Electronics

Latest Electronics News

The Clyde Space new website and online shop is live with nice features, new to Clyde Space, and perhaps new for other space companies. No, not the newsletters, blogs, case studies of previous missions, etc though those are there too. What sets the Clyde Space website apart from other space company websites is it allows visitors to buy their spacecraft online with a credit card.

Rather than the obligatory two days notice for a power cut, the owner of an activity centre, who fears he could lose thousands of pounds in his high season after being given just four days notice that electricity will switched off at Glasfryn Activity Parc and Bowling Centre, at Y Ffôr, near Pwllheli. Owner, Jonathan Elis-Williams, received a hand-delivered note from Scottish Power Manweb informing him of the decision with four days notice. The company says it needs to cut the power so that another customer down the line – Williams and Williams skip hire in Chwilog – can have essential engineering works done.

Projectors have been predicted to be the next big shrink and market gizmo. Judging by Nippon Signal Co Ltd exhibited of a Super Video Graphics Adaptor (SGVA) (resolution: 800 x 600) compact color projector that is as small as a cigarette case at Exhibition Micromachine/MEMS, looks as if the prediction is on the move.

STMicroelectronics, STATS ChipPAC and Infineon Technologies AG have signed an agreement to jointly develop the next-generation of embedded Wafer-Level Ball Grid Array (eWLB) technology, based on Infineon's first-generation technology, for use in manufacturing future-generation semiconductor packages. Introduced in 2007 all operations are performed at wafer level, as with WLBs, signifying concurrent processing of all the chips on the wafer in one step. The trend-setting package technology sets the benchmark in integration level and efficiency, namely a 30% reduction of dimension compared to conventional lead-frame laminate packages and an almost infinite number of contact elements.

Nippon Signal Co Ltd have exhibited a Super Video Graphics Adaptor (SGVA) (resolution: 800 x 600) compact color projector that is as small as a cigarette case at Exhibition Micromachine/MEMS.A lunch-box sized prototype with the same resolution was show at the previous exhibition, (approximately 180 x 120 x 50mm). This time, the company reduced the size of the projector about 1/8 (90 x 55 x 20mm) by reducing the size of the optical system such as lenses and the MEMS scanner that scans laser light beams in RGB colors.

Cardiff Wales and Bethlehem US based IQE has secure the number one place as merchant supplier of both MOCVD and MBE material for Si GaAs epitaxial substrates, although RFMD continues to be the world's largest producer of Si GaAs epitaxial substrates according to the recent report, Markets for SI GaAs Epitaxial Substrates: 2007-2012

The smart agents, known as Flecks, were created by the Australia Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) which has some performing their intelligence gathering at homes and offices across the Australian continent. CSIRO had found that existing wireless sensor network (WSN) devices failed to meet its research requirements so it set about developing them in house at CSIRO four years ago.

Wolfson Microelectronics has warned it is at the mercy of the consumer electronics sector, and the tough economic climate has seen a 27% fall in first-half profits to £9.1m (£4.6m) As a result, the company is reviewing its non-R&D costs. First-half revenues grew 12% to 0.3m. CEO David Shrigley said it was impossible to tell how long the "very uncertain "downturn would last,described it as "very uncertain". The company said falling demand for consumer electronics would also hit Q3 sales, and that costs and jobs would be cut to combat the downturn. The company employs around 370 at its Edinburgh headquarters.

The Foreign Office has admitted a `serious breach of security' after 3,000 blank passports and visas in 24 parcels were stolen from an unlocked white van in Greater Manchester when the driver nipped into a shop to buy a chocolate bar. An urgent investigation was underway today into how the documents were plundered as they were being transported to an RAF base near London.

Three of of eight finalists in the SEMI Best of West awards were from Europe and were for new packaging technologies — three in 3-D IC applications and one from the US was in process integration. They were selected based on their financial impact on the industry, engineering or scientific achievement, and/or societal impact. Three of these are sourced from Europe.

A team of Dundee University design students (the Underwonders) are taking part in the Microsoft Design Expo 2008 being held in Seattle at the end of July, along with teams fro the US, China, India, Mexico and the Netherlands. (L to R) Joanna Montgomery and Neil Dawson of Interactive Media Design, and Natalie Montgomery and Lee Murray of Innovative Product Design worked with an initial brief to create two interactive objects to bridge the gap between two generations have created a prototype machine that uses images and sounds to tell stories, with a rolling film made from still images.

Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) has confirmed a cell conversion efficiency of 17.7% from a CIGS solar cell with a flexible substrate. The efficiency of the solar cell is reportedly one of the highest in the world for flexible CIGS solar cells. AIST noted in the article that instead of varying the amount of relatively unstable alkali metals such as sodium selenide or sodium fluoride to control the carrier density of a p-type semiconductor, its researchers developed the “alkali-silicate glass thin layer (ASTL) method."

The American hi-tech company rumoured to be taking over the former Hyundai plant in Dunfermline with the potential of creating 1000 new jobs, is revealed as San Jose, California-based, Zoom Diversified Inc (not to be confused with broadband Zoom Technologies Inc) by the Dunfermline Press. It claims to be building a poly-crystalline silicon manufacturing facility and a multi-phased vertically integrated solar energy generation plant that will manufacture the polycrystalline silicon feedstock, silicon solar cells and solar modules. It's choise of location is unusual in that the UK is not the biggest PV market and most PV companies find logistics plays an important role in location.The company, involved in mining, infrastructure, industrial, and real estate is developing the Global Gateway Technology City in the Philippines, a 24.5m sq ft business community.

iSuppli has made a list over the components and it's suppliers in the new iPhone 3G handset. The manufacturing cost of the new iPhone is primarily 4.33 this year while last year iSuppli estimated a manufacturing cost at less than 7 for the first-generation, 8Gbyte 2G iPhone in June 2007. Above is the full list of the components suppliers The audio codec is from Wolfson Microelectronics.

Elvira Fortunato and colleagues from the Centro de Investigação de Materiais (Cenimat/I3N), at Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, made the first Field Effect Transistor (FET) with a paper «interstrate» layer. A new device which rivals in electrical performance with the actual state of the art of oxide based thin film transistors (TFTs) produced on glass or crystalline silicon substrates. These results will be published in September in IEEE Electron Device Letters.

Reactec, the Edinburgh University noise and vibration spinoff company has launched its pioneering electronic monitoring and protection HAVmeter in response to the 1000 new cases of Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome reported each year to the Health and Safety Executive and an estimated 2m workers in the UK being at risk. It is widely accepted that stringent measures are required to protect heavy duty tool operators from HAVS.

While Semiconductor Equipment & Materials International is the semiconductor heavyweight, others associations are making an appearance and attracting members. The California based Fab Owners Association (FOA), an association of semiconductor / MEMS manufacturing executives and suppliers, has announced the addition of it newest device-maker members. These include:

Fine news from hi-tech company IQE which has bucked the general downbeat economic picture by revising upwards its profits forecast. The global supplier of advanced semiconductor wafer products and wafer services to the semiconductor industry, will announce its interims of September 2 and said it is continuing to trade strongly.As a result its board said that group’s performance will be ahead of market expectations, with it expecting to achieve revenue for the first half of its curernt finnancial year around £30m and Ebitda (before exceptional items) of at least £3.3m

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