Printed Circuit Design & Fab - November 2007 - (Page 10)

AROUND THE WORLD in BRIEF Airtech Offices Open in China. Airtech Advanced Materials Group, a supplier of vacuum bagging and composite tools, announced the formation of Airtech Asia, a wholly owned subsidiary. Airtech Asia will be located in Tianjin, China, opening December 2007 “This will allow us to better . serve our customers who have established a subsidiary in China and with our Chinese customers that have been working with us since our first trip to China in 1982, ” announced W. (Bill) Dahlgren, the companies’ founder and owner. The 50,000 m2 site will allow for manufacturing, local stocking of products, sales and technical assistance. HKPCA/IPC Host 6th Annual Event in Shenzhen. Jointly organized by the Hong Kong Printed Circuit Association (HKPCA), Association Connecting Electronics Industries (IPC) and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Guangzhou Sub-council (CCPIT-GZ), the 2007 International Printed Circuit and Electronics Assembly Fair (HKPCA & IPC Show) will be held December 5-7 2007 at Shenzhen Convention & , , Exhibition Center, Shenzhen, China. Featuring the theme of “The Time of New Vision” , the three-day trade show has attracted over 400 industry companies to exhibit. Agilent Donates $13 million in EDA Software to Georgia Tech. Agilent Technologies Inc. announced it will provide Agilent EDA software, support and training, totaling $13 million, to a new hub of the Georgia Electronic Design Center (GEDC) in Atlanta. The new Agilent EDA Simulation Center will provide hands-on circuit design instruction and research capability for students. It is also expected to be a catalyst for start-up companies involved in wireless communications design. The venture, sponsored by the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), is expected to be fully operational by year end. Dielectric Advances. Researchers at SEMATECH and University College London (UCL) identified a potential cause of the tendency of novel dielectric materials to capture electrons and holes, making the performance of advanced devices unstable. The scientists predict that the existence of hole and electron polarons in key dielectric materials may be more common than currently assumed. These new materials are important because they have high dielectric constants beneficial for advanced semiconductor transistors. Solving technical hurdles such as these will pave the way for transistor scaling dominated by heterogeneous integration of novel dielectric and semiconductor materials. iNEMI Starts Work on 2009 Roadmap HERNDON, VA – iNEMI will kick-off its 2009 roadmap in Munich on Nov. 14 at Productronica. This meeting will introduce the new product sector plans for the 2009 Roadmap, review key technology chapters from the 2007 Roadmap, and provide information about the roadmap process cycle for people interested in participating. Preliminary work began on the product sector at a meeting held at IPC Midwest, and the product emulator group kick-off is scheduled for Oct. 12 at SMTAI in Orlando. Chairs of the group will meet with the technical committee and technology working group to identify key changes. For more information about the European kick-off meeting, visit inemi. org/cms/calendar/2009_RM_European_Kickoff_Nov_07.html. For information about other iNEMI meetings and presentations at Productronica, visit inemi.org/cms/calendar/Productronica_2007.html. LEAD-FREE WATCH Schwarzenegger Terminates State RoHS Bill SACRAMENTO – California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday vetoed a bill that proposed to significantly expand the RoHS statutes mandated by the California Waste Recycling Act. In returning the bill, AB 48, to the legislature, Gov. Schwarzenegger wrote, “Unfortunately, the approach taken in this bill is largely unworkable and instead of the benefits it seeks to accomplish, could ultimately result in unintended and potentially more harmful consequences.” The bill, said Schwarzenegger, “purports to impose restrictions similar to those already in place in the European Union, but the deviations it takes from the European Union approach are fatally flawed.” He claims exemption language for spare parts and refurbished products, as currently written in this bill, will make many electronic products prematurely obsolete and force their retirement years earlier than necessary. The EU RoHS Directive exempts spare and refurbished products. The existing state law covers a relative handful of product types, including monitors, TVs and notebook computers. Despite the veto, the California legislature, which had passed AB 48 last month, may try again. Michael Kirschner, president of Design Chain Associates, which has followed the legislation closely, said, “Don’t expect that this is the end of the attempts to bring RoHS to California. This was the second attempt; I expect a third.” Cookson to Open Larger India R&D Center BANGALORE – Cookson Electronics will open a state-of-the-art research center here later this month. The 32,000 sq. ft. facility will aid semiconductor and alternative energy research, and help boost Asian sales, which currently make up 60% of the company’s assembly materials business. The center, which opens Oct. 23, will focus on semiconductor manufacturing and packaging materials, and renewable energy, including solar technologies, said Dr. Bawa Singh, vice president of technology and chief technology officer. “We are building a strong foundation in nano-technology-based materials that will allow our customers to achieve paradigm shifts in their product performance.” The company’s original center is on the Indian Institute of Science campus in Bangalore. The company has outgrown that site. Currently, 60% of Cookson’s assembly materials business is derived from the Asia Pacific. 10 PRINTED CIRCUIT DESIGN & FAB NOVEMBER 2007 http://inemi.org/cms/calendar/2009_RM_European_Kickoff_Nov_07.html http://inemi.org/cms/calendar/2009_RM_European_Kickoff_Nov_07.html http://inemi.org/cms/calendar/Productronica_2007.html

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Printed Circuit Design & Fab - November 2007 Contents Our Line Market Watch Around the World Happenings ROI Packaging HDI Design and Fab Plating Design Tools Metric Design Productronica Product Preview Marketplace Ad Index The Signal Doctor

Printed Circuit Design & Fab - November 2007

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