Solid State Technology articles from January 2004

Solid State Technology archives from January 2004

Confronting the challenges of nanometer design.
January 1, 2004... A common precept, one currently under scrutiny in the semiconductor industry, is the belief that smaller is better. As long as there has been a semiconductor industry, each new generation of chips has been characterized by a drive for finer...

Will the US lose its lead in research?(Editorial)
January 1, 2004... Basic research in the United States has long been the envy of the rest of the world. Aside from the leadership in Nobel prizes, there has been a steady stream of fundamental developments that spawned entire industries, such as television,...

SIA: strong growth for global chip sales.(Business Trends)
January 1, 2004... Worldwide semiconductor sales rose 6.5% in September to $14.4 billion, up 5.9% from $13.56 billion in August--the seventh consecutive monthly increase and the biggest monthly percentage change in over a decade, according to data from the...

Asia-Pacific set to lead global industry comeback.(Worldwide Highlights)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Semiconductor revenue in the Asia-Pacific region is projected to grow to $116.6 billion in 2007, compared with $68.2 billion in 2003 and double the revenues accumulated in 2002, according to research from Gartner Inc. Semiconductor revenue...

Filling out its compound semiconductor epitaxial deposition offerings, Veeco Instruments, Woodbury, NY, has purchased Emcore Corp's.(USA)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Filling out its compound semiconductor epitaxial deposition offerings, Veeco Instruments, Woodbury, NY, has purchased Emcore Corp,'s, Somerset, NJ, TurboDisc MOCVD business for $60 million in cash, and an additional $20 million if future...

Aeroflex Inc., Plainview, NJ, has acquired Celerity Systems Inc., Cupertino, CA, for $10.25 million.(USA)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Aeroflex Inc., Plainview, NJ, has acquired Celerity Systems Inc., Cupertino, CA, for $10.25 million. The deal will expand Aeroflex's business to new markets including cellular base stations, while adding between $6-$7 million in revenues. The...

KLA-Tencor, San Jose, CA, and Accretech USA Inc., a subsidiary of Japan's Tokyo Seimitsu Co. Ltd., have settled their dispute over photomask inspection technology going back to 2001.(USA)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... KLA-Tencor, San Jose, CA, and Accretech USA Inc., a subsidiary of Japan's Tokyo Seimitsu Co. Ltd., have settled their dispute over photomask inspection technology going back to 2001. The companies have dismissed their respective patent...

Maxim Integrated Products Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, has purchased Philips' 8-in. wafer fab and equipment in San Antonio, TX, for $40 million.(USA)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Maxim Integrated Products Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, has purchased Philips' 8-in. wafer fab and equipment in San Antonio, TX, for $40 million. The site generated approximately $500 million in annual revenues. Vijay Ullal, Maxim's VP of worldwide...

Novx Corp.(USA)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Novx Corp., San Jose, CA, a supplier of ESC/ESD process monitoring equipment, is discontinuing its Series 300 and Series 53xx lines, in favor of its new Series 400 and Series 6000 lines. Novx will redirect resources to expand capacity for the...

Praxair Inc.(USA)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Praxair Inc., Danbury, CT, has completed a $19 million upgrade of its manufacturing and support infrastructure to meet customer demand for 300mm deposition materials. The expansion, which includes a new 300mm PVD development system in its...

Fairchild Semiconductor, South Portland, ME, has agreed to purchase the RF Components Division of Raytheon Co., Lexington, MA, for an undisclosed amount.(USA)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Fairchild Semiconductor, South Portland, ME, has agreed to purchase the RF Components Division of Raytheon Co., Lexington, MA, for an undisclosed amount. Fairchild has also bought Raytheon's foundry partnership to produce GaAs wafers and an...

Motorola, Austin, TX, and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC), Shanghai, China, have agreed to transfer Motorola's MOS-17 8-in. wafer fab in Tianjin to SMIC in exchange for SMIC shares.(China)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Motorola, Austin, TX, and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC), Shanghai, China, have agreed to transfer Motorola's MOS-17 8-in. wafer lab in Tianjin to SMIC in exchange for SMIC shares. SMIC will expand and operate the $1.5...

Powerchip Semiconductor Corp.(China)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor Corp. plans to invest up to $1 billion for a new 8-in. wafer tab in mainland China, according to the Taiwan Economic News. Company chairman Frank Huang said the deal will ease tight output capacity in the face...

National Semiconductor.(Taiwan)
January 1, 2004... National Semiconductor plans to open a research and development center in Taiwan, according to a report in the Asia Pulse Businesswire. National Semi's Taiwan GM Hsaio Wen-Hsiung said the HQ has been in the works for six months. Among National...

UMC.(Taiwan)(United Microelectronics Corporation)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Responding to concerns that chipmakers' current production lines won't be able to meet a growing number of orders, UMC plans to build new chip plants ahead of an anticipated pickup in demand. "We will be very aggressive in capacity expansion,...

Samsung.(Korea)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Samsung has begun construction of what will be the world's largest TFT-LCD manufacturing complex, just south of Seoul. The company plans to invest $17 billion by 2010 in the 2 million sq. ft facility, which will house four seventh-generation...

IBM.(Korea)
January 1, 2004... IBM is finalizing plans to set up an R&D center in South Korea, according to the Korea Times. The center will most likely focus on semiconductors and telematics, given IBM's partnership with domestic carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. initiated in...

Japan's electronics industries are expected to ramp up capex by double digits in 2003, according to a survey conducted by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun.(Japan)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Japan's electronics industries are expected to ramp up capex by double digits in 2003, according to a survey conducted by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun. Manufacturers of fiat-screen TVs and chips are expected to boost capex by 14.1% in 2003, a...

ST Assembly Test Services Ltd (STATS).(Singapore)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... ST Assembly Test Services Ltd. (STATS) is moving its Singapore corporate office and 200 employees to a new location on Ang Mo Lio Street, to make room for expansion. The company plans to convert 45,000 sq. ft of space in its existing site on...

EV Group, Scharding, Austria, and Silicon Genesis Corp. (SiGen), San Jose, CA, have signed an agreement to develop low-temperature wafer bonding technologies.(Eurofocus)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... EV Group, Scharding, Austria, and Silicon Genesis Corp. (SiGen), San Jose, CA, have signed an agreement to develop low-temperature wafer bonding technologies. Under a licensing deal, SiGen will transfer equipment and processes to EV for...

Micronic Laser System AB.(Eurofocus)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Micronic Laser Systems AB, Taby, Sweden, has introduced a new registration measurement system for TFT-LCD photomasks. Designed to complement the company's pattern generators, the MMS15000 verifies photomask pattern placements with an accuracy...

Software helps explore immersion lithography.(Technology News)
January 1, 2004... New simulation software helps explore the impact of polarization in very-high NA scanners by evaluating the image on the wafer's resist. The software package, designated SOLID-CTM 6.2 and developed by SIGMA-C, calculates the resist's image...

Intel announces high-k/metal breakthrough.(Technology News)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Intel fellow Robert Chau presented results of Intel Corp.'s high-k/metal gate transistor development at the International Gate Insulator Workshop in Tokyo, Japan, in early November. The new high-k gate materials are needed to reduce current...

U. of Illinois researchers create world's fastest transistor--again.(Technology News)
January 1, 2004... Researchers at the U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have broken their own record for the world's fastest transistor. Their latest device, reported to have a frequency of 509GHz, is 57GHz faster than their previous record-holder and could find...

A perspective on enhancing mobilities.(Strained Silicon)
January 1, 2004... Key metrics for enhanced MOSFET performance are increased speed, increased drain current at saturation ([I.sub.dsat]), and reduced capacitance equivalent thickness (CET) in inversion [1]. The maximum attainable [I.sub.dsat] for silicon MOSFETs...

Transistor scaling, obstacles, and key potential innovations.(Process Integration)
January 1, 2004... For leading-edge logic chips, the 2003 edition of the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) [1] projects continued rapid scaling in the physical gate length ([L.sub.g]) and other transistor dimensions. This leads to...

High aspect ration inspection: the grand challenge.(Special Report: 2003 ITRS)(Cover Story)
January 1, 2004... Defect detection is a rapidly moving technology that struggles to keep up with ITRS requirements. As the technology nodes shrink, the challenge of defect inspection follows due to the dramatic shrink of horizontal design rules with little to no...

New materials and device structures needed for CMOS scaling.(Frontend Processing)
January 1, 2004... Many of the frontend process challenges identified in the 2003 ITRS relate to the perception that continued CMOS scaling will require the introduction of new materials in the near term (2003-2007) and new device structures in the long term...

Will new technical solutions help lithographers in the future?(Lithography)
January 1, 2004... Comparing the new 2003 edition of ITRS Lithography Chapter with the year 2002 Update, it becomes apparent that the largest differences are related to the narrowing of potential solutions for near-term nodes and to the introduction of novel...

New ITRS targets k values, structures, and global wiring.(Interconnect)
January 1, 2004... The 2003 edition of the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) continues to reflect a slower than-projected rate of reduction in effective k value for MPUs and ASICs. Although materials manufacturers have been able to...

International SEMATECH tackles emerging materials.(Materials)
January 1, 2004... Emerging materials will augment silicon transistor technology by providing enhanced speed, lower power consumption, improved heat dissipation, or added RF/analog functionality while maintaining the large-scale integration capability of CMOS...

Evaluating efficiencies of gas-phase chemical or AMC filters.(Gases/Gas Handling)
January 1, 2004... OVERVIEW There may be a temptation to equate the evaluation of AMC filter performance with particulate filter performance terms, such as HEPA and ULPA. But chemical filters are quite different, offering challenges in design and performance...

Implementation of CVD low-k dielectrics for high-volume production.(Copper/Low-k)(Chemical Vapor Deposition)
January 1, 2004... OVERVIEW CVD-based carbon-doped silicon oxides were developed for low-k applications in AMD Opteron and AMD Athlon 64 microprocessors. After resolving problems specific to low-k integration, yield and product-performance enhancement rates...

Lithography system offers alternative to spin coating.(Product News)
January 1, 2004... The lithography package combines a patent-pending spray coating system with a SupraYield-enabled exposure tool for pattern transfer over severe topography. The large exposure-gap optics expose over high topography without diffraction-related...

Wafer sensor monitors down to room temperature.(Product News)
January 1, 2004... The BandiT temperature sensor uses a solid-state spectrometer to analyze the absorption of light scattered from substrates, determine the absorption edge, and relate the edge to the substrate temperature. The sensor can be used with substrates...

Scanner images down to 65nm on 200 and 300mm wafers.(Product News)
January 1, 2004... The TWINSCAN XT:1250 is a 0.85NA, 193nm, volume-production lithography scanner that extends imaging to the 65nm node on both 200mm and 300mm wafers. The scanner features Ultra-k1 hardware and software that enables chipmakers to shrink circuit...

Wafer-bow metrology tool is automated for high throughput.(Product News)
January 1, 2004... The ultra-WB wafer-bow/stress metrology tool combines with the VANGUARD automation platform to help manufacturers improve 300mm wafer yield. The tool measures stress related curvature with multiple parallel laser beams, then measures the...

Automated test equipment designed for SoCs.(Product News)
January 1, 2004... The T2000 series of automated test equipment is based on the OPENSTAR platform, and specifically designed to test systems-on-chip is embedded in electronics products. The open, interoperable architecture is adaptable as a result of its flexible...

X-ray inspection system with intensity control.(Product News)
January 1, 2004... The TIGER (FXS-160.40) x-ray system offers true x-ray intensity (TXI) control to provide immediate and steady intensity, long-term stability, and constant image contrast and brightness for recurring inspections. The system offers geometric...

Deposition/etch system for volume production.(Product News)
January 1, 2004... The VERSALINE deposition and etching system is streamlined and optimized to offer a low cost-of-ownership for single-process module applications with cassette-to-cassette loading. The process modules for up to 200mm wafers are built to ensure...

Probe station for MEMS applications.(Product News)
January 1, 2004... TheVACP200 (programmable) and VACM200 (motorized) analytical probe stations address MEMS probing applications in a dust-free, moisture-free vacuum environment or a special inert atmosphere. The DUT chamber pumps close to 1 x [10.sup.-6] torr...

Vision sensor software.(Product News)
January 1, 2004... In-Sight Explorer software, designed for use with the In-Sight series of vision sensors, addresses all aspects of vision sensor implementation in a single, user-friendly package. Explorer detects new sensors on the network and includes...

Piping system and fusion machine.(Product News)
January 1, 2004... The SYGEF Plus Piping system and IR 315 Plus fusion machine for ultrapure water applications has a larger piping system that allows customers to install fewer lines to achieve results that previously required two lines. Customers can now...

Autofocus distance measuring device.(Product News)
January 1, 2004... The LaserTrac distance measuring device provides real-time autofocus of microscope systems used for inspection of wafers, microvia plates, and other substrates. LaserTrac focuses a laser light source into the optical path, monitors the...

Calendar.(Calendar)
January 1, 2004... * FEBRUARY 2004 14-17--8th Asian Symposium on Information Display--Nanjing, China. Info: Dian Mecca, ph 203/853-7069, fax 203/855-9769, e-mail dmecca@nutmegconsultants.com, asid03.seu.edu.cn. 14-19--IEEE Solid State Circuits...

2003 ITRS highlights: Solid State Technology asked ITRS leaders to highlight changes in the latest roadmap.(Perspectives)
January 1, 2004... The International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) is a consensus reference document with a 15-year outlook on the requirements of the semiconductor industry. It provides the needs and possible solutions. But it is up to IC...