Particles

11/01/2004

Compiled by Steve Smith

Solar cell support

PALO ALTO, Calif.—A U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) contract, which includes up to $2.2 million in funding for the first 12 months, has been awarded to Nanosys Inc. (www.nanosys.com) to support development of nanotechnology-based flexible solar cells. The cells are said to be lightweight and low-cost, and will be targeted for providing power generation solutions for military applications. The project has "potential breakthrough cost and performance advantages that could have a major impact on how energy is generated and the energy landscape in general," says Nanosys CEO Calvin Chow.

A Bay State biotech boom

EAST FALMOUTH, Mass.—Associates of Cape Cod (ACC; www.acciusa.com), a manufacturer of endotoxin and beta-glucan detection products, has moved in to a new 83,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, which includes an integrated, FDA-licensed cleanroom suite. Also included is a clinical diagnostic laboratory, which will initially perform testing for fungal infection in patient serum. ACC, a supplier to pharmaceutical and medical device industries, pioneered the use of horseshoe crab blood extract for testing for the presence of endotoxins and glucans in pharmaceuticals, medical devices and biologics.

Beating back bioterror

LIVERMORE, Calif.—Pending an appeal by community groups, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (www.llnl.gov) hopes to soon open a biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) lab—already under construction—for the purpose of studying and developing faster ways of detecting such biological agents as anthrax, botulism, rabbit fever and the plague. The $2.5-million BSL-3 lab will be equipped with three HEPA filters to minimize chances of contamination among the 20-25 workers and the community.

Wafers without warts

CHELMSFORD, Mass.—Powerchip Semiconductor Corp. of Taiwan has purchased a multi-million dollar contract with Brooks Software (a division of Brooks Automation Inc.; www.brooks.com) for its fault-detection software designed for productive 300-mm wafer manufacturing. The software, says Brooks, evaluates in real time the stability and repeatability of critical 300-mm processes to ensure optimal efficiency. The solution applies statistical process control methodology to key manufacturing parameters, issuing alarms when the process drifts outside of acceptable boundaries so that corrections can be made without downtime and before the batch has to be scrapped.

R&D demand dictates desert decision

TEMPE, Ariz.—Austrian wafer-bonding and lithography equipment manufacturer EV Group (www.EVGroup.com) is combining its U.S. subsidiary headquarters, technology center and customer support division in the Arizona State University (ASU) Research Park. The facility includes a state-of-the-art Class 10 production cleanroom and onsite lab. In a joint research project with ASU and the U.S. Army, EV Group will help develop commercial solutions for the flexible display industry. Its East Coast operations, meanwhile, will move from Cranston, R.I., to the nanotech facility at the University of Albany (N.Y.) where equipment is used for nanoscience and nanoengineering research.

Production and packaging pact

BOLOGNA, Germany—IMA (www.ima.it), an international designer and manufacturer of automatic machines for pharmaceutical products, will acquire a majority of the shares in Delaware-based Packaging Systems Holding LLC, which holds 100 percent of Nova Packaging Systems LLC—a leader in the manufacture of automatic machines for bottling pharmaceutical capsules and tablets. The bottle-filling capabilities complement IMA's existing blister packaging lines and give the company its first U.S. manufacturing facilities.

e-FoodSafety.com e-mbarks on e-xpansion

PALM SPRINGS, Calif.—Food safety innovator e-FoodSafety.com is leasing an 84,000-square-foot office, production, research and distribution facility here, with plans of using the entire space as a test pilot plant for food sanitization of fresh fruits and vegetables, and to establish truck-washing facilities. It's expected that the expansion will create up to 400 new jobs.

Transition at the top

EAST HILLS, N.Y.—Group Vice president and Treasurer John Adamovich Jr., who has served as CFO at filtration manufacturer Pall Corp. (www.pall.com) for six years, has resigned to join a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp. Pall President Marcus Wilson assumes the role of CFO, with Lisa McDermott, vice president/finance, reporting to Wilson.

Manufacturing modern memories

DRESDEN, Germany—Infineon Technologies AG (www.infineon.com) is constructing a seven-story Memory Development Centre, adjacent to its semiconductor facility here. It will feature nearly 25,000 square-feet of cleanroom and office space for the development of new memory concepts and production processes in 300-mm wafers, focusing on production of chip generations of 70-nm and below. The facility is expected to open by April 2005.

Companies create chemical co-op

SHANGHAI, China—The Asia Union Electronic Chemical Corp. (AUECC) is teaming with BOC Edwards (www.bocedwards.com) to use Shanghai as a base to produce, package and distribute ultra-high-purity process chemicals for semiconductor and flat-panel display industries in China. The joint venture, Shanghai-Huayi Microelectronic Material Co. Ltd., will include a $20 million facility, with production slated to begin in mid-2005.

Supplying shocking services

SAN JOSE, Calif.—Cleanroom environment monitoring company Novx Corp. (www.novxcorp.com) has introduced the Applications Engineering Group (AEG), which will provide consulting and certification services, strategic development of electrostatic discharge (ESD) event detection products and services, EMI-related process control and product development, plus audit and tool verification services for SEMI E78-1102. AEG will work with Novx's engineering department to develop hardware and software solutions to meet customer needs.

Immersion immunization

FRANKLIN, Mass.—The NanoTech Research Center at the University of Albany is using Extraction System's (www.extraction.com) proprietary E3000 hybrid filter technology to control molecular contamination in one of the world's first 193-nm immersion lithography tools. The filter system is designed to protect against molecular acids, bases and condensable organics.