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br> Sales of machines to make semiconductors will rise much faster in 2006 than initially forecast due to strong demand for electronic goods such as mobile phones, according to U.S. chip market research group VLSI Research. Worldwide sales of chipmaking equipment are expected to rise to $62.8 billion in 2006, up 23.2 percent from 2005, against initial forecasts for a 13 percent increase.
The increase in the forecast was prompted by strong first-quarter equipment sales of $15 billion, 20 percent more than the prior quarter and 9.5 percent above the year-ago period. VLSI Research warned that the surge in investment may be too much and that a correction loomed in the second half of the year.
The ratio of investment in equipment to sales of chips is running at 31 percent this year. This is well above the healthy investment ratio of 20 percent, VLSI Research said.

The use of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) in mobile phone handsets reached $157 million in 2005 and is set to exceed to $1 billion in 2010, according to market research company In-Stat.

Microphones and bulk acoustic resonators have dominated the MEMS market to date but there are now emerging opportunities for inertial sensors, accelerometers, and radio frequency components.

MEMS switches and MEMS-based digital tuning would appear in handsets in 2007, followed by MEMS-based oscillators in 2008. Continued growth is foreseen for silicon membrane microphones based on demand for thinner handsets. In the longer term displays, fuel cells, and other types of MEMS devices could also develop a price advantage, In-Stat said.

The value of worldwide FPGA shipments is expected to increase from $1.9 billion in 2005 to $2.75 billion by 2010, with much of the revenue coming from low-volume shipments, according to In-Stat.
By 2010, the largest two end-use segments will continue to be communications and industrial, growing to a combined FPGA market share of 76.8 percent from 73.8 percent in 2005.

Prelude Trust has invested 1.8 million euros ($2.3 million) in Xanadu Wireless BV, a fabless semiconductor company developing products for the ZigBee low-cost wireless communications market.

The investment is the first part of a larger financing round being provided by Prelude, GIMV and Motorola Ventures, Prelude said, adding that it’s investment has brought it a 19.4 percent shareholding in Xanadu (Utrecht, The Netherlands).

Sir Robin Saxby, founding chief executive officer of processor technology licensing company ARM Holdings and currently chairman, is to retire from the board of directors of the company. He is to be succeeded by semiconductor industry veteran Doug Dunn.

Saxby is due to retire from the board on Oct. 1, 2006, when he takes up the role of President of the U.K. professional body for engineers, the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET). Dunn, aged 61, was president and chief executive officer of ASM Lithography until his retirement in December 2004. Prior to that Dunn held senior positions at Philips Electronics including being in charge of the semiconductor division and prior to that was chief executive of GEC Plessey Semiconductors.

Based on its conviction that Kingbright is infringing fundamental patent rights, OSRAM Opto Semiconductors has filed action against the Taiwanese LED manufacturer Kingbright Electronic at Dusseldorf Regional Court (Germany) and its German subsidiary Kingbright Europe. As part of the suit, Osram has asked that Kingbright be prevented from importing LEDs and Kingbright products containing the LEDs to Germany. Action was similarly taken against distributor D. Schuricht GmbH & Co. KG, Bremen, which is selling Kingbright's LEDs in Germany.