Intel Foundry has created the world’s thinnest gallium nitride chiplet, measuring just 19 micrometers thick, along with the industry’s first fully monolithic on-die digital control circuits built on a 300 millimeter GaN-on-silicon wafer.
Continue reading‘Flawless on the outside, flipped within’: Detecting hidden defects in 2D dielectrics with light
A research team at Pohang University of Science and Technology, South Korea developed an interferometric second-harmonic generation imaging approach capable of optically identifying hidden structural defects in thin films of hexagonal boron nitride, a promising material for next-generation semiconductor technologies.
Continue readingResearchers achieve the ‘impossible’ low-loss, tunable dielectric
A multi-disciplinary team led by Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., has developed a material that is both tunable and efficient, marking an achievement that was one of the most elusive goals in microwave electronics.
Continue readingSony and imec unveil high-density backside connectivity module enabling next-generation 3D chip integration
Sony Semiconductor Solutions, Japan, and imec, Belgium, have unveiled a high-density “local BDI” module for 3D chip stacking that allows through-silicon vias to connect through up to 500nm of bulk silicon, unlocking advanced logic and DRAM applications without needing to completely remove the silicon.
Continue readingDefect detection automated in diamond and other advanced semiconductors
Materials scientists at Rice University, Houston Texas, have developed a custom Python-based software tool that uses high-resolution X-ray diffraction to rapidly analyze microscopic defects and calculate dislocation density in diamond and other advanced semiconductor materials.
Continue readingTescan joins Shimadzu group to accelerate innovation and deliver greater value to customers
Japan’s Shimadzu Corporation fully acquired Czech electron microscopy pioneer Tescan, marking an important milestone in Tescan’s continued growth and evolution.
Continue readingUltrathin nanotubes reach 1 nanometer, opening path to smaller electronics
Researchers at the University of Tokyo, Japan, have synthesized highly uniform semiconducting nanotubes just 1 nanometer wide by growing molybdenum disulfide inside protective boron nitride tubes, validating decades-old theoretical predictions and offering a new path for miniaturized electronic devices.
Continue readingGatan introduces the PECS III and Ilion III Systems
Gatan Inc., Pleasanton, Calif., a business of AMETEK Inc., has launched the next-generation PECS III and Ilion III ion milling systems to provide high-quality, consistent sample preparation for advanced materials characterization and industrial laboratory workflows.
Continue readingMegalibraries could reshape AI-driven materials discovery faster than self-driving labs
Researchers at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, have developed a megalibrary platform that enables the rapid, intentional engineering of new materials with specific properties, such as piezoelectricity, by using high-throughput screening and AI-ready datasets to accelerate discovery from years to hours.
Continue readingAI speeds selective and high-yield recovery of critical minerals from industrial waste
A research team at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Wash., has deployed AI agents with the potential to accelerate the recovery of critical minerals from real-world industrial waste in days instead of the months or years required for manual experimentation.
Continue readingTescan Micro-CT to FIB-SEM: A smarter FA workflow for advanced packaging
Tescan, Czech Republic, unifies non-destructive Micro-CT, ultrafast laser processing, and high-precision FIB-SEM into a single, integrated workflow to accelerate root-cause determination in advanced semiconductor packaging while minimizing preparation-induced artifacts.
Continue readingJEOL announces sales launch of LazEdge Laser SEM System
JEOL Ltd., Japan, has launched global sales for LazEdge, a SEM system that integrates proprietary Hamamatsu Photonics laser technology directly into the specimen chamber for high-speed, high-quality sample processing.
Continue readingBruker invests in Photothermal AFM-IR to advance semiconductor research
Bruker Corporation, Billerica, Mass., announced accelerated development of its photothermal AFM-IR spectroscopy capabilities to address research challenges facing the semiconductor industry as device architectures continue to shrink and systems become increasingly more complex.
Continue readingThis new chip survives 1300°F (700°C) and could change AI forever
Researchers at the University of Southern California have unveiled a new memristor memory device that continues to operate at 700 degrees Celsius (~1300 degrees Fahrenheit), marking it as the most robust high-temperature memory technology ever demonstrated.
Continue readingOne Minute Mentor: Austenitizing of Water-Hardening Tool Steels
Austenitizing temperatures for water-hardening tool steels normally vary from 760 to 845 °C (1400 to 1550 °F), as indicated in Table 2. Higher temperatures are sometimes used for special purposes (Fig. 2). Hardenability increases as austenitizing temperature increases. The optimum time at austenitizing temperature is from 10 to 30 min. Preheating is unusual except for very large tools or those with intricate cross sections. It is particularly important to protect shallow-hardening steels against scaling and decarburization. Severe scaling can interfere with heat transfer during quenching and slow the required high rate of cooling. Decarburization will produce a soft surface on any tool steel, but in a deep-hardening steel it can be ground off until the underlying hard high-carbon area is reached. Grinding a shallow-hardening steel will frequently expose the soft core.
For more information, click on the link below (subscription required). Then scroll to Figure 2.
Rafael Agnelli Mesquita; Reinhold Schneider; Cristiane Sales Gonçalves, Heat Treating of Cold-Work Tool Steels — Low- and Un-Alloyed Water and Oil Hardening Steels, ASM International, 2014. https://doi.org/10.31399/asm.hb.v04d.a0005972
First quantum battery developed and tested by Australian researchers
Australian scientists at the University of Melbourne have made a significant leap forward in energy storage technology by developing and testing the world’s first proof-of-concept quantum battery.
Continue readingCosmic is born: A new global player for semiconductor test solutions – built on decades of experience
Following an international expansion strategy initiated in 2022, a new global semiconductor test solutions group named Cosmic has been formed by uniting specialized industrial companies from Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States into two independent divisions: Cosmic Equipment and Cosmic Services.
Continue readingUncovering hidden atomic patterns in semiconductors
Advanced microscopy research at the US Department of Energy μ-ATOMS Energy Frontier Research Center reveals motifs of trace atoms in semiconductors, paving the way for new microelectronics designed atom by atom.
Continue readingNew ZEISS Crossbeam 750 FIB-SEM for high-accuracy sample preparation workflows
ZEISS, Germany, unveiled the Crossbeam 750 FIB-SEM for demanding sample preparation, providing a live “see while you mill” view to enable immediate feedback and uniform first-pass TEM lamellae without interruptions.
Continue readingHelmut Fischer ushers in a new era with the next generation of XRF devices and AI-supported software
The Helmut Fischer Group, Germany, introduced an all-new generation of its high-end segment for coating thickness measurement and material analysis using X-ray fluorescence with two devices, FISCHERSCOPE XDAL and FISCHERSCOPE XDV.
Continue readingSpray Tips: Disadvantages of thermal spraying
As with all coating technologies, thermal spray has some limitations; understanding them is important so that engineers can design effective solutions to the challenges of surface modification.
Continue readingMaterials modeling improved by giving atoms freedom
Researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Calif., created a new model for crystal defects at realistic temperatures. As most materials, especially metals and ceramics, are crystals, their atoms are arranged in three-dimensional lattices that repeat the same exact pattern, over and over again. But there’s a well-known saying in materials science: “Crystals are like people. It is the defects that tend to make them interesting.”
Continue readingAncient zircon crystals offer a glimpse into early Earth history
To determine what Earth was like early in its lifetime, researchers turn to minerals called zircons, which are resilient against physical and chemical alteration over time and thus preserve a precise chemical record about the moments in which they were formed. Some of the oldest zircon crystals are 4.4 billion years old. Now, a new study at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) examines these most ancient zircon grains and discovers evidence for two key findings.
Continue readingElectron microscopy shows ‘mouse bite’ defects in semiconductors
Cornell researchers, Ithaca, N.Y., have used high-resolution 3D imaging to detect, for the first time, the atomic-scale defects in computer chips that can sabotage their performance using a new imaging technique called electron ptychography.
Continue readingElectric field tunes vibrations to ease heat transfer
New research from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory found that applying an electric field to a ceramic material removes barriers to phonon transport, conducting heat almost three times more efficiently along the field direction, challenging conventional understanding about controlling heat flow in solid materials.
Continue readingMicrostructure on demand for additive manufacturing
Fraunhofer ICON Project “UltraGRAIN” demonstrates local microstructure control in metallic components during laser-based directed energy deposition, using pulsed-laser-induced melt pool excitation with potential for tailored products.
Continue readingUnconventional method strengthens metal in extreme conditions
Blacksmiths fire metals before hammering them, as heat always softens metal, making it more malleable and easier to reshape. Or does it? In a surprising new study, engineers from Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.) discovered that, in extreme conditions, heat does not soften pure metals—it strengthens them.
Continue readingHow rough grinding makes stainless steel prone to corrosion
Stainless steel is widely known for its corrosion resistance. But when it is exposed to environments containing chloride ions, such as seawater, the risk of corrosion increases. Manufacturers typically grind the surface to smooth it. However, this finishing process reduces corrosion resistance even further. Researchers at Tohoku University in Japan have recently shed light on why this occurs.
Continue readingNovel AI method sharpens 3D x-ray vision
Researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory have developed a new X-ray tomography method called the perception fused iterative tomography reconstruction engine (PFITRE), a novel approach that combines the physics of X-rays with the power of artificial intelligence (AI).
Continue readingResearchers develop 3D imaging method for mapping electrical behavior in perovskite films
Researchers at several Chinese institutions, led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have developed a 3D electrical imaging technique that enables direct observation of how charge moves through perovskite films.
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