Online information source for semiconductor professionals

Solar and semiconductor start-up Solar Semi Engineering (SSE) has completed the acquisition of the business and assets of Edwards’ Chemical Management Europe (CME) division. The deal, the cost of which was not disclosed, will see SSE continue the marketing of Edwards’ CME products along with its own wet process equipment to the solar and semiconductor manufacturing industries. Read more >>

Intel has strengthened its position in the wireless technology stakes by purchasing Infineon’s Wireless Solutions (WLS) business. The cash transaction, valued at approximately US$1.4 billion, will see the WLS segment operate as a standalone business for its existing customers, while also contributing to Intel’s aim of further developing its connected computing capabilities. Read more >>

Launching what has become known as the world’s highest capacity single-chip 64Gb memory, Toshiba has announced that it has begun volume production of NAND flash memories fabricated with 24nm process technology. Use of this 24nm technology will drive the further shrinkage of chip sizes, allowing the highest density on a single chip. Read more >>

After over 20 years of stasis in the pecking order of IC manufacturing revenues, it looks like Samsung’s remarkable rise in performance of late might see the company overtake current leader Intel as soon as 2014. A combination of data from IC Insights’ Strategic Reviews Online database of worldwide semiconductor companies and the McClean Report 2010 Mid-Year Update’s five-year market forecasts suggest that Samsung’s current revenue growth, if maintained at its current rate, will overtake that of Intel, replacing the long-serving industry leader. Read more >>

Continuing its aggressive technology node migrations, Samsung has gained market share in DRAM in the second quarter, according to iSuppli Corp. Its aggressive ramp using 40nm lithography technology saw bit production increase dramatically enabling its dominant market position to increase to 35.4%, up from 32.6% in the first quarter. Samsung produced 1.2 billion 1Gbit-density-equivalent DRAM units in Q2, up 13% from 1.1 billion in the first. Read more >>

New semiconductor equipment bookings are now at their highest levels since the dot com boom, according to the latest book-to-bill figures from SEMI. North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted US$1.83 billion in orders in July 2010 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.23. The bookings figure is up 5.9% from the final June 2010 level of US$1.73 billion, and is 220.4% above the US$571.8 million in orders posted in July 2009, SEMI said. Read more >>

A leading Asian foundry has installed a Helios XP rapid thermal processing (RTP) system from Mattson Technology at its R&D facility. The follow-on evaluation system expands Mattson's RTP installed base at this foundry where the Helios XP has been established as the tool of record and is currently being qualified for next-generation process development, according to the company. Read more >>

Applied Materials posted strong quarterly results that beat the analysts' estimates, reporting net sales of US$2.52 billion, operating profit of US$183 million, and net income of US$123 million. Non-GAAP net income was US$234 million. However, the leading semiconductor manufacturing equipment supplier warned that sales of solar and energy equipment would decrease from 15% to make up 10%-20% of company revenue this quarter, due to strong Q3 results and looming feed-in tariff cuts. Read more >>

Veeco Instruments has revealed the completion of the sale of its Metrology business unit to Bruker, provider of high-performance solutions and scientific instruments for molecular and materials research. The US$229 million cash transaction has been approved by both companies’ boards of directors, and will involve the transfer of Veeco’s global business – including its atomic force microscope (AFM) business in Santa Barbara, CA and its optical industrial metrology (OIM) business in Tucson, AZ – to Bruker, which will combine the new acquisition with its existing Bruker Nano instruments business. Read more >>

Continued strong demand for semiconductors is fuelling a continued increase in capital expenditure plans in 2010. According to Gartner, manufacturing capacity has increased from 5% to 6%, year-over-year in the second quarter, compared to its previous figures for the first quarter. Key IC manufacturers spending the most during the last three months include Globalfoundries, Samsung, Toshiba and, most recently, TSMC. Samsung tops the CapEx spenders for 2010, followed by Intel and TSMC, after several major revisions to its plans for 2010. Read more >>