Hardide Coatings Ltd., UK, has developed a TSP (thermally stable polycrystalline) diamond coating to extend the life and improve the performance of drilling tools operating in extremely abrasive environments. This is the first successful high-performance coating that can withstand the higher temperatures associated with TSP brazing, extreme loads, and aggressive media.
Dow Corning, Midland, Mich., announces that it is among the newest members of Imec, San Francisco. One of the key challenges is the bonding of the device wafer to a carrier wafer prior to wafer thinning, and the safe debonding of the thin wafer after completion of backside processing. This was Dow Corning’s goal when designing its temporary bonding solution, aimed at simple processing with a bi-layer concept comprising an adhesive and a release layer.
Dow 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.
The Linde Group, Munich, Germany, will invest more than $ 200 million to build a large, state-of-the-art air separation unit (ASU), a new gasification train, and supporting equipment and facilities in La Porte, Texas. The ASU will be the largest operated by Linde in the U.S. and the addition of a new gasification plant will create the world’s largest natural gas based partial oxidation complex for the production of syngas products for petrochemicals.
Scientists and engineers from the Materials and Surface Science Institute (MSSI) at the University of Limerick, Ireland, invented a new metal that will make medical devices inside the body more visible under x-ray. Many medical devices, such as stents and valves, are placed in the body through minimally invasive surgical procedures that are usually performed with the help of medical imaging such as x-ray fluoroscopy. Current materials used to make these devices do not show up well under x-ray.
