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March 23, 2011 – BUSINESS WIRE — To capture part of the fast-growing consumer electronics MEMS market, VTI Technologies will ramp volume production of its CMR3000.

According to iSuppli’s market forecasts, the market size for 3-axis gyroscopes will be more than 200 million pieces this year. Growth is particularly fast thanks to the success of gaming, smart phones, tablet PCs and many new emerging applications.

VTI expanded its product range last year to meet this rapidly increasing demand in consumer electronics industries. In the fall of 2010, the company introduced the small, low-power digital 3-axis angular rate sensor, the CMR3000, designed for user interface and game applications. VTI has now started volume production of the CMR3000.

"The CMR3000’s low current consumption, excellent sensitivity stability and small size match perfectly with the requirements of consumer electronics manufacturers," says Pekka Kostiainen, product manager at VTI. "Due to gaming requirements, the measurement range is +/-2000 dps with selectable measurement bandwidths. In the case of cell phones, the wafer level package (WLP) enables the 3.1 x 4.2 x 0.8mm3 form factor with digital SPI and I2C interfaces."

The extraordinary demand for 3-axis gyros in the market is raising concerns about component availability. The CMR3000’s small device size and location of the IOs enable the possibility to optionally accommodate another manufacturer’s sensor on the same layout. This offers a solution to high volume customers with second source requirements.

To support easy implementation of the CMR3000 VTI is providing HW and SW support to its customers. As an example, an Android driver is available including the library, documentation and demo applications. Furthermore, VTI supports customers with optimizing sensor signal processing for their application.

VTI Technologies supplies acceleration, inclination and angular motion sensor solutions for transportation, medical, instrument and consumer electronics applications. The silicon-based capacitive sensors are based on the company’s proprietary 3D micro electro-mechanical system (MEMS) technology. For more information, please visit www.vtitechnologies.com.

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March 22, 2011 — A new “templated growth” technique for fabricating nanoribbons of epitaxial graphene has produced structures just 15 to 40 nanometers wide that conduct current with almost no resistance.  These structures could address the challenge of connecting graphene devices made with conventional architectures – and set the stage for a new generation of devices that take advantage of the quantum properties of electrons.

“We can now make very narrow, conductive nanoribbons that have quantum ballistic properties,” said Walt de Heer, a professor in the School of Physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology.  “These narrow ribbons become almost like a perfect metal.  Electrons can move through them without scattering, just like they do in carbon nanotubes.”

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Caption: Georgia Tech graduate student Baiqian Zhang and undergraduate student Holly Tinkey observe a high-temperature furnace used to produce epitaxial graphene on a silicon carbide wafer. A new "templated growth" technique allows fabrication of nanoribbons with smooth edges and high conductivity. (Georgia Tech Photo: Gary Meek)

De Heer discussed recent results of this graphene growth process March 21st at the American Physical Society’s March 2011 Meeting in Dallas.  The research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation-supported Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC).

First reported Oct. 3 in the advance online edition of the journal Nature Nanotechnology, the new fabrication technique allows production of epitaxial graphene structures with smooth edges.  Earlier fabrication techniques that used electron beams to cut graphene sheets produced nanoribbon structures with rough edges that scattered electrons, causing interference.  The resulting nanoribbons had properties more like insulators than conductors.

“In our templated growth approach, we have essentially eliminated the edges that take away from the desirable properties of graphene,” de Heer explained.  “The edges of the epitaxial graphene merge into the silicon carbide, producing properties that are really quite interesting.”

The “templated growth” technique begins with etching patterns into the silicon carbide surfaces on which epitaxial graphene is grown.  The patterns serve as templates directing the growth of graphene structures, allowing the formation of nanoribbons and other structures of specific widths and shapes without the use of cutting techniques that produce the rough edges.

In creating these graphene nanostructures, de Heer and his research team first use conventional microelectronics techniques to etch tiny “steps” – or contours – into a silicon carbide wafer whose surface has been made extremely flat.  They then heat the contoured wafer to approximately 1,500 degrees Celsius, which initiates melting that polishes any rough edges left by the etching process.

Established techniques are then used for growing graphene from silicon carbide by driving off the silicon atoms from the surface.  Instead of producing a consistent layer of graphene across the entire surface of the wafer, however, the researchers limit the heating time so that graphene grows only on portions of the contours.

The width of the resulting nanoribbons is proportional to the depth of the contours, providing a mechanism for precisely controlling the nanoribbon structures.  To form complex structures, multiple etching steps can be carried out to create complex templates.

“This technique allows us to avoid the complicated e-beam lithography steps that people have been using to create structures in epitaxial graphene,” de Heer noted.  “We are seeing very good properties that show these structures can be used for real electronic applications.”

Since publication of the Nature Nanotechnology paper, de Heer’s team has been refining its technique.  “We have taken this to an extreme – the cleanest and narrowest ribbons we can make,” he said.  “We expect to be able to do everything we need with the size ribbons that we are able to make right now, though we probably could reduce the width to 10 nanometers or less.”

While the Georgia Tech team is continuing to develop high-frequency transistors – perhaps even at the terahertz range – its primary effort now focuses on developing quantum devices, de Heer said.  Such devices were envisioned in the patents Georgia Tech holds on various epitaxial graphene processes.

“This means that the way we will be doing graphene electronics will be different,” he explained.  “We will not be following the model of using standard field-effect transistors (FETs), but will pursue devices that use ballistic conductors and quantum interference. We are headed straight into using the electron wave effects in graphene.”

Taking advantage of the wave properties will allow electrons to be manipulated with techniques similar to those used by optical engineers.  For instance, switching may be carried out using interference effects – separating beams of electrons and then recombining them in opposite phases to extinguish the signals.

Quantum devices would be smaller than conventional transistors and operate at lower power.  Because of its ability to transport electrons with virtually no resistance, epitaxial graphene may be the ideal material for such devices, de Heer said.

“Using the quantum properties of electrons rather than the standard charged-particle properties means opening up new ways of looking at electronics,” he predicted.  “This is probably the way that electronics will evolve, and it appears that graphene is the ideal material for making this transition.” De Heer’s research team hopes to demonstrate a rudimentary switch operating on the quantum interference principle within a year. 

Epitaxial graphene may be the basis for a new generation of high-performance devices that will take advantage of the material’s unique properties in applications where higher costs can be justified.  Silicon, today’s electronic material of choice, will continue to be used in applications where high-performance is not required, de Heer said.

“This is an important step in the process,” he added.  “There are going to be a lot of surprises as we move into these quantum devices and find out how they work.  We have good reason to believe that this can be the basis for a new generation of transistors based on quantum interference.”

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Caption: A team of Georgia Tech researchers led by Professor Walt de Heer has pioneered techniques for fabricating epitaxial graphene nanoribbons using a "templated growth" technique.  The equipment shown behind de Heer is used to characterize graphene properties.  (Georgia Tech Photo: Mali Azima)

 

Click to EnlargeMarch 22, 2011 — Micro-sensor experts at the Honeywell Aerospace Microelectronics & Precision Sensors segment in Plymouth, MN, are developing a miniature gyroscope for precision-guided munitions, ships, vehicles, aircraft, and even individual combatants under terms of a $5.9 million contract awarded late last week from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, VA.

The contract is for the three-year DARPA Microscale Rate Integrating Gyroscope (MRIG) program, which seeks to develop a micro-sensor vibrating-structure gyroscope to measure rotation over a wide range of dynamic conditions.

DARPA is asking Honeywell microelectronics experts to develop the micro-scale gyro for self-contained chip-scale inertial navigation and precision guidance systems that would help eliminate dependence on the satellite-based Global Positioning System (GPS) or any other external signals for uncompromised navigation and guidance.

Honeywell Aerospace experts will develop micro-gyros that are not influenced by the kinds of mechanical shocks, temperatures, vibrations, spin rates and accelerations that are common in guided munitions, and the Honeywell devices are expected to operate on no more power than a few tens of milliwatts. Honeywell will fabricate these micro gyros with large-scale manufacturability at its advanced microelectronics facilities in Plymouth, MN.

A vibrating-structure gyroscope operates on the principle that a vibrating object tends to keep vibrating in the same plane as its support is rotated. It is simpler and cheaper to design and build than is a conventional rotating gyroscope of similar accuracy, DARPA officials say.

DARPA scientists are asking Honeywell to develop these kinds of micro sensors as crucial parts of advanced inertial measurement units, small enough for guided munitions, handheld devices, and add-in portable guidance, navigation, and control units.

DARPA’s primary goal of the MRIG program is to create a vibratory gyroscope able to measure the angle of rotation directly such that the gyros will extend their dynamic range, as well as eliminate the need for integrating angular rate information. In this way, DARPA and Honeywell researchers expect to eliminate an accumulation of errors due to numerical and electronic integration.

DARPA scientists are asking Honeywell to develop isotropic two-degree-of-freedom resonators — especially microscopic 3-D shell resonators — which are spheres, wine-glass shaped structures, or any spatially distributed shells with an axis of symmetry.

Rate integrating gyroscopes have high dynamic range, accuracy due to direct measurement of the angle of rotation, and ability to operate interchangeably in the whole angle and angular rate modes, DARPA experts point out.

Honeywell experts have big challenges ahead, as rate integrating gyroscope technology has never been demonstrated on the microscale level. Rate integrating gyroscope miniaturization would offer the potential for developing an inertial navigation system for spin-stabilized missiles, pointing technology for high-G munitions, and azimuth-based target mapping.

For more information, contact Honeywell Aerospace Microelectronics & Precision Sensors (formerly the Honeywell Solid-State Electronics Center) online at www.ssec.honeywell.com, or DARPA at www.darpa.mil.

This article was posted by John Keller for Military & Aerospace Electronics, and is reprinted here with permission.

March 21, 2011 — Dolomite, microfluidic designer and manufacturer, introduced a new range of Small Droplet Chips, glass microfluidic devices that can be used with the Droplet Advanced System to generate highly monodispersed micro-droplets.

For producing and analyzing microemulsions, the Small Droplet Chips allow the user to create micro-droplets from 5 to 30μm in diameter. The devices feature a 14 x 17μm X-junction with hydrophobic and hydrophilic surface properties and benefit from on-chip filters, which are provided at chip entry to prevent microchannel blockage.

Microemulsions offer increased stability, a higher interfacial area, and the capacity to solubilize both aqueous and oil-soluble compounds, says Dolomite. Monodispersed microemulsions are used in applications such as food research, materials science and drug delivery, where smaller droplets allow improved control over the targeting and release of active compounds. The near circular microchannel profile at the junction of the Small Droplet Chip encourages stable and controllable droplet formation.

Operating over a pressure range up to 30bar, the Small Droplet Chips are compatible with Dolomite’s Top Interface 4-way and Linear Connector 4-way, allowing quick and reliable fluidic connection to 1.6mm OD tubing. The Small Droplet Chip is also available in quartz for improved optical transmission.

In addition, Dolomite offers custom solutions for the generation of microemulsions below 3μm in diameter.

Dolomite is pioneering the use of microfluidic devices for small-scale fluid control and analysis, enabling manufacturers to develop more compact, cost-effective and powerful instruments. For more information please visit www.dolomite-microfluidics.com.

Also read: Dolomite chip holder allows microfluidic system temperature control

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March 21, 2011 — Bruker released the DektakXT stylus profiler, a production system with sustained repeatability of under 5 angstroms (<0.5nm).

The tenth generation of Dektak systems, DektakXT features a single-arch design with enhanced metrology features, a 64-bit parallel processing software architecture (Bruker’s Vision64 operating and analysis software, with access to over 200 distinct analyses), and a true-color HD camera.

The system performs nanometer-scale film thickness and surface texture measurements with improved gage repeatability and up to 40% faster scan performance. The new scanning subsystem and λ/10 optically flat reference enable improved baseline stability and the faster scan speeds. It offers low floor noise technology and integrated scalability.

DektakXT uses Dektak’s single sensor head design for optimum scanning flexibility and "Easy Tip Exchange" feature for rapid exchange of stylus tips to address a wide range of applications.

Widely used in microelectronics, semiconductor, display, solar, high-brightness LED, medical, scientific and materials science markets, Dektak stylus profilers are precision metrology instruments for production, research and failure analysis facilities. Dektak systems are used in 2D profilometry and 3D surface profiling applications to measure nanometer film thicknesses and step heights, 2D and 3D stress and other critical surface parameters that are vital in R&D, process development and Quality Assurance & Quality Control (QA/QC) applications.

DektakXT will be demonstrated in Bruker Booth 409 at the Society of Vacuum Coaters (SVC) TechCon 2011 in Chicago, IL, on April 19-20, 2011. For more information on DektakXT, or to schedule a demo or an appointment at SVC, contact Bruker at +1 (520) 741-1044 ext. 3, [email protected] or visit
www.bruker-axs.com.

Bruker Corporation provides high-performance scientific instruments and solutions for molecular and materials research, as well as for industrial and applied analysis. For more information about Bruker Corporation, please visit www.bruker.com.

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March 18, 2011 – BUSINESS WIREExcelitas Technologies, optoelectronics provider, introduced the SPCM-UV, part of its SPCM (Single Photon Counting Module) product portfolio, that covers the short visible wavelength range. The UV-enhanced SPCM has peak sensitivity in the 400-500nm range along with high photon detection efficiency (PDE) at short wavelengths, low noise performance, and high dynamic range.

The UV-enhanced SPCM uses a "Geiger-mode" Si APD (UV-SliK) with a circular active area that achieves a peak PDE of over 75% (10%+ more efficient than other offerings, says Excelitas) at 500nm over the full 180µm active area. The photodiode is both thermoelectrically cooled and temperature controlled, ensuring stabilized performance despite ambient temperature changes. The UV-enhanced SPCM’s performance parameters often surpass traditional photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) as well as current silicon APD-based SPCMs.

The SPCM-UV offers low dark counts down to <25cps and low dead time, leading to high dynamic range of >25Mcps. The SPCM also has low dead-time fluctuation, resulting in high linearity. It suits photon correlation spectroscopy, ultra-sensitive fluorescence, confocal microscopy, particle sizing, single-molecule detection, optical range finding, DNA analysis, adaptive optics, and astronomical observation.

The SPCM-UV will also be available in different dark count selections. It is fully RoHS-compliant.

Excelitas Technologies provides custom products for illumination, detection and other high-performance technology needs of OEM customers. The company was previously the Illumination and Detection Solutions (IDS) business unit of PerkinElmer, and is now owned by Veritas Capital. Learn more at www.excelitas.com

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March 18, 2011 – BUSINESS WIRE — TowerJazz advanced 0.18µm power management and CMOS image sensor (CIS) technology and sophisticated process design kits (PDKs) are now available for prototyping to companies, universities and research labs through the services provided by CMP.

CMP, an independent non-profit organization, provides more than 1000 organizations from 70 countries access to affordable commercial foundries by consolidating their designs onto multi-project wafers. CMP works with several foundry vendors supporting a range of technologies and has chosen TowerJazz for its excellence in process technology as well as its broad IP portfolio. CMP offers its customers experience with the entire design, layout, verification, and tapeout process, as well as the export guidance.

In power management, TowerJazz offers scalable bipolar-CMOS-DMOS (BCD) platforms with state of the art Rdson values including non-volatile memory (NVM). TowerJazz also has a proprietary Y-Flash technology, offering small cell size, zero mask adder and flexibility to implement various memory sizes. TowerJazz provides internal pixel development for high-end CMOS image sensors. TowerJazz supports the customization of pixels per project needs and its performance (dark current, low noise and dynamic range) enables a rich offering for various digital imaging applications.

CMP is a broker in ICs and MEMS for prototyping and low volume production. Circuits are fabricated for Universities, Research Laboratories and Industrial Companies. Advanced industrial technologies are available in CMOS, BiCMOS, SiGe BiCMOS, High Voltage, FDSOI down to 20nm, pHEMT GaAs, and MEMS etc. CMP distributes and supports several CAD software tools for both Industrial Companies and Universities. For more information, visit: http://cmp.imag.fr.

Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ: TSEM) (TASE: TSEM), global specialty foundry, and its fully owned U.S. subsidiary, Jazz Semiconductor, operate collectively under the brand name TowerJazz, manufacturing integrated circuits with geometries ranging from 1.0 to 0.13-micron. For more information, please visit www.towerjazz.com.

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March 17, 2011 – BUSINESS WIRESymmetricom Inc. (NASDAQ:SYMM), time and frequency products maker, and Jackson Labs Technologies Inc., designer and manufacturer of GPS-based time and frequency generation products, signed a joint marketing agreement (JMA) to market and sell Jackson Lab’s CSAC GPSDO timing and frequency board with Symmetricom’s newest member of the QUANTUM family of atomic oscillators, the SA.45s chip-scale atomic clock (CSAC), which uses MEMS technology.

The SA.45s CSAC will be utilized as a holdover oscillator for the COTS CSAC Global Positioning System Disciplined Oscillator (GPSDO). This will benefit GPS-denied environments and can be used in dismounted IED jammers; unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs); next-generation man-pack radios and military handheld GPS units.

"Compared to existing OEM atomic oscillators, the CSAC is 1/3rd to 1/30th the size, and it consumes 1/20th to 1/100th of the power. When compared to Oven-Controlled Crystal Oscillators (OXCOs), the CSAC consumes only 125 milli-watts, and offers a 3x to 10x improvement in stability and accuracy, a 10x to 100x reduction in g-sensitivity, as well as a reduction of the warm-up and lock time from 15 minutes typically to less than 3 minutes. The hold-over performance of the CSAC is especially beneficial in GPS-denied environments where mission-critical military products are being utilized on a daily basis for tactical operations," noted Said Jackson, president of Jackson Labs Technologies Inc.

A vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) that has been highly optimized for this specific application illuminates the atomic vapor resonance cell, and the light that gets through the cell is then detected by the photodetector. The photodetector output signal drives a feedback loop which is used to achieve atomic resonance using the principles of coherent population trapping (CPT).

The only way the physics package connects with the outside world is through a suspension of polyimide strips. All signals that need to go to or from the center stack-up are carried on traces that are printed on the polyimide strips.

The CSAC GPSDO will be marketed and sold from both companies as part of the JMA, and is now available for shipment. Benefits include excellent holdover performance, ultra low power consumption, low height profile, fast-warm up time and 1 pulse per second (PPS) accuracy.

Jackson Labs Technologies, Inc. GPSDO Technology enables extremely small COTS Global Positioning System Disciplined Oscillators (GPSDOs) that have been ruggedized to meet military requirements, in particular the DoD new and emerging timing requirements for manpack, airborne, vehicle-mounted, and stationary applications. For more information, see: http://www.jackson-labs.com/docs.html

Symmetricom’s SA.45s CSAC is a commercially available chip scale atomic clock, providing the accuracy and stability of atomic clock technology while achieving true breakthroughs in reduced size, weight and power consumption. For more information, see: http://www.symmetricom.com/products/frequency-references/chip-scale-atomic-clock-csac/SA.45s-CSAC/

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March 17, 2011 — Scientists in the Center for Nanoscale Materials and Argonne’s Biosciences Division have assembled nanoparticles into larger structures of any desired shape and form at will, via a process called optically directed assembly (ODA).

Optically directed assembly involves suspensions of gold and carbon nanoparticles in water. A small droplet of the suspension is placed on a glass slide, and a low-power laser is focused onto a small region within the droplet near its surface. Through a complex process involving optical trapping, heating, evaporation, convective fluid flow, and chemical interactions, the nanoparticles fuse near the laser focus and as the experimenter moves the laser focus around in the droplet, a continuous filament of the fused material follows. These remarkable structures remain completely intact even after the fluid is drained off.

Gold-carbon nanoparticle interactions. (a) TEM image of the tip of a gold-carbon filament; (b) TEM image of encapsulated gold nanoparticles within the tip; (c) Initial gold-carbon nanoparticle configuration for a molecular dynamics simulation; and (d) molecular dynamics result after 10 ns showing wetting of a gold nanoparticle by carbon atoms in the 450K range. These results indicate the possibility of encapsulation of gold nanoparticles by carbon.

In this manner “handcrafted” filaments of up to millimeter lengths and 10-60 times wider than the original nanoparticles can be formed with arbitrary shape and design. The resulting hierarchical architectures may be useful for a variety of applications, including biological sensing, electronics, optics, and emerging energy technologies. As a first demonstration, the researchers handcrafted the Chinese symbol for king, on a microscopic scale.

A structured, mesocale filament of gold and carbon nanoparticles formed via ODA in water intentionally resembles the Chinese character for "king."

Irreversible metal-metal aggregation is observed only when carbon is present. Scientists in CNM’s Theory & Modeling Group used molecular dynamics simulations to model gold-carbon nanoparticle configurations and wetting behavior.
 
Results are reported in Physical Review Letters:
J. T. Bahns et al., "Optically Directed Assembly of Continuuous Mesocale Filaments," Phys. Rev. Lett., 106, 095501 (2011). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.095501 http://prl.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v106/i9/e095501

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March 16, 2011EV Group (EVG), wafer bonding and lithography equipment supplier for the MEMS, nanotechnology and semiconductor markets, received an order from new customer Shenyang Silicon Technology Co. Ltd. (SST). SST will use an EVG850LT automated production bonding system for silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers in its state-of-the-art SOI production facility to expedite its efforts to ramp up high-volume manufacture of SOI wafers.

SST chose the EVG wafer bonder based on the success of the high-throughput, high-yield EVG850, said president Hai Fengtao, adding that using EVG systems in its facility will "help SST to achieve a smooth technology transfer from R&D to high-volume production, while assuring our customers that they are purchasing wafers manufactured on the industry-standard SOI bonding system."

Research and consulting firm Markets and Markets estimates that the global SOI market will grow at a 15.3% CAGR from 2010 to 2015 to reach $1.3 billion by 2015, driven by applications such as MEMS and microprocessors used in computers and video games. Investments in new manufacturing plants are also fuelling market growth, as well as R&D initiatives and strategic collaborations aimed at launching new technologies and growing the customer base.

EV Group is exhibiting at booth 3101 at SEMICON China in Shanghai through March 17, 2011.

EV Group (EVG) provides wafer-processing equipment for semiconductor, MEMS and nanotechnology applications. Key products include wafer bonding, lithography/nanoimprint lithography (NIL) and metrology equipment, as well as photoresist coaters, cleaners and inspection systems. More information is available at www.EVGroup.com.