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Printing Glass Objects
From Phys.Org, April 20, 2017, by Bob Yirka and Nature 2017:
"A team of researchers at Karlsruhe
Institute of Technology in Germany has developed a way to 3-D print
objects made of pure glass. Using a casting nanocomposite5, researchers
create transparent fused silica glass components using stereolithography
3D printers at resolutions of a few tens of micrometers.The
process uses a photocurable silica nanocomposite that is 3D printed and
converted to high-quality fused silica glass via heat treatment. The
printed fused silica glass is non-porous, with the optical transparency
of commercial fused silica glass, and has a smooth surface with a
roughness of a few nanometers. A honeycomb structure printed in fused
silica glass is exposed to a flame of 800 °C showing the high thermal
shock resistance of the printed glass part. By doping with metal salts,
colored glasses can be created.
"
READ FULL ARTICLE.
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Wonder Material? Novel Nanotube Structure Strengthens Thin Films for Flexible Electronics
From University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, April 21, 2017 by Rick Kubetz:
"Reflecting the structure of composites
found in nature and the ancient world, researchers at the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have synthesized thin carbon nanotube
(CNT) textiles, that exhibit both high electrical conductivity and a
level of toughness that is about fifty times higher than copper films,
currently used in electronics. The researchers believe this is the first
study to apply the principles of fracture mechanics to design and study
the toughness of nano-architectured CNT textiles. The theoretical
framework of fracture mechanics is shown to be very robust for a variety
of linear and non-linear materials. Beginning with catalyst deposited
on a silicon oxide substrate, vertically aligned CNTs were synthesized
via chemical vapor deposition in the form of parallel lines of 5 µm
width, 10 μm length, and 20-60 μm heights." READ FULL ARTICLE.
Source:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Image:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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Advanced Optical Coatings for the Discovery of Gravitational Waves
From SPIE Newsroom, April 5, 2017:
"The first detection of
gravitational waves (GWs) was announced by the Laser Interferometer
Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO)-Virgo collaboration in February
2016. This achievement is thought to represent one of the most
challenging feats and important milestones in physics. Furthermore,
because the effects of GWs are mechanical (i.e., bodies are deformed by
the passage of a GW), by detecting this phenomenon we now have the
ability to 'listen' to the universe rather than just gaze at it.
Researchers at Laboratoire des Matériaux Avancés (LMA), France,
developed state-of-the-art Bragg-reflector coatings that can be used to
reduce the optical losses of mirrors. They also built a 10m3
ion beam sputtering coating chamber (known as the Grand Coater) which
can coat two mirrors simultaneously. In this chamber, the mirrors are
subjected to a circular motion to ensure that the coating deposition on
each mirror is alike and that the two cavities of each detector are
therefore extremely symmetric." READ FULL ARTICLE.
Source:
SPIE Newsroom, (doi: 10.1117/2.1201701.006767)
Image: SPIE Newsroom
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Turning Back Time: Watching Rust Transform into Iron
From NIST, April 4, 2017:
"Using a state-of-the-art microscopy
technique, experimenters at the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) and their colleagues have witnessed a slow-motion,
atomic-scale transformation of rust-iron oxide-back to pure iron metal.
Scientists work with nanometer-scale particles of the oxides. By
lowering the temperature of the reaction and decreasing the pressure of
the hydrogen gas that acted as the reducing agent, the scientists slowed
down the reduction process so that it could be captured with an
environmental transmission electron microscope (TEM). In studying the
reduction reaction, the researchers identified a previously unknown
intermediate state in the transformation from magnetite to hematite. In
the middle stage, the iron oxide retained its original chemical
structure, Fe2O3, but changed the crystallographic arrangement of its atoms from rhombohedral to cubic." READ FULL ARTICLE.
Image: W. Zhu et al./ACS Nano and K. Irvine/NIST
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Solid Lubricants: Compositions Comprising Nickel-Titanium
From NASA Tech Briefs, April 1, 2017, by John H. Glenn Research Center:
"NASA's Glenn Research Center has
developed high-temperature solid lubricant materials suitable for foil
gas bearings that enable the commercialization of a broad array of
revolutionary oil-free gas turbines, compressors, blowers, motors, and
other rotating machines that can operate from cryogenic to red hot
temperatures. These solid lubricant coatings provide reduced friction
and wear to any lightly loaded sliding mechanism operating from
cryogenic to 650 °C. The PS300 and PS400 coatings and their powder
metallurgy cousins are composites from a unique combination of metals,
ceramics, and solid lubricant additives. Plasma spray coating deposition
is used to apply a thick (0.010-inch) layer onto a metal surface that
is then ground and polished before use." READ FULL ARTICLE.
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Finding Order and Structure in the Atomic Chaos Where Materials Meet
From North Carolina State University, April 20, 2017 by Matt Shipman:
"Materials science researchers at
North Carolina State University have developed a model that can account
for irregularities in how atoms arrange themselves at the so-called
"grain boundaries". By describing the packing of atoms at these
interfaces, the tool can be used to help researchers determine how grain
boundaries affect the properties of metal alloys and other materials.
The model finds irregular three-dimensional shapes within the grain
boundary, classifies them and then identifies patterns of those
irregular shapes The tool, called the Polyhedral Unit Model, can be used
to model grain boundaries for any material in which the attraction
between atoms is governed solely by the distance between atoms, such as
metals and ionic solids - including some ceramics. However, the approach
doesn't work for materials, such as carbon, that form so-called
directional bonds. They are currently working on making the Polyhedral
Unit Model publicly available through open source software." READ FULL ARTICLE.
Source:
North Carolina State University
Image: North Carolina State University
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Discovery of NEW PVD Chalcogenide Materials for Memory Applications
From Solid State Technology, April 2017, by Larry Chen, et al. (IMI Inc.):
"This case study is presented based on
the use of high throughput experimentation (HTE) for the discovery of
new memory materials. By using a combinatorial approach of
sputtering technology, HTE can be applied to PVD chalcogenides and other
materials targeted at memory semiconductors. IMI's high throughput
experimentation (HTE) platform is set up for accelerated
experimentation. Its combinatorial PVD tool typically has four sputter
guns and one additional port at the center. All sputter guns can be
equipped with various types of target materials including chalcogenides,
pure metals, oxides, and nitrides, and each sputter source can be
operated by different plasma modes (DC,RF and pulsed) independently.
The additional port at the center can be equipped with an ion beam
source for ion beam assisted deposition, or ion beam cleaning, or an
additional sputter gun which enables five gun co-sputtering operation.
Process parameter windows can cover larger regimes than most production
tool process parameters." READ FULL ARTICLE.
S
ource: Solid State Technology
Image:
Solid State Technology
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High-temperature Devices Made from Films that Bend as They 'Breathe'
From MIT, May 8, 2017 by David L. Chandler:
"Carrying out maintenance tasks inside a
nuclear plant puts severe strains on equipment, due to extreme
temperatures that are hard for components to endure without degrading.
Now, researchers at MIT and elsewhere have come up with a radically new
way to make actuators that could be used in such extremely hot
environments. The system relies on oxide materials similar to
those used in many of today's rechargeable batteries, in that ions move
in and out of the material during charging and discharging cycles. In
the case of the oxide materials, their reversible motion causes the
material to expand and contract. The thin-film material bends from its
normal flat state as oxygen is taken up by its structure or released.
This behavior enables the film's shape to be controlled remotely by
changing its electric charge. The most interesting thing about these
materials is that they function at temperatures above 500 degrees
Celsius.
" READ FULL ARTICLE.
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How Scientists Turned a Flag Into a Loudspeaker
From Michigan State University, May 15, 2017:
"A paper-thin, flexible device created
at Michigan State University not only can generate energy from human
motion, it can act as a loudspeaker and microphone. This is the first
transducer that is ultrathin, flexible, scalable and bidirectional,
meaning it can convert mechanical energy to electrical energy and
electrical energy to mechanical energy. The researchers discovered their
high-tech material, FENG (ferroelectret nanogenerator), can act as a
microphone (by capturing the vibrations from sound, or mechanical
energy, and converting it to electrical energy) as well as a loudspeaker
(by operating the opposite way: converting electrical energy to
mechanical energy)." READ FULL ARTICLE.
Source:
Michigan State University
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A New International Standard for Testing Antibacterial Effects
From Advanced Materials and Processes, April 2017, by Hideyuki Kanematsu, National Institute of Technology, Suzuka College, (Japan):
"Bacteria drawn to organic
compounds on material surfaces product biofilms by excreting
polysaccharides when present in sufficient numbers. A few years ago, a
standards committee organized by the Society of International Sustaining
Growth for Antimicrobial Articles (SIAA) set out to address the need
for an anti-biofilm test standard. The committee's two-fold objective
was to better understand the biofilm formation process as it relates to
materials and gain proficiency with test methods that can reliably
measure the degree of fouling associated with the biofilm growth. The
goal is to produce a standard that can be used not only by engineers in
industry, but also by testing organizations and academic researchers." READ FULL ARTICLE.
Source: Advanced Materials and Processes
Image: Advanced Materials and Processes
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Nanotechnology in Healthcare
From Nanowerk, June 13, 2017 by Michael Berger:
"Nanotechnology is becoming a crucial
driving force behind innovation in medicine and healthcare, with a range
of advances including nanoscale therapeutics, biosensors, implantable
devices, drug delivery systems, and imaging technologies. A
nanotechnology-based system, for instance to eradicate cancer, needs
four elements: 1) Molecular imaging to monitor at the cellular level; 2)
effective molecular targeting; 3) a technique to kill the cells, and 4)
a post molecular imaging technique to monitor the therapeutic efficacy.
This two-part article covers these four areas and provides a
comprehensive overview of healthcare advances that may be possible
through nanotechnology, ranging from fitness monitoring, prevention,
diagnosis to therapy, and everything in between.
" READ FULL ARTICLE.
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Stretchy Material Creates Dynamic Holograms
Chemical & Engineering News, May 17, 2017, by Katherine Bourzac:
"Researchers at the University of
Pennsylvania have created a material that can display different
two-dimensional holographic images as the material is stretched. They
created their stretchy hologram out of a so-called metasurface: a thin
film that contains nanostructures designed to shape and reflect light.
Their metasurface consisted of a square of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)
embedded with precisely placed gold nanorods. To make the new holograms,
they used computer programs to generate designs. The images appear at
different distances from the hologram's surface when it is illuminated
with red laser light. As the material is stretched, each image takes
turns coming into focus." READ FULL ARTICLE.
Source:
Chemical & Engineering News, Nano Letters, 2017, 17, 3641-3645
Image: Chemical & Engineering News, Nano Letters, 2017, 17, 3641-3645
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SEMICON Taiwan, A Place to Connect
SEMICON Taiwan, September 13-15, 2017, Taipei
Nangang Exhibition Center, Taipei, Taiwan, lets you explore unlimited
possibilities in the Taiwan high-tech industry. With 700 exhibitors,
1,700 booths, and 43,000 attendees, there are countless opportunities
for information exchange and expanding connections and business. The
show is co-located with ICT-Asia (International Test Conference Asia)
and SiP Global Summit.
SEMICON Taiwan will host 15 theme pavilions
with topics such as AOI, circular economy, CMP, compound semiconductors,
flexible electronics, high-tech facilities, lasers, materials,
micro-LEDs, opto-semiconductors, precision machinery, secondary markets,
Taiwan localization, and smart manufacturing and automation. There will
be 8 region pavilions representing Cross-Strait, Germany, Holland
high-tech, Korea, Kyshu (Japan), Okinawa (Japan), Silicon Europe, and
Singapore.
Sessions include advanced packaging technology,
MEMS & sensors, semiconductor materials, smart manufacturing &
assembly, sustainable manufacturing, power & compound semiconductor
technology, laser technologies in the advanced packaging process,
advanced device test technology, smart automotive, and smart MedTech. A
market trends forum, executive summit, and CFO forum highlight business
issues.
The TechXPOT is the best platform not only to
learn the latest industry knowledge, but also to interact with potential
customers and explore business opportunities. TechXpot topics cover
smart manufacturing, materials, testing, Silicon Europe, new product
launches, micro LEDs, high-tech facilities, lasers, and silicon
photonics.
SEMICON Taiwan connects suppliers and buyers
with its Supplier Search program that matches device makers/OEMs with
qualified suppliers. The program enables direct contact with key
procurement decision makers, provides information about potential
customer needs, and saves travel time and costs because many buyers can
be met in one trip.
Several other networking opportunities are
available, like the IC Design Industry Luncheon, the 2017 Leadership
Gala Dinner, and get-togethers by various interest groups like
materials, smart manufacturing, compound semiconductor industry,
high-tech facilities, and lasers. For more information and to register,
go to www.semicontaiwan.org.
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Society of Vacuum Coaters Foundation
Founding Principle:
The Society of Vacuum Coaters recognizes that in
order to sustain its growth, it is important to attract young, well
trained individuals to the field of Vacuum Coatings.
The SVC Foundation
pursues this principle by providing scholarships
to well qualified students planning to enter fields related to vacuum
coatings, and/or providing stipends for travel expenses to attend the
annual SVC Technical Conference, usually to present technical papers.
The Society of Vacuum Coaters (SVC), the SVCF's founder, and AIMCAL, an
organization committed to advancing vacuum roll-coating technology, and
their members, provides support for the Foundation to pursue these
goals.
Since its inception in 2002, the SVCF has
awarded more than 50 scholarships and travel awards totaling over
$180,000 to students from 18 countries. Our support can really have an
impact in the life of these students; quoting a recent award recipient:
"Not only does the scholarship give the gift of
financial support and the possibility to continue learning, it also
gives those that have a passion for vacuum coating the blessing of
attending such a wonderful program [SVC TechCon] to network and further
their knowledge."
Inviting scholarship recipients to the SVC
TechCon is an important element of the overall strategy for attracting
new talent to our industry. Scholarship beneficiaries carry a special
identification on the TechCon badge and we encourage you to meet them
and make them feel welcome.
Scholarship Applications must be postmarked by November 30th of each year.
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Do You Have an Interesting Article to Share?
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Interested in sharing the latest news in vacuum coating technology?
Forward us a link to an article you want to share with the rest of the SVC readership to
svcinfo@svc.org
.
Purchase advertising space in this newsletter by contacting SVC at
svcinfo@svc.org
.
SVConnections Contributing Editors:
Carl M. Lampert, SVC Technical Director
Joyce Lampert
Society of Vacuum Coaters
PO Box 10628
Albuquerque, NM 87184
505.897.7743
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