Rebuilt Feedthroughs

Rigaku rebuilds ferrofluid feedthroughs for all leading manufacturers and offers a warranty on rebuilt units. Most parts are stocked in inventory for fast turnaround. Learn More.

 

Rigaku Vacuum Products 

E-mail: vacuum-info@rigaku.com

Phone: 603-890-6001

From FlexTech Alliance for Displays & Flexible, Printed Electronics, www.flextech.org, February 8, 2012: "FLEXI nominations are open to all organizations involved with the flexible, printed electronics and  displays industry. The awards celebrate and recognize people, companies and organizations that are leading the development of this emerging industry with innovative and commercially viable technologies. Thin Film Electronics, PARC, Western Michigan University, and the Georgia Institute of Technology were recognized for significant contributions to innovation, R&D, and leadership in education. Awards were presented at the 11th Annual Flexible Electronics and Displays Conference held February 6- 9, 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona.

• Thin Film Electronics and PARC, a Xerox Company, were the combined recipients of the FLEXI Innovation Award.
• The Center for the Advancement of Printed Electronics (CAPE) at Western Michigan University was the recipient of the FLEXI R&D Award.
• The Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics (COPE) at the Georgia Institute of Technology was the recipient of the Technology Leadership in Education Award.

Michael Ciesinski, CEO of FlexTech Alliance said, 'These organizations are helping address technology gaps and drive the development of innovative products to the marketplace.' "

 

Source: Read the full article...

Flextech Alliance for Displays & Flexible, Printed Electronics:  http://flextech.org/au-news-detail.aspx?item=29263

Image:  Flextech Alliance for Displays & Flexible, Printed Electronics  

From RenewableEnergyWorld.com, January 27, 2012: "The sputtering process is the most important technique for material deposition in CIGS-manufacturing. With innovative sputtering targets CIGS producers can significantly reduce their production costs. Manufacturers of sputtering targets like PLANSEE High Performance Materials have two approaches to reduce CIGS module manufacturing costs: In order to lower the material consumption by a better target utilization PLANSEE introduced the new monolithic and dogbone rotary target designs. With MoNa the company offers a new material alloy that increases conversion efficiencies."

RenewableEnergyWorld.com: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/partner/plansee-se/news/article/2012/01/the-influence-of-sputtering-targets-on-the-manufacturing-costs-and-efficiency-of-cigs  

From Oak Ridge National Laboratory, February 21, 2012: "Solar cells, light emitting diodes, displays and other electronic devices could get a bump in performance because of a discovery at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory that establishes new boundaries for controlling band gaps.

While complex transition metal oxides have for years held great promise for a variety of information and energy applications, the challenge has been to devise a method to reduce band gaps of those insulators without compromising the material's useful physical properties.

 

The band gap is a major factor in determining electrical conductivity in a material and directly determines the upper wavelength limit of light absorption. Thus, achieving wide band gap tunability is highly desirable for developing opto-electronic devices and energy materials."

From NIST Material Measurement Laboratory, January 24, 2012: 

"Custom modifications of equipment are an honored tradition of the research lab. In a recent paper, two materials scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) describe how a relatively simple mod of a standard scanning electron microscope (SEM) enables a roughly 10-fold improvement in its ability to measure the crystal structure of nanoparticles and extremely thin films. By altering the sample position, they are able to determine crystal structure of particles as small as 10 nanometers. The technique, they say, should be applicable to a wide range of work, from crime scene forensics to environmental monitoring to process control in nanomanufacturing.

 

The technique is a new way of doing electron diffraction with an SEM. In standard SEM-based electron diffraction, the researcher analyses patterns that are formed by electrons that bounce back after striking atoms in the sample. If the sample is a crystalline material, with a regular pattern to the arrangement of atoms, these diffracted electrons form a pattern of lines that reveals the particular crystal structure or 'phase' and orientation of the material."

 

From The National Academies, Office of News and Public Information, January 25, 2012:  " Despite extensive investment in nanotechnology and increasing commercialization over the last decade, insufficient understanding remains about the environmental, health, and safety aspects of nanomaterials.Without a coordinated research plan to help guide efforts to manage and avoid potential risks, the future of safe and sustainable nanotechnology is uncertain, says a new report from the National Research Council.The report presents a strategic approach for developing research and a scientific infrastructure needed to address potential health and environmental risks of nanomaterials.  Its effective implementation would require sufficient management and budgetary authority to direct research across federal agencies."

Source: Read the full article...

The National Academies, Office of News and Public Information:  http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=13347  

From U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), February 7, 2012: "U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced today plans to launch a new Energy Innovation Hub for advanced research on batteries and energy storage with an investment of up to $120 million over five years. The hub, which will be funded at up to $20 million in fiscal year 2012, will focus on accelerating research and development of electrochemical energy storage for transportation and the electric grid.  The interdisciplinary research and development through the new Energy Innovation Hub will help advance cutting-edge energy storage and battery technologies that can be used to improve the reliability and the efficiency of the electrical grid, to better integrate clean, renewable energy technologies as part of the electrical system, and for use in electric and hybrid vehicles that will reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil."

Source: Read the full article...

Energy.gov: http://energy.gov/articles/energy-department-launch-new-energy-innovation-hub-focused-advanced-batteries-and-energy
Image: Wikipedia

From ElectroIQ, February 14, 2012, by James Montgomery: "After a punishing 2011 and expectations of a tough 2012, there will be a surge of demand for upgrading solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing equipment over the next few years, says IMS Research.

PV equipment sales are expected to sink by more than half in 2012, likely below the $6 billion range. (Some see tightness extending even into 2013.) But IMS has another take on the data: a v-shaped recovery that returns equipment spending to nearly 20% growth in both 2013 and 2014 and almost 40% in 2015. But with overcapacity still smothering new investments in production expansion, and with utilization rates at all-time lows, for now solar PV manufacturers will focus on upgrading and replacing aging equipment -- which IMS calculates as a $25 billion/20GW opportunity for equipment suppliers from now until 2016."

Source: Read the full article...

ElectroIQ.com: http://www.electroiq.com/articles/pvw/2012/february/solar-pv-equipment-replacements-to-ramp-from-2013-2016.html

Image: Stock photo

From Glass Magazine, January 24, 2012, Jenni Chase: "While overall construction levels will remain much the same this year, the spending picture will be slightly different, analysts say, with commercial building and multifamily housing trending upward and institutional building continuing to fall. How will this affect the glass industry in the coming year? Industry leaders representing all segments of the market-from float glass manufacturers, to fabricators, to glaziers, retailers, and suppliers- share their perspective in the individual stories..."

 

 

 

Source: Read the full article...

Glass Magazine: http://glassmagazine.com/www.glassmagazine.com/2012forecast

From Semiconductor Today, February 2012: "A novel material developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge is opening up new possibilities for next-generation electronic and optoelectronic devices, and paving the way for further component miniaturization.

Developed by Dr Andrew Flewitt's research team in the Department of Engineering's Electronic Devices & Materials Group, the new form of hafnium oxide provides higher dielectric constant compared with existing forms of hafnium oxide, which is already a key material in the electronics industry.

 

Normally, metal oxides are produced on substrates by sputtering (where some of the atoms of an electrode are ejected as a result of bombardment by heavy positive ions). However, one of the problems when attempting to make high-quality electronic materials through sputtering is the difficulty in precisely controlling the energetics of the deposition process, and hence the material properties such as defect density."

 

Source: Read the full article...

Semiconductor Today: http://www.semiconductor-today.com/news_items/2012/FEB/CAMBRIDGE_070212.html

New Nano-Material Combinations Produce Leap in Infrared Technology