The strangest semiconductor company ever to emerge in the industry took the view that the future of the industry lay in making semiconductors in the form of round silicon balls.
The company said it would make silicon circuits in the shape of spheres, initially one-millimeter in diameter, on the surface of which the circuitry would be patterned.
"Since they are one-millimeter balls we don't need to organize them onto a big wafer that contains 20,000 chips," said the company's COO, "rather than organize them that way, we could process a one-millimeter ball one by one."
The company said the technology would obviate the need for the industry to go to 450mm wafer processing - a transition estimated to cost over $20 billion.
Nothing much has been heard of this company recently.
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Oh come on, they have incredible staying power. I have been following all my career. Never give up!
Theyu are still around as an R&D company. It is an interesting idea but with little mass appeal.
http://www.linkedin.com/companies/ball-semiconductor
Thanks, Trent, good to hear the venture money hasn't been wasted