OTHER ELECTRONICS & NANOTECHNOLOGY
INDUSTRY UPDATE
March 2011
McIlvaine Company
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Avantor Performance Materials Will Open Electronics Laboratory
Printed Electronics Research Facility to be established at UTEP
Jabil Circuit Opens PV Testing Lab
UAlbany Launching NanoHealth and Safety Center
La Trobe Institute of Molecular Science Construction Contract Awarded to Watpac
Penn's Krishna P. Singh Nanotechnology Center
Avantor Performance Materials, Inc. (formerly Mallinckrodt Baker, Inc.) has announced plans to open an electronics applications laboratory in Taiwan during the second quarter of 2011. The new laboratory will be used to conduct customer demonstrations, perform process of record (POR) development and support Avantor’s global electronics technologies development. Avantor manufactures and markets high-performance chemistries and materials around the world under two well-known and respected brand names, J.T.Baker® and Macron™ Chemicals (formerly Mallinckrodt® Chemicals). These products are widely used in electronics and photovoltaic manufacturing; biotechnology and pharmaceutical production; and in research, academic and quality control laboratories.
Avantor is opening the Asia-based electronics laboratory to support global customers more quickly with access to advanced wafer processing and metrology tools. Customers will now be able to use Avantor’s state-of-the-art equipment to test chemistries and materials in a Class 100 cleanroom (ISO Class 5) fab environment, rather than disrupting operations by taking their own production equipment off-line for testing purposes. “This high-tech facility will allow Avantor to provide convenient localized support to our global electronics customers,” said Director of Marketing, Electronic Materials, John Bubel. “As customers implement our performance chemistries into their processes, they can test and make refinements on Avantor’s laboratory tools and transfer those processes back to their fabs, without ever having to interrupt their workflow.”
Additionally, Bubel noted that Avantor will test newly developed formulas on its full wafer equipment to support its own performance chemistries, and materials research and development. “We are designating space for research and development, and production of small volume sample materials to better meet the needs of our global customers,” he said. “Technology hubs like this one, in such a key region, will provide more personalized customer service, and ultimately, better technology solutions.” Avantor currently has applications or research and development laboratories in the United States, Korea and the Netherlands.
Imagine buying wafer-thin, high-definition television sets by the roll and applying them to the walls at home. Or imagine being able to replace your lost cell phone within minutes by hitting the “print” button on a computer. It may sound like science fiction, but it’s not. This is the future of electronics manufacturing, and the technologies behind it are being developed at The University of Texas at El Paso.
Gov. Rick Perry announced the state will invest $3 million through the Texas Emerging Technology Fund to help create the new Structural and Printed Emerging Technologies Center in the UTEP College of Engineering.
Industry partner Lockheed Martin Aeronautics will contribute $3 million toward five-year operating costs of the new center, and The University of Texas System has pledged $3 million in construction and equipment funds—for a total of $9 million—to launch the state-of-the-art advanced printed electronics research facility.
The SPEC Center, as it will be called, will take advantage of and build upon the existing world-class rapid-prototyping or additive manufacturing equipment and research available now in the college’s W.M. Keck Center for 3D Innovation.
Additive manufacturing—making a part or product by adding layers of material in an efficient way that results in less waste—and other technologies are already being used at the Keck Center to build a variety of 3-D devices. The new SPEC Center will combine these manufacturing technologies with printed electronics technologies to build entirely new functional products. The area housing the Keck Center, now occupying 6,100 square feet on the first floor of the College of Engineering, will double in size to accommodate the SPEC Center’s new laboratories and equipment. The computer-driven systems will allow the fabrication of complex three-dimensional mechanical and electronic devices, and even medical products formed of living tissue. The necessary renovations and equipment purchases for the expansion of the facility will begin in 2010.
The SPEC Center will initially focus on printed electronics, but will have the capability to produce devices of nearly all types, sizes and materials, limited only by a researcher’s imagination.
“UTEP, with our long and proud engineering legacy, is now ready to become the region’s nexus for the next generation of manufacturing technologies,” said University President Diana Natalicio. “The creation of the new SPEC Center will generate outstanding research opportunities for our faculty and students, leading to commercializable discoveries and creation of high-paying, high-skilled jobs for the Paso del Norte region.”
The SPEC Center will be directed by Kenneth H. Church, a well-known expert in the printed electronics field who holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Oklahoma State University. Church, who joined UTEP in January, has extensive experience in technology commercialization and is the founder of advanced-technology companies Sciperio Inc. and nScrypt Inc. Church is an inventor or co-inventor of a number of patented or patent-pending technologies, and his research interests include lasers, optics, tissue-engineered materials, antenna designs and other novel electronic devices.
Church calls himself a “serial entrepreneur,” and plans to launch a UTEP-based start-up called GraphTronix in 2010. GraphTronix will produce and market 3-D and printed electronics, he said.
“The SPEC Center will be one of the world’s first brick-and-mortar ‘foundries’ for printed electronics, a market that is expected to grow into billions of dollars over the next decade,” Church said. “We anticipate GraphTronix will be one of the first of many opportunities to commercialize the research conducted by our faculty and students.”
The SPEC Center will be co-directed by Professor of Mechanical Engineering Ryan Wicker, Ph.D., the current director of the Keck Center.
The SPEC Center will be supported by an industry partner, aerospace company Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, which will tap the expertise of engineering faculty for a number of projects based on 3-D layered fabrication, printed electronics and other advanced technologies. The research could lead to discoveries useful for the company’s lineup of aviation, space and homeland security products and services.
"Advanced manufacturing technology will be a critical factor in the aircraft and aviation systems of the future. We're excited about the potential of this new development in our long, successful partnership with UTEP,” said Frank Cappuccio, executive vice president of Advanced Development Programs, also known as the Skunk Works®, at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. Over recent years, UTEP has developed a unique combination of capabilities in its College of Engineering to become a significant player in advanced manufacturing technologies, a strategy that helped Engineering Dean Richard Schoephoerster, working on behalf of the University, attract the support of the State of Texas and Lockheed Martin to create the SPEC Center.
UTEP’s manufacturing-technology facilities include:
The W.M. Keck Center for 3-D Innovation, one of the premier university laboratories equipped with state-of-the-art additive fabrication equipment.
The NanoMaterials Integration Laboratory (NanoMIL), where researchers are integrating nanoscale, or submicroscopic materials, into microscopic assemblies to create unique electronic devices and components.
The new Research Institute for Manufacturing and Engineering Systems (RIMES), which produces advanced software tools for best-practice design of complex products and systems, such as those used in the aerospace and defense industries.
“The SPEC Center will significantly add to the University’s growing portfolio of state-of-the-art additive manufacturing facilities,” Schoephoerster said. “We are delighted that Dr. Ken Church, who brings with him a remarkable vision for the future of additive manufacturing, nanotechnology and systems engineering, has joined our team. The SPEC Center will help secure El Paso’s foothold in this new era of manufacturing.”
Global electronic products firm Jabil Circuit Inc. has inaugurated new photovoltaic (PV) testing laboratory in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The new centre will offer a wide range of UL and IEC certification and testing services designed to support solar panel manufacturers. The services will include material characterization, certification testing, on-going reliability testing and long-term field exposure.
In addition, the new Jabil laboratory will provide material and failure analysis beyond industry requirements, such as electroluminescence, dynamic load testing and extended environmental cycles.
Set up in 1966, Jabil Circuit is an electronic product solutions company providing comprehensive electronics design, manufacturing and product management services.
Cementing an existing effort to probe the dangers associated with nanotechnology, the University at Albany’s sprawling College of Nanoscale Science & Engineering announced a $10 million partnership with industry to start the dedicated NanoHealth and Safety Center.
The university, which is part of the State University of New York system, has been building a nano empire just outside the state capital for a decade. In the process, it has attracted a host of companies—mostly semiconductor manufacturers and their suppliers—that do research and development and other work inside the giant complex.
Its partner in the safety center is SEMATECH, an international group of chipmakers, and a subsidiary, the International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative, or ISMI. The center begins with a $10 million guarantee over the next five years.
Nanotechnology involves manipulating super-small particles to make products with super properties. These particles are already in lots of items, from bike frames to sunscreens; many in the medical field believe its potential is almost limitless for treating disease from the inside.
But the very property that makes these products useful—their tiny size—might also make them dangerous, both in the short and long term.
Sara Brenner, a professor and assistant vice president for nano health initiatives at CNSE, said the new center “adds a lot of momentum to what we’ve been starting up and what we have going on here.”
“For health and safety research, dog-earing $10 million is a lot of money,” Brenner said.
Thomas Begley, a toxicologist who’s also a CNSE vice president and professor, will head the new center. Brenner will chair a steering committee.
Brenner said the new initiative “adds fuel to the fire” of projects already under way to analyze various nanomaterials, some of them in concert with manufacturers on- and off-site.
The center will focus on four areas: occupational health and safety; environmental health and safety; reducing the use of water, energy and chemicals in manufacturing; and “proactive collaborative research and development.”
“That is a huge spectrum,” Brenner said, adding that she’s fairly sure that combination makes the center unique in the still-young field of nano safety.
The center will help scientists develop a comprehensive understanding of what’s dangerous and what’s not about various nanomaterials. It’s important that everyone working in the nano safety field know what others are up to, Brenner said, and avoid having little bits of fragmented information scattered around the research landscape.
The same is true for manufacturers.
“As nano becomes more and more industrially ubiquitous, health and safety concerns are a common thread throughout all of the industries that are using engineered nanomaterials,” she said. “So, let’s be proactive, let’s really work together. I think it’s a model that other industries can really look up to.”
Watpac's Construction division has been awarded the $66 million construction contract for the prestigious La Trobe Institute of Molecular Science (LIMS) project in Victoria.
Watpac has earned a reputation for successfully delivering a range of highly complex and technically challenging science-based facilities in recent years, with many of the facilities focused on life-saving medical research.
The LIMS project, which has an overall value of $93 million, will be an iconic new building creating a world-class facility for molecular science, biotechnology and nanotechnology research, teaching and learning.
Located at the La Trobe University Melbourne campus, the building will form the nucleus of the Faculty of Science and will provide research environments that will both attract and support mid-career scientists.
The project comprises approximately 11,000m2 (118,360 sq. ft.) of new teaching and research laboratories over six levels, plus associated connection works to adjacent buildings, external landscaping and civil works and campus service connection works.
The three levels of teaching laboratories will include associated support spaces, and a ground level lecture theatre and ‘equipment barn'. The upper three levels will comprise research laboratories and associated academic and general staff office spaces.
LIMS has been designed by leading university architects Lyons, and is designed to have a high level of transparency allowing users and visitors to view the teaching and research spaces.
Construction will begin in February 2011, with the project anticipated to be delivered in late 2012.
The project adds to the Company's impressive portfolio of science and medical research projects, which includes the $360 million Knowledge Based Research and Business Project—Ecosciences and Health and Food Sciences Precincts in Brisbane, the $134 million Queensland Institute of Medical Research Smart State Medical Research Centre, the $80 million Cochlear Global Headquarters facility at Macquarie University in Sydney, and the $56 million Queensland Brain Institute.
Greg Kempton, Watpac Managing Director, said the Company was looking forward to working on the unique and technically challenging project.
"Scientific and medical research projects such as LIMS offer our team members the opportunity to use their skills on extremely complex projects that require a high level of intricacy," Mr. Kempton said.
"LIMS is an exciting project that provides new challenges for our experienced staff, and those who are newer to the construction industry, and the opportunity for all employees to expand on their skills.
"I am very pleased Watpac will be a major part of realizing La Trobe University's vision of becoming a world leader in molecular science research, and we are looking forward to delivering this world-class facility for the next generation of leading scientists."
About Watpac
Watpac is an ASX-listed company specializing in construction, civil engineering and mining, specialty services (including refurbishments), and property development. They have offices in Brisbane, Townsville, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth.
Penn's School of Engineering and Applied Science and School of Arts and Sciences have joined forces to realize a shared priority: the construction of a state-of-the-art nanoscale research and teaching facility on the north side of the 3200 block of Walnut Street, occupying Penn land that has been a parking lot.
President Gutmann called Kris and Martha Singh "visionary people" for helping Penn make history with their words and deeds. The Singhs gave a $20 million naming gift (Almanac September 4, 2007).
Dean Glandt, who President Gutmann called "one of Penn's most transformative deans" has agreed to extend his second term for three additional years beyond 2012 to 2015. Dean Glandt described nanotechnology as a facility-intensive field and noted that this user-friendly building would have a "scientific concierge." He called the building's namesake "an innovator."
Dean Bushnell said it was a “wonderful day for science at Penn”; since nanotechnology engages physics and chemistry—hallmarks of SAS—there would be opportunities for collaboration with engineering.
The Krishna P. Singh Center for Nanotechnology will signal the University of Pennsylvania's leadership in the emerging field of nanotechnology, supporting the cutting-edge research that transcends disciplinary boundaries of engineering, medicine, and the sciences. As a new multi-level facility, the Center will bring together researchers from multiple disciplines through technical lab spaces and vibrant public spaces.
The new 78,000 gross-square-foot facility will have state-of-the-art lab spaces including a 10,000 square foot bay/chase cleanroom, 6,500 square foot characterization suite, and 9,000 square feet of general laboratories as well as centralized public spaces including the 15,000 square foot courtyard, public galleria, forum space and high profile conference rooms.
This will become a regional resource for atomic scale imaging and compositional analysis of nanoscale materials as well as fabrication of nanoscale materials.
It will facilitate interaction between faculty and students, researchers and industry, the University and the City, and the region. Occupancy is scheduled for 2013.
The building is targeting LEED Silver Certification.
Key features:
capture 90% of storm water runoff with a green roof;
reduce building water use by up to 30%;
divert up to 75% construction waste from a landfill;
reduce pollution and land development impacts from auto use;
optimize energy performance at least 17.5% beyond industry requirements;
use of low-emitting materials such as adhesives & sealants, paint and carpet;
35% of total power to come from a registered green power supplier.
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