The invite says only "It's almost here," with a shadowed "5" underneath the September 12 date.

FormFactor will acquire MicroProbe, a provider of advanced SOC wafer test solutions, for US$100 million in cash and US$16.8 million in stock, subject to customary adjustments. The merger is expected to close in the first half of FormFactor's fiscal quarter ending December 29, 2012.

Intel's R&D expenditures accounted for 32% of the top-10 spending and about 17% of total R&D expenses at all semiconductor companies worldwide-counting IDMs, fabless suppliers and foundries.

Chinese government officials have used economic cooperation talks, between Germany and China, to raise the topic that a bilateral solution could be reached between the two countries to avoid a potential photovoltaic trade war.

LG first unveiled its 55in OLED TV at last year's CES, but we've finally been given confirmation that the gorgeous high definition set will be making its way to Europe. It might not scale to the same heights as the 84in models on show from the likes of Toshiba and Sony, but the carbon fibre chassis and 4mm thickness still make it a unique object of AV desire.

In the lead up to a September 6 press conference, details of Amazon's refreshed Kindle line-up have started to leak. Most notably, there will be a variety of Kindle Fire 2 models with different screen sizes, and a new backlit e-ink Kindle.

Big-screen smartphones may be the fashion, but how about two sizable screens on your next handset with negligible battery impact. SlashGear caught up with E Ink at IFA today to check out the company's latest prototypes, intended to spur some imagination among potential hardware partners.

Samsung Electronics said on Monday it would inspect 250 Chinese companies which make products for the South Korean firm to ensure no labour laws are broken.

Samsung has accused Apple of resorting to litigation in an effort to limit consumer choice after the iPhone maker said it was seeking to stop the sale of Galaxy S3 smartphones in the US.

Warren East, chief executive of ARM, said the chipmaker was holding back on some of its recruitment plans in 2012 amid fears of a slowdown in sales in the second half of the year.

Miao Liansheng, chairman of the board of Yingli Green Energy, said if the anti-dumping case is verified, China-based solar companies will be forced to transfer their industry to other countries, which will cause a loss to the real economy in China, and this newly leading industry will also lose its development opportunities.

The objective of the agreement is for Fujitsu Semiconductor and J-Devices to build a long-term, mutually beneficial strategic partnership in the semiconductor manufacturing business.

Manufacturing output across the 17-country eurozone shrank again in August, according to a widely-watched survey.

We hope a proposed deal by Hon Hai Group, the world's largest contract electronics maker, to acquire a stake of Japan-based Sharp, can be clinched so that it will become a trailblazer in the cooperation of the Taiwan and Japanese industries.

LG's monster 55-inch OLED television attracted a crowd of photographers when it was unveiled Thursday at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will attract a crowd of buyers when it hits stores.

The Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin (IFA) 2012 electronics show in Berlin has seen numerous Windows 8 tablets, but those are not the only mobile devices on the show floor. Samsung is at the event with its lineup of Series 9 Ultrabooks, for example.

This year at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin vendors introduced and demonstrated a plethora of ultra-high resolution TVs, hybrid tablets based on Microsoft's upcoming operating systems, as well as the first device based on Windows Phone 8.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has come out against the prospect of EU action against China over alleged dumping of solar products, calling for the dispute to be solved by talks rather than trade tariffs.

India may auction a third of the solar projects planned by 2017 in the current financial year to double the nation's sun-powered capacity as it seeks additional clean-energy investments to combat power shortages.

Beijing's attempt to make the renminbi a global currency took a step forward on Friday with an agreement that will let banks in Taiwan clear transactions in the Chinese currency.

SEMI has announced the introduction of 450 Central (www.semi.org/450), a web-based information service to help the semiconductor industry efficiently transition to 450mm-ready solutions and keep the industry informed of important news and perspectives on 450mm wafer processing.

US private equity firm KKR & Co has approached struggling Japanese chipmaker Renesas Electronics and its shareholders with an offer of investment, people with knowledge of the proposal said Wednesday.

About 20 bondholders of Elpida Memory are negotiating with alternative sponsors to replace a takeover offer by Micron Technology they consider too low, a representative said.