High Tech Ceramics News articles from July 2003

High Tech Ceramics News archives from July 2003

INDUSTRY ANALYSIS: Ultrasonic Markets to Exceed $5 Billion.
July 1, 2003... Sound waves can travel through gases, liquids, and solids. The ability of a sound wave to travel through a particular medium depends on the frequency and amplitude of the sound wave and the properties of the material through which it travels....

PROCESSING AND TECHNOLOGIES Ceradyne Receives Commitments.
July 1, 2003... Ceradyne, Inc. recently announced that it received a multiyear commitment from its largest diesel engine components customer to purchase sintered reaction bonded silicon nitride (SRBSN) ceramic components for additional areas of its diesel...

Blue Line Receives ISO Certification.
July 1, 2003... Blue Line Corp. recently announced the receipt of its ISO 9001:2000 registration from Underwriters Laboratory. Blue Line is a manufacturer and distributor of inorganic chemicals, specializing in rare earth and zirconium products and a...

METROLOGY AND ANALYSIS Lithium Atoms Imaged.
July 1, 2003... For the first time researchers have used a transmission electron microscope-the One Angstrom Microscope (OM) at the Department of Energy's National Center for Electron Microscopy (NCEM) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory-to image lithium...

Bohlin Updates Rheology Software.
July 1, 2003... Bohlin Instruments, a world leader in the supply of laboratory rheometer and viscometer systems, has introduced a version of software for its rotational rheometers that greatly expands testing capabilities but also retains a simple user...

POWDERS AND NANO CERAMICS MIT Opens Nanotech Institute.
July 1, 2003... The Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies (ISN), a research collaboration between the United States Army and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, formally opened its doors on May 22, 2003, with a ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony in...

IBM Achieves Breakthrough.
July 1, 2003... In a joint effort between scientists from Columbia University and the University of New Orleans, IBM has announced a new 3-D designer material assembled from two different types of particles only billionths of a meter across. According to...

Nanomaterials Improve Photomask Finish.
July 1, 2003... Nanophase Technologies Corp. (Nasdaq: NNX) has developed new NanoArc nanomaterials that improve the surface finish of photomask blanks used for integrated circuit production. These nanomaterials extend the company's new line of nanostructed...

U.K. to Invest $150M in Nanotechnology Research.
July 1, 2003... The British government is injecting $150 million over the next 6 years to fund nanotechnology R&D and help commercialize the technology. The investment will support collaborative research and a new network of micro- and nanotechnology...

CARBON NANOTUBES: Technique Fastens Nanotech Commercialization.
July 1, 2003... Engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, have found an innovative way to grow silicon nanowires and carbon nanotubes directly on microstructures in a room temperature chamber, opening the doors to cheaper and faster...

ADVANCED GLASSES: Corning Top Supplier of Glass Substrates.
July 1, 2003... Corning, Inc. announced the world's first and only commercially available thin film transistor (TFT) grade Generation 6 glass substrates for active matrix liquid crystal displays (LCD). Initial capacity, being supplied out of Corning's...

BIOCERAMICS: The Plasti-Bone Heals Fractures.
July 1, 2003... "Everyone told us this was a crazy idea," says Tony Mulligan of Advanced Ceramics Research, Inc. (ACR, Tucson, AZ). "Only the Office of Naval Research said they'd take the chance. That was just five years ago." When an arm or a leg bone is...

Microscaffolding Shapes Prostheses.
July 1, 2003... In an operating room in Carle Hospital in Urbana, Illinois, on May 7, as scientists from the University of Illinois (UI) and Sandia National Laboratories watched, surgeon Michael Goldwasser fitted a highly unusual ceramic prosthetic device into...

FUEL CELLS: Cool Hydrogen Fuel Cells.
July 1, 2003... In recent years the interest in bringing this environmentally friendly technology to market has become intense. But there are problems: You can't "fill 'em up" with hydrogen at most corner gas stations. And fuel cell-based cars and computers...

Research Effort Improves Fuel Cells.
July 1, 2003... A joint research efforts by scientists from the Synergy Materials Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Nagoya and the Fine Ceramics Research Association (FCRA) have resulted in an...

DIAMOND FILM AND PRODUCTS Diamond and CBN Centerless Wheels.
July 1, 2003... Diamond and CBN abrasive grinding wheels today have replaced traditional grinding wheels in most progressive manufacturing environments because of their extreme efficiency. Abrasive Technology recently introduced its diamond and CBN centerless...

OPTICAL MATERIALS: Collaboration Develops Photomask Technology.
July 1, 2003... Schott Lithotec and Veeco Instruments have signed a joint development agreement (JDA) to focus on advanced photomask technology and particle reduction for next-generation photomask blanks. The research work will take place in New York State,...

Sensors Unlimited Wins Contract.
July 1, 2003... Sensors Unlimited, a manufacturer of indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) PIN, and avalanche photodiode arrays, has received a USAF contract for the first phase of a 33-month program to develop a high-frame-rate, high-bandwidth, low-noise,...

ELECTRONIC CERAMICS Cree Introduces New Blue LEDs.
July 1, 2003... Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE) has announced the introduction of its MegaBright Plus and XBright Plus blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The typical brightness level for the new MegaBright Plus device is approximately 30% higher than Cree's...

Kyocera Introduces "d.Blue".
July 1, 2003... Kyocera Solar Inc. announced the introduction of d.Blue, a photovoltaic module offering a breakthrough in energy conversion efficiency through a Kyocera-developed cell processing technology. Available with a maximum rated output of 167 watts...

Piezoelectric Pump For Notebook PC.
July 1, 2003... NEC Corp. today announced the development of the world's first slim-sized water-cooling module for notebook personal computers that employs a piezoelectric pump driving method. This water cooling-module enables a highly advanced, slim sized,...

Toshiba Transistor from HfSiON.
July 1, 2003... Toshiba Corp. developed a CMOS transistor that reduces gate leakage current to 1/1,000 that of conventional CMOS devices. The company replaced the silicon dioxide in the transistor gate dielectric with hafnium silicate oxide nitride (HfSiON), a...

Applied Materials Wins Award.
July 1, 2003... Applied Materials, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMAT) dielectric systems and modules received the prestigious Supplier Excellence Award from Texas Instruments (TI), an honor that is given annually to less than one1% of TI's suppliers. Applied Materials was...

GaN Continues to Thrive.
July 1, 2003... The worldwide growth and momentum for both markets and R&D activity relating to gallium nitride devices and materials has never been more robust, according to Silicon Valley market research firm Strategies Unlimited. In its newly released...

SUPERCONDUCTORS: AMSC Provides Converters to Navy.
July 1, 2003... American Superconductor Corp. (Nasdaq: AMSC) has announced the commercial launch of its new PM1000 PowerModule power converter line. The initial customer is Calnetix, a leader in high-speed motors and generators, who will use the PM1000 in a...

Universities Develop HTC Wire.
July 1, 2003... Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham has announced the selection of proposals from seven U.S. universities with world-class expertise in the field of high temperature superconductivity (HTS) research to augment existing efforts in developing HTS...

INDUSTRY NEWS: Spire, Marubeni Extend Photovoltaic Alliance.
July 1, 2003... Spire Corp. has renewed its technology licensing agreement for the manufacture and distribution of its solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing equipment with Marubeni Corp., a Japan-based global trading firm. The technology is provided by Spire...

Saint-Gobain,Toshiba Sign Agreement.
July 1, 2003... Saint-Gobain Ceramics & Plastics and Toshiba Ceramics and Nippon Electric Glass (NEG) have signed an agreement setting up a new capital structure for Toshiba Monofrax, a formerly 49/51 joint- venture between Saint-Gobain and Toshiba Ceramics in...

Air Products to Acquire Ashland Unit.
July 1, 2003... Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Electronic Chemicals business of Ashland Specialty Chemical (ASC) Co., a division of Ashland, Inc. Ashland's Electronic Chemicals business is an electronic...

Wafer Supplied Raises Funding.
July 1, 2003... Kyma Technologies, a supplier of gallium nitride substrate, has received $4 million in its Series B round of funding. The money is to be used to support commercialization, product development, and staffing, the company said. The company,...

CALENDAR.
July 1, 2003... September 7-9, 2003. 101st Annual Technical Meeting of the Canadian Ceramic Society, Holiday Inn Burlington, Burlington, Ontario, Canada. Contact: Canadian Ceramic Society, P.O. Box 6136, Westerville, OH 43086-6136; Tel: 614/890-4700, Fax:...