R & D articles from August 2008

R & D archives from August 2008

A changing of the guard.(EDITORIAL)
August 1, 2008... You might notice that the picture in the upper right-hand corner of this page isn't the same one you've come to recognize over the past 12+ years in R&D Magazine. During the past two months there has been a change in staff at R&D. Tim Studt has...

Microscopy drives analytical instrument changes: many different types of microscopes and applications are used in today's research laboratories, as shown by an R&D Magazine survey.(Cover story)
August 1, 2008... Microscopes are one of the researcher's most indispensable tools. More research labs contain microscopes than any other single research instrument. As pervasive as these instruments have become, the technology surrounding them continues to...

Extreme high resolution changes the SEM world: FEI's Magellan SEM provides higher resolutions at lower energy levels to create undistorted images of the next generation of semiconductor devices.(MICROSCOPY/IMAGE ANALYSIS)(scanning electron microscope)(Product/service evaluation)
August 1, 2008... Microscope manufacturers continue to push the limits of their instruments with new technologies. Developers at FEI Co., Hillsboro, Ore., Eindhoven, The Netherlands, and Bruno, Czech Republic, have created a new scanning electron microscope...

Information acquistion & processing in scanning probe microscopy: data processing advances have prompted a shift away from phase-sensitive detectors and growing interest in spectroscopic measurement techniques.(MICROSCOPY/IMAGE ANALYSIS)
August 1, 2008... Much of the imaging and spectroscopy capabilities of the existing 20,000+ scanning probe microscopes (SPMs) worldwide relies on specialized data processing that links the microsecond (and sometimes faster) time scale of cantilever motion to the...

Stereoscopic zoom microscopes.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... SMZ-445/460 stereoscopic zoom microscopes combine small size with high performance at a low cost for the industrial and OEM markets. These microscopes allow observation of a wide range of applications. The SMZ-445, with 0.8x to 3.5x zoom...

HD digital microscope camera.(Tools of the Trade)(high definition)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Microcast HD Studio is a medical grade, high definition digital microscope camera system for microscopy. This camera system has built in 1920 x 1080p image capture and has M PEG-4 progressive scan video recording...

3-D laser confocal microscope simplifies surface analysis.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The new Keyence VK-9700 Color 3-D Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope combines the capabilities of SEMs and non-contact profilometry with the simplicity of a conventional microscope. Major features include a 18,000x magnification and 0.001...

Automating the image-to-knowledge conversion process: converting our visual world into usable information and knowledge has been enhanced with new computer-aided software technologies to the great benefit of medical patients.(SOFTWARE)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... A picture, they say, is worth a thousand words. People perform this data-conversion process in every aspect of their lives to varying degrees of efficiency. But our relatively meager cognitive capabilities generally miss most of the real...

Test data management and visualization.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... DIAdem 11.0 is the latest version of the interactive software for managing, analyzing, and reporting test data. DIAdem 11.0 adds sensor data mapping for 3-D CAD models to simplify the visualization of high-channel-count systems. It also...

LIMS solutions for water, food, and petrochemical laboratories.(Tools of the Trade)(laboratory information management systems)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Three new market-specific LABWORKS laboratory information management systems (LIMS) packages address increasing regulatory and compliance pressures. The new packages are aimed at addressing the critical data management needs of customers in...

Diversity in MEMS processing.(MATERIALS SCIENCE/NANOTECHNOLOGY)(Microelectromechanical systems)
August 1, 2008... Diversity is good, but is more diversity better? Diversity enables a species to survive, it weeds out dead-end developments, and it's a source of seemingly infinite improvement. So is more better? Not always, at least from a...

Wafer loader capable of loading wafers as thin as 100 microns.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Nikon's new wafer loader NWL200 Series is the first line-up of wafer loaders capable of loading wafers as thin as 100 [micro]m. Using a new chuck system to transfer wafers, the NWL200 Series achieves highly reliable...

Material for electronics testing.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] With a flexural modulus in excess of 1,400,000 psi and extremely low moisture absorption of. 10%, Semitron MDS 100 solves engineering problems associated with uncontrolled application environments. Its low...

Electronic leak detector.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Restek introduces a new handheld electronic leak detector, designed with enhanced features for user convenience and reliable performance. The new unit includes a probe storage compartment, protective carrying/storage...

Warding off unnatural blackout disasters in labs: using a remote monitoring system for sensitive laboratory equipment results in time and money savings for analytical laboratories.(TEST, MEASUREMENT & ANALYSIS)
August 1, 2008... The first signs of springtime are generally welcomed in the Northeast. But for years, thoughts of warm sunshine, budding flowers, and singing birds were clouded over for Pete Borowski, senior systems engineer at Evans Analytical Group, with...

ADLINK launches 24-bit PCI DAQ for load cell measurements.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The PCI-9524 is a 24-bit high resolution PCI DAQ card for load cell measurements. Designed specifically as a single-board solution for material testing system (MTS) applications, the PCI-9524 integrates 24-bit load...

Wireless data acquisition system for point-to-point data acquisition.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The DRg011 wireless transmitter provides analog and contact closure data transmission to a companion DR9021 where the data is recovered. The analog data is recovered as two 4-20 mA outputs, and the switch data is provided by optically isolated...

IDM3000, a CANopen intelligent drive for 3 kW dynamic servo applications.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The IDM3000 is a 3 kW intelligent servo drive that embeds motion controller, drive, and PLC functionalities in the same unit. Based on the MotionChip technology, IDM3000 is specially designed for servo applications...