wafers

Two prominent research firms have released new data this week that shows the widening impact on components and materials owing to the earthquake that struck Japan on March 11.

Analysts at DisplaySearch published an update on the shortage of materials affecting the flat panel display (FPD) industry, while market researcher IHS iSuppli cited the impact on silicon wafer production in a research note. Sony and Toshiba are also offering updates on production facilities that have been affected.

"In the second week after the Japan earthquake, some additional impacts to the FPD supply chain are beginning to emerge," DisplaySearch … Read more

More dire forecasts for the chip industry.

On the heels of comments from a chip industry watchdog group last week saying the chip equipment business is "on hold," Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's largest contract chip manufacturer, said PC-related chip shipments are expected to be off 20 percent in the fourth quarter.

This bodes ill for PC makers, which appear to be cutting way back on chip orders.

"(For) our fourth quarter computer-related wafer shipments...we expect to see over a 20 percent decline. Which is very severe...compared to a seasonal mid-teens percentage … Read more

If you are thinking of installing solar panels, don't wait.

Lyndon Rive, CEO of solar installer Solar City, says that prices for residential solar systems are climbing. Over time, they will decline. In five to seven years, he predicts solar energy will be on par with regular grid power. (Dick Swanson of SunPower has made the same prediction.)

Unfortunately, buyers right now are caught in a bind. The lingering shortage of silicon continues to keep panel prices high. Meanwhile, the subsidies are going down. Last year, California offered a rebate of $2.80 per watt, he said. This year, … Read more

Germany's Schott Solar and Wacker Chemie AG have formed a joint venture to produce silicon wafers for solar cells, another sign of how the solar industry is consolidating.

Under the deal, Wacker will supply purified silicon to Schott Wacker (easily one of the more accidentally amusing company names in years). Schott Wacker will then turn the silicon into wafers and sell the wafers to Schott. Schott will then turn the wafers into solar cells. The joint venture will also sell wafer to other solar cell makers.

By 2012, the joint venture is expected to produce enough wafers to for … Read more

We look at cool, modern Transformers toys; a GPS device that does so much, it required four CNET editors to test it; a preview build of Microsoft's Windows Home Server; and two slim phones comprise this photo roundup.

Photos: Transformers Transformers hits the big screen this July 4, and that means there's a whole lot of merchandising going on. Among the hordes of Transformers toys is Hasbro's Real Gear Transformers, a series of toy electronics that turn into robots. Remember Soundwave, the Transformer that became a tape deck? Well, this is the next generation of Transformers. And … Read more

It shouldn't take an avid cell phone fan long to realize that the Samsung Wafer, aka the SCH-R510, is a dead-ringer for both the Samsung SGH-X820 and the Samsung SGH-T519 Trace for T-Mobile. Though the Wafer shows some subtle differences inside and out, its basic design closely resembles the earlier handsets. Not surprisingly, Samsung continues to push thin phones, with this form factor in particular being a favorite. Check it out from all angles in our slide show.

Alltel scored a coup today when it became the first carrier to offer the Samsung SCH-r510, a handset we first saw earlier this year at CTIA. Also called "The Wafer," the r510 exemplifies Samsung's overt obsession for slim phones. The candy bar cell phone, which is just 0.33 inch thin and weighs only 2.7 ounces, bears a strong resemblance to the earlier Samsung Trace for T-Mobile. Though I get the meaning behind the "Wafer" name (it's wafer thin) I can't say I like it very much. I keep thinking of a … Read more