Solid State Technology articles from May 2005

Solid State Technology archives from May 2005

Immersion lithography targets 'hyper NA' and high 300mm throughput.(SPIE REPORT)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... M. David Levenson, Contributing Technical Editor; J. Robert Lineback, St. Technical Editor With no "showstoppers" identified yet in immersion lithography, rival scanner makers ASML, Canon, and Nikon are accelerating efforts to take 193nm...

The changing concept of 'adding value'.(EDITORIAL)(Editorial)
May 1, 2005... There are many ways to "add value" to an enterprise. As companies grow, and industries and technologies mature, the focus may shift dramatically. The recent upheaval at Hewlett-Packard capsulates much about how this concept has been transformed...

Asian equipment markets flex muscles in 2004.(BUSINESS TRENDS)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Sales of chipmaking equipment for 2004 totaled $37.08 billion--a 67% increase from 2003, its second-highest performance ever behind the historic year 2000--driven by robust spending in all geographic regions on 300mm equipment and other...

Semi Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG).(WORLDWIDE HIGHLIGHTS)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Worldwide silicon wafer area shipments increased by 22% in 2004 to 6262 million square inches (MSI), surpassing the 2000 peak, with 300mm wafers accounting for more than 15% of shipments by year's end, according to the SEMI Silicon...

Semiconductor International Capacity Statistics (SICAS).(WORLDWIDE HIGHLIGHTS)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Wafer lab capacity inched up 0.8% sequentially and 9.4% year-on-year to 1.4664 million wafer starts/week in 4Q04, according to Semiconductor International Capacity Statistics (SICAS) in Vessem, The Netherlands. Total IC capacity utilization...

Oki Electric Industry Co.(USA)
May 1, 2005... Texas Instruments Inc. is selling its large-size thin-film transistor liquid-crystal display driver operations to Oki Electric Industry Co., to shift its focus to proprietary analog products. The [yen] 5 billion (US$47.4 million) transaction...

Indincon Technologies AG.(USA)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... A federal judge in Virginia has dismissed all of Rambus' patent infringement claims against Infineon Technologies AG, involving efforts to get its memory technologies included into standards. Rambus is pursuing similar litigation against Hynix,...

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp.(CHINA)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... While awaiting a final decision from the US Export-Import Bank regarding its requested $769 million loan to purchase US chipmaking equipment, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) reportedly is quietly preparing Plan B--turning...

AMD has officially opened its new test, mark and pack facility in the Suzhou Industrial Park.(CHINA)(Advanced Micro Devices )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... AMD has officially opened its new test, mark, and pack facility in the Suzhou Industrial Park, adjacent to Spansion's flash memory assembly building. AMD began rolling out products in December at the 11,000[m.sup.2] facility, and plans to add...

Toshiba Corp. and SanDisk Corp. have accelerated the ramp-up of their newly completed joint 300mm NAND flash-memory lab to 2H05.(Japan)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Toshiba Corp. and SanDisk Corp. have accelerated the ramp-up of their newly completed joint 300mm NAND flash-memory lab to 2H05. The [yen] 270 billion (US$2.6 billion) Fab 3 facility in Yokkaichi began construction in spring 2004 with initial...

Elpida Memory Inc.(Japan)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Elpida Memory Inc. has begun the first phase of equipment investments totaling [yen] 100 billion (US$950 million) for its second 300mm fab in Hiroshima, according to the Asahi Shimbun. Initial rollout at E300-Fab2, which began construction in...

FSI International Inc.(CORPORATE PROFILE)(Company Profile)
May 1, 2005... Global support. Local service. More surface conditioning options. Facts you can trust. FSI International, Inc. has set the standards for innovative, extendable and flexible surface conditioning cleaning solutions for more than 30 years....

The World Trade Organization has ruled that penalizing tariffs by the US against Hynix Semiconductor are in violation of trade regulations.(Korea)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... The World Trade Organization has ruled that penalizing tariffs by the US against Hynix Semiconductor are in violation of trade regulations. Alleging Hynix had been backed by government loans, the US International Trade Commission imposed a 44%...

National Semiconductor.(Singapore)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... National Semiconductor said it is seeking a buyer for its test and assembly plant in Toa Payoh, geared mostly toward complex high-pin-count (digital) products, which are no longer a focus for the company. National Semi has another test/assembly...

United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) is under investigation for allegedly making illegal investments in Chinese foundry He Jian Technology Corp., according to various media reports.(Taiwan)
May 1, 2005... United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) is under investigation for allegedly making illegal investments in Chinese foundry He Jian Technology Corp., according to various media reports. TSMC is the only Taiwan foundry with government approval to...

Intel.(EUROFOCUS)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Ireland has abandoned its offer to provide a reported 100 million [euro] (~US$130 million) in funding for Intel's expansion of its Fab 24-2 facility in Leixlip, outside Dublin, after learning that the European Union might take as long as 18...

Infineon Technologies AG.(EUROFOCUS)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Infineon Technologies AG said it will cease production by early 2007 at its 800-employee plant in Munich, founded as an R&D facility 20 years ago and more recently used to manufacture high-frequency products on 150mm wafers. Production will be...

Japanese engineers rate top technologies.(TECHNOLOGY NEWS)
May 1, 2005... SST's partner Nikkei Microdevices sure didn't come up with the usual names when it recently surveyed Japanese engineers on the hot companies to watch in the semiconductor industry. Most companies generated interest for rethinking the business...

Nanotech gets more exotic: Carbon nanotubes could enable inkjet printing of electronic features.(TECHNOLOGY NEWS)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Even stranger than some of the current nanotechnology hype is some of the current nanotechnology science. Japanese researchers have found that water inside carbon nanotubes remains frozen up to room temperature, and then vaporizes all at once...

What does "VALQUA" mean to you?(Corporate Profile)(VALQUA AMERICA, INC.)
May 1, 2005... VALQUA Profile Founded in 1927, VALQUA is a composite name derived from combining "VALue" and "QUAlity", both of which it has been delivering globally for over 70 years. VALQUA has been developing and manufacturing the most common seal...

Gaining synergy with strained silicon.(MATERIALS)
May 1, 2005... Strained silicon is one of the key technology boosters identified by the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) as being essential to the continuation of classical scaling. The enhanced carrier mobilities made possible...

Material challenges for silicon nanoelectronics.(NANOTECHNOLOGY)
May 1, 2005... IC manufacturing technology entered the era of nanotechnology in 2000, when circuits were produced with a minimum feature size [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] </P

Single-wafer polymer removal on DRAM structures using inorganic chemicals.(WAFER CLEANING)(Dynamic random access memory)(Cover Story)
May 1, 2005... OVERVIEW A Collaborative effort between a memory manufacturer and a semiconductor tool supplier focuses on optimizing inorganic chemicals for polymer removal from DRAM device structures using single-wafer spin processors, instead of...

Kashiyama: screw dry pump innovator.(Corporate Profile)(Kashiyama pumps)
May 1, 2005... KASHIYAMA Kashiyama is the best screw dry pump innovator who can provide wide range of the most durable, reliable and toughest dry pumps through out the semiconductor and FPD market. Over 20 years of extensive knowledge and experience in...

Controlling CMP by optically monitoring wafer stresses.(METROLOGY)
May 1, 2005... OVERVIEW In The application of a new coherent gradient sensing interferometer that characterizes single- and double-layer copper damascene processing of 200 and 300mm wafers--using low-k dielectric films--is demonstrated. In the...

Swagelok Semiconductor Service Company is helping you create the future Semiconductor.(Corporate Profile)
May 1, 2005... Swagelok Semiconductor Services Company (SSSC) leverages its 500 dedicated associates and six high-purity manufacturing facilities to support the unique fluid system needs and fast-paced technical environment of the global semiconductor...

Abrasive Technology: specialized CMP diamond products.(CORPORATE PROFILE)
May 1, 2005... Abrasive Technology (Lewis Center, OH, USA) is a worldwide leader in the development, manufacture, distribution and marketing of specialized diamond pad conditioning products for every chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) tool available...

Chamber matching and on-tool MFC adjustment achieve process repeatability.(VACUUM TECHNOLOGY)(mass flow controllers)
May 1, 2005... OVERVIEW To ensure process transparency when replacing mass flow controllers (MFC) or when employing new types of MFCs in a particular process, it is often desired to have the flow rate of the replacement unit match the flow rate of the...

Plasma sources for high-rate etching of SiC.(MEMS)(microelectromechanical systems, silicon carbide)
May 1, 2005... OVERVIEW SiC has become an attractive material for the semiconductor industry for both electronic devices and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Typical applications for SiC etching include through-wafer vias, shallow vias, and...

High-volume manufacturing requirements drive EUV source development.(LITHOGRAPHY SERIES: PART II)(extreme-ultraviolet)
May 1, 2005... OVERVIEW Extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) light source development has regularly been characterized as one of the critical issues facing the viability of EUV lithography. Output power and operational lifetimes remain top concerns for EUV sources....

Strip process removes nickel and platinum without residues.(PRODUCT NEWS)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... The PlatNiStrip, designed to help implement salicide formation at the 65nm technology node, can be implemented with industry-standard chemicals on a standard Zeta spray cleaning system. Nickel silicide for salicide formation may not have...

System performs over wide thermal range for multiple packaging apps.(PRODUCT NEWS)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... OMIStrain ETR metrology system for IC and MEMS packaging enables package designers to screen out potential reliability issues during the development phase. The thermal-deformation metrology system specifically measures inplane deformation and...

Data analysis system stores and retrieves for real-time yield loss prevention.(PRODUCT NEWS)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... The FabVision is a fab-wide data system for yield and quality management that allows offline, off-tool process control analysis for improved wafer yields. It incorporates a fully integrated server, workstation, and software package that...

Model-based tool verifies full chip.(PRODUCT NEWS)(Brion Technologies Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... The Tachyon RDI 1100 [resolution enhancement techniques (RET) design inspection] is a model-based, full-chip verification tool for post-RET design verification. The first product built on the Tachyon platform, a hardware-accelerated,...

Probing system.(PRODUCT NEWS)(Multiprobe)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Tne X series Nanoprober combines Pico-Current imaging capabilities with the high-performance Multiscan atomic force probe (AFP) for 45nm, 65nm, 90nm, and larger process-technology measurements. The Nanoprober consists of three major components:...

Coating analyzer.(PRODUCT NEWS)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... An add-on software module brings the capability to characterize diamond-like coatings on perpendicular recording media to the 1500-D analyzer. The software package enables the user to effectively characterize complex magnetic media that allow...

NIL system.(PRODUCT NEWS)
May 1, 2005... The Imprio 250 nanoimprint lithography (NIL) system offers sub-50nm half-pitch resolution, sub-10nm alignment, and integrated magnification control for patterning features [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Silicon carbide.(PRODUCT NEWS)
May 1, 2005... Utilizing an advanced chemical-vapor deposition (CVD) manufacturing process, ultrapure and low electrical-resisitivity silicon carbide (SIC) are produced, for use in hostile chemical and plasma environments. The chemical and erosion resistance...

Heating/cooling module for wafers.(LITERATURE showcase)
May 1, 2005... A wafer heating and cooling module is designed for 200/300mm wafers and is BOLTS-compatible for simple integration with standard wafer-handling automation. The module uses resistive heating elements to achieve better than 450[degrees]C heating...

Handling platform for sensor production.(LITERATURE showcase)
May 1, 2005... The Clusterline wafer-handling platform is now capable of producing "above-IC" image sensors on GMOS. The sensor is built on top of a conventional CMOS circuit and, because the entire pixel area is photosensitive, the image sensor offers...

Particle counters.(LITERATURE showcase)
May 1, 2005... Solair 3200+ and 5200+ portable airborne-particle counters offer 0.3[micro]m sensitivity at 2.0CFM (56.6 liter/min), with an optional configuration of 0.5[micro]m sensitivity at 50 liter/min (1.7CFM) flow rate. The counters have a volumetric...

High-voltage module.(LITERATURE showcase)
May 1, 2005... The MPS Series high-voltage module can be used in applications ranging from mass spectrometry, electron-beam, electrostatic printing, photomultiplier tubes, and nuclear instrumentation. A hybrid topology combines proprietary circuitry for both...

Calendar.(Calendar)
May 1, 2005... * JUNE 2005 6-8--IITC 2005--San Francisco, CA. IEEE's 8th annual International Interconnect Technology Conference features a product exhibition as well as oral/poster presentations in technical areas such as monolithic ICs, multichip...

Standard Si processes drive economies of scale.(PERSPECTIVES)
May 1, 2005... Solid State Technology invited executives from the compound semiconductor and MEMS industries to discuss how they are benefiting from economies of scale similar to those in traditional IC manufacturing. IC industry: Showing opticom the way...