OTHER ELECTRONICS & NANOTECHNOLOGY
INDUSTRY UPDATE
November 2011
McIlvaine Company
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Aculon Completes Major Expansion of Laboratory & Production Space
Lattice Materials Installs Class 10,000 Cleanroom
Kyocera Mita Builds Vietnam Fab
Partnership to Improve Training in Nanomaterials World-Wide
Micrel Ramps MEMS Manufacturing in San Jose
Delta Group Electronics Completes Construction
Foxconn to Set Up R&D Facility
Entegris Opens Facility in Taiwan
AZ Electronic to Open Plant in Taiwan
Finetech Opens Cleanroom in Berlin
Bitmicro Opens Microelectronics Center in the Philippines
Aculon, Inc., a leading nanotechnology enabled performance coatings company, announced the completion of the expansion of the company's research and production laboratory space. The expansion of Aculons laboratory facility on Sorrento Valley Road in San Diego effectively doubles the amount of laboratory space available for research and production of cutting edge surface modification treatments.
"The expansion of this facility is strategically very important to Aculon," says Edward Hughes, CEO of Aculon. "The investment in our facility underscores our commitment to R&D and to fulfilling the needs of our rapidly increasing customer base."
The San Diego operation has been a major center for surface modification research since 2005, and since then has grown and expanded its activities to include both research and production of Aculon's proprietary technologies.
Lattice Materials, a US producer of infrared optical blanks, laser mirror blanks and silicon sputtering targets, has installed a Class 10,000 cleanroom environment for the cleaning and packaging of polished parts, primarily silicon and germanium witness samples.
The firm says the investment can be considered “significant for a company with 50 employees and a turnover of US$10m” and has enhanced the value of its witness samples.
“Parts coming out of our clean line were getting particulate contamination as they were transferred to packaging. The new cleanroom has solved that problem, allowing our customers to take these samples directly from our packaging into their coating machines,” said Peter Brown, sales and marketing manager at Lattice Materials.
Encompassing an advanced cleaning station and nitrogen-purged packaging capabilities, the cleanroom was installed by FL Dye of Bozeman, MT and was subjected to airflow and velocity testing, filter leak testing and airborne particle count cleanliness classification testing. The results of these tests showed that the cleanroom met ISO 14644-1:1999E Class 7 standards for 0.5µm and was rated IES 209E Class 10,000.
“The new cleanroom will save our customers both time and money by allowing them to take our witness samples directly into coating with no intermediate cleaning step required,” added Brown.
Polishing capabilities are limited to flat parts with a 60/40 surface quality and 1 fringe (1/2 wave) of flatness over a 1in part.
Lattice also stocks silicon witness samples and sputtering targets for immediate shipment.
Kyocera Mita Corp. has held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new manufacturing facility to be constructed in VSIP Hai Phong Integrated Township and Industrial Park, Hai Phong City, Vietnam. The new fab will be operated by Kyocera Mita Vietnam Technology Co. Ltd, a wholly-owned company of Kyocera Mita.
The first stage of the construction, with a total floor area of approximately 66,000m2, (710,160 sq. ft.) is scheduled to be completed by the end of July 2012. Manufacturing operations are scheduled to start in October 2012, starting with approximately 1,000 employees.
By 2016, Kyocera Mita plans to increase the number of employees to roughly 7,000 and reach an annual production volume of around $1 billion.
Around 200 people including officials from the Vietnamese, Singaporean and Japanese governments attended the groundbreaking ceremony at Hai Phong City.
Kyocera Mita representatives receive the investment license from Hai Phong municipal representatives.
The company plans to manufacture in the new plant low-end printers, MFPs and their peripherals for office use. The fab plans to ship to the global market in the future, including emerging markets where demand for document products is expected to follow economic development, as well as in developed markets where downsizing is being applied.
In order to realize stable supply and quick delivery of products, Kyocera Mita will aggressively promote local procurement of components. This new plant in Vietnam will become the second major manufacturing plant for Kyocera Mita after its plant in China. It is expected to make a substantial contribution in expanding both sales and market share of document imaging products of the company.
Katsumi Komaguchi, Kyocera Mita president, expressed his high expectations for the development of the new plant, "I hope that this new plant will become more than just a manufacturing facility of office equipment, but that we can also play an important role in the industrial development of Vietnam and Hai Phong City as a locally-based company by working together with educational institutions such as universities in and around Hai Phong and actively participating in the cultivation of human resources in Vietnam."
The novel laboratory solution NanoLab is optimized for higher education and eliminates the need to use costly research-class laboratory equipment for student training. The standardized educational content and special software developed by Electrotechnical Univ. (ETU) allows professors and other teaching staff to devote more of their time to teaching and research, instead of developing their own laboratory assignments. TEKLAB’s workstations with integrated equipment represent the state-of-the-art in functional design, safety and technical performance.
As an internationally recognized nanotechnology research and education institution, ETU has developed a cost-effective, multi-disciplinary Nanotechnology education laboratory. NanoLab enables efficient training and research activities based on standardized set of laboratory exercises. Moreover, ETU plays a leading role in standardization of nanotechnology education in Russian universities.
TEKLAB specializes in providing modular and multipurpose electric workstations and laboratories for industry and education. TEKLAB has delivered more than 1,000 complete laboratories or workshops with over 20,000 workstations to more than 100 countries since 1981. TEKLAB possesses deep knowledge of customer requirements in demanding industrial and educational environments. TEKLAB's unique modularity provides a perfect platform also for nanotechnology teaching purposes. Moreover, TEKLAB's multipurpose and mobile possibilities enable theory lessons and laboratory practice in the same facilities, if required.
The NanoLab partnership is the first university-industry commercialization project in the framework of the Finnish-Russian Innovation Alliance on Nanotechnology funded by the Finnish Foreign Ministry’s Finland—Russia Neighborhood Program and coordinated by Spinverse Ltd. The program is supported by Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between Finland and Russia.
NanoLab consists of up to 12 workplaces, covering both nanomaterial synthesis and analysis. The workplaces can also be used for research projects by students and graduates, as well as for small-scale production for prototyping and proof-of-concept. So far, the workplaces cover gas phase processes (ALD, carbon nanotube synthesis), liquid phase processes (Langmuir-Blodgett, sol-gel technologies), electrochemical synthesis of nanoporous materials (Si, SiC, Al2O3etc), DNA amplification by PCR, as well as methods for analysis of nano-objects such as optical microscopy with probe diagnostics, scanning electron microscopy, atomic-force microscopy, ellipsometry, EPR-spectrometry and capillary electrophoresis on chip. NanoLab has been successfully tested within engineers training on Nanotechnology and Characterization course.
The NanoLab solution is built around ETU’s standardized educational content and software developed by leading scientist of each area of study, using both off-the-shelf and custom-designed hardware. TEKLAB unites all the components into one functional and logistical solution and ETU offers necessary technical support in installation, commissioning and user training. A NanoLab user community will help to gather customer feed-back and best practice experience and keep the NanoLab constantly up-to-date as new technologies, materials and educational methods evolve.
NanoLab will be available for deliveries from the beginning of 2012.
Prof. Victor Luchinin, scientific supervisor says, “We at ETU Nanocentre are proud of the NanoLab concept and educational content developed by our leading lecturers and researchers. The unified laboratory guarantees high educational standard and allows training specialists who can leverage their theoretical knowledge in practical work in research and industry”
Esko Horelli, CEO of Teklab Ltd, says, “NanoLab allows TEKLAB to expand its solution portfolio from world-leading electronics laboratories to new materials related education and research and serve an expanding customer base in Russia and world-wide.”
Micrel Inc. has begun manufacturing micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) at its San Jose, CA wafer foundry operations. Micrel started production with a "major MEMS manufacturer representing a significant percentage of the existing foundry capacity." The IC maker is also developing production processes for several MEMS startups.
Micrel is one of the few 6" wafer fabs in the US offering MEMS manufacturing capability.
Micrel invested several million dollars in the MEMS fab ramp. Its San Jose site can now perform 3D front-to-back wafer alignment and has added a deep reactive ion etch (DRIE) tool to precisely etch very deep trenches, through silicon vias (TSV), and large cavities.
Micrel has achieved full production for its primary MEMS customer, said Guy Gandenberger, vice president, worldwide operations and foundry business unit for Micrel. Additional capacity is now reserved for other MEMS customers, and Micrel is capable of expanding the MEMS foundry space if necessary.
Micrel's Wafer Fab Division offers foundry services to commercial and military IC designers, among other customers. The wafer fab equipment can be used for short runs or volume production. The facility has been certified to ISO14001:1996, the International Environmental Management System Standard.
Micrel Inc. is a global manufacturer of ICs for the analog, Ethernet and high bandwidth markets.
Delta Group Electronics, Inc. has announced that it has completed construction of a new 37,000 sq. ft. assembly facility in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Located adjacent to Interstate 540 in the Mountain Ranch Business Park, the building will allow the company to significantly expand its employment base and provide the technology and space to meet the needs of its customers located throughout the Midsouth region of the United States.
Delta Group entered the region in May 2008 with the acquisition of assets of the electronics manufacturing firm Bitworks, Inc. that was located in Prairie Grove, Arkansas. The company decided shortly thereafter to move its operation in Northwest Arkansas to a new, significantly larger building. "We knew at the time of the acquisition we needed a technologically-current, larger facility to satisfy the requirements to be competitive as a 21st century EMS operation. We are confident that our customers, employees and the Fayetteville community will appreciate our commitment to expand our customer base and provide more employment opportunities in the electronics industry here in Arkansas," said Harry Mueller, President and Chief Executive Officer of Delta Group Electronics, Inc.
The Foxconn Technology Group, which is recognized as the world's No.1 contract electronics manufacturer, has decided to begin construction of an NT$1.8 billion (US$60 million at US$1: NT$30) cloud computing R&D building in the Kaohsiung Soft Tech Park in December.
The five-story complex will be constructed on 500 pings (or 1,650 square meters) of land in the park.
According to informed sources, Foxconn plans to move some of its subsidiaries, including an incubation center, a 3C-retail shop and a software-development company, into this building on cost concern. It expects to acquire government permission by the end of October at the earliest. However, the software park administration fears that moving the 3C shop into the park would run counter to existing regulations stipulating that industrial parks on the island can accommodate only manufacturing industries.
After constructing the building, Foxconn will begin constructing dormitory building for engineers of the cloud center, which is estimated to employ over 1,000 engineers. The company plans to build the dormitory complex on a nearby land owned by the state-run Taiwan Sugar Corp.
The group's chairman, Terry Gou, will preside over the ground-breaking ceremony for the planned building.
Entegris, Inc., a leading supplier of contamination control solutions for demanding manufacturing environments, announced the opening of a new manufacturing and research facility in Hsinchu City, Taiwan. The new facility will be used to design and manufacture advanced filtration and materials handling components for the semiconductor industry and other high-tech industries, and will provide lab services to customers in Taiwan and across Asia.
Gideon Argov, President and CEO of Entegris, commented at the opening ceremony: "Taiwan is an important market for Entegris, representing 16 percent, or nearly $110 million, of our sales in fiscal 2010. This expansion adds to our existing presence in this region and extends our ability to address growth opportunities in the semiconductor, solar, energy storage, and other emerging markets across Asia. We believe we will be the first world-class manufacturer of filters designed for the most demanding high technology manufacturing environments to establish a manufacturing presence in Taiwan."
Paul Yang, Entegris' regional director for Greater China, commented: "Our decision to open this facility reflects our commitment to be close to our customers in Taiwan and around Asia. We can now support these customers with products that are produced locally, as well as jointly develop filtration technology needed for their most advanced manufacturing processes. Once the new facility is fully operational, we expect to employ as many as 160 manufacturing, sales, service and engineering employees in Taiwan."
Entegris reported sales of $688 million in fiscal 2010 and employs approximately 2,800 people around the world.
AZ Electronic Materials, which produces specialty chemical materials used in the manufacture of ICs and flat panel displays, recently held a ground-breaking ceremony for a new manufacturing facility in Hsinchu, northern Taiwan.
The new plant is located next to AZ's existing facilities at the Hsinchu Science Park (HSP). Trial production at the site will begin in the second quarter of 2012, when the first sample products will be shipped to customers, the company said.
AZ revealed its total investment in the new facility is estimated at US$5 million. The plant will produce TARC (top anti-reflective coating) products – essential in enhancing yields in the manufacture of many leading edge semiconductors.
The new Hsinchu plant will further strengthen AZ's collaborative activities with its customers in Taiwan, the company said.
AZ currently employs 133 people in Taiwan, and once the new plant is fully operational that number will rise to 142, according to the company.
AZ also has operations in China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and the US. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Finetech announced that comprehensive construction measures to remodel and expand the development and manufacturing facilities at Berlin headquarters have been completed. The centerpiece of the remodeling is the new cleanroom designed to meet the highest customer demands.
The cleanroom puts Finetech in the position to work on high-sensitive optical and semiconductor applications, testing samples and profiling tasks in a dust-proof environment. Constant environmental conditions such as consistent temperature and air humidity add to a particularly high process stability and reproducibility.
At the same time, the capacities of the Finetech application labs have been enhanced further. Dedicated premises now combine application and demonstration labs and provide extended opportunities for efficient and comprehensive process and equipment development and fast handling of customer requests.
Other Finetech company departments also benefit from the remodeling. Precision and final assembly of the sub-micron bonding systems FINEPLACER® femto and FINEPLACER® lambda will now be conducted in a dedicated dust-protected area. Furthermore, additional office space and conference rooms could be provided.
The Philippines, whose electronics industry is mainly focused on assembly and manufacturing, has opened a training center specifically geared for microelectronics design. The Bruce Institute of Technology (BIT) is an institute for chip design and engineering, as well as network storage system applications.
The project is spearheaded by Bitmicro Networks Inc., a Silicon Valley-based solid state storage company and its Philippine subsidiary Bitmicro Networks International Inc. The companies are founded by brothers Rey and Rudy Bruce, who are originally from the Philippines. Rey Bruce, the company chairman and CEO, expressed the urgency to prepare Filipinos in the ever-changing technological landscape.
"The Philippines' traction in the global microelectronics industry is almost entirely concentrated in assembly, fabrication and manufacturing," said Rey Bruce. "BiTMICRO is practically the only Filipino-founded and owned company engaging into actual microchip design and engineering. We will do our part in uplifting the industry to higher valued services and service capabilities with the technology and products that we develop and produce in the country. Our goal with BIT is to replicate our success at BiTMICRO in developing microelectronic design skills."
BIT is the first industry-led microelectronics training center with emphasis on microchip design and development. The institute is working with industry leaders, such as Synopsys Inc. and Cadence Design Systems Inc., to develop and run industry-relevant microelectronics design engineering programs. BIT has also invited graduate and undergraduate engineering students from partner universities in the country to participate. The initial list of participating schools includes the University of the Philippines, Mapua Institute of Technology, First Asia Institute of Technology and Humanities, Don Bosco Technical College and Mindanao State University.
BIT hopes to build a critical mass of locally developed engineers that can make the Philippines a favored destination of the world's best microelectronic design companies. "We still believe in the Filipinos' ingenuity and their ability to be relevant in the world stage," said Rudy Bruce, president of BIT.
Although conceptualized and funded purely by private industry initiatives, BIT is envisioned to be an industry-responsive training template that can be replicated by government or other private sector players.
The institute's first program will be the development of the Philippines' first commercially viable microprocessor. The Rizal Microprocessor, named in honor of the 150th birth anniversary of the country's national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal.
Aside from the Rizal Microprocessor project, the Institute is currently qualifying its other training offerings and will kick start the program with the unveiling ceremonies at the Bitmicro Networks Corporate Offices in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. The institute intends to offer practical training in device and system level firmware and software development.
McIlvaine Company
Northfield, IL 60093-2743
Tel: 847-784-0012; Fax: 847-784-0061
E-mail: editor@mcilvainecompany.com