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.

Ultra-thin and electricity-saving organic light diodes, OLEDs, have been introduced commercially in mobile phones, cameras and super-thin TVs.

Gresham Power Electronics, the Salisbury-based defence and commercial power solutions designers and manufacturers, has won a major contract for the Australian Navy to supply helicopter starting rectifiers and DC power distribution systems for the Hobart Class air warfare destroyer.

Infineon Technologies and ARM have signed a long-term strategic collaboration in the field of security controllers (MCU) for chip cards and security applications.

In its 3D Display Technology and Market Forecast Report, DisplaySearch forecasts that the total stereoscopic 3D display market will grow from 0.7 million units in 2008 to 196 million units in 2018, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38% for revenue and 75% for units.

Australian company Digital Works has made a major breakthrough in the global battery charger market by developing two first-to-market products that leverage USB technology to charge different mobile devices from the one unit as well as standard rechargeable batteries.

Global large-area TFT LCD panel shipments reached a record high of 527 million units in 2009, with strong growth in TV, mini-note and public display applications, indicating recovery from the economic crisis in late 2008, according to the DisplaySearch Quarterly Large-Area TFT LCD Shipment Report.

Digi-Key has expanded its agreement with CTS Corporation to include the Tusonix range of EMI/RFI filters, capacitor assemblies and related components.

Renesas has completed a new building to increase microcontroller production capacity at the back-end process plant of Renesas Semiconductor in Beijing, China.

January LCD monitor production for top PC and monitor brands­ - about 85% of the market­ - was 12.5m, the highest level in more than a year, as noted in the newly announced DisplaySearch Monthly Desktop Monitor Brand and OEM Production Report.

Imec says it will take part in the Green Touch Initiative, a consortium initiated by Bell Labs, the research arm of Alcatel-Lucent.