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Discusses the presentations and papers in the International Electron Devices Meeting in San Francisco, California, on December, 2000. Sessions that shed light or progress and future challenges for a variety of semiconductor technologies; Developments in the high-speed analog and mixed signal arena; Use of gallium-arsenide heterojunction bipolar transistor as power amplifiers.

This article reports on the decision of TDK Corp. to acquire Tustin, California-based Silicon Systems Inc. for about $200 million on April 10, 1989. Silicon Systems makes specialized circuits for disk drives and telecommunications equipment. Although its annual revenues were just $121 million in 1988, the company could be a boon to TDK. About 80 percent of the company's sales come from outside the U.S., 25 percent of that from Japan. With TDK's support, Silicon could reach its goal which is sales of $1 billion by the late 1990s.

Information about several papers discussed at the International Symposium on Physical Design held in April 2006 in San Jose, California is presented. New chip design at 65 nanometers where temperature, voltage and process variations have dramatic impact on chip timing, manufacturability and yield were offered during the symposium. It also featured several authors from the University of California in Los Angeles and International Business Machine Research who received ISPD 2006 Best Paper Award.

The article discusses the outlook for a prototype silicon chip that works like a gateway between computers. Although still a hatchling, this so-called silicon photonic chip, devised by a Carlsbad, Calif. startup called Luxtera, could mark the beginning of a new Internet era when computers will be able to tap into huge reserves of data, no matter where they are situated, as easily as they now retrieve data from their own hard drives. "It will mean that distance truly won't matter anymore," says Arno Penzias, a Nobel laureate and one of Luxtera's venture backers. Cary Gunn is a cofounder and vice president of Luxtera. Figuring out how to funnel as much light as possible from a laser into the tiny modulator structure is another part of Luxtera's secret sauce. The company saved enormous trial-and-error time by using a complex modeling program built by two Caltech undergraduates that simulates how light and electrons interact in three dimensions. Intel researchers are working feverishly on their own silicon photonic components, including modulators, which operate at 4 gigabits a second. Essential to holding down costs is using the same manufacturing tools and factories used to make cheap PC chips. Luxtera is relying on Freescale Semiconductor to build its chips. INSET: Lighten Up.

Information about several papers discussed at LSI Logic conference sponsored by LSI Corp. on the firm's role in the global industry held in Mountainview, California in 2010 is presented. Topics include the corporate history of LSI Logic, the recognition of the firm as the first fabless semiconductor firms, and the absorption of Toshiba's complementary metal oxide semiconductors (CMOS) process technology lock. The conference featured several LSI Corp.'s employees including Ven Lee.

The article provides information on the 2009 Fortune Brainstorm Tech meeting on July 2009 in Pasadena, California. The meeting featured many magnates from marketing, advertising, and entertainment industry. The former U.S. presidential candidate, Howard Dean was the speaker at the meeting while, the inventor Ray Kurzweil delivered his paper regarding the exponential advancement and impact of semiconductor technologies.

Information about several papers discussed at the Globalpress Summit Conference in 2008 in San Francisco, California is presented. The event highlighted problems affecting the semiconductor industry. Chief executive officer (CEO) Moshe Gavrielov of Xilinx Inc. said that there was a 40 percent decrease in design starts for application-specified standard product/application-specified integrated circuits. CEO Ronnie Vashita of eASIC Corp. blamed it to the increasing costs and risk.

The article offers news briefs related to technology in California. Qualcomm Inc. will hold Brew 2006 Conference at Manchester Grand Hyatt. Syntricity Inc., a provider of enterprise yield management software for the semiconductor industry declared that it has received a credit line of 1.5 million dollars to expand its business. Computer Modules Inc. introduces DVB Guardian which is planned to provide redundancy to transport stream distribution network used in video to cell phones.

Reports business developments in California as of December 2002. Business partnership of Jmar Technologies Inc.; Effort of Novatel Wireless to remain on the Nasdaq National Market exchange; Source of funds for the drug development projects of Idun Pharmaceuticals Inc.