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WASHINGTON – The National Institute of Standards and Technology today said it would provide more than $22 million in funding for nine research projects targeting innovative manufacturing technologies.
The awards will be matched by other funding sources and are expected to result in an estimated $46 million in new advanced manufacturing research over the next three years.
Among the recipients are Kent Displays, Sinmat and Polyera Corp.
Kent Displays proposes to develop a suite of processes for high-volume production of flexible, low-power displays. If successful, the project will result in the first US facility for commercial-scale manufacturing of high-res digital displays of any type, the firm says.
The displays will be made from thin flexible plastic films. Kent Displays plans to introduce its low-power, high-res Reflex displays for use on credit cards; as electronic paper for broad-scale applications, such as advertising; in low-cost writing tablets, and for other mass-market offerings.
The firm aims to increase production capabilities and lower costs for Reflex flexible displays by developing seven new manufacturing processes.
Sinmat plans to develop commercial-scale methods for making super hard, low-defect substrate materials and engineering the surfaces of these platforms to eliminate roughness and optimize properties for particular applications.
Sinmat’s surface-engineered super hard substrates are also designed to reduce defect density and enhance light reflection.
Success could pave the way for silicon-on-diamond substrates to meet the need to rapidly dissipate heat on ICs, the firm says.
The company proposes to refine and scale up its chemical mechanical polishing techniques for engineering the surfaces of gallium nitride, silicon carbide, diamond, and other extremely hard materials.
Polyera said it has developed semiconductor materials with the potential to reach 10% power-conversation efficiencies, the level needed to enable solar modules competitive with other technologies on a cost-per-watt basis.
The firm proposes to develop synthetic methods to enable large-scale manufacturing of these materials.
The project will develop and evaluate synthetic routes for making the fundamental building block. It also will examine the potential of a new polymerization method to better control the photoactive layer polymer architecture at the nanoscale.
Polyera will work with third parties to scale-up the process first to pilot levels and then to commercial-scale volumes.
WESTLAKE, OH -- Nordson's electronics manufacturing and inspection equipment segment reported big gains in the fourth quarter ended Oct. 31.
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AUSTIN, TX – The adoption of flip chip and wafer level packaging continues to expand to a wide range of devices, says TechSearch International. The firm projects a compound annual growth rate of more than 15% for flip chip units. In unit volumes, WLPs are expected to see a 12.48% CAGR from 2009 to 2014.
The drivers for flip chip continue to be performance, on-chip power distribution, pad-limited designs, and form factor requirements. The use of FCIP is expanding for microprocessors, ASICs, field programmable gate arrays, DSPs, media devices, chipsets, and graphics chips. Driven by form factor, many wireless products are adopting flip chip interconnect. Solder bumped devices are found in applications such as automotive electronics, computers and peripherals, telecommunications, and consumer products. TechSearch projects strong growth for Cu pillar and 300 mm bumping.
The growth in WLPs is driven by increased demand for thinner, lighter-weight portable products, but WLPs are adopted for form factor, performance and cost-reduction reasons. The industry has seen an increase in shipments of analog devices such as power amplifiers, audio CODEC, integrated power management controllers, ring tones for mobile phones, MOSFETs, image sensors, wireless, and integrated passive devices.
WLPs have historically been used for low-pin-count (≤100 I/O) applications, but many companies plan to use WLPs for higher-pin-count applications with larger die sizes (7 mm x 7 mm or larger), according to the firm.
An increasing number of companies are interested in fan-out WLPs. Fan-out WLPs are a package option for devices with a large number of I/Os that cannot be accommodated by a fan-in design. The use of a fan-out solution provides the same low-profile advantage as the conventional WLP, says TechSearch.
GLENVIEW, IL – Illinois Tool Works today reported an operating revenue increase of 11% for the three months ended Nov. 30 versus the year-ago period.
Organic revenues contributed 9% to total revenue growth in the third quarter. In addition, acquisitions added 3% to top-line growth.
Sales at the company’s Power and Electronics unit were up 22.8%. The segment includes Speedline Technologies, Kester Solder, Vitronics-Soltec and other leading electronics manufacturing suppliers.
The 2010 fourth-quarter forecast assumes a total revenue growth range of 7% to 9%.
For full-year 2010, ITW forecasts a revenue growth range of 13% to 14%.
SCHWANDORF, GERMANY -- EMS firm EN ElectronicNetwork has acquired the manufacturing site of Görmiller Electronic out of insolvency.
No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which took effect immediately.
The Görmiller site, located in Schwandorf, gives EN ElectronicNetwork its fifth site in Germany.
SAN JOSE – Worldwide semiconductor manufacturing equipment billings reached $11.12 billion in the third quarter, up 22% sequentially.
NORTHBROOK, IL— A new Underwriters Laboratories white paper clarifies the theory of dielectric breakdown and the objective of the dielectric voltage withstand test, which takes place during the product design phase of electronic devices.
CEDAR RAPIDS, IA -- Did avoiding the voids just get less important? A multi-company investigation into BGA voids suggests as much.
SMYRNA, GA – UP Media Group Inc. seeks abstracts for PCB West 2011, to be held September 27-29, 2010, in Santa Clara, CA. The event includes a three-day technical conference and one-day exhibition to be held at the Santa Clara (CA) Convention Center.
PCB West annually provides a conference and exhibition focused on the design and manufacture of PCBs, HDI, electronics assembly and circuit board test.
Papers and presentations of the following durations are sought for the technical conference: one-hour lectures and presentations; two-hour workshops, and half-day (3.5 hour) seminars.
Suggested paper and presentation topics include LED design and assembly; RF and microwave design; high speed, high frequency and signal integrity; component placement; EMI/EMC analysis; thermal analysis; lead-free processes; environmental legislation (REACH, RoHS, etc.) and its effects; packaging design; mixed-signal design; area arrays; FPGA design and implementation; embedded passives and active devices; flexible circuitry; HDI design and technologies; PCB design/layout basics; component library creation and management; design for manufacture, test and assembly; electronics assembly; soldering; component placement; screen and stencil printing; PCB fabrication; surface finishes; industry forecasts, and business and supply chain issues.
Papers and presentations must be noncommercial in nature and should focus on technology, techniques or methodology. Abstracts of 300 words or less should be submitted to conference co-chairs Pete Waddell (pwaddell@upmediagroup.com) or Mike Buetow (mbuetow@upmediagroup.com) by April 29. If selected, final papers and presentations will be due July 8, 2010.
Printed Circuit Design & Fab and CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY magazines are media partners for the event.
For more information about PCB West, visit pcbwest.com or contact Show Manager Alyson Skarbek at 404-665-7749; askarbek@upmediagroup.com.
WASHINGTON, DC – Few major OEMs have complete oversight over their supply chains, a new report claims, although whether the firms actually buy conflict minerals was not part of the rankings.
KOKOMO, IN -- Federal, state and local leaders joined hundreds of Delphi employees today to break ground on the company's $25 million expansion here.
ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL – EMS provider SigmaTron International reported second-quarter fiscal 2011 revenues of $38.2 million, up nearly 25% year-over-year.
Net income was $586,050, up 13.3% compared to the prior year period.
For the six months ended Oct. 31, revenues were $76.3 million, up 34.1% year-over-year. Net income for the period was $1.4 million, compared to $114,823 for the same period last year.
“One-time relocation expenses are almost entirely behind us, and starting in the third quarter, we expect that lease expenses for Union City, CA, will decrease by $40,000 per month.
“Our revenue for the second quarter was essentially the same as the first quarter. Our earnings were lower compared to the first quarter, but primarily due to relocation expenses in California. Our backlog remains stable. Our revenue run-rate over the first two quarters of fiscal 2011 is at the strongest revenue level for two consecutive quarters since the 2008 downturn in the economy. Revenue has rebounded nicely and is slightly below the revenue level for the first two quarters of fiscal 2009.
“While it appears that our customers have stabilized their businesses, the continued uncertainty in the economy forces us to remain cautious. Pricing pressures remain with both customers and vendors. We continue to have lead-time issues with several raw material classes.”
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