D&R Headline News (December 2010)

Headlines for Friday Dec. 31, 2010

• Acacia Subsidiary Enters into Settlement Agreement with Etron Technology America, Inc.

Headlines for Thursday Dec. 30, 2010

Top Story

Architecture Wars: Staking a Claim in the Nearly 4 Billion Unit Mobile Processor Market

Currently, two architectures, ARM and x86 dominate the low and high-end of the mobile market, respectively, and are battling it out for the mid-range convergence devices like e-readers, tablets, and netbooks. However, other architectures, such as MIPS and SH, are equally suited to power mobile SoCs and as more emphasis is placed on the OS and mobile applications, the use of a particular processor architecture or instruction set is likely to become less important.

• Digital Blocks Qualifies the DB9000 TFT LCD Controller IP Core Family for High Resolution Medical, Industrial, Monitor, and Cinema Applications

Headlines for Wednesday Dec. 29, 2010

• Tuxera Releases GPL-Compliant FAT32 Replacement Package for Android

Headlines for Tuesday Dec. 28, 2010

• Vivante Momentum Continues in the GPU Market with 40 Licensees

Headlines for Monday Dec. 27, 2010

• Rambus Announces Completion of the Accelerated Share Repurchase
• Rambus and Renesas Electronics Sign Patent License Agreement
• ITC: China's IP enforcement is still lacking

Headlines for Friday Dec. 24, 2010

Top Story

Toshiba's logic unit goes fab lite

Toshiba Corp.'s logic IC unit is going fab lite. The company's so-called Logic LSI Division will expand its outsourcing of cutting-edge products, including 40-nm chips, to multiple foundries from fiscal year 2011.

Headlines for Thursday Dec. 23, 2010

• WiLAN and LG Settle Wireless Patent Litigation
• Moore's Law could enter the fourth dimension--via the third
• SPIRIT Signs Fourth Licensing Deal with Polycom

Headlines for Wednesday Dec. 22, 2010

Top Story

ARM share price soars on Windows reports

The share price of ARM Holdings plc soared on Wednesday (Dec. 22) on reports that Microsoft Corp. will use the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January 2011 to demonstrate a version of its Windows operating system that will run on processors designed by the U.K. firm.

• SuperSpeed USB Adoption Slowed by PC Core Logic Integration, but Future Is Still Bright
• Foundries to boost capex in 2011
• 13 'fabless' chip firms to top $1B in sales
• Cosmic Circuits Receives Frost & Sullivan Excellence Award
• Xilinx Provides December Quarter Update

Headlines for Tuesday Dec. 21, 2010

• Sigma Designs and MIPS Technologies Strengthen Relationship Targeting Development of Next-Generation Connected Devices
• Xylon logiTAP FPGA Development Platform Enables Efficient GUI Application Developments
• Evolution of design methodology II: The re-aggregation era
• Arteris FlexNoc Network-On-Chip (NoC) Interconnect IP Selected by Nethra Imaging for Advanced Imaging SoCs
• Tensilica's HiFi Audio DSP First IP Core to Support SRS' Advanced StudioSound HD Audio Suite for HDTVs

Headlines for Monday Dec. 20, 2010

Top Story

Altera's DO-254/ED-80 Certifiable Nios II Processor Leveraged in Thales Safety-Critical Avionics System Certified by EASA

Altera today announced the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certified a safety-critical avionics system that includes a DO-254/ED-80-certifiable version of Altera's Nios® II embedded processor. Thales Avionics implemented a safety-critical version of the Nios II embedded processor in an Altera® HardCopy® ASIC for use in its family of integrated electronic standby instruments rather than developing a custom ASIC solution.

• Google asks partners to pause TV
• Wind River and VIA Telecom Collaborate on Android Solution for Smartphones
• PLDA Tech Support Delivers Best-in-Class Customer Support
• DS-5 Supports Boot Code, Kernel, Driver and Application Development for ARM Linux-Based Products
• Accellera and the IEEE Standards Association Report on Popularity of Intellectual Property (IP) Standard

Headlines for Friday Dec. 17, 2010

• Mentor Graphics Files Patent Infringement Suit Against EVE in Tokyo District Court
• Cosmic Circuits to Develop Foundation Analog IP for GLOBALFOUNDRIES 55nm, 40nm and 28nm Technologies
• EVE Prevails Against Mentor Graphics' Infringement Allegation

Headlines for Thursday Dec. 16, 2010

Top Story

Vivante Multicore GPU IP Solutions Extend Performance Leadership

Vivante today announces an important milestone for its Scalarmorphic architecture with Vivante licensees' multicore silicon implementations reaching over 1 GHz in silicon.

• Pantech Selects AuthenTec's DRM Client Solution for Android
• Opinion: 8 embedded trends for 2011
• MOSAID and IBM Sign Patent License Agreement, Resolve Patent Litigation Suit

Headlines for Wednesday Dec. 15, 2010

• Semico: 2011 Semiconductor Preview
• Welcome to the 'fab-tight' era, says Penn
• austriamicrosystems upgrades its non-volatile memory portfolio with ultra high reliability and high temperature EEPROM blocks

Headlines for Tuesday Dec. 14, 2010

Top Story

What's your forecast for the 2011 semiconductor market?

The predictions for 2011 semiconductor market growth range from 2.3 percent on the low end to 10 percent on the high end. For reference, here are the most recent growth forecasts from several of the analysts we track on the 2011 chip market.

• Altera Acquires Avalon Microelectronics, Extending Its Communication System IP for FPGA and ASIC Product Portfolio
• AuthenTec Introduces World's First High Performance FIPS 140-3 Compliant True Random Number Generator
• Mixel Gains Momentum with MIPI M-PHY IP
• CEVA Announces Licensing Agreement With PMC-Sierra for Voice-Over-IP Platform to Enable VoIP in Fiber-to-the-Home SoC Solutions
• Imagination to acquire Caustic Graphics, developer of real-time ray-tracing graphics technology, for $27 million
• Imagination Technologies Group plc - Interim Results for the six months to 31 October 2010
• Mentor chief sees system design as main challenge
• Jasper Introduces Intelligent Proof Kits For Faster, More Accurate Verification of SoC Interface Protocols
• Software Leaders to Advise Linaro; Canonical, GENIVI, HP, LiMo and MontaVista become Advisors to Linaro
• Genesys Logic's GL3310 Receives the First USB-IF SuperSpeed USB Bus-Power Certificate
• Silicon Image Introduces New MHL/HDMI-to-HDMI Bridge for High Definition Displays
• SiliconIndia and Mentor Graphics presents Leadership Award to Cosmic Circuits

Headlines for Monday Dec. 13, 2010

Top Story

Transforming the U.S. semiconductor business model

2011 will be the year that transforms the U.S. semiconductor business model from fabless companies designing chips and building them off-shore, to focusing on just licensing the core technologies to chip companies worldwide. This model is formally called the semiconductor intellectual property (SIP) licensing business, and after its meteoric rise in the mid-1990s and much neglected due to a lack of success, is finally making a comeback again.

• Silicon Image Expands DTV Port Processor Portfolio With MHL Technology
• AltoBeam Closed Series C Funding with USVP and Long-Term Investors
• Researcher: ARM to increase industrial/medical sector market share to 2015
• ARM Extends Software Interface Standard with DSP Library
• ARM Enables Cortex-M0 Processor IP Availability via ARM Designstart Portal

Headlines for Friday Dec. 10, 2010

• TSMC November 2010 Sales Report
• What’s the cost for 3-D chips?
• Imagination announces Android for META-based SoC application platforms
• DOLPHIN Integration is completing its offering of Custom Training Products after a market test in Asia

Headlines for Thursday Dec. 09, 2010

Top Story

Gartner Says Worldwide Semiconductor Revenue Increased 31.5 Percent in 2010 to Exceed $300 Billion

After a worldwide economic recession, the semiconductor market rallied in 2010 with worldwide revenue reaching a landmark $300.3 billion in 2010, up 31.5 percent from 2009, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc.

• Global chip making capacity rises, says SEMI
• Microsemi Adopts Sibridge Technologies' Verification IPs
• Faraday Announces the most competitive USB 3.0 PHY in UMC 0.11um Aluminum Process
• Intel confirms 450-mm fab plans
• Renesas Electronics Announces Development of the Basic Structure for Embedded DRAM with High Compatibility with Standard CMOS Logic Circuits
• Imagination extends standards supported on ENSIGMA UCCP family with International ISDB-T

Headlines for Wednesday Dec. 08, 2010

Top Story

Patent firm pursues DRAM, FPGA companies

Intellectual Ventures Management LLC, a patent holder and administration group founded by Nathan Myhrvold, a former CTO of Microsoft Corp., has taken action on multiple fronts alleging patent infringement. In semiconductor industry the firm is pursuing two memory chip makers and three FPGA vendors.

• Samsung and Ambarella Announces ASIC Partnership on 45nm High-Performance, Low-Power HD Hybrid Camera SOCs
• Forte Design Systems' SystemC High-Level Synthesis Selected for Fujitsu Semiconductor's ASIC Reference Flow
• Cambridge Analog Technologies Appoints Semiconductor IP Veteran Didier Lacroix to Advisory Board
• Qualcomm lists challenges in IC production
• Renesas Electronics and Green Hills Software Collaborate to Jointly Develop Basic Software for CPU Virtualization Technology Enabling Real-Time Control
• Cadence C-to-Silicon Compiler Supported in Fujitsu Semiconductor’s ASIC Flow for System Realization
• Renesas and Imagination show POWERVR SGX MP enabled SoC

Headlines for Tuesday Dec. 07, 2010

Top Story

Synopsys Expands DesignWare MIPI IP Portfolio With DSI Host Controller

Synopsys today announced the immediate availability of DesignWare® IP for the Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI®) Display Serial Interface (DSI) Host Controller .

• eASIC Introduces 45nm ASIC Value Shuttle Program
• Rambus Unveils New Model to Monitor Energy Consumption in DRAM Devices
• IntegrIT's Math Library Now Available for Tensilica's HiFi Audio DSPs
• Arteris Network-on-Chip (NoC) IP Selected by Mobileye for Camera-Based Driver Assistance Systems (DAS) SoC
• Stellamar Introduces New Performance Line of its Digital ADC Technology
• Imagination announces POWERVR SGX554 MP multi-processor graphics IP
• Imagination's POWERVR VXD392 and VXE382 deliver H.264 MVC decode and encode functions
• Cosmic Circuits announces MIPI M-PHY in 40nm
• SiTune facilitates multi standard system integration for Set Top Box and TV application
• MIPS Technologies Joins the MIPI Alliance to Support Standard Interfaces for Mobile Handsets

Headlines for Monday Dec. 06, 2010

Top Story

CAST Introduces Platform IP and JumpStart Evaluation Program for ARM Cortex-M0 Processor

CAST, Inc. is introducing a new IP platform and evaluation package aimed at helping designers develop systems around ARM® Cortex™-M0 processors.

• Gennum's Snowbush PCI Express (PCIe) Switch and SATA/PCIe Host Bus Adapter IP Added to PCI-SIG Integrators List
• Rambus Updates Fourth Quarter Revenue Guidance
• Elpida and Rambus Sign Patent License Agreement
• Altera Accelerates FPGA Design Productivity in Quartus II Software Version 10.1 with Next-Generation System-Integration Tool
• Xilinx Extends Comprehensive DSP Portfolio with New Spartan-6 FPGA and Virtex-6 FPGA DSP Development Kits
• Altera Unveils Process Technology Strategy for Its 28-nm Product Portfolio
• Imperas and OVP Support ARM Cortex-M Cores and Provide Free, Open Source Models
• Sonics Surpasses One Billion Units and Remains World's Largest Supplier of Network-on-Chip Technology
• CEVA Dominates DSP Licensing Market with 78% Market Share
• TSMC to reportedly boost capex, build new fab

Headlines for Saturday Dec. 04, 2010

• SMIC Adopts Cadence DFM and Low-power Silicon Realization Technology for 65-Nanometer Reference Flow

Headlines for Friday Dec. 03, 2010

• The new real-Time debugging solution from Dolphin Integration
• Renesas Electronics Introduces EMMA Mobile EV0-D SoCs for Portable Audio-Visual Devices with One-third Reduced Package

Headlines for Thursday Dec. 02, 2010

Top Story

Rambus Files ITC Complaint against Broadcom, Freescale, LSI, MediaTek, NVIDIA and STMicroelectronics

Rambus today announced it has filed a complaint with the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) requesting the commencement of an investigation pertaining to products from Broadcom Corporation, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., LSI Corporation, MediaTek Inc., NVIDIA Corporation and STMicroelectronics N. V.

• Freescale and CriticalBlue expand collaboration on multicore software development environments
• Synopsys Posts Financial Results for Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2010
• eSilicon names Lawrence Conrad as general manager of Semiconductor Manufacturing Services business unit
• Novatek Selects Chips&Media's HD video technology for Set-top Box and DTV Platforms
• HyperTransport Consortium Enables Paradigm Shift in Cluster Design With HyperShare Platform
• Melfas Uses Magma's Talus and FineSim SPICE to Tape Out Low-Power, ARM Cortex Processor-Based Mixed-Signal SoCs

Headlines for Wednesday Dec. 01, 2010

Top Story

Cosmic Circuits announces silicon-proven Ultra-low power Wireless Analog IP in 65nm

Cosmic Circuits, a leading provider of differentiated Analog and Mixed-Signal IP cores, today announced that its next-generation IP cores for optimized wireless AFE are now silicon proven in the 65nm process node, and available for immediate integration in SoCs

• Mentor Graphics Teams with Infineon to Deploy State-of-the-Art Verification
• TAKUMI Launches GV200, The Smallest Vector Graphics IP Core
• eMemory NeoFlash offers an unrivalled, most reliable embedded flash solution for automotive electronic applications