DALLAS - Pintail Technologies, a provider of semiconductor test software, has
secured $7 million in venture capital funding, bringing the company's
total funding to date to $11.5 million. Austin Ventures, Agilent Ventures, Duchossois Technology Partners, IVF Ventures and STARTech Early Ventures were among the investors, Pintail said.

The new funding will be used to expand the company's worldwide sales and
support teams and to finance the development of additional test performance
improvement solutions.

Pintail's software is for mixed-signal test time acceleration, reducing field defects  and reviewing test operations.

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Milpitas, CA, March 18 - FlexICs, an ultra-low-temperature poly silicon flexible circuit manufacturing facility, will host a WebCast equipment auction next Tuesday.

Highlights of the 500-lot auction include: Cascade Microtech probe system, (2) CHA SSB-600 sputter systems, Karl Suss MA150 mask aligner, Sopra ES4-G ellipsometer, Tegal 901e etcher, Dektak 3ST profiler, Lamda Physik 400/4038 laser system, custom-designed cluster tool with a $2.4 million original acquisition cost, plus hundreds of additional technology items.

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Oyster Bay, NY - March 18 - RFID supply chain mandates launched by a few big retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target are now well documented and understood. But many other retailers are finding problems and frustration when they try to apply RFID in the same way.

Why? According to ABI Research analyst Sara Shah, "There's no cookie-cutter approach to RFID." In a new study, the research firm finds a disconnection: RFID manufacturers -- many of them relatively new companies -- don't understand retail; and many retailers don't understand how RFID can benefit them. This leaves them frustrated and slows down market adoption.

"Wal-Mart's approach is creative," said Shah. "It's very worthwhile for them, which is why they're pushing forward on schedule. Other retailers follow, thinking that Wal-Mart's business case will apply just as well to them. But it may not work, because every business and every supply chain is different."

So, many retailers turn to their usual consulting companies -- often one of the largest half-dozen. But big consultants are rarely early adopters of new technologies, says ABI; they're often content to let ideas mature before getting involved.

Beyond supply chain management, nobody knows how many ways RFID can be used; known applications include security & "backdoor theft" prevention, contactless payments, advertising and promotions. Shah advises retailers to consider smaller consulting firms, where they'll find people who can find new ways to use RFID. Unfortunately, she adds, many of those small creative integrators lack the resources to execute system-wide rollouts for large clients.

For their part, RFID vendors need to educate themselves about retailing, and to develop solutions to retailers' problems, not just one-size-fits-all products.

AUSTIN, TX -- Low-cost assembly of RFID chips and antennas may be the most critical roadblock to reaching a five-cent RFID tag. With this in mind, TechSearch International has created a workshop to address assembly issues associated with RFID tag manufacturing. 

Low-Cost RFID IC Packaging and Assembly: Roadblock on the Highway to a 5-cent RFID Tag, will be held March 29-30 in Austin, TX.  The workshop will provide a forum for experts on all aspects of RFID IC packaging and assembly to present their work. 
 
Rick Koskella, Sun Microsystem, will give the opening presentation -- RFID Scorecard: Accomplishments and Issues --  based on the experiences from Sun's RFID test center in Texas. Dr. Gitanjali Swamy will present a cost model for RFID.  Presentations from semiconductor makers and inlay manufacturers include speakers from Philips, Texas Instruments, Celis Semiconductor, Alien Technology, Symbol Technologies and KSW Microtech. 
 
Equipment makers, including Muhlbauer and Toray Engineering, will share their experiences in the RFID tag assembly area.  A presentation on printed electronics will be given by Dr. Dan Gamota, Motorola.  Presentations will also highlight RFID activities in Japan and China. Dr. Frank Bachner of TechSearch will moderate a panel discussing the key challenges to lowering RFID inlay and tag assembly cost.