D&R Headline News (December 2012)

Headlines for Friday Dec. 28, 2012

• Qualchip Passed the Acceptance Inspection of CEC Specialist Group under Teledyne LeCroy's Test Platform's Verification
• NSCore is Expanding its US Sales and Marketing Channel by Partnering with DSM Silicon Solutions
• Huawei Names Altera 2012 Excellent Core Partner for Delivering Quality, Leading-edge Products and Superior Technical Support

Headlines for Friday Dec. 21, 2012

• Samsung and Synopsys Collaborate to Achieve First 14-nanometer FinFET Tapeout
• ARM and Cadence Tape Out First 14nm FinFET Test Chip Targeting Samsung Process

Headlines for Thursday Dec. 20, 2012

Top Story

Report: TSMC confirms U.S. wafer fab site hunt

Amid plans to increase capital spending to a record $9 billion in 2013, Taiwanese foundry TSMC is seeking a location for a wafer fab, with the U.S. as a possibility, according to a local news report.

• IDT and PLX Technology Announce Termination of Proposed Transaction and IDT Withdraws Exchange Offer for PLX Technology Shares
• SMIC Achieves Breakthrough in Backside-Illuminated Image Sensors
• Mentor's Rhines sees 'modest growth' in 2013
• Xilinx Vivado Design Suite Now Available in WebPACK Edition
• TSMC Honors ARM with Foundation IP Partner Award
• MediaTek Strengthens Global Position with World's First Quad-Core Cortex-A7 System on a Chip - MT6589

Headlines for Wednesday Dec. 19, 2012

Top Story

Vivante Shipping World's Smallest and Lowest Power OpenGL ES 3.0 IP Core

Vivante today announced another major milestone in its leading multi-core GPU IP family: The world’s tiniest GPU core designed* to support the Khronos™ Group’s OpenGL® ES 3.0 API based on the GC880 IPleveraging the same ScalarMorphic™ technology of Vivante's industry leading multi-core ultra-threaded GPU cores.

• Samsung Electronics Acquires NVELO
• M31 Technology Joins TSMC IP Alliance
• Gartner Says Worldwide Wafer Fab Equipment Spending to Decline 9.7 Percent in 2013
• Globalfoundries mulls third manufacturing option
• Mentor Graphics Nucleus Innovate Program Adds Boards from STMicroelectronics to Accelerate Start-Up Development
• Altior's AltraSTAR - Hadoop Storage Accelerator and Optimizer Now Certified on CDH4
• Linley Group Report estimates embedded processor market will exceed $4 billion in 2015

Headlines for Tuesday Dec. 18, 2012

Top Story

HDL Design House MIPI M-PHY and D-PHY Solutions available in 40nm and 65nm

HDL Design House today announced availability of MIPI M-PHY and D-PHY solutions in advanced technology nodes. MIPI M-PHY and D-PHY solutions are fully compliant with the MIPI Alliance M-PHY and D-PHY specifications version 1.0, as the latest addition to HDL Design House FlexIP core library.

• Trustonic: The New Standard of Trust and Security for Connected Devices
• UMC Achieves Foundry's First 55nm SDDI Customer Product Tape-out
• Indian LTE Giant Reliance Licenses SPIRIT Mobile Video Engine

Headlines for Monday Dec. 17, 2012

Top Story

Gartner Says Worldwide Semiconductor Revenue Declined 3 Percent in 2012

Worldwide semiconductor revenue has totaled $298 billion in 2012, a 3 percent decline from 2011 revenue of $307 billion, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc.

• eASIC and Proton Digital Systems Announce LDPC NAND FLASH Read Channel For Enterprise Storage
• Elliptic Technologies Selects Synopsys' Discovery VIP for ARM AMBA Interconnect for Verification of its Leading Security Systems
• CEVA, Inc. to refrain from further proposals to acquire MIPS operating business
• MIPS and Imagination Agree to Revised Merger Terms Providing for $100 Million Purchase Price
• OneSpin Solutions' Formal Verification Software Enables Maxim Integrated to Identify SoC Design Issues Early in the Project Cycle
• Imagination signs revised agreement to acquire the operating business, certain patent properties and license rights to the rest of the patent properties of MIPS Technologies, Inc. for $100 million
• Lattice Semiconductor Will Feature Real-Time 3D Video Converter at CES 2013
• Miracast Wireless Screencasting on LG Optimus G Secure by Discretix
• Altera eyes FDSOI process for FPGAs
• Mobiveil awarded the best electronic design startup in the Embedded/VLSI area

Headlines for Friday Dec. 14, 2012

Top Story

Foundries not dead, just evolving, says Globalfoundries CEO

The fabless/foundry model may have its issues, but it’s a long way from being dead, said Globalfoundries CEO Ajit Manocha, speaking at the International Electron Devices Meeting

• FDSOI roadmap renames next node as 14-nm

Headlines for Thursday Dec. 13, 2012

Top Story

Gartner Says Worldwide Semiconductor Sales to Reach $311 Billion in 2013, a 4.5 Percent Increase from 2012

Worldwide semiconductor revenue is projected to total $311 billion in 2013, a 4.5 percent increase from 2012 revenue, according to Gartner, Inc. Due to economic headwinds and an inventory correction, the fourth quarter projections have been revised down from the previous quarter's forecast of $330 billion.

• Lattice Semiconductor Updates 4Q12 Revenue Guidance
• ProDesign launches Virtex 7 2000T multi FPGA based Prototyping System
• MIPS Technologies' Board of Directors Determines CEVA's Acquisition Proposal is Superior to Acquisition Agreement with Imagination

Headlines for Wednesday Dec. 12, 2012

Top Story

Novocell Smartbit Antifuse OTP NVM Memory Validated at IBM Foundry at Processes from 350nm to 130nm

Novocell has announced the completion of multi-node intellectual property validation within IBM Foundry’s “Ready for IBM Technology” program.

• Digicine Oristar integrates the intoPIX JPEG 2000 4K technology into its next generation IMB
• Altera Ships Its First SoC Devices
• Altera and ARM Announce Industry's First FPGA-Adaptive Embedded Software Toolkit
• Shipments of Lattice iCE FPGA Family Reach 15 Million
• CEVA and Orca Partner to Deliver Complete Bluetooth 4.0 Reference Design for Integration into Mobile Computing, Consumer Electronics Devices
• Reflex CES Introduces Industry's First Aurora-Like IP Core, Offers Freedom to Choose Best FPGA Technology by Enabling Interoperability between Leading FGPA Platforms
• Alizem new COTS Motor Control Software IP for Servo-Drives applications receives Altera AMPP certification
• Imagination Technologies - Interim Results for the six months to 31 October 2012
• Intel leapfrogs ARM (for now) with Atom server SoC
• Whither ST?
• Vivante Goes Mainstream with OpenCL Computer Vision Products for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) Applications

Headlines for Tuesday Dec. 11, 2012

Top Story

CEVA, Inc. Offers MIPS $90 Million for its Operating Business

CEVA announced today that it submitted a further proposal to the Board of Directors of MIPS Technologies, Inc. to acquire the operating business of MIPS for $90 million plus the payment on MIPS' behalf of the termination fee to Imagination Technologies Group plc pursuant to MIPS' existing merger agreement, as amended, with Imagination.

• Huawei Names Xilinx '2012 Excellent Core Partner' for 28nm Technology Leadership, Quality, Product Delivery & Support
• Intel's 22-nm tri-gate SoC, how low can you leak?
• Can ST-Ericsson shrink to survive?
• SEMI Reports Third Quarter 2012 Worldwide Semiconductor Equipment Figures; Billings US$ 9.06 Billion
• TSMC November 2012 Sales Report
• Xylon Showcases the World's Fastest 3D Graphics Engine for Xilinx Zynq-7000 All Programmable SoC
• Silicon Image Introduces the Industry's First Single-Chip, Ultra-Low Power, 60GHz WirelessHD Mobile Transmitter for Smartphones and Tablets
• INSIDE Secure Introduces End-To-End Security Offering for Digital Transmission Content Protection - Internet Protocol (DTCP-IP)

Headlines for Monday Dec. 10, 2012

Top Story

MIPS and Imagination Agree to Revised Merger Terms Providing for $80 Million Purchase Price

MIPS today announced that it entered into an amendment to the agreement with Imagination previously announced on November 5, 2012. The amendment provides for an increased purchase price of $80 million and the removal of the conditions to closing requiring the approval of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and that MIPS is not a real property holding corporation.

• Arasan Chip Systems further expands its Ethernet portfolio by adding AVB (Audio Video Bridging)
• ARM founder sees startups hustling in hard times
• STMicroelectronics announces new strategic plan
• Lattice Semiconductor will Showcase New Reference Design for MIPI CSI-2 Image Sensor Bridge at CES 2013
• Aldec Adds ARM Cortex-A9 Support to HES-7 ASIC Prototyping Platform
• ST-Ericsson confirms strategic direction
• Creonic Announces MMSE MIMO Detector IP Core
• AMD recasts foundry deal to save cash
• GUC Monthly Sales Report - November 2012
• Imagination signs revised agreement to acquire the operating business, certain patent properties and license rights to the rest of the patent properties of MIPS Technologies, Inc. for $80 million
• Mentor Embedded Accelerates High-Performance Signal and Image Processing Application Development with Support for MATLAB and ARM Platforms

Headlines for Friday Dec. 07, 2012

Top Story

Dolphin Integration first to achieve 0.84 pA per bit in SpRAM at the 90 nm uLL embedded flash process

Dolphin Integration announces that the memory architecture RHEA, achieving leakage as low as 0.84 pA/bit at 90 nm uLL embedded flash process has now passed the pre-silicon assessment criteria (Level 1) of TSMC’s stringent IP9000 qualification program.

• Qualcomm Rides Wireless Wave to Take Third Place in Global Semiconductor Market in 2012
• CEVA to Showcase Latest DSPs and Platform IPs for Mobile, Digital Home and Automotive at CES 2013
• UMC Reports Sales for November 2012
• Report: China approves ARM venture with conditions
• HDL Design House Introduces MIPI CSI-2 Transmitter IP core
• Standard PCs Will Lose Status as Largest IC Application in 2013
• EDA vendors cashing in on move to FinFETs
• Broadcom sees rising 20 nm costs amid handset push
• IHS Downgrades 2012 Semiconductor Forecast to 2.3 Percent Decline
• Kilopass Outlines its Infringement Case Against Sidense with Appellate Court
• WiLAN Initiates Litigations Against Apple, HTC and Sierra Wireless

Headlines for Thursday Dec. 06, 2012

Top Story

Synopsys Posts Financial Results for Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2012

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012, Synopsys reported revenue of $454.2 million, compared to $390.5 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011. Revenue for fiscal year 2012 was $1.756 billion, an increase of 14.3 percent from $1.536 billion in fiscal 2011.

• Latest Release of MIPS Architecture Includes Virtualization and SIMD
• Autotalks Deploys Sonics Technology Advancing Automotive Industry with Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication
• Sony and Toshiba Set to Increase Chip Spending in 2013 as They Strive to Recover

Headlines for Wednesday Dec. 05, 2012

Top Story

Elliptic Offers Highest Protection for Premium Content with HDCP 2.2 Compliant Solutions

Elliptic Technologies today announced support for the recently released High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection 2.2 (HDCP 2.2) specification for premium content delivery and distribution.

• Global Semiconductor Sales Increase in October, Remain Above Seasonal Rate
• Altera Updates Fourth Quarter Revenue Guidance, Issues 2013 Guidance

Headlines for Tuesday Dec. 04, 2012

Top Story

Kilopass First to Demonstrate Antifuse Non-Volatile Memory IP With Successful Test Chips on TSMC 20nm Process

Kilopass today announced that its NVM IP is the first antifuse technology to achieve successful test chips on TSMC’s 20nm process. Analysis of the test chips containing Kilopass NVM IP memory modules validated manufacturability, process control tolerance and cell programming characteristics.

• Tensilica Hits Major Milestone: 200 Licensees for Dataplane Processor IP Cores
• Achronix 6 billion-transistor FPGAs: Take two
• IHS Downgrades Semiconductor Industry Market Forecast to 2.3 Percent Decline
• Why Intel should make chips for Apple, Cisco

Headlines for Monday Dec. 03, 2012

Top Story

RivieraWaves Achieves 802.11n Certification; Announces Wi-Fi 802.11ac Silicon IP

RivieraWaves announced IEEE Wi-Fi 11n certification of its new scalable Wi-Fi 802.11ac silicon IP. The IP is available in a broad range of configurations, supports 802.11n and 802.11ac specifications, single or multiple MIMO (Multiple-Input and Multiple-Output) streams, and up to four transmit and receive antennas.

• Cortina Delivers Industry's First 28nm EDC PHY Architecture
• Arasan Chip Systems Announces MIPI conformant Camera Serial Interface (CSI-3) Receiver IP Core
• PLDA and GUC Announce Industry's First Successful PCIe Gen 3 Controller and PHY Combination on TSMC's 28nm HPM Process Technology
• Should Apple buy ST-E or Renesas Mobile?
• MagnaChip Engages with eMemory in Joint Development of Leading Edge 0.18um EEPROM IP
• GUC Delivers 28nm DDR3-2133/LPDDR2 Combo IP
• Synopsys Completes Acquisition of SpringSoft
• Khronos Releases Significant OpenCL 1.2 Specification Update
• Broadcom Introduces World's First 28nm Heterogeneous Knowledge-Based Processors