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br> Soitec, French supplier of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers, announces the conclusion of an agreement to acquire all the shares of TraciT Technologies, a company based in Grenoble, France. TraciT Technologies specializes in thin-film layer transfer technologies that leverage molecular adhesion and mechanical, as well as chemical, thinning processes for the production of micro-electro mechanical (MEMS) and power circuits. A spin-off from the CEA-Leti, TraciT Technologies was formed in 2003. Following an initial development phase, TraciT Technologies, with its confirmed potential growth, has to quickly move to production to satisfy the needs of its customers in Europe, North America and Asia.

Analog Devices has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Integrant Technologies of Seoul, Korea. An innovator in the field of high-performance analog circuits designed for reconfigurable radio frequency (RF) signal processing, Integrant (78 employees) supplies low-power radio tuners that allow mobile communications, computer, and consumer devices to receive digital television (TV) and digital radio broadcasts. Integrant is best known for the low-power Digital Multimedia Broadcast (DMB) tuners it supplies to Korea's leading mobile phone manufacturers. ADI expects to pay approximately $127 million in cash at the closing in exchange for substantially all of the outstanding shares of Integrant. ADI may pay up to an additional $33 million upon the achievement of certain milestones.

National Semiconductor reported annual revenues of $2.16 billion compared to $1.91 billion in FY05 and $1.98 billion for FY04. For fiscal 2006, the company reported net income of $449.2 million. This compares to the $415.3 million net profit reported for FY2005 and the $282.8 million net profit reported for FY2004.

Mindspeed Technologies is establishing an engineering design center in Dubai for the development of communications ICs and software. The Mindspeed facility will be located at the DSOA Microelectronics Innovation Center. In addition to its facilities in the United States, Mindspeed operates design centers in China, India and the Ukraine.

The DSOA is a legal entity in Dubai defined by the Dubai Government. DSOA is developing an 'industrial city,' a technology center for leading international high-technology companies. The technology center comprises a Duty Free Zone, spanning over 7.2 million square meters, and is designed to include manufacturing, design, and development centers for microelectronics, photovoltaics and optoelectronics.

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) released an updated forecast projecting worldwide sales of semiconductors will grow by 9.8 percent to $249.6 billion in 2006. The forecast was revised upward from the November forecast projecting an increase of 7.9 percent. The SIA attributed the upward revision to stronger than expected growth in key end markets for semiconductors, most notably cell phones. The SIA now believes approximately one billion cell phones will be sold worldwide in 2006. With an average semiconductor content of $41 per unit, this segment is now second only to personal computers in terms of total chip consumption.

The revised forecast also includes more optimistic projections for industry sales from 2006 through 2009. According to the SIA, the industry will grow by 11.0 percent in 2007, 12.0 percent in 2008, and 4.0 percent in 2009. If the latest forecast materializes, worldwide semiconductor sales will reach $323 billion in 2009. The new forecast projects an average compound annual growth rate of 9.2 percent from 2005 through 2009.

The new forecast projects that analog products will be one of the fastest-growing segments of the market in 2006, with growth driven by strong demand from wireless communications and industrial and medical equipment applications. The revised forecast projects growth of 17.3 percent to $37.4 billion. This segment is projected to grow to $48.6 billion by 2009, a CAGR of 11.1 percent.

Discrete products are projected to grow by 4.9 percent to $16.0 billion in 2006 and to $18.9 in 2009, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.5 percent.

Optoelectronic device sales are projected to grow by 11 percent to $16.5 billion in 2006 and to $21.9 billion in 2009, a CAGR of 10.1 percent.

Microprocessor sales are projected to grow by 4.3 percent to $36.4 billion in 2006 and to $46.0 billion in 2009, a CAGR of 7.1 percent.

Microcontroller sales are projected to grow by 1.9 percent to $12.3 billion in 2006 and to $15.4 billion in 2009, a CAGR of 6.3 percent.

Digital signal processors (DSPs) sales are projected to grow by 18.5 percent to $9.0 billion in 2006 and to $14.1 billion in 2009, a CAGR of 16.7 percent.

MOS logic device sales are projected to grow by 7.6 percent to $62.1 billion in 2006 and to $82.5 billion in 2009, a CAGR of 9.3 percent.

DRAM sales are projected to increase by 9.1 percent to $27.9 billion in 2006 and to $32.8 billion in 2009, a CAGR of 6.4 percent.

Flash memory sales are projected to grow by 20.0 percent to $22.3 billion in 2006 and to $31.1 billion in 2009, a CAGR of 13.7 percent..

The Asia-Pacific region will continue to be the fastest-growing market for chips, and is projected to reach 49 percent of a worldwide market in 2009. Europe will show the slowest growth during the period, growing from $40 billion last year to about $51 billion by 2009. In the same period, the U.S. market is expected to increase from $40.5 billion to about $58 billion, with the Asia Pacific region moving from $103 billion in 2005 to $158 billion in 2009. Japanese market is expected to reach $59 billion by 2009 from $42 million last year.

Fujitsu, NEC Electronics, Renesas Technology and Toshiba have agreed to seek to define a standard process technology that can be applied to the manufacture of advanced system LSIs at the 45 nm generation and beyond.
The joint program will define a basic standard for certain aspects of the process technology that will enable each company to have easier access to the intellectual property (IP) and libraries of the others, in consideration of possible shared use of one another's wafer fabs and potential integration of fabs in the future. Following technical studies, the companies will strive to define the standardized specifications by the end of this year.

Success in defining a basic standard has the potential to promote cross use of IP and libraries among the participants, improve fab operating rates, and facilitate large-scale capital investments among the companies. The framework is expected to boost the overall efficiency of the companies as well as the Japanese semiconductor industry.

In consideration of Advanced Process Semiconductor Foundry Planning Co. Ltd.'s recommendations emphasizing the importance of process technology standardization at the 45nm generation and beyond, the four companies will strive toward this end.