STMicroelectronics has made a multi-year, multi-generation license agreement with embedded memory developer Virage Logic. ST has licensed Virage Logic's entire portfolio of embedded memory technology and embedded software tools for its future 90nm and 65nm and current 0.13micron logic processes. Virage Logic is to expand its embedded SRAMs, ROMs and non-volatile memory platforms for both 90nm and future 65nm products targeted for ST's 300mm Crolles II fab in France. STMicroelectronics has already successfully taped out 90nm memory products from Virage Logic.

Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates has been issued a US patent for
"Methods and Apparatus for Alignment of Ion Beam Systems Using Beam Current
Sensors" (No.6,403,972). The technology uses beam current sensors throughout
the beamline for alignment and pre-calibration of the beam optics. The
sensors are used in the company's single wafer VIISta 810 and VIISta 810 HP
medium current ion implanters.
"Pre-calibrating the magnets in the beamline minimises the beam optimisation
time during set-up resulting in significant increases in machine
throughput," says Alan Sheng, PhD and vice president of engineering.

iTech Group has filed suit against National Semiconductor. iTech claims that
National Semiconductor has damaged its business by blocking access to
software and further that National Semiconductor reneged on an agreement to
sell its Mediamatics software business to iTech.
The claim is that iTech contracted with National Semiconductor to buy the
rights to the Mediamatics digital media decoding and encoding software,
including source code with updates, under a perpetual license. Given prior
assurances from National Semiconductor, iTech later contracted separately to
purchase all of the assets of the Mediamatics PC software business. iTech
further alleges that National Semiconductor is not honouring the license
granted to iTech, is not providing iTech with the agreed software and is not
honouring the acquisition of the Mediamatics division with the agreed
assets.
iTech wants access to the software, enforcement of its rights to buy the
Mediamatics business and monetary compensation from National Semiconductor
for not completing the transaction and for bad faith conduct with respect to
the sales.

SI Diamond Technology subsidiary Applied Nanotech has made a license
agreement with a large display manufacturing company in Japan. The worldwide
non-exclusive license includes all the owned and assigned patents of SI
Diamond and Applied Nanotech in the field of carbon films/carbon nanotubes
electron emission technologies for the manufacturing and sales of flat panel
displays. ANI received an up-front payment of $500,000 and will receive a
future royalty of 2% for the product parts manufactured by the licensee. The
running royalty will be paid once the licensee achieves sales exceeding
$100mn. For the next six months ANI will perform R&D for the Japanese
company in the field of hydrogen sensors according to agreed milestones and
for a total payment of $400,000 to be executed on or before January 15,
2003. Applied Nanotech president/CEO Dr Zvi Yaniv believes that hydrogen
sensors have a strong potential application in hydrogen fuel cells.