KLA-Tencor has unveiled a solar inspection system, the PVI-6, which performs optical in-line, dual-sided inspection of photovoltaic (PV) wafers and cells. The tool is part of a family of modules that inspect solar cells throughout the production process, from bare wafer to silicon nitride (SiN) coating, metallization, and final classification. The company said the PVI-6 software improves the overall yield of the solar cell production process and supports more accurate product classification.

Logic-chip maker Xilinx said sales in its fourth quarter would decline less than forecast, helped by better-than-expected wireless-communications sales. The forecast comes a day after rival Altera presented a more optimistic -- though still muted -- view of first-quarter revenue than it had in January because of better-than-expected demand from manufacturers providing equipment for Chinese 3G wireless networks.

For a long time, Intel counted Advanced Micro Devices as its chief rival. These days, it's looking more like Intel and Qualcomm will be going mano-a-mano. While Intel says it retain full control of the process—essentially leaving TSMC as a contract manufacturer—the move clearly is aimed at stealing market share from British chip designer ARM, which licenses it products to Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, Freescale and other companies.

First Solar has agreed to acquire the solar-project pipeline of US peer OptiSolar for US$400 million in stock, a deal that will give the solar-panel maker a bigger foothold in the US utility segment.

Programmable chipmaker Altera said on Monday first-quarter sales would decline by a more moderate percentage than it previously expected thanks to demand for next-generation wireless equipment in China.

The company that was at one time the world's principal provider of NOR flash memory -- the more non-volatile variety -- had its own plans to go "asset light," to use a now familiar phrase, and to concentrate on licensing its intellectual property to companies with the muscle to do the heavy lifting. It sounds like a plan AMD just executed last month. As it turns out, Spansion had also been planning to license others to produce its designs.

The new management of The Foundry Company, which includes former AMD CEO Hector Ruiz, is expected to announce the official name of the company soon. When AMD does split in two, Meyer said he will not have any management role in the new company. However, AMD does stand to be The Foundry Company's largest customer, which will continue to tie the two companies together. Meyer also suggested that AMD might switch some of its ATI graphics chip production to The Foundry Company as well.

DRAM manufacturers may not see the financial benefits of the expected rebound in memory device prices until the second-half of 2009, but can take comfort from the latest forecast from IC Insights that prices will rise from 1Q09 onwards, calling a bottom to the precipitous declines year-on-year, due to the massive overcapacity and now weakening demand.

On Monday morning, there will be a chip industry summit of sorts: the world's largest chipmaker and the world's largest chip foundry will make a strategic announcement at Intel headquarters in Santa Clara. Whatever the deal is, it's probably something TSMC needs more desperately than Intel does. With its smaller chip customers swooning, one has to imagine Tsai might cut Intel a pretty sweet deal to get any business the chip giant would like to send his way.

Hundreds of laid-off Qimonda Richmond employees will not be paid their final paychecks or receive wages for vacation days and time off they earned before being dismissed by the memory-chip maker.

As co-founder of Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel — as well as Intel's former chief executive and chairman — Gordon Moore has monitored the evolution of the computer-chip industry for more than half a century. "I don't have any crystal ball on that. Its seems like it's still going down. It's probably going to be 2010, more or less. I don't think we're falling off the edge of the Earth. But it's been a terrible shock to the whole system".

Intel and TSMC have scheduled a joint press conference on Monday (March 2), an unusual step for Intel, which has rarely outsourced any manufacturing to a third party. The event will be hosted by Intel execs Anand Chandrasekher, general manager of Intel's Ultra Mobility Group and Sean Maloney, the company's chief marketing officer. Both will be joined by TSMC execs Rick Tsai, TSMC's president and chief executive, and Jason Chen, TSMC's vice president of worldwide sales and marketing.

Freescale Semiconductor cut more jobs in Austin and elsewhere Wednesday as part of a yearlong campaign to reduce costs in the face of weak market demand. Through the end of January, Freescale had disclosed 228 job cuts in Austin. The company employed about 5,000 people in Austin and 23,000 worldwide before this week's job actions.

If you want to feel good about the economy, do not read any of the trade publications. They're predicting a continued downward slide in every imaginable aspect of the industry except for MEMS. If you pick up anyone's iPhone nowadays you'll find perhaps 50 or more of these applications, all of which are essentially useless but kind of interesting in a very nerdy way.

Wacker Chemie AG, a German chemical company, announced Thursday that it will build a $1 billion plant with 500 jobs in southeastern Tennessee to produce hyperpure polycrystalline silicon, a product used to make solar panels and semiconductors.

While Spansion Inc. was cutting 3,000 jobs on Monday, the company's board was restoring full pay to its top executives. The company had imposed a 10% pay cut in October for top executives. But in a securities filing Tuesday, Spansion said it was returning the executives and other key employees to full pay as part of an "employee retention program."

Japan's exports plunged 45.7% in January compared with a year ago to hit the lowest figure in 10 years, official figures have shown. Imports exceeded exports by 952.6 billion yen (US$9.9 billion). It is the largest gap since records began in 1980. Demand for Japanese cars in particular dropped by 69%. Trade in electronics and other goods has also slumped as global economies and consumer spending contract, pushing Japan deeper into recession.

ARC International, a specialty semiconductor manufacturer, said Wednesday posted a larger-than-forecast GBP7.3 million net loss for 2008, and said it remains cautious for 2009. Analysts cautioned that the company is unlikely to reach break-even this year.

The Top-10 advanced packaging companies garnering market share on Gartner's just-released preliminary list for 2008 include Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE, Kaohsiung, Taiwan), Amkor Technology (Chandler, Ariz.), Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL, Taichung, Taiwan), STATS ChipPAC (Singapore), Powertech Technology (Taipei, Taiwan), UTAC (Singapore), ChipMOS Technologies (Hsinchu, Taiwan); King Yuan Electronics (Hsinchu, Taiwan); Carsem (Ipoh, Malaysia); and Unisem (Ipoh, Malaysia).

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Tela Innovations has recently announced a strategic partnership to develop co-optimized design solutions using Tela's innovative and patented lithography-optimized design technology and TSMC's processes.

ST to show key applications for energy efficiency at IIC-China 2009, including green air-conditioning, eBike, and Solar-LED street lights in Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center - Booth 2G01