TI Pushes Junctions in 45 nm Transistors
David Lammers, News Editor — Semiconductor International, 2/7/2008

Texas Instruments Inc.'s (TI, Dallas) technology managers said improvements to junction engineering, supported by millisecond annealing techniques, play a key role in TI's 45 nm transistor technology, now winding its way toward mass production in the second half of this year. TI internally developed its 45 nm technology. At the 32 nm node, TI's foundry partners will lead technology development, working in cooperation with the company's technology development team. More

SMIC to Expand With Two Fabs in Shenzhen
David Lammers, News Editor — Semiconductor International, 1/30/2008

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC, Shanghai, China) will launch a semiconductor manufacturing complex in Shenzhen in cooperation with the Shenzhen municipal government, CEO Richard Chang said. In a conference call after the release of the company's fourth quarter financial results, Chang said that the Shenzhen campus will include an R&D center, a 200 mm production line, and a 300 mm line that will use licensed 45 nm process technology from IBM Corp. (Armonk, N.Y.). More

IBM Licenses 45 nm Technology to SMIC
Staff — Semiconductor International, 12/26/2007

IBM Corp. (Armonk, N.Y.) announced that it has licensed its 45 nm bulk CMOS technology to foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC, Shanghai, China). Matthew Szymanski, vice president of corporate relations at SMIC, said the agreement will "accelerate SMIC's technology advancement in logic process technology, and help us provide optimal solutions for our customers at our 300 mm facilities." More

Profitless Prosperity Haunts IC Industry
Alexander E. Braun, Senior Editor — Semiconductor International, 1/17/2008

Profit levels in the semiconductor industry have dropped to alarmingly low levels, said Steve Newberry, CEO at Lam Research Corp. (Fremont, Calif.). For more than half of the top 40 semiconductor companies, current levels of profitability are "minimally sufficient" to fund new investments, he said in a presentation at the SEMI Industry Strategy Symposium (ISS 2008). More

IMEC to Establish Research Center in Hsinchu, Taiwan
Staff — Semiconductor International, 1/23/2008

IMEC (Leuven, Belgium) said that it has established a representative office, IMEC Taiwan, in the Hsinchu Science Park. The office is expected to grow into an R&D center within the coming six months, the consortium announced. IMEC intends to work with Taiwan's foundries on semiconductor process technology research, and on IC and system design with companies and academia. More

TSMC Q4 Results Lead Foundry Pack
Ann Steffora Mutschler, Senior Editor — Electronic News, 1/31/2008

While the world's leading semiconductor manufacturing foundry financial results bested its competition, like them, it also expects the impacts of seasonality to impact Q1 revenues. More

Lam Research Sees Foundry Spending as Bright Hope for 2008
David Lammers, News Editor — Semiconductor International, 1/25/2008

Demand for wafer fab equipment from foundries could rebound sharply in the first half of this year, although market conditions overall are likely to remain weak, said Steve Newberry, CEO of Lam Research Corp. (Fremont, Calif.). The market for wafer fab equipment could decline by as much as 15% this year, with "general uncertainty globally" as the key variable in any forecast. If the global economy holds up, that decline could be held to only 5% year-on-year, Newberry said. More

Hutcheson: 2025 Likely Date for 450 mm
Alexander E. Braun, Senior Editor — Semiconductor International, 1/16/2008

The 450 mm wafer generation is unlikely to occur over the next dozen years, with 2025 as the "likely date" that the larger wafers will come into use, said Dan Hutcheson, CEO of market research firm VLSI Research Inc. (Santa Clara, Calif.). More

Fab Spending Tapers in 2008
Christian Gregor Dieseldorff, SEMI, San Jose — Semiconductor International, 1/1/2008

In 2008, nine foundries (including IDMs with some foundry capacity) will begin operation, while six memory fabs will come online. We expect the top four pure-play foundries — TSMC, UMC, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) and Chartered — to cut capital spending but maintain or increase utilization rates. TSMC, UMC and Chartered together are expected to reduce 2008 capital spending by at least 10%. Spending on the SMIC fabs, including the ones it manages, depends on plans by its partners and other funding entities. More

Blog: Capex Decisions May Boost Richardson, Luther Forest
David Lammers, News Editor — Semiconductor International, 11/7/2007

The cutbacks in foundry capital expenditures may increase chances that new fabs will be built in Richardson, Texas, and at the Luther Forest technology park near Albany, N.Y. Texas Instruments has built its business relationship with cell phone maker Nokia partly on TI's ability to never miss a shipment. More