Issue

Cambridge NanoTech, a supplier of atomic layer deposition (ALD) systems for research and industry, has released the Savannah S300 system, which offers the same combination of ease of use, reliability and experimental flexibility as earlier models in a larger format.

It’s a common occurrence in the world of advanced materials–an engineer develops a brilliant design, but it is too expensive or complex to mass produce because of limitations in the manufacturing methods available to integrate ceramics, metals, glasses, and polymers.

Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory are collaborating with other research labs, universities, and industrial partners to develop a coating for machine components to give them a tough, “slippery” surface that reduces friction, reduces input energy, and extends the parts’ lifetimes.

Applied Materials is a well-known supplier of processing and inspection equipment to the semiconductor manufacturing industry, and now also the photovoltaics (PV) industry.

At the time of this writing, the extent of the financial crisis (both in scope and duration) is still unknown, though most agree that it will get worse before it gets better.

In the September/October issue of Small Times (p.32) I introduced a “MEMS Commercialization Report Card” which addressed 14 barriers needed to be overcome to realize a successful commercialization process for MEMS.

Fuel cells have long been hailed as an environmentally friendly, silent, and efficient energy source for powering a diverse number of applications off the grid.

Microelectricalmechanical systems (MEMS) are taking a whole new role in our day-to-day life, and are much more widely used than ever before, due to a wide range of benefits including their low mass, fast mechanical response, low power consumption, and potential for lowering end costs.

Integration of MEMS devices and CMOS electronics on one die can bring powerful capabilities, including reduced system power consumption and improved volume-to-area ratio to automotive, biomedical, RF, photonics, information technology, and other applications.

The ‘energy gap’ in portable electronics makes micro fuel cells increasingly attractive.

by Jan Provoost, IMEC, Leuven, Belgium, and Rob van Schaijk, IMEC Holst Center, Eindhoven, The Netherlands