Fraunhofer IZM and Fraunhofer CNT will use CMP supplier Axus Technology exclusively to provide advanced 300mm wafer process development and foundry services to North American customers.

Imec developed a via-middle approach to through-silicon via (TSV) manufacturing for 3D packaging, using wafer thinning and a silicon etch process to reveal TSV contacts on the wafer.

Amkor Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: AMKR) added Mike Liang as president of Amkor Technology Taiwan. Liang's background includes stints with Phoenix Semiconductor, Ti-Acer, UMC, and others.

Execs from Samsung, IBM, GlobalFoundries and ARM looked to the future at The Common Technology Platform Forum in Santa Clara. They focused on the innovation pipeline for 20nm and 14nm technology nodes, and the role that EUV, FinFETs, TSVs, CNTs and DSA will play.

EV Group (EVG) welcomed Shin-Etsu Chemical  into its open platform for temporary bonding/debonding materials supporting 3D semiconductor packaging.

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) opened the new Centre of Excellence in Advanced Packaging at Singapore’s Science Park II with its partner in the endeavor, A*STAR.

STATS ChipPAC Ltd. (SGX-ST:STATSChP) uncrated its next-generation eWLB package-on-package (PoP) technology, with a package profile height below 1.0mm.

Applied Materials and Singapore's A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics will officially open the Centre of Excellence in Advanced Packaging, in Singapore’s Science Park II, on March 7.

Phil Garrou, Microelectronic Consultants of NC

SEMICON China takes place March 20-22 in Shanghai. Check out the special pavillions and events, and keynote speakers scheduled.

International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) is going on now, gathering semiconductor design and device architecture presentations from research firms like imec to chip companies like IBM. Here are some highlighted presentations.

Electronics System Integration Technology Conference (ESTC) 2012 seeks original papers describing research in all areas of electronic packaging, including LED packaging, flexible electronics, assembly and interconnect technologies, and more.

Wright Williams & Kelly, Inc. (WWK) opened its 2012 semiconductor industry survey on equipment and process timing. Only participants will receive the full results, free of charge.

Georgia Tech’s Packaging Research Center built a 3D organic package at 130µm thickness at 30µm pitch using ultra-short Cu-Cu interconnections, chip-last integration, and bonding below 200°C.

Yole Developpement released "European Microelectronic Fabs Database & Report 2012," a database and report on the European microelectronics and microsystem manufacturing fabs, pilot lines, and major R&D organizations.

The 2011 International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) has been publicly released. Several areas of advancement are highlighted in the 2011 ITRS: DRAM and Flash memory, and MEMS.

Nextreme Thermal Solutions announced that its thin-film thermoelectric technology has achieved a 60.1°C temperature difference between its cold and hot sides at an ambient temperature of 24.7°C, bringing it on par with the performance of bulk thermoelectric technology.

X-FAB Silicon Foundries, a More-than-Moore semiconductor foundry, has used SFT's R3D (Resistive 3D) software for its 0.18µm high-voltage process (XH018), providing improvements in reliability and efficiency.