Solid State Technology articles from October 2008

Solid State Technology archives from October 2008

Remote connectivity reduces costs for burgeoning solar industry.(SST ONLINE)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... The solar industry is blazing a new trail around the globe in a very similar way to the global expansion that the semiconductor industry experienced in the 1990s. Joe Cestari, of ILS Technology discusses how the solar-module industry must...

Online interview: SST talks to Tegal.(SST ONLINE)(Interview)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Tom Mika, CEO of Tegal, gives SST some further insights into his company's acquisition of Alcatel Micro Machining Systems' (AMMS) deep reactive ion etch (DRIE) and other technologies, part of a plan to tap into higher-growth markets in 3D IC...

Analyst report: Olympics did more harm than good.(SST ONLINE)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Instead of providing an economic boost for China, the Beijing Olympic games actually caused a trough in demand for memory chips due to restrictive import rules and overshadowed regional purchasing trends, according to iSuppli.

Directed density multiplication for patterned disk templates.(SST ONLINE)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Master templates for printing fine-pitch bit patterns on magnetic disc media can be manufactured using e-beam lithography to write lower pitch chemical contrast marks onto the substrate.

SST video update: focus on 3D packaging.(Web Exclusives)
October 1, 2008... SST's online video library is growing. Debra Vogler, SST's senior technical editor, and Peter Singer, editor-in-chief, gained a lot of insight from industry experts on 3D packaging technologies during SEMICON West. These videos can be viewed at...

3D integration: performance without heavy duty investment.(Web Exclusives)(Aviza Technology)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] David Butler, VP marketing at Aviza Technology urges everyone to get on the 3D bandwagon, since performance payback of traditional scaling has recently been about 15%. He says the value-add of TSV packaging...

Packaging goes PoP, enabling cost-effective scaling and a fast time-to-market.(Web Exclusives)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Jim Walker, Research VP, Semiconductor Manufacturing at Gartner/Dataquest, talks about the cost-effective scaling and fast-time-to market enabled by 3D packaging. He also summarizes his take on factors influencing consumer spending on...

IMEC talks 3D, hints at materials announcements to come.(Web Exclusives)(third generation)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IMEC's VP of business development, Ludo Deferm, discusses the outlook for the funding of 3D integration development, indicating that IDMs will be key, as the assembly and test houses are not taking the lead on...

Brewer Science dishes on new products for 3D packaging.(Web Exclusives)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Jim Lamb, managing director, product management, at Brewer Science discusses the growing interest in implant layers as well as infrastructure for 193nm lithography enhancements including multilayer systems and the...

Accelerating productivity: key to industry prosperity.(International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative)(Editorial)
October 1, 2008... ISMI--it's all about productivity: increasing output and decreasing costs. It's where the rubber meets the road, where R&D meets manufacturing, as you'll see in this special issue of Solid State Technology. ISMI's program portfolio covers the...

Three years, two months to 2012.(Editorial)(Column)
October 1, 2008... We're pleased to be bringing you this special issue, the result of a collaborative effort between ISMI and Solid State Technology, initiated last year. Of all the topics addressed, perhaps none are as controversial as the move to 450mm wafer...

DRAM, NAND woes seen spilling into 2009.(BUSINESS TRENDS)(Dynamic random access memory)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Despite a mild recovery in 2Q08, global DRAM makers are once again building inventories and pulling the rug out from prices, and the buildup will likely push out a full market recovery until the end of next year, according to a new warning by...

Chip equipment demand was sluggish in 2Q08 in every global region, sputtering along at three- and five-year lows, according to SEMI and SEAJ.(WORLDWIDE HIGHLIGHTS)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Chip equipment demand was sluggish in 2Q08 in every global region, sputtering along at three- and five-year lows, according to SEMI and SEAJ. Global sales totaled $7.83B in 2Q08, declines of -26% from 1Q08 and -29% vs. 2Q07; orders were down...

IBM and joint development partners (AMD, Freescale, STMicroelectronics, Toshiba, and CSNE in Albany, NY).(WORLDWIDE HIGHLIGHTS)(International Business Machines Corp.)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... IBM and joint development partners (AMD, Freescale, STMicroelectronics, Toshiba, and CSNE in Albany, NY) say they have built a working SRAM using 22nm process technologies--but details are being withheld until the IEEE International Electron...

Worldwide silicon wafer demand area shipments had been sluggish in previous quarters, but picked back up in 2Q08 to typical seasonal levels.(WORLDWIDE HIGHLIGHTS)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Worldwide silicon wafer demand area shipments had been sluggish in previous quarters, but picked back up in 2Q08 to typical seasonal levels, according to data from SEMI's Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG).

BeSang Inc.(WORLDWIDE HIGHLIGHTS)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... 3D IC start-up, BeSang Inc., teamed up with Stanford University's Nanofabrication Facility and Korea's National NanoFab Center, to develop a novel vertical interconnection scheme, claimed to be the world's first 3D chip manufacturing process.

PDF Solutions is acquiring Triant Holding's fault detection and classification business.(WORLDWIDE HIGHLIGHTS)
October 1, 2008... PDF Solutions is acquiring Triant Holding's fault detection and classification business, including certain customer contracts, technologies and employees, for $1.75M in cash.

Applied Materials.(USA)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Applied Materials CEO Mike Splinter called 3Q08 the "trough" of the industry's current downcycle, but pinned any sustainable upswing into 1Q09 on consumer's year-end holiday spending. The company's display business is about to plunge from...

Scientists at the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) claim to have developed a photovoltaic device that converts 40.8% of incoming light into electricity.(USA)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Scientists at the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) claim to have developed a photovoltaic device that converts 40.8% of incoming light into electricity, the highest confirmed efficiency of any photovoltaic...

Northwestern U. researchers mass-produced the 2008 Summer Olympics logo (15,000 times in 1[cm.sup.2] of space).(USA)
October 1, 2008... Northwestern U. researchers mass-produced the 2008 Summer Olympics logo (15,000 times in 1[cm.sup.2] of space) using a polymer pen lithography technique.

IBM and Mentor Graphics have partnered to develop 22nm computational lithography software.(USA)
October 1, 2008... IBM and Mentor Graphics have partnered to develop 22nm computational lithography software for the IC industry.

DuPont.(USA)
October 1, 2008... DuPont aims to double its production capacity of PV backsheet film by late 2009.

Teradyne is acquiring Eagle Test's analog/mixed/RF products for $250m.(USA)
October 1, 2008... Teradyne is acquiring Eagle Test's analog/mixed/RF products for $250M to complement its system-on-chip (SOC) know-how.

Elpida.(ASIAFOCUS)(Dynamic random access memory)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Elpida CEO Yukio Sakamoto says his company's plan to create a $5B DRAM JV in China's Jiangsu Province is the final stage in an industry "turf war"--with the ultimate prize being simply survival.

TSMC has greenlighted new capex expenditures for 200mm and 300mm capacity, and a new stock buyback program.(ASIAFOCUS)
October 1, 2008... TSMC has greenlighted new capex expenditures for 200mm and 300mm capacity, and a new stock buyback program. Meanwhile, Philips Electronics has sold the last of its stake in TSMC, pocketing $390M.

Hynix.(ASIAFOCUS)
October 1, 2008... Hynix is criticizing Japan decision to lower, and not eliminate, its chip tariffs, following the US' removal of its similar duties.

Spansion and SMIC.(ASIAFOCUS)
October 1, 2008... Spansion and SMIC have extended their foundry pact to 43nm.

Korea's DC Chemical will sell $184m in poly-Si to Japan's Space Energy.(ASIAFOCUS)
October 1, 2008... Korea's DC Chemical will sell $184M in poly-Si to Japan's Space Energy, which separately plans to make double-sided solar panels with Hitachi.

LDK Solar.(ASIAFOCUS)
October 1, 2008... LDK Solar has awarded a $220M contract to Applied Materials to supply wafering systems including wire saws and squarers.

July orders for Japan-made chipmaking gear were down 28% Y-Y.(ASIAFOCUS)
October 1, 2008... July orders for Japan-made chipmaking gear were down 28% Y-Y, falling for the 17th straight month.

MagnaChip.(ASIAFOCUS)
October 1, 2008... MagnaChip tipped power-efficient MOSFETs for LCD TVs and monitors.

Motech has landed a US ~$320m order for 120MW of solar cells.(ASIAFOCUS)
October 1, 2008... Motech has landed a US ~$320M order for 120MW of solar cells from India's Solar Semiconductor.

Suntech has completed a $100m minority investment in China's Nitol Solar.(ASIAFOCUS)
October 1, 2008... Suntech has completed a $100M minority investment in China's Nitol Solar, and successfully tested initial batches of polysilicon.

Sony.(ASIAFOCUS)
October 1, 2008... Sony says it has developed a 7.2W 635nm wavelength red semiconductor laser array.

Yngli Green Energy.(ASIAFOCUS)
October 1, 2008... Yingli Green Energy plans a new solar plant in Beijing.

Advantest Corporation has completed its buyout of Credence Systems GmbH.(EUROFOCUS)
October 1, 2008... Advantest Corporation has completed its buyout of Credence Systems GmbH. The newly formed company, Advantest Europe Systems GmbH, will be located in Amerang, Germany.

Air Products will supply bulk gases to Schott Solar.(EUROFOCUS)
October 1, 2008... Air Products will supply bulk gases to Schott Solar, which separately is reportedly planning an IPO.

Rofin-Sinar and Manz Automation plan to make thin-film PV laser tools.(EUROFOCUS)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Rofin-Sinar and Manz Automation plan to make thin-film PV laser tools. Elsewhere, German startup Solarcoating Machinery and US-based Northfield Automation aim to target PV systems automation.

SEMICON Europa.(EUROFOCUS)
October 1, 2008... SEMICON Europa is heading to Dresden's "Silicon Saxony" region starting in 2009.

Germany's Bruker AXS is acquiring domestic AFM supplier Surface Imaging Systems.(EUROFOCUS)
October 1, 2008... Germany's Bruker AXS is acquiring domestic AFM supplier Surface Imaging Systems.

SolarWorld Group and Evonik Industries.(EUROFOCUS)
October 1, 2008... SolarWorld Group and Evonik Industries AG have inaugurated a joint production plant in Rheinfelden, Germany, to produce solargrade silicon from monosilane.

Zuken.(EUROFOCUS)
October 1, 2008... Zuken joined the Synopsys HSPICE Integrator Program.

Schott AG.(EUROFOCUS)
October 1, 2008... Schott AG plans to more than double solar cell production capacity at its facility in Alzenau, Germany, and relocate its solar biz HQ to Mainz.

REC.(EUROFOCUS)
October 1, 2008... Norway's REC has chosen a site in Quebec for a new silicon plant.

MoSi-ing along to 32nm.(TECHNOLOGY NEWS)(opaque-molybdenum-overglass)
October 1, 2008... The chrome material that has blocked the light on binary masks for a generation may finally have outlived its usefulness, according to Franklin Kalk, CTO of Toppan Photomasks, in an exclusive interview with SST. One key to 32nm generation...

First issue for 450mm: making 22nm-quality wafers is no slam dunk.(TECHNOLOGY NEWS)
October 1, 2008... While equipment makers and chipmakers with lower-volume runs are fussing loudly about the overall economics of moving to 450mm wafers, those actually working on wafer development note that just producing substrates that big while also meeting...

Dow Corning compound eyes Intel's multi-chip apps.(TECHNOLOGY NEWS)
October 1, 2008... This week, Dow Corning unveiled a thermally conductive compound, called "TC-5688," at the Intel Developer Forum (8/19-8/21, San Francisco, CA), touting it for use with Intel's newest mobile microprocessor, the Intel Core2 Extreme mobile...

KLA-Tencor pitches double-patterning with Prolith 11.(TECHNOLOGY NEWS)(Interview)
October 1, 2008... In an interview in Milpitas, CA after SEMICON West, Edward Charrier, VP/GM of KLA-Tencor's process control information division, described the latest improvements in Prolith, the venerable litho simulation tool. Prolith 11 supports the...

Realizing the 450mm transition.(FAB MANAGEMENT)(International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative )
October 1, 2008... EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW The International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative (ISMI) is actively involved in building the foundational infrastructure and coordination of activities to enable a 2012 pilot line target date at the direction of its...

A vision for a next-generation 300mm factory.(FAB MANAGEMENT)(International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative )
October 1, 2008... EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW To help meet next-generation factory (NGF) challenges, ISMI has been tasked by its member companies to explore ways in which improvement in cycle time and cost reductions can achieve targets of 50% and 30%, respectively,...

Strategies for energy reduction in semiconductor manufacturing.(FAB MANAGEMENT/ESH)
October 1, 2008... EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW ISMI's Environment Safety Health (ESH) Program has undertaken speci. c projects to demonstrate ef. ciency and conserve energy in semiconductor manufacturing operations. The strategies articulated in this article could...

EDA interface value proposition.(SOFTWARE/AUTOMATION)(he Equipment Data Acquisition)
October 1, 2008... EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW Cycle-time improvements and time-waste reduction are being accomplished by improving equipment setup times and operations. Realizing even greater ef. ciency, however, requires the use of more sophisticated means of...

ISMI targets non-product wafer reduction.(AUTOMATION)(International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative )
October 1, 2008... EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW The International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative (ISMI) has identi. ed the use of non-product wafers (NPWs) as one of the signi. cant costs to the fab. ISMI's NPW working group is proactively identifying best...

Reference metrology and standards: staying ahead of the ITRS.(METROLOGY)(International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative)
October 1, 2008... EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW The International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative's (ISMI's) Metrology Program, as a result of its charter to evaluate leading-edge metrology, spends a great deal of time building and evaluating testing structures and...

32nm front- and backside wafer inspection.(PRODUCT NEWS)
October 1, 2008... These two tools for wafer edge (E30) and backside inspection (B30) provide improved sensitivity and high throughput for inspection and in-line monitoring of 32nm FEOL and BEOL manufacturing processes. Both use image-based inspection vs. light...

Deposition systems for CIGS.(PRODUCT NEWS)
October 1, 2008... The FastFlex line of web coating systems targets production of flexible thin-film CIGS solar cells, offering a high quantity of deposition zones in a compact footprint. The platform incorporates three systems: one for reactive sputtering of...

AFM eliminates scanner 'bowing'.(PRODUCT NEWS)
October 1, 2008... Park Systems' XE-Wafer is a fully automated atomic force microscope (AFM) system for wafer inspection and metrology, addressing surface roughness, trench width, depth, and angle measurements on 200mm and 300mm wafers in a production...

Wafer bonding for CIS.(PRODUCT NEWS)
October 1, 2008... Suss MicroTec's XBC300 production wafer bonder is designed for 300mm wafer bonding in CMOS image sensor integration and packaging. The cluster tool utilizes a patented dual-wafer single-station bond technology to enable 300mm cleaning,...

Defect-inspection tool for monitor wafers.(PRODUCT NEWS)
October 1, 2008... The SurfScan SP[2.sup.XP] monitor-wafer defect inspection system incorporates upgrades from the original edge-handling version SurfScan SP[2.sup.XP], including improved sensitivity to defects on silicon/poly/metal films and enhanced ability to...

Integrated solar handling, inspection line.(PRODUCT NEWS)
October 1, 2008... The Solaris solar product line integrates solar wafer cell handling and inspection capabilities within a common application platform. It incorporates advanced vision sensing and inspection technology from LMI Technologies with two of Adept's...

Lighter, faster turbopumps.(PRODUCT NEWS)
October 1, 2008... The HiPace turbopumps feature a new rotor design to reduce run-up time by 50% and provide high gas throughput for light ([H.sub.2], He) and heavy gases (Ar, C[F.sub.4]). An aluminum housing and other materials make the pumps 40% lighter in...

FPD litho tool.(PRODUCT NEWS)
October 1, 2008... The Model 8700 PanelPrinter step-and-repeat photolithography printer for Gen. 3.5 flat-panel displays features two different lens configurations: a 18709i lens with 2.5[micro]m resolution and 30[micro]m depth-of-focus, and a 18715i lens with...

Metal-free seal for wet processing.(PRODUCT NEWS)
October 1, 2008... The Turcon Variseal PS PEEK-energized seal offers extremely low leach-out in semiconductor wet processing applications. The construction is all-polymer with no metal components to corrode or contaminate the seal. Cation detection for the...

Redefining semiconductor industry R&D.(INDUSTRY FORUM)(research and development)
October 1, 2008... In 1987, Morris Chang, President of Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) and a 25-year veteran of Texas Instruments, recognized an opportunity to redefine semiconductor manufacturing. Chang's great breakthrough was to see...