China's efforts to expand its reach into advanced semiconductors in the US drew fire on Capitol Hill as a key senator called on US officials to block a state-controlled firm's effort to buy an American memory chipmaker.

China's Tsinghua Holdings is still discussing a potential deal to buy US chipmaker Micron Technology and hopes it could eventually go through, the state-backed investment company's chairman told Reuters on Thursday.

Micron Technology has told China's Tsinghua Unigroup that its US$23 billion acquisition offer is not realistic because US authorities would block the deal due to national security concerns, according to people familiar with the matter.

Sales of PCs that used Micron's memory chips dropped faster than the company expected in 2015 triggering a 50% stock plunge. That drop helped set the stage for Micron, which is known for buying other companies' chip operations, to become a target.

The deal, if true, could have broad implications for Micron's technology partner, Intel and NAND-chip competitor SanDisk.

Tsinghua Unigroup Chairman Zhao Weiguo signaled the company is interested in Micron Technology after the Wall Street Journal reported the Chinese company made a US$23 billion bid for the US semiconductor maker.

Micron Technology was bullish about the coming year at a conference in May, but its latest quarterly earnings released in late June have investors less optimistic.

Micron Technology said it expects a further decline in prices of chips used in personal computers, and forecast revenue for the current quarter well below market estimates.

Goldman analysts added that they expect DRAM prices to drop 30% over the next three quarters.

Pricing of DRAM, based on his "checks" with entities in Taiwan, is weak in PC, servers, and in graphics applications, writes Moore.

Micron Technology said Monday that its board had authorized as much as $1 billion in share buybacks, its first such repurchases in three years.

Toshiba and SK Hynix will begin joint production of next-generation memory chips as early as fiscal 2016, bringing them to market ahead of US firm Micron Technology, The Nikkei learned Wednesday.

Rambus and Micron Technology have signed a broad patent cross-license agreement, giving Micron the right to use any Rambus patent for the manufacture of specified integrated circuit products, including memories.

David Einhorn's hedge fund Greenlight Capital reported a stake of about 23.02 million shares in US memory chipmaker Micron Technology, according to a filing on Monday.

More than 20 Japanese and US semiconductor-related companies are teaming up to develop a mass production method for next-generation memory chips.

Intel will take over a plant in Israel's Kiryat Gat city after it was shut down by the US microchip manufacturer Micron in a bid to save 800 jobs, it was announced Sunday.

SK Hynix is considering signing a cross-licensing deal on memory chip patents with Micron Technology.

Micron Semiconductor Asia is laying off some 150 staff in Singapore. That is about 2% of its 7,500-strong workforce here.

The cuts will not come from among the employees acquired along with Elpida, Micron said.

Micron Technology anticipates the closing of its acquisition of 100% of Elpida's equity to occur on July 31, 2013, Tokyo time. Micron also anticipates concurrently closing its acquisition of a 24% share of Rexchip Electronics from Powerchip Technology and certain of its affiliates.

Increased spending in NAND and flash by Micron, LEDs by Philips and Osram, and continued investments by Globalfoundries will create new opportunities for equipment and materials suppliers in Southeast Asia.

Micron Technology is poised to get a US$400 million discount on the acquisition of Japanese rival Elpida Memory, after a 16% slump in the yen against the US dollar.

Micron Technology has posted a quarterly loss, hurt by acquisition-related expenses, but the chipmaker's revenue and margins improved.

The M500 SSD utilizes Micron's 20nm multilevel cell (MLC) NAND flash to achieve terabyte-class capacity and enable a new level of SSD price competitiveness; the 960GB Crucial M500 SSD will be initially priced under US$600.

There is a growing demand for solid-state drives (SSDs) despite declining numbers in the PC sector. The company said it has seen a 20-percent rise in SSD orders during 1QF13 alone.

Micron Technology has reported a wider fiscal first-quarter loss as a slump in demand for personal computers led to a supply glut, weighing down prices.

Micron Technology said it will lay off at least 30 workers as it retreats on plans to develop energy-efficient lighting technology, a move that marks the latest blow to alternative energy initiatives in Idaho.

The US International Trade Commission said Tuesday it won't challenge an administrative law judge's decision that Nanya Technology could end its memory patent probe into bankrupt Elpida Memory after licensee Micron Technology offered to acquire Elpida for US$2.5 billion.

Memory chipmaker Micron Technology is preparing to lay off about one third of its workforce at its wafer fab in Israel, according to local news reports.

Micron Technology and AgigA Tech, a subsidiary of Cypress Semiconductor, have signed an agreement to collaborate to develop and offer nonvolatile DIMM (NVDIMM) products.

Elpida's main bankruptcy proceeding is being handled by a district court in Tokyo, but Christopher Sontchi, the Delaware Bankruptcy Court judge overseeing Elpida's parallel US case, said the company was taking a risk by not keeping creditors better informed.

Rayfield worked for the past seven years as the vice president and general manager of Nvidia's Mobile Business Unit where his team created advanced computer on a chip technology and won key mobile industry reference designs.

Elpida Memory said it opposes moves by a group of bondholders to block its sale to Micron Technology because it would interfere with an "entirely fair" reorganization.

About 20 bondholders of Elpida Memory are negotiating with alternative sponsors to replace a takeover offer by Micron Technology they consider too low, a representative said.

Yukio Sakamoto has decided to step down as president of Elpida Memory to take responsibility for the company's fall once its takeover by Micron Technology is complete, The Nikkei reported Wednesday morning.

Elpida Memory, the bankrupt Japanese chipmaker being bought by Micron Technology, will get JPY280 billion (US$3.5 billion) in support from the US company, the Asahi newspaper said.