UMC, IME team on TSV process for image sensors

UMC, IME team on TSV process for image sensors

LONDON – The Institute of Microelectronics (IME) in Singapore and Taiwanese foundry United Microelectronics Corp. have agreed to develop jointly a through-silicon-via process for backside illuminated CMOS image sensors.

The resulting technology is expected to shrink the size of multi-megapixel image sensors found in mobile applications such as smart phones, digital cameras and tablet personal computers.

The collaboration will make use of IME's 300-mm TSV production line which includes capabilities in TSV wafer thinning, wafer bonding, redistribution layer (RDL) and bumping. It is targeting improved sensitivity in smaller pixel image sensors.

UMC (Hsinchu, Taiwan) did not indicate how quickly the collaboration would produce results or whether the process would be transferred to UMC wafer fabs.

"IME's capabilities and expertise in TSV integration will complement UMC's successful efforts for via-middle and via-last TSV on standard 28-nm CMOS and will be a valuable asset to help us extend our market and technology leadership in CMOS image sensor. This partnership is further affirmation of UMC's confidence in growing its activities in Singapore," said Po Wen Yen, senior vice president at UMC.


Related links and articles:

Chip executives see 20-nm variants, 3-D ICs ahead

GlobalFoundries installs gear for 20-nm TSVs

TSMC plans 3-D IC assembly launch early in 2013

TAG:image sensors UMC CMOS BSI IME Singapore semiconductor process foundry wafer

UMC, IME team on TSV process for image sensors

UMC, IME team on TSV process for image sensors

LONDON – The Institute of Microelectronics (IME) in Singapore and Taiwanese foundry United Microelectronics Corp. have agreed to develop jointly a through-silicon-via process for backside illuminated CMOS image sensors.

The resulting technology is expected to shrink the size of multi-megapixel image sensors found in mobile applications such as smart phones, digital cameras and tablet personal computers.

The collaboration will make use of IME's 300-mm TSV production line which includes capabilities in TSV wafer thinning, wafer bonding, redistribution layer (RDL) and bumping. It is targeting improved sensitivity in smaller pixel image sensors.

UMC (Hsinchu, Taiwan) did not indicate how quickly the collaboration would produce results or whether the process would be transferred to UMC wafer fabs.

"IME's capabilities and expertise in TSV integration will complement UMC's successful efforts for via-middle and via-last TSV on standard 28-nm CMOS and will be a valuable asset to help us extend our market and technology leadership in CMOS image sensor. This partnership is further affirmation of UMC's confidence in growing its activities in Singapore," said Po Wen Yen, senior vice president at UMC.


Related links and articles:

Chip executives see 20-nm variants, 3-D ICs ahead

GlobalFoundries installs gear for 20-nm TSVs

TSMC plans 3-D IC assembly launch early in 2013

TAG:image sensors UMC CMOS BSI IME Singapore semiconductor process foundry wafer

Display measurement standard debuts

Display measurement standard debuts

BOSTON, MA -- A display measurement standard has been released by the International Committee for Display Metrology and the Society for Information Display and includes procedures to quantify electronic display characteristics and qualities.

The International Display Measurement Standard is the culmination of years of effort by engineers and scientists across dozens of organizations to codify the science of display measurement, explain some of the difficulties associated with making measurements, and offer solutions to help make the measurements properly.

It was compiled by experts including display metrologists, electrical, mechanical, software and optical engineers, physicists, vision scientists, and many other display-related disciplines.

SID and the ICDM expect this document to continue to evolve over time, with updates, supplemental files, and other value-added content.

“The IDMS is the single most significant display measurement standard to be released in more than 10 years,” said incoming SID President, Brian Berkeley here at SID.

The IDMS is the follow-up to the Flat Panel Display Measurements Standard (version 2.0), used extensively by the industry since its publication by the VESA in 2001. The IDMS does not set performance standards, but gives guidance about how to measure displays.

An electronic version of the IDMS is downloadable.
TAG:Display Measurement Standard

Gregg Lowe, ex-TI exec, takes helm at Freescale

Gregg Lowe, ex-TI exec, takes helm at Freescale

WASHINGTON – Gregg Lowe, the former manager of the analog business at Texas Instruments, has been tapped as the next CEO and president of Freescale Semiconductor Inc., the company announced Tuesday (June 5).

Lowe, 49, previously served as a senior vice president at Dallas-based Texas Instruments where he managed the chip maker’s analog business. He replaced Rich Beyer, Freescale’s former chairman and CEO, who will remain on the board of Freescale (Austin, Texas).

The company also said J. Daniel McCranie has been appointed as a non-executive chairman of Freescale’s board of directors. “Gregg is a proven leader and his extensive semiconductor experience makes him uniquely qualified to build upon Freescale's strong foundation, leading the company to our next stage of growth,” McCranie said in a statement.



TAG:Freescale Semiconductor Gregg Lowe Rich Beyer Texas Instruments Analog TI CEO

Microsemi denies FPGAs have backdoor security flaw

Microsemi denies FPGAs have backdoor security flaw

LONDON – Microsemi Corp. has denied that there is a "backdoor" in its ProASIC3 FPGAs that would allow users or hackers to circumvent security features. However, the company has also disclosed that a next-generation of programmable devices with enhanced protection will be announced soon.

Microsemi (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) has published a statement following assertions made by academics in Cambridge, England, that they had extracted security keys from ProASIC FPGAs using their own Pipeline Emission Analysis (PEA) technique. The researchers' claim is sensitive because the ProASIC range of FPGAs is considered to be secure and is reportedly used widely in military systems as well as in flight control, industrial and automotive applications.

The researchers – Sergei Skorobogatov and Christopher Woods – of Cambridge University Computing Laboratory and Quo Vadis Labs – claimed that all Actel/Microsemi 3rd generation Flash FPGAs/SOCs including ProASIC3, Igloo, Fusion and SmartFusion have two official security keys and an undocumented backdoor key which allows access to undocumented security features. Actel, the original developer of the FPGA range, was acquired by Microsemi in 2010.

"The AES key can be extracted with DPA [differential power analysis] attacks within minutes and with PEA in less than a second. The passcode key would take years to extract with DPA attack methods, but PEA can extract it within hours," the researchers claimed in a statement published June 1.

The researchers went public ahead of a paper entitled Breakthrough silicon scanning discovers backdoor in military chip that they are due to present at a conference in September 2012.

Microsemi said in its response: "Microsemi has not been able to confirm or deny the researchers' claims since they have not contacted Microsemi with the necessary technical details of the set-up nor given Microsemi access to their custom-designed equipment for independent verification." The company continues: "Microsemi can confirm that there is no designed feature that would enable the circumvention of the user security."

Microsemi acknowledged that there is a privileged internal test facility that is typically used for initial factory testing and failure analysis but said that this feature is disabled on all shipped devices.

Microsemi stated in its response that it had anticipated increased DPA attacks and for this reason licensed the DPA countermeastures patent portfolio of Cryptology Research Inc. (San Francisco, Calif.) several years ago for use in a soon-to-be-announced next generation of programmable logic devices.


Related links and articles:

Cambridge researchers' statement

Microsemi response

News articles:

Microsemi buys Actel for $430 million

TAG:Quo Vadis Labs Cambridge University Cryptography Research Microsemi Cambridge FPGA ProASIC military securty semiconductor

GloFo, TSMC report process tech progress

GloFo, TSMC report process tech progress

SAN FRANCISCO – Globalfoundries reported progress ramping four flavors of its 28nm process and early work qualifying its 20 nm process and developing 3-D IC technology at the Design Automation Conference here. Its larger competitor TSMC also announced progress in the same three areas working in collaboration with Cadence Design Systems.

“We just passed shipment of 400,000 32/28 nm high-k metal gate wafers and we’re ramping rapidly,” said Mojy Curtis Chian, senior vice president of design enablement at Gobalfoundries in an interview with EE Times at DAC. “We have proved gate first works, is high yielding and economical,” he said.

The company has four flavors of its 28 nm process in various levels of readiness at its Fab 8 in New York. The low power version for mobile chips and a low cost polysilicon version without high-k metal gates are ready. First tapeouts are in progress for a high performance variant for networking and storage chips, and a version between the high performance and low power variants is in joint development with Samsung.

Globalfoundries estimates only about ten percent of its total 90,000 wafers/month capacity will come from its Fab 8 by the end of the year. But 12 months later that could expand to nearly a third of about 180,000 wafers/month as the foundry spends an estimated $3 billion in capital equipment this year.

Meanwhile at least three companies are about to participate in Globalfoundries’ first multi-process wafer to qualify its 20 nm process also in New York. The company expects to run several of the shuttles this year so it can start 20 nm production early in 2013 with tested third-party IP where needed.

Double patterning is required for any features with a pitch below 78 nm in the process. Designs will vary greatly from requiring double patterning on only one to as many as six layers.

“Typically in networking and high performance graphics you will use higher numbers of metal layers and higher numbers of minimum size features,” Chian said.

The extra processing and masks costs will slow broad adoption of the process. But leading-edge chip makers are aggressively pursuing the technology and broader adoption will come eventually, Chian said.

“Overall the life of 28nm will be longer [than the typical node] so the two technologies will coexist,” he said.
Next: TSMC steps ahead in 28, 20, 3-D
TAG:28 Nm 20 Nm 3 D ICs Double Patterning Globalfoundries TSMC Foundries Fabs DAC

In U.S. push, Japanese EDA vendor hits first DAC

In U.S. push, Japanese EDA vendor hits first DAC

SAN FRANCISCO— Jedat Inc., a successful Japanese vendor of high-performance analog and mixed signal EDA tools, is exhibiting at the Design Automation Conference (DAC) here for the first time in an effort to spur adoption in the U.S. amid the decline of the Japanese semiconductor industry.

Jedat is well entrenched in Japan as a supplier to Japanese chip companies. The firm spun out of Japan's Seiko Instruments Inc. in 2004.

But Japan's semiconductor industry has contracted in recent years through acquisitions and other consolidations and, more recently, the bankruptcy filing of Elpida Memories Inc. earlier this year. As a result, Jedat is seeking to strike up business among firms in the U.S. and elsewhere, accoridng to Kyosuke Kitagawa, vice president of international sales at the firm.

"With the Japanese semiconductor industry shrinking, we cannot expect to continue to show much growth [in Japan]," Kitagawa said.

As of now, Jedat has no presence in the U.S. The company plans to open its first U.S. sales and support office later this year in or around the Silicon Valley, Kitagawa said. The company currently has distribution partners in South Korea, Beijing, Shanghai, Taiwan and the west coast of the U.S.


Kyosuke Kitagawa, vice president of international sales at Jedat Inc., in the firm's booth at DAC.

TAG:Jadhat DAC Design

GloFo, TSMC report process tech progress

GloFo, TSMC report process tech progress

SAN FRANCISCO – Globalfoundries reported progress ramping four flavors of its 28nm process and early work qualifying its 20 nm process and developing 3-D IC technology at the Design Automation Conference here. Its larger competitor TSMC also announced progress in the same three areas working in collaboration with Cadence Design Systems.

“We just passed shipment of 400,000 32/28 nm high-k metal gate wafers and we’re ramping rapidly,” said Mojy Curtis Chian, senior vice president of design enablement at Gobalfoundries in an interview with EE Times at DAC. “We have proved gate first works, is high yielding and economical,” he said.

The company has four flavors of its 28 nm process in various levels of readiness at its Fab 8 in New York. The low power version for mobile chips and a low cost polysilicon version without high-k metal gates are ready. First tapeouts are in progress for a high performance variant for networking and storage chips, and a version between the high performance and low power variants is in joint development with Samsung.

Globalfoundries estimates only about ten percent of its total 90,000 wafers/month capacity will come from its Fab 8 by the end of the year. But 12 months later that could expand to nearly a third of about 180,000 wafers/month as the foundry spends an estimated $3 billion in capital equipment this year.

Meanwhile at least three companies are about to participate in Globalfoundries’ first multi-process wafer to qualify its 20 nm process also in New York. The company expects to run several of the shuttles this year so it can start 20 nm production early in 2013 with tested third-party IP where needed.

Double patterning is required for any features with a pitch below 78 nm in the process. Designs will vary greatly from requiring double patterning on only one to as many as six layers.

“Typically in networking and high performance graphics you will use higher numbers of metal layers and higher numbers of minimum size features,” Chian said.

The extra processing and masks costs will slow broad adoption of the process. But leading-edge chip makers are aggressively pursuing the technology and broader adoption will come eventually, Chian said.

“Overall the life of 28nm will be longer [than the typical node] so the two technologies will coexist,” he said.
Next: TSMC steps ahead in 28, 20, 3-D
TAG:28 Nm 20 Nm 3 D ICs Double Patterning Globalfoundries TSMC Foundries Fabs DAC

In U.S. push, Japanese EDA vendor hits first DAC

In U.S. push, Japanese EDA vendor hits first DAC

SAN FRANCISCO— Jedat Inc., a successful Japanese vendor of high-performance analog and mixed signal EDA tools, is exhibiting at the Design Automation Conference (DAC) here for the first time in an effort to spur adoption in the U.S. amid the decline of the Japanese semiconductor industry.

Jedat is well entrenched in Japan as a supplier to Japanese chip companies. The firm spun out of Japan's Seiko Instruments Inc. in 2004.

But Japan's semiconductor industry has contracted in recent years through acquisitions and other consolidations and, more recently, the bankruptcy filing of Elpida Memories Inc. earlier this year. As a result, Jedat is seeking to strike up business among firms in the U.S. and elsewhere, accoridng to Kyosuke Kitagawa, vice president of international sales at the firm.

"With the Japanese semiconductor industry shrinking, we cannot expect to continue to show much growth [in Japan]," Kitagawa said.

As of now, Jedat has no presence in the U.S. The company plans to open its first U.S. sales and support office later this year in or around the Silicon Valley, Kitagawa said. The company currently has distribution partners in South Korea, Beijing, Shanghai, Taiwan and the west coast of the U.S.


Kyosuke Kitagawa, vice president of international sales at Jedat Inc., in the firm's booth at DAC.

TAG:Jadhat DAC Design

How To Select a Authentic Designer Handbags in a World Full of Replicas? Fashion Designer

To most of women in this planet, a excellent man or far more is the ultimate goal of her adore expertise, and a designer handbag or much more are the should-have item in her material desire list. For rich females, they have no issue when it comes to acquiring a lot of designer handbags. But for several other, they have to save quite a lengthy time to spoil themselves with a very good brand handbag. So the skills to tell fake from original is important for them when selecting a authentic handbags in this planet full of replicas.

Here ijust share some a couple of facts  i learn from my bloody road to the authentic handbag world. Hope they will assist you with your next designer handbag acquire.

1. I would advise you to 1st of all look out for an authenticity card. Many designers like Fendi, Burberry, Gucci and Prada contain authenticity cards with their merchandise. These cards have easy data that is clear to see. Details about your designer handbag such as the model number plus a magnetic strip or bar code. If the designer handbag you purchased has an inside pocket, you will discover your authenticity card in there.

2. Furthermore, some Fendi designer handbags come with their authenticity cards packaged in a sealed foil bag. You will find Prada enclose their cards in modest individual envelopes with the Prada logo at the front. You will discover that 1 is comparable to a Credit Card with a magnetic strip on the back and Prada written on the front. The other card has the item details plus the style number.

3. Any fashion item with a designer label is costly due to the value that has been built into the name of that designer over a couple of years. Just the name of a designer leaves a certain impression in our minds. When I say Gucci Indy handbag, what springs to your mind. Low-cost, ordinary and tasteless? Totally not! You envision a woman with style, wealth and sophistication carrying a designer bag that attracts envious stares and regular complements. A woman who is not afraid to be the center of attention. Consequently, if the designer handbag you want to acquire is at a cost that looks to good to be true, then it most likely is.

4. You will discover that most authentic designer handbags have a signature logo on them. Authentic Prada handbags have a triangle metal logo attached to the front or side of their handbags. Authentic Fendi handbags have the inter-twining double F design about their merchandise. Burberry has the signature plaids with a brown background. Gucci have the signature G splashed all over their bags. If you notice a designer handbag with a funny seeking logo, then this really should right away flash a red flag in your mind.

five. As your authentic designer handbag collection grows, you will notice that most designer handbags will have their signature brand name monogram lining. This is true for Louis Vuitton handbags, Gucci purses, Prada handbags and Fendi purses. This is just a way for the designers to differentiate their merchandise from their competitors.

6. This designer monogram is woven into the fabric. You cannot uncover this with fake luxury bags. The linings are usually smooth, silky and in some situations are even satin. The color of the lining depends on the outer color of the handbag and they constantly compliment each and every other. The lining on fake bags is normally a stiff fabric and no attention to detail is paid to the lining.

7. Finally, if you are acquiring a bag from a downtown roadside shop, then do not expect an authentic designer handbag. If the designer handbag is as cheap as chips, then do not expect to get an authentic designer handbag. If there is no logo to show that you are a purchasing a designer leather handbag or designer purse from Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Fendi or Burberry then you are surely purchasing a fake.

How To Select a Authentic Designer Handbags in a World Full of Replicas? Fashion Designer

TAG:

Video: Five ways to get an edge in Indycar

Video: Five ways to get an edge in Indycar

On the IndyCar circuit, rules determine strategy. Engines, gearboxes, and chassis must be acquired through prescribed suppliers and are strictly governed. Innovations involving electronics and aerodynamics are also tightly controlled.

Still, engineering matters. Even while operating within the tight constraints of the rules, race teams can make the difference between victory and defeat. By designing and building reliable vehicles with the right electronic, aerodynamic, and mechanical features, engineers can customize the car to the course and driver and provide a competitive edge.

Although IndyCar vehicles are governed by strict rules that limit technological advantages,
race teams say that engineering still plays a big role.
(Source: Littelfuse)
TAG:Automotive Electronics IndyCar

Video: Five ways to get an edge in Indycar

Video: Five ways to get an edge in Indycar

On the IndyCar circuit, rules determine strategy. Engines, gearboxes, and chassis must be acquired through prescribed suppliers and are strictly governed. Innovations involving electronics and aerodynamics are also tightly controlled.

Still, engineering matters. Even while operating within the tight constraints of the rules, race teams can make the difference between victory and defeat. By designing and building reliable vehicles with the right electronic, aerodynamic, and mechanical features, engineers can customize the car to the course and driver and provide a competitive edge.

Although IndyCar vehicles are governed by strict rules that limit technological advantages,
race teams say that engineering still plays a big role.
(Source: Littelfuse)
TAG:Automotive Electronics IndyCar

ST packages MEMS microphones in plastic

ST packages MEMS microphones in plastic

LONDON – STMicroelectronics NV has claimed it is the first company that has mass-produced MEMS microphones in plastic packages. ST has patented a technology development that allows this while, at the same time, saves space and increases durability, the company said.

Typical applications are mobile phones and tablet computers, noise-level meters and noise-cancelling headphones.

ST's plastic-packaged MEMS, soon to arrive on the market, measure 2-mm by 2-mm. This gives rise to the possibility of embedding silicon membrane microphones inside silicon cavities in other devices, the company said.

ST's MEMS microphones are suitable for assembly on flat-cable printed-circuit boards and the package technology allows the sound-hole to be in either the top or the bottom of the package. Top-port packaging tends to suit applications in laptops and tablet computers, while bottom-port microphones are more suitable for mobile phones, ST said.

Compression and drop test show that the plastic-packaged microphones are more durable than traditional metallic-lid devices. When subjected to 40-newtons force microphones in metallic packages collapsed whereas ST microphones in plastic packages did not. Similarly when devices in both categories were exposed to 40 drops from a height of 1.5 meters with a static force of 15N applied on the package. The superior robustness holds for both flat-cable printed-circuit boards (PCB) and traditional rigid PCB designs.

The plastic-package microphones integrate an internal shielding cage for electromagnetic immunity and are compatible with standard surface-mount assembly machinery and conventional pick-and-place equipment.


Related links and articles:

VTT claims silicon MEMS microphone progress

InvenSense opens up process to enable fabless MEMS

Slideshow: MEMS in the midnight sun

ST works with startup on 'permanent' in-ear audio

TAG:ST packages MEMS microphones plastic semiconductr silicon

ST packages MEMS microphones in plastic

ST packages MEMS microphones in plastic

LONDON – STMicroelectronics NV has claimed it is the first company that has mass-produced MEMS microphones in plastic packages. ST has patented a technology development that allows this while, at the same time, saves space and increases durability, the company said.

Typical applications are mobile phones and tablet computers, noise-level meters and noise-cancelling headphones.

ST's plastic-packaged MEMS, soon to arrive on the market, measure 2-mm by 2-mm. This gives rise to the possibility of embedding silicon membrane microphones inside silicon cavities in other devices, the company said.

ST's MEMS microphones are suitable for assembly on flat-cable printed-circuit boards and the package technology allows the sound-hole to be in either the top or the bottom of the package. Top-port packaging tends to suit applications in laptops and tablet computers, while bottom-port microphones are more suitable for mobile phones, ST said.

Compression and drop test show that the plastic-packaged microphones are more durable than traditional metallic-lid devices. When subjected to 40-newtons force microphones in metallic packages collapsed whereas ST microphones in plastic packages did not. Similarly when devices in both categories were exposed to 40 drops from a height of 1.5 meters with a static force of 15N applied on the package. The superior robustness holds for both flat-cable printed-circuit boards (PCB) and traditional rigid PCB designs.

The plastic-package microphones integrate an internal shielding cage for electromagnetic immunity and are compatible with standard surface-mount assembly machinery and conventional pick-and-place equipment.


Related links and articles:

VTT claims silicon MEMS microphone progress

InvenSense opens up process to enable fabless MEMS

Slideshow: MEMS in the midnight sun

ST works with startup on 'permanent' in-ear audio

TAG:ST packages MEMS microphones plastic semiconductr silicon

Researchers develop easy way to measure power

Researchers develop easy way to measure power

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS in Erlangen, Germany, have developed a space-saving metering unit that can be clipped onto a power cable like a laundry peg, without even having to disconnect the load.

The new "energy analyzer" was developed in collaboration with Rauschert GmbH – a manufacturer of advanced ceramic products that require energy-intensive production processes. The research project was funded by the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Transport and Technology as part of its microsystems technology program.

Until recently, large-scale industrial energy users in Germany have benefited from reduced tax rates on the electricity and gas they consume. Now the German government has decided that companies will only be eligible for such tax breaks if they take steps to reduce their energy consumption. From 2013 onward, tax rebates will only be granted to companies equipped with an energy management system that provides details of their power consumption. This won’t be an easy task for the companies concerned, because it means they will have to install individual auxiliary meters to monitor the power consumption of individual loads such as presses and welding machines, or bakers' ovens, or electric motors. And in many cases the metering instruments currently available on the market are too large to fit into existing power distribution cabinets.

The new device is based on the Hall-in-One 3-D magnetic field sensor originally developed by IIS for use in Bosch- and Siemens-branded washing machines, where it monitors the position and orientation of the rotating drum.

"This new device is the first application in which we have used our 3-D magnetic-field sensor technology to measure the magnetic field generated by an electric current as a means of determining the energy consumed by the connected load. As such, it is an entirely novel approach," said IIS research scientist Michael Hackner.

To build the device, he and his team of qualified engineers mounted eight sensors, in the form of application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), on a flexible, flat circuit board. What sets these sensors apart from more conventional designs is that they measure the magnetic field not only perpendicular to the surface of the chip but also in tangential directions, which improves measurement accuracy. The recorded data are transmitted to a microcontroller, which forwards them to a central processor via a gateway switch.

"Our power sensor is quick to install and can be integrated online," said Hackner, citing one of the advantages of the new product.

Hackner goes on to emphasize another unique design feature, namely the fact that it functions in the same way as a Rogowski coil, a component incorporated in many standard instruments used to measure electrical currents. "But the Rogowski coil only measures alternating current, whereas the IIS sensor can also measure direct current – an important consideration when measuring the power consumption of photovoltaic systems that include solar inverters for converting DC output into AC power."

The metering device is cheap to build. And because the IIS researchers have not used any magetizable materials in its design, there are no accuracy errors from this source – a recurring problem with other clamp-on amp meters that cease to function correctly after a short-circuit. Another advantage is that, unlike clamp ammeters, the new device can also measure voltages. In short, users now have an all-in-one instrument capable of measuring all the parameters they need to monitor the quality of the grid supply in addition to the power consumption. Michael Müller, head of energy management systems at Rauschert GmbH, provided an example: "The new device helps us to rapidly identify production problems. We can immediately detect irregularities in the firing process and avoid having to scrap a whole batch of ceramics." He intends to set up an energy-management consulting service for other plants in the group and equip them with the new measurement system.

The sensor devices can even be installed in the power utility's medium-voltage network (20 kV). As a result of the German Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG), there are now a large number of small and medium-sized electricity producers feeding energy into the grid, without being obliged (or able) to inform the energy provider exactly how much power is flowing on a specific line at any given time, and in what direction.

"The grid capacity could be utilized much more efficiently if detailed measurement data were available," affirmed Hacker and Müller. The two experts reckon there is huge market potential for this application: In Bavaria alone, the 20-kV distribution network contains tens of thousands of transformer stations, which could be equipped with the new, low-cost device without having to temporarily disconnect the stations or the transmission lines from the grid. A prototype measuring system for low-voltage networks has already been developed.

The working prototype was built by Loewe Opta GmbH, who will also be manufacturing the final system.

More information about the metering unit can be found at:
www.fraunhofer.de/en/press/research-news/2012/may/the-quick-and-easy-way-to-measure-power-consumption.html

This article comes courtesy of EE Times Europe


Related links and articles:

Smart meters wait on home net specification

Wireless power system for portable electronics

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TAG:Fraunhofer power meter

Half-billion-dollar Nanosolar raises $70 million

Half-billion-dollar Nanosolar raises $70 million

LONDON – Nanosolar Inc., a company founded in 2002 to pursue the roll-to-roll printing of CIGS (copper, indium, gallium, selenium) photovoltaics on aluminum foil, has raised $70 million.

It is not clear whether this is in addition to, or includes, a $20 million funding announced in February 2012. However, the company has taken in close to $500 million, including a $300 million round in 2008, since its formation.

The latest funding will be used to expand production, support R&D and drive faster commercialization of technology, the company said. The round was funded by current and new investors, including OnPoint Technologies, Inc., Mohr Davidow Ventures, and Ohana Holdings LLC.

Nanosolar (San Jose, Calif.) claims to have the technology to produce the lowest-cost thin-film solar panels. It minimizes the use of expensive high-vacuum manufacturing equipment but still allows solar cells and panels to reach efficiencies competitive with crystalline silicon panels. The company has achieved lab-tested top cell efficiency of 17.1 percent as certified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

"Nanosolar has proven that it continues to effectively execute on its product roadmap and has established itself as a provider of world-class solar solutions," said Eugenia Corrales, CEO of Nanosolar, in a statement.

"We strongly believe in Nanosolar's technology and the company's ability to deliver the most cost-efficient solar electricity for utility scale and defense installations," said John Trbovich, of Arsenal Venture Partners, the manager of OnPoint Technologies Inc.


Related links and articles:

www.nanosolar.com

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Heliatek pushes organic solar cell efficiency higher

Stion begins PV shipments from Hattiesburg factory

Thin-film solar startup raises $130 million

TSMC could make solar modules in Europe

TAG:Nanosolar CIGS photovoltaics roll to roll semiconductor solar

Tiempo, ST announce 32-nm asynchronous design flow

Tiempo, ST announce 32-nm asynchronous design flow

LONDON – Tiempo SAS (Grenoble, France), a fabless developer of clockless IP cores, has been working with STMicroelectronics NV to produce a fully clockless circuit in 32-nm CMOS. The two companies are touting asynchronous digital design as a way to avoid the harshest constraints imposed on clocked digital design by process variability.

The 32-nm asynchronous test chip, built using Tiempo's delay-insensitive technology, includes Tiempo's asynchronous 16-bit microcontroller (TAM16), and was functional through an extended voltage range in all the corners of the process, independent of the wafer position and observed process variability, the company said.

The chip was designed using ST's 32-nm design platform which now includes an asynchronous cell library jointly developed by CEA-Leti and Tiempo. The test chip was modeled in System Verilog and synthesized with Tiempo's asynchronous circuit compiler, then placed-and-routed using standard back-end tools.

Designers of traditional clocked circuits have to allow significant margins to ensure the chip will be functional, sometimes to the extent that for certain sub-circuits hardly any die area can be saved over the previous production node.

"Our clockless approach solves these issues as every chip operates at its optimal speed depending on silicon and manufacturing characteristics," said Serge Maginot, CEO of Tiempo, in a statement. Maginot said Tiempo would expand to more advanced nodes. He added that clockless circuits could also provide important feedback to developers for technology performance characterization and for calibration of EDA tools used for clocked digital design.

"The extreme simplicity of integrating the TAM16 microcontroller on an advanced CMOS process using industry-standard EDA tools has proven the robustness of Tiempo's design approach," said Robin Wilson, R&D design department manager at ST, in the same statement. "Furthermore TAM16 operates across a very wide voltage range, without any additional design effort."

"ST's collaboration with Tiempo is now yielding valuable 32-nm silicon feedback; the results validate our assumptions concerning the application of asynchronous design techniques to enable accurate silicon characterization of advanced CMOS processes," said Philippe Magarshack, corporate vice president of design at STMicroelectronics.


Related links and articles:

www.tiempo-ic.com

News articles:

Tiempo works on DPA-resistant cryptographic cores

French asynchronous design startup raises $6.9 million

Startup to demo synthesis of asynchronous logic at DAC

TAG:Tiempo asynchronous clockless design TAM16 microcontroller MCU semiconductor EDA design process manufacturing

Half-billion-dollar Nanosolar raises $70 million

Half-billion-dollar Nanosolar raises $70 million

LONDON – Nanosolar Inc., a company founded in 2002 to pursue the roll-to-roll printing of CIGS (copper, indium, gallium, selenium) photovoltaics on aluminum foil, has raised $70 million.

It is not clear whether this is in addition to, or includes, a $20 million funding announced in February 2012. However, the company has taken in close to $500 million, including a $300 million round in 2008, since its formation.

The latest funding will be used to expand production, support R&D and drive faster commercialization of technology, the company said. The round was funded by current and new investors, including OnPoint Technologies, Inc., Mohr Davidow Ventures, and Ohana Holdings LLC.

Nanosolar (San Jose, Calif.) claims to have the technology to produce the lowest-cost thin-film solar panels. It minimizes the use of expensive high-vacuum manufacturing equipment but still allows solar cells and panels to reach efficiencies competitive with crystalline silicon panels. The company has achieved lab-tested top cell efficiency of 17.1 percent as certified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

"Nanosolar has proven that it continues to effectively execute on its product roadmap and has established itself as a provider of world-class solar solutions," said Eugenia Corrales, CEO of Nanosolar, in a statement.

"We strongly believe in Nanosolar's technology and the company's ability to deliver the most cost-efficient solar electricity for utility scale and defense installations," said John Trbovich, of Arsenal Venture Partners, the manager of OnPoint Technologies Inc.


Related links and articles:

www.nanosolar.com

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Thin-film solar startup raises $130 million

TSMC could make solar modules in Europe

TAG:Nanosolar CIGS photovoltaics roll to roll semiconductor solar

Tiempo, ST announce 32-nm asynchronous design flow

Tiempo, ST announce 32-nm asynchronous design flow

LONDON – Tiempo SAS (Grenoble, France), a fabless developer of clockless IP cores, has been working with STMicroelectronics NV to produce a fully clockless circuit in 32-nm CMOS. The two companies are touting asynchronous digital design as a way to avoid the harshest constraints imposed on clocked digital design by process variability.

The 32-nm asynchronous test chip, built using Tiempo's delay-insensitive technology, includes Tiempo's asynchronous 16-bit microcontroller (TAM16), and was functional through an extended voltage range in all the corners of the process, independent of the wafer position and observed process variability, the company said.

The chip was designed using ST's 32-nm design platform which now includes an asynchronous cell library jointly developed by CEA-Leti and Tiempo. The test chip was modeled in System Verilog and synthesized with Tiempo's asynchronous circuit compiler, then placed-and-routed using standard back-end tools.

Designers of traditional clocked circuits have to allow significant margins to ensure the chip will be functional, sometimes to the extent that for certain sub-circuits hardly any die area can be saved over the previous production node.

"Our clockless approach solves these issues as every chip operates at its optimal speed depending on silicon and manufacturing characteristics," said Serge Maginot, CEO of Tiempo, in a statement. Maginot said Tiempo would expand to more advanced nodes. He added that clockless circuits could also provide important feedback to developers for technology performance characterization and for calibration of EDA tools used for clocked digital design.

"The extreme simplicity of integrating the TAM16 microcontroller on an advanced CMOS process using industry-standard EDA tools has proven the robustness of Tiempo's design approach," said Robin Wilson, R&D design department manager at ST, in the same statement. "Furthermore TAM16 operates across a very wide voltage range, without any additional design effort."

"ST's collaboration with Tiempo is now yielding valuable 32-nm silicon feedback; the results validate our assumptions concerning the application of asynchronous design techniques to enable accurate silicon characterization of advanced CMOS processes," said Philippe Magarshack, corporate vice president of design at STMicroelectronics.


Related links and articles:

www.tiempo-ic.com

News articles:

Tiempo works on DPA-resistant cryptographic cores

French asynchronous design startup raises $6.9 million

Startup to demo synthesis of asynchronous logic at DAC

TAG:Tiempo asynchronous clockless design TAM16 microcontroller MCU semiconductor EDA design process manufacturing

Cheap Designer Clothes- Find Secondhand Ann Taylor Clothes And Other Designer Labels Fashion Designer

I bought my initial Ann Taylor dress when I was 22 years old and I have been hooked ever because! It was a genuinely cute, navy blue, coat dress. I was so ready for my first interviews, following graduating from college. Oh and did I mention that my mom paid .00 for that awesome interview dress. Nicely, it was ok for my mom to pay that considerably for 1 small dress. Nevertheless, when I started working, I decided there had to be a much better way to get designer clothes. I began looking thrift stores and outlets for high top quality, inexpensive designer clothes. Now, many…many years later. ( Your funny..I will not tell you Precisely how a lot of years later and give my age away…no way) Anyway, today I am an professional at finding inexpensive designer clothes.

Three HOT SPOTS for locating recycled Ann Taylor and other Inexpensive designer clothes labels.

HOT SPOT 1: Thrift stores have a Enormous amount of Ann Taylor as well as any other fashion labels that you can imagine. Given that the closing of numerous Ann Taylor stores, I have observed a considerable improve in brand new, with tags still on, Ann Taylor clothes deposited in thrift stores. Did the stores get a tax break for donating a specific percentage of their clothes? I truly don’t know. I honestly do not even care. Nevertheless, I do know that the Ann Taylor clothes are there and in abundance. It is not uncommon to locate Ann Taylor clothing at 75% off retail! Hurry..

HOT SPOT 2: Consignment stores also are amazing for discovering designer fashions. Even so, you will pay considerably far more than at a thrift store. Consignment shops are selling designer labels for close to 35% off retail. This is certainly not poor and you will invest a lot less time hunting for low cost designer clothes at your nearby consignment shop. The clothes are consistently of greater high quality and the stores are more organized.

HOT SPOT 3: Online Thrift stores! Yes, they in fact do have thrift stores on the internet. Here, you will reap the identical benefit of paying between 50-75% off retail as your local thriftique. The added bonus is that you can shop in the comfort of your own property and miss the hustle and bustle of your neighborhood thrift store. Just google…inexpensive designer clothes
and check out the list and compare the prices and the selections.

Low-cost designer clothes at thrift stores, consignment shops and online thrift stores….Have Enjoyable!

Wait! One last tip.. For top quality, secondhand Ann Taylor at the lowest costs, pay a visit to my on the web boutique at http://www.designerclothesforcheap.com.

 

Cheap Designer Clothes- Find Secondhand Ann Taylor Clothes And Other Designer Labels Fashion Designer

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Starting career with apparel fashion design courses Fashion Designer

Change is the essence of life, if the change is for excellent reason and brings lots of rejuvenation to ones life then one ought to welcome such change in his or her life with wide open arms…..

We all know that fashion changes rapidly according to the trends and taste of people. Fashion is the word which means self confidence and satisfaction. Fashion has its own definition to any fashionable individual….. as becoming fashionable is one’s selection and its a mirror to ones own personality.

Talking about the education and courses in this field, it is regarded as as one of the most exhilarating and difficult career possibilities in today’s world. In a country like India, where textile and garment industries have been flourishing for ages, the recent boom in fashion designing &amp textile market has led to innovation and new prospects in the existing sphere of garment and accessory design. If you have a inclination for creativity, style and novelty, a career in fashion designing can be ideal for a person who likes to do experiment and who is innovative. On 1 hand, the fashion industry satisfies both the creative fancies and the materialistic requirements of the men and women, on the other hand it promises glamour, fame, success and high pay packages.

But yes, no doubt its challenging career because fashion designers require to combine their imagination with administrative abilities to continue and sustain in this business and the competition is tough, therefore, if you can make magic with lots of hue, imaginative designs and distinctive trendy shapes &amp sizes just get hold of appropriate professional abilities to begin a productive career in this field.

There are many career scopes for the students who enter to this business. A qualified fashion designer can work in areas like designer wear production, planning and idea management, fashion marketing and advertising, design production management, fashion stylist, fashion media, top quality control, fashion accessory style and promotion of brands.

All the capable students can also uncover jobs as costume designer, fashion consultant, personal stylist, technical designer, graphic designer, production pattern maker, fashion coordinator, apparel production manager, fabric buyer, fabric top quality control manager, and show room sales representative, illustrator, cutting assistant, fashion photographer, fashion journalist and public relation executive in this market.

Self-employment is an essential feature of Fashion Designing course students interested in establishing their own company &amp goodwill can also become entrepreneurs and open their own firms.

After this many export houses, garment store chains, textile mills, leather organizations, boutiques, fashion show organizers, jewelry houses and media houses gives them proposals for long term associations.

The students can classify their region of interest and match it with their aptitude even though deciding on the specialization provided in different areas of Fashion Designing. There should be a single minded approach for finally picking the certain course, as being a wi de field it is some times quite challenging for students to get focused. So accurate approach is essential for deciding on the region of their proficiency.

Starting career with apparel fashion design courses Fashion Designer

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Imec looks at variability issue beyond 10 nm

Imec looks at variability issue beyond 10 nm

PARIS – CMOS technology scaling will go on for the foreseeable future but, as we enter the 10nm node, process complexity reduction and variability control will become crucial and drive technology decisions, said An Steegen, senior vice president process technology at Imec, at the annual Imec Technology Forum last week at the Square meeting center in Brussels, Belgium.



TAG:IMEC Imec Technology Forum Brussels Variability CMOS Technology Scaling FinFET Planar

Commercial space race heats up in Dragon's wake

Commercial space race heats up in Dragon's wake

WASHINGTON – The successful conclusion of the first commercial supply mission to the International Space Station this week also prompted a wave of announcements from a growing list of commercial space companies vying for NASA contracts and space tourist customers.

Most notably, the normally secretive Blue Origin startup launched by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos disclosed on Thursday (May 31), the same say a SpaceX spacecraft returned from a supply mission to the space station, that it had completed a NASA review of its proposed orbital spacecraft. Blue Origin (Kent, Wash.) and others are competing with SpaceX for a NASA commercial crew contract.

Rob Meyerson, Blue Origin’s president, said in a statement that the review means the company can moved ahead to complete is rocket and spacecraft designs. The company is proposing a reusable rocket and a “biconic” spacecraft that would be upright at launch but oriented horizontally for reentry. The horizontal orientation would give the spacecraft the same “lifting body” properties used for reentry by the winged space shuttle.

Blue Origin's rocket during an aborted flight test last year just before ground controllers destroyed it at about 45,000 feet after the vehicle encountered "flight instability."

Another competitor for the NASA contract, Sierra Nevada Corp. (Louisville, Colo.) said this week it had completed “captive carry” test of its Dream Chaser vehicle. A full scale version of the spacecraft was carried aloft to gauge flight characteristics as part of a NASA test program. The company said it expects to being autonomous approach and landing tests later this summer at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

Steve Lindsey, a former astronaut and chief of NASA’s astronaut office, heads Sierra Nevada flight test program.

XCOR Aerospace (Mojave, Calif.), which is developing a rocket-power aircraft that would take tourists to the edge of space, said last week that its proprietary liquid oxygen piston pump is ready to be used in the main engine of XCOR’s Lynx suborbital spacecraft. XCOR said completion of fuel pump testing is the last step before integrating the main propulsion system with the Lynx vehicle. The company said last fall that flight testing could begin as early as this fall.

XCOR was founded in 1999 by former Intel executive Jeff Greason.

This week’s series of commercial space announcements came after SpaceX successfully sent its Dragon cargo ship to the International Space Station. The spacecraft carrying a return cargo splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Thursday. The successful first test flight to the space station gives SpaceX and its founder, Elon Musk, a big head start in the competition to fly cargo and crews to the station as part of NASA commercial crew program.

Another competitor, Orbital Sciences (Dulles, Va.) is scheduled to test its Antares rocket later this year from a new launch complex at Wallops Island, Va. A test flight with a cargo ship that will attempt to dock with the space station could come as early as 2013, the company said.

TAG:International Space Station Commercial Space Blue Origin Sierra Nevade Orbital Sciences SpaceX XCOR NASA XCOR Space

Commercial space race heats up in Dragon's wake

Commercial space race heats up in Dragon's wake

WASHINGTON – The successful conclusion of the first commercial supply mission to the International Space Station this week also prompted a wave of announcements from a growing list of commercial space companies vying for NASA contracts and space tourist customers.

Most notably, the normally secretive Blue Origin startup launched by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos disclosed on Thursday (May 31), the same say a SpaceX spacecraft returned from a supply mission to the space station, that it had completed a NASA review of its proposed orbital spacecraft. Blue Origin (Kent, Wash.) and others are competing with SpaceX for a NASA commercial crew contract.

Rob Meyerson, Blue Origin’s president, said in a statement that the review means the company can moved ahead to complete is rocket and spacecraft designs. The company is proposing a reusable rocket and a “biconic” spacecraft that would be upright at launch but oriented horizontally for reentry. The horizontal orientation would give the spacecraft the same “lifting body” properties used for reentry by the winged space shuttle.

Blue Origin's rocket during an aborted flight test last year just before ground controllers destroyed it at about 45,000 feet after the vehicle encountered "flight instability."

Another competitor for the NASA contract, Sierra Nevada Corp. (Louisville, Colo.) said this week it had completed “captive carry” test of its Dream Chaser vehicle. A full scale version of the spacecraft was carried aloft to gauge flight characteristics as part of a NASA test program. The company said it expects to being autonomous approach and landing tests later this summer at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

Steve Lindsey, a former astronaut and chief of NASA’s astronaut office, heads Sierra Nevada flight test program.

XCOR Aerospace (Mojave, Calif.), which is developing a rocket-power aircraft that would take tourists to the edge of space, said last week that its proprietary liquid oxygen piston pump is ready to be used in the main engine of XCOR’s Lynx suborbital spacecraft. XCOR said completion of fuel pump testing is the last step before integrating the main propulsion system with the Lynx vehicle. The company said last fall that flight testing could begin as early as this fall.

XCOR was founded in 1999 by former Intel executive Jeff Greason.

This week’s series of commercial space announcements came after SpaceX successfully sent its Dragon cargo ship to the International Space Station. The spacecraft carrying a return cargo splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Thursday. The successful first test flight to the space station gives SpaceX and its founder, Elon Musk, a big head start in the competition to fly cargo and crews to the station as part of NASA commercial crew program.

Another competitor, Orbital Sciences (Dulles, Va.) is scheduled to test its Antares rocket later this year from a new launch complex at Wallops Island, Va. A test flight with a cargo ship that will attempt to dock with the space station could come as early as 2013, the company said.

TAG:International Space Station Commercial Space Blue Origin Sierra Nevade Orbital Sciences SpaceX XCOR NASA XCOR Space

Arizona display center develops 7.4-inch protoype OLED

Arizona display center develops 7.4-inch protoype OLED

MANHASSET, N.Y. -- The Flexible Display Center (FDC) at Arizona State University in conjunction with U.S. Army Research Labs scientists have developed a 7.4-inch OLED prototype device using mixed oxide thin film transistors (TFTs).

FDC's research meets a critical target set by the Defense Department to advance the development of full-color, full-motion video flexible OLED displays for use in thin, lightweight, bendable and highly rugged devices.

Mixed oxide TFTs can be manufactured on existing amorphous silicon production lines, eliminating the need for specialized equipment and processing, thereby reducing costs compared to competitive approaches.

"One of the primary directives of the FDC has been to pursue approaches to flexible technologies that take advantage of existing manufacturing processes," said Nick Colaneri, director of the FDC, in a statement.

"This focus drove us to pursue a flexible, color display based on mixed-oxide TFTs, which are widely regarded as a strong, cost-effective alternative to low-temperature polysilicon."

The full-color OLED display will be at SID Display Week, June 5-7, 2012 in Boston.

The FDC government/industry/academia partnership was formed as a 10-year cooperative agreement with Arizona State University in 2004.

TAG:FDC ASU OLED

Arizona display center develops 7.4-inch protoype OLED

Arizona display center develops 7.4-inch protoype OLED

MANHASSET, N.Y. -- The Flexible Display Center (FDC) at Arizona State University in conjunction with U.S. Army Research Labs scientists have developed a 7.4-inch OLED prototype device using mixed oxide thin film transistors (TFTs).

FDC's research meets a critical target set by the Defense Department to advance the development of full-color, full-motion video flexible OLED displays for use in thin, lightweight, bendable and highly rugged devices.

Mixed oxide TFTs can be manufactured on existing amorphous silicon production lines, eliminating the need for specialized equipment and processing, thereby reducing costs compared to competitive approaches.

"One of the primary directives of the FDC has been to pursue approaches to flexible technologies that take advantage of existing manufacturing processes," said Nick Colaneri, director of the FDC, in a statement.

"This focus drove us to pursue a flexible, color display based on mixed-oxide TFTs, which are widely regarded as a strong, cost-effective alternative to low-temperature polysilicon."

The full-color OLED display will be at SID Display Week, June 5-7, 2012 in Boston.

The FDC government/industry/academia partnership was formed as a 10-year cooperative agreement with Arizona State University in 2004.

TAG:FDC ASU OLED

MEMS-based tennis racquet enhances playing experience

MEMS-based tennis racquet enhances playing experience

PARIS – Motion sensing and gesture recognition company Movea SA and tennis equipment manufacturer Babolat said they have developed a motion sensing enabled racquet to analyze game play and improve performances. The first “Babolat Play & Connect” racquet prototype was demonstrated at the ongoing 2012 French Open tennis tournament in Roland Garros stadium in Paris.




TAG:Smart Motion Babolat Movea Tennis Racquet MEMS Data

MEMS-based tennis racquet enhances playing experience

MEMS-based tennis racquet enhances playing experience

PARIS – Motion sensing and gesture recognition company Movea SA and tennis equipment manufacturer Babolat said they have developed a motion sensing enabled racquet to analyze game play and improve performances. The first “Babolat Play & Connect” racquet prototype was demonstrated at the ongoing 2012 French Open tennis tournament in Roland Garros stadium in Paris.




TAG:Smart Motion Babolat Movea Tennis Racquet MEMS Data

2012 chip sales still down on 2011, says analyst

2012 chip sales still down on 2011, says analyst

CAMBRIDGE, England – Global chip sales for April 2012 are likely to be reported at about 5 percent lower than the same month in 2011, according to Bruce Diesen, an analyst at Carnegie Group (Oslo, Norway).

Diesen is referring to actual chip sales rather than the three-month average of February, March and April, which will soon be published by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics organization. A 5 percent decline year-on-year in April would be similar to February and March figures, Diesen said.

If this occurs it would result in a three-month average of about $23.3 billion in April, steady versus the March figure.

"PC production stayed soft in April, due to a shortage of disk drives from Thailand. Tablet production was probably strong. Handset chips probably improved in April. Base station chips seem to be picking up in Q2," said Diesen.

Diesen is sticking to his previous prediction for world semiconductor sales in 2012 of a 2 percent increase in dollars compared with 2011.




TAG:Bruce Diesen Carnegie world semiconductor chip sales

InvenSense opens up process to enable fabless MEMS

InvenSense opens up process to enable fabless MEMS

CAMBRIDGE, England – InvenSense Inc. (Sunnyvale, California), a supplier of motion tracking components based on MEMS technology, has announced that it is opening up the use of its proprietary MEMS manufacturing process for use by others on a licensing basis.

InvenSense recently announced that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. and Globalfoundries Inc. are now dual-source suppliers of its own CMOS-MEMS components. InvenSense is now offering third party developers the option to include designs on the NF-Shuttle.

This allows emerging MEMS developers to focus on innovation in design rather than spending time working on specialized fabrication development and process transfer to a foundry.

The InvenSense NF-Shuttle is a silicon CMOS-MEMS platform where mask costs are split amongst multiple users on the same mask set. This approach reduces production costs and provides an opportunity to verify prototypes in silicon. The initial shuttle test run took place in January and was offered to participants from University of California Berkeley, U.C Davis, Stanford University and other institutions. InvenSense's second shuttle was scheduled for May 30, with an increased number of selected participants.

InvenSense is offering space on the third shuttle, slated to begin processing on Dec. 5, 2012.

"At InvenSense, we are committed to seeing the proliferation of MEMS products on our proprietary fabrication platform not only in inertial sensors but also in resonators, microphones, switches, pressure sensors, RF tuners, etcetera," said Steve Nasiri founder and CEO of InvenSense, in a statement. "We have found there are many companies and universities that have brilliant ideas yet they need to spend as much as 60 to 80 percent of their time and development resources on MEMS-related fabrication due to lack of any viable off-the-shelf processes. With our platform it is now possible to bring innovative MEMS products to market much faster and at significantly lower costs," he added.


Related links and articles:

www.invensense.com

News articles:

InvenSense names Globalfoundries, TMSC as dual-source MEMS makers

Murata wants to build from MEMS to Internet of Things

Slideshow: MEMS in the midnight sun

TAG:InvenSense Nasiri process MEMS shuttle semiconductor

EE Times Live Stream @ DAC 2012

EE Times Live Stream @ DAC 2012

MONDAY
Adam Kablanian – CEO, Memoir Systems
Al Steier – Associate, Munro & Associates
Frank Schirrmeister – Sr. Director, Product Marketing, Cadence
Gary Smith – EDA Analyst, Gary Smith EDA
Greg Lebsack – President, Tanner EDA
John Heinlein – VP of Marketing, Physical IP Division, ARM
Steve Leibson - Director of Marketing, Cadence
Richard Goering - Senior Manager of Technical Communications, Cadence
+ MORE!

TUESDAY
Joe Hupcey – Director of Product Management, Cadence
Dan Kochpatcharin – Deputy Director, IP Portfolio Marketing, TSMC
Mike Muller – CTO, ARM
Josh Friedrich – Senior Technical Staff Member, IBM Server & Technology Group
Paul Cunningham – Senior Group Director of Engineering, Cadence
Leon Stok – VP of EDA, IBM
Dipesh Patel – Deputy General Manager, Physical IP Division, ARM
Ana Hunter – VP, Foundry at Samsung Semiconductor
Steve Glaser – SVP, Corporate Strategy & Marketing, Xilinx
Martin Lund –SVP, Cadence
+ MORE

WEDNESDAY
Gary Patton – VP, Semiconductor Research & Development, IBM
Chi-Ping Hsu – SVP, Research & Development, Cadence
Dr. Sam Appleton- SVP & General Manager, RTL Business Unit, Apache Designs
Sanjiv Taneja – VP, Encounter Test, Cadence
Pete Hardee – Marketing Director, Cadence
Steve Bailey – Director of Emerging Technologies, Mentor Graphics
Raul Camposano – CEO, Nimbic
Vic Kulkarni – General Manager & SVP, Apache Design
Wilbur Luo – Sr. Group Director, Product Management & Marketing, Cadence
+ MORE
TAG:EE Times Live Stream @ DAC 2012

FDC at ASU develops 7.4 in novel protoype OLED

FDC at ASU develops 7.4 in novel protoype OLED

MANHASSET, NY -- The FDC at Arizona State University in conjunction with Army Research Labs scientists have developed a 7.4 inch OLED prototype device using mixed oxide thin film transistors (TFTs).

Research at the Flexible Display Center meets a critical target set by the U.S. Department of Defense to advance the development of full-color, full-motion video flexible OLED displays for use in thin, lightweight, bendable and highly rugged devices.

Mixed oxide TFTs can be manufactured on existing amorphous silicon production lines, eliminating the need for specialized equipment and processing, thereby reducing costs compared to competitive approaches.

"One of the primary directives of the FDC has been to pursue approaches to flexible technologies that take advantage of existing manufacturing processes," said Nick Colaneri, director of the FDC, in a statement.

"This focus drove us to pursue a flexible, color display based on mixed-oxide TFTs, which are widely regarded as a strong, cost-effective alternative to low-temperature polysilicon."

The full-color OLED display will be at SID Display Week, June 5-7, 2012 in Boston.

The FDC government/industry/academia partnership was formed as a 10-year cooperative agreement with Arizona State University in 2004.
TAG:FDC ASU OLED

FDC at ASU develops 7.4 in novel protoype OLED

FDC at ASU develops 7.4 in novel protoype OLED

MANHASSET, NY -- The FDC at Arizona State University in conjunction with Army Research Labs scientists have developed a 7.4 inch OLED prototype device using mixed oxide thin film transistors (TFTs).

Research at the Flexible Display Center meets a critical target set by the U.S. Department of Defense to advance the development of full-color, full-motion video flexible OLED displays for use in thin, lightweight, bendable and highly rugged devices.

Mixed oxide TFTs can be manufactured on existing amorphous silicon production lines, eliminating the need for specialized equipment and processing, thereby reducing costs compared to competitive approaches.

"One of the primary directives of the FDC has been to pursue approaches to flexible technologies that take advantage of existing manufacturing processes," said Nick Colaneri, director of the FDC, in a statement.

"This focus drove us to pursue a flexible, color display based on mixed-oxide TFTs, which are widely regarded as a strong, cost-effective alternative to low-temperature polysilicon."

The full-color OLED display will be at SID Display Week, June 5-7, 2012 in Boston.

The FDC government/industry/academia partnership was formed as a 10-year cooperative agreement with Arizona State University in 2004.
TAG:FDC ASU OLED

FDC at ASU develops 7.4 in novel protoype OLED

FDC at ASU develops 7.4 in novel protoype OLED

MANHASSET, NY -- The FDC at Arizona State University in conjunction with Army Research Labs scientists have developed a 7.4 inch OLED prototype device using mixed oxide thin film transistors (TFTs).

Research at the Flexible Display Center meets a critical target set by the U.S. Department of Defense to advance the development of full-color, full-motion video flexible OLED displays for use in thin, lightweight, bendable and highly rugged devices.

Mixed oxide TFTs can be manufactured on existing amorphous silicon production lines, eliminating the need for specialized equipment and processing, thereby reducing costs compared to competitive approaches.

"One of the primary directives of the FDC has been to pursue approaches to flexible technologies that take advantage of existing manufacturing processes," said Nick Colaneri, director of the FDC, in a statement.

"This focus drove us to pursue a flexible, color display based on mixed-oxide TFTs, which are widely regarded as a strong, cost-effective alternative to low-temperature polysilicon."

The full-color OLED display will be at SID Display Week, June 5-7, 2012 in Boston.

The FDC government/industry/academia partnership was formed as a 10-year cooperative agreement with Arizona State University in 2004.
TAG:FDC ASU OLED

Asahi Glass to demo 0.1mm glass laminate at SID

Asahi Glass to demo 0.1mm glass laminate at SID

MANHASSET, NY -- At next week’s Society for Information Display exhibition manufacturer of glass, chemicals and high-tech materials AGC will showcase carrier glass on which to laminate its 0.1 mm-thick ultra-thin glass for next-generation displays and various other applications.

AGC has developed the technology to laminate ultra-thin glass onto 0.5mm carrier glass enabling circuit formation and other processing of ultra-thin glass without having to alter existing production facilities.

Carrier glass and ultra-thin glass are laminated via a special bonding layer that makes the laminated substrate highly resistant to heat.The carrier glass prevents the ultra-thin glass from coming into direct contact with processing equipment to prevent defects such as scratches, and can be easily de-laminated after processing.

Tokyo-based Asahi Glass Company was founded in 1907 and was the first Japanese company to produce sheet glass. Highlights of its recent FY2012 first quarter financial results show net sales at 285.4 bil. yen (about $3.64 billion). The results also state that "while shipments in the glass and chemicals business segments increased mainly in Japan and Asia, the Group’s sales and profits fell, affected by price decline in electronics-related products."

SID 2012 is being held in Boston next week June 3 to 8, and AGC is one of the exhibitors.
TAG:Asahi Glass SID

Asahi Glass to demo 0.1mm glass laminate at SID

Asahi Glass to demo 0.1mm glass laminate at SID

MANHASSET, NY -- At next week’s Society for Information Display exhibition manufacturer of glass, chemicals and high-tech materials AGC will showcase carrier glass on which to laminate its 0.1 mm-thick ultra-thin glass for next-generation displays and various other applications.

AGC has developed the technology to laminate ultra-thin glass onto 0.5mm carrier glass enabling circuit formation and other processing of ultra-thin glass without having to alter existing production facilities.

Carrier glass and ultra-thin glass are laminated via a special bonding layer that makes the laminated substrate highly resistant to heat.The carrier glass prevents the ultra-thin glass from coming into direct contact with processing equipment to prevent defects such as scratches, and can be easily de-laminated after processing.

Tokyo-based Asahi Glass Company was founded in 1907 and was the first Japanese company to produce sheet glass. Highlights of its recent FY2012 first quarter financial results show net sales at 285.4 bil. yen (about $3.64 billion). The results also state that "while shipments in the glass and chemicals business segments increased mainly in Japan and Asia, the Group’s sales and profits fell, affected by price decline in electronics-related products."

SID 2012 is being held in Boston next week June 3 to 8, and AGC is one of the exhibitors.
TAG:Asahi Glass SID

Slideshow: Pinpoint splashdown ends first visit to space station

Slideshow: Pinpoint splashdown ends first visit to space station

WASHINGTON – The Dragon cargo ship that last week became the first commercial spacecraft to visit the International Space Station floated back to Earth just before noon eastern time on Thursday (May 31), splashing down on target in the Pacific Ocean several hundred miles west of Baja California.

The end of the historic mission came at 11:42 a.m. EDT, according to NASA and spacecraft builder Space Exploration Technologies Inc. (SpaceX, Hawthorne, Calif.). Navy recovery ships equipped with infrared cameras showed Dragon’s three main parachutes deploy on schedule after space station astronauts released Dragon early Thursday morning. Dragon then performed several thruster burns to slowly move away from the space station. Hours later it performed a 9-minute “de-orbit” burn over the Indian Ocean and jettisoned its “trunk” equipment module, signaling the beginning of the end of successful nine-day mission.

Splashdown was “pretty much right on target,” a NASA spokesman said.

Dragon was docked to the space station for just over five days.

After delivering its cargo of more than 1,000 pounds of nonessential equipment, clothing and food to the space station after docking last week (May 25), Dragon demonstrated a new commercial capability that NASA has lacked since the end of the shuttle program last July: The ability to return cargo to Earth from the space station. SpaceX officials said they expect to deliver scientific experiments to NASA within 48 hours of splashdown. Other supplies will be delivered to the space agency once the spacecraft has been secured at a SpaceX facility in Texas.

The successful end of the first U.S. commercial cargo flight to the space station ushers in a new era of spaceflight that will allow NASA to shift its focus on deep space missions. SpaceX said earlier this week that its next Falcon 9 rocket has been delivered to Cape Canaveral for the next cargo flight to the space station later this year.

What follows is a recap of Dragon’s first flight to the International Space Station.



The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon cargo ship blasts off from Cape Canaveral on May 22. The first launch attempt was aborted days earlier when computers sensed a faulty valve in one of the Falcon 9's main engines.

TAG:Space Exploration Technologies Inc Commercial Space Elon Musk Space Station Cargo Mission SpaceX NASA

Slideshow: Pinpoint splashdown ends first visit to space station

Slideshow: Pinpoint splashdown ends first visit to space station

WASHINGTON – The Dragon cargo ship that last week became the first commercial spacecraft to visit the International Space Station floated back to Earth just before noon eastern time on Thursday (May 31), splashing down on target in the Pacific Ocean several hundred miles west of Baja California.

The end of the historic mission came at 11:42 a.m. EDT, according to NASA and spacecraft builder Space Exploration Technologies Inc. (SpaceX, Hawthorne, Calif.). Navy recovery ships equipped with infrared cameras showed Dragon’s three main parachutes deploy on schedule after space station astronauts released Dragon early Thursday morning. Dragon then performed several thruster burns to slowly move away from the space station. Hours later it performed a 9-minute “de-orbit” burn over the Indian Ocean and jettisoned its “trunk” equipment module, signaling the beginning of the end of successful nine-day mission.

Splashdown was “pretty much right on target,” a NASA spokesman said.

Dragon was docked to the space station for just over five days.

After delivering its cargo of more than 1,000 pounds of nonessential equipment, clothing and food to the space station after docking last week (May 25), Dragon demonstrated a new commercial capability that NASA has lacked since the end of the shuttle program last July: The ability to return cargo to Earth from the space station. SpaceX officials said they expect to deliver scientific experiments to NASA within 48 hours of splashdown. Other supplies will be delivered to the space agency once the spacecraft has been secured at a SpaceX facility in Texas.

The successful end of the first U.S. commercial cargo flight to the space station ushers in a new era of spaceflight that will allow NASA to shift its focus on deep space missions. SpaceX said earlier this week that its next Falcon 9 rocket has been delivered to Cape Canaveral for the next cargo flight to the space station later this year.

What follows is a recap of Dragon’s first flight to the International Space Station.



The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon cargo ship blasts off from Cape Canaveral on May 22. The first launch attempt was aborted days earlier when computers sensed a faulty valve in one of the Falcon 9's main engines.

TAG:Space Exploration Technologies Inc Commercial Space Elon Musk Space Station Cargo Mission SpaceX NASA