NEC Corp said it developed the world's smallest transistor, which could allow chips powerful enough to build a supercomputer the size of a personal computer.
NEC's design is one-eighteenth the size of current transistors, Mitsumasa Fukumoto, a spokesman for the Tokyo-based company said, confirming an earlier report by the Asahi newspaper.
Transistors are electronic circuits that form the basic building block for most semiconductors, a market worth US$155 billion last year. Gaining some of that revenue with the new transistor is still some ways off for NEC, said John Yang, an analyst at Standard & Poor's in Tokyo.
"The development itself is impressive, but the real challenge for NEC is building an effective business model," Yang said.
"Japanese companies are not good at putting technological developments into some marketable form."
NEC was awarded the fourth-highest number of patents from the US Patent and Trademark Office last year as it sought to gain a competitive advantage. IBM Corp led with 3,288 patents, edging second-place Canon Inc. Micron Technology Inc, the world's second-largest maker of memory chips, finished third.
Armonk New York-based IBM produces processors such as the PowerPC chip used in Apple Inc's computers. Santa Clara, California-based Intel Corp, the world's biggest maker of computer chips, had semiconductor sales of US$22.3 billion last year.
NEC was to introduce the transistor at an international convention that was set to begin yesterday in the US, Fukumoto said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued a sea alert for Typhoon Fung-wong (鳳凰) as it threatened vessels operating in waters off the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島), the Bashi Channel and south of the Taiwan Strait. A land alert is expected to be announced some time between late last night and early this morning, the CWA said. As of press time last night, Taoyuan, as well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties had declared today a typhoon day, canceling work and classes. Except for a few select districts in Taipei and New Taipei City, all other areas and city
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