Research Bits: May 17


Magnetic storage structures Researchers from The Ohio State University and Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico investigated a new material that could potentially increase the capacity of magnetic storage devices. They identified manganese germanide, an unusual magnetic material in which the magnetism follows helices, similar to the structure of DNA. The structure gives rise to a number ... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Nov. 24


Tiny MEMS gyroscope CEA-Leti and Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI) have developed the world’s smallest MEMS gyroscope. Based on a nano-resistive sensing technology, the gyroscope enables a navigation-grade performance with a sensor footprint of only 1.3mm2. The tiny gyroscope is targeted for high-volume markets like automotive and others. The technology was reported in a paper, entitled “1... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Fab tools, packaging/test VLSI Research has released its 200mm wafer fab equipment (WFE) market share figures for 2019. The top three suppliers--Applied Materials, TEL, and ASML—saw growth in the 2019 200mm WFE business. Lam Research was in fourth place, followed by KLA and Canon. In total, 200mm wafer fab equipment sales were $3.6 billion in 2019, declining 5% from 2018, according to the fi... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Fab tools Citing the outbreak of the coronavirus in China, SEMI has postponed Semicon/FPD China 2020 and related events originally scheduled for March 18-20, 2020. For the same reason, SEMI will no longer host Semicon Korea 2020 in Seoul, South Korea, February 5-7, as originally scheduled. ------------------------------- Veeco has introduced the new Lumina Metal Organic Chemical Vapor De... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: July 15


Liquefied gas electrolyte Researchers at UC San Diego, U.S. Army Research Laboratory, and South 8 Technologies developed an electrolyte that could enable the replacement of the graphite anode in lithium-ion batteries with lithium-metal. Such a change would increase energy density 50% at the cell level, making for lighter batteries with more capacity. However, lithium-metal anodes are not compa... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Market research What’s the CapEx outlook for 2020? Semiconductor capital spending is down in 2019, but the industry faces another slump in 2020, according to IC Insights. The firm sees a 15% decline in CapEx for 2019 with a 5% drop expected in 2020. New 300mm fab construction in Korea is still going strong despite the memory downturn, according to SEMI. “Korea’s fab construction spen... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Chipmakers and OEMs Diamond semiconductor IP vendor AKHAN Semiconductor is cooperating with a U.S. federal investigation into alleged theft of its intellectual property by China’s Huawei. When AKHAN agreed to send its proprietary technology to Huawei pursuant to an agreement, AKHAN “believes that Huawei destroyed our product, shipped it to China without authorization, subjected it to tests... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: May 1


Adaptive materials The U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and the University of Maryland have developed a technique to make adaptive materials. Using ultraviolet light, researchers have devised a way that causes a composite material to become stiffer and stronger on-demand. This in turn could enable a variety of new capabilities for the U.S. military, such as rotorcraft design. In this... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Sept. 12


Water-based li-ion battery Researchers at the University of Maryland and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory developed a lithium-ion battery that uses a water-salt solution as its electrolyte and reaches the 4.0 volt mark desired for household electronics, without the fire and explosive risks associated with some commercially available non-aqueous lithium-ion batteries. The battery provides i... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Jan. 3


3D printed military drones The U.S. Army Research Laboratory has begun testing 3D printed drones for use in on-demand military missions. The technology, called the On-Demand Small Unmanned Aircraft System (ODSUAS), enables a soldier to input the mission requirements in software. Then, a 3D printer devises the optimal configuration for an unmanned aerial vehicle. And it’s printed and deliv... » read more

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