Solar-power company LDK Solar boosted its wafer shipment forecast for the second quarter on stronger-than-expected demand but issued a revenue view below Wall Street estimates.

Sales of semiconductors in Europe in May again underperformed other regions, according to an analysis of the figures by the Semiconductor Industry Association provided by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization.

NEC Electronics, which has inked an integration contract with fellow chip maker Renesas Technology, is eyeing either Toshiba or Panasonic as its partner in developing an advanced semiconductor system, President Junshi Yamaguchi said.

Semiconductor player RF Micro Devices announced it is cooperating with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to develop a commercially viable and high volume-capable compound semiconductor-based process for high-performance photovoltaic (PV) cells.

"...key customers who are increasing 40nm tape-outs have already started to evaluate other foundries (UMC) in case yields do not improve soon," said Mehdi Hosseini, an analyst with FBR Capital Markets, in a report.

Raj Seth, an analyst with Cowen and Co. LLC, has indicated that Teradyne is readying a tester for "DDR3" applications. That implies that the automatic test equipment giant is entering the DRAM test market, thereby going toe-to-toe with Japan's Advantest.

Standard Microsystems Corporation (SMSC) has announced plans to outsource some of its production test operations to Asian suppliers. The transfer of the production test operations is expected to improve the company's gross margin once completed at the end of its fiscal year.

Rather than a costly cap-and-trade system, the US should invest in more environmentally sound renewable projects.

Elpida Memory, which operates one of the world's largest DRAM memory fabs in Hiroshima (Japan), will undergo a major internal transformation as the company battles a continued over capacity in the memory markets and seeks Japanese Government funds to continue operations.

Japanese chipmaker Elpida was thrown a 160-billion-yen (US$1.7 billion) financial lifeline on June 30, including public funds, to help it survive the economic downturn, officials said.

NEC Electronics' semiconductor orders will increase "several percent" next quarter, helped by demand for chips used in cars and liquid- crystal displays, President Junshi Yamaguchi said.

Japan has passed the worst of its current slump and is on course for growth in its next fiscal year, but the recovery of the world's second-largest economy could yet prove vulnerable, Kaoru Yosano, finance minister, has warned. The comment came just before a survey showed that business confidence had risen for the first time in two and a half years.

Elpida Memory will receive 50 billion yen (US$521 million) from the Japanese government and a Taiwanese partner after falling semiconductor prices led to a net loss last fiscal year, Japan's economy ministry said.

Globalfoundries has announced the appointment of Norm Armour as vice president and general manager and Eric Choh as vice president of operations to lead an expanding team dedicated to developing Fab 2 in New York.

For the current third quarter of the 2009 fiscal year Infineon now expects a Combined Segment Result approaching break-even with revenues increasing by a low-teens percentage sequentially.

Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard has unveiled a prototype of the solar-powered plane he hopes eventually to fly around the world.

The Chinese solar company is now choosing among four sites for its first, 100-megawatt factory to build solar panels in the US, says an executive.

Japanese PC chip maker Elpida Memory will receive financial support of about 200 billion yen ($2.1 billion) from the government and public and private sector banks, the Nikkei business daily said on Saturday.

Chipmaker Smart Modular Technologies has posted a narrower quarterly loss helped by a drop in operating expenses, but forecast fourth-quarter earnings below estimates, sending its shares down 5% in post-market trade.

Micron Technology's fiscal third-quarter loss widened on lower sales and a write-down on the value of its imaging unit, but its gross margin turned positive after three negative quarters as the cost of producing chips fell below their selling price. The loss was the 10th consecutive quarterly loss for the memory-chip maker.

Samsung Electronics' memory chip business is expected to return to the black in the second quarter thanks to production cutbacks and steady rises in chip prices.

Struggling chip maker Elpida Memory has applied for a new government financial aid program in a bid to shore up its capital base and ride out a severe industry downturn, sources said.

Rambus has showcased an XDR memory system that delivers data rates of up to 7.2Gbps, with Elpida's recently-announced 1Gb XDR DRAM device.

According to the complaint, LSI initially contacted SanDisk in 2007 to initiate patent license negotiations for several of SanDisk's digital media players. LSI eventually alleged that SanDisk's media players violate a total of eight patents held by LSI, according to the complaint.

In a possible breakthrough, chip giant Intel claims that it has pushed 193nm immersion lithography down to 15nm—at least in the lab.

The companies will will work together, offering 3M's temporary bonding process as part of the new SUSS 300mm bonder line. The companies said the agreement will expand access to 3M's Wafer Support System (WSS) equipment for temporary wafer bonding of ultrathin wafers required for 3-D packaging. As part of the non-exclusive agreement, SUSS becomes an authorized equipment supplier for the 3M WSS and will manufacture and sell XBC300 and CBC300 wafer bonders configured to use 3M's WSS materials.

Qualcomm officials confirmed that the company is working with Korean mobile operators to launch the Snapdragon-based smartphone and Smartbook. Smartbook will be offered by Taiwanese companies during the fourth quarter; the Snapdragon-based smartphone, made by a Korean handset manufacturer, will be available by the end of this year or the first quarter of next year, said Jordan Lim, marketing director of Qualcomm CDMA Technologies Korea.