Mercury Systems Opens Cleanroom

Mercury Systems Inc., a provider of commercially developed, open sensor, and Big Data processing systems for critical commercial, defense, and intelligence applications, has opened its new Advanced Microelectronics Center in Hudson, N.H.

A state-of-the-art, 72,000 ft2 design and manufacturing facility for RF and microwave technologies with 12,000 ft2 of cleanroom space, the new AMC provides redundant and complementary capabilities with the company’s existing fully operational AMC located in West Caldwell, N.J. The combination of design and manufacturing capabilities in each facility provides “one-stop shopping” for defense prime customers who need to reduce their supply chain complexity and lower risk.

“Our new AMC helps drive innovations in RF and Microwave technologies that can be leveraged by prime contractors to deliver critical capabilities to our warfighters,” says Mark Aslett, president and CEO, Mercury Systems. “Combined with our existing center in New Jersey, we see the AMC as both a scalable and redundant design and manufacturing solution that gives our customers a second-source manufacturing site internally, for the first time.”

“We've invested extensively in key automation, manufacturing, and automated test capabilities which are needed to support many of the defense programs we're involved with as they transition into high-volume production phases,” says Kevin Beals, Vice President and General Manager of Mercury’s RF & Microwave Solutions Group. “We have scaled our RF/Microwave and other electronics design and manufacturing capabilities to take projects from prototype to Low Rate Initial Production to full-rate production, making Mercury a better alternative for advanced microelectronics solutions. Further, we have seasoned engineering staff co-located with manufacturing, enabling designs to transition smoothly and efficiently from development to production.”

The company is based in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.

EPA Looks Closer at Nanomaterial Impact

The federal government is investing nearly $10 million in research aimed at understanding the impact of nanomaterials throughout their life cycle—from design to disposal.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $5 million grant to Arizona State University (Tempe) and a $4.9 million grant to the University of California, Santa Barbara, the agency announced April 10.

Nanotechnology generally refers to engineered structures, devices and systems between 1 and 100 nanometers long. The engineered nanomaterials can take on unique optical, magnetic, electrical and other properties.

Many of technology’s burgeoning first generation of products, including building materials, paints and coatings, are composed of engineered nanoparticles, such as metal oxides, nanotubes, nanowires, quantum dots, and carbon fullerenes.

By 2020, the National Science Foundation estimates that nanotechnology will have a $3 trillion impact on the global economy.

The EPA grants reflect concern that the development of these promising materials may be moving too quickly for due examination of their risks.

“While nanomaterials have shown great potential in electronics, medicine and other fields, we still know relatively little about their effects on human health and the environment,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest.

Arizona State University’s research will focus on the trade-offs between using nanomaterials to improve the functionality of consumer products and the potential risks to humans and the environment, according to the EPA.

The research proposed will address the knowledge gaps that prevent the safe development of nano-enabled products, and has the potential to improve design and processes of products with nanomaterials, the agency said.

UC Santa Barbara will use its funds to develop an open-access, online tool to evaluate life-cycle impacts for chemicals and materials at an early stage of the chemical product development process—when the precise manufacturing routes and fates of the products are still uncertain, according to the EPA.

An international network of academic, industry and government partners will collaborate to develop the tool, called the Chemical Life-Cycle Builder (CLB).

University to Construct Nanofabrication Facility

Researchers working in the University of Chicago’s Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility will be able to create new nanotechnology applications at the atomic and molecular scale.

University of Chicago’s Institute for Molecular Engineering will build a major new facility for nanoscale fabrication within the William Eckhardt Research Center, supported by a $15 million gift from the Pritzker Foundation.

In recognition of the gift, the 12,000 ft2 facility in the heart of the Hyde Park campus will be named the Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility.

With an advanced toolset and enough space for a wide range of projects, the Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility will support work on new applications in computing, health care, communications, smart materials, and more. Products could include advanced computer processors, quantum-bit processors, sensors, detectors, lasers, micromechanical systems, and bionano devices.

“The Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility will put highly sophisticated tools in the hands of researchers, providing critical support to the work of faculty in our Institute for Molecular Engineering, as well as offering new opportunities for inquiry in related areas,” says President Robert J. Zimmer. “I am deeply grateful to the Pritzkers, whose generosity will benefit the Institute for Molecular Engineering and the University, and enhance Chicago as a hub for discovery and innovation.”

“We believe the new nanofabrication facility holds great promise for breakthroughs that can transform fields of study and improve human life,” says Thomas J. Pritzker, on behalf of the Pritzker Foundation. “We understand that this kind of project can’t be done piecemeal. It takes a significant investment, and we believe this facility will be an important contribution to greater Chicago’s innovation ecosystem.”The gift brings the total Pritzker Foundation contribution in support of the Institute for Molecular Engineering to $25 million, including a 2011 gift recognized with the naming of the Institute’s directorship.

The William Eckhardt Research Center, a major new home for the physical sciences and molecular engineering located on Ellis Avenue, is scheduled to open in early 2015. It will house the Institute for Molecular Engineering, along with other faculty offices and laboratories for the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics.

The building was specially engineered to account for the particular needs of a large cleanroom. The creation of the Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility will fulfill the vision for a multidisciplinary, state-of-the-art facility that will provide distinct advantages.

“In size, in the variety of work it can support and in the technology of the toolset, the Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility will be a regional and national resource the day its doors open,” says Matthew Tirrell, the Pritzker Director of the Institute for Molecular Engineering. “Having a facility like this at the center of campus makes a powerful statement about the University’s commitment to these emerging fields of discovery.”

The Institute for Molecular Engineering will manage the facility, which it also will make available to researchers across the University, as well as to external users, including other institutions and industry.

The Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility will house a suite of tools that can fabricate complex, integrated electronic, mechanical, and fluidic structures. Work at the facility is expected to bridge the gap between academia and industry, leading to the creation of new nanotechnology applications. The scale of these applications can be as small as a few atoms.

One example of such an application would be a tiny, ultra-low power device that combines computation, communication, and storage capabilities. To do that, scientists will go beyond conventional electronics that move charges in electrical circuits to multifunctional quantum devices that manipulate the spins of electrons.

Another potential application of nanofabrication would be a device that can detect and count virus particles in blood

“Having a world-class nanofabrication facility on campus will dramatically enhance the capacity of the Institute for Molecular Engineering and change the dynamics of interactions with numerous departments, Argonne National Laboratory, and researchers at Northwestern University, the University of Illinois, and startup companies in Chicago,” says David Awschalom, the Liew Family Professor in Molecular Engineering.

“The cleanroom will serve as a common meeting ground for students in engineering, materials science, biology, physics, and chemistry; they will all work in the same facility, exploiting advanced fabrication capabilities to prototype new devices and technology concepts,” Awschalom adds. “Sharing tools and exchanging ideas among students and faculty within a multiuser facility will catalyze research projects, and help develop solutions to problems in their respective fields. This infrastructure will be extremely important to our experimental efforts in atomic-scale electronics, and its presence will drive new directions in quantum engineering.”

The Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility adds another key piece of infrastructure to a growing set of programs and venues that support scientists working at the intersection of basic scientific research and the innovation of new technologies.

University officials said that the new facility will complement the nanoscale research infrastructure already in place at Argonne National Laboratory. The new facility also will provide another key resource for scientists and entrepreneurs seeking to bring new discoveries to practical application through the recently opened Chicago Innovation Exchange

The Institute for Molecular Engineering was created at the University of Chicago in 2011, in partnership with Argonne National Laboratory. The Institute is designed to explore fundamental societal challenges such as safe drinking water, cancer prevention, and efficient energy storage, through advances in nanoscale manipulation and molecular design.

Since its founding, the Institute has recruited eight scientists of international stature on the way to a projected faculty of at least 24, as well as launching a PhD program and an undergraduate curriculum.

Precision Polymer Engineering Facility to Expand

Precision Polymer Engineering (PPE), a manufacturer of advanced elastomer O-rings and components, will open a new manufacturing site in Brenham, Texas later this year.

O-rings are used extensively in III-V MOCVD growth reactors and characterization equipment.

The ceremony, held on Wednesday, April 2nd, initiated the build of a 30,000 square foot facility which will be up and running by October. The new factory will specialize in the manufacture of custom O-rings and other critical elastomer sealing components to high quality standards and short delivery times.

The capabilities will include cleanroom facilities which will enable the manufacture to the exacting standards needed for semiconductor applications. The factory will also have its own tool making, extrusion and inspection facilities.

PPPE's materials, including their Endura brand, are suited for use in high temperature and high pressure applications. For other critical applications such as in the semiconductor industry, PPE’s Perlast range has the chemical and plasma resistance needed to assure the required performance and process cleanliness.

Paul Gillyon, managing director of PPE comments, "At PPE we strive to develop the most advanced materials for the most difficult applications. But on top of that, we operate our manufacturing so that we can be extraordinarily responsive to customers’ needs. We believe we have the fastest lead times and our customers tell us that our on-time delivery record is outstanding. We will reproduce all of these attributes in our Texas operation. We know that’s what our oil & gas customers need when the pressure is on their projects and we are

100 percent confident we can provide the necessary support to contribute to their success."

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