Sumita Optical Glass developed a green laser light source with reduced "speckle noise," which results from the interference of laser waves.

Cree announced revenue of $131.1 million for its third quarter of fiscal 2009, ended March 29, 2009.

Chip-making companies Renesas Technology and NEC Electronics have agreed to integrate their operations by April next year, in a move that will form an entity surpassing Toshiba as Japan's largest chip maker, according to reports Friday.

Lam Research has revealed its third quarter financial results, indicating a swing to loss as revenues plunged 72% during the three-month period.

Novellus Systems Chief Executive Richard Hill said the chip equipment market may have reached a bottom and provided second-quarter guidance above Wall Street estimates.

MEMC Electronic Materials shares jumped on Friday after the silicon wafer maker posted a first-quarter profit helped mainly by a hefty tax gain.

The idea that Russia might save Qimonda to any great effect in the global chip industry is, I am afraid, ridiculous. And that's with or without the involvement of Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin in the discussions. But that does not mean an attempt will not be made.

Things are looking up for Xugong Group, China's largest heavy machinery maker. Driven by Beijing's five-month-old US$586 billion fiscal stimulus, sales of its bulldozers, wheel loaders, and construction cranes reached an all-time high in March, a spokesman says.

Instead of an expected downturn, Asia's fourth-largest economy squeaked out slight first-quarter GDP growth of 0.1 percent, rather than contracting by .2 percent as expected, according to the Bank of Korea.

SanDisk chief Eli Harari delivered some odd news for folks tracking the memory market: Flash memory prices and demand are actually rising.

The world's largest software maker said profit dropped by 32% to US$2.98 billion. Sales slipped to US$13.65 billion.

Spain's unemployment rate hit 17.4% at the end of March, figures have shown, with the jobless total now having doubled over the past 12 months."It is a terrible figure," Octavio Granado, secretary of state for social security told state television.

Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Friday said it swung to a first-quarter net loss on lower sales and margins, and that it remains difficult to tell when the market will bottom despite signs of improving conditions. The Singapore-based chip foundry reported a net loss of US$114.2 million on revenues of US$243.9 million for the three months ended March 31, its third consecutive quarterly loss. But the figure was better than its average forecast.

Samsung Electronics Friday said global demand for memory chips will improve in the second quarter and expects global shipments of personal computers to rise by a low-single percentage from the preceding quarter.

Innovation is taking a hit these days, with some people even blaming it for the financial market crash. But while most companies are trying to cut costs by eliminating staff and shutting down operations, some are finding new ways to innovate and grow by predicting—and quickly readying themselves for—emerging markets.