Microtechnology News articles from December 1999

Microtechnology News archives from December 1999

APPLICATIONS: Five-Layer Process Depends on CMP.
December 19, 1999... Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories (Albuquerque, NM) have developed a five-level polysilicon surface micromachining process, which includes four layers of structural films plus an electrical interconnect layer, that is dependent on...

Cronos Will Deliver More Tiny Mirrors.
December 19, 1999... Cronos Integrated Microsystems Inc. (Research Triangle Park, NC), a leader in MEMS design and fabrication, is expanding its capacity to manufacture MEMS devices in response to increasing demand for MEMS-based optical components. "Producers of...

Microbiosensor Agreement.
December 19, 1999... YSI Inc. (Yellow Springs, OH) entered into a CRADA (Cooperative Research & Development Agreement) with the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) to assess the technical feasibility and market potential for NRL's Matrix Assisted Pulsed Laser...

Wearable Display for Neurosurgeons.
December 19, 1999... Microvision Inc. (Bothell, WA) is the developer of the revolutionary retinal scanning display technology delivered to the Wallace Kettering Neuroscience Institute (WKNI, Dayton, OH), a unique, wearable display for assisting visualization and...

Smallest Transistor May Double Speed.
December 19, 1999... Researchers at Lucent Technology's Bell Labs (Mountain Ave., Murray Hill, NJ) have produced the world's smallest transistor with equipment available in today's manufacturing facilities. This new design may help silicon chips continue their...

Cantilever Makes an Optical Switch.
December 19, 1999... Through the use of micromachining, Hitachi and Hitachi Cable (Tokyo) have developed an optical switch that manipulates optical waveguides with an electromagnet. A micromechanical optical switch can be used as a rerouting switch or as a...

FABRICATION: Bonder and Aligner for Microsystems.
December 19, 1999... Electronic Visions Inc. (Phoenix, AZ) announced a joint program with the University of Albany to develop the first industrial 8-in. wafer bonder and aligner specifically designed for MEMS manufacturing. This new technology allows precision...

Program Will Examine Processing.
December 19, 1999... Ultratech Stepper (3050 Zanker Rd., San Jose, CA) and ShinEtsu MicroSi have formed a nonexclusive strategic alliance to jointly develop processes for thick-film and specialty photoresist applications using the Ultratech 1x and reduction (XLS)...

Lithography Agreement for Future Chips.
December 19, 1999... A group of semiconductor device and equipment manufacturers announced a joint agreement aimed at accelerating the development of SCALPEL technology into a production lithography solution for building future generations of integrated circuits....

PROCESSING: Lam Selects Etch Supplier.
December 19, 1999... Brooks Automation (Chelmsford, MA), a leading supplier of tool and factory automation solutions for the semiconductor and flat-panel display industries, announced that Lam Research has selected Brooks as its automation supplier of choice for...

Micronic Ships Pattern Tool.
December 19, 1999... Micronic Laser Systems AB, a Swedish-based manufacturer of laser- based pattern generators for the photomask industry, said it has entered into a joint agreement with DuPont Photomask Inc. (DPI). DPI has ordered and taken delivery of a...

Plasma-Therm Wins Government Contract.
December 19, 1999... Plasma-Therm (10050 16th St., St. Petersburg, FL) received a contract from the U.S. Government for the purchase of multiple Versalock plasma processing systems for development of advanced MEMS. Deliveries are scheduled for the first and second...

Sputtering Systems for Downsized Products.
December 19, 1999... ULVAC Japan Ltd. (401 Griffen Brook Dr., Methuen, MA) introduced two new sputtering systems designed to meet the demand for downsized products and the deposition of thinner films. The first system, called the Model SRH-820, is designed for CSP...

ATMI Buys MST Analytics Sensors.
December 19, 1999... ATMI (Danbury, CT) said it has acquired MST Analytics Inc. (Buffalo Grove, IL) in a deal valued at about $32 million. ATMI issued 1,075,000 common shares for MST interests in this pooling-of-interests merger. MST's semiconductor gas monitoring...

SOFTWARE: Advanced Engineering Simulation from ANSYS.
December 19, 1999... ANSYS Inc. (Southpointe, PA) released the most advanced set of engineering simulation applications in the world - ANSYS 5.6. This new revision of the ANSYS software family delivers "state-of-the-art" engineering simulation to many engineering...

TEST AND MEASUREMENT: Pattern Recognition Cuts Development Time.
December 19, 1999... Rudolph Technologies Inc. (RTI, Flanders, NJ) announced a new Waferless Pattern Recognition (WPR) software for its FOCUS SL, Spectra LASER, S200/300, and MetaPULSE transparent and opaque thin-film metrology product lines. WPR uses coordinate...

Excimer Laser Exposure Analyzer.
December 19, 1999... Optical Associates Inc. (OAI, 1425 McCandless Dr., Milpitas, CA 95035) introduced a new 248-nm Excimer Laser Exposure Analyzer, the Model 375, which is specifically designed with a special probe to fit Canon laser steppers. It is precise,...

INDUSTRY NEWS: Uniphase and Optical Coating Labs Merge.
December 19, 1999... JDS Uniphase Corp. and Optical Coating Laboratory signed a definitive agreement for the companies to merge in a transaction that will solidify their long-standing partnership. The agreement provides for an exchange of 0.928 shares of JDS...

Lam Gets Best Product Award.
December 19, 1999... Lam Research (Fremont, CA) received Semiconductor International's Editor's Choice Best Product Award, which recognizes production proven products, for its Teres, integrated CMP system. The system is currently in 0.18-micron, shallow-trench...

Lam Buys Post-CMP Cleaning Technology.
December 19, 1999... Lam also announced the purchase of research and development technology from Oliver Design Inc. The purchase includes intellectual property rights related to cleaning semiconductor wafers, as well as licenses to develop semiconductor...

Crossbow Forms Advisory Board.(Brief Article)
December 19, 1999... Crossbow Technology Inc. (San Jose, CA) the leading supplier of low- cost, intelligent digital sensor solutions, announced the formation of its Technical Advisory Board. The mission of the board is to help Crossbow deliver innovative solutions...

FITEL Technologies Moves to MEMS.(Brief Article)
December 19, 1999... The Furukawa Electronic Co. Ltd. of Japan, a world leader in optoelectronics and fiber optic technology, announced the formation of FITEL Technologies Inc., a wholly-owned company headquartered in Clinton, New Jersey. Supported by over 1,000...

NextPath Acquires Willow Systems Ltd.
December 19, 1999... NextPath Technologies (Hillsborough, NC) acquired Willow Systems Ltd. (Albuquerque, NM), a technology company. The acquisition closed on November 15, 1999, and was accomplished through a forward, triangular merger by which Willow Systems...

Caliper Files to Offer Common Stock.
December 19, 1999... Caliper Technologies Corp. (605 Fairchild Dr., Mountain View, CA 94034) said it has filed a registration statement in connection with a proposed underwritten public offering of 3,600,000 shares of its common stock, plus an over-allotment...

IntelliSense Grows and Grows.
December 19, 1999... IntelliSense Corp. (Wilmington, MA), a leading MEMS supplier, said it has been named to Deloitte & Touche's prestigious "Fast 500" list of the fastest growing technology companies in the nation. The ranking is based on five-year percentage...

RESOURCES: Literature on Near-Field SOMs.
December 19, 1999... ThermoMicroscopes (1171 Borregas Ave., Sunnyvale, CA, 94089) a leading designer and manufacturer of scanning probe microscopes, announced the availability of literature describing its Aurora near-field scanning probe microscope (NSOM) for...

CALENDAR.(Calendar of Events)
December 19, 1999... January 23-27, 2000, MEMS 2000, Micromachine Center & IEEE, Miazaki, Japan. Contact: Website: mesago-jp.com/mems. February 7-11, 2000, International Conference on Microelectronics and Interfaces, Santa Clara Convention Ctr., Santa Clara,...