Ambrell, an AmeriTherm Company, Scottsville, N.Y., has sold an Ekoheat 35 kW/30 kHz induction heating system to a fastener manufacturer to preheat blanks prior to forging. The solution includes a custom-built coil, along with an optical pyrometer and controller for quality control. The client determined that a new modern system with process feedback from Ambrell’s Application Lab would allow shorter heating times and faster production rate.
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Ipsen USA, Cherry Valley, Ill., will present two papers at the 27th ASM Heat Treating Society Conference and Exposition, “Redefining Quenching Technology” and “Bright Tempering: Achieving High-Quality Appearance during Tempering.” The Ipsen booth (#1529) will feature several technologies covering the range of Ipsen’s premium vacuum and atmosphere product lines. Additionally, furnaces well-suited for low-pressure carburizing, such as the Turbo2Treater, will also be represented.
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Instron, Norwood, Mass., introduces its Digital Image Correlation (DIC) system. This combination of hardware and software is designed to optically detect strain and displacement within a defined area on the surface of specimens or components exposed to loads. It enables users to visualize these characteristics in real-time on a computer screen, so that they can be traced over the entire duration of the test. Image and calibration data is supplied by an Instron advanced video extensometer.
Continue readingImec, Leuven, Belgium, and Excico, Hasselt, Belgium, have successfully demonstrated the application of laser thermal anneal (LTA) to boost the current in vertical polysilicon channel devices for 3D memory. Due to the larger grain size of the laser recrystallized polycrystalline channel material, up to ten times higher read current and 2.5 times steeper sub-threshold slope could be obtained as compared to a conventional polysilicon channel.
Continue readingHydraulic press is energy efficient and accurate A new 3500 ton molding machine will allow EVCO Plastics, Deforest, Wis., a leading custom plastics manufacturer, to provide customers with increased efficiency to further advance its large-part production capabilities and provide greater cost savings. The new 3500 ton Engel press is up and running at EVCO’s Oshkosh, Wis., plant, with production orders in the queue.
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Ipsen USA, Cherry Valley, Ill., announces that Hansen-Balk Steel Treating has purchased Ipsen’s first Titan Temper vacuum furnace. It was designed as a dedicated batch furnace for tempering, aging, annealing, and stress relieving, and Hansen-Balk’s tool and die applications were factored into the furnace’s testing. The low-temperature furnace incorporates shared data from both companies.
Continue readingMentor Graphics Corp., Wilsonville, Ore., announces that its 3D-IC flow solutions have been validated by TSMC with a true 3D stacking test vehicle for TSMC’s 3D-IC Reference Flow. The flow expands support from silicon interposer offerings to include TSV-based, stacked die designs.
Continue readingMaterion Microelectronics & Services, a Materion Corporation business, Cleveland, Ohio, has opened a Materials Applications Laboratory in Westford, Mass. It will serve three functions: produce coatings for customer evaluations of PVD materials, promote customer education/collaboration, and support Materion internal R&D. The laboratory features thin film equipment, such as a sputtering system with a 150-mm diameter target, and an electron beam box coater.
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Dr. Rehan Ahmed and Prof. Christopher C. Berndt will serve as Guest Editors for a special issue of the Journal of Thermal Spray Technology on the subject of “Development and Applications of Nanocomposite Coatings.” This issue will review and highlight the most recent advances in nanocomposite materials with special reference to thermal and cold spray processing.
Continue readingSUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE), Albany, N.Y.; and Mohawk Valley EDGE, Utica, N.Y., announce an expanded partnership through which CNSE will lead development of the Marcy Nanocenter site by serving as the site end user. The partnership is designed to accelerate the attraction of next-generation 450-mm computer chip manufacturing to the Mohawk Valley by deploying a public-private partnership model similar to the CNSE Global 450-mm Consortium (G450C). The $4.
Continue readingSamsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Japan, is now mass-producing 4-gigabit (Gb) advanced DDR4 memory, for enterprise servers in next-generation data centers. Early market availability of the devices, which use 20 nm-class process technology, will facilitate demand for 16- and 32-gigabyte memory modules. This compares to conventional DRAM of which 8 gigabyte modules using a 30nm-class process technology are still commonplace.
Continue readingAsylum Research, an Oxford Instruments company, Santa Barbara, Calif., announces Contact Resonance Viscoelastic Mapping Mode, an option available exclusively for Asylum’s Cypher and MFP-3D Atomic Force Microscopes. Contact Resonance (CR) enables high resolution, quantitative imaging of both elastic storage modulus and viscoelastic loss modulus.
Continue readingThe Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), Research Triangle Park, N.C.; and the Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC), Abu Dhabi, have launched the ATIC-SRC Center of Excellence for Energy Efficient Electronic Systems (ACE4S). ATIC will dedicate over $4.7 million to the project over the next three years, which will be matched collectively by Masdar Institute and Khalifa University for a total budget of more than $9 million.
Continue readingGreenCentre Canada, Kingston, Ontario, has recently incorporated its third spinoff company, Precision Molecular Design Corp., to commercialize a metal deposition technology that allows manufacturers to generate circuit interconnects in successive layers one atom at a time. This will allow the semiconductor industry to develop the next generation of smaller microchips that can be produced with less waste and lower power consumption.
Continue readingResearchers from North Carolina State University, Raleigh, developed 3D printing technology and techniques to create free-standing structures made of liquid metal at room temperature. “It’s difficult to create structures out of liquids, because liquids want to bead up. But we’ve found that a liquid metal alloy of gallium and indium reacts to the oxygen in the air at room temperature to form a ‘skin’ that allows the liquid metal structures to retain their shapes,” says Dr.
Continue readingCarnegie Mellon University’s Center for Silicon System Implementation, Pittsburgh, has received a $2.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation to develop next-generation ultra-efficient silicon chips that could trigger a revolution in how chips are designed and operated. The three-year initiative involves eight faculty members who have expertise in a variety of areas that include circuit design, computer architecture, and integrated circuit chip manufacturing.
Continue readingThe University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, reports that its researchers have developed a thallium-doped bismuth telluride topological insulator, a material that conducts electricity on its surface, but not in its interior. With their new approach, the researchers can tweak the properties of the bulk of their material from a so-called “p-type” semiconductor, which conducts electricity because of a deficiency of electrons, to an “n-type,” which conducts because of an excess of electrons.
Continue readingPark Systems, Santa Clara, Calif., introduces Park NX-HDM, a fully automated automatic defect review and sub-angstrom surface roughness atomic force microscopy (AFM) system for device substrates and disk media. The NX-HDM system increases throughput by up to 1000% with a 30% higher success rate than the prior system. It can analyze, identify, and scan media for all wafer sizes up to 150mm.
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Alfe Heat Treating, Fort Wayne, Ind., sponsor of the University of Texas Austin’s Solar Power Team, helped design and build the TexSun, a vehicle with an aluminum sub-frame and chassis. The 35-pound design is much lighter than the previous model’s 80-pound steel sub-frame and chassis. “The aluminum chassis was great because it is so much lighter,” said Alfe Vice President Dan Andersen.
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Seco/Warwick Corp., Meadville, Pa., has received an order for a CaseMaster Evolution vacuum carburizing furnace line that includes a washer/tempering unit, loaders, and line control system with single load tracking. The system is dedicated to the treatment of automotive steering system components. The contract was signed in August 2013 with ThyssenKrupp Presta de Mexico S.A. de CV, and the turnkey production cell will be delivered in the second quarter of 2014.
Continue readingSUSS MicroTec, Sunnyvale, Calif., and Sematech announce that SUSS MicroTec’s photomask equipment division has partnered with Sematech to investigate and develop extreme ultraviolet lithography substrate and blank cleaning technologies that will accelerate process availability for extreme ultraviolet pilot line manufacturing.
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The Industrial Heating Equipment Association, Taylor Mill, Ky., recently announced its 2013-14 Board of Directors and Officers. Serving as president (shown in the photo) is Tim Lee of Maxon, a division of Honeywell. Bob Green of Bloom Engineering was named IHEA Vice-President, and B.J. Bernard of Surface Combustion was elected Treasurer. Outgoing president Mike Shay of Elster Kromschröder, assumes the role of Past President.
Continue readingAllegro MicroSystems LLC, Worcester, Mass., released a new POL converter module series. The BR200 series are thin POL converter modules with an industry standard exterior shape and footprint that are responsive to very high speed loads and compatible with ceramic capacitors. These POL converter modules have been designed with higher efficiency, increased power density and are offered in a thinner package that most competitive solutions on the market today.
Continue readingDow Electronic Materials, Marlborough, Mass., announces availability of its Solderon BP TS 6000 tin-silver plating chemistry for lead-free solder bump plating applications. In copper pillar capping applications, it forms a smooth, micro-void free interface post reflow. It features enhanced plating performance, bath stability, and ease of use, thereby enabling the industry’s widest process window with the most robust process flexibility and a competitive cost of ownership.
Continue readingIBM, Armonk, N.Y., has completed the acquisition of SoftLayer Technologies Inc., Dallas, Texas. SoftLayer joins IBM’s new cloud services division, which combines SoftLayer with IBM SmartCloud into a global platform. The new division, led by General Manager James Comfort, will provide a broad range of choices to both IBM and SoftLayer clients, ISVs, and channel and technology partners.
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Sulzer Metco, Switzerland, has released a new plasma spray gun, the SinplexPro, with cascading arc technology. It typically boosts process efficiency by 60% to 170% over conventional spray guns, based on testing to date. It eliminates the interdependence of the plasma arc with processing gases and flows, which results in a more idealized state of the plasma jet that provides more uniform heating of feedstock particles.
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Bruker microCT (Kontich, Belgium) introduces a newly developed volume rendering application for mobile devices operating under iOS, such as iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. It is now available as a free download on the App Store. Any 3D results obtained using SkyScan scanners can be sent to a mobile device for realistic visualization by real-time volume rendering with the possibility of 3D object manipulation, virtual cut, adjustments of object’s opacity and colors, etc.
Continue readingAzzurro Semiconductors, Germany, has successfully achieved superior electrical performance and established a volume production track record for large size high-voltage GaN-on-Si high-voltage wafers. Unlike silicon, which has inherent limitations for fast switching at high voltage, GaN can meet these performance requirements with its excellent breakdown voltage and low leakage characteristics. At present, the availability in the industry is still limited for production-suitable 6 in.
Continue readingNitinol Devices & Components Inc., Fremont, Calif., produces an expansive array of components for the medical device and industrial markets. Products range from simple and delicate wire forms, to complex and unique laser cut designs. Materials are available in wire, strip, sheet, tubing, and bar for development, testing, and high-volume production needs.
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