>

Eyelit, Inc. has shipped one of its integrated manufacturing execution software (MES) suites to materials technology company Umicore for production of germanium wafers at its Olen, Belgium-based Electro-Optic Materials Business Unit. The company intends to roll out the system to Quapaw, Oklahoma in the second half of this year. Read more >>

Elpida Memory, which operates one of the world’s largest DRAM memory fabs in Hiroshima, Japan, will undergo a major internal transformation as the company battles a continued over capacity in the memory markets and seeks Japanese Government funds to continue operations. Elpida said it would divide the massive facility into two separate lines, one dedicated to mobile device-related DRAM and the other to PC related DRAM devices. Both lines will have their own management teams and operate separately, the company said. Read more >>

Applied Materials would seem to have cancelled its 2007, five-year US$200 million IT application development, maintenance, and support (ADMS) contract with Indian based, Satyam Computer Services and signed a new five-year contract with IBM, for an undisclosed sum. Satyam had been struggling to retain major customers after a major corporate fraud case accused former executives of overstating revenue figures and other corporate governance alleged failings. Read more >>

The list of metrology equipment supplier acquisitions at Semilab continues to lengthen with the announcement that it has purchased privately held Semiconductor Diagnostics, Inc. (SDI) for an undisclosed sum. SDI, based in Tampa, Florida is known for its range of non-contact measurement solutions was founded in 1988 and has 380 systems installed in fabs worldwide. SDI had also started offering services to the PV industry. Read more >>

With the help of its process partner IBM, SMIC has said it has produced device yields from test lots for its germanium strained high-performance 45nm process offering. SMIC has previously qualified IBM’s 45nm bulk CMOS low-power process. Read more >>

STMicroelectronics has become the first to install a CE-marked on-site fluorine (F2) generator at its 300mm fab in Crolles, France. The two systems, required for Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) chamber cleaning at the fab are a direct replacement for NF3. However, the Crolles site had previously used high pressure F2 cylinders, which needed to trucked and kept on-site. Linde Gases, a division of The Linde Group was responsible for the project, which now uses its ‘Generation-F’ technology. Read more >>