OTHER ELECTRONICS & NANOTECHNOLOGY
INDUSTRY UPDATE
April 2014
McIlvaine Company
TABLE OF CONTENTS
NREL's Energy Systems Integration Facility Named 2014 Lab of the Year
Filtronic Broadband Moves to NETpark in Sedgefield, Co Durham
Energy Sciences Building Breaks Ground at Argonne
China to Build Underground Neutrino Lab
Nordson Opens Technical Center in China
EU Commissioner Visits National Graphene Institute Cleanroom
NREL's Energy Systems Integration Facility takes top honors in R&D Magazine's 48th annual lab design awards.
Designed and built by SmithGroupJJR and JE Dunn Construction, the $135 million Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) is located at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. Its one-of-a-kind design will assist NREL, and its partners, to shape the energy systems of the future.
The prestigious and international Lab of the Year competition, which is in its 48th year, recognizes the best new and renovated laboratories that combine all aspects of the building into a superior working environment. It showcases new and emerging thinking, sustainable practices and creative responses to challenges in the design, construction and operation of modern laboratories.
ESIF received this significant award for being a first-of-its-kind 182,500 sq. ft. research user facility with a unique merging of three very specialized components: an ultra-energy efficient workplace that consumes 74% less energy than the national average for office buildings, one of the world’s most energy efficient high performance computing data centers, and sophisticated high-bay laboratory spaces with outdoor test areas.
All of the labs are connected by a research electrical distribution bus (REDB), which functions as a power integration circuit capable of connecting multiple sources of energy with experiments.
The unique design of the facility, which houses 200 researchers, works in tandem to advance NREL’s sustainable mission of integrating clean and sustainable energy technologies into the grid.
“To have the ESIF facility, which advances research capabilities that don’t exist anywhere else in the world, recognized for such a prestigious award only proves the hard work and dedication of the project team,“ states Brad Woodman, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, vice president and director of SmithGroupJJR’s Phoenix office. “Congratulations to the entire ESIF team for a job well done on a project that will change the future of energy thought and use worldwide.”
A showcase of sustainable design, the ESIF incorporates the best in energy efficiency, environmental performance, and advanced controls using a “whole building” integrated design approach that complies with Energy Star standards.
SmithGroupJJR and JE Dunn worked together to support the Department of Energy’s goal to develop an energy efficient building that imparts minimal impact on the environment. The ESIF earned a LEED Platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council, and is one of the highest certified facilities of its type to include a high performance computing data center as a major building component.
To construct such a unique facility the design-build team applied technology, like real time electronic drawings accessible through portable kiosks and hand held tablets allowing for a 100% paperless process, to deliver the project in a highly collaborative and accelerated pace while maintaining the strictest standards of quality and sustainable strategies. The building was dedicated in September 2013.
“Our team was continually challenged and encouraged to think outside the box which lead to this tremendous outcome,” shares Rodd Merchant, senior vice president at JE Dunn Construction and manager of the design-build team. “This award serves as an acknowledgement that hard work pays off.”
Central to the laboratories is the REDB, the nation’s first integrated, megawatt-scale hardware-in-the-loop real-time simulation system. The REDB allows researchers and manufacturers to conduct integration tests at full power and actual load levels in real-time simulation, and evaluate component and system performance before going to market.
Running parallel with the REDB is the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system that monitors and controls facility-based processes and gathers and disseminates real time data for collaboration and visualization. Both systems were engineered by Affiliated Engineers, Inc. (AEI).
A petascale high performance computing data and visualization center extends the ESIF’s research capabilities and enables large-scale modeling and simulation of material properties, processes, and fully integrated systems that would be cost-prohibitive to study by direct experimentation.
SmithGroupJJR, a recognized leader in architecture, engineering, and planning, served as designer, lab planner and engineer of the three-story research complex. The firm also received a Lab of the Year Special Mention in 2008 for their work on NREL’s Science & Technology Facility. JE Dunn Construction performed as general contractor for the design-build venture. AEI engineered the high bay laboratory spaces and the REDB and SCADA systems.
Judging for this year’s competition was performed by an expert panel of architects, engineers, equipment suppliers, researchers and the editors of R&D Magazine, Laboratory Design newsletter, and co-sponsor Scientific Equipment and Furniture Association (SEFA).
Awards for the Laboratory of the Year competition will be presented at the 2014 Laboratory Design Conference on April 3, at the Westin Waltham Boston Hotel in Massachusetts.
Filtronic Broadband has moved to the North East Technology Park (NETpark)
Business Durham, the economic development company for County Durham in the UK has supported the move of Filtronic Broadband to the North East Technology Park (NETpark) and secured 85 jobs for the region.
Aligned with plans to focus its broadband business unit on higher frequency technology and products, Filtronic has established a mmWave centre of excellence at NETPark in Sedgefield.
The state-of-the-art test facilities include a laboratory, cleanroom, office space and a new production suite.
The company specializes in the design and manufacture of wireless communications systems and customers include mobile phone network operators.
Alan Needle, CEO, Filtronic Broadband, said: 'We received excellent support from Business Durham and they were instrumental in our decision to move [from Newton Aycliffe] to NETPark. We now have a centre of excellence which will be of great benefit to all our customers.'
The cleanroom will be used in the development and manufacture of mmWave and microwave hybrid assemblies for the telecommunications and defense industries.
Filtronic Broadband says it has made significant investment in automated high frequency test facilities for both semiconductor device level characterization and tx/rx module performance testing up to 90GHz.
The company is already a leading supplier of mmWave transceiver products at both E-band and V-band frequencies and distributes to several international OEM customers. With wireless data volumes doubling year-on-year through the roll-out of 4G/LTE services, increasing cellular backhaul capacity pressure is driving the need for ongoing product development and production to keep pace with market requirements.
As nano-scale research becomes essential and almost commonplace to many science programs, we are seeing interdisciplinary facilities requiring sensitive equipment and strictly controlled environments. The recently completed Energy Sciences Building (ESB) at Argonne National Laboratory is one of the freshest examples of these new highly adaptable, flexible, and easily controlled interdisciplinary science facilities.
Argonne’s new ESB was designed specifically for interdisciplinary research addressing the complex issues associated with the transformation of global society through new sources of energy. Research at the ESB is expected to lead to significant advances in how the world consumes and conserves energy.
By virtue of its prominent and highly visible location, the ESB is like a “billboard” advertising a new, interdisciplinary approach to science; with labs from each of four energy-related programs on campus.
This is the first step in bringing these groups together in one building, and organizing them by science program. There is a mix of groups on each floor of the ESB to create opportunities for interaction and enable collaboration.
The building houses the kind of research infrastructure necessary to conduct breakthrough science in materials discovery and creation for efficient and effective catalysts, designing and creating novel crystals, films, and polymers for solar photovoltaic, energy storage, and efficient electronics platforms—including nano-scale research. As with many lab buildings, vibration is a primary concern to protect experiments from outside influences. The ESB required spaces in its lowest level to meet requirements as strict as Vibration Criteria E (VCE) while the upper levels were built to meet Vibration Criteria A (VCA). The upper levels of the ESB are performing better than ground level spaces in existing buildings.
According to Vojislav Stamenkovic, Technical Lead, Material Science Division, “Initial testing of our UHV system has indicated that vibrational sensitive measurements such as STM/AFM are performing better in the ESB than in the 223 Bldg., even though we are positioned on the third floor.”
Energy is the single most important focus of the ESB. The building was conceived as a living-learning lab employing effective design to reduce energy demand and consumption. Through energy modeling using ASHRAE as the baseline, the building was designed to consume 34.5 percent less energy and reduce energy costs by 22.8 percent. Low-flow fixtures and landscaping not requiring irrigation is expected to reduce water consumption by 31 percent compared to the LEED baseline energy model. The ESB is tracking LEED Gold.
The facility is attenuated along the east-west axis for optimal solar orientation. Because consistent and controlled air pressure is critical to the function of laboratories, the exterior envelope of the building must operate as intended, without transfer spots inadvertently allowing air to flow in and out, while maintaining healthy air quality. The ESB hired a third-party commissioning agent to evaluate the building envelope, including building materials, curtain wall and roofing systems, and design details.
The transparency of the design allows researchers to see through the glass windows in the doors to the service corridor, to flanking fume-hood intensive catalysis labs, and into the offices and the outdoors beyond. The ESB, out of necessity, requires a lot of air movement and much of the air passing through some of the labs is directly exhausted. The HVAC system recovers as much heat as possible from exhaust air and preheats incoming air to save on heating and cooling. For this, two heat recovery units are located in the mechanical penthouse. The units contain filters and heat fans, allowing heat to be recovered in the coils. Glycol water is circulated between the coils and in the outside air paths of the primary air handling units. This pre-treats the outside air and reduces the amount of heat required by the primary coils as well as the associated campus steam system. Limited to sensible energy only, the system avoids risks related to cross-contamination of exhaust air into supply air.
The new Energy Sciences Building ushers in the transformation of Argonne’s campus to an interdisciplinary and sustainable campus. The building’s prominent location provided the opportunity to create a new image for Argonne. The ESB now serves as an entrance to the north campus designated the new Energy Quad, comprised of ESB and other buildings.
The ESB and the new quad also help move toward a pedestrian-focused campus, with plans to close some roads to vehicles and create new links to connect buildings. A “sky-gate” at the west end of the building anchors the pedestrian path linking existing north and south campuses, and also provides a sheltered area with benches where scientists can congregate. Bicycles—already provided—are available, with bike racks conveniently located at various buildings and quads.
In addition to transforming the campus, the building aims to change the way people work; moving from a departmental structure to a system that is project- and tool-based. Throughout the design process, the design team held open, town hall-style meetings and workshops for any scientists and staff members interested in attending; fostering connection among Argonne staff that historically worked in cellular, closed environments. The participatory, transparent approach helped to change the direction of the existing work culture, thought to be set in stone, to a more open, industry-competitive way of working: a tool in itself for attracting and retaining the best and the brightest. In addition, special care was given to the selection of finishes and furniture—a departure from a typical government facility.
This characterization lab includes an ultra-high vacuum (UHV) chamber for atomic level characterization of materials which are tested in the adjacent electric chemistry lab. This building is the first on campus to bring multiple groups together in one building, organized by science as opposed to department. There is a mix of departments on all four floors to create opportunities for sharing and collaboration. Everyone working here passes through the atrium several times a day. Circulation to and through the labs also requires people to move through the atrium, with connecting stairs that allow daylight to penetrate the full three floors. Views through the atrium to the outdoors further orient visitors and employees to the rest of the north campus. This transparency not only provides light and views, it allows researchers to see and be seen, an important feature in the new ESB culture.
Similar to research facilities found in private industry and on academic campuses, the ESB offers modern, flexible labs with specialized state-of-the-art equipment and instrumentation, as well as light-filled collaborative spaces, day-lit open and closed offices, and technology-rich areas to showcase the science. The ESB is intended to serve as a recruiting tool to aid in attracting and retaining the best and the brightest and to compete with private-sector organizations and academic institutions.
Work has started on a huge underground neutrino lab in China. The $330 M Jiangmen Underground NeutrinoObservatory (JUNO) is being built in Kaiping City, Guangdong Province, in the south of the country around 150 km west of Hong Kong. When complete in 2020, JUNO is expected to run for more than 20 years, studying the relationship between the three types of neutrino: electron, muon and tau.
The design concept for the detector was completed last year and it will be built by the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP), which is part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). JUNO will require an 80 m high and 50 m diameter experimental hall located 700 m underground. Its detector – filled with 20,000 tons of liquid scintillator – will use more than 15,000 photomultiplier tubes to detect the scintillation light that is created when a neutrino hits a hydrogen atom.
Although JUNO will be able to detect neutrinos produced by supernovae as well as those from Earth, the observatory will mainly study neutrinos created at two nearby nuclear power plants being built around 50 km from the experiment. "We need to detect neutrinos from the nuclear reactors, from a proper distance," says Yifang Wang, IHEP director, who heads the JUNO project. "It will be a big challenge to build such a large underground lab and a detector in five years."
The detector is expected to have an energy resolution of around 3 percent, allowing JUNO to determine the relative masses of the three kinds of neutrinos, known as the neutrino-mass hierarchy. Several similar experiments around the world – including NOvA in the U.S., Hyper-Kamiokande in Japan and the planned Indian Neutrino Observatory – will also work towards this goal. "That is an important part – to solve the mystery of why matter dominated over antimatter in our universe," says Jun Cao, a particle physicist at IHEP.
China's experience operating the Daya Bay neutrino experiment for the last three years will stand it in good stead for JUNO. "The success of Daya Bay has attracted more potential foreign partners for JUNO," adds Wang. Along with IHEP and 19 other Chinese institutions, interest in joining JUNO has also been expressed by more than 30 international institutions, including partners in Daya Bay from the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the U.S. "JUNO will help us build a leading research team, and make China one of the leaders in the field of particle physics," adds Wang.
Nordson Corp. has opened a 21,500-square-foot technical center in Shanghai that will help the maker of automated spraying and dispensing equipment serve what it called “the company's large and growing customer base throughout China and the greater Asian region.” Nordson did not disclose the cost of the technical center, which initially will focus on its hot melt adhesive dispensing products and systems for customers in the paper-based packaging, nonwovens, electronics, consumer goods and general product assembly end markets. H.J. Sha, vice president of Nordson Asia Pacific, said in a news release, “Nordson has operated in China since 1990, and the new technical center is an ideal complement to our longtime sales, service, product development and manufacturing facilities in Beijing, Dongguan, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Suzhou.”
Commissioner Johannes Hahn recently visited the National Graphene Institute at The University of Manchester. The Commissioner, who approved a $38 million investment via the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) towards the $102 million Institute, was given a guided tour of the construction site by Nobel Laureate Sir Kostya Novoselov.
Set to open in early 2015, the 26,000 sq. ft. building will see academics and commercial partners working side by side to create the graphene applications of the future.
The remaining $63 million was provided by the U.K. Government through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
Commissioner Hahn was given an overview of graphene research at the University by Professor Novoselov, as well as information about commercialization and a progress report on the building. He was also presented with a limited edition picture of graphene signed by Sir Kostya.
He then was given a guided tour of the site by Sir Kostya, including where the main cleanroom will be located on the lower ground floor to achieve best vibration performance. Designed by Jestico+Whiles, the building will also include a second cleanroom; plus laser, optical, metrology, and chemical laboratories; a seminar room and offices; as well as ancillary accommodation.
Researchers use electron-beam lithography to microfabricate graphene devices.BAM Construction started work on the NGI in July last year and it is now week 27 of a 66 week project. The main concrete frame of the five story building is complete and it is now working on the external envelope and cladding works to the glass-fronted building, the internal blockwork, partition walls, and installation of mechanical and electrical services. The fit out of the cleanrooms will begin in mid-April and equipment is due to be moved into the building from the end of this year with completion in 2015.
"The Graphene Institute is an excellent example of how EU regional funding in the U.K. is supporting innovation and taking excellent ideas into the marketplace,” says Commissioner Hahn. “We have turned EU regional policy into an investment tool that directly contributes to the creation of growth and jobs.”
New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has announced a milestone in the construction of the $125 million Computer Chip Commercialization Center (Quad-C), as construction crews completed the building’s steel structure ahead of schedule.
Led by the SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering and SUNY Institute of Technology at Utica/Rome, the Quad-C is an integral part of the Governor’s Nano Utica initiative, featuring six leading global technology companies that will invest $1.5 billion to create a regional hub for nanotechnology-based innovation, education, and economic development.
Quad-C will be completed by the end of 2014. The 253,000 sq. ft. facility will include 56,000 square-feet of Class 1 capable cleanroom space stacked on two levels. An annual operating budget of over $500 million will support 1,500 high-tech jobs and the establishment of groundbreaking academic programs and cutting-edge workforce training opportunities.
“This is an important milestone for New York,” Gov. Cuomo says. “Not only will this project create over a thousand new high-skilled, high-paying jobs, but it marks New York’s emergence as a world leader in the nanotechnology sector. Quad-C will be the catalyst for nanotechnology innovation, education, and economic development in New York. The project is ahead of schedule and exciting things lie ahead.”
“With Governor Cuomo’s support and leadership, we are building more than world-class nanotechnology research and development facilities; we are building a state that is leading the way in critical scientific areas that are powering next-generation technologies,” says Dr. Alain Kaloyeros, CNSE Senior Vice President and CEO. “As we top-off Quad-C, we realize the heights New York will achieve, thanks to Governor Cuomo’s pioneering vision, are limitless.
The Nano Utica consortium is led by Advanced Nanotechnology Solutions Incorporated, SEMATECH, Atotech, and SEMATECH and CNSE partner companies, including IBM, Lam Research, and Tokyo Electron. Headquartered at the CNSE-SUNYIT Quad-C, Nano Utica will build on the research and development programs currently being conducted by ANS Inc., SEMATECH, and their private industry partners at the SUNY CNSE campus in Albany.
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