STMicroelectronics is closing one of its semiconductor R&D groups in Longmont, Colo., and laying off 44 people, according to a report by a Colorado newspaper.

University research consortium Semiconductor Research has awarded seven research contracts to four universities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

A former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. manager who pleaded guilty to being part of an insider-trading scheme involving Primary Global Research deserves a prison term of as long as three years and 10 months, the US said.

Verigy, an Advantest Group company, has announced that the company has reached a major milestone with the installation of its 2,500th V93000 system-on-chip (SoC) test platform. The milestone shipment is part of a multi-system order from Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE).

Semico Research now expects chip sales to decline 2% compared to 2010. It previously forecast that the chip market would grow by 6% in 2011.

"Semiconductor companies now need to become much more systems-oriented," Freescale CEO Rich Beyer said during a technology forum. "We are into an era of connected intelligence where data is ubiquitous, and these devices [such as tablets] will conform to us and not have us conform to them, as in the case of the personal computer."

Jay Legenhausen previously managed worldwide sales for Actel/Microsemi. Prior to Actel, he spent 17 years working at Cypress Semiconductor in various sales and marketing positions.

The JV is based on the MoU signed in December 2010, under the framework for reinforcing cooperation in economic and industrial development between the Brazilian and Japanese governments, including the cultivation of a Brazilian semiconductor industry.

While global semiconductor revenue is projected to expand by 7.2% in 2011, Walden Rhines, chairman and CEO of EDA vendor Mentor Graphics, sounds a note of caution about maintaining this growth in 2012.

Orders have stalled over the past couple of weeks as semiconductor companies pull back on expansion plans, according to KLA-Tencor. Orders in the fiscal first quarter, which ends in September, will fall as much as 45% from the prior quarter.

Fuji Electric has announced that it will spend JPY18.5 billion (US$240 million) to build an assembly line for power semiconductors at its Yamanashi Prefecture plant. The line will process 8-inch silicon wafers to make the semiconductors.

This particular poker game had a twist - the ante went up every hand and you had to play every hand. If you left the table, you were out of the game. Does the analogy hold true today?

David Wang has resigned as CEO of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC), according to the China-based foundry, which named Wenyi Zhang chairman of the board of directors and acting CEO.

3M has announced the completion of a major expansion of 3M's development laboratory and cleanroom located at its headquarters in Saint Paul, Minn. The expansion includes a 300mm CMP tool and defect metrology for product and application development.

Dutch chip lithography manufacturer ASML reported strong sales in the second quarter, but said new orders in the third quarter would be significantly lower, lending weight to reports of slowdowns in the semiconductor industry.

Globalfoundries will leverage Intermolecular's high productivity combinatorial (HPC) technology to accelerate the creation of process modules that will be integrated into Globalfoundries manufacturing lines worldwide.

STX Group, owner of the world's third-largest marine-engine maker, said it may team up with a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund to bid for a stake in Hynix Semiconductor.

Hyundai Heavy has announced it was dropping plans for a takeover of Hynix Semiconductor.

"In the past, the semiconductor market tended to be weaker in the first half and stronger in the second half, but for this year, it is likely to remain flat throughout the latter half..."

Samsung Electronics Co. said on Friday that it will fold its flat-panel display business back into its semiconductor business, uniting its component manufacturing operations just when the display business appears likely to be unprofitable for some time to come.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) has announced that its chairman died. But shareholders rejected CEO David Wang's reappointment as a board director, and the company requested its shares be suspended from trading in Hong Kong pending the release of "price- sensitive" information.

The government also added that it is in the process of developing a policy to give preference to domestically-produced electronics goods in purchases by the government and government-linked projects.

Toshiba has announced that it will realign its storage products businesses in a unified organization by merging its Semiconductor Company and Storage Products Company in a new in-house company on July 1.

Rambus played dirty in the market for PC memory chips and blames its competitors for the consequences of its own failed technology, lawyers for Hynix Semiconductor and Micron Technology said in court.

Qualcomm has agreed to acquire substantially all of the assets of Rapid Bridge, a San Diego-based inventor of advanced techniques for the design and development of semiconductor products.

This acquisition expands Skyworks' portfolio with highly complementary analog semiconductor products including battery chargers, DC/DC converters, voltage regulators and LED drivers.

Intel is considering buying Texas Instruments' OMAP division, according to a highly placed executive at another fabless semiconductor firm.

Professor Lee Jong-ho at the School of Electrical Engineering of Seoul National University has claimed that he is in possession of the patent on bulk FinFET and it is identical to Intel's tri-gate MOSFET.

Fujitsu Semiconductor has announced the release of 113 microcontrollers, including chips from the MB96600 Series of 16-bit microcontrollers and chips from the MB91520 Series of 32-bit microcontrollers.

Kim Jong-kap, the former head of Hynix Semiconductor, has been named as new CEO and chairman of Siemens' Korean affiliate.

Applied Materials reported a fiscal second-quarter profit that nearly doubled from the year-earlier period, as the company saw stronger sales of semiconductor capital equipment. But shares of the company slipped nearly 2% in after-hours trading after it posted a weaker-than-anticipated outlook.

The acquisition of SiGe, a fabless semiconductor provider, complements Skyworks' leadership in wide area front-end solutions by adding SiGe's innovative short range, silicon-based products.

The 30 new jobs come in addition to the previously announced 300 engineers and technicians positions that Samsung Austin Semiconductor is hiring in the first six months of 2011.

Manosha Karunatilaka, a former account manager at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC), pleaded guilty to charges that he participated in an insider trading scheme tied to Primary Global Research, an expert network firm.

TSMC has said it won't start using three-dimensional transistors to produce semiconductors before the capacity of 2D chips reaches its limit, adding the infrastructure for the next generation of transistors is still "immature."

Toshiba has said it returned to the black for the year to March 2011, but warned the outlook remains uncertain due to the impact of the massive quake and tsunami in Japan.

Semiconductor company Rubicon Technology, Inc. (RBCN: News ) reported Thursday a profit for the first quarter that climbed from last year, boosted by strong margin expansion and revenue growth amid strong demand.

Applied Materials's US$4.9 billion purchase of Varian Semiconductor may trigger a round of acquisitions in the chip-machinery industry, making companies such as Novellus Systems possible targets.

Applied Materials and Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates have announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement under which Applied will acquire Varian for US$63 per share in cash. The acquisition will extend Applied's leadership in wafer fabrication equipment with the addition of the technology leader in ion implantation.