Aided by recent moves by Intel and some other big chipmakers, momentum seems to be growing for a big technology shift in making semiconductors. But some key players remain wary, based partly on their scars from the last transition.

Future Horizons has said it included the comment "We assume GlobalFoundries will purchase IBM's semiconductor division and that Hynix/Micron will buy up the remaining smaller memory firms," in the conclusions of a report prepared by Future Horizons and Decision SA for the European Commission on the future of 450mm wafer processing in Europe.

The first production semiconductor fabs to use 450mm wafers are projected to commence operation in 2017, according to Christian Dieseldorff, a senior analyst with the fab tool vendor trade group SEMI's industry research and statistics group.

The company also revised its calendar year 2012 industry forecast for wafer fab equipment spending to US$30-33 billion, compared to its previous expectation of US$32-35 billion, in line with the market changes.

ASML is negotiating with Samsung Electronics and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) over taking up to a 10% stake in the company under its equity-plus-research program.

Socle Technology and Globalfoundries have announced the tape out of Socle's first ARM Cortex-A9 based 28nm ASIC design using Globalfoundries' 28nm super low power technology (SLP) technology with Gate First High-K Metal Gate (HKMG).

Infineon Technologies has selected Spansion's FL-serial flash memory to provide a high-performance, quad I/O SPI data storage solution for its Hexagon Development Kit System. The Hexagon kit, a modular, expandable platform built around the XMC4000 microcontroller, provides engineers a fast method to prototype industrial applications such as motor control, industrial automation or any kind of power conversion like solar inverters.

A group of Elpida Memory bondholders will vote against Micron Technology's plan to acquire the bankrupt Japanese chipmaker for about US$750 million, arguing that it undervalues the company's assets, a court filing shows.

Intel is the first participant in the customer co-investment program, and has committed to acquire up to a 15% equity ownership interest at a subscription price of EUR39.91 per share, and to also provide EUR829 million to ASML in R&D funding, which will be dedicated to the development of 450mm and EUV technology.

Hewlett-Packard (HP) said it will hold off selling tablets based on ARM technology when the next version of Microsoft's Windows operating system debuts later this year.

Applied Materials has advanced the state of the art in etch technology with the launch of the Applied Centura Avatar dielectric etch system. This breakthrough system is designed to solve one of the most demanding challenges in creating the 3D memory architectures that deliver the high-density, terabit storage capability required for tomorrow's data-intensive mobile devices.

Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs, girding against a shortage of chips, said he wouldn't rule out owning a manufacturing plant or tapping the company's cash pile to ensure access to needed parts. Qualcomm is weighing different business arrangements with its suppliers and would consider "writing big checks," said Jacobs.

Micron Technology will purchase failed DRAM manufacturer Elpida Memory Inc., The Nikkei reported early Friday. The acquisition price is estimated at 200 billion yen.

NXP Semiconductors has announced that the newly launched Nexus 7 will feature its PN65 NFC solution to provide an amazing mobile user experience. Featuring an NFC radio controller and an embedded Secure Element, the PN65 is validated and integrated on the latest release of Android 4.1, Jelly Bean.

MediaTek and Mstar shares soared yesterday after announcing an acquisition deal last week, which was seen as positive for both integrated circuit (IC) designers, dealers said.

The current global economic uncertainties led to a softer than expected development in the company's operating business, Infineon said in a statement.

Sony has announced plans to invest in Sony Semiconductor's Nagasaki Technology Center from the first half of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2013 through the first half of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014, to increase the production capacity for stacked CMOS image sensors.

AlgolTek's digniPHY for USB 3.0 is a Physical Layer IP compliant with the USB 3.0 specification, and is backward compatible to support 3rd party or customers' proprietary USB 2.0 IP that is USB 2.0 specification compliant.

Applied Materials investors cheered the appointment of a seasoned executive Wednesday.

Spansion announced that Freescale Semiconductor has selected Spansion serial peripheral interface flash memory to provide its new Vybrid automotive and industrial solutions platforms with a simplified, high-bandwidth memory subsystem.

Qualcomm has just confirmed that it will supply its dual-core Snapdragon S4 Plus chipset to power future Windows phones.

Micron Technology has acquired Intel's 18% interest in IM Flash Singapore and the assets of IM Flash Technologies located at Micron's Virginia wafer fab. At the same time the scope of the JV between Intel and Micron has been expanded to include certain emerging memory technologies and Intel has prepaid US$300 million against future purchases of NAND flash memory.

The potential for Chinese fabless companies to reap greater rewards are already here, according to Allen Wu, president of ARM China. ARM-based SoCs, designed by Chinese fabless companies and shipped globally, jumped from 30 million units in 2007 to 615 million units in 2011.

Spansion has unveiled what it claims is the industry's first human machine interface (HMI) coprocessor that enables voice-controlled system interfaces. Leveraging Nuance Communications' voice technology, the new product is ideal for voice recognition systems in automotive, gaming and consumer electronics, significantly improving response time and accuracy over conventional voice interfaces by supporting larger acoustic databases.

Renesas Electronics said its alliance with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) will help boost market share and operating margin.

Qualcomm has acquired Summit Microelectronics, a developer and provider of programmable power ICs. Qualcomm's power management roadmap will be significantly enhanced with the addition of Summit's expertise and products.

Micron Technology has introduced a new class of 1GHz, 2-gigabit (Gb) and 4Gb, 30-nanometer (nm) DDR3 devices, strengthening the company's comprehensive DDR3 portfolio.

The insolvency administrator of Qimonda has increased his request for payment in the lawsuit pending in the Munich District Court I over the alleged economic re-establishment of Qimonda, according to Infineon.

Samsung Electronics' new chief executive on Monday reiterated the need for the company to beef up its software competence in order to maintain its leading position in the technology industry.

Fab 1, the 300mm operation of Globalfoundries here, could be used for 20nm process technology and for processing 450mm wafers, according to Rutger Wijburg, vice president and Fab 1 general manager. Wijburg was speaking to a group of journalists being given a tour of the Dresden wafer fab on June 15.

This achievement was driven by STATS ChipPAC's proven high volume manufacturing capabilities combined with the company's engineering focus on copper wire technology development for a broad range of advanced, multi-die laminate and leaded packages including three dimensional (3D) packaging.

ARM has announced the launch of the ARM Mali-450 MP GPU, doubling the performance of the successful family of Utgard architecture-based graphics products. This includes the Mali-400 MP GPU that can currently be found in a wide range of mainstream products, including smart-TVs, as well as Android-based smartphones and tablets.

The pro-bailout New Democracy party came in first Sunday in Greece's national election and could gather enough support to form a pro-bailout coalition to keep the country in the eurozone.

Lantiq has announced collaboration with Qualcomm Atheros, the networking and connectivity subsidiary of Qualcomm, to produce an advanced broadband home gateway reference design.

Japan's NEC will not provide a fresh capital injection to support loss-making chipmaker Renesas Electronics, a senior NEC executive said in a newspaper interview.

Chipmaker Cypress Semiconductor has offered to buy smaller rival Ramtron International for about US$87.6 million in cash, revamping a bid it made last year.

Globalfoundries has agreed to manufacture devices for STMicroelectronics using ST's proprietary FD-SOI technology in both the 28nm and 20nm nodes.

LSI has announced several demonstrations of its SandForce SF-2000 flash storage processors using Toshiba 19nm and Intel 20nm NAND flash memory - the most advanced flash memory technology currently available for SSD applications.

Currently head of Samsung's components business, which oversees chips and display, Kwon Oh-hyun will succeed Choi Gee-sung, who is moving to a new role as head of group corporate strategy to focus on future growth engines.