SiliconBeat

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the integrated circuit, the National Inventors Hall of Fame will honor 16 people who helped pioneer computer-chip technology during a ceremony Saturday, May 2 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View.

Andy Grove, who formerly served as Santa Clara chip-maker Intel’s chief executive and chairman, will be given a lifetime achievement award. In addition, 15 other chip innovators will be recognized for their contributions to the industry.

But you wouldn’t want us to spoil the surprise by telling you who they all are and what they did, would you? Of course not. So if you’re curious, go here.

PDF Solutions had its shares slammed Tuesday after the San Jose provider of tools to help chip makers improve their manufacturing yields said late Monday that it was lowering the guidance it gave on its results back on Feb. 7. Its shares dropped $1.33, or 23.6 percent, to $4.30.

“As we noted during our fourth quarter conference call,” said PDF chief executive John
Kibarian in a statement, “we entered 2008 against a fairly strong headwind in the
semiconductor industry. That trend has continued.”

Someone forgot to tell Intel. The world’s largest chip maker reported results for its first quarter that met analysts’ estimates and forecast sales in the future that may top projections. Intel jumped after hours today on the news, climbing 6.9 percent as of 2:30 p.m.