Amkor Technology Inc., Tempe, Ariz., announces plans to invest $60 million to expand its state-of-the-art assembly and test factory located in China’s Shanghai Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone.

A microscope being developed at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee will allow scientists studying biological and synthetic materials to simultaneously observe chemical and physical properties on and beneath the surface.

Researchers at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, have received a $200,000 grant to study the modeling of gallium nitride devices.

Jeol USA, Peabody, Mass., introduces the 7000 series of Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopes with ultrahigh resolution and low-kV/low-vacuum operation for imaging and nano-analysis of structures, surface details, and magnetic samples.

Cadence Design Systems Inc., San Jose, Calif., and Applied Materials Inc., Santa Clara, Calif., are collaborating on a development program to optimize the chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) process through silicon characterization and modeling for advanced-node designs at 14 nm and below.

Oxford Instruments, U.K., has launched NordlysMax3, an EBSD detector that acquires indexes and displays results at 1580 points per second.

National Instruments, Austin, Texas, introduces its Semiconductor Test Systems (STS), which feature PXI modular instrumentation and open system design software for semiconductor test environments.

Engineers at Oregon State University, Corvallis, report that they have invented a way to fabricate silver nanoparticles that are produced at room temperature for printed electronics.

Orbotech Ltd., Israel, announces that SPTS Technologies Group (SPTS), U.K., an Orbotech company and supplier of advanced wafer processing solutions, has sold its Thermal Products business to SPP Technologies Co. (SPT), a subsidiary of Sumitomo Precision Products Co.

Picosun Oy, Finland, and Carleton University, Ottawa, have collaborated to develop a process in which atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology deposits thin uniform gold films on complete silicon wafers.

SEMI, San Jose, Calif., has published its May update to the World Fab Forecast, reporting on more than 200 facilities with equipment spending in 2015, and more than 175 facilities projected to spend in 2016.

FEI, Hillsboro, Ore., introduces the DualBeam plasma-focused ion beam (PFIB) for sample preparation, electrical fault isolation, and electrical failure analysis on sub-20nm semiconductor devices.

Researchers from Stanford University, Stanford, Calif., report that they have developed graphene sheathing material for the copper wires in computer chips.

Researchers from North Carolina State University, Raleigh, report that they have fabricated stretchable transparent conductors that work because of their “nano-accordion” design.

FEI Co., Hillsboro, Ore., offers the Helios NanoLab 460F1, which combines the highest resolution scanning electron microscope (Elstar+UC SEM) and focused ion beam (Tomahawk FIB) columns on the market today with the most advanced sample manipulation capabilities.

Jeol USA, Peabody, Mass., announces that a state-of-the-art Jeol e-beam lithography system will soon be installed at the University of Waterloo Quantum NanoFab in Waterloo, Ontario.

Park Systems, Santa Clara, Calif., introduces the NX-Hivac AFM system for semiconductor failure analysis.

Applied Materials Inc., Santa Clara, Calif., introduces the Applied Endura Cirrus HTX PVD titanium nitride hardmask system with advanced technology for patterning copper interconnects at 10 nm and beyond.

Researchers at the University of Illinois, Champaign, have reportedly developed heat-triggered self-destructing electronic devices.

Bruker Corp., Billerica, Mass., has formed an official partnership with the University of Manchester’s National Graphene Institute (NGI).

Edax Inc., Mahwah, N.J., has launched the XLNCE SMX-BEN, the first in a series of new XRF analyzers for rapid, nondestructive coating thickness and composition analysis.

Mentor Graphics Corp., Wilsonville, Ore., announces that TSMC and Mentor Graphics have reached the first milestone of their collaboration on 10nm EDA certification.