Applied Materials has acquired substantially all the assets, including the intellectual property, of Advent Solar for an undisclosed cash amount. Advent Solar is a developer of advanced technology for crystalline silicon (c-Si) PVs.

Samsung unveiled a multi-chip memory package that it claims is the thinnest ever, for smartphones, portable media players, laptops and other mobile electronics.

The capacitors are hollow - no more hemispherical-grain polysilicon to increase the surface area. Which implies that a high-k dielectric has been used, to keep the cell capacitance up.

"Chartered shareholders have spoken overwhelmingly in favor of the acquisition...as we believe this offer enables Chartered to accelerate its goal of becoming a leading player in the semiconductor industry," said Jim Norling, chairman of the board of directors at Chartered.

The jury in the two-month-long TSMC vs. SMIC trade secrets trial has ruled in TSMC's favor after several days of deliberation. The jury found that SMIC has been misappropriating TSMC's trade secrets since a 2005 legal settlement was reached between the two foundries.

Cambridge Silicon Radio (CSR) has shipped more than 1.5 billion units and processed more than one million wafers from foundry partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). CSR also announced that it is collaborating with TSMC on a 40nm low power (LP) RF process technology.

Toshiba eked out a small profit in the July-September quarter on cost-cutting and higher sales of memory chips. The electronics company reported a net profit of 100 million yen (US$1.1 million) for the fiscal second quarter, up from a net loss of 26.9 billion yen in the same period a year earlier.

Intel and Numonyx have announced a key breakthrough in the research of phase change memory (PCM). Researchers have demonstrated a 64Mb test chip that enables the ability to stack, or place, multiple layers of PCM arrays within a single die.

Samsung Electronics, the world's top maker of memory chips and LCD screens, reported on Friday its best ever quarterly net profit on a resurgent memory sector and forecast a strong 2010.

Sharp, Japan's largest maker of liquid-crystal displays, posted a second straight half-year loss because of declining sales of LCD panels. The net loss was 17.7 billion yen (US$196 million) in the six months ended September 30, compared with a profit of 28 billion yen a year earlier.

Renesas Technology has reached a preliminary agreement to transfer its semiconductor manufacturing equipment business to Hitachi High-Technologies.

The net loss in the 12 months ending March 31, 2010 will probably be 55 billion yen (US$607 million), wider than the 9 billion yen projected earlier, according to NEC Electronics on October 28.

Amkor Technology has reported net sales of US$616 million for the third quarter, up 22% sequentially but down 14% on year. Net income for the quarter reached US$81 million, compared to US$9 million in the prior quarter and US$29 million a year ago.

Samsung Electronics will seek to sharply expand sales in its semiconductor sector over the next three years through improved product quality and cost savings, according to the company. It hopes to register US$25.5 billion in revenue from its semiconductor division in 2012, up more than 50% from this year's goal of US$16 billion.

A Spansion spokesperson said through a prepared statement that a "small restructuring" took place at Spansion on October 26. The layoff was "necessary to better prioritize and align the company's resources with its business goals and emergence from Chapter 11," according to the statement.

IC packaging and testing service provider STATS ChipPAC has reported net income of US$25.1 million for third-quarter 2009, compared to profits of US$2.2 million in the prior quarter and US$7.9 million a year ago. Gross margin for the quarter reached 20.2% compared to 15.1% in the second quarter and 18.5% in third-quarter 2008.

Toshiba has estimated its operating income for the six months ended September 30, 2009 to reach 2 billion yen (US$21.7 million), compared with its earlier projection for a loss. Its net income estimate for the first half has also been revised upward to a loss of 58 billion yen.

The trial against former Infineon CEO Ulrich Schumacher for alleged corruption has been closed after the prosecutor has dropped his charges. A formal acquittal is expected for later this week.