Tag Archives: Small Times Magazine

NanoInk ships 25th DPN system


September 8, 2006

Sept. 8, 2006 – NanoInk Inc., a company specializing in nanometer-scale manufacturing and applications development for the life science and semiconductor industries, has shipped its 25th NSCRIPTOR Dip Pen Nanolithography system.

The system is a fully integrated hardware and software system optimized for the DPN process of writing stable nanoscale patterns of molecular “ink” onto a sample substrate via a coated stylus tip. Recent orders from Academia Sinica in Taiwan and Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute in India will add to orders from other leading research institutions such as Northwestern University, Stanford University and University of California at Santa Barbara where practice of DPN technology is enabling creation of nanoscale structures.

By Elizabeth Gardner
from the Sept/Oct 2006 issue of Small Times magazine

You could say Morinobu Endo is one of the fathers of the carbon nanotube. Even though he didn’t call his intellectual offspring by that name, he began working with carbon nanotubes and related materials in the mid-1970s, back when the “micro”-scale was still the latest thing. He published a seminal paper in 1976 that explained how to make them.

He’s been playing with them ever since, figuring out how to manufacture them more rapidly and cheaply and how to integrate them into useful objects. His research has resulted in ten-fold annual increases in the quantity of nanotubes that can be made with his process and also in vast quality-control improvements.

His publication list contains page after page of papers on various aspects of nanotube manufacturing with forays into application areas as well. One recent publication focused on using nanotubes in medical catheters. Without his work nanotubes might be just another carbon oddity rather than the intriguing and promising material they’ve become.

But Endo’s nanotubes might not have happened without the right sandpaper. Back in the 1970s, Endo was experimenting with making carbon deposits through chemical vapor deposition. To save time between experiments, he tried to clean the resulting soot off the substrate with sandpaper rather than washing it and drying it for two days. To his surprise the sanded substrate produced carbon fibers the next time it was used.

But not always. Black silicon carbide paper didn’t yield anything, yet the fibers grew splendidly on a substrate treated with brown sandpaper containing iron oxide particles. Each tube had an iron oxide particle at one end. He realized it was a critical catalyst for forming the nanotubes. Endo later developed a more efficient method of seeding the substrate with iron oxide particles, which yielded a bumper crop of tubes. Unfortunately the technique was expensive — the tubes cost about $2,000 per kilo.

The real manufacturing breakthrough came when Endo read a newspaper article about an influenza epidemic in Tokyo and the dangers of coming within range of a sneeze from an infected person. It occurred to him that the iron oxide nanoparticles were lighter than the flu viruses that floated so well in the air, and that the particles would suspend in air even better. It turned out that the floating particles produced nanotubes just fine and in much higher volume than previous methods. That development led to commercialization of multi-walled carbon nanotubes nicknamed “Endo fibers,” which are used in lithium-ion and other batteries to prolong their lifetime.

An engineering professor at his alma mater, Shinshu University in Nagano, Japan, Endo today runs a research group whose work runs the gamut from basic science to applications. Not surprisingly the group’s work includes carbon nanotubes, new forms of carbon and graphite, nanoporous carbons, lithium-ion batteries and electric double-layer capacitors. He has authored or co-authored more than 40 textbooks and 250 papers in prestigious journals including Nature, Science and Physical Review. He chairs the Japan Carbon Society and serves on the advisory board of Carbon Journal. He has received a long list of awards and honors, both in Japan and internationally, including the 2004 American Carbon Society Medal.

Sept. 7, 2006 — Motorola Labs, the applied research arm of Motorola Inc., and Arizona State University announce a key advancement in the use of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWNTs) in field effect transistors (FETs) to sense biological and chemical agents.

Together, the research teams have developed a method to functionalize SWNTs with peptides to produce low-power SWNT-FETs that are highly sensitive and can selectively detect heavy metal ions down to the parts-per-trillion level.

“Integration of nanosensors into devices and sensor networks will enable the detection of biological and chemical agents at very low concentrations, which could be vital in the areas of public safety and homeland security,” said Vida Ilderem, vice president of embedded systems research labs in Tempe, Ariz., in a prepared statement. “In the future, these sensors could be integrated into devices to produce a powerful network that can seamlessly communicate environmental changes to people or other devices.”

Researchers have successfully tuned SWNT-FETs to sense specific agents by applying a peptide-functionalized polymer coating that does not affect their ability to transmit electrical signals. This developing sensor technology could be used to monitor a host of environmental and health issues including air and water quality, industrial chemicals and biological agents.

The work is reported in a paper coauthored by Arizona State University and Motorola titled “Tuning the Chemical Selectivity of SWNT-FETs for Detection of Heavy-Metal Ions” that will be published in the journal Small.

Sept. 6, 2006 — FEI Co. of Hillsboro, Ore., announced that Japan’s JFE Steel Corp. has ordered a Titan 80-300 for its research center in Kawasaki. JFE Steel, a leading global supplier of steel products, is the first Japanese customer to order the Titan S/TEM.

JFE Steel’s Titan S/TEM will be utilized primarily for chemical-microstructural characterization of coated layers and advanced metrology and precipitates, and to obtain chemical bonding data from layer interfaces, according to FEI.

In its 2006 fiscal year, JFE Steel produced more than 30 million tons of raw steel and reported more than U.S. $23 billion in revenues.

NanoCon Newswire

Aug. 24, 2006 (Emeryville, Calif.) — Nanomix Inc., a leading nanoelectronic detection company commercializing high-value diagnostic and monitoring applications, today announced the appointment of Dr. Michael D. Cable as Vice President, Platform Development to lead the company’s efforts in detection platform optimization for a variety of applications. In this position, Dr. Cable will report to David Macdonald, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Dr. Cable has over 20 years experience with a broad range of instrumentation and detection technologies related to medical diagnostic and monitoring applications. After earning a BS in Chemistry and Physics from Iowa State University, Dr. Cable obtained his Ph.D. from University of California Berkeley in Nuclear Chemistry and Physics. He has published extensively and holds multiple patents.

Prior to joining Nanomix, Dr. Cable was Vice President, Research and Development at Fovi Optics where he was involved with non-invasive glucose detection. He has been a consultant to Quantum Dot Corporation and held the position of Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Xenogen. Dr. Cable has also held positions of increasing responsibility at the University of Rochester and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

“We are thrilled with the addition of Mike to our management team,” said Nanomix CEO David Macdonald, “He will further enhance our detection platform and our ability to effectively execute project plans.”

About Nanomix

Nanomix is a leading nanoelectronic detection company launching a portfolio of devices based on Sensation™ technology. These scaleable devices use ultra-sensitive carbon nanotube detection elements combined with proprietary chemistries. They can be deployed across a broad range of industrial and medical applications where valuable attributes – low power consumption, small size, and high sensitivity offer significant performance advantages and enable unprecedented access to critical information. Nanomix is located in Emeryville, California. For additional information, please visit the Nanomix web site at www.nano.com

NanoCon Newswire

Aug. 21, 2006 (Romeoville, Ill.) — Nanophase Technologies , a technology leader in nanomaterials and advanced nanoengineered products, announced the initial order for a new textile application that is being introduced to the industry on a global basis. Details of the customer and application remain confidential at this time.

“This order represents the culmination of more than two years of application development with a leading global supplier to the textile industry,” stated Ian Roberts, Vice President of U.S. and International Sales. “As we have stated, nanomaterial applications for textiles is one of several target markets for Nanophase. This order represents the first product to be introduced for textile applications and we are optimistic about future development and new product introductions. While we do not expect material revenue from this application during 2006 in the initial launch process, we are optimistic about continuing revenue growth from the textile market over the next few years.”

Nanophase Technologies Corporation (NANX), http://www.nanophase.com/ , is a leader in nanomaterials technologies and provides nanoengineered solutions for multiple industrial product applications. Using a platform of patented and proprietary integrated nanomaterial technologies, the Company creates products with unique performance attributes from two ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001 facilities. Nanophase delivers commercial quantity and quality nanoparticles, coated nanoparticles, and nanoparticle dispersions in a variety of media. The Company owns or licenses 18 United States and 43 foreign patents and patent applications. Information about Nanophase may be found in the Company’s public filings or on its website.

This press release contains words such as “expects”, “shall”, “will”, “believes” and similar expressions that are intended to identify forward- looking statements within the meaning of the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements in this announcement are made based on the Company’s current beliefs, known events and circumstances at the time of publication, and as such, are subject in the future to unforeseen risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company’s results of operations, performance and achievements to differ materially from current expectations expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. These risk and uncertainties include the following: a decision by a customer to cancel a purchase order or supply agreement in light of the Company’s dependence on a limited number of key customers; uncertain demand for, and acceptance of, the Company’s nanocrystalline materials; the Company’s manufacturing capacity and product mix flexibility in light of customer demand; the Company’s limited marketing experience; changes in development and distribution relationships; the impact of competitive products and technologies; the Company’s dependence on patents and protection of proprietary information; the resolution of litigation in which the Company may become involved; and other risks described in the Company’s Form 10Q filed August 8, 2006 and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the Company’s forward-looking statements could be affected by general industry and market conditions and growth rates. Except as required by federal securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements to reflect new events, uncertainties or other contingencies.

Nanophase Technologies Corporation

CONTACT: Joseph Cross, President, CEO, +1-630-771-6705, or JessJankowski, VP, CFO, +1-630-771-6702, or Nancy Baldwin, Investor Relations,+1-630-771-6707, all of Nanophase Technologies

Web site: http://www.nanophase.com/

NanoCon Newswire

July 18, 2006 (Romeoville, Ill.) — Nanophase Technologies (Nasdaq: NANX), a technology leader in nanomaterials and advanced nanoengineered products, announces the commercial availability of nanocrystalline tin oxide produced by the Company’s patented NanoArc® Synthesis process using the most recent advances in finite particle size control. NanoArc® Tin Oxide consists of non-porous, dense, discrete particles with an average size of approximately 20 nanometers.

The new nanoengineered material is available as solid nanoparticles or as a highly stable dispersion in either aqueous or various organic media at high concentrations. NanoArc® Tin Oxide is expected to be suitable for a wide range of applications, including electrical and electronic components, antistatic coatings, polishing of various media, advanced ceramics and industrial catalysts.

For additional information, contact Dr. Ed Ludwig, Vice President of Business Development, at 630-771-6729, email [email protected], or Ian Roberts, Vice President of U.S. and International Sales, at 630-771-6730, email [email protected].

NanoCon Newswire

July 31, 2006 (Hillsboro, Ore.) — The next generation of combined focused ion beam (FIB) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) technology for research will be unveiled today when FEI Company (Nasdaq: FEIC) releases its all-new Helios NanoLab(TM) DualBeam(TM) at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2006 in Chicago.

The Helios NanoLab features a new ultra-high resolution field emission SEM column combined with FEI’s widely acclaimed Sidewinder(TM) FIB column and gas chemistries to provide new levels of imaging resolution and contrast in a DualBeam system. It also delivers enhanced stability and optimized operation within a wide range of parameters. The new small DualBeam platform enables industry-leading 3D characterization, analysis and image reconstruction applications, nano-prototyping (fabrication and testing) capabilities, and high-quality sample prep abilities for researchers and developers needing to reach deep into the nanoscale.

“The Helios NanoLab was designed to address the demanding requirements of our growing base of DualBeam users in both research and product development environments,” said Rob Fastenau, senior vice president of FEI’s NanoResearch and Industry market division. “FEI continues to lead innovation in combined FIB/SEM solutions. We believe that users of this all-new DualBeam platform will be able to achieve ground-breaking results in multiple applications with accuracy and repeatability.”

With its advanced sample preparation capabilities, the Helios NanoLab complements FEI’s Titan S/TEM — the world’s most powerful microscope — which continues to receive industry acclaim since its launch at last year’s Microscopy & Microanalysis show. The Helios system enables fast and precise preparation of the thinnest S/TEM samples with little damage to samples. Together, the Helios NanoLab and the Titan S/TEM represent the highest- performance tool set currently available on the commercial market.

FEI introduced the world’s first combined FIB/SEM system in 1993. Since 2000, it has sold more than 350 small stage DualBeam systems worldwide.

About FEI

FEI’s Tools for Nanotech(TM), featuring focused ion- and electron-beam technologies, deliver 3D characterization, analysis and modification capabilities with resolution down to the sub-Angstrom level and provide innovative solutions for customers working in NanoBiology, NanoResearch and NanoElectronics. With R&D centers in North America and Europe, and sales and service operations in more than 50 countries around the world, FEI is bringing the nanoscale within the grasp of leading researchers and manufacturers and helping to turn some of the biggest ideas of this century into reality. More information can be found on the FEI website at: www.fei.com.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that include statements about performance of a newly-introduced product and future product performance. Factors that could affect these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to changes to or cancellation of product application development initiatives; problems arising during product rollout that delay it or cause results to vary from the anticipated results; unforeseen technology challenges; and failure of a key supplier or partner. Please also refer to our Form 10-K, Forms 10-Q, Forms 8-K and other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for additional information on these factors and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. FEI assumes no duty to update forward-looking statements.

SOURCE FEI Company

07/31/2006

CONTACT: Dan Zenka, APR, Global Public Relations of FEI Company, +1-503-726-2695, or [email protected]

Web site: http://www.feicompany.com

(FEIC)

NanoCon Newswire

July 31, 2006 (Hillsboro, Ore.) — FEI Company (Nasdaq: FEIC) today announced that scientists at its NanoPort(TM) in Europe have broken another image resolution barrier with the world’s most advanced commercially-available microscope, the Titan(TM) 80-300 corrected S/TEM. For the first time ever, directly interpretable TEM images with atomic resolution better than 1.4 Angstrom were obtained at the very low operating voltage of 80kV.

The result was welcomed by some of the world’s leading research centers as an important milestone in nanocharacterization as now even light element materials such as carbon nanotubes and graphene can be imaged artifact-free and with high contrast while having highest lateral resolution.

Direct atomic resolution at 80kV was obtained for various classes of materials: gold nanoparticles, silicon and single wall carbon nanotubes. The smallest atomic distance resolved was the well-known silicon dumbbell distance of 1.36 Angstrom. These new findings will be presented in a scientific presentation at the Microscopy & Microanalysis 2006 conference being held this week in Chicago.

“I am pleased to see this proof of the stability of the Titan column at the low-voltage end of its range. This is good news for the TEAM project, which specifically demands unprecedented resolution over the whole operating range of 80 to 300kV to meet a spectrum of scientific challenges. I consider this a significant milestone for the TEAM/FEI collaboration,” commented Ulrich Dahmen, TEAM Project Director from the National Center for Electron Microscopy in Berkeley, California.

“With their resolving power at an accelerating voltage of only 80 kV, the Titan instruments will allow us to get much deeper and more reliable insight in materials classes previously excluded from high-resolution analysis due to their beam-sensitivity. This will include nanomaterials composed of light elements in both hard and soft matter, which can now be investigated at an unprecedented contrast and spatial resolution,” said Joachim Mayer from the Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons at the Research Centre Juelich, Germany.

“We are proud to deliver to our customers our promise of the ultimate performance, stability and flexibility for a new era of groundbreaking results. We have shown the world record performance at 300kV before, now we can add the milestone at 80kV,” said Rob Fastenau, senior vice president for FEI’s NanoResearch & Industry and NanoBiology market divisions. He added: “I am very pleased that the Titan 80-300 shows direct atomic resolution over the entire range of operating voltages. It will give us the opportunity to further accelerate our mission to remain the world leader in high-resolution imaging and analysis and an important enabler for the world’s growing nanotechnology industry.”

The milestone results were achieved on a Titan 80-300 equipped with an aberration corrector. The Titan is designed as a dedicated and upgradeable aberration-corrected system for ultimate performance and ultimate flexibility. The corrector, developed by CEOS GmbH in close collaboration with FEI Company, allows for significant resolution improvement and removal of artifacts that normally hamper direct interpretation of images. The new resolution achievement underscores the ultimate flexibility and stability of the Titan 80-300 system.

About FEI Company

FEI’s Tools for Nanotech(TM), featuring focused ion- and electron-beam technologies, deliver 3D characterization, analysis and modification capabilities with resolution down to the sub-Angstrom level and provide innovative solutions for customers working in NanoBiology, NanoResearch and NanoElectronics. With R&D centers in North America and Europe, and sales and service operations in more than 50 countries around the world, FEI is bringing the nanoscale within the grasp of leading researchers and manufacturers and helping to turn some of the biggest ideas of this century into reality. More information can be found on the FEI website at: www.fei.com.

SOURCE FEI Company

07/31/2006

CONTACT: Dan Zenka, APR, Global Public Relations of FEI Company, +1-503-726-2695, or [email protected]

Web site: http://www.feicompany.com

(FEIC)

NanoCon Newswire

July 6, 2006 (Berlin) — MagForce Nanotechnologies AG and Siemens Medical Solutions of Siemens AG are to bundle together their competences in the fight against cancer, as revealed by a declaration of intent signed by both companies. The central point of the strategic cooperation is the joint development of the MagForce therapy systems — a key element of MagForce’s nano-cancer therapy — and collaboration in the production and distribution of the systems.

The strategic cooperation of the two companies is the result of several talks and an in-depth examination in which shared goals were identified and the procedure coordinated. The agreement focuses on medical technology and medical technology systems used by MagForce Nanotechnologies in its nano-cancer therapy. These include the therapy system MFH®300F with which first treatment of patients was possible.

In the nano-cancer therapy, tumors are treated locally and weakened by applying heat. Nanoparticles made of iron-oxide are injected into the diseased tissue. Thanks to a covering of the iron oxide particles some 15 nanometers in core diameter, the tumor can be penetrated without problem. Afterwards, a magnetic field is then produced using the therapy system MFH®300F which brings the iron oxide particles into motion. As a result of these oscillations, it is possible to heat up the tumor. This technique allows targeting of almost every part of the human body with millimeter precision and maximum tumor-cell specificity at temperatures ranging from 43-46°C (hyperthermia) to 47-70°C thermoablation). The diseased cell is irreparably weakened as a result of this heat application.

“The collaboration with Siemens Medical Solutions will create entirely new perspectives for us. The declaration of intent and cooperation agreed here serve to confirm once again the results of our research work”, claims CEO of MagForce Nanotechnologies, Dr. Andreas Jordan. “As we are able to draw on Siemens’ experience and contacts, we will gain much time and can thus dedicate ourselves more closely to the development of our nanoparticles.”

MagForce is researching into and currently working intensively on the efficacy study for glioblastomas — i.e. brain tumors. This study is in the second phase and was started at the beginning of 2005. Prior to this, the first phase of the study had been successfully completed. Further studies on other tumor types, such as prostate or also breast cancer, are either already open or still in the planning phase.

About MagForce Nanotechnologies: MagForce Nanotechnologies AG is the world’s leading company in the area of nanotechnologybased cancer therapy. Its patented therapy allows the targeted destruction of tumors using magnetic nanoparticles. MagForce’s nanotechnology represents a revolutionary approach to the future successful treatment of solid tumors. For more information, please visit: http://www.magforce.com

Contact: MagForce Nanotechnologies AG, Spandauer Damm 130, 14050 Berlin, Germany Tel. +49 (0) 30 3083800; Fax. +49 (0) 30 30838099 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.magforce.com