Solid State Technology articles from November 2006

Solid State Technology archives from November 2006

ITRS ESH challenges: opportunities or roadblocks?(ENVIRONMENT/SAFETY/HEALTH)
November 1, 2006... The ESH chapter of the International Technology Roadmap for Semicondtictors (ITRS) outlines intrinsic ESH technology requirements such as energy conservation and ESH risk assessment. This article explores potential solutions, challenges and...

Exploring the future of bioelectronics.(EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES)
November 1, 2006... Researchers investigating the intersection of biology and electronics will share their latest findings at the annual International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) next month in San Francisco. Several of the presentations, which come from...

MSP Turbo-Vaporizer.(LITERATURE showcase)
November 1, 2006... The Model 2800 Turbo-Vaporizer[TM] from MSP Corporation uses fine droplet atomization to increase droplet surface area by six orders of magnitude for efficient droplet vaporization, and avoid direct liquid-to-hot metal surface contact that can...

Tiger Optics introduces world's first laser-based trace oxygen analyzer.(LITERATURE showcase)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Tiger Optics introduces an electro-optic oxygen module for its new LaserTrace, multi-point, multi-species, multi-gas analyzer. Based on a powerful, proven technology, Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy (CRDS), rapidly measures trace oxygen down to...

Science and technology's excellent adventure?(Editorial)
November 1, 2006... As semiconductor processing nears physical limits, manipulating technology to push ever further gets steadily more challenging. Over the next few decades as our industry pushes far into the nanorealm, functions may be implemented using a few...

SEMI: China fab capex flat in 2007.(BUSINESS TRENDS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Chinese semiconductor fab capital expenditures have whipsawed over the past three years, but next year Chinese fab capex is expected to be flat, and will extend to a relatively moderate 24.5% growth in 2008, according to data from SEMI, based...

Freescale Semiconductor Inc. has been bought by a group of private investors led by The Blackstone Group for $17.6 billion.(WORLDWIDE HIGHLIGHTS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Freescale Semiconductor Inc. has been bought by a group of private investors led by The Blackstone Group for $17.6 billion, despite an 11th hour bid from the rival equity group that also purchased Philips Electronics' semiconductor business.

Chip production fell nearly 1% in 1Q06 but rebounded 4% in 2Q.(WORLDWIDE HIGHLIGHTS)(VLSI Research Inc. capacities)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Chip production fell nearly 1% in 1Q06 but rebounded 4% in 2Q, and should return to seasonal patterns with a strong 2H06 to deliver a total 12% increase in output this year, according to data from VLSI Research Inc.

Amkor Technology Inc. has joined the chipmaking alliance led by IBM, Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.(WORLDWIDE HIGHLIGHTS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Amkor Technology Inc. has joined the chipmaking alliance led by IBM, Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., to qualify 90nm and 65nm flip-chip packaging and designs, and begin 45nm qualifications for...

Akrion Inc. has acquired SCP Global Technologies Inc. (SCP).(USA)
November 1, 2006... Akrion Inc. has acquired SCP Global Technologies Inc. (SCP), a Boise, ID-based provider of batch immersion tools.

The Dow Chemical Co. is transferring development, manufacturing, and sales.(USA)
November 1, 2006... The Dow Chemical Co. is transferring development, manufacturing, and sales of spin-on silicon containing its "Ensemble" dielectric coatings to Brewer Science Inc., Rolla, MO.

Electroglas Inc.(USA)(Side-Winder strip test tool to be abandoned)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Electroglas Inc. has abandoned its Side-Winder strip test tool after selling only two units in five years, and will narrow its focus and finances on its EG6000 300mm prober.

Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd.(ASIAFOCUS)(forecasts and capacity )(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Having recently completed an accelerated ramp-up to 700,000 300mm wafers/month production capacity, Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd. is spending another [yen] 120 billion (US $1.02 billion) to boost its total global output to 1.0 million...

Spansion Japan Ltd. is selling two of its older semiconductor fabs in Japan, JV1 and JV2, to Fujitsu Ltd. for approximately $150 million, to focus resources on its SP1 300mm facility in Aizu-Wakamatsu.(ASIAFOCUS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Spansion Japan Ltd. is selling two of its older semiconductor fabs in Japan, JV1 and JV2, to Fujitsu Ltd. for approximately $150 million, to focus resources on its SP1 300mm facility in Aizu-Wakamatsu. Fujitsu will use the facilities to produce...

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.(ASIAFOCUS)(development of phase-change random access memory)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. says it has completed a working prototype of phase-change random access memory (PRAM), using vertical diodes with the 3D transistor structure incorporated in the company's DRAMs. Versions competitive with NOR flash...

Fujitsu Ltd. and Advantest Corp. plan to develop an electron beam direct-write lithography for use with Fujitsu's 65nm and 45nm process technologies, using new e-beam exposure systems from Advantest.(ASIAFOCUS)
November 1, 2006... Fujitsu Ltd. and Advantest Corp. plan to develop an electron beam direct-write lithography for use with Fujitsu's 65nm and 45nm process technologies, using new e-beam exposure systems from Advantest. A prototype shuttle service is projected for...

Ulvac Coating Corp. has demonstrated trial production of reusable glass molds used in C4NP (controlled collapse chip connection--new process).(ASIAFOCUS)
November 1, 2006... Ulvac Coating Corp. has demonstrated trial production of reusable glass molds used in C4NP (controlled collapse chip connection-new process), the wafer bumping technology developed by IBM and Suss MicroTec.

TSMC.(ASIAFOCUS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... TSMC vice chairman F.C. Tseng recently suggested the foundry industry might require six months to deplete inventory backlogs, built up due to delays of Microsoft Vista and high handset inventories in China, according to the Taiwan Economic...

Focus GmbH.(EUROFOCUS)(research agreements)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Focus GmbH and German universities Bielefeld and Mainz, working under the More Moore project to develop extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) technologies, claim to have built a photoemission electron microscope capable of measuring features...

Suss MicroTec.(EUROFOCUS)
November 1, 2006... Suss MicroTec has formed a subsidiary to refurbish, sell, and service its used equipment, including spare parts.

New materials take a "BiTe" out of high-end CPU hot spots.(TECHNOLOGY NEWS)(Hot spots)(Nextreme Thermal Solutions)
November 1, 2006... Hot spots resulting from non-uniform power dissipation over a chip are the bane of manufacturers of high-performance ICs such as CPUs, graphics chips, and DSPs--and as CMOS devices continue to scale and total power dissipation increases, these...

Healthy photomask industry confronts data, RET challenges.(TECHNOLOGY NEWS)
November 1, 2006... The long-suffering maskmaking industry is presently in fine shape, according to experts at the recent BACUS Symposium on Photomask Technology in Monterey, CA, sponsored by the SPIE. Gil Sheldon of Sheldon Consulting reported that the growth...

Wafer-level packaging boosts yields of chip-on-board image sensors.(TAP: TEST/ASSEMBLY/PACKAGING)
November 1, 2006... Chip-on-board (COB) is the most dominant assembly process used to build over a million camera modules each day of the year. These camera modules are used in camera phones, optical mice, and many other optical devices. However, as the market...

Using ultrasonics to measure the strength of porous ULK dielectrics.(RESISTS)
November 1, 2006... EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW Low-k dielectric materials permit faster IC operation and improve electrical performance, but these materials are generally weaker and prone to mechanical failure. The mechanical strength is particularly low for porous...

Pushing planar transistors to the limit using strained channel engineering.(STRAIN ENGINEERING)
November 1, 2006... EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW The quest to satisfy the low-power and low-leakage requirements of portable/mobile consumer electronics is driving efforts to improve transistor performance, However, such performance enhancement cannot be achieved using...

In situ monitoring of components to control dilute wet chemistries.(WAFER CLEANING)
November 1, 2006... EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW Materials loss per cleaning cycle must be limited in advanced semiconductor process flows. Using dilute chemistries is necessary to achieve this goal. Fab engineers need to be able to analyze the concentrations of each...

Improving angle control in sub-65nm implantation.(IMPLANT)(Cover story)
November 1, 2006... EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW A new angle control technology has been developed to automatically measure beam angles before implant in both the horizontal and vertical planes and to correct for any deviation from the desired implant angle. A...

The secrets to achieving success with Japanese subsidiaries.(ASIA-PACIFIC SECTION: JAPAN)(Industry overview)
November 1, 2006... As an early pioneer in the worldwide semiconductor market, Japan holds a place of strategic importance for any company that supplies materials, components, and equipment to Asian semiconductor and related markets. For our company, Nihon...

Disk surface metrology.(PRODUCT NEWS)
November 1, 2006... The Candela Optical Surface Analyzer 6300 series provides full surface disk topography metrology in both radial and circumferential directions for data storage substrates and finished media. Capabilities include identification of roughness...

300mm Ti/TiN deposition tool.(PRODUCT NEWS)
November 1, 2006... The Trias LT Ti/TiN 300mm metal CVD system enables deposition of titanium and titanium nitride films for low-temperature processing required in the manufacture of nickel silicide contacts. An enhanced shower head design allows wafer temperature...

193nm immersion photomask inspection.(PRODUCT NEWS)
November 1, 2006... The AIMS 45-193i aerial image inspection system, developed in cooperation with SEMATECH, emulates the imaging of photomasks for 193nm immersion scanners down to the 45nm technology node. Compared to former AIMS systems, the beam path is now...

Single wafer RTP tool.(PRODUCT NEWS)
November 1, 2006... The Atmos dual-chamber single-wafer rapid thermal processing (RTP) system, built on the company's Helios platform, enables a range of rapid thermal oxidation applications for 300mm and 70nm-32nm chip manufacturing, including selective oxidation...

New pads for CMP applications.(PRODUCT NEWS)
November 1, 2006... Several additions to the Vision Pad family of CMP pads include the VisionPad for STI, which reduces defects by 50% without sacrificing planarization results, according to the company. The EcoVision EV4000 offers an order-of-magnitude reduction...

Patterning flexibility at 45nm.(PRODUCT NEWS)
November 1, 2006... The Dimension45/32 system addresses patterning challenges at the 45 and 32nm nodes, such as patterning critical routing layers (M2-M6 or beyond) at 45nm using dry lithography instead of immersion. Capabilities include process setup...

Wider range for parametric tests.(PRODUCT NEWS)
November 1, 2006... The N9201A array structure for Agilent's 4070 Series parametric testers provides a per-channel architecture that supports up to 40 total source/monitor units, 5x more than previously available in a single tester, for faster characterization of...

Dual-cure epoxy.(PRODUCT NEWS)
November 1, 2006... The UV15DC80 dual-cure (UV and heat curable) epoxy system for bonding, sealing, coating, and potting applications can cure in shadowed areas by supplemental heat curing at 80[degrees]C for 15-30 minutes. Straight UV curing can be accomplished...

Controlling water vapor in gas streams.(PRODUCT NEWS)
November 1, 2006... The RainMaker is an alternative to direct liquid injection, bubblers, or membrane contactors for controlling the transfer of pure water or ammonia hydroxide into most types of carrier gas streams, leaving behind microdroplets, dissolved gases,...

3D modeling for OPC.(PRODUCT NEWS)
November 1, 2006... The Tachyon M3D (Mask 3D) enables improved high-NA process-window modeling accuracy for sub-65nm OPC and OPC verification by incorporating mask 3D imaging effects. It constructs image-based photomask imaging models using rigorous...

300mm upgrade to backend litho system.(PRODUCT NEWS)
November 1, 2006... The 200mm Unity GOLD system provides 150- and 200mm wafer packaging for flat-panel display (FPD) applications, while the 300mm Unity Platinum lithography system provides 200mm and 300mm wafer processing capabilities for high-volume chip...

High-speed confocal 3D measurement.(PRODUCT NEWS)
November 1, 2006... The SISCAN Model MC64, developed with Siemens Optical Solutions, promises higher resolution (10[micro]m lateral, 0.5[micro]m vertical) than laser trangulation at speeds faster than an interferometer (sample rate/channel of 8000/sec, 8mm working...

Optical film-thickness metrology enters the mix-and-match era.(INDUSTRY FORUM)
November 1, 2006... Optical film measurement has evolved from manual offline analytical lab instruments to fully automated inline tools loaded with a wide array of measurement capabilities through adding and merging more optics and algorithms while retaining...