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Instant forecasting of your products has now been incorporated in the World Ultrapure Water Markets report. It is set up to allow you to make one input and generate thousands of results. There is a separate market forecasting program for each industry. The program is based on the assumption that the market potential for your product is proportional to the total revenues in any country, in the industry under analysis.

One of the best uses of this new feature will be to determine market potential in unfamiliar countries. Let’s assume you want to find the potential for a specific product in various Asian countries in the chemical industry. You can enter your U.S. chemical industry sales for 2006 into the program. You then see a display which provides revenues in each country for the chemical industry in future years. These revenues represent the same market share as achieved in the U.S.

Another use will be to determine the World Market based on your U.S, Japanese, German or other country knowledge. The technique is identical to that described above. World totals as well as country totals are displayed.

This will be an excellent tool for setting quotas for sales territories, evaluating licensees and other marketing needs. It is also a useful tool for top management. The potential for a new product can be quickly assessed.

The instant forecasting programs are found in each industry chapter. You enter the industry section on the left column of the home page and scroll down to Industry Analysis. When you click on Industry Analysis you will see a home page for that industry. Instant Forecasting is on the menu at the top.

Semiconductors

Microchip Industry Will Reach $321 Billion in 2009

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) released its annual forecast of global semiconductor sales, projecting that the industry will continue to ride a strong wave of consumer demand for electronic products, driving sales to $321 billion in 2009. The SIA forecast projects a compound annual growth rate of 9 percent for the forecast period, 2006-2009. Total worldwide microchip sales in 2005 amounted to $227.5 billion.

The new forecast projects that sales will reach $248.8 billion in 2006, an increase of 9.4 percent, followed by increases of 10 percent to $273.8 billion in 2007, 10.8 percent to $303.4 billion in 2008, and 5.8 percent to $321billion in 2009.

Unit sales of cell phones are expected to increase by more than 20 percent in 2006 to more than 1 billion units. With an average semiconductor content of $41 per unit, the cell phone market is now the second-largest consumer of semiconductors, after personal computers. Other rapidly-growing product segments include digital cameras with projected 11 percent unit growth, MP3 players with projected 35 percent unit growth, digital televisions with projected 56 percent unit growth, and personal computers with projected 10 percent unit growth.

Semiconductor Sales at Record Levels for Fourth Consecutive Month

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reported that global semiconductor sales set a new monthly record for the fourth consecutive month. Worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $21.9 billion in October, an increase of 9.2 percent from October of 2005, when sales were $20.1 billion. Sales increased by 2.5 percent from the $21.4 billion reported in September 2006.

"Sales of personal computers, cell phones, and MP3 players continued to be strong, reflecting the start of the holiday season," said SIA President George Scalise. "The year-on-year increase in global semiconductor sales was led by robust increases in sales of DRAMs — up by 42 percent from a year ago — and DSPs — up by 11 percent from October 2005. Sales of microprocessors increased by 8 percent sequentially, but declined by 3 percent from a year ago."

Scalise noted that as individual consumers drive an increasing proportion of worldwide semiconductor sales, the industry is more susceptible to fluctuations in overall economic conditions. "There are signs of slower overall economic growth and a slowing economy could impact sales of semiconductors in the coming months," Scalise said.

Sales in all geographic regions increased in October, with Europe showing the strongest month-to-month growth at 3.4 percent.

Semiconductor Equipment Manufacturers Project 2006 Sales to Reach $40.64 Billion

The leading manufacturers of semiconductor equipment project 2006 sales to reach $40.64 billion according to the year-end edition of the SEMI Capital Equipment Consensus Forecast, released by SEMI at the annual SEMICON Japan exposition.

The forecast indicates that, following a 12 percent market decline in 2005, the equipment market will grow 24 percent in 2006. Survey respondents see the market growing at a single-digit rate in 2007, double digits in 2008 and then back to single digits to reach $50.42 billion in 2009.

"For most of the past year, our industry has experienced a significant increase in demand for semiconductor devices as well as strong economic conditions," said SEMI President and CEO Stanley T. Myers. "SEMI members have experienced strong overall sales of chip manufacturing equipment in 2006, and anticipate a 50 billion dollar market within the next three years."

Wafer processing equipment, the largest product segment by dollar value, is expected to grow over 26 percent in 2006 to $28.84 billion. Survey respondents anticipate that the market for assembly and packaging equipment will expand 13 percent to $2.40 billion in 2006. The market for equipment to test semiconductors is expected to increase by about 22 percent to $6.45 billion this year.

The Japanese market, which is projected to grow 11 percent this year, remains the largest market region for worldwide equipment sales with $9.11 billion of new equipment sold into the region in 2006.

South Korea continues its expansion in 2006, with projected growth of 20 percent. Sales of new equipment in China and the Rest-of-World Market regions will grow 80 percent and 31 percent, respectively.

The SEMI Year-End Consensus Forecast is based on interviews conducted between late October and November 2005 with companies representing a majority of the total sales volume for the global semiconductor equipment industry.

SEMI Reports Third Quarter Billings of $10.97 Billion

SEMI reported that worldwide semiconductor manufacturing equipment reached $10.97 billion in the third quarter of 2006. The billings figure is 14 percent higher than the second quarter of 2006 and 38 percent above the same quarter a year ago. The data is gathered in cooperation with the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ) from more than 150 global equipment companies that provide data on a monthly basis.

SEMI also reported worldwide semiconductor equipment bookings of US$11.62 billion in the third quarter of 2006. The figure is 51 percent above the same quarter a year ago and 5 percent below the bookings figure for the second quarter of 2006.

"Worldwide billings for the third quarter of 2006 reached the highest levels since early 2001," said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "The third quarter results serve as further indication that the industry will experience over 20 percent growth in 2006."

SIA Calls for Extension and Enhancement of the R&D Tax Credit

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) this month called upon the House and Senate to take action immediately on extending and enhancing the R&D tax credit, calling it an issue of vital importance to the U.S. technology sector.

"Consensus should lead to action," said SIA President George Scalise. "Both President Bush and Leader Pelosi have expressed their strong support for strengthening the innovation capabilities of the U.S.. technology sector. Yet, no significant legislation has been approved in the three areas of utmost importance — increasing funding for basic research, enacting visa reforms that welcome talent from abroad, and extending and enhancing the R&D tax credit. The current session offers a unique opportunity for members of both parties to demonstrate that they can work together on issues that are important to our nation."

Richard K. Templeton, CEO of Texas Instruments and SIA's Chairman, said, "Congress needs to act this year to extend and expand the R&D tax credit. For more than two decades, this credit has moved countless companies to invest in R&D and continue to fuel innovation in this country."

The R&D Tax Credit expired at the end of 2005. While it was part of four separate bills considered by Congress during 2006 — and enjoyed broad bipartisan support — it has yet to be renewed. Since it was first enacted in 1981, it has been a means for the U.S. government to encourage businesses to invest in research and development in the U.S. America's trading partners around the globe have recognized the long-term value of R&D and have moved aggressively to implement generous tax policies to encourage these investments. The U.S. has not.

A number of semiconductor industry CEOs also voiced support for reinstating and making permanent the R&D tax credit.

Printed Electronics

Printed Electronics USA 2006 Held in Phoenix

Covering all aspects of printed electronics, from technical to financial, Printed Electronics USA 2006, was held in Phoenix, AZ December 5-6th. Delegates heard from companies looking to the promise of this nascent technology to solve real world problems and open entirely new markets.

For example, given that situational information is mission critical for military applications, delegates heard from Dr. Darrel Hopper of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory and the diverse opportunities the U.S. AF sees for the technology in sensors, displays, and form factors of great utility.

Several companies are currently printing miles of functioning circuits. This is a very significant historical development. Motorola and PolyIC see large volumes of functioning components now, and ultra low cost products in the foreseeable future. Paper and packaging giant Weyerhaeuser recently acquired organic RFID pioneer OrganicID.

Nanoident CT Speaks About Next Generation

Franz Padinger, Nanoident Technologies CTO, spoke about "A New Generation of Semiconductor Foundries for Printed Electronic Devices" at Printed Electronics USA. Mr. Padinger, a world-renowned specialist in the field of organic semiconductor photo physics, developed the world's first plastic solar cell and is responsible for Nanoident's R&D activities.

Nanoident Technologies AG is the leader in the development and production of printed semiconductor-based sensors and is the world's first company to commercialize printed semiconductor-based products for high volume applications. Nanoident's multidisciplinary team of world-class scientists and industrial engineers have invented a new class of photonic solutions including chemical, biological and biometric sensors and are currently working on next generation plastic solar cells, printed transistors, new production processes and groundbreaking new design and simulation tools.

Nanoident's extremely fast manufacturing process uses liquid conductive and semiconductive materials. These liquids are used to print electronic circuits on almost any surface, producing products in minutes for prototype as well as high volume applications. The company's printed semiconductor devices are bendable, disposable, light and ultra thin, have application specific spectral properties, and can contain light sources and light detectors as well as electronic circuits. These unique characteristics enable cost-effective large device areas for applications such as industrial, chemical, biological, biometric and X-ray sensors, printed OLED displays for smart packaging and electronic signage, printed transistors, integrated circuits and solar cells, or a combination of all these components in one single device. Privately-held, the company is based in Linz, Austria.

Ciba and Max Planck Institute Collaborate

Ciba Specialty Chemicals and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, Germany, have agreed to a three-year collaboration focused on novel conductive polymers for printable electronics. The organizations hope to enable products such as organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and radio-frequency identification tags to be made through printing processes. "Printable organic electronics offer great opportunities for new electronic devices," says Martin Riediker, Ciba's chief technology officer. "However, the performance, durability, and handling requirements of the conductive materials currently available are not yet adequate for many major applications." Earlier this year, Ciba started a collaboration with German OLED technology developed Novaled.

Taiwan's ITRI Holds Workshop

The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) and the Flexible Electronics Industry Alliance (FEIA) recently held the "2006 International Flexible Electronics and Display Workshop." With the theme "Flexible Electronics and Displays," the workshop featured key industry speakers from Europe, the Americas, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

The workshop highlighted the technological development of printed flexible electronic components and circuits, and flexible displays. Scholars from the industry, including Wolfgang Clemens (Germany), Robert Sprague (America) and Gang Yu also shared their latest developments in relevant technologies. Experts from the field of flat panel display, electronic circuits, flexible packaging, and chemicals also participated in the workshop.

Overall, attendees expect that, with the continuing semiconductor and display industry breakthroughs, Taiwan's electronics industry will continue to lead Asia's high tech industry.

According to Hou Weixin from the ITRI Optoelectronics Dept., applications such as flexible electronic posters, intelligent electronic tags, scrolling display, ultra-thin medical diagnosis system, RFID identification systems and portable solar cells will strongly drive the flexible electronics industry. "From simple functional integrated circuit design, components, process, packaging and testing, to system assembly with continuous, low-cost and extensive manufacturing platform, we are looking forward to the technological breakthrough in the current silicon and display panel research, to seek a new market with an emerging industry," adds Hou.

Flat Panel

Sony Aims to Raise Global Sales of Flat TVs

Sony Corp. said it aims to raise global sales of flat-screen televisions by two-thirds in the next business year by focusing on larger sizes and higher-resolution screens to defend against price falls.

Sony has effectively pulled out of the plasma TV market, concentrating on LCD TVs.

Sony will boost flat-TV sales to 10 million in 2007/08, up from its official target of selling 6 million crystal display (LCD) TVs in the current year to March, Takashi Fukuda, senior general manager of Sony's flat TV business group, said in a recent interview.

"Shipments are growing in the third and fourth quarters, and the end-of-year shopping season is promising good results," Fukuda said. "We will return to profitability in the second half as planned."

Separately, another Sony executive said that U.S. sales of electronics have been better than expected so far this holiday shopping season, fueled in part by strong demand for flat-panel TVs.

If Sony can secure 15 percent of the global market of about 70 million LCD TVs next year, then it will be able to make its sales target, Fukuda said.

U.S. research firm DisplaySearch forecasts global demand for liquid crystal display TVs would hit 71.39 million units in 2007. In unit terms, Sony held an 11.1 percent share in July-September, trailing rivals Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Sharp Corp. and Philips Electronics NV, according to DisplaySearch.

China Gaining on South Korea

China will be only less than one year behind South Korea in TFT LCD development in 2010, compared to 4-5 years now and 2.5 years in 2007, according to the Korean-language Yonhap News.

Kyocera Releases Liquid Crystal Displays with LED Backlighting

Kyocera Industrial Ceramics Corp. announced that global parent Kyocera Corp. has released a new line of liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) that features a unique light-emitting diode (LED) backlighting system instead of conventional cold-cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs). The new LCD products, which Kyocera is now shipping, are designed to meet a wide range of industrial display applications, including manufacturing controls, test and measurement equipment, and medical systems.

Sharp to Outsource Over 20 Percent of Panels this Year

Sharp began sourcing TV panels from Taiwan this year due to its insufficient in-house panel capacity. The Japanese company first procured 32-inch panels from local AU Optronics Corp. (AUO) and Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. (CMO), and has been gradually extending the procurement sizes to 37-inch (from AUO) and 42-inch (CMO).

Sharp estimated that it would outsource 20 percent to 30 percent of the required panels this year, and the ratio would rise further to create big business opportunities for Taiwan suppliers.

In the high-level cell phone-panel segment, such as low temperature poly-silicon (LTPS) panels, Sharp is a global-leading supplier, and its customers include big international handset brands such as Nokia.

MEMS

Worldwide MEMS Systems Forecasted to Reach $95 Billion by 2010

The market for micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), which includes products such as automobile airbag systems, display systems and inkjet cartridges totaled $48 billion in 2005, and is expected to top $95 billion by 2010, according to Global MEMS/Microsystems Markets and Opportunities, a comprehensive new market research report from SEMI.

The MEMS devices at the heart of these systems totaled $5.3 billion in 2005, and are projected to grow to $9.9 billion by 2010, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13 percent, fueled by increasing use in consumer electronics. MEMS devices are defined as die-level components of first-level packaging, and include pressure sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, microphones, digital mirror displays, micro fluidic devices, etc. The materials and equipment used to manufacture MEMS devices topped $1 billion in 2005, with MEMS materials forecasted to grow at CAGR of 15 percent, while MEMS equipment is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 6 percent through 2010. Materials demand is driven by substrates, making up over 70 percent of the market, packaging coatings and increasing use of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP). While MEMS manufacturing continues to be dominated by used semiconductor equipment, there is a migration to 200-mm lines and select new tools, including etch and bonding for certain MEMS applications.

LEDs Coming Down in Cost

Right now, consumers and businesses can buy a light-emitting diode, or LED, that provides about the same level of illumination as an energy-hogging conventional 60-watt light bulb, Steven DenBaars, a professor of material science at the University of California Santa Barbara, said at the SEMI NanoForum, that took place in early December. A principal advantage of the LED: it lasts about 100,000 hours, far longer than the conventional filament bulb.

Unfortunately, the LEDs that can perform this task cost about $60, he said. (Prices vary on the Internet.) But prices have been declining by 50 percent a year, so two years from now the same LED should cost around $20.

"At $20 the payback in energy occurs in about a year," DenBaars said. The rapid return on investment will occur in places such as stores and warehouses, where the light is on through much of the day. A year after that, LEDs will be even more economical for more places as costs continue to decline.

Nanotechnology

Nanotech Offers Diversification Opportunities for Semiconductor Industry

Nanotechnology is at a crossroads where the science is being converted into business, according to a speaker at SEMI Nanoforum 2006.

However, patience is required before a return on investment is realized, according to G. Steven Burrill, CEO of Burrill & Company. "We are in an industry [bio-pharma] where we do not see a customer for a decade or two," he said. "It takes 10 to 15 years of R&D."

Another market shift was the disintegration of the big pharmaceutical companies and the rise of new small companies that are virtually integrated. "Now companies are global from the day they are formed. You can access technology anywhere through partnerships," said Burrill.

The life sciences industry offers diversification opportunities for suppliers of semiconductor metrology equipment, according to Jeannine Sargent, an executive vice president with Veeco Instruments.

"I think the life science segment will be as large, if not larger than the opportunities we have found in the automated AFM [atomic force microscopy] business for semiconductors," she said.

Metrology instruments for the bio-medical market are lower cost, but unit volumes are much higher than in chip industry. Instead of 12 to 15 major semiconductor customers, there are thousands of potential customers in life sciences, according to Sargent. Veeco, which has been in the bio-AFM market for a decade, has 1,000 instruments installed.

Clinton Ballinger, president and CEO of Evident Technologies, discussed near term opportunities using semiconductor quantum dots.

Security and marking applications are a high growth market right now. Longer term, Ballinger sees new applications for nano crystals in the area of LEDs and displays.

"Nanotech materials are new and you are not going to automatically put them into some sort of widget and start selling them. There is a lot of R&D that has to happen...to get it up to a component that a customer will want to buy," said Ballinger.

Dean Collins, deputy director of the Microsystems Technology Office (MTO) of DARPA, discussed military applications and opportunities. Currently the MTO has 65 nanotech-related programs and a couple of hundred other "seedling" projects.

Nanotechnology research at DARPA focuses on reducing the weight and power consumption of equipment carried by soldiers in the field, said Collins, Other defense applications where nanotechnology is being used include imaging systems for unmanned vehicles, sensors for precision weapons, and communications systems for soldiers.

Thomas Feist, manager of thin film labs at GE Global Research, stressed the long-term commitment required for nanotech development. It can take five or more years for a product to go from the lab to high volume commercial production, he noted.

"The world of nano really allows you to do different things and that's why it's exciting, that's why it's broad-based," said Feist. "Optical, electronic, magnetic properties all change when you get down to nano size structures."

Feist added that the manufacture of nanotubes and nanorods was relatively easy. "The difficult part is controlling them...and integrating them into functional devices," he said.

Steven DenBaars, co-director of the solid state lighting sector at UCSB, outlined the potential economic gains of switching to LED lighting. He noted that lighting applications consume 25 percent of the electricity in the U.S., but the current lighting technology is only five percent efficient. In contrast, LED lighting boasts a 50 percent efficiency rate. Switching to LED lights would save $10 billion per year in the U.S. market alone.

Partnerships between Industry and Academia Encouraged

SEMI and SIA announced details for the "Nano U" program held on October 31, 2006, immediately preceding SEMI NanoForum November 1-2, 2006 at the Marriott in San Jose, CA. Designed to promote cooperation between academia and industry, the full-day session featured professors from leading university nanotechnology centers discussing the latest research.

Currently, there are over 50 nanotech research centers and user facilities in operation in the U.S. funded by the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), with the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Health (NIH) funding the six centers at the five universities presenting at Nano U. Furthermore, all of the nano centers at the five participating universities were recently rated in the top 10 Small Times Magazine rankings in terms of leading centers overall (peer rated micro or nano research or peer rated micro or nano commercialization).

Nanotechnology Important for Alternative Energy Suppliers

Paula Doe of Semiconductor International reports alternative energy suppliers look to nano-manufacturing. Developers of fuel cells, solar cells and next-generation lithium ion batteries are looking to new nano-manufacturing technologies to enable their smaller and cheaper solutions to generating energy. "The real issues now in the alternative energy world," said Ged McLean, president and CTO at Angstrom Power (North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), "are all about nano-manufacturing."

McLean's company is looking for ways nano-manufacturing can improve its microstructured fuel cells. High-profile thin-film solar cell suppliers Nanosolar (Palo Alto, CA) and Konarka Technologies (Lowell, MA) are counting on nanostructed materials to enable printing their low-cost thin films on flexible substrates. And Angela Belcher's group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, Cambridge, MA) is now focusing on getting its viruses to assemble alloys for electrodes for lithium ion batteries with much higher energy density.

Belcher's group is now applying its biological self-assembly technology to making better batteries. She says her group has improved its genetic engineering in the past year to now be able to change multiple peptides on the virus's coating — allowing them to assemble alloys instead of just single materials. "We're able to make larger modifications now and still have it remain stable," Belcher said.

The main focus of her work with MIT colleagues Paula Hammond and Yet-Ming Chiang is now on energy applications like battery technology, ultracapacitors and solar cells, where low-cost assembly of highly-ordered material could significantly improve energy density and reduce size and weight. "I like starting with a simple system, where things don't have to be perfectly aligned," she said. "We're working on a problem we think we can solve." The current proof of concept work could lead to a working thin-film battery prototype in two years or so. Work on engineering the viruses to serve as the scaffolds for assembling III-V semiconductors like InGaN for the absorbers for solar cells is less further along, since the materials are less compatible with biological processes.

Special ES&T Issue Examines Effects of Emerging Contaminants

The quest to understand nanoparticles and other emerging contaminants and discover ways to cope with them is one of the hottest and most critical areas in chemistry research.

More than 40 scientific papers on an array of these potentially-problematic compounds, including pharmaceuticals, disinfectant by-products and fluorochemicals, are highlighted in the December 1 issue of the American Chemical Society Journal, Environmental Science & Technology. These articles examine what chemists and engineers are learning about emerging contaminants as well as what can be done to remediate those already in the environment and prevent others from getting there.

"(This) special issue not only publishes new knowledge on chemicals and organisms of recent interest, but it also suggests some newly-realized effects on humans and the ecology of our planet," says Editor-in-Chief Jerald Schnoor, Ph.D. "It packs years of research into one broad reference on the fate, transport and effects of contaminants in water, air, soil, and even our bodies today."

Nano Business Alliance Defends FDA

The NanoBusiness Alliance released its commentary on The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) FDA Report authored by former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Deputy Commissioner for Policy Michael R. Taylor. The report claims that gaps in legal authority and insufficient resources hinder the FDA's efforts to better understand and manage the potential risks from hundreds of new products incorporating nanotechnologies.

The NanoBusiness Alliance views the FDA as fully capable to carry out its mission to protect public health with regard to products produced using nanotechnologies. FDA is at the forefront of identifying problems which could conceivably surface as new applications of nanotechnology are considered, and the FDA has a well-established and robust regulatory framework in place to find answers and to address any such issues.

FDA implements and enforces legislation and regulations that provide for careful review prior to marketing of food additives, drugs, devices and diagnostic products, unless the proposed product meets pre-established criteria to excuse the filing of an application for clearance.

In the case of cosmetics, the cosmetics industry works closely with the FDA in a voluntary regulatory effort that has long maintained an excellent safety record. There is no evidence that the absence of a pre-clearance system for cosmetics has harmed the public, given the extensive voluntary effort to assure the safety of cosmetic ingredients.

"The NanoBusiness Alliance believes the FDA has robust legal authority and significant discretion in setting the protocols for testing to regulate nanotechnologies. As the technology matures, new tests will be available and will be required or recommended for use, as appropriate. At this point, there is no basis to suggest that FDA cannot fulfill its mandate with the powers available to it," said Sean Murdock, executive Director of the NanoBusiness Alliance. "We believe FDA should be given all of the resources it needs, within the existing framework, to continue to ensure public safety and promote health through innovation. In the meantime, the NanoBusiness community takes its obligations seriously and will continue to work closely with the FDA to ensure that industry is doing its part to protect consumers while bringing new, beneficial products to market."

Nanotechnology in Many Holiday Gifts

Tell a friend you are buying them a nanotechnology gift for the holidays, and visions of Star Trek collectables or geeky electronic toys start to dance in their heads. But nanotechnology gifts can include everything from fleece jackets and gloves from the Lands' End™ catalogue — with Nano- Tex^® Resists Static treatment — to an Apollo Diamond^® engagement ring.

For do-it-yourselfers, there are Black & Decker's DeWalt cordless power tools, with a powerful nanotech battery. Children wish for Apple's^® iPod Nano^®. Twentysomethings may think the ideal present for their first apartment kitchen is a set of FresherLonger™ Miracle Food Storage containers by Sharper Image^®, infused with naturally antibacterial silver nanoparticles which makers claim help fruits, vegetables, cheeses and even raspberries stay fresh longer. Or, they may want the Babolat^® NS™ Tour Tennis Racket, with carbon nanotubes used to stiffen key areas of the racquet head and shaft, which the company touts as 100 times more rigid than steel and 6 times lighter.

According to recent polls, the majority of Americans have heard little or nothing about nanotechnology. But last year, according to Lux Research, nanotechnology was incorporated into more than $30 billion in manufactured goods. By 2014, an estimated $2.6 trillion in global manufactured goods will incorporate nanotechnology.

BASF Signs Agreement with NanoMaterials Technology

BASF says it has signed a one-year R&D agreement with NanoMaterials Technology (NMT, Singapore) to develop processes and applications for nanoparticles. The collaboration will allow BASF to use NMT's zinc oxide nanosuspension technology, with particle sizes of less than 20 nanometers, to develop functionalized particles for a broad range of industries including catalysts, pigments, and polymers, BASF says. NMT will work with BASF's Competence Center for Nanostructured Surfaces, which opened this April in Singapore, under the deal.

Altair Technologies Receives $2.5-Million Grant from DOE

Altair Nanotechnologies Inc. announced that it has received a $2.5-million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. This grant funds three significant research and development programs at Altairnano covering battery electrode materials, nanosensors and nanomaterials characterization. The research programs will be conducted over the next 24 months.

The research funded by the grant includes the following programs:

Battery technology:

Continued research on optimized anode and cathode materials for high power, safe, fast charge batteries. This research will extend the collaboration with Rutgers University for prototype cell testing.
Further investigation of extreme temperature range battery performance.

Nanosensors:

Extending the existing collaboration with Western Michigan University on nanosensors, this research will continue the development of a sensing system for detecting chemical, biological and radiological agents.

Nanomaterials characterization:

This is a new collaboration with the University of California, Santa Barbara to investigate the interaction of Altairnano's nanomaterials with various non-aqueous environments.

Business News

VWS pure water for pharmaceuticals

A new brochure from Veolia Water provides a concise discussion of water purification in the pharmaceutical industry, with solutions to meet, reliably and cost effectively, the demanding requirements

A new brochure from Veolia Water Solutions and Technologies (VWS) provides a concise discussion of water purification in the pharmaceutical industry, and introduces a range of solutions which are specifically designed to meet, reliably and cost effectively, that industry's uniquely demanding requirements. A useful aid to all who specify water treatment equipment for pharmaceutical applications, the eight-page brochure provides a range of key information in a compact and readily accessible format. Illustrated throughout with photographs and diagrams, the brochure discusses the production of purified water, highly purified water, pyrogen free water and WFI as critical processes, and lists the key standards with which water treatment plant for use in the pharmaceutical industry must comply.

It also explains how VWS addresses compliance and validation to ensure problem-free implementation in even the most demanding of applications, and gives details of the company commitment to service: which means that, wherever in the world the plant is installed, performance-critical maintenance, spare parts and consumables, are always readily available.

An illustrated overview of five packaged water solutions for pharmaceutical applications is provided, along with guidance on important selection criteria.

A three-dimensional chart illustrates the relationships between capital investment, life-cycle cost and levels of application risk for each of the solutions, and gives examples of how the chart can be used as an aid to the selection of the most appropriate solution for specific applications.

Veolia Water Solutions and Technologies (VWS) is a subsidiary of Veolia Water.

VWS is one of the major world designers of technological solutions for, and constructor of facilities for water treatment.

With over 6,500 employees, the company has operations in more than 50 countries.

VWS recorded a revenue of Euro1.6 billion in 2005.