Russia's Ministry of Industry and Trade has given formal approval to provide 27B roubles (US$1.09B) to co-finance 65nm chip production, according to local reports. Mikron, a unit of Sitronics, will manufacture the ICs. The plan calls for 65nm production down to 45nm on 300mm wafers. Mikron expects to be producing 10,000 wafers per month by 2010, according to officials. The investment project is estimated at 58B roubles (US$2.3B), with Sitronics financing the remaining amount.

Santa Clara, Calif.-based Marvell makes GPS chips that go into cell phones and other gadgets. It said the deal will allow it to tailor products for high performance and low power consumption. Under the terms of the agreement, Marvell gains direct access to Trimble's GSP software and tools for development support and testing, Marvell said.

Shipments of Japanese solar cells amounted to 258,900kw of generation capacity for the three months ended June 30, an increase of 36% from a year earlier, according to data released Wednesday by the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association. Exports soared 45%, while domestic shipments rose 6% – the first uptick in two years. Shipments to Europe remained strong, registering a 43% spike. Several European countries have adopted programs in which solar-generated electricity is sold at high prices so that producers can offset their investments.

South Korea's DC Chemical said on Thursday it had won a 290.9 billion won (US$280.2 million) order to supply polysilicon to Taiwan's Wafer Works Corporation. The contract covers the period between January 2010 and December 2016, the company said in a filing with the Korea Exchange ($1=1038.0 Won).

Rigid PCB shipments are up 2.9% and bookings are down 4.5% in June 2008 from June 2007. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments are up 5.8% and bookings are up 6.6%. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments increased 11.8% and rigid bookings increased 21.1%. The book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in June 2008 slipped to 0.94.