ATLANTA – PCB Design Conference West returns to the Santa Clara (CA) Convention Center this March. The annual PCB West conference and exhibition is geared toward PCB engineering, design and manufacture professionals. Highlights of the March 25-30 conference include a two-day exhibition; 14 free technical sessions; free exhibitor presentations; a professional development certificate program of eight full-day tutorials and two design excellence curriculum two-day courses; a three-day technical conference of 26 short courses; and several free networking events. Mentor Graphics vice president and general manager Henry Potts will keynote the conference, talking on the intersection of PCB design, ICs and hardware.
 
The conference brochure is available for download at www.pcbwest.com. Registration is currently open.

PALO ALTO -- Hewlett-Packard scientists this month disclosed a new way to make nanoscale computer chips that reportedly increases by eightfold the number of transistors on a chip, without making the transistors smaller.

The HP team's concept involves layering a structure called a nanowire on top of a conventional silicon chip, to increase the number of interconnects. Also, most of the wiring from the silicon is removed, allowing the more transistors to be crammed on the chip.

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TAIPEI -- Is ODM Asustek Computer going to follow the path blazed by Acer, BenQ Mobile and others and go head-to-head with its customers?

That's the talk -- and it's coming from the company itself.

Company spokesman Jonathan Tsang told DigiTimes the company plans to split its ODM and OEM production  within three years.

Asustek builds and markets motherboards, notebook PCs, servers, handsets and LCD TVs under the Asus brand. Sales from Asus notebooks are nearing those of contract revenues, Tsang said.

No decision has been made but the company plans to make a separation in three years, DigiTimes reported Tsang as saying.

SAN CLEMENTE, CA – Inspection equipment OEM YESTech has sold its 500th AOI system, the company announced today. Panasonic purchased the system for its Reynosa, Mexico, plant. Panasonic first purchased YESTech’s AOI in 2005.
 

SAN JOSE – The SMTA announced plans for the 4th Annual International Wafer-Level Packaging Conference and Exhibition.
 
This event will be held Sept. 18-19 in San Jose, and will focus on leading-edge IC packaging and test technologies with special emphasis on 3-D stacked packaging.
 
The event includes one day of workshops, a two-day technical program and two days of exhibits.
 
Submit 200-word abstracts to Melissa Serres at melissa@smta.org by March 23.

SONORA, MEXICO – Indium announced signed an agreement with Multi Dicona to distribute soldering materials in Sonora, Mexico.


Multi Dicona has more than 13 years’ experience in the printed circuit board industry and is working toward ISO 9000 certification.  
 
 
 

ROME, NY – The Electrostatic Discharge Association (ESDA) has conferred program manager certification status on seven individuals. The program certifies the expertise of individuals involved in designing, implementing, managing and auditing ESD control programs.
 
Gaining certification were Dale Fuller, Brad Klepsa, Marcus Koh, Jim Krzmarzick, Jeff Salisbury, Keith Smith and Luis Velazquez.
 
The test was developed and graded by the Program Manager Certification Council.
 
ESDA will host the first annual Device Design Certification Exam in September during the association’s 2007 EOS/ESD Symposium in Anaheim, CA. Details regarding the exam are available at www.esda.org/devicedesign.html.

 
Topics to be covered include SnPb with lead-free components; reliability; harsh environment; tin whiskers; new alloys; electromigration; thermal dissipation; manufacturing process; supply chain issues; advanced packaging; new substrate materials; surface finishes; thermal interface materials, and underfill.

To present, please submit a 200- to 300-word abstract to Melissa Serres at melissa@smta.org by Jan. 31. Include title, author’s name and contact information. Technical papers are optional, but PowerPoint presentations are required and due March 23.
 

SAN ANTONIO – SMT machine software sales hit $312.4 million in 2006 and will grow 35% to $558.3 million in 2013, according to research firm Frost & Sullivan.
 
The research firm says complete integration and ease of communication down the SMT line have driven software market growth. Customers are reportedly also more concerned with pricing and quality of the machine now, and not with the software that accompanies it.
 
“The SMT software market has been rejuvenated not only due to increase in equipment sales, but also due to increasing automation and technology of the software itself,” says Frost senior research analyst Lavanya Ram Mohan. “As the demands for increased integration, communication, quality and factory level optimization rise, these markets are likely to accrue significant revenues in future.”



 

HANOI -- Foxconn, the world's largest contract manufacturer, will invest up to $1 billion toward a large industrial park in Vietnam, according to published reports.

"Vietnam has become a very efficient country for production and it will become a major production area for us outside of China," Hon Hai spokesman Edmund Ding told Reuters.

Previous reports indicated the company plans a massive (50 hectacre) park where it would build computer, communications and consumer electronics.

The Commercial Times quoted Ding as saying chairman Terry Guo decided to look into Vietnam after going there himself on a business trip late last year.

Vietnam is becoming an attractive spot for locating production. Taiwan's leading telecom company, Chunghwa Telecom Co. Ltd., reportedly studying the nation as well.

ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- Jabil Circuit is finalizing a previously announced deal to acquire handset case maker Taiwan Green Point Enterprises Co. Ltd. for $871 million, the companies said Jan. 15.

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SURREY, ENGLAND -- TT Electronics expects profits for the year ended Dec. 31 to be in-line with previous forecasts.
"The market for electronic components in 2006 has been significantly better than the previous year and we expect this to continue into 2007," the company said.

TT Electronics provides sensors, resistors and other components, and EMS services.

The company said its EMS operations are "performing strongly" since its restructuring.