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br> Working with STMicroelectronics to equip a 300-mm wafer fab in Catania, Italy, is one of three options for adding manufacturing capacity under consideration by Freescale Semiconductor, according to Denis Griot, the company's senior vice president.

Earlier this week, Carlo Bozotti, ST's president and chief executive officer, said the chip maker was looking for partners to share the cost of equipping the fab. Griot confirmed to Europelectronics that Freescale is considering such an investment.

Griot, who also manages Freescale's operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, was the key negotiator when Freescale (then Motorola Semiconductor) joined the Crolles 2 chip project in which it cooperates with ST and Philips Semiconductor on process and IP development.

Griot spoke at the Europartners Distribution Forum in Paris. When asked by EE Times UK if investing in Catania was under consideration, Griot said, "I think a lot of the Crolle technology will migrate to proprietary fabs in addition to TSMC, as it does today. And of course we are considering the scenario you mentioned. But there are other scenarios which are more in Asia but also in North America."
Griot added, "The final decision has definitely not been taken and this is just one scenario among three we are considering."

TRONIC'S Microsystems, a contract manufacturer of custom MEMS components, announced that it is extending its capabilities for design, frontend/backend manufacturing and electronic interfacing of MEMS components supported by a 1.7MEUR financial round with its institutional investors. The French manufacturer recently completed the upgrade of its facility from four-inch to six-inch wafer technology. The 1.7MEUR in fourth-round venture backing, which was concluded on May 12, will partially fund the capacity and capability expansions. All previous investors participated in the recent round: CDC Entreprises Innovation, Sercel, Credit Agricole Private Equity, Schneider Electric Ventures, CEA Valorisation and IXCore. TRONIC'S has received 15MEUR in total investment to support its continuous growth and consolidate its business development since its founding in 1997.

In Q1, NOR-type flash memory market decreased 6,1% sequentially to $ 2013 M, according to preliminary market-share data from iSuppli.
Spansion retained its position as the world’s leading supplier of NOR-type flash memory. The U.S.-based company achieved NOR sales of $562 million in the first quarter, down 6.5 percent from $601 million in the fourth quarter of 2005. Intel held onto second place with revenue of $537 million, down 10.5 percent from $600 million in the fourth quarter. Europe’s STMicroelectronics remained in third place with revenue of $327 million, a 2.4 percent decline from $335 million in the fourth quarter.
Samsung Electronics notched up its best-ever quarter for NOR flash sales, with revenue of $125 million, up 9 percent from $114 million in the fourth quarter.

Total shipments of charge-coupled devices (CCDs) and CMOS image sensors are expected to grow 31% this year, reaching 1.9 billion units worldwide, and that will be enough to push sales up 12% and across the $7 billion mark, says IC Insights.

In 2005, image sensor sales grew a little more than 11% to $6.3 billion with unit shipments rising 45%. The optoelectronics chapter of the O-S-D Report shows average selling prices (ASPs) collapsing by 24% in 2005 and then dropping another 15% in 2006.

Image sensor revenues are now expected to increase at a CAGR of 15%, with unit volumes growing at a 20% average rate in the 2005-2010 time period. By 2010, image sensor sales are expected to reach $12.8 billion with unit shipments topping 3.6 million, according to the IC Insights O-S-D forecast.

In the image sensor arena, CMOS-based devices continue to grab share away from CCDs due to the strong growth in camera cell phones and the ability to integrate more circuit functions with pixel arrays on a single chip. CMOS devices are forecast to account for more than 60% of the total image sensor market in 2006, up from 45% in 2003. According to IC Insights’ outlook, CMOS image sensors will claim more than 80% of the total revenues and over 90% of the units in 2008.

Strong demand boosted the worldwide market for chemicals and materials for semiconductor manufacturing by 6.1% in 2005, and growth for 2006 is projected at 6.8%, according to The Information Network. The clear winner in the market is the silicon-wafer sector, which will grow 8.9% in revenues in 2006 to $ 8,642 billions driven by higher pricing, increased volume demand across all diameters, and a rash of 300mm fabs coming online.

Valor had recently completed the purchase of the Danish TraceXpert, now a wholly owned Valor subsidiary under the name “Valor Denmark”. The purchase will enable Valor to achieve full business and operational integration with the Danish company and its products, resulting in reduced costs and increased profitability. “We see an increasing demand for Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) in the Assembly market. Due to the fact that TraceXpert plays a key role in our solution for that market and due to the great potential that we see in TraceXpert as a company, we decided to complete the purchase ahead of time”, explained Shofman.
“Overall, I am optimistic about the future”, said Shofman. “We expect to see an increase in revenues and net profit in Q2, and to meet or even exceed our original profit outlook of $3 Million for 2006”, he concluded.