Completing a merger transaction between former NEC Electronics and Renesas Technology, the newly established Renesas Electronics Corporation has started operations.

There is a slow but steady, with many bumps along the way, upturn in demand for people in the electronic industry, says Roy Dickson, senior consultant, Technology Australia Wide Personnel Engineering, Manufacturing and Technical Recruiters.

Premier Farnell has announced two new appointments in the Asia-Pacific region.

Spending on TFT LCD manufacturing equipment is expected to surge from the recession-induced low of US$7 billion in 2009 to approach previous cycle peaks of US$13.2 billion in 2010.

Dow Corning has signed a three-year contract with IMEC to perform joint research on the next generation of crystalline silicon solar cells.

A new electronics industry expo, Electronex, involving a dedicated industry trade show and technical conference is being organised by Australasian Exhibitions and Events (AEE) and the Surface Mount and Circuit Board Association (SMCBA).

Renesas Electronics, Fujitsu NEC, Panasonic and Sharp have agreed to jointly develop a new application platform for mobile phones that will be compatible with both the Symbian and Linux operating systems.

Advantech is the winner of The Most Innovative Corporation Award. The selection for the innovator in China was established by a Chinese magazine and the Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management.

Baolab Microsystems has developed a technology to construct nanoscale MEMS (micro electro mechanical systems) within the structure of the actual CMOS wafer itself using standard, high-volume CMOS lines, which is much easier and quicker with fewer process steps than existing MEMS fabrication techniques that build the MEMS on the surface of the wafer.

Digi-Key has expanded its global distribution agreement with Altera to include the Asia-Pacific region.

It can be inconvenient to replace batteries in electronic devices that need to work for a long period of time, either in biomedical monitoring systems worn by a patient or in monitors for machinery or industrial installations in remote or inaccessible situations.

Caelera, the Australian distributor for Actel, has formed an agreement with the La Trobe University Centre for Technology Infusion in Melbourne whereby the centre will offer product development support for designers wishing to access the technology features of Actel's low-power flash-based FPGA families.

The semiconductor industry will post a revenue decline for just the sixth time in the last 25 years, with worldwide revenue totalling $245 billion in 2009, an 11.4% decline from 2008, according to preliminary estimates by Gartner.

Physicist and IRL group manager, HTS Conductors and Devices, Dr Bob Buckley has won the New Zealand Welly Awards Science & Technology category.

Fuelled by a rapidly developing OLED lighting market and many new applications for OLED displays beyond mobile phone sub-displays and MP3 players, there will be an explosion in demand for OLED materials of all kinds says a new report from NanoMarkets.