IBM Develops Fastest Silicon-Based Transistor East Fishkill, N.Y.-IBM Corp. recently announced that it has developed the world's fastest Si-based transistor. The company expects the new transistor to drive communications circuits at speeds of 100 GHz within two years. This timetable, IBM says, is five times faster and four years sooner than earlier-announced competitive approaches.
The transistor employs a modified design and IBM's SiGe technology to reach speeds of 210 GHz, while drawing only a milliamp of current. IBM says this represents an 80 percent performance hike and a 50 percent reduction in power consumption over existing designs. Putting SiGe to Practical Use IBM is currently working with many communications companies to incorporate SiGe into an array of products. Two weeks prior to the transistor announcement, IBM disclosed it had discovered a way to alter silicon, which it termed "strained silicon." The technology stretches the Si material, speeding the flow of electrons through transistors to increase performance and decrease power consumption. IBM says this new technology may find its way into products by 2003. The company says this technology employs "the natural tendency for atoms inside compounds to align with one another. When the silicon is deposited on top of a substrate with atoms spaced farther apart, the atoms in Si stretch to line up with the atoms beneath-stretch-or straining-the silicon. In the strained Si, electronics experience less resistance and flow up to 70 percent faster, which can lead to chips that are up to 35 percent faster without shrinking transistor size. [chips.ibm.com] Opto-Electronics Shines at SEMICON West San Jose-SEMICON West exhibitors are seeing the light (or lights) at the end of the tunnel in this industry downturn, thanks to a rapidly growing equipment and materials market for opto-electronics packaging. While wafer-level and chip-scale packaging were the hot buttons at last year's show, this year opto-electronics clearly ruled the roost. Many SEMICON West exhibitors placed "opto" stickers on their displays or otherwise worked an opto theme into their presentations. Several exhibitors, in fact, said that sales to the opto sector are playing a large part in keeping their businesses afloat. SEMI will break tradition next year by holding the San Jose portion of SEMICON West first (July 17-19), followed by the San Francisco part (July 22-24). ĞRon Iscoff
Greg Johnson Named Signetics President San Jose-Greg Johnson has been promoted to president of Signetics High Technology Inc., the North American marketing, sales and support arm of Signetics Korea. He replaces Wayne Moore, whose plans were not immediately disclosed. Johnson, a semiconductor industry veteran, was most recently vice president of sales for the company, with additional duties in customer service and support. Prior to joining Signetics, Johnson was vice president of worldwide customer service for competitor ASAT in Fremont, Calif. Earlier, Johnson was sales and marketing manager for Rohm Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif., and customer service director for Amkor Electronics Inc. [signetics.com] Chip Scale Review Earns Second Class Upgrade Beginning with this issue, readers should receive their copies of Chip Scale Review as much as one week earlier. This faster delivery is a result of the U.S.P.S. according us second class mailing privileges, an upgrade from our former bulk mail item status. The upgrade to second class is the result of a concerted program we began more than 1H years ago to qualify our mailing for this speedier category. P. Kay Metal Acquires Wire/Solder Business Los Angeles-P. Kay Metal Supply Inc. says it has agreed to acquire the solid wire and bar solder business in North America from Loctite/Multicore. The business, which is located in Dallas, will become part of Kay's existing product line. [pkaymetal.com] BiTS Issues 'Call for Papers' The third annual Burn-in and Test Socket Workshop (BiTS 2002) is looking for original, unpublished papers on a wide range of topics about burn-in and test socket issues. BiTS, notes Frederick Taber, general chair, is "the only IEEE-sponsored workshop dedicated to providing a forum for the latest information about socketing and related fields. Submit 250-500 word abstracts by October 4 to Rafiq Hussain, technical program chair, at rafiq.hussain@amd.com. For more information about the workshop, which is scheduled for March 3-6 in Mesa, Ariz., visit the website at bitsworkshop.org.
Chip Scale Review Adds Three Editorial Advisors, Two Sales Reps San Jose-Chip Scale Review Publisher Gene Selven has announced the addition of three new members to the magazine's editorial advisory board and the appointment of two new advertising sales representatives. The new advisors are Richard Boulanger, vice president of the Advanced Semicon-ductor Assembly Division at Universal Instruments, Rochester, N.Y.; Gil Olachea, president of the Flip Chip Division of Kulicke & Soffa Industries, Phoenix, Ariz.; and Dr. Tadatomo Suga, a professor at the University of Tokyo. "We are delighted that these three individuals, each of whom carries impressive credentials and an international reputation for his expertise, has joined us. They will assist me, the editor and the other advisors in guiding the future editorial direction of the magazine." William Facinelli, a veteran of high-tech magazine sales, has been named to head up the magazine's mid-west sales, replacing Liz Richards, who has joined a publication outside the electronics field. Contact Facinelli at billfac@ix.netcom.com. Sven Anacker of InterMediaPartners GmbH has been appointed the new rep for Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Contact him at sanacker@intermediapartners.de. Coreco Imaging Inc. Wins $3 Million European Contract Quebec, Canada-Coreco Imaging says it has received a $3 million order for its PC-Series machine vision frame grabbers and software from one of Europe's leading OEM suppliers of machine vision inspection systems. [coreco.com] Flex Circuits, PWB Production Achieve Record Northbrook, Ill.-The world production of flex circuits and printed wiring boards achieved a record high of $42.7 billion last year, according to a report recently issued by the IPC's Technology Market Research Council (TMRC). According to the report, global rigid PWB production last year amounted to $38.8 billion, while flex circuit production reached $3.9 billion. The figures were generated by input from industry experts, suppliers and organizations internationally. Japan ranked first in both PWB and flex circuit product, producing the most rigid PWBs in the world market with 27 percent. The U.S. followed with 25 percent. Taiwan with 11 percent, China/Hong Kong with 9 percent and South Korea with 5 percent, were next.
Japan accounted for 36 percent of flex circuits, followed by the U.S., with 28 percent. Taiwan with 7 percent, Thailand with 6 percent and Germany with 4 percent followed. (The flex circuits world market in dollars and percentages is shown in the table and chart.) The report estimates consumption of laminate for rigid PWBs at 2.9 billion square feet (265 million square meters). Multilayers accounted for 47 percent of all types of laminates used to produce PWBs through the world. Paper-based laminates represented 32 percent. Single- and double-sided glass and composite-based laminates accounted for the remaining 21 percent. The report also estimated worldwide microvia substrate shipments. In total square feet, Japan shipped 9.4 million. Other parts of Asia shipped 7 million square feet. Europe accounted for 3.9 million square feet, while North and South America combined for 1.5 million square feet. Prismark Partners LLC developed the microvia information for the TMRC. The study, "Report on the World Market for PWBs and Substrate Materials for the Year 2000," is available from the IPC. [ipc.org] |
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