Manosha Karunatilaka, a former account manager at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC), pleaded guilty to charges that he participated in an insider trading scheme tied to Primary Global Research, an expert network firm.

Consumer solid-state drives will have a break-out year in 2012 due to falling prices, which will make SSDs a primary storage option for mainstream users, Gartner said.

Mosaid Technologies has commenced patent infringement litigation against Elpida Memory of Japan. Two other companies, Buffalo and Axiontech, are also named as defendants in the suit.

TSMC has said it won't start using three-dimensional transistors to produce semiconductors before the capacity of 2D chips reaches its limit, adding the infrastructure for the next generation of transistors is still "immature."

Globalfoundries is believed to be working on similar technology but is about two years behind Intel to bring it into the shops. However the outfit does not seem to be in any hurry.

Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. and First Solar Inc., the world's top solar panel suppliers, warned Monday that potential cuts in European government subsidies for solar power could lead to both lower demand and prices for their products, a combination that could hit their bottom lines.

ARM expects to "compete at a consistently high level" in the mobile device market despite the news that rival Intel has a new process for making chips that could prove to be attractive to makers of tablets, smartphones and other similar devices.

Cree is announced to make a breakthrough on the record of 231 lumens per watt for a white power LED.

Broadcom announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire SC Square, security software developer based in Israel.

As part of the investment volume planned for the 2011 fiscal year, Infineon Technologies is investing about Euro 198 million in production capacity expansion and in R&D in Austria. Infineon intends to create 400 jobs in Austria in the course of this fiscal year.

Toshiba has said it returned to the black for the year to March 2011, but warned the outlook remains uncertain due to the impact of the massive quake and tsunami in Japan.

Semiconductor company Rubicon Technology, Inc. (RBCN: News ) reported Thursday a profit for the first quarter that climbed from last year, boosted by strong margin expansion and revenue growth amid strong demand.

Startup chip design company Adapteva has announced the multicore Epiphany processor, which is designed to accelerate applications in servers and low-power devices such as smartphones and tablets.

Applied Materials's US$4.9 billion purchase of Varian Semiconductor may trigger a round of acquisitions in the chip-machinery industry, making companies such as Novellus Systems possible targets.

Samsung Electronics shares are poised to drop amid increased competition and the possible loss of orders from Apple, BGC Partners said, recommending a so-called short sale of the stock.

Applied Materials and Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates have announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement under which Applied will acquire Varian for US$63 per share in cash. The acquisition will extend Applied's leadership in wafer fabrication equipment with the addition of the technology leader in ion implantation.

Norway's Renewable Energy Corp posted forecast-beating earnings on Wednesday, but warned of waning demand, oversupply and price pressure as political uncertainty clouds key European solar markets.

"I don't think Samsung would ever want to be No. 2 in any market," said Catherine Morse, the general counsel and director of public affairs at Samsung Austin Semiconductor.