Sun Separates Chip Group

Sun Microsystems(SUNW Quote) is breaking out its silicon group into a separate business division, as the company moves to step up sales of its computer chips beyond its own products.

The Santa Clara, Calif., company said Tuesday that it has established a microelectronics group headed by Sun veteran David Yen. The group will focus on developing chips that target the high-performance computing, networking and cryptography markets.

Tuesday's organizational change is the latest move by CEO Jonathan Schwartz to rejuvenate the tech company, which has struggled since the dot-com bust several years ago. The company's stock is up 21% since Schwartz took the helm from co-founder Scott McNealy in April 2006. ...