Wieberneit has spent more than twenty years in the consumer and communication semiconductor space, serving in different R&D, CTO and GM positions at Trident Microsystems, Micronas and Infineon Technologies.

Multinational semiconductor companies are no longer able to compete with China's fabless chips vendors in the consumer electronics IC business, according to Vincent Tai, CEO of RDA Microelectronics. "It's game over" for them, Tai asserted in a recent interview.

STMicroelectronics is the first company in the world that mass-manufactures MEMS microphones in plastic packages. The patented technology breakthrough saves space and increases durability in consumer and professional voice-input applications, from mobile phones and tablets to noise-level meters and noise-cancelling headphones.

Freescale Semiconductor shares are trading sharply higher after the company this morning named Greg Lowe as CEO effective immediately. He comes to the company from Texas Instruments, where he was senior VP of the analog business.

ARM, whose chip designs power most smartphones, expects its processors to account for as much as 20% of those used in notebook computers by 2015, boosted by the release of Microsoft's Windows 8 software.

Problems at two Japanese microchip makers highlight the potential dangers in a gathering effort to reshape the country's tech industry, as struggling conglomerates try to revive their fortunes by shedding unprofitable businesses.

The massive gray market for cellphones is propelling sales of lower-cost flash memories like embedded multimedia card (eMMC) and serial peripheral interface (SPI) NOR, as manufacturers of the unregulated phones strive to keep production costs low, according to IHS iSuppli.

ARM chips made with an advanced, 20-nanometer manufacturing process could appear in smartphones and tablets by as soon as the end of next year, the head of ARM's processor division said Monday.

Cadence Design Systems has contributed to STMicroelectronics having taped out a 20-nanometer test chip, incorporating custom analog and digital methodologies to enable mixed-signal SoC design at this advanced process node.

Micron may ask creditors of the financially troubled Elpida Memory to forgive more than US$3.8 billion in debt.

NXP Semiconductors has announced that its PN65 Mobile Transactions solution will power the Samsung GALAXY S3 bringing a new concept of human-centric mobile experience.

Mentor Graphics has announced TSMC will use the Calibre SmartFill solution to achieve TSMC's fill requirements for its 20nm manufacturing processes.

At next week's DAC, Globalfoundries plans to demonstrate an enhanced silicon-validated design flow for its 28nm SLP technology with gate-first HKMG. The flow provides proven and complete front-to-back support for advanced analog/mixed-signal (AMS) design using the industry's latest design automation technology.

The designs ARM produces have been licensed and used to build processors at the heart of many of today's bestselling gadgets.

Uniquify has become a TSMC Design Center Alliance (DCA) partner.

Texas Instruments (TI) announced it has shipped nearly 6.5 billion units of copper wire bonding technology in its analog, embedded processing and wireless products. This milestone underscores TI's confidence in copper as a viable replacement to gold in its semiconductor product roadmaps.

The California trial between Samsung and Apple is now headed for a scheduled start in late June, after the companies could find "no clear agreement," a Samsung official told The Korea Times. Both companies reportedly held firm in their respective beliefs, as Samsung believes Apple should pay royalties for using wireless transmission technology, while Apple believes Samsung copied the design of its iPhone and iPad.

The Intel wafer fab complex in Leixlip, Ireland, is set to receive investment to allow it to manufacture 14nm silicon and beyond, the company revealed in a presentation to analysts on May 10. The investment is expected to be more than US$1 billion.

"People are starting to position bankruptcy filing as a way to rebuild the company, and that's becoming more acceptable," says Mitsushige Akino, a chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management. "If more cases like JAL emerge, it will help to revitalize the Japanese market, as well as the economy."

Revenues for core semiconductor components used in mobile handsets, including platform ICs and wireless connectivity ICs, are expected to reach almost US$37 billion per annum in 2012.

With the investment from Intel Capital, Trigence Semiconductor will expand integration of Dnote to computing devices including Intel architecture-based PCs, Ultrabook and smartphones, and also expects to expand its LSI and licensing businesses.

Lantiq has appointed Board of Directors member Dan Artusi as Chief Executive Officer of Lantiq.

A group of Elpida Memory bondholders opposes Micron Technology's offer to buy the bankrupt Japanese chipmaker as too low and has begun talks with SK hynix and Globalfoundries on an alternative plan, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.

FormFactor raised its second-quarter revenue expectations Tuesday, pointing to customer demand across its DRAM and flash memory segments.

Japanese chipmaker Renesas has seen its shares tumble to a record low amid reports it is planning to raise cash and cut jobs.

The confirmation came after a Yomiuri Shimbun report that the chipmaker would likely outsource some microchip production to TSMC under a tie-up.

Spansion's five-year technology roadmap includes 1Gb-8Gb SLC NAND solutions on 4Xnm technology today, 3Xnm technology by end of 2012 and 2Xnm in 2014.

EpiGaN NV, a startup spun out of the IMEC research institute in 2010, has officially opened a production facility for gallium nitride on silicon wafers at the Research Campus in Hasselt, Belgium.

Loss-making Japanese chipmaker Renesas Electronics plans to cut 6,000 jobs, about 15% of its workforce, and raise JPY50 billion (US$630 million) through a third-party share allotment, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Tuesday.

STMicrolectronics has filed a complaint in the Northern District of California alleging that InvenSense infringes nine ST patents.

Samsung Electronics has started producing the industry's first 4Gb, low power double-data-rate 2 (LPDDR2) memory utilising 20nm class technology.

ARM CEO Warren East says the notebook space will be a better opportunity for ARM than the crowded mobile chip market will be for Intel.

With a solid cash position, we believe that Micron will be able to win the bid for Elpida and position itself to capitalize the consolidation in the DRAM market.

Qualcomm has announced the appointment of Clifford Ficke as vice president and president of Qualcomm Japan.

The new factory and R&D center will focus on the design, development and full scale production of innovative semiconductor packaging and test services for the world's leading semiconductor and electronic manufacturing companies, the company said.

Researchers have revealed details of a promising way to make a fundamentally different kind of computer memory chip.

Black Sand Technologies has been selected to provide silicon PA technology for integrated RF front end products by Murata Manufacturing. The products will be used to increase integration and improve the performance of 3G smartphones, tablets and datacards.