Manufacturing Bits: June 10


Predicting warpage in packages At the recent IEEE Electronic Components and Technology Conference (ECTC) in Las Vegas, there were several papers on ways to predict variation and warpage in IC packages. Advanced packages are prone to unwanted warpage during the process flow. The warpage challenges escalate as the packages become thinner. Warpage in turn can impact yields in IC packages. ... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: June 4


Chiplet printer A number of companies, R&D organizations and universities separately presented a slew of papers and technologies at the recent IEEE Electronic Components and Technology Conference (ECTC) in Las Vegas. It’s difficult to write about all of the papers at ECTC. But one paper that stood out is a prototype chiplet micro-assembly printer developed by the Palo Alto Research Cente... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: May 28


Swarming autonomous blimps The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is exploring the development of miniature autonomous blimps, a technology that could pave the way towards a new form of military swarming technology. Initially, NRL developed 30 miniature autonomous blimps. The goal is to test the interaction and swarming behavior of these autonomous systems. Georgia Institute of Technology... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: May 21


World’s loudest underwater sound A group of researchers hit tiny jets of water with a high-power X-ray laser, creating a record for the world’s loudest underwater sound. The intensity of the blast resulted in an underwater sound with an intensity greater than 270 decibels (dB). That’s greater than the intensity of a rocket launch or equivalent of creating electrical power for a city o... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: May 14


Radiation thermometers The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a thermometer that can measure radiation within a few thousandths of a degree Celsius. The so-called Ambient-Radiation Thermometer (ART) from NIST is a new type of radiation thermometer, which measures infrared radiation (IR) given off by objects without touching them. Measuring 60 centimeters ... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: May 6


Ionic memory Sandia National Laboratories, Stanford University and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst have developed an ionic floating-gate memory array (IFG) for neuromorphic computing. For some time, the industry has been working on neuromorphic computing. The goal of neuromorphic computing is to replicate the brain in silicon. In a neuromorphic chip, the goal is to mimic the way ... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: April 30


Single-atom catalysts A group of researchers have captured the behavior of a single-atom catalyst, a move that could one day help design more efficient catalysts in systems. A catalyst is a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction. In vehicles, for example, platinum is used as a catalyst, which speeds up chemical reactions and cleans exhaust gases. Besides platinum, the indu... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: April 23


Sorting nuclei CERN and GSI Darmstadt have begun testing the first of two giant magnets that will serve as part of one of the largest and most complex accelerator facilities in the world. CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, recently obtained two magnets from GSI. The two magnets weigh a total of 27 tons. About 60 more magnets will follow over the next five years. These ... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: April 16


Water that won’t freeze ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich have developed water that doesn’t freeze at cold temperatures. Using various molecules with water, researchers have been able to cool the substance down to minus 263 degrees Celsius. Even then, there were no ice crystals formed in the substance. This technology could be used to develop new biomolecules and membranes for ... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: April 8


Designing metamaterials Sandia National Laboratories has developed an inverse-design software technology that automates the design of optical metamaterials. Metamaterials are artificial materials containing arrays of metal nanostructures or mega-atoms. Some metamaterials are able to bend light around objects, rendering them invisible. But they only interact with light over a very narrow ran... » read more

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