News Briefs
South Africa
TLC Software has signed a reciprocal agreement with Bharat Udyog, an Indian company specialising in friction shock absorbers for locomotives. This will enable Bryanston-based TLC Software to submit tenders for flat-wheel or wheel-impact monitors, which are soon to be implemented by Indian Railways. The initial tender will be for two systems, with sizeable expansion opportunities, says the company.
Las Vegas-based Aladdin Gaming LLC has selected InfoGenesis to provide the point of sale (POS) solution for its new R10 bn Aladdin Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. Locally the R1,4 bn Montecasino, jointly developed by Togo Sun and Southern Sun, has become the first local site to opt for InfoGenesis in a deal worth more than R1m. The Aladdin Gaming contract called for the installation of more than 115 XN touch screen terminals running the Revelation POS software. These devices will operate in 16 profit centres via a 100 Mb Ethernet and two IBM Netfinity file servers. Montecasino is the first South African site to be won by InfoGenesis via its new partner, VELOCIT-e.
Spescom has announced the sale of its UK document management operation, Spescom KMS, to its USA-based subsidiary, Altris Software. This is in line with the group's stated globalisation strategy of structuring its e-business operations under a single entity. Spescom KMS is the exclusive distributor for the Altris document management eB product suite, outside of the Americas.
Enterprise Connection Cape has signed a R1m storage area network (SAN) deal with telecommunications and electronics manufacturer, Tellumat. As Tellumat has experienced a large data growth over the last 18 months, Enterprise Connection said it was called in to analyse the company's existing infrastructure and data demands. Its research resulted in the proposal of a SAN as a strategy to cater for Tellumat's existing and future data demands.
Fibre-optic cable distributor, Fibreplus, has opened its first international branch in Malaysia with a start-up investment of US$150 000. Situated in Malaysia's high-tech multimedia super corridor (MSC), Fibreplus Malaysia PTE is a one-stop networking centre which offers skills in design network infrastructure and supplies all hardware for fully completed networks. Craig Nolte, International Director for Fibreplus, will head up Fibreplus Malaysia. The company has already employed five Malaysian nationals.
Arrow Altech Distribution has new telephone numbers for its Durban and Cape Town offices: Durban tel: (031) 263 9350, fax: (031) 263 9351; Cape Town, tel: (021) 555 1884/6, fax: (021) 555 1763.
Overseas
Business
National Semiconductor beat analysts' forecast by reporting a net $106,7m in its second fiscal quarter ended November, up 52% over $70,4m for the period a year ago. It also reported sales of $595m, up 16% over $513,9m from the like period a year ago. Bookings for analog products declined at a slower rate than the company as a whole, while new orders for wireless chips grew from last year.
Citing continued weakness in the analog-chip market, Intersil has announced it would report disappointing sales and profits for the next two quarters. Intersil said that although its earnings would meet analysts' consensus estimates for the fourth quarter of this year, sales will be sequentially flat from the prior period -approximately 5% below expectations. As a result of continued softness in analog orders in the current quarter and expected seasonal weakness during the first quarter of 2001, the company expects its revenues will be sequentially flat for the quarter ending March, 2001.
Micron Technology has reported net income of $352m, on net sales of $1,8 bn for its first fiscal quarter of 2001, ended 30 November. Net income for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2000 was $727m, on net sales of $2,6 bn. Net income for the first fiscal quarter of 2000 was $341m, on net sales of $1,6 bn. Micron estimated that memory shipments fell approximately 30% to $1,6 bn from the fourth quarter primarily as a result of an approximate 25% decrease in megabits shipped and an approximate 10% decline in average selling prices.
Mitel has agreed to sell off its communications systems division for $350m in cash and a minority interest in a business controlled by Terence H. Matthews, a co-founder of Mitel. Mitel says it will become a 'pure-play' chip company and plans to drive forward with new attitude, focus and growth. The transaction is expected to be completed in February 2001. Mitel also announced that it expects its semiconductor sales for the third quarter to be sequentially lower by approximately 10% from the $194,3m recorded in the second quarter of Fiscal 2001. It said the decline is principally due to a reduction in the orders normally booked and shipped in the same quarter, and to order re-scheduling and cancellations, both resulting from market uncertainties.
Companies
Infineon Technologies is making a $30m investment in specialty semiconductor memory products developer, Ramtron. Last year, Infineon made an investment in Ramtron's DRAM product subsidiary, Enhanced Memory Systems. Infineon will provide Ramtron with $10m in cash and $20m in Infineon stock, in exchange for an approximate 20% stake in Ramtron. The companies also entered into a separate cross-licence agreement that provides Infineon with a nonexclusive license to Ramtron's FRAM memory technology, and Ramtron with access to certain Infineon technologies relating to the fabrication of FRAM memories. FRAM memory is a next-generation, high-performance memory that retains data without power.
TDK Semiconductor has acquired Sierra Research and Technology, a supplier of intellectual property (IP) cores for the communications and display driver markets, for an undisclosed price. This acquisition will give TDK expertise in the development of IP-based mixed-signal transceivers, drivers, and communications controllers. Under the terms, Sierra will be folded into TDK's Network Business Unit.
Fairchild Semiconductor, a leading player in the power transistor area, is making a $10m investment in Silicon Wireless in a bid to enter the fast-growing market for radio-frequency power transistors. Fairchild will enter an exclusive relationship to co-develop, manufacture and market RF power semiconductors for cellular phones and wireless basestations. Silicon Wireless will work directly with Fairchild's Discrete Power and Signal Technologies Division under the new agreement.
STMicroelectronics is to acquire Portland Group, a supplier of compilers and software development tools for parallel computing designs, for $17,1m. ST plans to deliver new DSP-based system-on-chip solutions for a range of applications, including wireless terminals, broadband modems, magnetic and optical disk drives and emerging car multimedia solutions.
Elma Electronic AG, a Swiss electronic packaging and component manufacturer, is acquiring TreNew Electronic GmbH, a leading producer and supplier of backplanes and integrated packaging systems based in Pforzheim in Germany, and TreNew Electronics s.r.l., Bukarest, a backplane design centre. A purchase price of DEM 26,6m (CHF 20,5m) for both TreNew companies was agreed. The deal is effective 1 January 2001.
Cree a world leader in silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor devices, has formed an alliance with optoelectronics component manufacturer, Rohm. Rohm has granted Cree a five-year exclusive licence to several US patents and a non-exclusive licence under a Japanese patent for optoelectronic devices. The companies wil also jointly development a packaged blue laser diode for consumer applications. In addition, Rohm will purchase LED chips manufactured by Cree.
Altera has announced an agreement to sell its 23% equity ownership interest in the WaferTech LLC foundry fab to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) for $350m cash. The agreement is part of TSMC's plans to increase its ownership in the US-based foundry fab from 66,89% to 99% and includes equity purchases from Analog Devices and Integrated Silicon Solution.
Lucent Technologies has renamed its microelectronics spin off company as Agere Systems. The company's former semiconductor business is divided into two divisions covering ICs and optoelectronic components. Lucent plans an initial public offering for up to 20% of the new company and intends to spin off the remaining shares in a tax-free distribution. The IPO is expected to take place by the end of Q1 of 2001
American Microsystems has changed its name to AMI Semiconductor following its 80% ownership purchase by two US investment firms, Francisco Partners and Citicorp Venture Capital (CVC) from Japan Energy's GA-Tek subsidiary. AMI Semiconductor (AMIS) said it will continue to develop and market ASIC products for a broad range of system applications as well as introduce new wireless communication products during 2001. AMI has begun preliminary negotiations to acquire a wafer fab owned by Zilog.
Atmel and STMicroelectronics have agreed to settle their patent dispute over technology in a wide range of ICs, including microcontroller, memory devices, and smartcard chips. The two companies said they will cooperate and set up a new cross-licensing pact.
Ericsson has put up $12m to fund research at the University of California into 4G mobile technology and CDMA development. The joint research will include work on CDMA wireless access technology, advanced antenna systems, next-generation mobile Internet, quality of service, power amplifier technology and wireless access networks.
Philips Semiconductors' TriMedia processor has been selected to power Philips Consumer Electronics' highly advanced FW-i1000, an Internet radio mini shelf system. This new convergence product combines a CD mini shelf system with Internet audio.
Qualcomm has been ordered by the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce to share its IP royalties for CMDA and other technologies with the Korean Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI). The royalties will comprise a charge of $80m for the first fiscal quarter 2001 ending in December 2000, said the company. In addition, Qualcomm must continue to share with ETRI some of the royalties that Qualcomm will receive from sales of CDMA equipment for use in Korea.
Industry
Despite the recent slowdown in high-tech growth, the chip industry is on track to meet expectations of record revenues for 2000, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). The association reported that $18,28 bn worth of chips were sold in November, a 28% increase from November 1999, putting it in line to record $205 bn in revenue for the entire year, a 37% increase over 1999. However, it said the figures still showed effects of the slowdown. Chip sales fell 2% in November from October, including a 5% drop in the Americas and 3,5% in the Asia/Pacific market, which excludes Japan. However, SIA President George Scalise said that the industry's outlook remains strong.
Advanced Forecasting continues to warn of softer bookings and delays in chip orders in 2001. The research group has stated that it was also the only major research firm to accurately predict the semiconductor's turning point in the fourth quarter of 2000. The company described itself as a 'lone wolf' in predicting the current semiconductor slowdown, when other market researchers were still forecasting a boom in chip sales through 2003. Last January Advanced Forecasting analysts predicted an 80% probability of a significant downturn in semiconductor sales during 2000 whilst other analysts were optimistic about 2000 and 2001.
Despite a slight slowdown at the end of the year, the worldwide semiconductor market reached $222,1 bn in 2000, a 31% increase over 1999 revenue, according to preliminary results from Dataquest. Intel retained its top position in semiconductor revenue by a wide margin, Toshiba second, and NEC third. Next came Samsung (4), Texas Instruments (5), Motorola (6), STMicroelectronics (7), Hitachi (8), Hyundai (9) and Infineon (10). The Americas region was the largest in the world with revenue of $71,7 bn in 2000, an increase of 29% over 1999, reported Dataquest. The Asia/Pacific region had revenue totalling $56,9 bn, Japan, $50,4 bn, while the semiconductor market in Europe surpassed $43,1 bn, up 29 % from last year, said Dataquest.
As computer network users demand an increasing amount of bandwidth, the market for network processors will be huge over the next several years, reaching $2,9 bn by 2004, according Cahners In-Stat. No network chipmaker is likely to take over the market as Intel has done in the PC chip market, said the group, although Intel is likely to be one of the leaders. Motorola and IBM will be Intel's major competitors with about 15 other entrants joining the fray. In-Stat said that products supporting industry standards will win out over proprietary offerings, and as the market's volume rises, ASICs will be replaced by standard products.
Microchip Technologies has delayed the start-up of a new wafer fab facility in response to a slowdown in chip sales, which is partly due to inventory adjustments by customers, said Microchip. The company also said it is cutting capital spending to $420m in fiscal 2001 from $510m under its previous plan. For fiscal 2002, Microchip has lowered its capital spending to just $100m. Microchip now expects to report net sales of about $176,3m in the previous fiscal quarter.
The CompactPCI (cPCI) CPU board market has reached a critical juncture. In 1999, worldwide revenues surpassed $200m, according to IDC findings. Other than being a financial milestone for the cPCI CPU board architecture, Senior IDC Analyst Paul Zorfass said that cPCI and its suppliers have demonstrated they have found their footing in the highly competitive boards market and now have a sustainable value statement for building business. IDC adds that it predicts revenues will soar well above $1 bn by 2003. Nevertheless, IDC cautions that cPCI will be market focused, albeit a very large market, and most of the activity for the architecture will be driven by the telecommunications industry. Telecommunications currently accounts for approximately 80% of cPCI's revenues and units, and in 2003 its market share will still be dominant at 77%, it says.
In a strategy shift, Cambridge Display Technology says it is to begin manufacturing its own products. CDT has licensed its light emitting polymers (LEP) intellectual property (IP) to a number of firms but is now to set up a facility in Cambridge that will begin manufacturing at the beginning of 2002. The facility will be used to test and demonstrate LEP technology and will also make limited runs of specialised displays for avionics and other low volume applications.
The UK government and industry is putting £7m into an independent research programme into the effects of mobile phones on health. Although there is still no proven scientific link between mobile phone use and potential health problems the amount of research worldwide is growing.
Philips Semiconductors has established a Design Competence Center in Shanghai - the first research and development centre of its kind in the country - to serve the needs of the rapidly growing Chinese market. The Design Competence Center will support the creation of new products tailored for the Chinese market and pave the way for further business development in the country. It will introduce systems and application-specific ICs based on Chinese standards and customer requirements. The company says that the initial focus of the centre will be on developing technology for applications with a time horizon between two to five years, with particular emphasis on growth markets such as digital TV, wireless communication and identification.
The International Trade Commission has decided to investigate claims by Xilinx that Altera is importing products that infringe three Xilinx patents. The decision follows a previous request by Xilinx, to investigate alleged infringements by Altera, and to bar Altera from importing or selling products into the US that infringe the three patents. The patents cover important aspects of field programmable gate array technology. The Altera products covered by the three patents include all of the Flex, Apex and Acex families. An initial ruling on the issue of infringement is expected by the third calendar quarter of 2001. The three Xilinx patent claims named in this case differ from the two patents upheld by a federal jury in November.
Technology
Texas Instruments has unveiled a new low-frequency RF chip designed to simplify the design of vehicle access systems while cutting cost, development time and broad space requirements. TI says its TMS37122 is an analog front-end IC that is designated, supports passive entry, including anti-collision, 'passive go,' immobilisation and remote keyless entry features all in one system. The chip is a primary component of a keyless access solution and requires no action from the user. For passive entry, drivers can have the keyfob on their person, and when they come within 2 m of the vehicle and pull the door handle, the device automatically identifies the driver and unlocks the door.
Mitsubishi Materials Corporation (MMC) has unveiled a revolutionary all IP (Internet Protocol)-based wireless solution, to potential business partners and aims to deploy the technology in the US by the end of 2001. SWIFTcomm, for Smart Wireless Internet for Field Teamwork, has a simple open architecture that provides mobile users the ability to secure high-speed Internet connections on almost any mobile device using its unique @irPointer - a pocket-sized mobile routing device - even when traveling at speeds as high as 160 km/h, it claims. The simple, IP-based architecture of the SWIFTcomm network, consisting of servers and routers, offers a significantly low deployment cost and can deliver data at bit cost of nearly zero. The simplicity of the system is touted to be its significant advantage.
Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector (SPS) has revealed plans to add an ARM-based version to its DragonBall processor line. All versions of the DragonBall family are currently based on Motorola's 68000 processor. The DragonBall processor is a best-selling PDA processor says the company.
Infineon Technologies, a pioneer in the field of VDSL, has together with 3COM, been awarded a patent for Ethernet Transport Facility over DSL technology. The technology, trademarked by Infineon as 10Base-S, uses VDSL modem technology to provide high performance copper access technology for the high growth MDU/MTU market. The newly issued 10Base-S patent covers the transmission of Ethernet, the most common LAN protocol over VDSL and the highest performance DSL technology currently available. 10Base-S co-exists with xDSL, ISDN and Digital PBX systems, allowing system vendors to offer standard, full duplex, 10 Mbps Ethernet data transfer in addition to traditional telephone services over existing copper infrastructure. 10Base-S is a low-power, quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) solution that uses frequency division multiplexing (FDM) to separate downstream channels from upstream channels as well as to separate both downstream and upstream channels from POTS signals.
Texas Instruments has rolled out an all-digital amplifier chip solution. TI's TDAA chip set provides a totally digital signal processing chain from line-level input to high-power output. TI's TAS5000 is a pulse-width modulator that converts a Sony-Philips digital interface (S/PDIF) input or USB data stream into a pulse stream that can be amplified by a digital class-D amplifier, consisting of two TAS5100 H-bridges. The TAS5000 digital modulator takes I2S pulse code modulation (PCM) data and transforms it into a pulse-width modulated stream to drive the amplifiers and 30 W outputs.
Samsung Electronics is sampling a multi-chip package device that stacks a 64 Mb NAND-type flash memory chip and an 8 Mb SRAM together for use in 3G cellular phones. According to Samsung the SRAM serves as a buffer/working memory, while the NAND flash chip stores data. Increased flash memory capacity to store music files, still picture data and other applications are a necessity for 3G phones, it says.
Intel is introducing a portable digital audio player that provides up to four hours of music programming and more than 20 h of spoken-word audio. The new product is equipped with 128 MB of flash memory for storing digital audio in MP3 and Windows Media Audio (WMA) formats and also has a FM radio. Called the Intel pocket concert audio player it can be used with the optional Intel audio accessory kit that includes a home stereo dock and car audio adapter.
Dense-Pac Microsystems has unveiled a new 3D chip-packaging format that combines DSPs with other devices. The company says the new DSP HeLP-Stack is part of a new series of 3-D packages that will combine dissimilar devices in a three-dimensional arrangement. The assembly stacks a fixed-point DSP chip from Texas Instruments with a 4 Mb SRAM (configured 256K x16 bits), and a 10 MHz timing reference device. The footprint is similar to a 144-pin thin-quad flat pack (TQFP). The company claims the 3-D package will save more than 50% board space in embedded processor applications.
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