Category Archives: Materials and Equipment

May 18, 2009: PolyOne Corp. (NYSE: POL) and Zyvex Performance Materials have received a $4.9 million grant from the Ohio Third Frontier Commission that will fund further development and production of carbon-nanotube composites. The highly-competitive Third Frontier grant program was created to increase Ohio’s high-tech research capabilities by promoting collaborative innovation.

Cecil Chappelow, vice president, innovation, sustainability and chief innovation officer at PolyOne said, “We are honored by this award and confident that our development efforts will yield a significant portfolio of next-generation thermoplastic materials based on carbon nanotubes.”

Funding will be used to support ongoing development work initiated several months ago under a joint development agreement between PolyOne and Zyvex Performance Materials to produce carbon nanotube-filled thermoplastics for structural and electrically conductive applications.

Lance Criscuolo, president of Zyvex Performance Materials explained, “This grant underscores both companies’ commitment to the technology and our certainty that Zyvex Performance Materials and PolyOne have the expertise needed to drive thermoplastic nanocomposites to the next level of performance. It will also allow us to accelerate our hiring plans and more rapidly introduce our technology commercially.”

May 15, 2009: Life Technologies Corp. (Nasdaq: LIFE) and Zymera Inc., have announced a licensing and supply agreement that gives Zymera rights to Life Technologies’ extensive intellectual property estate related to quantum dots.

Zymera will use Life Technologies’ Qdot nanocrystals to create new, self-illuminating quantum dot products to improve in-vivo imaging, biomarker discovery and a growing number of biosensing applications.

Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as academic researchers, use Life Technologies’ Qdot nanocrystals for studies of the underlying basis of disease and for detecting targets in complex mixtures. These nanocrystals are nanometer-size, fluorescent particles made of semiconductor materials, which are invisible to the naked eye. These tiny particles emit intensely bright light when exposed to low-cost violet or ultraviolet light sources, displaying unique colors due to differences in size and composition.

Zymera’s novel self-illumination technology uses Bioluminescence Resonance Energy Transfer, also referred to as BRET, to transfer light from a bioluminescent protein — such as luciferase — directly to quantum dots. The resulting BRET dots produce light without an external source of illumination, eliminating autofluorescence background and the need for external light sources, such as lasers.


This image shows the tuneability of Qdot nanocrystals. Five different nanocrystal solutions are shown excited with the same long-wavelength UV lamp; the size of the nanocrystal determines the color. (Image courtesy of Life Technologies)

As a result, it is possible to visualize targets deeper in tissue sections or living animals, and to identify multiple targets at the same time with a wider variety of detection devices. Zymera expects to combine the technologies to develop new products for tracing blood and lymphatic fluid flow, tracking cells, and detecting biomarkers for use across a range of life science applications.

“This agreement enables Life Technologies to work with Zymera to expand the applications of our quantum dot technology portfolio beyond fluorescence into bioluminescence, which will enable our entry into new markets,” said Mark Stevenson, president and chief operating officer at Life Technologies

“The combination of Zymera’s technology with our fluorescent nanocrystals has the potential to create powerful solutions for the applied markets and other applications.”

“Quantum dot technology is one of the fastest-evolving technologies in life science,” said Steve Miller, vice president of commercialization at Zymera. “By licensing intellectual property from the market leader in fluorescence-based applications, we are able to advance our Zymera solutions to further unleash the potential of self-illuminating quantum dot products for more scientists to apply this technology to get a clearer picture of complex samples.”

(May 13, 2009) PISCATAWAY, NJ &#151 George G. Harman, a researcher at NIST, contributed enormously to wire bonding technology that led to an understanding of the process, and improved its reliability. His work helped transform a labor-intensive, manual procedure into the present automated, reliable process capable of producing hundreds of billions of packaged semiconductor devices/year. The IEEE with the 2009 IEEE Components, Packaging, and Manufacturing Technology Award is honoring Harman.

The award, sponsored by the IEEE Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technology (CPMT) Society, recognizes Harman for achievements in wire bonding technologies. The award will be presented on May 28, 2009, at the 59th IEEE Electronic Components and Technology Conference in San Diego, Calif.

Wire bonding is the primary method of electrically connecting microchips and other electronics during semiconductor device assembly and packaging, where the tiny wire (as small as 18 &#181m diameter) is connected at both ends using a combination of heat, pressure and ultrasonic energy. The components that make up today’s electronic devices often contain thousands of wire-bonded interconnections to each, carrying the electrical current required to make the devices work. It is estimated that over 90% of all semiconductor devices today are interconnected via wire bonding.

Harman’s first contributions came in the defense industry. In 1968 the Poseidon strategic missile was experiencing unpredictable wire bond reliability problems. The missile contained thousands of small aluminum wire electrical connections, and if one wire failed, the entire device/system could fail. Harman investigated this problem with a goal of improving ultrasonic wire bonding and the ability to evaluate its reliability. He developed a 60- to 120-kHz floating-cone capacitor microphone system to plot the ultrasonic vibration modes of bonding tools. It was found that aspects of the tools, such as the heat produced by lights used to aid the operator’s vision, could cause the highly sensitive bond setups to move out of specification, and that vibration from the bonding machines themselves could also cause unreliable bonds. The results of this work were applied to improve process control and measurement methods and yield a better understanding of other problems in the ultrasonic bonding machines/processes.

Harman started the ASTM F-01.07 committee in 1971 to standardize wire bond testing methods and was responsible for updating these standards in 2006. He also wrote the first version of the nondestructive bond pull test used for MIL-STD-833, and his 1974 paper, “A Metallurgical Basis for the Non-Destructive Bond Pull-Test,” stands alone as the statistical and metallurgical understanding of that test method. The nondestructive bond pull test is currently required for critical space parts used by NASA.

He is well known worldwide for his books and papers on wire bonding as well as numerous 8-hour professional courses he has taught on the subject. A major contribution to the field is his book, “Wire Bonding in Microelectronics: Materials, Processes, Reliability, and Yield” which is considered the “wire bond bible” and is used by most wire bond engineers. A third edition of the book is currently being written.

An IEEE Life Fellow, he holds four patents, and his numerous awards include the IEEE Centennial Medal (1984), IEEE Third Millennium Medal (2000), Outstanding Contributions Award [David Feldman Award] (1992), IEEE CPMT Outstanding Sustained Technical Contributions Award (2001), and the U.S. Department of Commerce/National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Silver (1973) and Gold (1979) medals. Harman received a bachelor’s of science from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1949 and a master’s of science from the University of Maryland in 1959. He was a research fellow at the University of Reading (UK) 1962–1963. He is a retired NIST Fellow, Scientist Emeritus, and consultant.

For more information, visit www.ieee.org.

May 13, 2009: Nanomaterials applications developer Zyvex Performance Materials (ZPM), has unveiled plans for a new boat to be made entirely with ZPM’s next generation carbon nanotube-enhanced Arovex material.

The boat, designated 540SE (Super Efficient), is intended as a technology demonstrator to show what future boats are capable of when built with new nano-enhanced materials like Arovex, the company said in a news release. Construction began at Pacific Washington based Strategic Composites late last month.

By building the boat with Arovex, the 54-foot boat will weigh less than 8,000 pounds, fully equipped — ~75% lighter than fiberglass boats its size, and 33% less than conventional carbon fiber boats. The drastic weight reduction allows the new boat to require 75% less horsepower, considerably reduced emissions, and extended range; the boat also is very efficient, and offers unheard-of fuel economy at low to medium cruising speeds.

“We are very proud to be unveiling this new boat. By re-imagining and designing boats to take full advantage of our materials, a new generation of boats can be built that are remarkably lighter, consume far less fuel, and cut carbon emissions,” stated Lance Criscuolo, president of Zyvex Performance Materials. “By greatly reducing the weight of the boat, performance is increased and emissions are cut by more than two-thirds. This will create a new breed of boats that have expanded capabilities, range, and are environmentally responsible.”

“This new nano-enhanced material will allow us to create the boats of the future,” added Ron Jones Jr., president of Strategic Composites. “By being able to greatly decrease the weight of the structure, the engine and fuel requirements are reduced as well. This boat will be able to do things that other boats can’t. It could be carried and airdropped by cargo aircraft, for rescue, deployment, or intercept missions.” Use of such new nano-enhanced materials, he added, is what will allow a new generation of ultra efficient green boats to be built. Cities, security forces, and governments that are looking for a flexible platform with super efficiency have an answer now.”

by Debra Vogler, senior technical editor, Solid State Technology

May 6, 2009 – Plasmonic technology, today still in an experimental stage, has the potential to be used in future applications such as nanoscale optical interconnects for high-performance computer chips, extremely sensitive (bio)molecular sensors, and highly efficient thin-film solar cells. IMEC recently reported a method to integrate high-speed CMOS electronics and nanophotonic circuitry based on plasmonic effects.

Interest in the photonic properties of nanostructured (noble) metals has accelerated in the last 10 years because they “show great promise for use in nanophotonic applications,” according to Pol Van Dorpe, senior researcher in plasmonics at IMEC. In an optics context, metals are typically seen as either reflective or absorbing materials; in an optics context that’s true for most metals and in many circumstances, he explained, but metals whose optical properties can be described by the Drude model (i.e., whose electronic properties resemble a free electron gas, only weakly bound to the metal ions) support charge density waves (surface plasmons) that can couple to visible electromagnetic radiation.

There are a number of interesting features concerning surface plasmons, he noted. First of all, their wavelength can be reduced significantly below the free space wavelength (which has the same frequency). “The reduction of the wavelength can result in a strongly improved degree of confinement, which allows deep sub-wavelength waveguides whose sizes can match state-of-the-art transistors,” explained Van Dorpe. “A number of designs allow such strong confinement.” One of the more advanced designs, which is explained in IMEC’s paper in the May issue of Nature Photonics, consists of a metal/dielectric/metal layered structure (a MIM waveguide).

Second, surface plasmons can be focused in small holes or slits, giving rise to extraordinary transmission through deep sub-wavelength holes. “This property is also particularly interesting to reduce the noise and the capacitance of photodetectors, as light can be captured on a metal film (i.e., converted to surface plasmons) by the appropriate gratings and focused in a deep sub-wavelength aperture of slit that connects to a semiconductor,” noted Van Dorpe. Ultrafast photodetectors could thus be constructed, with a small semiconductor active area resulting in limited capacitance and low noise, “without sacrificing the total signal to noise.”

Moreover, when patterned into deep sub-wavelength nanostructures (or nanoparticles), noble metals respond in-phase to the exciting electromagnetic field. Depending on the shape, the specific metal used (Au, Ag, Cu, Al, etc.) and the dielectric surrounding the metal, the polarizability of the metal nanostructures shows a resonant behavior in the visible. “This goes hand in hand with strongly enhanced local electric fields, absorption and/or scattering,” said Van Dorpe. Local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) properties of metal nanoparticles have applications in several areas, he pointed out, including biosensing (shifts in the resonant wavelengths upon molecular binding events); surface enhanced Raman scattering (utilizing the enhanced local electric fields); and cancer treatment (local heating of cancer cells by labeling them with metal nanoparticles, and irradiating with near-infrared light).


Top: Schematic overview of the device, showing focused illumination of a slit in the waveguide using polarized light. This results in plasmon excitation of the waveguide for the red polarization and the generation of electron/hole pairs in the semiconductor. Middle: SEM picture of a typical device. Bottom: Photocurrent scans for the “red” (bottom) and “blue” (top) polarization indicate a strong polarization dependence of the photoresponse. (Source: IMEC)

The technology also has application in solar cell enhancements. Reducing the thickness of solar cells not only promises lower material costs and therefore the intrinsic cost of solar cells, but it also results in efficiency reductions. “There are a number of ways that plasmonic effects can be used to boost the efficiencies of thin-film solar cells,” notes Van Dorpe. “Most importantly, the strong scattering of metal nanoparticles can result in a significant enhancement of the optical path inside the photo-absorbing material, allowing a strong absorption enhancement for near-bandgap photons that don’t get completely absorbed otherwise.” This situation is typically realized by surface texturing for thicker solar cells, he noted, but as the texture features are in the range of several micrometers, this strategy obviously breaks down for thin-film solar cells whose thickness is in the same range. “Secondly, the enhanced local fields of plasmon supporting metal nanoparticles can result in an enhanced optical absorption of light in organic semiconductors,” he added.

Looking to the future, nanoscale plasmonic circuits could allow massive parallel routing of optical information on ICs — but eventually that high-bandwidth optical information has to be converted to electrical signals, notes Van Dorpe. ICs combining high-speed CMOS electronics and plasmonic circuitry will require efficient and fast interfacing components that couple the signals from plasmon waveguides to electrical devices.

As an important stepping-stone to such components, IMEC has now demonstrated integrated electrical detection of highly confined short-wavelength surface plasmon polaritons in metal-dielectric-metal plasmon waveguides. The detection was done by embedding a photodetector in a metal plasmon waveguide. Because the waveguide and the photodetector have the same nanoscale dimensions, there is an efficient coupling of the surface plasmons into the photodetector and an ultrafast response.

Numerous IMEC experiments have “unambiguously demonstrate[d] this electrical detection,” explained Van Dorpe. “The strong measured polarization dependence, the experimentally obtained influence of the waveguide length, and the measured spectral response are all in line with theoretical expectations, obtained from finite element and finite-difference-time-domain calculations.” These results pave the way for the integration of nanoscale plasmonic circuitry and high-speed electronics, he added.

The highly confined plasmonic waveguide described in IMEC’s Nature Photonics paper is only the final part of the optical chain, consisting from less confined, but long-range waveguides (either dielectric waveguides or long-range surface plasmon waveguides) that eventually couple to nanosized waveguides that connect to individual devices. “More work is necessary to build efficient optical couplers between the different types of waveguides,” noted Van Dorpe.

The device IMEC fabricated and described is a proof-of-principle device, making use of GaAs as the photodetector material. “Similar devices can be constructed from, as an example, (Si)Ge, which is better suited for telecom wavelengths,” said Van Dorpe, “and we are currently working on measuring the ultimate speed limits of such photodetectors.” Because plasmonic circuitry also relies on optical sources, IMEC is also working on building fast, nanosized optical sources that efficiently couple to surface plasmon waveguides. “The fast-interfacing components on the detector side is something that can be realized rather quickly, in the first couple of years, while the latter part [integrated sources] probably will take a longer time, i.e., 5-10 years,” he said. — D.V.

May 5, 2009: Microarray developer Illumina Inc. said it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against another microarray developer, Affymetrix Inc., according to a report in the San Jose Business Journal.

Illumina said the lawsuit, filed in a Wisconsin district court, alleges that the Affymetrix GeneChip HT Array Plate and GeneChip HT Array Plate Scanner infringe upon an Illumina patent.

The patent, issued on March 31, is titled, “Methods of Making and Using Composite Arrays for the Detection of a Plurality of Target Analytes.” Illumina is asking the federal court to enjoin Affymetrix from continuing to make and sell its HT Array Plate and Scanner products, as well as for unspecified monetary damages.

DEK International has introduced ProFlow Evolution, it’s next-generation ProFlow enclosed print head solution, to expand the system’s capabilities to apply to a variety of applications including traditional solder paste printing, flux deposition, adhesives and encapsulant printing, solder spheres, thermal interface materials, and more.

ProFlow’s enclosed head printing allows for efficient materials transfer which in turn affects throughput rates and process yields, while reducing material consumption and improving process control. In addition to reported environmental and cost saving benefits of lower material waste afforded by the enclosed print head, ProFlow now incorporates the ability to mix and condition materials for uniform performance control. DEK International, Weymouth, UK. www.dek.com

The superGRIP heatsink assembly from Advanced Thermal Solutions, Inc. features a heatsink, phase-change interface material, and unique attachment system for mounting onto a wide range of hot -running BGA components. The novel design is said to require minimal space on a PCB and eliminates the need for thru holes in the board.

The two-part superGRIP attachment system features a plastic frame clip that fastens securely around the perimeter of a component, and a metal spring clip that slips through a heatsink’s fin field and locks securely to both ends of the plastic frame. The resulting superGRIP assembly applies steady, firm pressure to the component throughout the product lifecycle, and is said to improve thermal performance and long-term reliability. superGRIP heat sink assemblies are suited for cooling BGAs on densely populated PCBs that have little space around the component for mechanical attachment.

The assemblies feature ATS’ maxiFLOW™ heatsinks, which have a low profile, spread fin architecture to maximize surface area for more effective convection (air) cooling. The company claims it tests at an air flow rate of just 0.5 m/s (100 ft/m), thus showing that device junction temperatures (Tj) can be reduced by more than 20% below the temperatures achieved using heatsinks with traditional fin styles.

The pressure strength and security of the superGRIP heat sink attachment system permits the use of high performance phase-changing thermal interface materials (PCMs) that improve heat transfer by as much as 20 times over typical double-sided adhesive thermal tapes. The superGRIP design allows the heat sink to be detached and reattached without damaging the component or the PCB. Advanced Thermal Solutions Norton, MA. www.qats.com

May 4, 2009: European independent nanoelectronics research consortium IMEC says it has developed a method to integrate high-speed CMOS electronics and nanophotonic circuitry based on plasmonic effects.

Metal-based nanophotonics (plasmonics) can squeeze light into nanoscale structures that are much smaller than conventional optic components. Plasmonic technology, today still in an experimental stage, has the potential to be used in future applications such as nanoscale optical interconnects for high performance computer chips, extremely sensitive (bio)molecular sensors, and highly efficient thin-film solar cells. IMEC’s results are published in the May issue of Nature Photonics.

The optical properties of nanostructured (noble) metals show great promise for use in nanophotonic applications. When such nanostructures are illuminated with visible to near-infrared light, the excitation of collective oscillations of conduction electrons, called surface plasmons, generates strong optical resonances. Moreover, surface plasmons are capable of capturing, guiding, and focusing electromagnetic energy in deep-subwavelength length-scales — i.e. smaller than the diffraction limit of the light. This is unlike conventional dielectric optical waveguides, which are limited by the wavelength of the light, and which therefore cannot be scaled down to tens of nanometers, which is the dimension of the components on today’s nanoelectronic ICs.

Nanoscale plasmonic circuits would allow massive parallel routing of optical information on ICs. But eventually that high-bandwidth optical information has to be converted to electrical signals. To make such ICs that combine high-speed CMOS electronics and plasmonic circuitry, efficient and fast interfacing components are needed that couple the signals from plasmon waveguides to electrical devices.


Top: Schematic overview of the device, showing focused illumination of a slit in the waveguide using polarized light. This results in plasmon excitation of the waveguide for the red polarization and the generation of electron/hole pairs in the semiconductor. Bottom: SEM picture of a typical device. Photocurrent scans for the “red” (bottom) and “blue” (top) polarization indicate a strong polarization dependence of the photoresponse. (Source: IMEC)

As an important stepping-stone to such components, IMEC has now demonstrated integrated electrical detection of highly confined short-wavelength surface plasmon polaritons in metal-dielectric-metal plasmon waveguides. The detection was done by embedding a photodetector in a metal plasmon waveguide. Because the waveguide and the photodetector have the same nanoscale dimensions, there is an efficient coupling of the surface plasmons into the photodetector and an ultrafast response.

IMEC has set up a number of experiments that unambiguously demonstrate this electrical detection. The strong measured polarization dependence, the experimentally obtained influence of the waveguide length and the measured spectral response are all in line with theoretical expectations, obtained from finite element and finite-difference-time-domain calculations. These results pave the way for the integration of nanoscale plasmonic circuitry and high-speed electronics.