Manufacturing Bits: May 19


Self-steering bullets DARPA has completed the development of a self-steering bullet that increases the hit rate for long-distance shots. The effort, dubbed the Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance (EXACTO) program, is aimed for military snipers. The technology combines a maneuverable bullet and a real-time guidance system to track and deliver the projectile to the target, according to DARPA. It... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: May 12


Photonic thermometers The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a new class of photonic thermometers. These chip-based thermometers measure temperature using light. They are resistant to electromagnetic interference and are self-calibrating. In the future, photonic thermometers could be buried into walls or sent into space. They could be used for chemical, pres... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: May 5


Transparent armor The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has developed transparent armor. The technology is actually a hard transparent ceramic, based on a material called spinel. Spinel is a magnesium aluminate compound. Spinel is also a gemstone, which could come in various colors. NRL has devised a fabrication process to create the technology, which is harder and superior to glass, sap... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: April 28


CIA and 3D printers Voxel8, a supplier of 3D printers, has closed a strategic investment and technology development agreement with In-Q-Tel (IQT), the venture capital arm of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Voxel8, founded by technologists from Harvard University, is commercializing a new platform for 3D printing. The company enables engineers to create products with embedded 3D ... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: April 21


Fan-out packaging consortium A*STAR’s Institute of Microelectronics (IME) and others have formed a high-density fan-out wafer level packaging (FOWLP) consortium in Singapore. Others in the group include Amkor, Nanium, STATS ChipPAC, NXP, GlobalFoundries, Kulicke & Soffa, Applied Materials, Dipsol Chemicals, JSR, KLA-Tencor, Kingyoup Optronics, Orbotech and Tokyo Ohka Kogyo (TOK). T... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: April 7


Liquid metal for Terminator robots The Chinese Academy of Sciences and Tsinghua University have devised a robot-like, self-fueled liquid metal mollusk. The liquid metal alloy within the system can move by itself and change form like the shape-shifting T-1000 robot in the movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The system consists of a liquid metal motor. The liquid metal is a mix of gallium, i... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: March 31


Shish kebab nano necklaces Using a directed self-assembly (DSA) process, Georgia Institute of Technology has developed a method to make nanometer-scale, chip-based necklaces. The technique could enable organic-inorganic structures, which resemble a tiny shish kebab or a centipede. The structures are made with various materials, such as semiconductors, magnetics, ferroelectrics and others. ... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: March 24


Mouse brains to multi-beam At the recent SPIE Advanced Lithography conference, Sematech provided an update on its multi-beam, e-beam inspection program. The goal is to develop a next-generation inspection tool, which could be faster than traditional e-beam inspection and could one day displace brightfield inspection. “Optical inspection is having trouble detecting particles that are small... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: March 17


EUV source firm seeks help In 2012, a startup called Zplasma came out of stealth mode and introduced its first technology—a next-generation power source for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. But after much fanfare and hope, Zplasma has been unable to commercialize its EUV source technology. The company has also been unable to attract a development partner or outside funding. And t... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Look out below! Intel has lowered its first-quarter revenue outlook. The company now expects first-quarter revenue to be $12.8 billion, plus or minus $300 million, compared to the previous expectation of $13.7 billion, plus or minus $500 million. “Intel may be experiencing greater-than-expected seasonal declines in both notebooks and desktops,” said Doug Freedman, an analyst with RBC Capita... » read more

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