International Rectifier Corporation, based in the USA, and Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands, has announced the sale of TechnoFusion GmbH, a maker of power generation systems for automotive electronics, to International Rectifier (IR).

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands and BenQ Corporation of Taiwan announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding to co-operate in the development of next generation optical storage data drives for the PC industry.

In order to streamline its organisational structure, Royal Philips Electronics has decided to decrease the number of its corporate regions from seven to four. As part of this process the Netherlands region will be integrated in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa).

SanDisk Corporation has announced that it has formally concluded the agreements with Toshiba Corporation related to the relocation of their joint FlashVision venture from the Dominion Semiconductor facility in Manassas, VA, to Toshiba's semiconductor plant at Yokkaichi, Japan.

The Australian Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (AEEMA) has collaborated with Minter Ellison to develop an all-new approach to helping members comply with their trade practices obligations.

The European Commission has put forward a proposal to prohibit cadmium batteries in electrical vehicles during 2005.

Sony is actively searching for component parts, as well as the technology required for development of new products, from its existing component suppliers worldwide via the internet.

Rob Westerhof, Chief Executive of Philips Electronics China Group, says Hong Kong is going to benefit as China becomes the world's semiconductor centre.

A team at Johns Hopkins University in the US has developed a prototype chip that uses light instead of wires as an interface.

Looking to cut biodetector size and cost, Washington State University researchers have applied microprinting to the design of lab-on-a-chip systems.

As the shake-up in the rankings, largely the result of the severe economic downturn that hit the semiconductor industry in 2001, occurs worldwide chip sales in February totalled A$20 billion, the same as January's sales.

Nanotubes measuring just 100 atoms in diameter have been created from designer molecules that were customised to self-assemble into angstrom-sized circuit elements, according to researchers at Purdue University, US.

Leaders from across the ICT innovation spectrum will join with Senator Alston, Minister for Communications, IT and the Arts, in delivering a framework for the development of Australia’s ICT sector over the next decade.

The Australian Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (AEEMA) will hold its third annual excellence awards on 31 July at Sydney’s Australian Technology Park.

East & Partners’ quarterly benchmark of IT&T supplier performance, has just been released.