ELECTRONICS AND NANOTECHNOLOGY
UPDATE
July 2008
McIlvaine Company
TABLE OF CONTENTS
UALR Scientist Named to Romanian Nano-Medicine Institute
France Helps Fund “Nano 2012 / Crolles”
PETEC is under Construction for Printable Electronics Technologies
Advanced Thin Films LLC Gets Incentives in Boulder, CO
Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Buys Eagle Test Equipment
ETH and IBM Partner in Nanotechnology
Continental Opens R&D, Manufacturing Site in India
Science Applications International Corporation Gets Contract from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
A delegation of scientists from Russia visited Albany
NanoTech, underscoring the high-tech facility's growing presence on the
international stage.
The group included Leonid Melamed, chief executive officer of the Russian
Corporation of Nanotechnologies, an organization started last year by the
Russian government to develop nanotechnolgy in the country.
Nanotechnology is technology developed on the atomic and molecular level. Currently, its most profitable use is in computer-chip manufacturing, with companies like IBM Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. using it to form billions of transistors on a single processor.
The Russian scientists got an up-close look at the $4 billion Albany NanoTech facility, home to the University at Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. The NanoCollege has created lab partnerships at the facility with companies like IBM and AMD (Advanced Micro Devices Inc.) to do cutting-edge computer-chip research that goes right into manufacturing.
The newly formed Romanian Nano-Medicine Institute has named Dr. Alex Biris (photo at left), chief scientist at the Nanotechnology Center at UALR, as its honorary president. He also serves as a founding member of the organization.
The Romanian Nano-Medicine Institute facilitates research in the areas of nanotechnology and medicine, targeting cancer and chronic diseases. Biris said the Romanian institute will have parallel research programs with the Nanotechnology Center at UALR.
"The Institute will be sending two surgeons over here in the fall and two more in the spring to perform joint research with us at UALR," Biris said. "The Romanian government will provide funding both for the scientists' travel and research needs."
Seeking to foster innovation in microelectronics in the Grenoble area, France has agreed to provide subsidies to a new alliance between STMicroelectronics NV, IBM Corp. and the CEA. The "Nano 2012" strategic investment program, commonly called "Crolles3", represents an investment of 3.6 billion euros ($5.65 billion) and is expected to create 650 new jobs.
The Nano 2012 strategic investment program, stated its initatiators, aims to provide competitive access to microelectronics systems, to develop derivative technologies and to enhance the area's competitive edge, especially with regard to Southeast Asia. The program has been defined by STMicroelectronics, IBM, CEA and local authorities.
The ultimate goal, noted project partners, is to make the Grenoble area the "world center for the development of 32-nm and 22-nm CMOS technologies and their derivatives, with potential for creating 650 new jobs at Crolles and Grenoble."
In February, the French government announced it had agreed to provide subsidies for ST' sites in Crolles and in Grenoble, France. This decision followed an in-depth analysis of the group's development program from 2008 until 2012, submitted in July 2007.
"Subject to STMicroelectronics ability to fulfill its commitments and to local authorities' responses, the French State is prepared to play its role so as to maintain an exceptional ecosystem around Crolles and Grenoble in the field of nanoelectronics," the Ministry of Finance, Economy and Industry said.
The amount of the subsidies then remained to be negotiated.
A total of €3.4 million was invested in the Crolles2 Alliance for the period 2002-2007. Partners said they are ready to commit themselves to another comparable investment consisting of a 2.37 billion euro R&D program coupled with capital investment by ST amounting to $1.25 billion.
National and local government said their contributions are slated to exceed €500 million "to create the conditions for an exceptional ecosystem and keep the micro and nanotechnology industry in Grenoble-Isre at the top of the global ranking."
The Crolles2 Alliance was formed in 2000 and renewed in 2002 when Freescale (then Motorola) joined the existing alliance of STMicroelectronics and NXP (then Philips Semiconductors) to create and manufacture future-generation technologies and System-on-Chip solutions more quickly and more cost-effectively. TSMC joined the Alliance in 2001 as an associated partner.
PETEC (Printable Electronic Technology Centre) is a national flagship centre currently under construction at NETPark for the development of printable electronics technologies.
The PETEC Centre will provide 3,000 square metres (32,280 sq. ft.) of cleanroom and laboratory space that will house an impressive range of equipment and staff. The Centre will make available access to capabilities around substrate preparation, materials formulation, device modeling, process development and process integration using advanced printing techniques such as inkjet, screen printing or web-based printing.
The range of applications for these technologies is extremely broad, but PETEC, in response to industry interest, is initially focusing on displays, photovoltaics, lighting and medical sensors.
The Centre, when it opens in 2008, will provide the printable electronics community with the physical, intellectual and commercial infrastructure required to take new ideas and concepts for products, that will have flexible functional materials at their heart, and accelerate the move from the lab to production. There is currently no such equivalent facility in the world.
Advanced Thin Films LLC has been approved to receive up to $50,000 in sales and use tax and building permit fee rebates through the city of Boulder's business incentive program. The custom optical lens manufacturer is moving from Longmont to Boulder after purchasing a 35,090-square-foot building at 5733 Central Ave. for $4.6 million earlier this year.
Advanced Thin Films is spending $1.25 million to remodel the building and construct a clean room, and the city agreed to provide tax rebates for the project. The company employs 23 people and manufactures precision optics for laser systems used in numerous applications from medical and aerospace to research and development.
The flexible rebate program is one of Boulder's business incentives, first approved by city council in September 2006. The incentive covers a wide range of fees and taxes charged by the city including permit and development review fees and equipment and construction use taxes. Once companies are approved for the program and pay fees to the city, those fees can be rebated up to the amount approved by the city manager.
New to the flexible rebate program this year are community sustainability guidelines. Companies may choose the social, community and environmental sustainability guidelines that best fit their company but must meet minimum requirements in order to receive the rebate.
Advanced Thin Films exceeded the minimum requirements including pledging support to a local nonprofit organization, enrolling in RTD's Eco Pass program for its employees, and obtaining an energy and water audit for its new facility.
IBM is planning a $1.5 billion investment in its New York operations in conjunction with New York State, which will see the State invest $140 million in economic development grants. The total investment of $1.5 billion by IBM will go towards accelerating New York State's in nanotechnology research and development, creating up to 1,000 new jobs.
Proceeds from the investment will go towards the expansion of IBM's operations at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) at the University at Albany, and the creation of an advanced semiconductor packaging research and development center at a site in Upstate New York. The company also plans the upgrading of IBM's East Fishkill facility in an overall revamping and advancement of IBM’s nanotechnology operations.
Eagle Test Systems, Inc. announced that Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Technology Co., Ltd., a global provider of semiconductor assembly and test services and leading subcontract manufacturer throughout China, has purchased multiple Eagle ETS-200 and ETS-364 Analog and Mixed Signal testers for its new production facility in Jiangyin, China, located approximately 150Km West of Shanghai.
The recent purchase increases Jiangsu's installed base of Eagle Test Systems' platforms and provides expanded test capability covering the wide range of products that JCET's current and new customers require.
"Eagle is a proven platform at Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics. We have chosen to purchase additional Eagle systems to meet the continuing test demand of our growing local and international customer base. Eagle's tester architecture provides JCET the only true multi-site parallel test capability and our lowest cost-of-test. In the cost driven world of test subcontracting, Eagle allows JCET to maintain the cost-of-test advantage and the technical superiority to meet our customer's growing needs. This purchase will help us to meet our newest production test goals in our new expanded operation," stated Wang Xin Chao, President, Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Technology Co., Ltd.
Eagle Test Systems, Inc. designs, manufactures, sells and services high-performance automated test equipment for the semiconductor industry. The company's products are used to test analog, mixed-signal and radio frequency semiconductors that are used in products such as digital cameras, MP3 players, automotive electronics, cellular telephones, computers and peripherals. The company was founded in 1976 and has offices located throughout the world in Asia, North America and Europe, with corporate headquarters in Buffalo Grove, Illinois.
ETH Zurich and the IBM Zurich Research Laboratory (ZRL) have announced the establishment of a strategic partnership in nanotechnology. The two partner institutions will operate a new, common nanotech laboratory, which will be built on the ZRL campus
The two partners have a long-standing tradition of scientific cooperation, and now make an important step to deepen this collaboration further by forming a strategic partnership in the field of nanotechnology. As part of this collaboration, a new building with cutting-edge research facilities will be constructed on the campus of the IBM Zurich Research Laboratory in Rüschlikon (CH), with the laying of the foundation stone scheduled in spring 2009, and the start of research activities in 2011.
The two institutions will focus on research in various fields of nanotechnology, ranging from exploratory and basic research to applied and near-term projects. Several areas for joint research projects have been identified, such as carbon-based materials, nano-photonics, spintronics, nanowires, and tribology. The novel concept of a shared research facility with more than 900 m2 (9,684 sq. ft.) of cleanroom area will be built in the nanotech lab with three sections: one each for exclusive use by IBM and ETH Zurich, as well as an area that both partners will share. The costs of the new building amount to 90 million USD, of which 30 million USD alone will be dedicated to cutting-edge infrastructure. The partners will share expenditure for infrastructure; the building investment itself will be undertaken by IBM. ETH Zurich will rent the space and share the operations costs with IBM. The strategic partnership is intended to be in place for at least 10 years. Apart from joint research activities each partner institution is free to pursue its own projects.
For ETH Zurich the new Nanotech Lab on the IBM campus at Rüschlikon is a perfect complement to the existing research infrastructure at ETH Zurich Hönggerberg and city-located sites. An important aspect of the new center is the unique opportunity for ETH Zurich students to pursue their research in close collaboration with an industrial partner, which is an important asset in ETH Zurich’s engineering education
The IBM Zurich Research Laboratory is the European branch of IBM Research. This worldwide network of some 3500 employees in eight laboratories around the globe is the largest industrial IT research organization in the world. The ZRL, which was established in 1956, currently employs some 330 people, representing more than 30 nationalities. ZRL's spectrum of research activities includes nanoscience, future chip technology, supercomputing, advanced storage and server technologies, security and privacy, risk and compliance, as well as business optimization and transformation. World-class research and outstanding scientific achievements—most notably two Nobel Prizes—are associated with the Zurich Lab
Automotive supplier Continental AG has inaugurated its new electronic manufacturing facility and R&D center near Electronic City, Bommasandra, Bangalore, India. With a total investment approximately $51 million, the new facility will develop and produce electronic components for the growing auto electronic market in India.
The facility wide develop electronic components for all three Continental automotive electronics divisions—chassis and safety, powertrain and interior. The new plant will also manufacture instrument clusters for passenger cars, commercial vehicles and two-wheelers, immobilizers, engine management systems for diesel and gasoline engines, electronic control units for power assisted steering and body control units out of the interior division.
"According to the forecast, from 2012 onwards nearly one out of two cars worldwide will be manufactured in Asia and much of the growth on the Asian auto market will come from the emerging markets like India and China," said Jay Kunkel, Continental Asia president and member of the automotive management board. "Also, in the next decade one of the main focuses of the automotive industry will be the so-called megatrend 'affordable cars', especially in the growth markets like India and China. The Indian emission norms and safety legislations are getting stricter, the vehicles of tomorrow will have more and more electronics built into them."
He added that the investment in the country reflects the company's strategy to build and strengthen its network and manufacturing operations in Asia. Continental targets to make 20-25 percent of its total sales in Asia 2015, Kunkel said.
The automotive R&D and manufacturing facility has three surface mounting technology lines, four pre-assembly cells and sixteen back end cells. This manufacturing unit can accommodate 400 employees in the office area and the R&D center can accommodate another 400 engineers.
Science Applications International Corporation (NYSE: SAI) announced that it has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa, Okla., District, to design, engineer and construct a consolidated fuel, overhaul, repair and test facility at Tinker Air Force Base (AFB), Okla. The award has a 22-month period of performance and a contract value of more than $31 million. Work will be performed by SAIC's design-build subsidiary, The Benham Companies LLC.
The contract includes architectural design, engineering and
construction services for a 148,000 sq.ft., two-story facility, that will be
used for the overhaul, repair and testing of aircraft fuel control accessories.
The project also includes site work and utility systems, and
anti-terrorism/force protection measures.
The facility will have areas for testing fuel components, a cleanroom for fuel
control overhauls, cleaning areas, material control areas, as well as shipping
and receiving and associated support and administrative areas. The design must
meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification
standards, and be environmentally controlled and protected by a fire protection
system.
"We look forward to building a modern repair, maintenance and manufacturing processes facility that features environmentally sustainable construction and will support the critica l mission at Tinker AFB for many years to come," said J.T. Grumski, SAIC senior vice president and business unit general manager, spintronics, and the characterisation and integration of nanotubes.
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