News
Naples, FL - Megan Wendling, president of MW Associates, has combined with the MII and the SMTA to offer a series of Lead-Free Seminars throughout China in 2004 and 2005. Other companies involved with the seminar series include KIC, Kester, Kyzen, Aqueous Technologies, Creative Automation, Vitronics Soltec, MVP, Tyco and BP Microsystems.
The first seminar will be held Nov. 3 at the Asia Hotel in Beijing, China, and will focus on the lead-free process. Approximately 180 attendees have signed up for the seminar, which will be presented in Chinese.
The series will continue to Shanghai, Schenzen and then to Taiwan in the upcoming year.
MW Assoc. marketing agency is also the publisher of Lead-Free Magazine.com. For further details, contact Megan Wendling: (239) 403-0230 or megwend@aol.com.
SCOTTSDALE, AZ, Oct. 15 -- A pair of economists who track the electronics industry this week offered differing opinions on what's in store for the recovering sector.
The outlook for capital spending is "generally favorable" due to higher demand for replacement equipment and a need for greater efficiencies, said Dr. Larry Chimerine. Companies are sitting on extraordinary cash reserves and financing is available from outside sources, said Chimerine, who spent 14 years as manager of U.S. economic research and forecasting at IBM.
Speaking Tuesday at the TMRC meeting in Scottsdale, Chimerine said that although the environment remains nearly impenetrable to product price hikes, companies will need to invest in new equipment in order to compete. "If you can't raise prices, you must improve productivity 3 to 4% every year just to stay even" with higher energy costs, vendor price hikes and raises to employee wages, Chimerine said.
A somewhat different outlook was given by Ed Henderson of Henderson Ventures. Henderson, a longtime PCB industry analyst, forecast a slowdown in annual global GDP through 2006, and a corresponding drop in equipment sales.
Annual GDP growth worldwide will slow from 4% this yer to 3.5% in 2005 and 3.1% in 2006, Henderson predicted. Likewise, global sales of electronics equipment will drop from 13.4% this year to 9.1% in 2005 and 5.7% in 2006. The figures are based on actual exchange rates.
The bare PCB market, now in its second year of recovery, will also fall, Henderson said. After 7.4% and 13.8% growth in 2003 and 2004, respectively, global PCB sales will slip to 6.4% next year as prelude to a 2006 recession, when sales will be 0.8% lower than in 2005, he said.
While pointing out that oil use as a percent of U.S. GDP has declined steadily over the past 20 years, Henderson said peaking oil prices could precipitate a sharp downturn. "Although a global receission is not in the forecast, a sustained oil price in the $60 to $70 range could produce an economic downturn in 2005."
Trade Barriers
Chimerine singled out trade deficits as a major longterm hurdle for the U.S. economy. Noting trade barriers enacted by several Pacific Rim nations, most notably China, that effectively squeeze American-made products from Asian markets, Chimerine asserted that trade has become an economic growth issue.
"The outsourcing of production [is] the real drag" on the economy, he said. "The manufacturing base must be strong. Not all chips [ICs, potato] are the same."
U.S. trade deficits with China and overall have this year ballooned to all-time highs, with some forecasts predicting a $550 billion gap by year-end.
Pointing to the Bush Administration's current policy of not waging battles over suspected currency manipulation by China, Japan and Taiwan, Chimerine said, "We are insane in keeping this in place," he said.
"Timing analysis plays an increasingly prominent role in the identification and resolution of system operation issues," said Manny Marcano, president and CEO of EMA, in a statement. "Through this collaboration, we can now offer our customers the ability to obtain fast and complete timing margin analysis for their designs."
Chronology is a division of Forte Design Systems.
TimingDesigner is an interactive timing analysis and diagram tool for defining timing constraints, evaluating timing parameters, creating specifications and analyzing complex interfaces.
SCHÄRDING and RADFELD, Austria -- EV Group, a supplier of wafer-bonding and lithography equipment, and Datacon Technology AG, a flip-chip and die bonding equipment supplier, announced a development, sales and marketing agreement for advanced-chip-to-wafer (AC2W) technology.
AC2W technology offers high device density through stacked devices, short interconnects and higher functional density. It enables the integration of various device technologies such as hybrid integration of IC and MEMS functionality.
The EVG540C2W chip-to-wafer bonder permanently bonds a wafer with single devices under defined process conditions, after they have been fixed with a temporary fixing agent in a high-precision flip-chip bonder from Datacon. The technology used for the bonding process is called face-to-face solid liquid interdiffusion, a technology that uses a metal soldering process.
"Our equipment allows a pre-bonding performance of up to 8500 chips per hour together with placement accuracy of 10µm@3s", said Helmut Rutterschmidt, president of Datacon Technology AG. "[We] can handle top chips as thin as 50 µm and wafers up to 300 mm diameter."
Developed in a joint R&D project, the new equipment platform has been successfully installed at Infineon AG, a major semiconductor device manufacturer.
The plant has 2,400 sq. meters of floor space and will build enhanced cantilever probe cards. It can also handle probe wire diameters from 75 to 250 microns and very fine pitch probing.
The factory will follow K&S' "copy exact" manufacturing model.
Production on after-sales support center for repair and rebuild services in its final stages, the company said.
SINGAPORE, Oct. 14 -- Flextronics said today its takeover of a pair of Nortel Networks' manufacturing plants would be delayed.
The two Canadian facilities are expected to be transfered in February and May 2005, respectively. Previously, Flextronics was to take charge of the plants in November 2004 and February 2005.
The deal is expected to add $2.5 billion of revenues for Flextronics.
In a statement Flextronics' officials said the deal would go through as otherwise planned.
Research Triangle Park, NC, Oct. 13 -- MCNC Research & Development Institute (MCNC-RDI), a North Carolina-based nonprofit research organization, and the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C. A&T) will partner to conduct research related to technological advancements in flexible displays for U.S. Army mobile electronics applications.
The $1.5 million award, spanning three years, establishes the Center of Excellence for Battlefield Capability Enhancements to develop technologies for environmentally stable flexible displays.
N.C. A&T and MCNC-RDI propose to develop a hybrid light-emitting device (HLED) for mobile electronics and vehicle-based communications and weapons systems required by Future Force Warrior (FFW), the U.S. Army's initiative to develop and demonstrate revolutionary support systems for soldiers.
To develop the HLED technology, MCNC-RDI will combine its OLED experience with N.C. A&T's expertise with narrow bandgap semiconductors composed of inorganic materials. MCNC-RDI and N.C. A&T research facilities will be used throughout the project.
Franklin, MA, Oct. 12- Speedline Technologies' series of free monthly technical Webcast seminars exploring the challenges facing engineers in the semiconductor manufacturing
Process will continue this fall. Each seminar, hosted by industry experts, will share "knowledge in process" expertise, how-to insights, and include a Q&A session.
The next session, "Improving Final Product Quality," will take place Oct. 21 at 11 a.m. ET and again at 2 p.m. ET.
The seminar will cover:
o Cost and types of a defect.
o Impact of printing defects on first pass yield.
o Preventing defects.
o Inspection and test process planning.
o 2-D and 3-D solder paste inspection.
Future session includes "Reliable Underfill Dispensing," on Nov. 18 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. ET, and "Fine Pitch Printing Process," scheduled for Dec. 16 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. ET.
For more information, or to register, visit www.speedlinetech.com/seminars, or call (508) 541-4749.
Cleveland, OH, Oct. 13- Linda Rae, senior VP and general manager of Keithley Instruments Inc., will keynote the 2nd annual EOEM Design Online Expo this afternoon. Her presentation, "Best in Test: How World Class Organizations Rely on Testing To Make Better Products," will take place Oct. 13 from 2:30 to 3:00 p.m. in the Test & Measurement Technology Pavilion.
The presentation will discuss the test philosophies at some of the most successful electronics manufacturers, as well as test strategies to improve manufacturing processes and overall product quality.
The EOEM Design Online Expo is an online conference and exhibition addressing critical technology areas impacting electronic design engineering. Running Oct. 13-14, it covers embedded technology, integrated circuits, packaging & interconnects, passive components, power, and test & measurement. For more information and to register online, visit www.reedbusinessinteractive.com/eoem/index.html.
TAIPEI, Oct. 11 -- Chip-on-board packages could get caught in an upward draft as image sensor modules in camera phones are switched from CSPs.
As much as 50% of camera phone models will be 1.3-megapixel type in 2005, DigiTimes reported today, citing market sources. The models will use COB packaging for CMOS-sensor modules, the Asian-based news service said.
Micron Technology and IC Media began offering COB CMOS sensors earlier this yer, DigiTimes said.
Des Plaines, IL, Oct. 11 — The next Lead-Free Technology Seminar presented by Kester, Metcal, BTU International and Soldering Technology Inc. (STI) will take place Nov. 9-10, 2004, in Atlanta, GA .
Designed to assist electronics assembly manufacturers with the implementation of lead-free assembly operations, the seminar covers Pb-free soldering in SMT, wave soldering, BGA profiling and rework. Successful case studies will also be discussed.
The seminar will help attendees develop a solid understanding of the process variables to maintain production yields and product reliability with Pb-free operations. Additional topics will include alloy selection, flux selection, wave process, SMT assembly, inspection and documentation, rework and hand soldering, reflow optimization and lead-free reliability.
Presenters include:
· Peter Biocca, senior market development engineer, Kester
· Paul Wood, market development manager, Metcal
·Fred Dimock, senior process engineer, BTU International
· Jason Gjesvold, analytical lab manager, STI.
To register, visit www.metcal.com.
For additional details, contact Theresa Rudnick, Kester, at (847) 699-5580 or trudnick@kester.com.
According to the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group, wafer shipments will end 2004 up 23% year-on-year. But the group predicts wafer shipments will grow just 5% in 2005. The unit of measurement is millions of square inches.
"The silicon wafer capacity continued to be in balance with the demand through the first half of 2004 and we foresee continued moderate year-on-year growth that will result in cautious expansion and a tight supply scenario that should lead to an improved financial outlook for the silicon industry," said John Kauffmann, SMG chairman.
Kauffmann said that the SMG concurs with the statement in the July news release from the Japan Society of Newer Metals, which indicates that "the administrative circumstances of the silicon industry are becoming more severe [tight supply]" and "semiconductor manufacturers and silicon manufacturers should further strengthen ties of partnership and cooperate on technology, cost, etc. to settle the existing issues."
Process Rx: Kester Offers Pb-Free Clinic at Mexitronica
October 12— Kester will hold a Lead-free Mini-Clinic at their booth, number 710, during the Mexitrónica Conference and Exhibition in Guadalajara, Mexico, from Oct. 19-21, 2004.
Users and future users of lead-free will have the opportunity to ask industry experts pertinent questions to enable them to achieve lead-free assembly rapidly and efficiently.
Kester will also exhibit a complete line of lead-free products. Kester University ‘s lead-free training program and consultancy services will also be available.
Armando Torres will host the clinic throughout show hours.
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