Electronics Supply Chain News & Analysis

Microwave Signals Used to Harvest Energy Through Metamaterials

Researchers develop a wireless device that converts "lost" energy into electric power.

Micron to Spotlight ReRAM at ISSCC

SK Hynix and Micron Technology will report on 16-nm NAND flash non-volatile memories at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference, but papers by Samsung on 3-D NAND and Micron on a 16-Gbit resistive RAM are likely to be highlights.

Printed Circuit Board Shipments Grew Nearly 10 Percent in September

North American printed circuit board shipments increased 9.7 percent in September compared to August, while bookings grew 6.5 percent, reflecting normal seasonal patterns, according to the Association Connecting Electronics Industries.

Processors Focus on Data Center at ISSCC

Multiple papers from IBM and Intel—and a first ARM showing—will ensure the focus is on servers and the data center at the 2014 ISSCC.

Qualcomm Results Shine, but Outlook Mixed

San Diego wireless giant continues to prosper selling application processors for cell phones, but sales growth forecast is muted, possibly on increasing price pressure from rivals.

IMEC Builds Compound FinFETs on Silicon

Belgian research institute successfully substitutes III-V compound semiconductor for silicon in FinFET on 300-mm diameter wafers; claims it could open the way to hybrid CMOS-compound circuits.

LCD Panel Market Owes Growth So Far This Year to Tablets

Tablets appear to be singlehandedly driving the global market for large-area liquid-crystal display (LCD) panels this year, mitigating the losses from most other sectors of the LCD...

M/A-COM to Buy Mindspeed Without Wireless

M/A-COM will pay about $272 million for most of Mindspeed. The communications processor business is being sold separately.

Tabula Teams with Belfast Startup for Networking

Tabula, which offers a time-sliced FPGA architecture, has formed a partnership with Titan IC Systems Ltd., a 2007 startup from Belfast, Northern Ireland, specializing in networking.

China's Rockchip Takes 64-Bit ARM License

Chinese fabless chip company Rockchip takes subscription licenses to broad range of ARM cores, including 64-bit processor cores and Mali GPU cores.

Chip Sales Hit Alltime High in Q3

The Semiconductor Industry Association reported that chip sales for the third quarter and for the month of September each set new records, largely on strength in the Americas region.

Qualcomm Buys Network-on-Chip Technology

Qualcomm snaps up interconnect IP technology and developer team to help with multicore moves after ARM signs licensing deal with rival.

Intel Launches LTE Modem with Samsung Design Win

Intel pushes forward with LTE modem IC and prepares for further steps in 2014.

Semiconductor Materials Vendor ATMI Seeks Buyer

Provider of specialty materials used in chip manufacturing confirms hiring of Barclays Capital as its financial advisor to help the company explore strategic alternatives.

Smart Meters: Smart Move for IC Vendors?

Replacing electric meters with more sophisticated units is a huge opportunity, but also a long process.

Russian Chip Firm Opens MRAM Fab

Crocus Nano Electronics expected to turn out 500 wafers per week by end of 2014.

Optical Pulse Can Change Metal to Semiconductor

MIT researchers have demonstrated that they can control the band structure of a material with an intense optical pulse, a find that could enable the creation of materials that could be "tuned" in real time.

Qualcomm’s Entry into Set-Top-Box Chip Market Poses Big Challenge to Incumbents

Qualcomm, a titanic force in semiconductors for mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, is muscling its way into the chip market for set-top boxes (STB), hoping not only to expand its...

Common Blue Dye Probed as Material for Quantum Computing Technologies

Researchers at the London Center for Nanotechnology and the University of British Columbia believe a simple blue dye molecule has potential as a medium for quantum technologies.