The report comes out after a similar study has been commissioned by Samsung Electronics, which itself has faced complaints that unusual clusters of cancers have occurred at its semiconductor factory in Gi-Heung, south of Seoul.

China-based Hanvon has selected Freescale Semiconductor's i.MX51 applications processor for its next-generation e-reader products.

Marvell's net income for the second quarter ended July 30 nearly quadrupled to US$219.8 million, compared with US$58 million a year ago. The results gave it confidence to start buying back stock, according to the chipmaker.

IBM and Infineon Technologies have closed a transaction to sell 100% of the share capital of Altis Semiconductor to a new corporation. They have also entered into supply agreements with Altis, and will continue to use Altis' production facility in France.

With semiconductor sales soaring to a possible 30% increase this year, companies are ramping up capacity to meet current and expected demand. But the capital invested during the balance of 2010 will not impact actual capacity until sometime in 2011.

The mid-year edition of the SEMI Capital Equipment Forecast predicts that sales of global semiconductor equipment are growing in all regions in 2010. Taiwan is again, projected to be the largest market with US$9.18 billion.

Scientists at Ohio State University have demonstrated a form of plastic computer memory that uses the spin of electrons to read and write data.

Hynix will pay an estimated US$422.89 million for the 19.3% stake in the China-based joint venture, Hynix-Numonyx Semiconductor, according to Micron.

Freescale Semiconductor may file to sell shares in an initial public offering by the end of 2010, according to two people briefed on the plan.

The US$72 billion increase in 2010 would equate to a growth rate of 30% over 2009. This 30% jump would be the sixth largest in the past 32 years and the highest since the 37% increase 10 years ago in 2000.

Renesas Electronics has announced it will cut about 5,000 jobs mostly in the current fiscal year and completed by March 2013. It also revealed plans to use outside foundries on all of its 28nm and smaller geometry semiconductor products.

Brian Toohey has taken office as president of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), succeeding George Scalise who had led the association since 1997.

Japan's Sanyo Electric is to sell its loss-making chip unit to ON Semiconductor for about 33 billion yen (US$373 million), turning its focus to environmentally friendly technology.

Applied Materials said demand for semiconductor and solar-panel manufacturing equipment in Europe is growing rapidly, a sign the region's debt crisis isn't crimping spending.

At an analyst briefing at the Semicon West trade show, Applied Materials indicated that it now expects 140% on-year revenue growth for its semiconductor equipment business for the October 2010 fiscal year, an increase from the company's previous forecast of 120% growth.

"However, global economic recovery that started in the second half of 2009 is in danger of slowing down due to macroeconomic problems such as the Euro crisis, continued high unemployment in the US...," said IDC analyst. "In such a scenario, the expected growth in the second half of 2010 may be pushed into early 2011."

Sanyo Electric has decided to sell its semiconductor business to ON Semiconductor for 20-30 billion yen (US$228-341 million), Kyodo News reported Friday, without citing sources.

LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Valens Semiconductor has announced formal incorporation of the HDBaseT Alliance and the finalization of the HDBaseT 1.0 specification, made available to Alliance member companies for CE implementation.

Citing "adverse market conditions," MagnaChip Semiconductor said it will not move forward with its planned initial public offering now.

Freescale Semiconductor has introduced its Xtrinsic sensing solutions, which are designed with the combination of high-performance sensing capability, processing capacity and customizable software to help deliver differentiated sensing applications.

"We are targeting segments within the semiconductor market that are growing faster," said Infineon CEO Peter Bauer. "The wireless market is bigger than before the crisis, driven by smartphones and emerging market phones."

Toshiba plans to expand manufacturing capacity at its plant in Houston, Texas for production of high-performance drive motors for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs).

Thirty-three states, including California, have reached a US$173 million settlement with six DRAM makers alleged to have fixed prices for their products between 1998 and 2002. The companies named in the lawsuit are Micron Technology and NEC Electronics America as well as Infineon Technologies, Hynix Semiconductor, Elpida Memory and Mosel Vitelic.

GTronix' proprietary technology provides very low power solutions for noise cancellation in mobile applications such as wireless handsets and audio accessories, National Semi said in a statement. The analog chipmaker has acquired GTronix for an undisclosed sum.

MagnaChip Semiconductor, which filed for bankruptcy protection in June 2009, has priced an initial public offering (IPO) of stock to raise about US$130 million. This is about half the amount it had originally said it planned to raise.

According to Semiconductor Industry Capacity Statistics (SICAS), total industry IC capacity dropped 2.9% in the first quarter of 2010 from the prior quarter.

"The acquisition of Sound Design Technologies solidifies our position as a leading supplier of ultra-low-power digital signal processing (DSP) technology for hearing aids and audio processing applications," said Robert Tong, VP of ON Semiconductor's Medical Division.

Hynix Semiconductor said on May 31 it would raise its capital expenditure by a third to 3.05 trillion won (US$2.5 billion) this year to take advantage of a strong recovery in the global technology sector.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) is still in talks with Texas Instruments (TI) about taking over the operation of a 200mm fab in Chengdu, China, according to sources.

But he declined to comment directly on market rumors that Intel could buy Infineon's wireless unit, which produces chips used in mobile network technology. "We have nothing we have to sell urgently..."

European Union regulators are expected to fine nine makers of memory chips, including Samsung, Infineon and Hynix, this week on charges of illegally fixing prices. Others set to be fined are Elpida, NEC Electronics, Hitachi, Toshiba, Mitsubishi and Nanya.

Hynix Semiconductor has said it sold 5-year bonds worth US$500 million abroad that could be converted into its shares at 34,580 won apiece.

Hynix Semiconductor's board has approved the issuance of 557.9 billion won in five-year convertible bonds to secure operating funds and expand production capacity.

TSMC, working with ASML and Mapper, have developed a prototype multi-e-beam tool for semiconductor lithography, according to company CTO Jack Sun speaking to the International Electronics Forum 2010 in Dresden.

MEMC Electronic Materials will raise its prices for silicon wafers in both the second and third quarters by the "low- to mid-single digits." SEH, Sumco, Wacker and others are also believed to be raising their silicon wafer prices.

STMicroelectronics, Europe's largest semiconductor company, swung to profits of US$57 million in the first quarter of 2010 from losses of US$541 million a year ago. First-quarter revenues rose 40% to US$2.32 billion, led particularly by demand for chips used in cars and computers.

Infineon Technologies and Fairchild Semiconductor have announced an agreement to create compatibility between their power MOSFET packages. Specifically the agreement covers the Infineon PowerStage 3x3 and Fairchild MLP 3x3 packages.