ROME, NY – The ESDA is requesting two-page abstracts for the International Electrostatic Discharge Workshop, taking place May 12-15 in Port D-Albret, France.

Presentations should address novel design concepts; special custom design approaches; technology integration issues; failure analysis; test structures; simulation tools; component-level ESD testing; ESD characterization; system-level ESD issues; immunity of ICs to EMI, and unresolved ESD issues.

Abstracts should be sent as PDFs to iew@esda.org no later than Nov. 26, and should include the title, author’s name and author’s affiliation. 

The technical program committee will announce selections on or before Jan. 7.

YAVNE, ISRAEL – Orbotech Ltd., maker of circuit board inspection equipment, announced revenues for the second quarter totaled $88.6 million, up 2.8% compared to the first quarter, and down about 16% year-over-year.

Net loss for the quarter included a $4.8 million write-off of inventory, as well as a charge of $5 million relating to the company's write-off of its investment in Negevtech Ltd.

Revenues for the first six months of 2007 totaled $174.7 million, down about 15% year-over-year.

FRAMINGHAM, MA – Handset vendors shipped a total of 272.7 million units worldwide in the second quarter, about 6.9% more than the previous quarter, and 16.5% more year-over-year, according to researcher IDC.

Samsung beat Motorola for the number two spot in global market share, with 37.4 million units shipped, added the firm.

Following a slow first quarter, Motorola announced a dismal performance in handset shipments. On the other hand, Samsung announced its fourth straight quarter of record shipments.

Motorola was the only vendor to post a year-over-year decrease among the leading vendors, slipping to third place, citing ongoing shipment challenges in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and to a lesser extent, Europe, said IDC. On the positive side, the company crossed a milestone having shipped its 100 millionth Razr phone.

Number one Nokia’s total shipments equaled more than those of the next three vendors combined (100.8 million units), said IDC. Much of Nokia's growth was attributed to its shipment growth within Europe and Asia, but still showed some signs of struggle in North America. At the same time, Nokia enjoyed a record shipment of 13.9 million units shipped in the region, thanks in part to its N-series and E-series devices.

Sony Ericsson remained the clear number four vendor, and took honors for having the largest year-over-year shipment increase among the leading vendors. Sony Ericsson's Walkman line of phones accounted for a third of its shipments, said IDC. The company also announced the W960 and W910, both expected to ship later this year.

In addition, Sony Ericsson announced plans to establish its own R & D site in Chennai, India, a move that will no doubt aid its manufacturing agreements with partners Flextronics and Foxconn, said the research firm.

LG Electronics, having reached a record shipment level, remained firmly in fifth place, and despite its improvements, closed the gap with Sony Ericsson only slightly, according to IDC.

DUSSELDORF, GERMANY – Henkel Corporation announced Production Automation Corporation will now distribute Henkel’s full line of Hysol, Loctite and Multicore brand electronics assembly and semiconductor packaging materials in North America.

PAC’s 15 outside sales representatives will sell Henkel’s line in New England, MN, ND, SD, NB, WI, TX, AZ, So. CA, and Mexico.

The agreement is effective immediately.

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – Jabil Circuit Inc. will establish a consumer electronics division, the company reported.

SAN JOSE, CA – The Semiconductor Industry Association today applauded House passage of the conference report to H.R. 2272, the “America Competes Act,” comprehensive innovation legislation championed by a broad, bipartisan group in Congress.

“Leadership in science and technology is fundamental to U.S. economic and national security,” said SIA chairman Richard Templeton. “Increased support for basic research and math and science education are the keys to maintaining U.S. leadership. Today’s action by the House demonstrates that Congress understands that connection.”

Templeton is president and CEO of Texas Instruments.

House approval of the conference report to H.R. 2272, following rapidly on the heels of the agreement between House and Senate conferees, is the next-to-last step in sending the bill to the president’s desk. Senate action is expected in early September, at the latest, but possibly as early as tomorrow.

The SIA urged Congress to fulfill the promise of this legislation by completing action on the relevant appropriations bills that will significantly increase funding for physical science and engineering research at the National Science Foundation, the Office of Science in the Department of Energy, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

“The America Competes Act sets the framework for the appropriations through the next several years. We are pleased with the actions of House and Senate appropriators in the FY 2008 bills, and look forward to working with Congress to ensure these critical appropriations bills make it over the finish line this year,” said SIA president George Scalise, in a statement.

While applauding the adoption of this strategic legislation, the SIA also urged Congress to act this year on the unfinished components of the innovation agenda set forward by bipartisan leaders, including reforming U.S. green card and H-1B visa policies to attract and retain more highly educated foreign professionals and making permanent a strengthened R&D tax credit - all shared recommendations of the Gathering Storm report, the President’s American Competitiveness Initiative and the Democratic Innovation Agenda.

“We recognize and applaud all the effort and leadership that has gone into passage of H.R. 2272,” said Scalise. “It is a major step forward for U.S. competitiveness. We also recognize, however, that there is more work to do and we urge Congress to enact legislation this year to attract the best scientists and engineers from around the world and make the tax climate for private-sector research investments competitive with the rest of the world,” Scalise said.

STAMFORD, CT – Total electronic equipment production in India is expected to reach $32 billion in 2011, Gartner Inc. said on Thursday.

In 2006, electronic production in India was $14 billion, the research firm said in a statement.

And semiconductor consumption in the region is expected to more than double to $7.2 billion, Gartner added.

Consumer electronics was the dominant segment last year in terms of production with 39% market share driven by demand for televisions, and audio and video equipment.

Electronics for communication and data processing was next in demand, with 38% and 12% respectively of the overall Indian market, the firm said.

FOSTER CITY, CA – Arena Solutions, provider of on-demand product lifecycle management software, today announced a 40% year-over-year increase in sales for the second quarter.

The company reported strong sales in electronics and medical devices, and robust growth in adoption among its base of automotive supply chain customers.

Enterprises that chose Arena PLM include MathStar; Young Electric Sign Company, and Chatsworth Products Inc.