Manufacturing Bits: Sept. 20


Crystal database The University of California at San Diego and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have created an open-source database of elemental crystal surfaces and shapes. The database, called Crystalium, is a new and expanding set of information about various crystals. The database can help researchers design new materials for various applications, such as batteries, catalytic conv... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Sept. 13


Direct-write liquid litho The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has developed what could be called direct-write liquid lithography. In the lab, researchers have modified a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM). Then, using the STEM as an e-beam tool, researchers have devised a technology that enables the direct write of tiny features in “microfabricated liq... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Sept. 6


DARPA ALD The University of Colorado at Boulder has developed an atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology that can be performed at room temperatures. The technology, dubbed electron-enhanced ALD (EE-ALD), has been developed as part of the Local Control of Materials Synthesis (LoCo) program at the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The LoCo program is developing tech... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Aug. 30


Redefining the ampere In 2014, an international group called the BIPM agreed to redefine four common units of measurements--the kilogram, the ampere, the kelvin and the mole. These units of measurement make up the so-called International System of Units or SI. In total, there are seven SI base units—meter, kilogram, second, ampere, kelvin, mole, and the candela. Work is already under wa... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Aug. 23


Rolling Out Solar Power...Literally An International team of researchers have developed solar cells that can be added onto a roll of flexible plastic in liquid form, bringing the same kind of economies of production to the solar industry as rolls of paper and ink did for newspapers more than a century ago. Using a roll-to-roll processing method, the team was able to achieve a power conversi... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Aug. 16


Safer drinking water Two-dimensional materials are gaining steam in the R&D labs. 2D materials include graphene, boron nitride (BN) and the transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). These materials could one day enable future field-effect transistors (FETs). One TMD, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), is also generating interest in other fields. Molybdenum disulfide consists of two elements--moly... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Aug. 9


Faster FEBIDs Focused electron beam induced deposition (FEBID) is generating steam in the industry. Still in the R&D stage, FEBID makes use of an electron beam from a scanning electron microscope. Basically, it decomposes gaseous molecules, which, in turn, deposit materials and structures on a surface at the nanoscale. One of the big applications is a futuristic manufacturing technology... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Aug. 2


CMP replacement? For years, chipmakers have used chemical-mechanical-polishing (CMP) tools to smooth or polish the surface of a wafer. CMP works, but the technology is time-consuming and expensive. CMP can also leave unwanted residual patterns and defects near the surface. In response, Russia’s National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute) has help... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: July 26


Jumping films Riken and the University of Tokyo have developed a tiny autonomous actuator. The actuator, which is based on a special material, can automatically curl up or straighten out when exposed to ambient humidity. And in certain conditions, the film can even jump into the air by itself. A video can be seen here. Researchers placed a material called guanidinium carbonate into a hig... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: July 19


Detecting anapoles A*STAR has detected invisible particles. Researchers from the Singaporean R&D organization have observed a new optical effect in nanoscale disks of silicon, which are patterns of radiation that do not scatter light. One example of a non-radiating source is called an anapole. An anapole, according to A*Star, is a distribution of charges and currents. They do not radiate wi... » read more

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