The Dutch High Tech Systems (HTS) industry is a major global contributor to the development in fields of technology such as mechatronics, precision engineering, embedded systems, microsystems and nanotechnology. Technology already in use worldwide today, and innovative solutions for tomorrow. Dutch HTS provides the
latest news, company profiles, jobs, events, who is who in the Dutch high tech
industry, and what is happening worldwide.
05/18/12 Samsung researchers propose graphene 'barristor'
A research team from the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology in Korea has proposed a novel three-terminal device that could overcome previous problems integrating graphene into circuits. The term barristor comes from running together "variable barrier transistor." Graphene, an atomic monolayer form of carbon, has attracted much attention because it offers about 200 times higher electron mobility than silicon. However, until recent disclosures about semiconducting graphene monoxide, graphene and its derivatives had only existed as conductors and insulators. The metallic nature of graphene and its high conductivity were accompanied by a lack of hysterisis and no mechanism to switch conduction off. Read more
05/17/12 ASMI's founder open to split up
Arthur del Prado, the founder of ASM International who holds about 20 percent of the Dutch semiconductor equipment maker, is open to splitting up the group, analysts and a paper reported on Wednesday, sending shares to a six-week high. ASMI has been at war with some investors since 2006 over its valuation, as its 52 percent stake in ASM Pacific Technology has consistently been worth more than ASMI's market capitalisation - currently about 500 million euros ($639 million) more. A change in the founder's position, which has until now been to resist changing the current structure, could create majority support to break up the group. Read more
05/16/12 Audi opens li-ion battery competence center
Carmaker Audi has launched an R&D center dedicated to high-voltage lithium-ion batteries. With the move the company highlights the significance of electric driving for its future strategy. The competence center - Audi calls it a "project house" - is located near the company's headquarters in Ingolstadt, Germany. About 100 engineers and electronics experts work at the facility which covers some 3500 square meters. According to Audi, the basic concept for the competence center is to promote close collaboration between all disciplines involved in high-voltage battery technology. Read more
05/16/12 Clean4Yield officially launched [IBS-PE]
The EU-funded Clean4Yield project that targets contamination and defect control in roll-to-roll organic electronics production has been officially launched on May 1, 2012. Coordinated by Holst Centre/TNO, the three-year project brings together commercial and research partners from Europe and Israel to tackle one of the most pressing issues in organic electronics – ensuring high enough yields for cost-effective manufacturing. To this end, the partners will develop new technologies for inspecting, cleaning and repairing moving foils, and detecting and preventing defects in large-scale roll-to-roll production of OLED’s and OPV’s. Read more
05/15/12 Intel details 10nm, 7nm, 5nm roadmap
Semiconductor giant Intel has revealed its roadmap for process technologies, which will see 10nm, 7nm and 5nm released beginning in 2015. In semiconductor manufacturing, process is king: the term refers to how chip designs are shrunk from their giant human-viewable schematics down to teeny-tiny production parts with components several times thinner than a human hair. The better a company's process, the smaller the final chip; the smaller the final chip, the better the performance. Smaller process nodes also mean more chips from a particular silicon wafer, albeit tempered with the usual yield problems as issues with new process nodes are ironed out. Read more
05/15/12 Philips intends to sell its Speech Processing business to Invest AG
Royal Philips Electronics today announced that it intends to sell its Speech Processing business to Invest AG, a private equity fund of the Raiffeisen Banking Group Upper Austria. Financial details of the proposed transaction will not be disclosed. The transaction, which is subject to the advice of the works council and customary regulatory filings, is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2012. Read more
05/15/12 European semiconductor industry continues going green
Thirteen semiconductor manufacturing companies in Europe today unveiled the launch of a European project to further cut their industry’ energy and water consumption footprint by 10% , after already having reduced it by half over the last decade. The project, called “Semiconductor Industry Leading towards Viable Energy Recovery” and codenamed SILVER, has a duration of 3 years and targets the development and assessment of innovative and comprehensive approaches to reduce the environmental impact of semiconductor manufacturing processes. Read more
05/15/12 Imec and Holst Centre report single-chip ethylene sensor to monitor fruit ripening [Holst Centre]
Imec and Holst Centre have demonstrated a single-chip electrochemical sensor for ethylene monitoring with a detection limit of 200-300ppb (parts per billion). The solution enables small-size and low-cost ethylene detection systems applicable in the fruit distribution and retail sector. Ethylene is a gaseous plant hormone, produced by fruit, and responsible for the ripening of fruit. It is also sprayed in high concentrations (around 1,000 ppm) in the warehouse, to force fruit to ripen, so it is ready to eat when it reaches consumers. Inexpensive and accurate ethylene sensors would enable better control of that process, and allow the distribution sector and retailers to avoid waste. Read more
05/15/12 NXP Powers NFC in Samsung GALAXY S III [NXP]
NXP has announced that its PN65 Mobile Transactions solution will power the Samsung GALAXY S III bringing a new concept of human-centric mobile experience. The highly anticipated Samsung GALAXY S III is the successor of the Samsung GALAXY S II. The Samsung GALAXY S III will incorporated a 4.8 inch display, a 8MP camera and a quad-core processor. Powered by Google’s Android™ 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, the GALAXY S III supports secure NFC applications, such as wallets being launched by mobile network operators, card associations and other such as Google’s Wallet. Read more
05/11/12 Prowise brings high technology to the classroom and beyond
Prowise, a young and innovative company that specialises in touch hard -and software solutions, has developed a unique series of LED multi touch monitors custom designed for educational purposes. Prowise is the first to offer a 4-point multi-touch monitor for an affordable price. Their anti glare glass and sunlight resistant multi touch screens deliver powerful performance thanks to the built-in modular Intel Core i5 PC. The screens come with wireless networking and an optional DVD module. By taking advantage of the latest in touch technology, they achieve an optimal performance for writing and interacting with the screen. In the last year Prowise has positioned itself as the market leader for educational multi-touch screens in the Netherlands. Read more
05/10/12 Qualcomm and Samsung form wireless power alliance
Mobile technology companies Qualcomm and Samsung Electronics have announced the formation of the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP). The mission of the organization is to promote global standardization of wireless power transfer for the charging of consumer electronic equipment. The A4WP will focus on a new wireless power transfer technology that provides spatial freedom for charging electrical devices in cars, on tabletops and for charging multiple devices simultaneously, Qualcomm said. Companies joining Qualcomm and Samsung in the AW4P include: Ever Win Industries, Gill Industries, Peiker, Powermat Technologies, and SK Telecom. Read more
05/10/12 UK opens Europe's largest robotics laboratory
Two UK universities have opened the largest robotics laboratory in Europe as the UK government announced a £16m boost for research. The Bristol Robotics Lab is a partnership between UWE Bristol (University of the West of England) and the University of Bristol. It is home to 70 academics and businesses who are leading current thinking in 'nouvelle' and service robotics, intelligent autonomous systems and bio-engineering. Over £1.65 million has been spent on the new facilities which cover 2,400 sqm, with over 300 metres of specialised laboratory space and two Flying Arenas. Read more
05/10/12 KeyTec and ECN cooperate on extreme heat load component fabrication (Dutch article)
ECN heeft een extreem thermo-shock bestendig materiaal voor kernfusietoepassingen ontwikkeld dat met spuitgieten wordt vormgegeven. KeyTec en ECN hebben deze maand een licentieovereenkomst getekend waardoor KeyTec via dit proces hoogwaardige materialen (hoogsmeltend en slijtvast) kan maken en leveren. Wolfraam en Molybdeen zijn poedermetallurgische materialen die optimaal blijven tijdens extreme warmtebelasting. ECN heeft een poedermetallurgische variant van het spuitgiettechnologie proces ontwikkeld voor de productie van wolfraam componenten, die onder extreme warmtebelastingen superieure eigenschappen vertonen. Lees meer
05/09/12 A “New” New York State of Mind
Empire State Building redefines New York City skyline with Philips LED lighting
Globally recognized as an engineering marvel and symbol of New York City, the Empire State Building (ESB) has selected Philips as its partner to transition the building’s iconic tower lights to innovative LED’s. The two organizations have pushed the boundaries of LED technology to develop a state-of-the-art dynamic lighting system from Philips Color Kinetics that is unique to ESB and will allow the building’s façade and mast to change lighting scenes in real-time. In addition to greater control and management of the lighting, the new system will deliver the superior light levels for the design, as well as allow ESB to highlight its architectural details. Read more
05/08/12 Fraunhofer makes mini-projector for smartphones
Researchers at the German research institution Fraunhofer have developed an array of hundreds of microprojectors that can be used to project images from smartphones and similar small devices. The array enables the design of slim LED projection systems which nevertheless offer bright images even on curved screens. The projector consists of hundreds of tiny microprojectors in an array, each of which generates a complete image. The optics were manufactured on wafers containing around 300 chips, each in turn housing 200 lenses for the microprojectors. Read more
05/08/12 RIM selects TomTom HD Traffic
TomTom today announced that Research In Motion (RIM) will be using TomTom's real-time traffic services for BlackBerry® applications. BlackBerry® Traffic is now powered by TomTom HD Traffic, giving customers access to the most accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date traffic information on the market. Additionally, TomTom maps and location content is used in BlackBerry® Maps, and for BlackBerry® Locate Services, which gives 3rd party software developers access to the mapping and traffic information for their own apps. Read more
05/07/12 HYET Solar buys Helianthos
Nuon today announced the sale of all Helianthos assets to HYET Solar. HYET Solar B.V.i.o. wants to further develop the Helianthos technology with a team of 15-20 employees, with the intention of bringing Helianthos’ flexible solar cell foil to market on a large scale. The auctioning of the individual parts of the business of Helianthos had already been finished when a final agreement was reached with HYET Solar. Nuon had reserved the right of allotment after auctioning Helianthos’ business assets, to keep the option of relaunch open as long as possible. HYET Solar is a new company within a group of existing technology companies. Read more
05/07/12 Sagantec buys Dutch 20-nm EDA specialist
EDA company Sagantec (North America) has announced that is has acquired NP Komplete Technologies BV, a startup company founded in 2009. Sagantec did not disclose how much it paid. Komplete Technologies provides physical IC design migration tools and services to automate migration and optimization of libraries, memories and custom layout for meeting new design rules and yield goals in new processes. and specializes in the 28-nm, 22- and 20-nm manufacturing process nodes. Read more
05/04/12 Océ and Memjet set to transform large format printing landscape [Océ]
Digital, large format color technology prints up to 15 times faster than conventional inkjet
Océ and Memjet today announced that they have signed an agreement to develop a fundamentally new, large format color printer that is set to change the large format digital printing landscape. The first concept for this joint initiative called Project Velocity offers game-changing digital technology that prints up to 15 times faster than conventional inkjet systems – speeds never believed possible for large format applications. Now print providers have a powerful digital option for large format, high volume color printing. Read more
05/04/12 New fiscal arrangement ‘Research & Development Aftrek’ (RDA) initiated (Dutch article) [Nederlandsch Octrooibureau]
Op 1 mei 2012 is de nieuwe fiscale regeling de Research & Development Aftrek (RDA) gestart. De RDA-regeling (Research & Development Aftrek) stimuleert innovatie en R&D door het Nederlandse bedrijfsleven met een fiscaal voordeel in de inkomsten- of vennootschapsbelasting. Ondernemers kunnen een aanvraag voor RDA gelijk met hun WBSO-aanvraag indienen. Bedrijven kunnen een verhoogde fiscale aftrek voor R&D-investeringen en R&D-exploitatiekosten krijgen. Lees meer
05/02/12 FEI reports record revenue and bookings for the first quarter of 2012 [FEI]
FEI Company today reported record revenue and bookings for the first quarter of 2012. Diluted earnings per share were up 17% compared with the same quarter a year ago and within the company's guidance range. First quarter revenue of $217.6 million was up 10.5% compared to $197.0 million in the first quarter of 2011 and up 2.1% from $213.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. "We have started 2012 with all-time record orders and solid execution after a record-setting 2011," commented Don Kania, president and CEO.
Read more
05/02/12 The collapse of Moore’s Law
Physicist says it’s already happening
Moore’s Law is finally breaking down, according to theoretical physicist Michio Kaku. According to Kaku in about ten years or so, "we will see the collapse of Moore’s Law. In fact, already, we see a slowing down of Moore’s Law. Computer power simply cannot maintain its rapid exponential rise using standard silicon technology". Intel Corporation has admitted this. last June 2011 , Intel architecture group VP Kirk Skaugen said something about Moore’s Law not being sufficient, by itself, for the company to ramp up to exascale performance by 2018. Read more
05/01/12 NXP 'Practically a Chinese company'
For anyone who has known NXP Semiconductors since it was the Dutch giant Royal Philips’ subsidiary, NXP today feels much transformed. Instead of pledging changes every quarter, NXP has grown into a company with its own distinct personality and disciplines. Under the leadership of Rick Clemmer, NXP’s CEO, the company has drastically slimmed its product portfolio. The company’s management team has cherry-picked product lines that already have either a commanding market position or clear potential – showing “a path to become a leader,” Clemmer explained. “It’s all about focus.” Further, there is another vital sign of the company’s transformation. Clemmer said last week in an interview with EE Times, NXP today is “practically a Chinese company.” Read more
05/01/12 Here comes silicene to replace graphene
Science researchers have reported the growth of a single layer of silicon on top of silver, in a hexagonal 2-D form of silicon similar to the graphene form of carbon. A team from universities in Berlin and Marseille and research institutes in Italy and France has published a paper in Physical Review Letters that claims to show evidence of the synthesis of epitaxial silicene sheets on a silver substrate. Silicon and carbon both have four valence electrons which means that the two elements should be able to demonstrate a degree of similarity including the possibility of silicon-based life forms and carbon-based conductors and semiconductors. Read more
04/27/12 Seminar “Patents & Innovation”
Innovation processes involve various stages from conception to business. Each stage has its own approach as regards to protection of intellectual property. When a patent application is filed, you need to make decisions in the patent life cycle in order to obtain the protection desired. Another important issue in innovation is finance. How do you finance the technological development, the market, and last but not least the intellectual property that comes with it? The seminar “Patents & Innovation”, organized by AOMB Intellectual Property Consultants at the High Tech Campus Eindhoven on may 10th, will provide insights on the patent lifecycle, what government subsidies are available for financing innovation and how private banking may aid in financing innovation. This free of charge workshop will be conducted by qualified patent attorneys of AOMB and financial consultants of Rabobank. Read more
04/27/12 WWINN lands new order from China (Dutch article) [WWINN]
IMS, onderdeel van de WWINN groep, maakt vandaag bekend onlangs een nieuwe order uit China te hebben ontvangen. De order betreft de ontwikkeling en bouw van productielijnen voor cameralenzen die gebruikt worden in mobiele telefoons. IMS ontwikkelt dit jaar een 1e prototype van deze productiemachine. Er worden de komende jaren meerdere productielijnen geleverd. De WWINN groep investeert substantieel in de benodigde technologische ontwikkeling. Met de deal zet het moederbedrijf de stijgende lijn voort. Afgelopen jaar kwam de groepsomzet uit boven de twintig miljoen euro. Lees meer
04/27/12 Samsung patent wants to get in user's face
Samsung phones of the future may tell if you are happy, sad, or altogether disgusted. Samsung has filed for a patent on a method and device that can tell a user’s emotions based on facial expressions. The patent, “Method and Apparatus for Recognizing an Emotion of an Individual Based on Facial Action Units” was filed at the USPTO back in October last year but came to light this month. Samsung’s approach will be to use “Action Units” (AUs) to recognize how a person feels. Read more
04/27/12 NXP reports first quarter 2012 results [NXP]
Q1 2012
Revenue $978 million
GAAP Gross margin 43.4%
GAAP Operating margin
5.6% GAAP Earnings/(Loss) per share ($0.10) Non-GAAP Gross margin 44.3%
Non-GAAP Operating margin 14.4%
Non-GAAP Earnings per share $0.19
NXP Semiconductors today reported financial results for the first quarter of 2012 and provided guidance for the second quarter 2012. Richard Clemmer, NXP Chief Executive Officer. “We are pleased with our performance in the first quarter of 2012 as we delivered revenue of $978 million, which was near the upper end of our original guidance range. Read more
04/26/12 EPO's new case management system to be implemented in 2015 [Nederlandsch Octrooibureau]
The European Patent Office (EPO) and Logica announced an important project last week that will contribute to significantly reducing costs and improving timeliness for the patenting process in Europe. Logica and the EPO are set to introduce one of the most advanced, fully digital patent offices in the world, enabling applicants and inventors to register their patents and all concerned in processing them in a more efficient and cost effective way. Under the agreement Logica will help the EPO establish a comprehensive, secure and innovative case management system, that will digitally process patent applications at all stages of the patent grant process. Read more
04/26/12 IHS boosts 2012 chip market forecast
Research firm IHS iSuppli Wednesday lifted its forecast for the 2012 semiconductor market, citing strong ongoing consumer demand for wireless products like cell phones and media tablets. IHS is now forecasting that total chip sales will reach an estimated $324.6 billion in 2012, up 4.3 percent from last year. The market research firm previously
forecasted an increase of 3.3 percent for the chip market this year. Read more
04/26/12 Globalfoundries fab adds tools to enable 3D chip stacking at 20nm and beyond
Company begins installation of production-worthy TSV processing tools in newest fab
Globalfoundries today announced a next step on the road to enabling 3D stacking of chips for next-generation mobile and consumer applications. At its Fab 8 campus in Saratoga County NY, the company has begun installation of a special set of production tools to create Through-Silicon Vias (TSVs) in semiconductor wafers processed on the company’s 20nm technology platform. The TSV capabilities will allow customers to stack multiple chips on top of each other, providing another avenue for delivering the demanding requirements of tomorrow’s electronic devices. Read more
04/25/12 ASMi reports Q1 2012 results [ASMi]
Highlights
• Net sales for the first quarter 2012 were EUR 311 million, a decrease of 12% quarter-to-quarter and 28% year-on-year. Net sales of our Front-end segment decreased 17% quarter-to-quarter while Back-end sales decreased by 9%.
• Result from operations for Q1 2012 was EUR 22 million. Result from operations in Q4 2011 was EUR 27 million (including special items EUR 19 million) while the first quarter of 2011 showed a profit of EUR 94 million.
• First quarter 2012 net earnings were EUR 6 million compared to net earnings of EUR 15 million for the fourth quarter of 2011 (EUR 30 million excluding special items) and EUR 40 million for the first quarter of 2011 (EUR 45 million excluding special items).
• Book to bill in the first quarter was 1.2. For the Front-end the book to bill was 0.8 and for the Back-end segment 1.3. The Backlog increased from Euro 331 million at the end of the fourth quarter 2011 to EUR 373 million per March 31, 2012.
Chuck del Prado, President and CEO commented "While sales showed a decrease in Q1 as compared to the previous quarter, order intake for the company improved. Read more
04/25/12 First acoustic RAM-SCORE localization system fielded in the Netherlands [Microflown AVISA]
Microflown AVISA today announced the results of their first RAM-SCORE system demonstration to the Royal Netherlands Army after a successful acceptance test at the artillery shooting range (ASK) in 't Harde, the Netherlands. RAM-SCORE is a fully automatic acoustic localization system, which localizes points of impact (POI) as well as points of origin (POO) of artillery shells, mortars and bombs compared to traditional acoustic localization systems. This easy deployable system is capable of replacing labour intensive monitoring. The localization is achieved using a decentralized Acoustic Vector Sensor (AVS) network in the field, which processes the acoustic data right at the ground sensor location, before the relevant information is transmitted. Read more
04/25/12 Besi Q1-12 revenue and profit meet expectations [Besi]
Highlights
• Revenue of € 55.8 million down 20.7% vs. Q4-11 and in line with prior guidance
• Improved business outlook as orders rose to € 84.2 million (+52.5% vs. Q4-11). Increase across all product groups, but primarily focused on flip chip and multi module die attach systems for smart phone/tablet applications
• Gross margins increased to 39.4% from 38.5% in Q4-11 due to improved packaging gross margins and reduced production overhead
• Operating income of € 2.4 million in Q1-12 roughly equal to Q4-11 despite sequential revenue decrease demonstrates improved scalability of business model
• Net income declines to € 0.2 million in Q1-12 vs. € 3.4 million in Q4-11 due to adverse impact on hedging contracts from increase of Swiss franc vs. US dollar and higher effective tax rate due to subsidiary profit composition
• Liquidity position continues to strengthen with net cash up by € 7.7 million to € 70.4 million
Outlook
Q1-12 ending backlog indicates approximately 50% revenue growth and substantial profit increase in Q2-12. Read more
04/24/12 Vanderlande opens office in Australia [Vanderlande]
Vanderlande Industries announces the opening a new office in Sydney in response to the increasing demand for smart material handling solutions in Australia. The new location is said to enable Vanderlande to further strengthen its presence on the Australian and Asia-Pacific markets, and to provide the most efficient possible locally based customer support. Read more
04/23/12 Philips reports Q1 2012 results
first-quarter sales of EUR 5.6 billion; EBITA of EUR 552 million
• Comparable sales up 4%, led by 9% growth at Healthcare
• Sales in growth geographies up 9% on a comparable basis
• Reported EBITA of 9.8% of sales
• Net income of EUR 249 million
• Free cash flow of EUR 642 million
• TV joint venture with TPV completed, Senseo transaction with Sara Lee finalized
• Philips sells real estate of High Tech Campus Eindhoven
• Cost savings on track
04/20/12 Trade Mission Microtechnology & ICT to Israël (Dutch article) [Syntens]
In samenwerking met de Kamers van Koophandel in de Euregio Maas-Rijn en Regitel organiseert het Enterprise Europe Network | Syntens Van 9 t/m 15 November 2012 een handelsmissie Microtechnologie en ICT naar Israël. Israël is een bovengemiddeld innovatief land en toonaangevend in de wereld van de high-tech industrie. Het land kenmerkt zich als een technologisch geavanceerde markteconomie, waarbij het aantal hoogopgeleiden en het percentage R&D-uitgaven tot de allerhoogste ter wereld behoren. Lees meer
04/20/12 Holst Centre successful in EU FP7 research funding [Holst Centre]
Holst Centre has been successful in the 2011 rounds of funding applications under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). Five of eight proposed collaborative projects won funding, following eleven out of sixteen in previous rounds. “Having so many projects approved for EU FP7 funding highlights our track record in collaborative research, and that key players in all areas recognize our value", says Barteld de Ruiter, Contract and IP coordinator at Holst Centre. Read more
04/19/12 Source problems cause EUV revenue delay, says ASML
ASML has said that a delay in the availability of illumination power sources has prompted it to push out revenue recognition on the first two production EUV lithography machines, currently being assembled at the company's headquarters. Speaking to analysts on a conference call to discuss ASML's financial results for the first quarter of 2012, Peter Wennink, chief financial officer, said that assembly work has begun on 11 of the NXE:3300B EUV lithography machines currently on order. Two are scheduled for delivery in 2012 with the remainder set for delivery in the first half of 2013. Read more
04/19/12 Océ Toner Production plant operational [Océ]
Rising customer demand for black toner can now be fulfilled
Océ today announced the opening of their new Toner Production plant at its Venlo headquarters. Throughput time has been reduced by more than 50% as the former Toner Batch Production facility has been transformed into a modern in-line Bulk Toner Production plant. Moreover, the Océ Toner Production plant fulfils the latest requirements related to safety and the environment. Read more
04/18/12 ASML profit declines, outlook optimistic
ASML saw profits and sales fall on an annual basis but nonetheless gave an upbeat outlook for the remainder of the year. ASML announced a net profit of 282.0 million euro (about $370 million) on sales revenue of 1,252 million euro (about $1.64 billion) in the first quarter of 2012. The revenue in 1Q12 compared with 1Q11 was down by 13.8 percent while the net profit fell by 28.6 percent. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2011, AMSL revenue was up marginally from 1,211 billion euro. However, the net profit was marginally down from 285 million. AMSL said that the 1Q11 results were in line with expectations and that they confirm that the company is on track to achieve 2.4 billion euro (about $3.1 billion) in the first half of 2012 and that it expects Q3 to continue at the same run rate. Read more
04/18/12 New research could mean cell phones that see through walls
Comic book hero superpowers may be one step closer to reality after the latest technological feats claimed by researchers at a University in Dallas. They have designed an imager chip that could turn mobile phones into devices that can see through walls, wood, plastics, paper and other objects. The team’s research linked two scientific advances. One involves tapping into an unused range in the electromagnetic spectrum. The other is a new microchip technology. Read more
04/18/12 TSMC to offer only one process at 20-nm
TSMC will offer only one process at the 20-nm node, a change from the multiple processes that the foundry giant has offered customers for the past several nodes, a TSMC executive said. Speaking at TSMC's annual technology symposium here, Shang-yi Chiang, executive vice president and co-chief operating officer at TSMC, said the firm might also offer an 18- or 16-nm process node after 20-nm if lithography technology is not available to make 14-nm devices cost effectively. Chiang said the TSMC initially planned to offer two 20-nm processes, presumably a high performance process and a low-power process. Both processes would have featured high-k metal gate (HKMG) technology. Read more
04/18/12 Every gram counts when you're above the clouds [Mettler Toledo]
Scales are used to determine the weight of an aircraft. But that is not all. Bertrand Piccard's solar-powered aircraft and a 270-ton Airbus have something in common: they both need scales to achieve stable, balanced flight. The first pilots in aviation history more than 100 years ago were visionaries with the goal of defying gravity in their "heavier than air" machines. Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg could be called the spiritual heirs of these pioneers. Read more
05/07/12
