08/02/2007 BASF and CogniTek believe that the unique properties of supercritical carbon dioxide and ionic liquids could transform low-temperature heat (e.g., solar) into high-value power. And so the two will partner to examine the prospect. The result would be an efficient power-generation system with integral heating and cooling.
08/02/2007 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, assisted by electronics industry representatives, executed a large-scale raid on businesses and residences suspected of imports, sales and distribution, and installation of illegal modification chips (mods) and other IP violations. The investigation, comprising 32 federal search warrants in 16 states, and 22 ICE offices, targeted illegal chip and software manufacture for gaming consoles.
08/02/2007 IBM reportedly will lay off up to 450 employees, mostly from its systems and technologies group in upstate NY, amid cost-cutting efforts. About 90 layoffs will come from the company's site in Essex Junction, VT, notes the Associated Press (AP).
08/02/2007 Cnano Technology Ltd. has received $6 million in venture funding co-led by CMEA Ventures and Pangaea Ventures that included WI Harper. Cnano is focused on manufacturing carbon nanotubes and the development of applications associated with the nanotubes.
08/01/2007 August 1, 2007 - Optical Associates Inc. (OAI) says it has added a nanoimprint lithography module as an option to its mask aligners, technology provided by HP spinoff Nanoimprintsolution Inc.
08/01/2007 August 1, 2007 - Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp. has crossed the 100% capacity utilization mark thanks mainly to trailing-edge (0.18-micron) business from TSMC and a flurry of foundry orders for LCD driver ICs, and it's banking on newly-acquired 200mm fab capacity to carry the day, according to local media reports.
08/01/2007 August 1, 2007 - OSRAM Opto Semiconductors says it will stop making its "Pictiva" organic LEDs (OLEDs) for passive matrix displays by year's end, instead focusing on its OLED activities for "market-ready" lighting solutions.
08/01/2007 August 1, 2007 - Photronics Inc. says 3Q07 sales will be 6%-14% below previous projections to a range of $101-$103 million, due to a shortfall in photomask orders from FPD and European semiconductor customers.
08/01/2007 Working with HP licensee Nanolithosolution Inc., OAI (Optical Associates Inc.) is offering nano imprint lithography as an option for all of its mask aligners -- which can then be used as imprint systems or as standard mask aligners.
08/01/2007 FEI Company reported year-over-year increases in revenue, earnings, bookings and cash and investments for the second quarter of 2007. Net sales were the highest for any quarter in the company's history, and quarterly earnings were the second-highest ever and the largest second-quarter total ever.
08/01/2007 This well-worn axiom from a top military planner, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, describes the mindset necessary to survive and prevail in the melee of business.
08/01/2007 Beginning about 35 years ago, manufacturers began to recognize that to achieve greater productivity, they would need faster, more efficient internal factory transportation and logistics systems.
08/01/2007 The need for back-side metal adhesion and solder contact for ultra-thin, discrete, high-power semiconductor devices has increased significantly over the past several years.
08/01/2007 Silicone adhesives are becoming more widely used in microelectronic hybrid assemblies due to their inherently low elastic modulus, which relieves stress between substrates with different coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) during thermal cycling.
08/01/2007 New technologies, chemistries and value-adds notwithstanding, cleanroom consumables are driven by two tenets for suppliers and users alike: They have to function properly and consistently, and they have to do so cost-effectively.
08/01/2007 From pharmaceuticals to semiconductors, cleanrooms are highly regulated environments. Under the International Organization for Standardization’s (ISO) strict criteria put forth in 2001, manufacturers across the board have fallen under a great amount of pressure to keep cleanrooms clean and have been forced to evaluate and improve their housekeeping regimens.
08/01/2007 It’s no secret that biopharmaceutical companies are moving rapidly toward disposable products for the production of protein therapeutics and vaccines.
08/01/2007 Since human-generated contamination plays a large role in critical environments, special care must be taken to provide appropriate garments to minimize the human impact on the cleanroom.
