Kilopass Technology, Inc., the leading provider of semiconductor embedded non-volatile memory (NVM) intellectual property (IP), and Mie Fujitsu Semiconductor Limited (MIFS) announced today they signed a technology development agreement for the first of several one-time programmable (OTP) enablement projects. In this phase of the agreement, Kilopass will port its OTP NVM Intellectual property (IP) to MIFS's 40-nanometer (nm) low-power (40LP) process. Designers using the MIFS 40LP process will be able to integrate Kilopass' XPM 128kbit to optimize power efficiency and performance of their designs."It's a pleasure to work with forward-looking Mie Fujitsu Semiconductor," says Charlie Cheng, Kilopass' chief executive officer. "Fujitsu is long known for its unique and differentiated strategic value to its customers and partners. This partnership is the beginning of many collaborative efforts with Mie Fujitsu to help it achieve its corporate objective."MIFS, a subsidiary of Fujitsu Semiconductor Limited, is a pure-play foundry based on 300-mm wafer manufacturing facilities to offer 40LP CMOS logic process as well as originally developed technologies such as 55nm, 65nm, and 90nm CMOS, focusing on ultra-low power, non-volatile memory for the Internet of Things (IoT) market and automotive electronics in Japan. With the licensing of Kilopass IP being announced today, the MIFS 40LP process will allow customers to benefit from ultra-low power used in battery powered apps, both rechargeable and non-rechargeable. Kilopass' eNVM offers fast access time, small area that is more competitive than eFlash, and save cost due to no special masks required for overlay tolerance or process control."Kilopass distinguishes itself with ultra-low power and high-performance embedded memory IP, important considerations for IoT applications," adds Mutsuaki Kai, vice president of Technology Development Division at MIFS. "Our customers have exceedingly stringent requirements that will be satisfied with Kilopass' offerings. We believe it will become a respected partner and look forward to the exciting new developments to come."Kilopass is preparing a roadmap that aligns with MIFS on upcoming projects, beginning with the 40nm process for the infotainment communications business, to answer customer needs.Mie Fujitsu Semiconductor is a pure-play foundry company based on 300mm wafer manufacturing facilities located in Kuwana city, Mie, Japan. Headquartered in Yokohama, it was established as a subsidiary of Fujitsu Semiconductor Limited on December 1, 2014. UMC became its minority shareholder in March 2015. Mie Fujitsu Semiconductor provides high-quality technology and services, with wide-ranging expertise focusing on Ultra-Low-Power, Non-Volatile Memory and RF Technology. For more information, please see: http://www.fujitsu.com/jp/mifs/en/Kilopass Technology, Inc., is the leader in embedded non-volatile memory (NVM) intellectual property (IP). Its patented technologies of one-time programmable (OTP) NVM solutions have boundless capacity to scale to advanced CMOS process geometries. They are portable to every major foundry and integrated device manufacturer (IDM), and meet market demands for increased integration, higher densities, lower cost, low-power management, better reliability and improved security. Trusted by today's best-known brands, Kilopass' technology has been integrated by more than 170 customers, with 10-billion units shipped in over 400 industrial, automotive, consumer electronics, mobile, analog and mixed-signal, and internet of things (IoT) chip designs. For more information, visit www.kilopass.com or email info@kilopass.comPhoto: Company

Communication with Suppliers in the Ukraine and China have continued to verify expected shortages occurring toward the end of 2016. Although supply appears stable now, inventories purchased during the second half of 2015 will deplete inventories on the Supplier Side toward the end of this year. "Projections of historical Neon growth can no longer be used to predict the future", said TECHCET's President/CEO, Lita Shon-Roy."Even with the recovery of the Neon supply chain, Neon conservation actions, and new sources in China, we predict that Neon demand will grow faster than Neon supply", she added. Inventory has caused pricing to degrade, however, prices are expected to rise. The factors affecting the supply side, along with the demand drivers, are covered in the recently updated Critical Materials Report on Neon, and will be featured at the Critical Materials Conference May 5-6 in Hillsboro.The largest and most rapidly growing Neon demand drivers are Lasik, OLED/FPD (displays) and DUV lithography. However, Neon gas consumed by DUV excimer laser gases is growing at a faster pace and represents more than 90% of world's Neon consumption.Semiconductor lithographic use of Neon is increasing more rapidly than expected for several reasons including the delay of EUVL while demand for finer line width patterning is increasing. In addition, new consumer related markets drive increased usage of legacy device processing. Each increase in the number of lithographic steps increases the need for DUV lithography, and drives up the volume demand for Neon. This is true for V-NAND process flows, as well as DRAM and Logic devices dependent on multi-patterning. Next General Lithography reports continue to support that DUV will keep supporting the industry with potential SAOP being used at the 7nm node.For more information on the CMC Conference please go to www.cmcfabs.org/seminars/.For additional information about these reports or about CMC Fabs membership, please visit our websites at http://www.techcet.com/ and http://www.cmcfabs.org/.

AMD has announced availability of its new mobile seventh-generation AMD A-series processors, timed to support a new notebook design by HP. Equipped with advanced video, graphics, performance, and security features designed to boost productivity and enhance the entertainment experience, the AMD A-series processors (Bristol Ridge) also provide energy efficiency, the vendor said.New OEM PC designs powered by the A-series processors - from ultrathin notebooks and convertibles to all-in-ones - will come to market first with HP in the new HP ENVY x360, and with other OEM announcements expected later in the year. AMD will officially introduce the A-series APUs and showcase a wide range of OEM designs at Computex 2016, May 31-June 4, 2016, in Taipei, Taiwan.Now shipping in volume to OEM customers are both quad- and dual-core A-series processors, featuring mobile-optimized Excavator-based x86 CPU cores for high-speed computing, and Radeon R7 or R5 graphics for gaming and enhanced HD streaming capabilities. The A-series FX part shows up to 50% improvement in compute performance over the FX part released just two years ago, according to AMD.The A-Series APUs will allow users to enjoy the latest multimedia experiences in up to Ultra HD video resolution.AMD seventh-generation A series processorPhoto: Company

Back in Hannover Messe 2011, Germany announced the Industry 4.0 concept and initiated the world's fourth industrial revolution. Since then, Hannover Messe has become a focal point for Industry 4.0 innovations. As Hannover Messe 2016 closes in, the exhibition will once again be surrounded by various Industry 4.0-related hot topics such as integrated industry, smart manufacturing and more.Coming soon on April 25 to 29, Hannover Messe 2016 will be based on the theme "Integrated Industry – Discover Solutions", which aims to provide an interpretation of the smart manufacturing model of Industry 4.0. As a Taiwanese company with deep expertise in IoT automation, NEXCOM has planned four themed demonstrations that map out a complete solution blueprint for industry 4.0 in the upcoming event.Joe Lin, General Manager of NEXCOM's IoT Automation Solutions Business Group, states, "Early Industry 4.0 solutions focused on the lower layers of factory communication where IoT gateways were used to integrate different industrial protocols, bridging the Industry 4.0 last mile connection to fulfill the 'connected' concept. Now in 2016, NEXCOM will extend the pathway to the cloud through NEXCOM IoT Studio configuration tool and IoT gateways, which consolidate the management and connection of factory field devices onto a unified control interface, accelerating data aggregation. This will enable a two-way field-to-cloud connection for big data analytics, promoting development for more Industry 4.0 applications."NEXCOM's Four Themed Zones for Industry 4.0 ApplicationsNEXCOM's four main highlights for Hannover Messe 2016 will be "IoT Automation Solution", "NexMotion Solution", "Industrial 4.0 Wireless Factory and Industrial Cloud & Security", and "NexROBO Solution". Although different in context, all four themes will use NEXCOM IoT Studio and IoT gateways to integrate field data to a cloud service powered by Microsoft Azure. Furthermore, the demonstrations will show how integrating cloud-enabled services such as business intelligence (BI), big data analytics, machine learning and remote management can provide benefits such as remote monitoring to enable exception management and advanced process control.For IoT Automation Solution, NEXCOM will present how live data from different-branded PLC controllers can be collected and processed to a cloud service platform through NEXCOM IoT Studio and IoT gateways. For NexMotion Solution, an EtherCAT Master controller will be on stage to demonstrate its control performance and cross-vendor support by controlling up to 64 motors and drives to dance along to the music. Lin adds, "NEXCOM's EtherCAT Master solution has been certified to support over ten types of servo motors. In addition, the solution is cyber-physical system (CPS) ready to carry out the CPS convergence envisioned by Industry 4.0."In the demonstration area for Industrial 4.0 Wireless Factory and Industrial Cloud & Security, NEXCOM will simulate a factory operation and demonstrate how the use of IoT gateways, firewalls and NEXCOM nCare remote management software can give wireless networks within and across factory plants and enterprise offices a secure data path to the cloud. As for the NexROBO Solution, to showcase the visual processing capability of robots, an articulated robot will be on display to imitate the arm movements of visitors, showing how robots can replace workers in high-risk environments.Big Data Cloud Analytics: Enabler for Exception Management, Advanced Process ControlAll the application scenarios mentioned above can integrate with the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. Operators can benefit from the remote management and data visualization offered through cloud, assisting them to get an accurate measure of machine status and factory operations in real-time, as well as providing integration with ERP and MES systems to optimize supply chain management.Based on live field data, big data analytics and machine learning using statistics and artificial intelligence can establish predictive models that assist operators in managing factory operations. Causes for abnormal conditions such as production disruptions and poor production quality can be accurately identified to ensure corrective actions are taken. For instance, preventive maintenance can be executed prior an equipment failure to ensure production efficiency and yield rate.Furthermore, Microsoft Azure provides high computing performance capable of processing even very large amounts of data accumulated throughout the years of an enterprise, sifting through the data quickly to accurately calculate production efficiency and quality factors to help businesses to fine-tune production parameters and achieve "advanced process control". At the exhibition, NEXCOM will share its NexROBO robot simulation software and NEXCOM IoT Studio configuration tool, and make them freely available to download (www.alliotcloud.com) to help accelerate the ecosystem of the industry.The Hannover Messe exhibition continues to introduce new technological breakthroughs, showcasing innovative convergence of data communication technology and traditional industrial production. At Hall 9, which has been recognized as the cornerstone of Industry 4.0 demonstrations, NEXCOM will unveil its Industry 4.0 solution blueprint and provide a refreshing visual feast of the seamless integration of "connected manufacturing and big data cloud computing".NEXCOM's complete Industry 4.0 solution blueprint seamlessly integrates "connected manufacturing and big data cloud computing

Clientron Corp., world-leading supplier of POS, will proudly present its latest product innovation including All-in-one POS terminal, POS PC, POS peripheral with the benefit of reliability, flexibility and functionality at FHA 2016 (Food & Hotel Asia 2016), Asia's most comprehensive international Food & Hospitality Trade Event. This exhibition will take place April 12-15, 2016 in Singapore Expo.Demonstrating its leading POS innovation and rich product portfolio, Clientron provides the all new 15" / 15.6" POS terminal "Bello 650/650w" that features high quality and sleek design with both power and flexibility. Clientron also introduces the butterfly light-weight All-in-one POS Terminal "Wing" series with new flexible dual-hinge stand design. The mainstream "Ares650" series with fan-less design and updated ultra-slim system enclosure. Both "Wing350w" and "Ares650" won the "Taiwan Excellence Award 2016" with innovation and the best design quality.In addition, Clientron offers the top-of-the-line POS terminal Evo770, equipped with powerful Intel Core i processor(s) and a big crystal-clear 17" touch display, targeting at niche market segment. Moreover, many of the extended portfolios of integrated POS peripherals will also be exhibited in this event. Clientron booth is located at Hospitality Technology sector, Hall 3/ booth 3E4-05. See more product information at http://www.clientron.com/.Clientron to display its latest POS terminals at Food & Hotel Asia 2016 Expo

Leading Japanese SoC (System-on-Chip) company Socionext Inc. was established in March 2015. Socionext Taiwan Inc. has been established in Taiwan on April 1, 2016. Socionext Inc. was established by consolidating the system LSI businesses of Fujitsu Limited and Panasonic Corporation to focus on the development and application of imaging, networking, computing and other state-of-the-art technologies. Currently, Socionext Inc. has seven business units (BUs), including Visual System, IoT & Graphics, Network SoC, High Performance SoC, Custom SoC, Milbeaut, and Connected Imaging, to engage in design, research and development, and sales activities. Five BUs are based in Japan, and one each in the United States and Europe.According to Nobuhiko Aneha, president of Socionext Taiwan Inc., Socionext Taiwan Inc. will develop more cloud and IoT applications with the company's core technology including computing, network, and imaging. By continuously developing advanced imaging technology, the company wishes to take the initiative in the 8K imaging market. As Taiwan plays a very important role in the IT industry, besides richly cultivating Taiwan to provide Taiwanese customers with faster response and more direct services, Socionext Taiwan Inc. will make Taiwan the forward base for the company to enter the Asia-Pacific, European, and US markets for huge business opportunities.At the forthcoming Secutech International Exhibition and Conference (Apr. 19-21) on security held in Taipei and 2016 COMPUTEX Taipei (May 31 – June 4), Socionext Taiwan Inc. will exhibit the newest super-resolution imaging technology, high-speed video streaming, smart professional cameras, and security monitoring applications to provide customers with advanced experience and solutions with greater benefits in data transmission, professional equipment, entertainment, and security monitoring.* Booth of Socionext Taiwan Inc. at 2016 Secutech International Exhibition and Conference: Room 441, 4th Floor, Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center.* Booth of Socionext Taiwan Inc. at 2016 COMPUTEX: M1019a, 4th Floor, Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center.For product information, visit the company's website at http:// http://www.socionext.com/

After Toyota successfully launched Mirai fuel cell vehicle last year and Honda will also unveil Clarity hydrogen car later this year, fuel cell technology, which has been developed for a long time, has finally attracted people's attentions and ignited the momentums in the market again. Featured with renewable energy of zero carbon emission, it is expected that fuel cell technology will soon emerge in commercial market and drive new business opportunities.Founded in 2012, YC Synergy started its business from powering all-electrical yachts applications. The company has proven its capability of developing fuel cell systems for transportation applications by delivering such systems for "Mu Yang" and "Star of Hope" green boats, which are now in full operation. With this foundation, YC Synergy is planning to further expand to various vehicle applications including sedans, buses, and trucks.At the recently held Taiwan International Boat Show, Mark Huang, General Manager of YC Synergy, introduced the company's latest YCS-MB109 series products. It mainly targets at power applications with output power over 15KW. Compared with previous generation product, its volume and weight is reduced by 2x and 3x respectively at the same level of power grade. With the advantages of lightweight and compact design, it can be more easily integrated in a constrained space and achieve fast adoption.Moreover, YCS-MB109, which is equipped with CAN 2.0B and complies with IP67 auto-grade interface, is specially designed for vehicle applications. Customers can use parallel structure to meet their power requirements and accelerate design cycle.System Integrators are Key to Drive Commercial Applications"The overall supply chain of fuel cell market involves key components such as Proton exchange membrane, bipolar plates, and Fuel cell stack, as well as the infrastructure for hydrogen dispensing," Huang said. "However, it is the system integrator that play the important role of bridging advanced technology and commercial applications to make it a reality."Therefore, by working closely with international companies and integrating their key components, YC Synergy endeavors to develop system products to meet the requirements of end applications. "Our core technology is to provide complete power-train solutions including fuel cell, hydrogen tank, motors, batteries, and control system, and help our customers speed up their vehicle development to achieve the goal of optimize system performance and lifespan.""The fuel cell system we developed must be able to satisfy real-world performance requirements, such as temperature, vibration, reliability, and operation life, as well as cost effectiveness. These are all the differentiating capabilities that system integrators should have.""Though Taiwanese makers are not strong at foundation research of up-stream key materials, we do have advantages in the fields of machining, metal treatment, and electrical-mechanical integration. Therefore, we should really embrace the opportunities as fuel cell market emerges and focus on application development to create values."Aiming to become the world's largest fuel cell system integrator, YC Synergy is teaming up with local and foreign companies to development various solutions. In particular, it will work as a test platform for the key components makers of fuel cell in Taiwan, in an effort to explore more business opportunities together.Eyeing Vehicle Market to Build Mass Production CapabilityAccording to Huang, in line with the trend of non-nuclear and clean energy development, fuel cell technology will surely gain a significant foothold in the new energy market. "As Taiwan has very limited natural resources, the hydrogen society blueprint that Japanese government is actively working on could serve as a very good example for us," said he.However, mass production is still a barrier to break for fuel cell technology to move to large-scale commercial applications. For Toyota's Mirai hydrogen car, though creating a hype in the market, its annual capacity is only 3000 units, far less than that of other mainstream cars. Huang is optimistic about this, saying, "The maturity of fuel cell application depends on the availability of hydrogen dispensing station and related infrastructures. I believe that the mass production capability will accelerate after the overall environment is ready."From YC Synergy's point of view, China's 13th five year plan holds a great opportunity because its goal is to have 30 million units of new energy vehicles made in China by 2020, and fuel cell technology is included in the project. "We already begin to talk with bus and truck makers in China and achieve very good results so far. It is hoped that we could complete prototype development later this year, and start pilot production by end of next year.""China is in an urgent need to reduce carbon emission. Therefore, they are accelerating the pace of moving new energy car into mass production. But for fuel cell system integrators, we used to focus on custom design, so mass production will be another challenge for us.""We are now trying to define the mass production lines for fuel cell systems, which is totally new for us and requires more explorations. But I am confident that the challenge will be overcome as the market and technology get more matured. We plan to complete the deployment of mass production line by end of next year, so that we can address the market demands in the future."Eyeing the promising potentials, YC Synergy will hire more staff and raise funds from capital market to further expand its business operations.

Acer has expanded its line of Chromebooks with the Acer Chromebook 14 with a battery life of up to 14 hours. In addition, the device is equipped with a 14-inch display and an all-aluminum chassis. The device targets students and businesses.The Acer Chromebook 14 is the company's first 14-inch Chromebook. The display features IPS technology and comes in either Full HD (1920 by 1080) or HD (1366 by 768) resolutions.The device is powered by an Intel Celeron quad-core or dual-core N3060 processor and supports 4GB/2GB dual-channel LPDDR3 SDRAM.The Chromebook 14 features two USB 3.1 ports, HDMI, and Bluetooth 4.2.The premiere model will be available in North America in April with a Full HD display, 32GB storage and 4GB RAM starting at US$299.99.Acer Chromebook 14Photo: Company

Tatung, a leader in smart energy-saving systems, plans to showcase six smart solutions for areas including smart community, smart energy, smart home, smart monitoring, smart healthcare and smart factory, at the 2016 Smart City Summit & Expo opening on March 22. Tatung, as a forerunner in smart energy-saving systems, stands out among the 120 presenters in the three following aspects, and has become the center of attention at this year's event:Tatung is introducing complete smart solutions including smart community, which incorporates smart property management to deliver community security and administration services and enable safe, healthy and comfortable community living; smart energy, which integrates solar power system R&D to serve electricity companies, governments and households around the world; smart home, which is an advanced, more environmentally friendly and healthier solution that addresses increasing demand for quality of life and concerns about global warming, as well as dealing with concerns of an aging population; smart monitoring, which leads the industry by combining smart video surveillance and environmental sensing, in addition to cloud services and cutting-edge machine intelligence systems; smart healthcare, which is a result of an active devotion to remote healthcare and medical information system development; and smart factory, where machines are connected to networks, data is collected, cloud processing is enabled and big data analytics is applied for smart manufacturing.Tatung has made numerous real-life achievements both domestically and internationally with its venture into the six smart solutions. The Tatung Smart Manor housing project, a candidate for " Diamond-Grade Smart Buildings" and "Gold-Grade Green Buildings" certifications, is included in Tatung's smart green community projects that combine smart healthcare, smart home and solar power system solutions.Farmland in the coastal region of Pingtung (in southern Taiwan) is no longer suitable for farming due to seawater intrusion and therefore is now used for power generation instead. Tatung has built micro-grids in Linbian, Pingtung with a production capacity of 78kW of solar power, 10kW of wind power and 159kWh of power storage. The project was awarded the Smart Grid Silver Medal from the APEC International Energy Smart Community Initiative.In addition, the Elite Building, which was featured in a live demonstration at the 2015 Smart City Summit & Expo, has been in operation for one year and exhibited a 13% saving in power consumption in 2015 compared to the corresponding period in 2014. With system upgrades, a more than 20% saving in electricity billing can be expected in 2016 and a 30% saving is likely achieved in 2017.Tatung has installed a smart PV atmospheric water generator system (winner of the 2016 System Integration and Output Prize) in Dubai (in the Middle East), where water can cost more than oil. The system can generate power during the day when there is sunlight and produce water at night when humidity is higher. By taking advantage of the environmental characteristics of the region, the system addresses the needs of the locals and contributes to making their lives better. It can also be used in agriculture as a smarter alternative to seawater desalination.Tatung has also had success and made contributions in Burma with its smart energy-saving systems. Villages in Burma have had 10kW solar power generators and 6kW power generating water pumps installed to provide local families with electricity for lighting and clean water for drinking. People living in remote areas now have access to a healthier life and electricity and water for farming, and therefore can turn barren land into fertile farms.

Leading semiconductor test equipment supplier Advantest Corporation (TSE: 6857, NYSE: ATE) will showcase its test solutions for measuring the connected world – and everything in it – at the SEMICON China trade show, coming March 15-17 to the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. In addition to exhibiting, this year Advantest is sponsoring two events at SEMICON China: the Build China IC Manufacturing Ecosystem Forum and the China Semiconductor Technology International Conference (CSTIC).Advantest's booth #4431 in Hall N4 will feature the newest test technologies enabling everything from handheld mobile devices to entire smart cities. Equipment on display will include the new AVI64 universal analog pin module that extends the V93000 platform's test capabilities to encompass all power and analog smart ICs. The 64-channel module, which has begun shipping to customers, gives the V93000 single scalable platform the broadest application coverage on today's market. When equipped with the new module, the tester can handle all system-on-chip (SoC) devices for such burgeoning markets as mobile computing and automobiles. A live product demonstration will be given in the booth.Also at the show will be the highly flexible T2000 SoC tester for device characterization along with a 28G OPM (28-gigabit Optical Port Module), designed to enable highly efficient testing of optical transceivers. Application module on-board (AMO) units, which can be used on both the T2000 and V93000 platforms for testing radio-frequency power amplifiers (RFPA) and radio-frequency switches (RFSW), will also be featured.Another major product on display will be the EVA100 Digital Solution. This measurement system, available in both production and engineering models, is designed to perform design evaluation, front-end and back-end measurements, fault analysis, package verification and acceptance inspection for all types of cost-sensitive digital devices used in smart electronics of the Internet of Things (IoT) era. The EVA100 Digital Solution is 40 percent smaller than the original EVA100 measurement system, saving time and money by simplifying operation and maintenance.In addition, the company's exhibit will feature a T6391 system for cost-efficient testing of LCD drivers, a T5833 engineering system for DRAMs and NAND flash memories, a TS9000 MTA system designed to perform non-destructive measurements and analyses of mold thicknesses, and displays on Advantest's handlers, burn-in test capabilities, nanotechnology and field services.Get the latest updates on all of Advantest's global market activities by following the company on Twitter @Advantest_ATE.