IMAPS' International Device Packaging Conference and Exhibition is coming up quick, with an itinerary that includes a focused forum on the latest technology in microelectronics packaging. The topics that will be covered during this forum are flip-chip, wafer-level chip-scale packaging, 3-D packaging, MEMS, biomedical packaging and more. In Phil Garrou's latest post to his Perspectives From the Leading Edge blog (see Editor's Pick below), he talks about one particular 3-D presentation he's looking forward to. For more news and events, please visit our Semiconductor Packaging Technology Channel:

Sally Cole Johnson, Contributing Editor
scolejohnson@mac.com

Rudolph Technologies Joins Sematech Metrology Program
Staff — Semiconductor International, 2/20/2008

Rudolph Technologies Inc. joined the Sematech metrology program, which is based in Albany, N.Y. Rudolph and Sematech will jointly establish an International Process Characterization (IPC) program aimed at measuring thin films, metal gate stacks and other 32 nm and beyond inspection challenges, including inspection and metrology for through-silicon vias (TSVs) and 3-D ICs. More

New York Backs SRC Interconnect Consortium at Albany
Business Wire, 02/18/2008

Semiconductor Research Corp. (SRC) announced that the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) of the University at Albany will serve as headquarters for a comprehensive research effort aimed at enabling nanoelectronics advances that are critical for the development of smaller, faster and cheaper computer nanochips amid the approaching limits of interconnect scaling. More

Stanford Researchers Demonstrate GHz-Speed CNT Interconnects
David Lammers, News Editor — Semiconductor International, 2/16/2008

Researchers at Stanford University have developed a method of placing multi-walled carbon nanotubes as wires, with gigahertz-level interconnect performance observed for the first time. More

Amkor Reports Strong Fourth Quarter 2007 Results
Business Wire, 02/13/2008

Amkor Technology Inc. reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2007. Net sales of $747M for the fourth quarter of 2007 were up 8.4% from the third quarter of 2007 and up 9.4% from the fourth quarter of 2006. Fourth quarter net income was $94M, up 54.5% from the third quarter of 2007 and 58.6% from the fourth quarter of 2006. Fourth quarter earnings per diluted share was $0.46, up 53.3% from $0.30 in both the third quarter of 2007 and fourth quarter of 2006. More

Survey: China's IC Industry Growing Fast
Yao Gang, Editor-in-Chief, SI China — Semiconductor International, 2/16/2008

The IC industry in China is growing rapidly, with 2008 IC sales expected to grow by 31.3% this year, according to a survey by the Shanghai Integrated Circuit Industry Association. In Shanghai, packaging and test accounts for half of the metropolitan region's semiconductor revenues, according to the survey. More

Georgia Tech Orders Pegasus System for New Nanotechnology Research Center
PR Newswire, 02/20/2008

Surface Technology Systems plc (STS) announced that they have sold a Pegasus deep reactive ion etch (DRIE) tool to the Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta), the first U.S. university to order the latest generation of STS' Advanced Silicon Etch (ASE) systems. This equipment will eventually be sited in the Institute's new Nanotechnology Research Center Building (NRCB), which is due for completion in fall 2008. More

SEMI Publishes Eight New Technical Standards
PR Newswire, 02/12/2008

SEMI has published eight new technical standards applicable to the semiconductor, flat panel display (FPD) and MEMS manufacturing industries. The new standards, developed by technical experts from equipment and materials suppliers, device manufacturers and other companies participating in the SEMI International Standards Program, are available for purchase in CD-ROM format or can be downloaded from the SEMI website. More