Volterra Semiconductor Has Returned 21.4% Since SmarTrend Recommendation

Posted on January 31, 2012 by

SmarTrend identified an Uptrend for Volterra Semiconductor (VLTR) on December 2nd, 2011 at $24.79. In approximately 2 months, Volterra Semiconductor has returned 21.42% as of today’s recent price of $30.10.

In the past 52 weeks, shares of Volterra Semiconductor have traded between a low of $18.09 and a high of $31.08 and are now at $30.10, which is 66% above that low price. Over the last five market days, the 200-day moving average (MA) has gone up 0.6% while the 50-day MA has advanced 2.4%.

Volterra Semiconductor Corp. designs, develops, and markets proprietary, high performance analog and mixed-signal power management semiconductors for the computing, storage, networking and consumer markets. The Company’s core products are integrated-voltage regulator semiconductors and scalable voltage semiconductor chipsets.

Read More

These semiconductors are cooled with laser light

Posted on January 23, 2012 by

Researchers at the Niels Bohr Institute have managed to successfully combine two worlds: quantum physics and nano physics.

The joining of two very distinct universes has already led to the discovery of a new method for laser cooling semiconductor membranes.

As you probably already know, semiconductors are vital components in solar cells, LEDs and many other electronic devices. These semiconductors are cooled with laser light As such, the efficient cooling of components is critical for the design of future quantum computers and ultrasensitive sensors.

So how does the new cooling method work?

Quite paradoxically – by actually heating the material! Indeed, using lasers, researchers cooled membrane fluctuations to minus 269 degrees C.

Read More

Semiconductor Startup SuVolta Collects $17.6M In Second Funding Round

Posted on January 6, 2012 by

Last month we highlighted some work by SuVolta, a startup in tech that is not involved with the web or social media, but rather is taking aim at the foundational technologies of computing. The small team has reportedly put together a new process for manufacturing transistors that reduces their power requirements dramatically, making the resultant chips especially good for devices like handsets and tablets.

They caught the eye of Fujitsu, which has helped them execute the technology, and now they’ve drawn a hefty second funding round, raising $17.6 million from new and old investors.

Their original funding was $22 million in 2010, and they came out of stealth mode in June of that year. The original investors were Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, August Capital and NEA; Bright Capital, Northgate Capital, DAG Ventures, and some others not mentioned have been added to the list.

Presumably the original investment funded the primary R&D, and this new cash will enable a bit more work in the production and promotion of the Powershrink technology. While they have a friend in Fujitsu, maintaining financial independence ensures they won’t be preyed upon later on in the process when, inevitably, various semiconductor companies begin to sniff about Suvolta with money in their eyes.

Read More

QWx0YWlyIFNlbWljb25kdWN0b3IgUmVsZWFzZXMgUHJvZHVjdGlvbiBUZXN0IFRvb2wgQmFzZWQg b24gdGhlIFJvaGRlICYgU2Nod2FyeiBDTVc1MDAsIE9wdGltaXplZCBmb3IgVGVzdGluZyBNb2Jp bGUgVGVybWluYWxzIEVxdWlwcGVkIHdpdGggQWx0YWlyIExURSBDaGlwc2V0cw==

Posted on January 4, 2012 by

Product Was Developed to Meet Growing Requirements of Altair’s OEM/ODM Customers Transitioning into Mass Production

Altair Semiconductor ( http://www.altair-semi.com ), the world’s leading developer of ultra-low power, small footprint and high performance 4G LTE chipsets, and Rohde & Schwarz, announced today the release of a production line tool that enables effective testing of LTE terminals built on Altair’s FourGee chipsets.

The introduction of the production tool comes in response to Altair’s growing number of OEM and ODM customers currently transitioning into mass production. As LTE gains momentum around the world, demand for production tools that can quickly and effectively test LTE terminals is greatly increasing.

“The functional interaction of the Altair 4G LTE chipset and the R&S test equipment provides high value to the cost sensitive production market,” said Terje Schröder, Managing Director of Global Customer Management at Rohde & Schwarz. “We are looking forward to expanding our relationship with Altair to meet the demand of the increasing numbers of their terminal vendors, introducing LTE products to the market.”

Read More

Semiconductor Equipment Industry Turns Into a Hotbed of Merger Activity

Posted on January 2, 2012 by

The Semiconductor Equipment and Materials industry was a hotbed of mergers and acquisitions last year. With competition picking up, and margins getting squeezed, several industry heavyweights looked towards mergers to create cost synergies. The Bedford Report examines the outlook for companies in the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials industry and provides equity research on Applied Materials, Inc. and Lam Research Corporation . Access to the full company reports can be found at:

www.bedfordreport.com/AMAT

www.bedfordreport.com/LRCX

Last month the semiconductor equipment maker Lam Research Corp. agreed to buy rival Novellus Systems Inc. for $3.3 billion in stock. Lam said that the acquisition will help it cultivate more advanced chip making technology and increase its revenue faster than either company could on its own. The company also expects it to speed up its earnings growth.

Read More

The 10 Worst Semiconductor Stocks of 2011

Posted on December 30, 2011 by

If your semiconductor stock showed huge gains in 2010, it probably showed equally huge losses in 2011. That’s because it’s been a miserable year for semiconductor investors, and for last year’s highfliers. The cyclical industry is prone to swings and wild overcorrections in both positive and negative directions. Still, if you’re a long-time veteran of the industry, it’s been far worse: 2011 wasn’t nearly as bad as late 2001, when semiconductor spending dipped more than 40% year-over-year. Nor was it as bad as early 2009, when year-over-year spending sank 30%.

Overall, semiconductor sales are expected to grow 1.3% this year, according to industry association WSTS. That’d mark the first time semiconductor sales surpass $300 billion annually, but it’d also represent a below-average growth rate. More importantly, it’d mean that semiconductor sales are the weakest of any technology subsector. Since technology in general underperformed other sectors this year, that’s a recipe for steep losses.

And the steep losses rained down on the sector after a promising start to the year. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index — a rough proxy for the industry — is off 11.9% on the year, far worse than the Nasdaq’s 2.4% decline.

Read More

RnJvc3QgJiBTdWxsaXZhbjogVGhlIE5leHQgR2VuZXJhdGlvbiBvZiBNb2JpbGUgQ29tbXVuaWNh dGlvbnMgT2ZmZXJzIFZhc3QgU2NvcGUgZm9yIHRoZSBBcHBsaWNhdGlvbiBvZiBTZW1pY29uZHVj dG9ycw==

Posted on December 28, 2011 by

Communications technology in most countries has evolved far beyond a simple voice service to encompass video broadcasting. The need for improved functionality, particularly in smart phones and long-term evolution (LTE) phones, has multiplied the RF components in mobile phones, which, in turn, has raised the cost share of these components in the baseband module.

However, the demand for added functionality and the technical complexity of integrating many components onto a single module poses a significant technical challenge in the design of smart phones. This issue can be assuaged to some extent through outsourcing and the complete integration of RF semiconductor components.

Read More

Improving Electrical Efficiency in Organic Semiconductors

Posted on December 27, 2011 by

By packing molecules closer together, chemical engineers at Stanford have dramatically improved the electrical conductivity of organic semiconductors. The advance could herald flexible electronics, more efficient solar panels and perhaps even better television screens.

Organic semiconductors could usher in an era of foldable smartphones, better high-definition television screens and solar clothing that turns sunlight into electricity for recharging your iPad. But there is one serious drawback: Organic semiconductors do not conduct electricity very well.

In a paper to be published in the journal Nature, researchers at Stanford led by chemical engineer Zhenan Bao have changed that equation by improving the ability of the electrons to move through organic semiconductors. The secret is in packing the molecules closer together as the semiconductor crystals form, a technique engineers describe as “straining the lattice.”

Read More

Power semi market to grow 5% in 2012, says IMS

Posted on December 23, 2011 by

The global power semiconductor market will grow by 5.0 percent in 2012 to $32 billion after growing by 3.7 percent in 2011, according to market research firm IMS Research.

IMS (Wellingborough, England) attributes the relatively low growth in 2011 and 2012 to global economic uncertainty and a concommittant reduction in inventory as it is flushed from the supply chain. The market, which grew by 37 percent in 2010 is forecast to return to double-digit growth in 2013.

Power IC market growth was almost 3 percent lower than power discrete growth in 2011, though this trend is set to be reversed in 2012, with slightly higher growth predicted for power ICs. The power module market continued to outperform both power discretes and power ICs, showing sustained high double-digit growth in 2011, which is projected to remain in for the next four years, driven by demand for IGBT modules.

Read More

ISA rewards Brand India ‘technovation’ in ESDM

Posted on December 19, 2011 by

India Semiconductor Association (ISA), the trade body representing the Indian semiconductor and electronics systems, recently announced the winners of Technovation Awards December 2011.

The Technovation Awards, in its fifth edition this year, seek to recognize and honor India’s most competitive companies across the electronics ecosystem. Along the way, it has diversified from identifying and rewarding achievements in only the semiconductor domain.

“We celebrate ‘Excellence in Electronics’ to recognize excellence and identify role models in the Indian Electronic Systems Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) ecosystem,” said P.V.G. Menon, president of ISA.

“These awards highlight the achievements of India’s strong culture of innovation and IP development in R&D, and will help make India among the top-five destinations for innovation and product development and design,” he added.

Read More