MICROELECTRONICS NEWSLETTER
July 3, 1976

INTERSIL - AMS MERGER
The Intersil-AMS merger makes a lot more sense than the other combinations, including American Microsystems, Intersil. AMS' legal situation is one which could be resolved, if need be, since most legal actions of this type are amenable to settlement.

FAIRCHILD MOS
It seems incredible that Fairchild has not established a stronger position in the MOS market. Fairchild has done as well in vertically integrated watch market.

WESTERN DIGITAL
Additional capital is not the solution to Western Digital's business problems. With the drying up of profits in the calculator business and the disappearance of customers through vertical integration, Western Digital has to become a factor in microprocessors or the RAM market. Neither of these programs appear strong at Digital. With the departure of key engineers it is unlikely that they will be able to make an effective comeback. Merger of Western Digital with a larger and stronger organization would be the best solution to the problem.

SUPERTEX
Start-ups are back in style and more can be expected.

MOS TECHNOLOGY
MOS Technology has done a good job of improving on the Motorola 6800 microprocessor. With the effectiveness of Synertek as a second source, it's possible that MOS Technology will finally be able to move the product in reasonable volume.

MOTOROLA
Motorola advertisements have not been well received in the Phoenix area, since a lot of the words regarding leadership and "you will have a job next year" are a little difficult for local Phoenix residents to swallow. Motorola/Austin still represents a substantial unknown in terms of its ability to attract personnel and its overall production effectiveness.

NITRON
Bob Cole was considered one of the good workers at Nitron.

INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGY
It seems unlikely that Bud Frye, with his background in optoelectronics, would have the ideal experience to move Integrated Circuit Technology to 3-4" wafer mask production. Frye is a good man, but it's difficult to see how he qualifies for this particular job.

OVERALL COMMENTS ON BUSINESS LEVELS
We note (in spite of the last monthly report from WEMA on bookings) that the business picture in integrated circuits appears to be very strong. New programs are now being refused in some cases for lack of profitability and/or the fact that all production and engineering capacity has or is being utilized. (Probably the best evaluation would be to apply a three-month rolling average to the WEMA numbers and use this as an overall trend indicator of the IC business.)