Microtechnology News articles from May 1998

Microtechnology News archives from May 1998

DEVELOPMENTS: MCC Wants to Move MEMS to Market.(Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation research into micro-electro-mechanical systems)(Company Business and Marketing)
May 1, 1998... The Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation (MCC, Austin, TX) has launched an investigation of the technology, infrastructure, and business challenges surrounding the development and integration of micro-electro-mechanical systems...

Transistor Fabricated From Nanotubes.(Technology Information)(Brief Article)
May 1, 1998... Cees Dekker (dekker@qt.tn.tudelft.nl), a researcher at Delft Institute of Technology, in the Netherlands has fabricated a carbon nanotube transistor, an electronic device based on a single rolled-up sheet of carbon atoms. The development...

Biotech Chips Will Change Research.(Affymetrix research into miniature biological DNA probes)(Technology Information)
May 1, 1998... Gene chips are being compared to semiconductor chips since they may have the same impact on our economy and possibly change the way we live. The term "gene chip" is being applied to a category of miniature biological DNA probes. GeneChip,...

MEMS Trampoline Monitors Magnetism.(Lucent Technologies research to help measure a material's magnetic properties)(Technology Information)
May 1, 1998... Researchers at Lucent Technologies have built microscopic "trampolines" to help measure a material's magnetic properties when placed in a strong magnetic field. The novel technique, reported in the May 1 issue of the journal Science, will...

Optical Methods Yield 0.08 Micron Features.(Technology Information)(Brief Article)
May 1, 1998... A group of researchers at the University of Texas (Austin, TX), led by Grant Wilson, achieved integrated circuit feature sizes as small as 0.08 microns using optical lithographic techniques. Standard production features are 0.35 micron, but...

DARPA Program on Mesoscopic Machines.
May 1, 1998... The Defense Science Office at DARPA is soliciting proposals for mesoscale machines and devices to improve military utility under BAA98-21. Information about this BAA (Broad Agency Announcement) can be found at their Web site:...

APPLICATIONS: Microrelay Switches Large Currents.(Georgia Tech process for magnetically-actuated relays)(Technology Information)
May 1, 1998... A new type of magnetically-actuated microrelay--it can be batch produced using established micromachining techniques--has potential applications in automotive electronics, test equipment, and other areas requiring low actuation voltage. The...

Heat Exchanger Fabricated.(Company Business and Marketing)
May 1, 1998... A heat exchanger made largely from pieces of single crystal silicon has been designed for use as a recuperator in a reverse-Brayton- cycle cryocooler. It is optimally designed for transferring heat between counterflows of neon at a mass flow...

Sandia Demonstrates High-G Accelerometer.(Technology Information)
May 1, 1998... Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories (Albuquerque, NM) demonstrated an integrated high-G silicon micromachined accelerometer. Tested at accelerations from a 2,000 G up to 46,200 G (earth's gravity), the device was developed for use in...

Molecular Motor Moves On Tracks.(Technology Information)
May 1, 1998... Researchers at the Osaka National Research Institute (ONRI, Osaka, Japan) and the Communications Research Laboratory (CRL, Kobe, Japan) guided the movement of fluorescent protein molecular motors along patterned tracks. This feat may make it...

FABRICATION: Method Replicates Submicron Features.(Eastman Kodak Co's micromolding method)(Company Business and Marketing)
May 1, 1998... A high resolution micromolding method for the automated, mass fabrication of ceramic structures of less than about 5 mm3 has been developed at Eastman Kodak Co. The term "micromolding" refers specifically to the molding of components having...

MEMS Software System Upgraded.(Microcosm Technologies' MEMCAD 4.0)(Product Information)
May 1, 1998... Microcosm Technologies (Raleigh, North Carolina), has revised its MEMCAD software for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) design. New modules for specialized analysis were added and the MEMCAD 4.0 release broadens the company's potential...

Firms Offer Engineering Kits.(Mentor Graphics Corp, MEMSCAP foundry-specific MEMS engineering kits)
May 1, 1998... Mentor Graphics Corporation (Wilsonville, OR) and MEMSCAP has introduced a set of foundry-specific MEMS engineering kits that enable design teams to rapidly develop designs for direct fabrication by silicon foundries. The kits provide access...

PRODUCTION: Lam Licenses MORI Etch Technology.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
May 1, 1998... Lam Research Corporation (Fremont, CA), a leading supplier of wafer fabrication equipment to the semiconductor industry, announced the purchase of a non-exclusive, worldwide license of Trikon Technologies Inc.'s MORI source technology. The key...

System Controls Sputter Tool.(Balzers Process Systems' LLS EVO)(Product Information)
May 1, 1998... Balzers Process Systems (BPS, Liechtenstein) introduced a new LLS EVO to its sputter batch family. Integrating a new, high-speed controlling system, the LLS EVO includes revamped process software. It is the industry's most adaptable sputter...

ULVAC 300MM PVD System.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 1998... ULVAC (Methuen, MA) introduced their new physical vapor deposition (PVD) system for cooper interconnect and wiring of advanced damascene structures. The Zi-3000 is an ultra-high vacuum (10-9 Torr), eight chambered cluster tool used for...

TEST AND MEASUREMENT Laser Imaging Inspection System.(KLA-Tencor's ILM-2230)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 1998... KLA-Tencor (San Jose, CA) introduced the ILM-2230, the industry's highest performance, laser imaging darkfield patterned wafer inspection system for production line monitoring. It is the first system to combine oblique angle darkfield...

SCALPEL Evaluation Systems Available.(licensing and technology transfer agreement between Integrated Solutions Inc and Lucent Technologies)(Company Business and Marketing)
May 1, 1998... Integrated Solutions Inc. (ISI, Tewsbury, MA) is accepting orders for SCALPEL lithography evaluation systems. A licensing and technology transfer agreement for this technology as formed in 1996 between ISI and Bell Laboratories, the research...

Looking at the Surface of Liquids.(Lawrence Berkeley National Lab research)(Technology Information)(Brief Article)
May 1, 1998... Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (Berkeley, CA) have developed a scanning probe microscope that can show the surfaces of liquids with horizontal resolutions of about 100 angstroms and vertical resolutions of about 1 angstrom....

Tool Measures 300 MM Resistivity.(KLA-Tencor's OmniMap RS-100)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 1998... KLA-Tencor (San Jose, CA) introduced its OmniMap RS-100, the industry's first 300 mm resistivity measurement system. It is the only tool able to correct temperature variations, which can affect long-term repeatability, accuracy, and...

Ellipsometer Installed in Texas Fab.
May 1, 1998... Rudolph Technologies Inc. (RTI) announced the successful implementation of its FOCUS FE VII-D transparent film metrology system at the Dallas Semiconductor production fab in Farmers Branch, Texas. The FE VII customer chose the system for its...

Pattern Generator for Microlithography.
May 1, 1998... Micronic Laser Systems (Taby, Sweden) has recently shipped the three first LRS 200 laser writers to customers in the U.S. and Asia. This high precision system is targeted at semiconductor reticle sets down to 0.5 micron design rules and...

INDUSTRY NEWS: Mentor Graphics Gains a Partner.
May 1, 1998... Mentor Graphics Corp. (Wilsonville, OR) announced a partnership with MEMSCAP S.A., a Grenoble-based provider of intellectual property for micro-electromechanical systems, and the integration of microsensors on silicon substrates. The...

Standard Microsystems Reports Revenue Gain.
May 1, 1998... Standard Microsystems Corporation (SMSC, Hauppauge, NY) announced results for the fourth quarter and the fiscal year ended February 28, 1998. Revenues from continuing operations reported for the fourth quarter were $37.0 million, 16% above the...

Lam Puts on a Show at SEMICON Europa.
May 1, 1998... Lam Research Corp. (Fremont, CA) highlighted its recently released Teres integrated chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) and TCP 9400PTX poly etch systems. Lam also featured several of its market- leading etch systems, CVD products, and 300...

ATMI,SMH/Swatch Form Alliance.
May 1, 1998... EM-Marin, semiconductor subsidiary of the Swiss SMH/Swatch Group, the largest worldwidwe electronics and watch maker, and ATMI's Emosyn Division, a fabless semiconductor company, announced an agreement to design, develop, manufacture, and...

KLA-Tencor to Acquire AMRAY.
May 1, 1998... KLA-Tencor (San Jose, CA) signed a definitive agreement to acquire AMRAY Inc. (Bedford, MA), a privately owned, leading provider of scanning electron microscope (SEM) systems. The acquisition will extend KLA-Tencor's highly integrated line...

Varian Buys Implant Line From Genus.
May 1, 1998... Varian Associates Inc. (Palo Alto, CA) will purchase selected assets related to the high energy (MeV) ion implantation equipment produced by Genus Inc. (Sunnyvale, CA) for about $25 million, plus additional payments if certain revenue targets...

CALENDAR.
May 1, 1998... June 7-8, 1998, Third IEEE Silicon Nanoelectronics Workshop, Hawaii. Contact: Gary Bernstein; Tel: 219/631-6269, Fax: 219/631-7983. June 8-11, 1998, Diffractive Optics and Micro-Optics, Kailua-Kona, HI. Contact: Optical Society of America...