United States Steel Corp., Pittsburgh, introduces Acrylume E Plus, a coated flat-rolled steel that has a chromium-free clear emissive polymer coating, and provides all of the quality and performance attributes of Acrylume, with improved thermal emittance. As with Acrylume and Acrylume CF, Acrylume E Plus minimizes staining and discoloration during storage, handling, and installation, and both products can be used in the same end-use applications.
Ultratech Inc., San Jose, Calif., has shipped its first LSA201 laser spike anneal system to a leading integrated device manufacturer. The LSA201 is built on a new platform that enables precise control over the gases that surround the wafer during processing. At the customer’s facility, the system will be used to develop leading-edge logic technology, mainly focusing on FinFETs.
ASB Industries, Barberton, Ohio, announces that its Heavy Duty Grinder, which is five feet in diameter and 24 feet long, will be modernized at a cost of approximately $400,000. Rebuild will begin in June and is expected to take approximately six months. This major capital investment will allow two-axis grinding for complex roll crowns with extreme accuracy and efficiency. Thermal Spray surfacing materials require different grinding media to achieve critical surface finishes.
Mentor 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.
Alcoa Aerospace, Pittsburgh, announces that it has upgraded and expanded aluminum-lithium casting capacity at the Kitts Green plant in England. It has also expanded capacity by 30% at its Technology Center in Alcoa Center, Pa. The third phase of the expansion is a new $90 million facility under construction adjacent to the plant in Lafayette, Ind., that will provide an additional 20,000 metric tons of aluminum lithium.
