Harris Corp’s proposed acquisition of the Solid State Electronics division of General Electric Co, Stamford, Connecticut looks like the chip steal of the century and will shoot the Melbourne, Florida computer, telecommunications and semiconductor company into the higher echelons of the world’s chipmakers, as well as having repercussions this side of the Atlantic, where Harris operates a joint venture with Matra SA, Matra-Harris Semiconducteur SA in France. The move will strengthen Harris’ position in analogue, digital signal processing, data acquisition and CMOS logic circuits – but there were one or two extremely interesting properties within GE, and it is not yet at all clear exactly what Harris is getting. GE is hanging on to one or two of its key product lines, and neither side is prepared to say too much until the transfer is completed towards the end of the year. GE’s line of semi-conductor CMOS gate arrays introduced in November, 1983, and the hot three-dimensional solid modelling accelerator chip, as used in the GEFile retrieval system (CI No 404), are both to be included in the transfer, it is understood. GE is to retain all custom military chip production and its marketing agreement with Sun Microsystems made in October, 1986, involving Sun’s 68020-based workstations and GE’s Graphicon graphics processor, which enabled high performance three dimensional graphics still stands. Lines still under negotiation include the transistors designed at Illinois University in Indium Gallium Arsenide-Aluminium Gallium Arsenide (CI No 534), claimed to run at up to 230GHz, and the contract with Mercury Inc for array processor systems for magnetic resonance imaging. Harriswill also have access to research facilities in New York, where it is claimed superconducting film has been successfully placed on a silicon chip, enabling it to function at temperatures warmer than liquid nitrogen for the first time.
Despite its decision to offload its semiconductor business to Harris Corp, General Electric says that it will not abandon its participation in the Microelectionics & Com.cw 8 puter Technology Corp precompetitive research and development co operative in Austin, Texas. GE became a member by default when it acquired RCA Corp, and is abandoning its participation in the computer-aided design and software programmes, but has joined the new superconducting materials programme.
