Rombauer Vineyards first winery to install Cambrian Innovation’s EcoVolt solution for onsite wastewater treatment.

 

SEMI’s book-to-bill ratio went positive in December at 1.06. The last six months’ b-to-bs are: July 1.05; August 1.03; September 1.05; October 0.91; November 0.96; December 1.06. December bookings were $1.99 billion – 28.3%  higher than  November’s  2016 $1.55 billion, and 47.8% higher than December 2015 bookings of $1.34 billion. December billings were $1.87 billion – 15.7%  higher …

Read full article: December SEMI b-to-b goes positive

TI expects Q1 revenue between $3.17 billion and $3.43 billion with analogue IC revenue rising 10.5% to $2.29 billion.

Read full article: TI sees auto strength

In Q2, UMC plans to apply to the Taiwan government for permission to instal a 28nm process at its Xiamen, mainland China jv fab,  reports Digitimes. The Xiamen fab is a three-way jv between UMC, Xiamen Municipal Government and Fujian Electronics and Information Group. It currently uses a 40nm process. Under Taiwan law, UMC is not …

Read full article: UMC plans to transfer 28nm process to China

This iFixit teardown covers the evolution of arguably the best-known headset – the Touch controller, added to the Oculus Rift system at the end of last year.

Read full article: Tearing down the Oculus Rift Touch controller

Mouser has signed a global distribution agreement with SparkFun Electronics, to distribute its DIY electronics and open-source technology globally. The distributor is expecting interest from professionals as well as hobbyists and makers. “The agreement provides increased access to both Mouser’s and SparkFun’s product ecosystems, enabling customers to shop for maker technology to support their projects,” …

Read full article: Mouser stocks SparkFun for makers and professionals

Kyocera has managed to squeeze 10A capability into a 2.2 x 5.64mm board to board connector with 0.7mm stack height. Part of the 7129 series, it is intended to allow high battery charging currents in portable devices such as smartphones, tablets and wearables. It also includes two signal pins. According to the firm, it has metal guides …

Read full article: Tiny battery connector handles 10A for faster charging

Imec has develops an image sensor with integrated color (Red Green Blue, RGB) and narrow-band near-infrared (NIR) filters.

Read full article: Imec develops RGB-NIR multi-spectral image sensor

The story of China’s biro makes you wonder if China’s $160 billion initiative to spawn a chip industry is doomed. Although a big biro manufacturer, it transpired that China was importing the tips, so reducing profitability, because it did not have the precision machinery or the quality of steel to make the tips itself. It …

Read full article: A Communist Dictatorship’s Route To IC-Making

Toshiba has appointed Goldman Sachs to help with the attempted sale of a 20-30% stake in its chip business. First bids are expected the week after next with a buyer to be selected by the end of March. Canon, Western Digital, Tokyo Electron and various private equity companies are said to have shown an interest, …

Read full article: Poor Old Tosh