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MILPITAS, CA -- Marc Onetto, executive vice president for worldwide operations of Solectron Corp., has resigned to pursue other interests.

His duties will be assumed by chief executive and president Mike Cannon on a temporary basis.

SALT LAKE CITY -- CirTran Corp., an electronics contract manufacturer, today announced that a $1 million investment in the company has been made by a private California company.

ANAHOP, an Anaheim, CA-based company, has contracted to purchase 14,285,715 shares of CirTran's restricted common stock for $.07 per share without any registration rights.

The initial payment of $500,000 was made on May 24, and additional payments of $250,000 each scheduled to be completed on or before June 2 and June 30, 2006, respectively.

ANAHOP's principals will receive warrants to purchase additional shares of CirTran common stock, up to 15 million shares, at an exercise price of $0.15 per share, up to 5 million shares at $0.25 per share, and up to 10 million shares at an exercise price of $0.50 per share.

Solderite, a provider of Pb-free soldering solutions, introduces the Solderite 3500 Lead-free Soldering Station. The patents incorporated in the station were filed and granted to design a superior lead-free soldering station.

Features remote-controlled temperature programming; pre-set temperature settings can be varied for specific temperatures. Comes standard with automatic tip temperature compensation, standby mode and automatic off functions. Includes a quick calibration mode that allows operators to test the true soldering tip temperature and calibrate temperature, if needed.

The company’s "power on demand per demand" technology reportedly ensures that the specially designed electroplated tips deliver an outstanding life cycle.

Solderite, solderite.com

SAN FRANCISCO - Inventories throughout the high-tech food chain are under control and look unlikely to balloon out of control over the sluggish summer months ahead of the key year-end holiday season, industry executives reported at the JPMorgan Technology Conference this week.

The comments made by chief executives and CFOs come amid growing concerns that an inventory glut in the face of potentially flagging demand will weigh on profits.

While the fourth quarter is great for electronic gadget sales because of Christmas, and firms often spend more on technology toward the end of the year to pad out annual budgets, unsold output can pile up in the intervening months.

March Plasma Systems has release of an improved version of its AP-1000 plasma system for high-volume plasma processing of semiconductor and microelectronics devices. The current system has a large installed base at customer sites worldwide, with over 200 systems currently in the field. The redesigned version provides the same production-proven plasma technology and performance in a smaller, more compact and easier-to-service design.

"Every square inch of clean room and manufacturing space is valuable," said Peter Bierhuis, president. "We have improved the new AP-1000 system to consume 24% less actual floor space than before, and 45% less effective floor space when you include all of the required maintenance areas. We have also moved key components to make them more accessible and easier to service. An added benefit for large-scale manufacturing facilities is that more AP-1000 systems can be placed side-by-side in a smaller area because now the chassis is smaller, there are no required maintenance areas at the sides of the system, and the plasma chamber door has been redesigned."

The system is capable of a variety of plasma modes and can handle a range of plasma gasses. March specifically designed the new system with existing customers in mind so that process re-qualification is not required when switching to the improved system. Accordingly, new system process performance is guaranteed for customers with copy-exact requirements.

March Plasma Systems, marchplasma.com

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – As part of SMTA International – co-located with ATExpo in September in Rosemont, IL – the SMTA has organized its Emerging Technologies Summit to address the latest trends in electronics manufacturing and assembly. The ET Summit, which consists of three paper sessions and a concluding panel discussion, will take place on Sept. 25.

The first session, Packaging Space: Nano to Outer, will feature papers on Emerging Trends Overview, Bonding Techniques in Wafer Fabrication, Flip-Chip Integration of a Large Format Array of MOEMS Devices for Space Infrared Astronomy, Multiscale Assembly and Packaging System for MOEMS, and Nanotechnology and Room Temperature Assembly.

The next session, Wireless Technology, will feature papers on Emerging Opportunities and Challenges for High Frequency Broadband Communications, Connecting the Unconnected – Broadband Wireless Access Technologies, and Network, WiFi, WiMax, WiMedia, WiMe? What Wireless Standards Can Bring to Sensing and Controls.

The last session, Using RFID to Add Value to Your Products and Services, will feature a presentation and demonstration of high frequency and ultra high frequency technology and their application in PCB product environments.

Moderated by Reza Ghaffarian, Ph.D., of Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the panel discussion will feature key industry participants who will respond to audience and moderator questions.

For event registration, visit smta.org/smtai.

NEW YORK -- Investors may want to be cautions when approaching shares of Sanmina-SCI, said Cowen and Company analysts Louis R. Miscioscia told Forbes. Apparently the company has had some suspicious timing of its stock options awards.

At a time when more and more technology companies are coming under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for irregular stock options granting practices, Miscioscia said Sanmina's story is the "most interesting" out of all the EMS companies he covers.

LPKF recently released the bench-top ProtoFlow Oven for Pb-free reflow soldering. The new design has been influenced by the stringent process requirements of Pb-free technology, and by the prior oven model, the ZelFlow R04.

Maximum process temperature is 320°C/608°F; it incorporates four internal temperature sensors and a multiprocessor controller board, which ensure even heat distribution over PCBs up to 9 x 12”. Has several software zones between preheating and final reflow to process most reflow profiles, as well as prototyping, technology research and even pre-production testing.

An optional four additional sensors can also be freely mounted on the PCB by the operator, enabling on-board temperature to be recorded and displayed in real time on a PC through a standard USB connection. Reflow process can be observed through a large window.

Has pre-programmed process profiles, which can be easily selected using four navigation keys. Custom profiles may also be created on your PC and uploaded to the oven. Includes an LCD display and intuitive software interface. Process parameters can be exchanged with a PC, managed and archived. Microsoft Excel can be used monitor and document progress parameters for complete quality management documents.

LPKF Laser & Electronics, lpkfusa.com

SCOTTSDALE, AZ -- The Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) market, with a quickly expanding array of uses, is on a roll, according to a report from In-Stat. The value of worldwide FPGA shipments will increase from $1.9 billion in 2005 to $2.75 billion by 2010, the high-tech market research firm said. Much of this revenue will come from low-volume shipments.

"In large part, low-volume use of this product relates directly to price, which directly correlates to complexity, and prices can run from less that $100 per unit to several thousand dollars per unit," said Jerry Worchel, senior analyst. "End-use applications will determine the viability of using FPGAs for the long haul."

In-Stat predicts that the largest two end-use segments will be communications and industrial, whose combined market share will increase from 73.8% in 2005 to 76.8% by 2010.

Phoenix, AZ – A hydrogen-based economy? Laptops and cell phones powered by lightweight, inexpensive rechargeable fuel cells? Automobiles that run on methane and emit virtually no pollutants into the atmosphere? All this is possible - and coming sooner than you may think – according to a report on fuel cells just published by Energy Business Reports, an energy industry think tank.

Over the next decade, fuel cell demand will likely increase due to high petroleum prices and continued environmental concerns, says EBR. The global commercial fuel cell market is expected to reach $2.5 billion by 2009. Electric power generation is emerging as a large-scale commercial market for fuel cells and is expected to represent more than half of all demand in 2008. Aerospace and motor vehicle applications may lag somewhat in the near term, but are projected to grow rapidly between 2008 and 2013. The portable electronics market is expected to report the strongest advances over the next decade.

The electrical capacity of batteries has not kept pace with the increasing power consumption requirements of electronic devices. These limitations have generated enormous interest in alternative power sources, and the fuel cell is the most promising candidate.

When micro fuel cells are commercialized, they may provide improvements in energy storage and allow electronic devices to incorporate new features and lengthen their operating times. Users will also be able to "reload" in a few seconds by replacing the fuel cartridge.

Various environmental and economic factors continue to drive the need to develop fuel cells, including the cost and availability of oil, energy security, climate change and environmental quality. For more information on the report, visit EngergyBusinessReports.com.

Milpitas, CA – CORWIL Technology is offering a free half-day seminar for a small audience to coincide with the opening of its new SIP/MCM Center. The company also recently announced a partnership agreement with Endicott Interconnect and Singulated.

The three companies will conduct the seminar on SIP (system-in-package) design and production on the morning of June 23 at the Ramada Inn in Sunnyvale, CA. Attendees will learn the benefits and demands of SIP products from Endicott Interconnect for substrates, Singulated for physical design and CORWIL for prototype and production assembly.

For further info., e-mail phil@corwil.com.

MINNEAPOLIS -- The SMTA International Opening Session and Annual Meeting will be held on Sept. 26 and 27, respectively, at the Donald Stephens Convention Center in Chicago, IL.

The Opening Session, free to all attendees, will include a discussion on “Solving RoHS Related Problems for Small to Medium Enterprises,” led by Jim Dills of The GoodBye Chain Group. It will also feature a presentation by Ken Gilleo of ET-Trends LLC on “What’s Next for Emerging Technologies?”