Drawing upon the wealth of knowledge within six universities and the Australian Commonwealth Scientific Research Organization (CSIRO), the centre is uniquely placed in a cosmopolitan world-centre enabling them to bridge the gaps between scientific disciplines and commercial needs.

The research building is built on a green field site within the Australian Synchrotron Precinct.

The significant architectural feature for the office pavilion is the sculptural three dimensional steel structure giving the facility its visual identity and at the same time brands the building’s function via the sculptural play of the letter N.

The $18 million facility was put together by Woods Bagot, and will be used collaboratively by Monash University, University of Melbourne, Deakin University, La Trobe University, RMIT University, Swinburne University of Technology, and CSIRO.

DALSA Receives Grant

The Honorable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry, announced that the MiQro Innovation Collaborative Centre (MICC) in Bromont, Quebec, will receive a $14.1 million grant as part of the Canadian government's Centers of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR) program.

This new grant, to be paid to the MICC over five years, is in addition to $83 million from the Canadian government and $95 million from the Quebec government announced in 2009. The investment, part of a $61.1 million program that establishes the MICC as one of five new Centers of Excellence, will accelerate and increase the MICC's level of contribution to the Canadian and global semiconductor industries. The grant will be used to attract top researchers and add resources at the centre to support the process of translating leading-edge research into practical, commercialisable industry solutions.

DALSA, the world's leading independent MEMS foundry, is one of the founding partners in the MICC along with IBM Canada and the Universite de Sherbrooke. The MICC will house some of the world's most sophisticated equipment for 200mm based microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and 3D Wafer Level Packaging (WLP) as well as advanced technologies associated with the assembly and packaging of silicon chips.

GBM to Build in China

Taiwan-based Global Brands Manufacture (GBM) has said it recently signed an investment MOU with the government of Chongqing City, western China, planning to set up a production base for the manufacture of PCB and PCB assembly (PCBA) locally. The move is to support customer demand by responding quickly to their requirements, according to the company.

GBM has focused on the motherboard, notebook and HDD markets, and has extended its market reach to automotive and LED lighting products.

Xaar to Add Fourth Cleanroom

Cambridge, UK-based inkjet printing technology group Xaar is to double manufacturing capacity at its Huntingdon plant through the addition of a further cleanroom and the purchase of capital production machinery.

Xaar said it would invest in excess of £20m in the expansion to meet growing demand for its Platform 3 1001 printhead.

The new cleanroom facility, the firm’s fourth, will be operational by September 2011 with all new capital equipment operational by the third quarter of 2012, said Xaar’s chief executive Ian Dinwoodie.

The fabrication and test of the printheads will be carried out in the new facility.

Xaar said Holland Contracts, which built the firm’s existing cleanrooms, would be constructing the additional one.

Based in Tamworth, Holland Contracts is a supplier of modular cleanrooms, which use the latest air handling equipment to control and monitor the room environment, ensuring high levels of cleanliness and total control of temperature and humidity. There is the option of air shower entry enclosures and air-lock equipment pass-through hatches.

The equipment to be installed in the cleanroom will cover all Xaar manufacturing operations from front-end actuator manufacture (micro machining and metallization), assembly operations (using a range of manual and automated assembly equipment) and print testing of the final product (using bespoke test equipment to qualify the quality of the final product to specification).

The main applications currently for the 1001 printheads are ceramic tile decoration and narrow-web labels. By 2012, decorative laminating, product decoration and some wide-format graphics applications will be added.

India's First Nano Park by 2011

Bangalore: A few unavoidable circumstances had resulted in delay of the construction of the Nano Park although a 15 acre plot had also been identified by the State Government in 2007 in North Bangalore. As informed by noted scientist Prof CNR Rao, India's first Nano Park will be ready by 2011 so as to boost nanoscience and research technology. When questioned about the estimated cost for construction, he limited his explanations.

"There have been some delays earlier. But, the Nano Park will come up by 2011. The park will host several industries related to nanoscience and technology. The park will provide opportunities for cutting-edge research work in these exciting fields," said Rao.

Rao is also the Chairperson of Vision Group on Science, Technology and Nanotechnology of Government of Karnataka.

"Nano science and technology is an exciting area. Nanotechnology-related research works have gone up hugely across the world in recent times. However, in India, very few people are engaged in the field. We need to bring in more young people in the area of nanoscience and research," said Rao. The Principal Secretary of Department of Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science and Technology, Ashok Kumar C. Manoli commented that they are making all-out effort o make Bangalore the nanotech hub of India, just like as they had done in IT and BT.

"Nanotechnology has now started leaving the confines of laboratories and conquering new applications. The fast growing field of nanotechnology presents great potential for various sectors in the areas of healthcare, environment, energy, agriculture, engineering and consumer goods," added Manoli.

Georgia Tech Expands French Campus with New Institute

The Lafayette Institute will be built at Georgia Tech-Lorraine in Metz, which is at the forefront of global engineering education and research.

Georgia Tech leaders and a delegation of French officials signed the agreement creating the Lafayette Institute. The event was part of the "France-Atlanta 2010: Together Towards Innovation" series that ran at Georgia Tech and around the city.

"By providing our industrial partners and academic research laboratories access to state-of-the-art facilities, we will be creating an environment where solutions to global challenges, ranging from energy to medical technology, can be developed," said Georgia Tech President G.P. "Bud" Peterson. "This Institute also underscores Georgia Tech's commitment to expand our global partnerships."

French authorities will finance €23 million, roughly $31 million in American money, to create the Lafayette Institute. The institute will provide access to state-of-the-art nanofabrication facilities for optoelectronics, technology transfer and commercialization services. It will focus on technologies at the intersection of materials, optics, photonics, electronics and nanotechnology.

"This European innovation hub will strengthen Georgia's global footprint in technological innovation and serve as a link between research laboratories and industry, where technological solutions and prototypes can be developed rapidly to stimulate economic development," said Yves Berthelot, president of Georgia Tech-Lorraine.

Established in 1990, Georgia Tech-Lorraine offers global research and internship opportunities, and year-round undergraduate, masters and doctoral programs. More than 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students have attended Georgia Tech-Lorraine.

Georgia Tech has celebrated the 20th anniversary of Georgia Tech-Lorraine in Metz, France and Atlanta throughout 2010.

To conclude the commemoration, Georgia Tech is hosting nine of the 20 events in "France-Atlanta 2010: Together Towards Innovation," a series of events focused on French and U.S. collaborations in four major areas: science, business, culture and humanitarianism.

"France-Atlanta: 2010 Together Towards Innovation" is co-sponsored by the Consulate General of France in Atlanta and the Georgia Institute of Technology.

SPTS Opens Research Center

SPP Process Technology Systems (SPTS) opened its new facility in San Jose, CA, the home for SPTS’ Thermal Products Division, and sales and support headquarters for North America. The Thermal Products Division was relocated from Scotts Valley, CA.

The new San Jose facility comprises a manufacturing space of approximately 28,000 square feet, with an additional 17,000 square feet in warehouse space. More than 80 employees will be serving the company’s global customer base out of the San Jose office.

The company is pursuing alternative markets it believes are under-served by the major players: MEMS, LEDs, packaging, and compound semiconductors. In particular, as larger wafers are used in these sectors, annealing and heat treating will not be able to be done by horizontal furnaces, so the company’s technology will be a good fit says William Johnson, president and CEO.

In October 2009, Sumitomo Precision Products (SPP) acquired assets of Aviza Technology and subsequently integrated them with Surface Technology Systems (STS) into the newly-formed SPTS. In 2010, SPTS has experienced tremendous growth, on course to triple revenue compared to the combined pre-acquisition entities in 2009.

SPTS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Precision Products Co., Ltd, and designs, manufactures, sells, and supports advanced semiconductor capital equipment and process technologies for the global semiconductor industry and related markets.

Eurotech Has New Facility

Extract fans in the new Eurotech PCB manufacturing facility in Exmouth have been designed so that no vibration transmits to the printed circuit boards (PCBs) in production. This means high component density boards can be produced to new levels of accuracy and reliability.

The new facility, totaling 35,000 sq. ft., is being built as part of a major site redevelopment by Eurotech. It will contain new and improved equipment, including new plating lines and will allow Eurotech to better match the requirements of capability and capacity for future UK, European and worldwide customers.

Eurotech wanted to reduce ambient vibration to an absolute minimum, so called in drives expert David Ede of KLJ Group. He identified that locating all eight fans required in the roof void would maximize their distance from the production machinery and that rubber mountings would reduce transmitted vibration significantly.

"Eurotech takes it carbon footprint seriously, so didn't want the fans running continuously, but to switch in only when required," explains David. "This meant we had to start and stop them smoothly, so Direct on Line starting was not acceptable. We looked at several options and decided on fitting each fan with Hyundai variable speed drives supplied by SoftStart UK Ltd, choosing the appropriate size and model in each case."

Eurotech's Managing Director Kelvin Leigh takes a long view: "In the current climate the new PCB plant is evidence of our commitment to UK manufacturing and to our customers. We believe this investment will not only improve our technical capabilities but also allow us to improve production flow through our plant. "David, KLJ Group, SoftStart UK and Hyundai have shown similar commitment to supporting us."

CTS Expands EMS Capacity in North America

CTS Corporation is expanding its EMS operations in Matamoros, Mexico. Growing demand for low cost North American assembly has led to the establishment of a dedicated EMS facility, which will be fully operational by first quarter 2011 and will increase manufacturing space by 55,000 sq. ft.

The expansion enables CTS to add specialized services such as conformal coating and BGA re-work, in addition to providing printed circuit board and box build assembly. There will be a new focus on test engineering with the addition of full in circuit and functional testing, as well as test simulation for field operations. CTS will also provide fully configured, highly complex level 5 product integration and direct ship logistics from Mexico for the first time to CTS' customers' end-customers. The new site will service customers in the communications, security, medical, industrial and instrumentation sectors.

Marlow Expands in Vietnam

Marlow Industries, thermoelectrics manufacturer, recently expanded manufacturing operations in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to expand capacity and provide low-cost, high-quality products to address the increasing needs of the market.

The site opened in August 2005, and now spans close to 5,000m2 (53,800 sq. ft.) in active factory/warehouse floor, with state-of-the-art equipment and an innovative approach to microelectronics assembly, and approximately 900 local employees. The facility offers stability, process capabilities, and production repeatability for markets such as gesture recognition electronics. The gesture recognition electronics market sparked the expansion of this facility in 2009-2010. Within the first four months of production, the Vietnam site obtained ISO 9001:2008 certification and produced almost four million units with zero return-rate.

Enforcing a "no-expat" policy, Marlow remains dedicated to developing local talent for the good of Vietnam, and providing high paying jobs. "The Vietnamese workforce has demonstrated a dedication to quality production with an eagerness to learn. This attitude gives management the confidence to continue investing in Vietnam and its employees," comments Kevin V. MacGibbon, president II-VI Vietnam.

Looking ahead, Marlow focuses on a $2.5 million site investment designed to support Marlow's rapid market share increase in the commercial, telecom and automotive markets.

McIlvaine Company

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