Solid State Technology articles from August 2006

Solid State Technology archives from August 2006

The ConFab: speakers discuss how to manage the new economics of chipmaking.(Special Online Staff Report)(Conference on Fabrication Plant (semiconductors) )
August 1, 2006... The ConFab--sponsored by Solid State Technology and our parent company, PennWell--brought together the leading semiconductor manufacturing executives for three days of dialogue and collaboration this past May in Las Vegas. For those unable to...

Seven habits of effective collaborators.(Editorial)
August 1, 2006... There has been no shortage of warnings about the impending R&D funding gap in the semiconductor industry, or of calls for greater collaboration, even among competitors, to share costs. But now industry leaders are taking the discussion a step...

SIA hikes 2006 forecast, smoothes outlook for 2007-2008.(Semiconductor Industry Association)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Citing stronger than expected growth in several key end-markets, notably call phones, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) has brightened its semiannual forecast for the semiconductor industry. The SIA now projects 2006 chip sales...

STATS ChipPAC Ltd. and China Resources Logic Ltd. have agreed to set up a JV for assembly and test services in Wuxi, China.(STATS ChipPAC Ltd and China Resources Logic Ltd enters into joint venture)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... STATS ChipPAC Ltd. and China Resources Logic Ltd. have agreed to set up a JV for assembly and test services in Wuxi, China. The deal lets STATS ChipPAC offload its lower-end leadframe package families, and focus on more leading-edge...

Hynix Semiconductor.(World Trade Organization )(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... The World Trade Organization (WTO) will step in to settle a dispute between Japan and South Korea over tariffs levied on exports of Hynix Semiconductor's DRAM memory chips. The US and European Union imposed similar duties last year.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc.(USA)
August 1, 2006... Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) plans to build a greenfield 300mm/32nm semiconductor manufacturing facility in the Luther Forest Technology Campus in upstate New York. Total investments could reach up to $5.0 billion, with $1 billion in...

Texas Instruments.(Texas Instruments Inc forthcoming 45nm chipmaking process to be built with immersion lithography and an ultralow-k dielectric and use of silicon germanium)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Texas Instruments says its forthcoming 45nm chipmaking process will be built with 193nm immersion lithography and an ultralow-k dielectric (k = 2.5), and incorporate the company's first use of silicon germanium in strain techniques. TI also is...

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp.(building a new facility)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... An investment company associated with the Hubei provincial government is building a new 300mm chipmaking facility, to be operated (but not owned) by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC). Initial production is scheduled for...

The China Semiconductor Industry Association (CSIA) has officially joined the World Semiconductor Council (WSC).(ASIAFOCUS)
August 1, 2006... The China Semiconductor Industry Association (CSIA) has officially joined the World Semiconductor Council (WSC), following an open invitation issued by the WSC in May.

In a move to jointly move up the chain in the $8.3 billion silicon wafer market, Sumitomo Mitsubishi Silicon Corp. (SUMCO) has agreed to acqwuire a 51% ownership in rival Japanese wafer maker Komatsu Electronic Metals Co. Ltd.(mergers and acquisitions)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... In a move to jointly move up the chain in the $8.3 billion silicon wafer market, Sumitomo Mitsubishi Silicon Corp. (SUMCO) has agreed to acqwuire a 51% ownership in rival Japanese wafer maker Komatsu Electronic Metals Co. Ltd., for...

Spansion Inc.(ASIAFOCUS)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Spansion Inc. plans to spend $1.2 billion over the next three years on a new 300mm production line at its plant in Fukushima Prefecture, northern Japan, according to local media reports. The new line, set to begin operation in 2H07, will...

A planning group formed by Hitachi, Toshiba, and Renesas Technology Corp. has determined that a joint 300mm/65nm chipmaking operation is not currently feasible.(ASIAFOCUS)
August 1, 2006... A planning group formed by Hitachi, Toshiba, and Renesas Technology Corp. has determined that a joint 300mm/65nm chipmaking operation is not currently feasible. Meanwhile, Toshiba, Fujitsu Ltd., NEC Electronics Corp., and Renesas reportedly...

Intel Corp.(Intel Corp inaugrates new plant in Ireland)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Intel Corp. has officially inaugurated its upgraded Fab 24-2 plant in Leixlip, Ireland. The site is the company's fourth 300mm facility and third to achieve 65nm production.

Robert Bosch.(Robert Bosch GmbH plans to invest in its new plant)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Robert Bosch plans to invest 550 million euros (about US $694 million) on a new 200mm/0.18[micro]m semiconductor plant in Reutlingen, Germany, to produce mainly smart power process" automotive chips.

Soitec has acquired CEA-Leti spinoff TraciT Technologies.(mergers and acquisitions)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Soitec has acquired CEA-Leti spinoff TraciT Technologies, a developer of thin-film layer transfer technology for MEMS and power circuits, to target new markets such as wafer-level packaging.

Intel describes CMOS tri-gate integration.(Intel Corp describes about CMOS tri-gate transistors)
August 1, 2006... Intel Corp. recently presented results of its work with CMOS tri-gate transistors, citing its successful integration of high-k gate dielectrics, metal gate electrodes, and strained silicon to offer considerably lower leakage and consume much...

Report from IITC: future interconnects could include low-k air gaps, carbon nanotubes.(TECHNOLOGY NEWS)
August 1, 2006... The 9th annual International Interconnect Technology Conference in Burlingame, CA, again brought together hundreds of the world's leading semiconductor manufacturers, equipment and materials suppliers, and research centers for three days of...

Novel vacuum chamber moves with the wafer.(TECHNOLOGY NEWS)(New Way Air Bearings introduces vacuum chamber)
August 1, 2006... New Way Air Bearings, Aston, PA, has created a new "vacuum chamber stage" demo system which could have application in lithography, ion implant, mask-writing, and metrology processes requiring high precision in deep vacuum. Essentially, instead...

Ask the expert.
August 1, 2006... Q Are there any alternatives to the standard subatmospheric delivery options for my ion implant gases? A Delivering another solution through innovation, Air Products has developed a cost-effective alternative to traditional subatmospheric...

Mentor tool offers hyperscaled DRC and model-based verification.(TECHNOLOGY NEWS)(Design-rule check)(Mentor Graphics Corp. introduces Calibre nmDRC)
August 1, 2006... Design-rule check (DRC) used to involve simple "go/no-go" checks, but simple compliance is no longer sufficient to account for the variety and complexity of nanometer-era manufacturing processes. To ensure high yield in nanometer-era chips,...

Advances in white LEDs signal a switch to solid-state lighting.(SOLID-STATE LIGHTING)
August 1, 2006... EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW Advances in thin-film stacks of inorganic materials, along with improvements in chip-level integration, deposition techniques, and optimized plastic packages, have enabled light-emitting diode (LED) makers to greatly...

Foundry implementation of advanced automated decision-making.(AUTOMATION)
August 1, 2006... EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW AMD has shown in its own fabs that very tight and automated control is essential to manufacture leading-edge products. Recently, automated precision manufacturing (APM) was implemented in Chartered's Fab 7, a foundry for...

Integrating dual workfunction metal gates in CMOS.(complementary metal oxide semiconductors)(Case study)
August 1, 2006... EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW As MOSFET scales below 45nm, conventional Si[O.sub.2] cannot sustain equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) and leakage current requirements set in the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS), due to the...

Alternatives to low-k nanoporous materials: dielectric air-gap integration.(DEPOSITION)
August 1, 2006... EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW Long considered theoretically possible, air gaps formed within multilevel on-chip interconnect structures are now under serious consideration as a means to lower the k value of intermetal dielectrics (IMD) for future...

A remote carbon method for fabricating strained SiGeC:B layers.(MATERIALS)
August 1, 2006... EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW Advanced RF BiCMOS technologies that use NPN heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBT) require the lowest possible base resistance, which is achieved with boron doping. Ultra-thin (sub-40 nm) strained layers of silicon...

'Collaborate an thrive' model enables fast path to high-volume production.(ASIA-PACIFIC SECTION: TAIWAN)
August 1, 2006... EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW Anticipating high customer demand for its new finer linewidth chips, the Taiwan-based fabless Flash manufacturer, Eon Silicon Solution Inc., asked Dongbu Electronics to be ready to not only drive the shift of its Flash...

Semicon Taiwan.(UPCOMING EVENT)
August 1, 2006... SEMICON Taiwan September 11-13, 2006 Taipei World Trade Center Taipei, Taiwan At SEMICON Taiwan, exhibitors highlight the latest in semiconductor manufacturing equipment, materials, and services. Programs in conjunction with...

Semiconductor industry growth tied to the AP region's evolution.(ASIA-PACIFIC SECTION: GENERAL ASIA)(Industry overview)
August 1, 2006... EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW The Asia-Pacific region has played an integral part in the success of the semiconductor industry for over 35 years, and in turn has been transformed by it. California's Silicon Valley would not have experienced such...

Automated chemical analysis system.(PRODUCT NEWS)
August 1, 2006... The Sentry Harsh Chemistry Metrology system offers automated real-time, "proactive" analysis to detect metallic and ultimately organic contaminants in harsh chemistries used in semiconductor manufacturing processes. The system's proprietary...

Streamlined, cleaner gas abatement tool.(PRODUCT NEWS)
August 1, 2006... The Alpine-5 point-of-use gas abatement system utilizes flameless electric heaters rather than burning methane to reach temperatures to abate perfluorocompound gas emissions, resulting in a cleaner and safer process. The tool achieves >95% DRE...

Upgraded fault defect system.(PRODUCT NEWS)
August 1, 2006... The Imprint MX3 system offers fault detection and classification for logic, DRAM, and flash device manufacturing. The system processes data from multiple sensors to better identify excursions and drift--e.g., enabling gas drift sensitivity down...

Plasma ALD tool.(PRODUCT NEWS)
August 1, 2006... The FlexAl atomic layer deposition (ALD) tool, developed in conjunction with the Eindhoven U. of Technology, enables use of low-temperature deposition, high-density and ultrathin films, and high film purity, and also incorporates thermal ALD...

300mm flash test tool.(PRODUCT NEWS)
August 1, 2006... The Harmony OneTouch wafer probe card technology addresses challenges associated with one-touchdown 300ram flash wafer probing. A bridge capability adjusts the tilt of the probe card relative to the wafer, and reduces thermal setup time from...

Strip material for etch removal.(PRODUCT NEWS)
August 1, 2006... The Act EZstrip 511 etch and ash residue remover targets cleaning of residue in single-wafer and batch tools, designed to be compatible with copper and low-k materials in 65nm and 45nm semiconductor manufacturing processes. The material,...

High-speed process monitoring.(PRODUCT NEWS)
August 1, 2006... The NeXus SPC diagnostic tool performs split-second analysis of process conditions for Applied Materials' Vantage Radiance Plus RTR Vantage RadOx RTP, and Centura Epi systems, monitoring critical process parameters up to 100x/sec (100Hz)....

Wafer slice & dice.(PRODUCT NEWS)
August 1, 2006... The IX-200 high-precision wafer dicing (singulation) system comes in two configurations. The "ChromaDice" DPSS (solid state) version, available in 266nm or 355nm wavelengths, cuts as narrow as 2.5him in width, yielding as much as 24% more...

High-dose implanter.(PRODUCT NEWS)
August 1, 2006... This extension of the Axcelis Optima platform uses clusters of boron, instead of individual atoms, for extremely high-dose, low-energy implant applications in leading-edge memory and logic devices. Implanting molecules of [B.sub.18] [H.sub.22]...

Image processing system.(PRODUCT NEWS)
August 1, 2006... PADS (probe accuracy diagnosis system) is an ultrahigh-speed image processing engine designed to provide fast and reliable probe mark inspection (PMI) capability. The company says the tool, which is integrated with TEL's P-12XLm 300mm automatic...

Wet process station.(PRODUCT NEWS)
August 1, 2006... The Series 1414 Wet Process Station for semiconductor manufacturing cleanroom operations is designed for in-wall placement, allowing total laminar clean air flow to the work deck. Components are mounted on support rails to be positioned for...

Pattern generator for FPDs.(PRODUCT NEWS)
August 1, 2006... The FPS5100 laser pattern generator, based on Micronic's LRS line of pattern generators, targets high-volume production of photomasks for electronic packaging, passive matrix TN/STN LCDs, and other large area applications. The system features...

Wafer-level calibration.(PRODUCT NEWS)
August 1, 2006... This new version of SussCal Professional software addresses wafer-level calibration and accuracy of on-wafer measurements for high-frequency (RF and microwave) devices, automating the calibration process for semi- or fully automated probe...

Hybrid Z-nanopositioning component.(PRODUCT NEWS)
August 1, 2006... The M-714 precision Z-stage/C-702 Hybrid Controller is a hybrid Z-nanopositioning system, employing piezoelectric and DC-motor drives to offer better resolution and response with long travel ranges and high holding forces. Featuring 2nm linear...

Vacuum pump inlet trap.(PRODUCT NEWS)
August 1, 2006... The MV Multi-Trap is a modular, high-capacity vacuum pump inlet trap for new or retrofitted 300mm wafer fabricators and processes, such as nitride, TEOS, TiN, Al[O.sub.3], and BPSG, that generate large amounts of heavy particulates. It features...

Defect classification software.(PRODUCT NEWS)
August 1, 2006... The TrueADC automatic defect classification system offers a dynamic defect library function to facilitate expansion of the library, enabling adjustment for new defects or process variations in the production line. The software includes custom...

In situ chemical separation.(PRODUCT NEWS)
August 1, 2006... The 3300 series single-wafer wet processors incorporate in situ chemical separation systems for collection and reuse of processing chemistries free of cross-contamination, thus reducing consumption. The combination of gravity-driven drainage,...

There really is a litho wall.(INDUSTRY FORUM)
August 1, 2006... Optical lithography has transcended so many limits set by the promoters of next-generation lithographies that much of the industry acts as if it will live forever. Long ago, I first became fascinated with litho when Grant Willson, currently...