GE Global Research, Niskayuna, N.Y., is developing cold spray technology to build large parts and repair existing parts. The cold spray technique has the potential to scale up to build larger parts, with the only limitation being the size of the area over which metal powders can be applied. Since cold spray does not require heat, it allows a repaired part to be restored close to its original condition.
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.
Researchers at Kyushu University, Japan, report that they have developed a new technique to produce thin films of germanium crystals at a temperature of 250°C. Using gold as a catalyst, Prof. Taizoh Sadoh and his colleagues were able to grow germanium crystals in such a way that their crystal structure has the proper orientation and electrical properties. The new method can be used to produce germanium films with a very large area, allowing for more potential applications.
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, Calif., report that they have compressed iron up to 5.6 million atmospheres, a record pressure for solid iron. The Lab’s Yuan Ping used the Omega laser at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics at the University of Rochester, N.Y., to achieve the record pressure by multi-shock compression.
Imec, 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.
