OTHER ELECTRONICS
UPDATE
March 2007
McIlvaine Company
Table of Contents
Official Is Urging a Nanotechnology Health and Safety Oversight System
New Manufacturing Facility Using NanoMaterials Opens in Austria
Premier Scientific User Facilities for Interdisciplinary Research at the Nanoscale
Europe about to Triple Nanotechnology Funding
The EU's largest ever funding program for research and technological development, the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), was launched on January 1, 2007. Under the old Sixth Framework Programme (FP6), between 2002 to 2006 more than €1.3 billion (approx $1.7 billion) was spent on more than 550 projects related to nanotechnology R&D.
Under FP7, running from 2007 to 2013, funding for nanotechnology related projects is expected to reach €3.5 billion, out of a total budget of €50.5 billion. €300-400 million is expected to be spent already in 2007.
Currently there are over 40 open calls on nanoscience and nanotechnology projects in FP7:
Nanoscience
Technology Development
Impact Assessment and Societal Issues
NMP-2007-1.3-1 Specific, easy-to-use portable devices for measurement and analysis
NMP-2007-1.3-2 Risk assessment of engineered nanoparticles on health and the environment
NMP-2007-1.3-3 Scientific review on the data and studies on the potential impact on health, safety and the environment of engineered nanoparticles
NMP-2007-1.3-4 Creation of a critical and commented database on the health, safety and environmental impact of nanoparticles
NMP-2007-1.3-5 Coordination in studying the environmental, safety and health impact of engineered nanoparticles and nanotechnology based materials and products
HEALTH-2007-1.3-4 Alternative testing strategies for the assessment of the toxicological profile of nanoparticles used in medical diagnostics
SiS-2007-1.2.3.2-CT Science in Society: Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
Nanomaterials
Nanomedicine
Nanoelectronics
Other
Nano Scientists to Develop Next-Generation LEDs
Nanotechnology may unlock the secret for creating highly efficient next-generation LED lighting systems, and exploring its potential is the aim of several projects centered at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Seen everywhere today from traffic signals, taillights and cell phone displays to stadium JumboTrons, light emitting diodes fluoresce as electrical current passes through them. The most developed LED technology is based on crystals, typically made from indium gallium nitride. However, researchers at ORNL's Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences and the University of Tennessee are working to develop technology that will improve a new generation of LED devices composed of thin films of polymers or organic molecules.
These organic LEDs are designed to be formed into thin, flexible sheets that hold promise for a new generation of lighting fixtures and flexible electronics displays. Currently, applications of organic LEDs, or OLEDs, are limited to small-screen devices such as cell phones, personal digital assistants and digital cameras; however it is hoped that someday large displays and lighting fixtures can be produced using low-cost manufacturing processes.
At ORNL, researchers are developing electrodes composed of carbon nanotubes and magnetic nanowires to enhance the light emission from polymer-based OLEDs. In early tests, carbon nanotubes improved the electroluminescence efficiency of polymer OLEDs by a factor of four and reduced the energy required to operate them. Magnetic nanowires and dots have been shown to help control the spin of electrons injected into the OLEDs to further improve the efficiency and reliability of the devices. A third aspect of the research focuses on creation and chemical processing of the nanotubes themselves. Researchers at ORNL use a technique called laser vaporization produces purer nanotubes with fewer defects than other fabrication techniques.
With assistance of a $600,000 grant from the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the ORNL/UT team hopes to merge the science and new materials research into a new technology for practical OLED devices that consumes less than half the power of today's technology and opens the door for their practical use in household lighting.
"The real, long-term solution to making a more efficient device may be found in nanoscience," said David Geohegan, an ORNL researcher who is leading the OLED effort. "Over the next year we hope to learn why nanomaterials enhance these devices. I think someday we will see OLEDs everywhere, from more durable touch-screen displays to electronic newspapers that we can roll up and carry easily to even larger wall displays for home entertainment or lighting."
Malaysian Chip Company Opens up Trail to St. Ives
St Ives has emerged as the bridgehead for the Malaysian government’s push into the European semi-conductor market.
Fabless chip design company ICmic has teamed up with Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL), Malaysian government enterprise agency, MARA and CAD specialist, Silvaco, to establish product development centres in key technology hotspots around the world, one of them being the greater Cambridge area.
A spokesman for ICmic said
that the new base would be operational by Q1 of 2008, with an initial staff of
four. The objective in the medium term, according to the company, is to develop
a “fully-fledged technology centre,” employing more than 20 full-time engineers.
It is understood that the St Ives centre will be made available to other
Malaysian entrepreneurs as a stepping off point into the European market.
ICmic’s St Ives base is being developed in parallel with another in Silicon Valley, with the general aim of providing centres of excellence where ICmic and apprentice engineers from its academy in Malaysia can gain exposure to technology development ‘at the coal face’ in both the UK and US.
The government-sponsored enterprise aims to impel Malaysia up the value chain in the global semiconductor industry by taking valuable lessons from these two key knowledge bases. The identification of potential acquisitions amongst the East of England semiconductor cluster is also part of the new venture’s mandate.
ICmic also wants to use the bases as market entry points for its products, giving the opportunity to road-test them in the domestic market ahead of launch. The ICmic-UniKL Academy was set up in December last year to train 450 engineers over the next five years
ICmic, which is head-quartered in the self-proclaimed ‘Silicon Valley’ of Malaysia – Cyberjaya – specializes in the design, development and marketing of its own brand of mixed-signal and RF integrated circuits.
Malaysia’s activity in the
global semiconductor industry is generally concerned with assembly and testing,
which the company says has a value-add of around ten per cent.
The focus of the academy, aided by the technological expertise available in the
Silicon Fen, is to move more into chip design, which the company said was
capable of pushing that figure up to 50 to 80 percent.
The company said that its model was to collaborate with local universities, although nothing has yet been agreed in this region.
Silvaco, which is a 40 percent shareholder in ICmic, is hosting both the Silicon Fen and Silicon Valley operations in its locally based facilities.
ICmic’s move into the region follows hot on the heels of Malaysian-owned Alphabiologics’ acquisition of Babraham-based CTM Biotech last month.
Official Is Urging a Nanotechnology Health and Safety Oversight System
A former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency official is urging creation of a nanotechnology health and safety oversight system. With hundreds of nanotechnology-enabled products on the market and many more in the commercial pipeline, Mark Greenwood, former director of the EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, said such a system is necessary to effectively address health and safety issues particular to nanoscale materials and devices.
"It is time for government, industry, the scientific community, non-governmental organizations and other interested parties to begin a more systematic discussion about the core elements of an oversight framework for nanoscale materials" said. Greenwood.
He said public discussion of nanotechnology oversight during the last few years has been dominated by two topics: research priorities and the potential jurisdiction of various health and environmental statutes over nanoscale materials. "Not enough attention is being given to the policies that should be used to define acceptable and unacceptable risk and to determine appropriate management practices, he said.
Greenwood's research — "Thinking Big about Things Small: Creating an Effective Oversight System for Nanotechnology" — was released at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
New Manufacturing Facility Using Nanomaterials Opens in Austria
The facility will print semiconductor-based optoelectronics. Nanoident Technologies AG, a manufacturer of printed semiconductor-based optoelectronic sensors, announced March 13 it will open a plant in Linz, Austria. "Just as we can't imagine our lives today without electronic devices that rely on silicon-based semiconductors, in the near future the same will apply to printed electronics-based applications," said Craig Cruickshank, principal analyst at cintelliq. "Nanoident's OFAB opening is a significant step forward to making the vision of printed electronics a reality with the first of what will be a growing number of printed electronics facilities worldwide."
Nanoident's OFAB is fitted with a Class 100 (ISO Class 5)cleanroom (less than 100 half-micrometer particles per cubic foot). To produce printed electronics at the OFAB, nanomaterials are deposited onto a substrate using advanced printing methods. The process is extremely fast. For example, traditional chip manufacturing takes approximately two to three months. In the OFAB, the entire process can be completed in hours or days, depending on the application. Prototypes and volume production can be run on the same equipment, which allows for highly customized devices. Production capacity can easily be scaled as needed by adding more equipment. Toxic materials are not used in the OFAB, making it a green production process.
"The OFAB opening marks a major industry achievement by bringing a new class of printed electronics from the lab to the fab," said Klaus G. Schroeter, CEO, Nanodient "Printed semiconductor-based optoelectronics devices created by the OFAB will usher in an era of new application types -- traditionally not well suited for silicon -- which will improve healthcare, enhance personal and homeland security, as well as drive new industrial applications. These applications are just the beginning, as we look forward to driving continued advancements for printed devices that will enhance peoples' lives."
Asustek Beats Hong Hai as Taiwan's No. 1 Electronics Maker
Asustekc Computer Inc., one of the leading electronic suppliers in Taiwan, scored consolidated revenue of NT$71.7 billion in February, slightly higher than NT$71.585 billion posted by Hong Hai Precision, thus becoming the No. 1 supplier of electronics and information products on the island, according to industry sources.
Asustek's revenue growth of 157.2 percent in February eclipsed Hong Hai Group's 41 percent, sending shock waves through institutional investors.
Asusteck's aggregate revenue amounted to NT$137.5 billion in the first two months, for a whopping annual growth of 117.3 percent, while Hong Hai's revenue came to NT$159 billion.
With the market demand for notebook PCs and motherboards increasing in March, Asustek is expected to see its monthly revenue soar past its original projection, becoming another successful supplier of EMS in Taiwan.
Slowly but Surely, China Climbs Nanotech Ladder
China is getting more competitive in the nanotechnology front. Although the United States is still a leader in nanotech, the low cost of doing business in China is boosting its ranking for nanotech R&D investments. Researchers viewed government spending, patents, publications, and other metrics to analyse the international nanotechnology market. They also visited several countries to measure nanotech competitiveness in terms of activity and innovation, as well as nations' abilities to use the innovations for economic growth. They found that public and private groups invested Rs.54,708.80 crore ($12.4 billion) in the industry's R&D worldwide in 2006, while companies sold more than Rs.220,600.00 crore ($50 billion) worth of nano-enabled products.
The U.S. leads the world in government spending on nanotech, with $1.78 billion spent by federal and state governments. Japan and Germany ranked second and third, respectively in terms of government spending, with $975 million and $563 million worth of state and federal investments.
However, when lower costs of goods and services are considered, China is closing the lead, with $906 million.
Corporations spent $5.3 billion on R&D in 2006, marking a 19 per cent rise over 2005. The U.S. placed first in that category, with $1.93 billion in corporate spending, while Japanese corporations spent $1.70 billion, with price parity factored in. When researchers considered price parity, China's corporate nanotech funding reached $165 million. That marks a 68 per cent increase over 2005.
The U.S. also led the way with more than 43,000 publications on nanoscale science and engineering since 1995. China ranked second with more than 25,000. The report ranked the U.S. first for industry patents, with 6,081, while Germany held 773. There were a total of 10,105 patents found in all 14 countries studied.
Taiwan Company to Set Up PCB Plant in China
Sinbon Electronics Co. Ltd, an electronic component integration design and manufacturing provider from Taiwan, has announced its plans to invest $2 million in the construction of a PCB plant in mainland China.
The new plant is expected to boost the company's vertical integration for its design manufacturing integrated service, which lately has mostly relied on outside supply of PCBs.
The company also disclosed that its combined revenues for February 2007 dropped sharply to $19.73 million because of the long Chinese New Year holiday. Sinbon, however, estimates aggregate revenues to rise in March, reaching about $28.5 million.
Nokia Partners with Cambridge University on Nanotech R&D
Nokia is investing about $75 million in a joint venture with Cambridge University on projects that will focus on nanotechnology initially. As part of the deal, the mobile phone maker plans to establish a nanotechnology research centre in the city and over time move some of its researchers from Helsinki to Cambridge.
Nokia Research Center (NRC) is set to establish the facility at the University's West Cambridge site where it is expected to collaborate with several departments; initially the Nanoscience Centre and Electrical Division of the Engineering Department.
Nokia said it would base about ten people at Cambridge. The agreement is intended to be long-term and the number of Nokia researchers at the University is set to rise over time.
Nokia has three sites around the world looking to exploit nanotechnology for next generation mobile devices, with two already being set up in the United States.
As well as working with the university in Cambridge, Nokia hopes to collaborate with some of the pioneering companies in and around the city's science parks and help to create new ones which will be spinouts from the nano center. Pivotal to the project is nanotechnology pioneer, Professor Mark Welland, who is the director of Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration (IRC) in Nanotechnology at Cambridge.
Cambridge is widely seen as a leader in nanotechnology research with successes across the university in novel materials and coatings, biologically inspired nanostructures and advanced characterization tools.
Hon Hai Steps Up Investments in Mainland China
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Taiwan's largest private-sector manufacturer, recently announced eight mainland China-bound investment projects, five of which are brand-new ones.
These investment projects are concentrated on northern and northeastern China, signifying Hon Hai's ambition to move mainland deployment northwardly.
Based on these newly launched investment projects, Hon Hai will expand production of molds in Yantai of Shandong Province and Wuhan of Hubei Province, each costing US$15 million and US$10 million, respectively.
In the northeastern China region, Hon Hai will set up two precision electronics subsidiaries each in Yangkou of Liaoning Province and Qinhuangdao of Hebei Province, each of which will cost US$5.144 million. The two above-mentioned firms will focus on the production of printed circuit boards (PCBs).
The company said it would invest US$8 million to set up an electronic technology firm in Huaian of Anhui Province for the production of electronic connectors and wire and cable assembly. It will also set aside US$2.1 million to expand production capacity in its already-established Kunshan plant in Jiangsu Province.
As for the production of parts for cellphones, Hon Hai will expand the production capacity of its Tianjin Foxconn Technology Co. with an investment of US$4 million.
In Dalian of Liaoning Province, Hon Hai will invest US$9.4 million to set up a new plant for the production of automobile parts and bolts and nuts.
Based on Hon Hai's investment blueprint, its new plant in Wuhan will be inaugurated sometime in August and first batch of digital still cameras will be officially rolled out in mid-October this year. Hon Hai anticipated the new plant in Wuhan to create an annual production value of US$200 million within one year after its inauguration.
Hon Hai expected to see annual production capacity for the Wuhan plant reach 30 million units of DSCs, 15 million units of personal computers, and 10 million units of liquid crystal displays in three years from now on. The plant will have an employment of between 100,000 and 150,000 in three years.
DOE Nanoscale Science Research Centers
The Molecular Foundry is one of five DOE Nanoscale Science Research Centers (NSRCs). Located in just north of Silicon Valley at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab adjacent to the University of California - Berkeley, the Molecular Foundry will open its doors to university and private sector research partners, offering: (a) clean room facilities, (b) high-powered computing for R&D, modeling and simulations, (c) a wide array of highly-sensitive (and highly expensive) equipment and (d) top-notch nanoscience researchers in composite materials, biology, chemistry, fabrication and other sectors.
Premier Scientific User Facilities for Interdisciplinary Research at the Nanoscale
The Department of Energy’s Office of Science is pioneering the new field of nanoscience, the study of matter at the atomic scale.
Nanomaterials — typically on the scale of billionths of a meter or 10,000 times smaller than a human hair -- offer different chemical and physical properties than bulk materials, and have the potential to form the basis of new technologies.
Understanding these properties may allow researchers to design materials with properties tailored to specific needs such as strong, lightweight materials, new lubricants and more efficient solar energy cells. By building structures one atom at a time, the materials may have enhanced mechanical, optical, electrical or catalytic properties.
To support the synthesis, processing, fabrication and analysis at the nanoscale, the DOE Office of Science is developing, constructing and operating five new Nanoscale Science Research Centers (NSRCs).
When complete, these five DOE Office of Science Nanoscale Science Research Centers will provide the nation with resources unmatched anywhere else in the world:
The Center for Nanoscale Materials
Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne, Illinois
(initial operations, April 2006; full operations, April 2007)
The Center for Functional Nanomaterials
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Upton, New York
(initial operations, April 2007; full operations, April 2008)
The Molecular Foundry
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Berkeley, California
(initial operations, May 2006; full operations, December 2006)
The Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
(began initial operations, October 2005; full operations, October 2006)
The Center For Integrated Nanotechnologies
Sandia National Laboratories and
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Albuquerque, New Mexico
(initial operations, April 2006; full operations, May 2007)
The Centers are part of DOE’s contribution to the National Nanotechnology Initiative, and they form an integrated network. These facilities are designed to be the Nation’s premier user centers for interdisciplinary research at the nanoscale, serving as the basis for a national program that encompasses new science, new tools and new computing capabilities.
Each Center will focus on a different area of nanoscale research, such as materials derived from or inspired by nature; hard and crystalline materials, including the structure of macromolecules; magnetic and soft materials, including polymers and ordered structures in fluids; and nanotechnology integration.
Each Center is being housed in a new laboratory building near one or more existing Office of Science facilities for X-ray, neutron or electron scattering. The five Centers are being located to take advantage of the complementary capabilities of other large scientific facilities, such as the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge, the synchrotron light sources at Argonne, Brookhaven and Lawrence Berkeley, and semiconductor, microelectronics and combustion research facilities at Sandia and Los Alamos.
The new Center buildings will contain clean rooms, laboratories for nanofabrication, one-of-a-kind signature instruments, and other instruments (such as nanopatterning tools and research-grade probe microscopes) not generally available except at major scientific user facilities.
As with existing Office of Science user facilities, access will be through submission of proposals that will be reviewed by independent proposal evaluation boards.
Planning for the Centers, including the selection of research thrusts and instrument suites, drew on substantial participation by the research community, largely though a series of widely advertised open workshops. Nearly 2,000 researchers attended these workshops, about half of them from the academic community.
In response to the requests of prospective users who attended the initial workshops, each Center began a limited-scope user research program in fiscal year 2003.
California Gets Huge Cash Boost for Innovation
California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced a strategic research and innovation initiative that will provide $95 million in funds for projects in ‘clean’ technology, biotechnology and nanotechnology.
The stated aim of the plan is to attract innovative students, researchers and businesses to California, and to maintain the state’s edge in science, technology and innovation.
California is home to more scientists, engineers and researchers than any other US state, provides one in five technology jobs in the country, registers one in four US patents, receives almost half of all venture capital funding in the US and almost a third in the world, and accounts for almost half of the country’s biotechnology research and development funding.
The governor’s 2007-08 budget proposes $30 million in lease revenue bonds to fund the construction of a new energy/nanotechnology research facility for the Helios Project, an initiative by the University of California’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to generate alternatives to traditional hydrocarbon fuels, develop new energy sources, improve energy conservation and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
A proposed $40 million in lease revenue bonds will support UC Berkeley or UC San Diego should one of the state universities win a $500 million BP grant to build and operate an energy biosciences institute. They are two of only five universities in the world that have been invited to compete for the grant.
Meanwhile, $5 million has been pledged to enhance the University of California’s bid for a contract to build a Petascale computer, billed as the world’s most powerful computer. UC San Diego, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are in the running for the contract.
A $19.8 million general fund will support the University of California’s partnership with private companies to conduct research in information technology, biomedicine and nanotechnology.
Taiwan Unveils First Flexible Electronics Lab
Taiwan's government-backed R&D organization — the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) — inaugurated on March 15 is the island's first flexible electronics lab. About $9.1 million will be invested in the effort.
ITRI's Flexible Electronics Pilot Lab will be devoted to the R&D of flexible electronics. It will be open for international cooperation, according to ITRI.
In the future, the lab will serve as a platform for cooperation between the international industrial and academic circles. It will also hasten the development of the flexible electronics industry in Taiwan. Flexible electronics is a new technology, which differs from traditional ''rigid'' electronics of the past.
The lab will provide a range of functions, from synthesizing materials and developing production processes, to product design and pilot production. The lab will initially focus on production process R&D for flexible electronic circuits, flexible solar cells, flexible reactors and flexible displays.
ITRI's pilot lab has already established a production process for 25cm wide photolithography, as well as three processes for ink-jet printing and screen printing.
ITRI President Johnsee Lee stated that the lab will be a locomotive for the industry and help industry participants in carrying out pilot production. The lab will also help to reduce defect ratios. In addition to significantly reducing the period needed to get a product from the drawing board into production, the lab will help reduce risks associated with developing new products.
Hon Hai to Set up Two Industry Zones in Northeastern China
Foxconn International Holdings Ltd. (FIH) of the Taiwan-based Hon Hai Group, the island's largest private manufacturer, recently signed an investment agreement with the Shenyang Municipal government of Liaoning Province, mainland China to construct two industrial zones there.
Foxconn plans to construct a nano-meter copper/magnesium-alloy auto-parts production zone in Shenyang, and a printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing zone in Yingkou of the same province, according to Taiwan's Chinese-language economic daily newspaper Economic Daily News (EDN).
Edmund Ting, Hon Hai spokesman, said it is Foxconn's first investment projects in northeastern China. The projects, according to Ting, were designed with concerns of abundant natural resources, talented professionals, and a big market there, which meet Hon Hai Group's development strategy in China.
Industry sources said that Hon Hai Group's mainland investment was started in southern China, and then gradually extended to central, eastern, and now northern China. Last year, the conglomerate actively added new investment targets in Hebei, Shanxi, Hubei (Wuhan City) provinces as well as Nanjing (Jiangsu Province).
Hon Hai Group is expected to challenge an annual revenue of NT$2 trillion (US$60.6 billion at US$1: NT$33) this year. The conglomerate carried out over 20 investment projects in China last year.
In mid-January, group chairman Terry Gou signed an agreement with Nanjing software development office and decided to set up Foxconn's group software R&D headquarters in the city.
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