Qualcomm has acquired Summit Microelectronics, a developer and provider of programmable power ICs. Qualcomm's power management roadmap will be significantly enhanced with the addition of Summit's expertise and products.

Micron Technology has introduced a new class of 1GHz, 2-gigabit (Gb) and 4Gb, 30-nanometer (nm) DDR3 devices, strengthening the company's comprehensive DDR3 portfolio.

The insolvency administrator of Qimonda has increased his request for payment in the lawsuit pending in the Munich District Court I over the alleged economic re-establishment of Qimonda, according to Infineon.

Samsung Electronics' new chief executive on Monday reiterated the need for the company to beef up its software competence in order to maintain its leading position in the technology industry.

Fab 1, the 300mm operation of Globalfoundries here, could be used for 20nm process technology and for processing 450mm wafers, according to Rutger Wijburg, vice president and Fab 1 general manager. Wijburg was speaking to a group of journalists being given a tour of the Dresden wafer fab on June 15.

This achievement was driven by STATS ChipPAC's proven high volume manufacturing capabilities combined with the company's engineering focus on copper wire technology development for a broad range of advanced, multi-die laminate and leaded packages including three dimensional (3D) packaging.

ARM has announced the launch of the ARM Mali-450 MP GPU, doubling the performance of the successful family of Utgard architecture-based graphics products. This includes the Mali-400 MP GPU that can currently be found in a wide range of mainstream products, including smart-TVs, as well as Android-based smartphones and tablets.

The pro-bailout New Democracy party came in first Sunday in Greece's national election and could gather enough support to form a pro-bailout coalition to keep the country in the eurozone.

Lantiq has announced collaboration with Qualcomm Atheros, the networking and connectivity subsidiary of Qualcomm, to produce an advanced broadband home gateway reference design.

Japan's NEC will not provide a fresh capital injection to support loss-making chipmaker Renesas Electronics, a senior NEC executive said in a newspaper interview.

Chipmaker Cypress Semiconductor has offered to buy smaller rival Ramtron International for about US$87.6 million in cash, revamping a bid it made last year.

Globalfoundries has agreed to manufacture devices for STMicroelectronics using ST's proprietary FD-SOI technology in both the 28nm and 20nm nodes.

LSI has announced several demonstrations of its SandForce SF-2000 flash storage processors using Toshiba 19nm and Intel 20nm NAND flash memory - the most advanced flash memory technology currently available for SSD applications.

Currently head of Samsung's components business, which oversees chips and display, Kwon Oh-hyun will succeed Choi Gee-sung, who is moving to a new role as head of group corporate strategy to focus on future growth engines.

Wieberneit has spent more than twenty years in the consumer and communication semiconductor space, serving in different R&D, CTO and GM positions at Trident Microsystems, Micronas and Infineon Technologies.

Multinational semiconductor companies are no longer able to compete with China's fabless chips vendors in the consumer electronics IC business, according to Vincent Tai, CEO of RDA Microelectronics. "It's game over" for them, Tai asserted in a recent interview.

STMicroelectronics is the first company in the world that mass-manufactures MEMS microphones in plastic packages. The patented technology breakthrough saves space and increases durability in consumer and professional voice-input applications, from mobile phones and tablets to noise-level meters and noise-cancelling headphones.

Freescale Semiconductor shares are trading sharply higher after the company this morning named Greg Lowe as CEO effective immediately. He comes to the company from Texas Instruments, where he was senior VP of the analog business.

ARM, whose chip designs power most smartphones, expects its processors to account for as much as 20% of those used in notebook computers by 2015, boosted by the release of Microsoft's Windows 8 software.

Problems at two Japanese microchip makers highlight the potential dangers in a gathering effort to reshape the country's tech industry, as struggling conglomerates try to revive their fortunes by shedding unprofitable businesses.

The massive gray market for cellphones is propelling sales of lower-cost flash memories like embedded multimedia card (eMMC) and serial peripheral interface (SPI) NOR, as manufacturers of the unregulated phones strive to keep production costs low, according to IHS iSuppli.

ARM chips made with an advanced, 20-nanometer manufacturing process could appear in smartphones and tablets by as soon as the end of next year, the head of ARM's processor division said Monday.

Cadence Design Systems has contributed to STMicroelectronics having taped out a 20-nanometer test chip, incorporating custom analog and digital methodologies to enable mixed-signal SoC design at this advanced process node.

Micron may ask creditors of the financially troubled Elpida Memory to forgive more than US$3.8 billion in debt.

NXP Semiconductors has announced that its PN65 Mobile Transactions solution will power the Samsung GALAXY S3 bringing a new concept of human-centric mobile experience.

Mentor Graphics has announced TSMC will use the Calibre SmartFill solution to achieve TSMC's fill requirements for its 20nm manufacturing processes.

At next week's DAC, Globalfoundries plans to demonstrate an enhanced silicon-validated design flow for its 28nm SLP technology with gate-first HKMG. The flow provides proven and complete front-to-back support for advanced analog/mixed-signal (AMS) design using the industry's latest design automation technology.

The designs ARM produces have been licensed and used to build processors at the heart of many of today's bestselling gadgets.

Uniquify has become a TSMC Design Center Alliance (DCA) partner.

Texas Instruments (TI) announced it has shipped nearly 6.5 billion units of copper wire bonding technology in its analog, embedded processing and wireless products. This milestone underscores TI's confidence in copper as a viable replacement to gold in its semiconductor product roadmaps.

The California trial between Samsung and Apple is now headed for a scheduled start in late June, after the companies could find "no clear agreement," a Samsung official told The Korea Times. Both companies reportedly held firm in their respective beliefs, as Samsung believes Apple should pay royalties for using wireless transmission technology, while Apple believes Samsung copied the design of its iPhone and iPad.

The Intel wafer fab complex in Leixlip, Ireland, is set to receive investment to allow it to manufacture 14nm silicon and beyond, the company revealed in a presentation to analysts on May 10. The investment is expected to be more than US$1 billion.

"People are starting to position bankruptcy filing as a way to rebuild the company, and that's becoming more acceptable," says Mitsushige Akino, a chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management. "If more cases like JAL emerge, it will help to revitalize the Japanese market, as well as the economy."

Revenues for core semiconductor components used in mobile handsets, including platform ICs and wireless connectivity ICs, are expected to reach almost US$37 billion per annum in 2012.

With the investment from Intel Capital, Trigence Semiconductor will expand integration of Dnote to computing devices including Intel architecture-based PCs, Ultrabook and smartphones, and also expects to expand its LSI and licensing businesses.

Lantiq has appointed Board of Directors member Dan Artusi as Chief Executive Officer of Lantiq.

A group of Elpida Memory bondholders opposes Micron Technology's offer to buy the bankrupt Japanese chipmaker as too low and has begun talks with SK hynix and Globalfoundries on an alternative plan, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.

FormFactor raised its second-quarter revenue expectations Tuesday, pointing to customer demand across its DRAM and flash memory segments.