Issue

With sales of semiconductor equipment and material hitting all time lows, it's no secret that 2001 was not a good year for many manufacturers.

New York City—Newt Gingrich has a new nickname.

TEMPE, AZ—After four years of research and development, Motorola Life Sciences, a business unit of Motorola, Inc., has begun developing biochips that will enable scientists and healthcare professionals to quickly and accurately analyze DNA, RNA and proteins from living cells.

Malvern, PA—Ever since the attacks on September 11th and the subsequent anthrax scare, Nilfisk-Advance America, Inc. reports that it has seen its vacuum business expand beyond pharmaceutical and semiconductor cleanrooms into cleaning anthrax-contaminated postal equipment.

LAS VEGAS—A walk inside Alvin A. Snaper's head would most likely reveal the secrets behind the IBM Selectric typewriter ball, the NASA Apollo Photo-Pack and Tang, among other things. In fact, the Selectric ball, the NASA photo pack and the orange-flavored drink are just three inventions the 72-year-old has on a curriculum ...

LANSING, MI—Being the sole maker of an anthrax vaccine during a war on terrorism has not been the only challenge BioPort Corp. has dealt with recently.

BURBANK, CA—Saying it will revolutionize the micro-machining industry, a toolmaker has unveiled a micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) fabrication process that eliminates the need for cleanrooms.

There is a tremendous amount of discussion of late regarding energy conservation in the operation of semiconductor facilities. It's my contention that the energy saved by this approach is relatively unimportant in the overall scheme of things. Of course, no one wishes to waste energy needlessly, but reducing energy consumption solely for the sake of energy conservation should be well down our list.

It was a tough crowd, but the scientist remained unfazed and continued his presentation on nanobacteria as he pointed to slides of Holstein cows.

Analysis system; UV lamp fabrication method; Anti-static products and method...

There's something to be said for doing what you do best: when you finally sharpen a particular skill set, master it, become the guru. It's then, and only then, that you can truly differentiate yourself in your marketplace.

Sterile injectable products, which are unavailable from commercial manufacturers, are commonly prepared by compounding pharmacies. Depending on whether the product is a solution or a suspension, the preparation of these products involves two techniques.

One ppt stands for a "part per trillion," or one part in 1012. It's the type of magnitude that you eventually get used to after repeatedly hearing or reading it, even while not fully comprehending its impact—like the numbers associated with the national debt, the gross national product or the federal budget.

The term "communication" suggests that there's an exchange of information taking place.

While capital expenditures such as air filtration and pressurized flow systems are the first line of defense against circulating solid and gaseous impurities, a majority of contaminants that end up in direct contact with product materials are generated or conveyed by workers.

As the global appetite for sending and receiving voice, data and video continues to increase, networks will need to become more powerful and more efficient to keep pace.

As cleanroom end users continue to weather the latest recession, one thing has become apparent: those who have both operational flexibility and the ability to move quickly when the market heats up will best leverage the next boom. In the world of cleanrooms, the time for outsourcing is now.

It's imperative that we emphasize the need for all parties involved in a cleanroom design/build project to thoroughly comprehend the affect that each design feature will have on the overall cost

It's hard to imagine a processing procedure in a cleanroom that doesn't involve contact and separation of materials; and, in turn, the resulting generation of static charge.

Air-handling units from M+W Zander; Roller from Intech Corporation; Duct wrap from Reflectix Inc.; Visor from Sears Industrial ...

The bread and butter for most manufacturers and distributors of packaging materials are the intricate parts created for semiconductor, microelectronic and medical devices.