Solid State Technology

SMIC expands Beijing fab for smaller-node semiconductor manufacturing

Tue, 15 May 2012 21:16:00 GMT

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) signed a cooperation framework document between its subsidiary SMIC Beijing and the Beijing municipal government, forming a joint venture for SMIC Beijing's expansion adjacent to its 12” mega-fab.

Buhler approved to acquire Leybold Optics

Tue, 15 May 2012 21:04:00 GMT

Bühler’s acquisition of Leybold Optics from EQT III, for an undisclosed sum, was approved without any restrictions by anti-trust authorities.

SUSS MicroTec takes over SUSS MicroOptics

Tue, 15 May 2012 20:47:00 GMT

SÜSS MicroTec AG has increased its shareholding in SUSS MicroOptics S.A. to 100%. SUSS MicroOptics is a leading company for high-quality refractive and diffractive micro-optics.

DRAM partially recovers thanks to Elpida bankruptcy

Tue, 15 May 2012 19:01:00 GMT

The market for DRAM is expected to partially reverse the drastic losses it incurred in 2011 and achieve revenue growth this year, the result of balanced supply and demand following the exit of major manufacturer Elpida Memory, according to IHS.

Infineon CEO Bauer resigns for health considerations

Tue, 15 May 2012 16:23:00 GMT

Infineon Technologies AG (FSE:IFX, OTCQX:IFNNY) CEO Peter Bauer will resign his post at the end of the current fiscal year (September 30, 2012) due to worsening osteoporosis.

Chinese GaAs foundry installs SPTS PVD tool

Tue, 15 May 2012 14:31:00 GMT

SPTS Technologies installed a Sigma fxP physical vapor deposition (PVD) system at a Chinese foundry producing RF devices on gallium arsenide (GaAs) substrates.

Beyond sapphire: LED substrates from GaN to ZnO, SiC, and Si

Mon, 14 May 2012 22:39:00 GMT

LEDs are typically manufactured on sapphire substrates, about 90% of the blue LEDs currently in production. SiC substrates are used for virtually all the remaining 10% of blue LEDs. To improve efficiency and brightness, as well as cost, LED makers are looking to other substrates, such as Si and ZnO.

Advantest DRAM test system clocks 8Gbps test speed on every pin

Mon, 14 May 2012 20:49:00 GMT

Advantest Corporation uncrated the next-generation high-speed DRAM test system, T5511, offering 8Gbps test speed. It can be deployed from R&D through to volume production.

The low utilization/MOCVD uptick phenomenon, LED efficacy and price, more from Lightfair

Mon, 14 May 2012 20:04:00 GMT

Barclays Capital analysts attended Lightfair International and gleaned several trends in LEDs and OLEDs for lighting, including an interesting phenomenon around MOCVD utilization rates and new orders.

GLOBALFOUNDRIES joins top-20 semiconductor suppliers in Q1 2012 on Elpida bankruptcy

Mon, 14 May 2012 15:32:00 GMT

The top 20 semiconductor suppliers in Q1 2012, compiled in IC Insights' May Update to The McClean Report, show Intel’s firm hold on the top of the rankings, but a disappointing quarter overall. GLOBALFOUNDRIES replaced bankrupt Elpida on the top 20 charts.

Semiconductor-grade flow sensor measures photoresist, solvent supply

Mon, 14 May 2012 13:02:00 GMT

SENSIRION introduced the SLQ-QT105 semiconductor-grade flow sensor for flow rates below 2cc/sec (120ml/min) of hydrocarbon-based liquids, such as photoresists and solvents.

Nanostructured polymer lithography platform established by CEA-Leti and Arkema

Fri, 11 May 2012 21:14:00 GMT

Arkema and CEA-Leti, with the help of Professor Hadziioannou’s team of LCPO, have successfully patterned a 20nm pitch and reduced the diameter of contacts down to 7nm with nanostructured polymers.

Precision spray coater builds coatings through layer-by-layer self assembly

Fri, 11 May 2012 21:01:00 GMT

Nanotrons Corporation launched the SPray Assisted Layer-by-layer Assembly System (SPALAS) for nano-enabled optical coatings on semiconductor, plastic, and glass substrates using layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly.

GaN-on-Si LED from Bridgelux, Toshiba hits performance record

Fri, 11 May 2012 20:31:00 GMT

Bridgelux and Toshiba reported a 1.1mm² LED chip fabricated on an 8" GaN-on-Si wafer, emitting 614mW, <3.1V @ 350mA. The companies will collaborate on commercializing GaN-on-Si LEDs, and Toshiba has invested in Bridgelux.

CMOS image sensor suppliers ramp up 300mm capacity

Fri, 11 May 2012 17:53:00 GMT

CMOS image sensors (CIS) are breaking sales records again, after several years without upward momentum, reports IC Insights. New portable systems and embedded imaging are lifting CIS to $6.3 billion in 2012 and new record sales each year through 2016.

Intel (INTC) plans high capex and fast node shrinks, expects chipmaker consolidation

Fri, 11 May 2012 16:48:00 GMT

At Intel’s annual investor day, the chipmaker reported that capital spending will be high in 2012 and 2013, noting that its 22nm and 14nm node capabilities are differentiators. Intel focused on its Ultrabook launches, consolidation in the chip industry, and reiterated that capex is for internal use not foundry services.

Micron confirms Elpida takeover discussions

Fri, 11 May 2012 15:46:00 GMT

Memory chip maker Micron Technology Inc. (Nasdaq:MU) confirmed that it is engaged in discussions to take over the assets of bankrupt DRAM maker Elpida Memory Inc.

OLED manufacturers develop new color patterning technologies for large-area fab

Thu, 10 May 2012 20:59:00 GMT

OLEDs are gaining adopters in small screen sizes, and just moving into large-size displays. Mass production color-patterning technology for large-area OLED is increasingly an issue. Displaybank looks at new technologies under development at major display makers.

Astro Pak expands precision cleaning cleanrooms in CA

Thu, 10 May 2012 15:55:00 GMT

Astro Pak Corporation opened its Class 100 and Class 1000 cleanrooms, recently renovated and expanded, in Downey, CA. The cleanrooms host contract precision cleaning for the semiconductor manufacturing, aerospace, and other industries.

Dow Corning orders AIXTRON epitaxy reactors for power electronics fab

Thu, 10 May 2012 15:05:00 GMT

Dow Corning will add 2 AIXTRON AIX 2800G4 WW planetary reactor platforms to its silicon carbide (SiC) epitaxy capacity for next-generation power electronics.

SEMI adds Brewer, Mitchell to North American Advisory Board

Wed, 09 May 2012 19:13:00 GMT

EMI added two members its North American Advisory Board: Terry Brewer of Brewer Science and Wayne Mitchell of Air Products.

SEMI lauds Congressman Dave Camp (R-MI) for microelectronics/photovoltaics support

Wed, 09 May 2012 18:36:00 GMT

SEMI presented US Congressman Dave Camp (R-MI) with its 2012 North American Government Leadership Award for his leadership and support of the US microelectronics and photovoltaic manufacturing value chain.

Coherent achieves ISO/IEC 17025 certification at laser calibration lab

Wed, 09 May 2012 15:58:00 GMT

Coherent Inc., supplier of laser power and energy management instruments, achieved a certificate of accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 at its Wilsonville, OR calibration laboratory.

UNL taps SEMI-GAS for semiconductor metrology lab’s gas needs

Tue, 08 May 2012 19:54:00 GMT

SEMI-GAS Systems, ultra-high-purity gas source and distribution system maker, will outfit the University of Nebraska - Lincoln’s new Nanoscience Metrology Facility. Applied Energy Systems will provide field services.

AIXTRON MOCVD tool installed for GaN research at U of Warsaw

Tue, 08 May 2012 19:35:00 GMT

University of Warsaw, Poland, researchers will grow GaN materials on a new AIXTRON SE Close Coupled Showerhead MOCVD reactor in a 3 x 2” wafer configuration.

Silicon wafer shipments up sequentially, down 11% Y/Y in Q1 2012

Tue, 08 May 2012 15:38:00 GMT

Worldwide silicon wafer area shipments increased slightly during Q1 2012 when compared to Q4 2011 area shipments, according to SEMI. Wafer shipments fell 11% from Q1 2011.

President Obama speaks at Albany Nano-Tech Complex today

Tue, 08 May 2012 15:11:00 GMT

President Barack Obama toured the SUNY - Albany Nano-Tech Complex today, speaking about the economy and education in the CNSE NanoFab Extension Building.

memsstar appoints CEO with semiconductor and packaging experience

Tue, 08 May 2012 14:36:00 GMT

memsstar Limited, deposition and etch equipment supplier to the MEMS and semiconductor industries, named Mike Thompson as CEO.

III-V Lab shares silicon and compound semiconductor work 1 year in

Mon, 07 May 2012 21:20:00 GMT

III-V Lab, a joint lab of Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs France, Thales Research and Technology and CEA-Leti, provides an update one year into its 4 main research area projects. III-V lab combines compound semiconductor and silicon semiconductor technologies for applications in telecom, industrial control, environmental testing, defense, security, and space.

Lithography challenges for leading edge 3D packaging applications

Mon, 07 May 2012 18:00:00 GMT

The lithography challenges associated with TSV fabrication for various devices structures are investigated. Warren W. Flack, Manish Ranjan, Gareth Kenyon, Robert Hsieh, Ultratech, Inc., San Jose, CA. John Slabbekoorn, Andy Miller, imec, Leuven, Belgium

Micron expected to win Elpida assets in DRAM maker's bankruptcy negotiations

Mon, 07 May 2012 16:33:00 GMT

Elpida informally chose Micron to sponsor its restructuring, report severals sources. Micron reportedly will pay about USD1 billion more than it originally offered, investing another $1.25 billion to upgrade 2 fabs in Japan.

Camtek ships semiconductor inspection tools to leading US IDM

Mon, 07 May 2012 15:14:00 GMT

A leading, US-based IDM ordered about $5 million of front- and back-end semiconductor automatic optical inspection (AOI) tools from Camtek Ltd.

Texas Instruments (TI, TXN) shares strategy at Analyst Day

Fri, 04 May 2012 22:04:00 GMT

Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:TXN, TI) hosted an Analyst Day this week to discuss and review key strategies and progress achieved over the past 15 years. Barclays Capital “heard few surprises” at TI's Analyst Day; its analysts maintain their view that TI is a “high-quality analog company” that raises some concerns that it is not able to benefit from its scale advantages, with a growth trajectory of only GDP-plus (i.e. in line with overall semiconductors). FBR Capital Markets analysts agree that “little new surfaced.”

Organic complementary logic aim of 2 European research projects

Fri, 04 May 2012 17:53:00 GMT

The Heterogeneous Technology Alliance in Europe is focusing on high-performance organic electronic circuits through 2 projects: COSMIC to develop p- and n-type OTFTs for complementary logic, and POLARIC for shrinking critical dimensions of OTFTs.

Ion beam optimization to reduce EUV mask blank defects

Fri, 04 May 2012 17:00:00 GMT

A likely cause of many of the defects seen on EUV mask blanks is the ion beam missing the target of the mask blank deposition system. This analysis provides a possible solution. Patrick Kearney and Frank Goodwin, SEMATECH, Albany, NY

Top 10 innovative technology firms in Q1

Fri, 04 May 2012 15:26:00 GMT

Lux Research profiled 328 companies across 15 different emerging technology domains in Q1 2012. Of these, Lux Research selected its top 10, including a gallium-nitride (GaN) power device maker, printed electronics supplier, and others.

CEA-Leti unveils wide-reaching silicon research scope

Wed, 02 May 2012 20:51:00 GMT

CEA-Leti has introduced the “LETI-3S” concept, for “Silicon Specialty Solutions.” The research is oriented to start-ups, component integrators, fabless or fablite chip companies, and equipment/consumable suppliers.

Semiconductor sales grew incrementally in March 2012

Wed, 02 May 2012 16:38:00 GMT

Global semiconductor sales hit $23.3 billion in March 2012, up 1.5% from February 2012 and down 7.9% from March 2011, reports the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).

RFMD intros GaN process for high-voltage power semiconductor devices

Wed, 02 May 2012 14:41:00 GMT

RF Micro Devices Inc. (Nasdaq GS:RFMD) expanded its gallium nitride (GaN) portfolio with rGaN-HV, optimized for high-voltage power devices in power conversion applications.

Become the Best of West at SEMICON West

Tue, 01 May 2012 21:08:00 GMT

Solid State Technology and SEMI will present the 2012 Best of West product awards at SEMICON West 2012, July 10-12 in San Francisco. Best of West recognizes important product and technology developments in the microelectronics industries.

Arkema enters microelectronics manufacturing research area with CEA

Tue, 01 May 2012 19:32:00 GMT

CEA will extend its collaboration with Arkema beyond photovoltaics into microelectronics and organic electronics, setting up two joint public-private research projects in CEA-Leti and CEA-Liten.

Global Semiconductor Alliance appoints first China-based director

Tue, 01 May 2012 19:09:00 GMT

The Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) appointed Dr. Leo Li, chairman, CEO and president of Spreadtrum Communications Inc., to its Board of Directors. Li is GSA’s first China-based executive to join the Board.

CVD Equipment sells Ronkonkoma building in move to Central Islip location

Tue, 01 May 2012 16:15:00 GMT

CVD Equipment completed the sale of its Ronkonkoma, NY, facility, where its Application Laboratory was located. This is part of CVD Equipment’s move to its recently purchased building in Central Islip, NY.

450mm wafer handling business unit established by Crossing Automation

Tue, 01 May 2012 15:55:00 GMT

Crossing Automation Inc. formed a business unit around 450mm semiconductor wafer automation platforms. The company has a comprehensive line of 450mm wafer handling products currently shipping to fabs and tool makers.

Fujitsu Semiconductor transfers Iwate wafer fab to DENSO

Tue, 01 May 2012 14:30:00 GMT

Fujitsu Semiconductor will transfer ownership of its Iwate Plant, a semiconductor wafer fab in Iwate, Japan producing system LSI, microcontrollers, etc., to DENSO.

NASA funds GaN-on-Si power amplifier development at Nitronex

Tue, 01 May 2012 11:30:00 GMT

Nitronex was awarded a NASA Phase I SBIR to develop a highly efficient 20W X-band GaN power amplifier MMICs, for use in long range RF telecommunications. The company will deploy its GaN-on-Si technology.

Top OSATS raise 2012 capex with semiconductor test focus

Tue, 01 May 2012 10:00:00 GMT

The top three outsourced semiconductor assembly and test services (OSATS) providers raised 2012 capex during their earnings reports, from initial plans announced in January, report analysts at Citi.

Intel 22nm trigate transistor process chosen for next-gen Netronome flow processors

Tue, 01 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Flow processor developer Netronome extended its strategic relationship with Intel Corp., manufacturing its next-generation Netronome flow processors (NFP) using Intel's 22nm tri-gate transistor architecture.

A fresh perspective on 450mm

Tue, 01 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT

I recently had the good fortune to moderate the SEMI Northeast Forum on 450mm in Albany.

Reducing mask write-time—which strategy is best?

Tue, 01 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT

A number of techniques have been developed to control mask write time by reducing shot count. This article describes and compares several techniques, and merits versus cost of each. Steffen Schulze and Tim Lin, Mentor Graphics, Wilsonville, OR