An engineer and professor by training, Barrett is a typically cool character. But in a 30-minute conversation, the silver-haired technology veteran vented his anger and frustration over Washington’s inability to solve America’s long-term problems. He is particularly upset that Washington failed to write a check for the US$1.2 billion in increased funding for basic research and science and technology education authorized by the America Competes Act, which President Bush signed into law in August of 2007.

Workers at the doomed Freescale Semiconductor plant in East Kilbride are attempting to challenge the legality of the company's slashed redundancy terms amid allegations of bullying by management, The Herald has learned.

Moser Baer's solar photovoltaic subsidiary has raised approximately US$93 million from an international group of investment houses in its bid to expand production of both crystalline solar wafer and thin film operations. Moser Baer is currently establishing a thin film PV plant near Chennai with a proposed 500MW annualized capacity, using Applied Materials ‘SunFab’ turnkey amorphous silicon production technology.

"Yes, Samsung is still in (merger) talks with SanDisk," Kwon Oh-hyun, head of the company's semiconductor division told The Korea Times on the sidelines of a business forum held at the National Assembly. "Samsung's legal team has reviewed measures to calm down a possible anti-trust issue in the United States if the deal succeeds," Kwon said. U.S. financial regulators would most likely reject the proposed deal because it would create a near monopoly in the flash memory market, analysts say.

The new 1.67-micron pixel sensor features 1/2.3" optical format, and a parallel/serial frame rate of 7.5fps (parallel) and 15fps (serial). It is the first 10MP CMOS image sensor for point-and-shoot digital cameras and the first product to integrate Aptina's High-Speed Serial Pixel Interface (HiSPi). This high bandwidth serial interface is based upon the JEDEC SLVS signaling standard and enables faster data transfer rates (up to 2.8 Gbps). Aptina's new sensor features HiSPi and allows a camera to capture and process data in HD (1080p/60fps)

"We don't have plans on manpower reduction," UMC said in a statement, in response to an Apple Daily report on Tuesday that UMC was considering laying off 1,300 employees, or about 10%of the company's headcount...

...Even India's government ministries responsible for facilitating the belated start of semiconductor manufacturing in India seem to have focused solely on the financial aspects (e.g., subsidies), and at the same time, underestimated the overwhelming importance of securing scarce technical knowhow that still dominates the viability of this most high tech of industries. The fact that nanoscale devices are already in production at the latest wafer fabs seems to have escaped them as well...

(the industry is now in a) digestion phase, during which the semiconductor market will absorb the production capacity built up over the past quarters.

...Eventually the industry will need an entirely new technology, and SanDisk believes it has the solution in 3D memory, the technology it gained through the January 2006 acquisition of Matrix Semiconductor. The concept behind 3D memory is that you can simply stack arrays of cells vertically to increase storage density rather than increasing the size (and cost) of the chip. It’s like building a skyscraper rather than expanding the footprint of a building. SanDisk says it has more than 200 patents around 3D memory...

China attacking the IC marketplace has kind of been a failure," said Bill McClean, president of chip market research firm IC Insights. "You don't hear them talking about semiconductor manufacturing as much as they were five years ago."

A New York-based law firm has named MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. the target of a class action suit, alleging that the company and its CEO failed to disclose production problems that adversely impacted its financial results for the quarter ended June 30.

The US$227-million deal with Tianwei New Energy Wafer, a manufacturer of silicon wafers and photovoltaic cells, calls for the sale and delivery of polysilicon to Tianwei over a 10-year period beginning in mid-2010. The contract adds to an existing US$284-million supply contract signed in August, bringing Tianwei's total orders to US$511 million over the next decade.

Market share figures from iSuppli Corp, show that Spansion has seen NOR flash growth of 7.5% in the second quarter of 2008, reaching nearly 40% overall market share. Spansion is now the third largest supplier in the overall flash memory market rankings. Spansion said that it had now surpassed its nearest rival Numonyx.

LDK Solar, a manufacturer of multicrystalline solar wafers, has signed an 11-year processing service agreement to process upgraded metallurgical grade solar-grade silicon provided by Germany-based Q-Cells into wafers. Under the terms of the agreement, LDK Solar will process a minimum of 20,000 metric tons of upgraded metallurgical grade (UMG) solar-grade silicon in the years 2008-2018, with an option to process an additional 21,000 metric tons during the same period.

Nvidia Corp. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) seem to have a difficult relationship. Nvidia is not getting the 55-nm capacity it needs from the silicon foundry giant, a problem likely to worsen as the graphics chip maker moves to the 40-nm node, says Doug Freedman, an analyst at American Technology Research.

Shares in solar panel maker Evergreen Solar plunged nearly 28% Monday on investor concerns related to a convertible offering underwritten by now-bankrupt Lehman Brothers. The stock dive followed the largest-ever bankruptcy filing ever by Lehman Brothers Holdings, which filed for Chapter 11 protection after being felled by the credit crisis and lower real estate values.

ontract suppliers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) and Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE) will likely benefit from NXP Semiconductors' restructuring plan, which is underscored by closures of several chip-making factories and job cuts.

At VLSI 2007 Symposium, Samsung promised new materials and structures for 56nm. Samsung plans to make a number of changes to the basic transistor design – both for the cell access transistor in the memory array and the peripheral support transistors used to design the control logic. 56nm devices get a "lift" with raised source drains to improve transistor drive current.

"...Nvidia is not getting the 55nm capacity it needs from silicon foundry giant TSMC, a problem likely to worsen as the graphics chip maker moves to the 40nm node..."