Manufacturing Bits: July 18

By Mark LaPedus - 18 Jul, 2017 - Comments: 0

Brain microscopes Rice University is developing a tiny and flat microscope for a special application--it will be able to decode and trigger neurons on the surface of the brain. The microscope technology, dubbed FlatScope, is part of a $65 million program announced by the U.S.-based Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The DARPA project, dubbed Neural Engineering System Design ... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: June 20

By Mark LaPedus - 20 Jun, 2017 - Comments: 0

Solar cell metrology Using atomic force microscopy (AFM), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a pair of novel techniques to measure the chemical compositions and defects in solar cells. The new techniques will give researchers insights into a thin-film solar cell material called cadmium telluride. The technology will also suggest ways to boost the efficie... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: May 23

By Mark LaPedus - 23 May, 2017 - Comments: 0

Pushing optical metrology The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has developed a new way to determine crystal types using optical metrology techniques. Using an optical-based technique called absorption spectroscopy, researchers have detected tiny nanocrystals down to about 2nm resolutions. Absorption spectroscopy measures the absorption of radiation. It is measured as a function o... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Feb. 28

By Mark LaPedus - 28 Feb, 2017 - Comments: 0

‘Big G’ gravitation measurements The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has unveiled a new coordinate measuring machine (CMM). The CMM, dubbed Xenos, makes measurements that involve “big G” or the universal constant of gravitation. Basically, there are two meanings for the constant of gravity. The first is Newton’s universal law of gravitation. For this, the spe... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Feb. 21

By Mark LaPedus - 21 Feb, 2017 - Comments: 0

AFM-on-a-chip An atomic force microscope (AFM) is a metrology tool that can measure and characterize structures in three dimensions. It uses a tiny probe to enable measurements in chip structures, but the instrument itself is often a large and bulky system. In response, the University of Texas at Dallas has devised an AFM-on-a-chip technology. The AFM is roughly the size of a dime. Based on... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Dec. 27

By Mark LaPedus - 27 Dec, 2016 - Comments: 1

Coffee ring effect In physics, the “coffee ring effect" has been the subject of study for years. This phenomenon is a simple concept. A liquid or droplet hits a surface and dries. The particles in the droplet are suspended. And ultimately, it leaves a ring-like pattern. The phenomenon is named for the formation of a ring-like deposit when coffee or other liquid resides on a surface. ... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Oct. 18

By Mark LaPedus - 18 Oct, 2016 - Comments: 0

Measuring gooey materials The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Thermo Fisher Scientific have devised an instrument that correlates the flow properties of “soft gooey” materials, such as gels, molten polymers and biological fluids. The instrument, called a rheo-Raman microscope, combines three instruments into one system. First, the system incorporates a Raman sp... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Sept. 20

By Mark LaPedus - 20 Sep, 2016 - Comments: 0

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: Aug. 30

By Mark LaPedus - 30 Aug, 2016 - Comments: 0

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

Power/Performance Bits: May 24

By Jesse Allen - 24 May, 2016 - Comments: 0

Reducing MRAM chip area Researchers from Tohoku University developed a technology to stack magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJ) directly on the via without causing deterioration to its electric/magnetic characteristics. The team focused on reducing the memory cell area of spin-transfer torque magnetic random access memory (STT-MRAM) in order to lower manufacturing costs, making them more compe... » read more

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Knowledge Centers
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