- Email: [email protected]
SMART optoelectronics
r'~OLICY i~ELIJS
'Silicon valley' of the future?
University administrators, students, government officials and donors took part in an unusual groundbreaking ceremony - operating remote-controlled earthmoving equipment- to celebrate Purdue's announcement of a new S51m nanotechnology center.
Purdue University is to build a $100 million Discovery Park, including a $51 million nanotachnology center. Bringing together state funding and private donations of $46 million - including $30 million from Michael end Katherine Birck and $1D million from Silicon Valley entrepreneur Donald Scifes the Birck Nanotechnology Center will "position Indiana to become a player in the 'Silicon
Valley' of the future," says Purdue president Martin Jischke. The 6500 m 2 facility will house 1300 m 2 of much needed cleanroom facilities, as well as over 1700 m 2 of general lab space. In an effort to foster interdisciplinary research, the new center will place chemical and biological processing labs with microelectronic fabrication facilities. The new facility should be complete in 2004.
Electronics goes green In a move aimed at eliminating lead from microelectronic devices, three European semiconductor manufacturers, Infineon Technologies, Philips Semiconductors and STMicroelectronics, are proposing a standard for defining and evaluating leadfree technologies. Lead, with tin, is a critical component of the solder used for printed circuit assembly and is also widely used in device packaging, e.g. lead coating, die attach in power IC packages, balls in Ball grid Array (BGA) packages. But the presence of the metal in devices has a detrimental environmental impact on recycling or disposal. The European Commission has set a date of 1 January 2006 by which time lead, mercury and cadmium will have to be eliminated from all electrical and electronic devices. A major barrier for the industry in adopting lead-free technologies has been the lack of internationally agreed standards and methodologies
to evaluate the quality and reliability of alternatives. "Many different kinds of lead-free solder alloys and soldering processes are being investigated or developed around the world, using multiple combinations of elements like tin, silver, copper, bismuth, indium and zinc, all of which require increased temperature profiles relative to the well known tin-lead alloys during the soldering process," say Carlo Cognetti of STMicroelectronics. "At present, there is not even an internationally agreed definition of the maximum amount of lead that can be allowed in a lead-free component or process," explains Wolfgang Bloch, head of environmental protection and safety management at Infineon Technologies. "The market is confused because there are no rules or standards so far for evaluating alternative technologies. Our initiative shows the inevitable transition to green assembly on a global scale."
Lab for entrepreneurs The University of Washington Business School is establishing a center to study the problems encountered when turning leading-edge technologies into viable companies. The Center for Technology Entrepr~neurship will house the New Venture Creation Lab where the market potential of emerging technologies from the University will be examined. "Our center will provide a laboratory for faculty research and student learning to understand how entrepreneurs
develop, lead and transform today's most exciting high-tach companies," says director Michael Song. Research will focus on risk versus value, new business models for emerging technologies and identifying organizational barriers to new technology adoption. The success/failure factors of real start-ups will be looked at and new ways of analyzing market opportunities will be sought. Cont~;: Nichael Son& [email protected]
SMART optoelectronics The University of California is to invest $1.5 million in nanoand micro- self assembly processes to create novel structured materials for electronic and photonic applications as part of the UC-SMART (University of California Semiconducting Manufacturing Alliance for Research and Training) project. Under the auspices of a fiveyear $15 million research alliance established between
the University of California Santa Barbara and Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation earlier this year, four research projects will focus on organic chromophores, nanoparticle patterning, self-assembled photonic materials and devices and conducting polymers. The projects will bring together scientists from chemistry and chemical engineering including Nobel Laureate Alan Heeger.
September/October 2001 ~
21
'Silicon valley' of the future?
University administrators, students, government officials and donors took part in an unusual groundbreaking ceremony - operating remote-controlled earthmoving equipment- to celebrate Purdue's announcement of a new S51m nanotechnology center.
Purdue University is to build a $100 million Discovery Park, including a $51 million nanotachnology center. Bringing together state funding and private donations of $46 million - including $30 million from Michael end Katherine Birck and $1D million from Silicon Valley entrepreneur Donald Scifes the Birck Nanotechnology Center will "position Indiana to become a player in the 'Silicon
Valley' of the future," says Purdue president Martin Jischke. The 6500 m 2 facility will house 1300 m 2 of much needed cleanroom facilities, as well as over 1700 m 2 of general lab space. In an effort to foster interdisciplinary research, the new center will place chemical and biological processing labs with microelectronic fabrication facilities. The new facility should be complete in 2004.
Electronics goes green In a move aimed at eliminating lead from microelectronic devices, three European semiconductor manufacturers, Infineon Technologies, Philips Semiconductors and STMicroelectronics, are proposing a standard for defining and evaluating leadfree technologies. Lead, with tin, is a critical component of the solder used for printed circuit assembly and is also widely used in device packaging, e.g. lead coating, die attach in power IC packages, balls in Ball grid Array (BGA) packages. But the presence of the metal in devices has a detrimental environmental impact on recycling or disposal. The European Commission has set a date of 1 January 2006 by which time lead, mercury and cadmium will have to be eliminated from all electrical and electronic devices. A major barrier for the industry in adopting lead-free technologies has been the lack of internationally agreed standards and methodologies
to evaluate the quality and reliability of alternatives. "Many different kinds of lead-free solder alloys and soldering processes are being investigated or developed around the world, using multiple combinations of elements like tin, silver, copper, bismuth, indium and zinc, all of which require increased temperature profiles relative to the well known tin-lead alloys during the soldering process," say Carlo Cognetti of STMicroelectronics. "At present, there is not even an internationally agreed definition of the maximum amount of lead that can be allowed in a lead-free component or process," explains Wolfgang Bloch, head of environmental protection and safety management at Infineon Technologies. "The market is confused because there are no rules or standards so far for evaluating alternative technologies. Our initiative shows the inevitable transition to green assembly on a global scale."
Lab for entrepreneurs The University of Washington Business School is establishing a center to study the problems encountered when turning leading-edge technologies into viable companies. The Center for Technology Entrepr~neurship will house the New Venture Creation Lab where the market potential of emerging technologies from the University will be examined. "Our center will provide a laboratory for faculty research and student learning to understand how entrepreneurs
develop, lead and transform today's most exciting high-tach companies," says director Michael Song. Research will focus on risk versus value, new business models for emerging technologies and identifying organizational barriers to new technology adoption. The success/failure factors of real start-ups will be looked at and new ways of analyzing market opportunities will be sought. Cont~;: Nichael Son& [email protected]
SMART optoelectronics The University of California is to invest $1.5 million in nanoand micro- self assembly processes to create novel structured materials for electronic and photonic applications as part of the UC-SMART (University of California Semiconducting Manufacturing Alliance for Research and Training) project. Under the auspices of a fiveyear $15 million research alliance established between
the University of California Santa Barbara and Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation earlier this year, four research projects will focus on organic chromophores, nanoparticle patterning, self-assembled photonic materials and devices and conducting polymers. The projects will bring together scientists from chemistry and chemical engineering including Nobel Laureate Alan Heeger.
September/October 2001 ~
21