04/09/2007 Piper Plastics, Inc., a plastics-parts machining company, is producing test socket components from EPM-2204U-W: a proprietary grade, based on VICTREX PEEK polymer, that resists moisture absorption and suits tight pitch and fine-diameter holes. The plastic components offer advantages over ceramics and other polymers, according to Dave Wilkinson, materials engineering manager.
04/09/2007 Georgia Tech researchers say they've developed a "3D multiphoton" technique, a process involving two-photon absorbing molecules that are sensitive to laser light at short wavelengths, that could be applied to simplify and cut costs for patterning 65nm devices.
04/09/2007 April 9, 2007 - Anadigics Inc. says it has agreed to build a 150mm gallium arsenide (GaAs) IC wafer fab in Kunshan, in China's Jiangsu Province, to add capacity beyond its current primary wafer fab in New Jersey.
04/09/2007 Invetech completed a commercialization project developing high-volume, low-cost processes for prismatic supercapacitor manufacturing. CAP-XX (Sydney, Australia) partnered with Invetech for product development and manufacturing technologies to commercialize the proprietary power-storage devices in mobile telecom, medical, automotive, and industrial markets.
04/09/2007 April 9, 2007 - After nearly a year working with 45nm technology partners NEC and Toshiba, Sony says it will pursue future development outside the partnership, seen as a blow to efforts to group Japan's chipmakers together to compete against international rivals, according to a Reuters report.
04/09/2007 Nanogen, Inc. has obtained a United States Government Service Administration (GSA) Schedule contract for its NanoChip 400 microarray instrument and reagents. The contract means that both current and new customers will be able to expedite purchases.
04/09/2007 A new ABI Research report on the timing devices market and MEMS developers' efforts to unseat decades-old quartz technology says the upstarts face an uphill battle. But Discera, one of the startups looking to win big in this application area, indicates that uneven market acceptance is no surprise—and no problem.
04/09/2007 NEC Corp. says it has developed a corn-based bioplastic that conducts heat faster than stainless steel, and that it aims to mass-produce the material starting in April 2008 for use in mobile phones and other portable devices.
04/06/2007 Broadcast Microwave Services, Inc. (BMS), subsidiary of Cohu, Inc., purchased Tandberg Televisions AVS GmbH (AVS) for about $8.3 million cash. Cohu supplies test handling, burn-in, and thermal solutions for semiconductor, microwave, and closed-circuit-television equipment markets.
04/06/2007 The "Nanotechnology Measurement Handbook," published by Keithley Instruments, provide guides for electrical measurements on nanoscale applications, such as carbon nanotubes (CNT), and references when testing new phenomena in R&D. Practical assistance aids in measuring low-level DC and pulses on nanomaterials and devices, while theoretical and practical considerations are listed for measuring currents, resistances, and voltages typical of nanomaterials.
04/06/2007 April 6, 2007 - "Uneven" investment patterns favoring memory devicemakers over IDM/foundry capacity shook up the final rankings of top semiconductor equipment vendors in 2006, according to Gartner Dataquest, which also gave WaferNEWS its latest take on the sustainability of memory spending.
04/06/2007 Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, says its latest research shows impressive growth for the Finnish nanotechnology sector. The number of Finnish companies active in nanotechnology has more than doubled from 61 to 134 in just two years. More than 40 of these companies already have commercial products based on nanotechnology.
04/06/2007 Small Times was invited to observe the first in a series of roundtable discussions -- moderated by Under Secretary for Technology at the US Department of Commerce, Robert Cresanti -- designed to help understand the impact of barriers to commercializing nanotechnology. Findings will help policymakers ensure that nanotechnology's potential can be realized.
04/05/2007 April 5, 2007 - Strong sales of DRAM memory and wireless communications devices boosted several vendors in the final tally of 2006 worldwide semiconductor sales, according to new figures from Gartner Dataquest. Best growth was at Hynix and Infineon, and Intel is starting to regain ground lost during the year.
04/05/2007 March 27, 2007 -- /FDA News/ -- BARI, ITALY -- Charlie Brown di Rutigliano & Figli S.r.l, in Bari, Italy, is recalling Cerignola Olives, Nocellara Olives and Castelvetrano Olives from distribution because they have the potential to be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium that can cause a life-threatening illness or death.
04/05/2007 April 2, 2007 -- /PRNewswire/ -- KANSAS CITY, KS -- Hospital infections are among the top 10 leading causes of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
04/05/2007 April 04, 2007 -- /BUSINESS WIRE/ -- HONG KONG -- Global-Tech Appliances, Inc. announced today that its board of directors has approved a capital appropriation for its wholly owned subsidiary, Global Optics Limited, in order to expand GOL's complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) camera module (CCM) manufacturing facility in Dongguan, China.
04/05/2007 Cascade Microtech acquired Gryphics, Inc., a private company, for about 843,000 shares of Cascade common stock and $13.7 million cash. Cascade reported this as a strategic step in expanding its advanced production test consumable for high-performance ICs. This market is less volatile than semiconductor-production capacity equipment, explained Eric Strid, CEO.
04/05/2007 March 23, 2007 -- /FDA News/ -- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and California's Department of Health Services (CDHS) today released a joint report on an extensive investigation into the causes of an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak last fall that was associated with contaminated Dole brand Baby Spinach and resulted in 205 confirmed illnesses and three deaths.
A new ABI Research report on the timing devices market and MEMS developers' efforts to unseat decades-old quartz technology says the upstarts face an uphill battle. But Discera, one of the startups looking to win big in this application area, indicates that uneven market acceptance is no surprise—and no problem.
Small Times was invited to observe the first in a series of roundtable discussions -- moderated by Under Secretary for Technology at the US Department of Commerce, Robert Cresanti -- designed to help understand the impact of barriers to commercializing nanotechnology. Findings will help policymakers ensure that nanotechnology's potential can be realized.