Cymer, the world's leading supplier of light sources used by chipmakers to create advanced semiconductor chips, now anticipates revenues for third-quarter 2009 to increase around 30% sequentially.

ASML has reported a business pick-up above previous guidance resulting mainly from the short- and mid-term needs in the DRAM memory and Logic segments.

CEO Mike Splinter said that his company must respond to the fundamental changes in the markets it serves.

Novellus Systems narrowed the range of its expected third-quarter per-share loss to US$0.09 to break-even, from US$0.15 to break-even, as conditions in the semiconductor sector continue to improve.

Lead times for immersion lithography tools are being extended from approximately nine months to about 12 or more, thanks to aggressive tool buying by the likes of Samsung and TSMC, according to analysts at Barclays Capital.

Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASM International will eliminate 106 jobs as it shutters its manufacturing facility in Phoenix and shifts those operations to Singapore.

Verigy, a semiconductor testing company, has posted a net loss of US$21 million in its third quarter ended July 31, 2009, compared to net income of US$18 million in the prior year period.

Although the overall semiconductor market is expected to drop by 46% in 2009, it shows signs of rapid recovery, according to The Information Network market research company.

Applied Materials said orders for wafer fab equipment spiked in the final month of its third fiscal quarter, ending July 26. Foundries increased spending sharply, and display manufacturers are also looking at better times driven by flat panel TV sales, according to company CEO Mike Splinter.

Demand for semiconductor equipment is showing signs of a return, but it remains too early to say that a broad-based recovery is at hand, said Applied Materials CEO Mike Splinter.

Despite a rebound in business, Applied Materials is set for more layoffs and cost-cutting, according to an analyst.

GT Solar International's fiscal first-quarter profits jumped 51% on surging margins and higher revenues. The company said it was "on track" to meet its fiscal-year targets. But revenues grew at its slowest pace in roughly a year and sales came in far short analysts' expectations.

ASM International saw its net loss for second-quarter 2009 widen to 55.7 million euro (US$78.3 million), from a loss of 9.6 million euro a year ago. The Dutch chip equipment maker recognized an inventory impairment charge of 20.6 million euro in the quarter.

Chip equipment maker ASM International (ASMI) has announced that it is accelerating its cost reduction and restructuring of worldwide front-end operations.

Experts at Semicon West 2009 were in broad agreement that the industry must change its business model in the face of global recession and ever-advancing R&D costs.

Citing the embodiment of its concept of "holistic lithography," ASML has unwrapped two hardware/software components to help chipmakers improve lithography process windows while avoiding costly and timely steps and maintenance downtime.

Semiconductor equipment maker Novellus Systems has posted disappointing margins and a wider-than-expected loss, but a robust forecast helped limit share losses in late trade.

Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML has reported a narrower second quarter net loss than in the first quarter as sales jumped, and said it expects to reach break-even by the end of 2009.

While the current economic environment is imposing severe constraints on the semiconductor equipment industry, the primary driver for increasing profitability for leading-edge chipmakers is still Moore's Law...

At the Semicon West trade show here, fab tool vendors rolled out a plethora of products. Here's some of the hot product introductions at the show.

Semiconductor makers are often among the first to see sales and earnings fall when a recession like this one comes along. But as the recession comes to an end, chip companies are usually among the first to come out of it.

The global semiconductor equipment book-to-bill-ratio rose above parity in June for first time in 11 months, according to VLSI Research.

Tokyo Electron, the world's second-largest chip equipment maker, said orders for machines that make semiconductors and flat-panel displays rose 82% sequentialy in the company's first quarter of fiscal 2009.

ASML Holding NV, Europe's largest maker of semiconductor equipment, has reported a first-quarter loss as sales plunged 80% amid an industry slump. The net loss was 117 million euros (US$155 million), compared with a profit of 145 million euros a year earlier.

Lam Research has become the latest capital equipment industry company to announce layoffs, this week stating it would cut 600 jobs. The workforce reduction represents approximately 15% of Lam's total headcount and will impact regular, temporary, and contract employee positions, according to an SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) filing made Thursday.

Continuing on its acquisition spree, KLA-Tencor has entered into an agreement to acquire the inspection business unit of Vistec Semiconductor Systems. Meanwhile, the acquisition expands KLA-Tencor's product portfolio. Vistec's advanced mask metrology tools for registration metrology are among the leading products in this area. Other Vistec products include macro defect-inspection systems, overlay-measurement systems for MEMS applications, and software packages for defect classification and data analysis.