ACTON, MA—Azimuth Systems, a provider of wireless broadband test equipment and channel emulators for WiMAX, 4G and Wi-Fi, announced that its ACE 400WB MIMO Channel Emulator has been awarded the 2008 MITX Technology Customer Impact Award. The MITX Technology Awards, presented by the Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange, recognize innovative technologies developed in the New England area.

The Customer Impact award honors a technology product that has made a significant impact on its customers’ ability to effectively develop and deliver innovative technology. As the wireless industry’s only MIMO-optimized channel emulator, the ACE 400WB is used by silicon providers, equipment vendors and service providers throughout the wireless equipment supply chain. The ACE 400WB performs real-time emulation of over-the-air conditions that introduce channel fading to recreate real-world scenarios. By enabling MIMO performance testing in a lab, the ACE 400WB replaces time-consuming over-the-air drive testing that lacks repeatability, saving hundreds of hours of costly and unrepeatable field experimentation.
TORONTO, CANADA—Redline Communications Group Inc., a provider of WiMAX and broadband wireless infrastructure products, has announced that its RedMAX 4C family of Mobile WiMAX has received the 2008 North American Product Innovation Award from Frost & Sullivan. The award is presented each year to companies demonstrating excellence in new products and technologies within their industry. Redline Communications has received the award for its advanced RedMAX 4C family of mobile WiMAX products.
DALLAS, TEXAS—Diodes Inc. a global manufacturer and supplier of application-specific standard products within the broad discrete and analog semiconductor markets, has completed its acquisition of Zetex plc in an all cash deal. This acquisition offers combined 2007 revenue of $528 million.
CHANDLER, ARIZ.—Microchip Technology Inc., a provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, has been recognized by the following national business and electronics organizations for product and workplace leadership.

Forbes magazine named Microchip to its 4th annual list of the “Forbes Global 2000” largest companies in the world. The magazine includes companies with the top composite scores, based on their rankings for sales, profits, assets and market value. Forbes uses this composite ranking because they believe that one metric alone can give a false impression about corporate size.

Microchip was also named a winner of the 2008 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility, distinguishing the company as a leading practitioner of workplace flexibility in Arizona and across the nation. These honors are awarded as part of the When Work Works project, an ongoing initiative of the Families and Work Institute, the Institute for a Competitive Workforce (an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce), and the Twiga Foundation. The Sloan Awards recognize organizations that are dedicated to making work “work” for both the employer and the employees. Representing employers of all sizes and all types, winners of this award not only offer excellent workplace flexibility practices, but they also use flexibility as a strategic business tool to enhance organizational effectiveness while benefiting employees.

Finally, Microchip’s new PIC32 32-b microcontroller product family was selected for an “Editor’s Choice” award from eg3’s inaugural “Tech Choice Awards” in the “Embedded Processors” category. The technical editors surveyed numerous suppliers and identified the key technology areas facing the embedded systems industry, including Virtualization, Embedded Processors, Embedded Tools, FPGAs and Tools, Wireless, and MicroTCA.