Here Comes Fusion Again

96 Pages·2016·29.27 MB·English

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VOLUME 31 - NUMBER 1 THE GLOBAL HI-TECH ELECTRONICS PUBLICATION February, 2016
How NCA Zeros
Here Comes Fusion Again
in on BGA
Problems with
By Walter Salm tiable need for energy has been grow- the air a chance to clear up. In major
ing exponentially, while coal-fired cities, people simply do not venture
X-Ray Ever since the first thermonu-
power plants still poison our atmos- out of doors without some kind of
clear (“hydrogen”) bombs were
phere. At some point, our planet’s breathing filter and/or respirator. The
tested, there has been a deter-
cache of fossil fuel will run out, but manufacturing shutdown strategy
mined effort to find a way to harness
breathable air may disappear long hasn’t worked out all that well, al-
this form of energy to displace fossil
before that happens. though the Chinese government has
fuels, creating nuclear fusion reac-
Air pollution has gotten so bad in finally admitted that there is a drastic
tors as an energy source. The scram-
some parts of the world — notably problem that will require drastic solu-
ble is still on, but today’s scientists
China and India —that entire cities in tions. China has plenty of coal, a re-
devoted to Hydrogen fusion are be-
China have shut down manufacturing source that continues to be burned in
ginning to see positive results. Why
operations for days at a time to give huge quantities, contributing mighti-
the rush, and why now? Our insa-
ly to the air pollution and global
NCA operator Hoa Dao in-
warming. China needs to have plenty
spects a memory card with
of cheap energy if that country is to
20 BGAs. EMS pro vider NCA continue its economic boom. Thus hy-
uses X-ray inspection on all drogen fusion is being worked on all
assemblies containing BGAs, over the world.
with Glenbrook Technolo- Unlimited Power
gies' Jewel Box 70T real-time
Fusion holds the promise of un-
X-ray system.
Page 20 limited clean, cheap, and environ-
mentally friendly power, but getting
New Products at there is still loaded with major obsta-
cles. In 1989, the world was treated
ATX/MDM West to the advent of “cold fusion,” hailed
as a wonderful new source of “free” or
Roundup of some of the latest at least “very inexpensive” energy.
product offerings in Ana- We had some red faces when we dis-
heim's Convention Center Continued on page 8
that include HD video inspec-
PCB Sales
tion system, flexible power
cables for aerospace, and new
vision sensors. Growth Up
Page 64
General Fusion’s CEO Nathan Gilliland with the company’s But Slow
experimental fusion reactor.
This Month's Focus:
Bannockburn, IL —IPC —Association
Test and Hydrogen Infrastructure
Connecting Electronics Industries®
Measurement has released the November findings
to Get a Boost from its monthly North American
This month's feature section Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statisti-
includes meeting product cal Program. Slow sales growth con-
needs with conformal coat- Livermore, CA — Drivers are seeing newable Energy Laboratory (NREL), tinued in November and bookings
ings, how a Southern Califor- more hydrogen fuel cell electric vehi- the Hydrogen Station Equipment bounced back, but the book-to-bill ra-
nia rental company meets cles (FCEVs) on the road, but refuel- Performance device, or HyStEP, could tio slipped below parity to 0.98.
ing stations for those vehicles are reduce the time to commission new Total North American PCB ship-
test equipment needs quickly
still few and far between. This is stations from months to just one ments increased 0.4 percent in No-
and economically, and au-
about to change, and one reason is a week. HyStEP is funded by DOE’s Of- vember 2015 compared to November
tomation integrators actively
new testing device being validated at fice of Energy Efficiency and Renew- 2014. Year-to-date shipment growth
look for new solutions and
California refueling stations that able Energy’s Fuel Cell Technologies remained at 0.4 percent. Compared to
provide service tasks more
will greatly accelerate station com- Office as part of the Hydrogen Fuel- the previous month, PCB shipments
cost-effectively than ever. missioning. ing Infrastructure Research and Sta- were down 5.8 percent.
Page 52 Developed by U.S. Department tion Technology (H2FIRST) project. PCB bookings rose 7.9 percent
of Energy’s (DOE) Sandia National “Industry stakeholders identi- compared to November 2014, which
Laboratories and the National Re- fied station commissioning as a chal- strength ened the year-to-date order
lenge that the national laboratories growth to 2.6 percent. Orders were up
have the resources to address,” said 1.0 percent in November compared to
Joe Pratt, the Sandia H2FIRST proj- the previous month.
ect lead. Sandia and NREL contract- “Order growth recovered in No-
ed with Powertech Labs to build the vember for the North American PCB
HyStEP device. industry, but negative order growth in
As zero-emission vehicles, the preceding two months pulled the
FCEVs are leading the revolution in book-to-bill ratio below parity for the
clean energy personal transporta- first time in 14 months,” said Sharon
tion. And California is leading the Starr, IPC’s director of market re-
Continued on page 6 Continued on page 8

Page 4 www.us-tech.com February, 2016
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SOUNDING
OFF
By Walter Salm
Editor Emeritus
Changing the Guard
PUBLISHER’S
If my new job title (above) surprises you, it’s about time. It’s about time for
a changing of the guard at U.S. Tech, and quite frankly I am a bit sur- NOTE
prised that I have lasted this long. I have not actually stepped down as the
title might suggest, but instead have curtailed some of my involvement with
the publication and taking on a new role. At the age of 82, I’m getting a little
bit tired, slowing down, and my job function is changing. I will be missing By Jacob Fattal
APEX this year for a number of reasons, not the least of which is a potential
problem getting around the much larger venue of the Las Vegas Convention Publisher
Center, even with a rented electric scooter. The last time I missed APEX was
when I had open-heart surgery in 2013.
Another problem: my wife and associate editor has been very ill for some It’s Showtime Again
time now. Several months ago, she found that she was no longer able to help
me on U.S. Tech, which only added to my workload. Now, due to a fall and a
broken hip followed by some serious pneumonia and other complications, she
has been hospitalized since September 16, and is relearning how to walk and One year of trade shows has barely ended and here we are in the midst
swallow at an excellent nursing/rehabilitation facility here in Chico. I have to of a new crop of expos, including some important changes. First off,
squeeze in a daily visit to the nursing home, regardless of my work deadlines. there’s ATX/MD&M West in Anaheim, and after a deep breath, we head
She will be coming home soon, so I need to be here. In addition to my editori- for APEX in Las Vegas in March. APEX is by far the most important single
al duties, I will become a caregiver. show for the U.S. electronics manufacturing industry, and this year, it will be
The bright light in all of this gloom is Michael Skinner, who has joined bigger and better than ever. APEX will reside in the cavernous Las Vegas
the staff as an assistant editor, and has plowed through a ton of editorial Convention Center, which has all the room that’s needed and then some. Ac-
work with a level of energy that leaves me gasping and envious. He is a good tually, the show will probably occupy only one hall, but the venue’s size and
writer and a hard worker, and we are grooming him to eventually replace me. location make it very inconvenient, unless you’re staying at the nearby Las
He’s a very quick study and walked the most recent SMTAI Show with me (he Vegas Hilton. There is a form of mass transit called the Monorail, which con-
walked, I rode my rented electric scooter), soaking up the technology like a nects most of the larger hotels on the Strip, then loops around to stations at
sponge, and I had several mentoring sessions with him during the show. I the Convention Center and the Hilton. If you have a rental car, leave it at your
have become the “Professor” going over his files and “grading his papers” hotel; parking is at a premium in the Convention Center area. This is definite-
making needed changes and adding pithy commentary at the end of each ar- ly not the subway in New York or Philadelphia, so if that’s what you’re used
ticle. Jacob has started calling me “The Coach” and I guess the title fits. Giv- to, forget it. A possible alternative is to have a designated driver — someone
en my level of ongoing involvement, the title of “Editor Emeritus” is a little who can hoof it back to the hall after dropping off the booth crew and parking
bit premature, but represents a state of mind that accepts the fact that I will the rental car some distance away.
actually be retiring soon. Even after that happens, I will continue to keep an As usual, U.S. Tech will be covering the show from wall to wall, our
eye on things, probably writing for the Op Ed page for each issue for as long March issue will carry a large Product Preview section, and we’ll all probably
as my fingers can type and/or until I run out of things to write about —some- eat too much of that rich Las Vegas food.
thing that I seriously doubt will ever happen. It’s a new year and U.S. Tech is in the process of making important
I will continue to look for and report on new and evolving technologies changes, started during 2015. Last year, we expanded our staff, and the lat-
on our front page. An example of this is the new push for controlled fusion as est addition is Assistant Editor Michael Skinner, who is an excellent writer,
an energy source. Remember the cold-fusion nonsense of 26 years ago? Every- but still has a monumental learning experience ahead of him. He has been at-
body was jumping on the bandwagon, including U.S. Tech, and I eagerly re- tending trade shows with us, learning very quickly about what it takes to pro-
ported on this wonderful new source of “free” or at least “very inexpensive” duce a top trade publication, and we all expect great things from him. Other
energy. We had some red faces when we discovered that the whole thing was expansions at U.S. Techhave included an upgrade to our web site as well as
a monumental screw-up in reading lab results; some cried “hoax” and either to our social media.
way, we had been taken in. The Fleishmann-Pons room-temperature “cold” One of the undercurrents at the show, and at all of this year’s trade
fusion process was presented very logically by two scientists who had excel- shows will be ongoing market situation caused by China’s twice-devalued cur-
lent credentials. I’m not sure if they deliberately misled the public or if they rency. World stock markets have been in upheaval since the beginning of the
had misinterpreted their test results. In any event, the announcement of year in response to the second devaluation of the renminbi. This has, in effect,
their findings, too good to be true, set off a wave of cold fusion hysteria in the cranked up China’s printing presses, and many of the world’s economies may
media. I think they really did believe that they had something, and the world be on the verge of going into the toilet. This will not happen in the U.S., main-
was only too happy to go bonkers over this miraculous new technology that ly because of the country’s continuing strong economy. U.S. unemployment is
turned out to be non-existent. And we were part of the stampede. at an all-time low, fed in large part by an active and successful
Today’s take on fusion as a power source is much more realistic, recog- onshoring/reshoring program. The big question now is what the U.S. financial
nizing the need for massive pressure and ultra-high temperatures, in effect market will do in coming months, since it strongly reflects financial markets
creating a miniature sun in the reactor. It’s a very costly proposition, but in Europe and the Far East. The dollar continues to be strong against the Eu-
there are many venture capitalists willing to throw lots of money at it. The al- ro, gaining significant ground over the last several months. Will this change
ternative is to allow polluters and those who deny the reality of global warm- in exchange rate continue or level off? And
ing to ultimately ruin our Planet Earth. There’s big money backing the nay- what is going to happen to China and its
sayers, but fusion is attracting even bigger bucks, and ultimately, this is once-burgeoning economy? This will certain-
where the payoff will be, if there’s still a Planet Earth left to save. r ly be a year for large changes. r
February, 2016 www.us-tech.com Page 5
See at IPC APEX Booth 1860
Page 6 www.us-tech.com February, 2016
Hydrogen Infrastructure
to Get a Boost
Continued from page 1
Published By: in nation, with the most FCEVs on the Essential for Infrastructure
Mid-Atlantic Tech road of any state and plans to open HyStEP recently underwent
China
Publications, Inc. 35 new retail hydrogen stations by validation testing at NREL’s Energy
Phoenixville, PA 19460 the end of 2016. Systems Integration Facility in Gold-
Sandia and NREL’s work on en, Colorado, and is now undergoing
Established January, 1986
H2FIRST and in enabling up-to-date pre-deployment testing at refueling
AdvertisingSales Offices
codes and standards for the design, stations at California State Universi-
U.S. TechWorld HQ
construction and operation of hydro- ty Los Angeles and the South Coast
Advertising&Editorial Offices gen refueling stations is helping Air Quality Management District
WELLINK drive that momentum. headquarters.
U.S. Tech INTERNATIONAL Early in 2016, the Air Re-
Serial Testing
10 Gay Street BUSINESS SERVICES, CO., sources Board in collaboration with
Phoenixville, PA 19460 LTD. The current practice of commis- other state agencies will begin using
sioning hydrogen refueling stations HyStEP to support the commission-
Phone: [phone] is slow because each automotive ing of new stations. Additional auto-
Fax: [phone] manufacturer performs its own vali- motive manufacturers, including
e-mail: [email protected] Hong Kong Office dation tests to measure the perform- Daimler AG, BMW and Honda, are
Web: www.us-tech.com Unit 06, 13th Fl. ance of hydrogen dispensers with re- contributing to that effort.
Ricky Centre spect to fueling protocol standards. “H2FIRST was conceived to
Publisher and President: Each test takes one to two weeks, so help the deployment of hydrogen fu-
Mongkok, Kowloon, Hong Kong commissioning can take months. eling infrastructure,” said Chris Ain-
Jacob Fattal
Tel: [phone] HyStEP acts as a surrogate for scough, lead NREL engineer on the
General Manager / Web Editor: Fax: [phone] vehicles, eliminating the need for project. “HyStEP is an example of
Steve Leberstien E-mail: [email protected] each automotive manufacturer to DOE and the national laboratories
test separately. The system is partnering with states to achieve
Office Manager: equipped with modular tanks and all this goal of accelerating clean energy
Megan Riley of the instrumentation that automo- technologies.”
Shenzhen Office
tive manufacturers would use in per- HyStEP will help California
Editor:
Room 2301-2302 Chuangshan forming their own tests. meet its ambitious goal of commis-
Walter Salm Centre, No. 6007 “HyStEP addresses the two pri- sioning up to 35 new refueling sta-
Assistant Editor: Shennan Road, Futian District mary concerns of automotive manu- tions by the end of 2016, which trans-
facturers: keeping their testing data lates to one new station every one to
Mike Skinner
Schenzhen City, China proprietary and ensuring the per- two weeks.
Contributing Columnist: Tel: [phone] formance of the hydrogen dispenser,” The target is a hydrogen-refuel-
Philip Stoten Fax: [phone] said Sandia mechanical engineer Ter- ing network of more than 50 retail
ry Johnson, project lead for HyStEP. stations in this timeframe, primarily
Art Director: E-mail: [email protected] Since automotive manufactur- in the Los Angeles metro area, Or-
Mike Swavola ers must trust the device’s ability to ange County and the Bay Area.
provide the same results they’d “This test device will help speed
Cartoonist: Ted Goff
achieve with their own test vehicles, up and streamline how we validate
Account Executive manufacturers needed to be involved retail stations to meet customer de-
Joseph Zummo from the start. In addition to Sandia mands for high performance fueling.
and NREL, the project team included This is essential to a successful mar-
Copyright ©2016 Air Liquide, Boyd Hydrogen, the Cal- ket, as fuel cell vehicles are already
Mid-Atlantic Tech Publications, Inc. ifornia Air Resources Board and Toy- being shipped to California and we
Contents not be reproduced or reprinted ota Motor Corp. expect many new customers using
in any form without written permission Web: www.pcbsmt.cn HyStEP initially will be used to hydrogen stations in 2016,” said
from the publisher.Opinions expressed on accelerate commissioning of refueling Catherine Dunwoody, chief of the fu-
Tech Op-Ed pages and by our columnists stations in California. Eventually it el cell program at the California Air
are the views of the person or persons au- could be used in other states as they Resources Board.
thoring the material. develop hydrogen refueling networks. Sandia and NREL will use the
data from the validation tests to fur-
Continued on page 23
C
ontents
Tech-Op-Ed ........................... 4
Tech Watch ........................... 10
Supply Chain ........................... 12
People.................................... 14
Business News......................... 16
Business Briefs........................ 17
Management........................ 18
EMS .................................... 20
ElectronicMfg.Prods............. 24
Production.......................... 46
Partnering........................... 48
Distribution........................ 50
New Products....................... 82
High-Tech Events................... 92
Editorial Calendar............... 92
Advertisers Index................... 94
Special Focus:
Test and Measurement............ 52
Product Preview:
ATX/MDM West......................... 64
See at ATX/MD&M West Booth 2008
February, 2016 www.us-tech.com Page 7
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Fusion Again.....
Continued from page 1 able on the company’s web site
covered that the whole thing was a (www.generalfusion.com) and pro-
monumental screw-up in reading lab vides some valuable insights into the
results; some cried “hoax” and either fusion process.
way, we had been taken in. The The basis for most of today’s
Fleishmann-Pons room-temperature R&D is the use of very hot plasmas.
“cold” fusion process was presented As Dr. Laberge points out in his pres-
very logically by two scientists who entation, nuclear fission is easy, nu-
had excellent credentials. It seemed clear fusion is very difficult. The fu-
to fulfill the basic definition: it re- sion process requires a temperature of
portedly produced more energy than 100 to 150 million degrees C, and into
it consumed. And that is the ultimate that high-temperature plasma of hy-
objective of any kind of fusion, which drogen atoms — actually just the nu-
ordinarily gobbles up enormous clei since the electrons are stripped off
amounts of energy: it must produce by the plasma —are forced to fuse to-
more energy than it consumes. gether forming a helium atom. The
MASTER PROHEAT® LCD We’re talking about such energy process generates a lot of excess ener-
hogs as the need for a temperature of gy in the form of heat, and we’re also
HIGH PERFORMANCE HEAT GUNS as much as 100 million degrees Cel- hoping for some free electrons. So far,
sius (that’s right, 100 million) and scientists have been able to make the
pressures so great that they can only reaction last as long as 100 millisec-
(cid:132) Compact, lightweight, 1.6 lb. design be estimated. Make no mistake, this onds —an eternity in the world of fu-
is not wishful thinking but real sci- sion. Going forward, a realistic goal
(cid:132) Digital temperature control: temperature ence, and it’s being worked on serious- will be a reaction that continues ad in-
adjustments in 10° increments from ly in dozens of sites worldwide, by finitum, as it does in the Sun, and an
130°-1000° F governments, universities, science energy output that exceeds its enor-
centers, and especially well-funded mous energy input. Remember, each
(cid:132) Airflow control: fully control your airflow startups. This time around, the secret one of these experimental reactors
from 4-16 CFM weapon is money, lots of money, being represents an attempt to create a
paid out by venture capitalists for miniature Sun on the planet Earth.
(cid:132) Lockable temperature and airflow settings startups that they believe will create The question at this point is,
a new kind of Silicon Valley. One such “Will this really happen?” Apparently
(cid:132) Proheat nozzle guard available: protect company, Tri Alpha Energy (TAE) in there are a lot of deep-pocket in-
hands and work from hot nozzle Foothill Ranch, Lake Forest, Califor- vestors with venture capital that’s
nia, reportedly has more than 140 em- looking for a home. Many of them feel
(cid:132) 18 versatile attachments, bench stand ployees and nearly $200 million in that the way to solve the fusion prob-
and storage case funding so far. And the money keeps lem is to throw a lot of money at it.
rolling in from investors. The venture The most ambitious of these projects
capitalists believe they’re on to some- is ITER in the south of France. For
MasterAppliance.com thing big, and there will be a huge comparison’s sake, the CERN collider
payoff for the company that gets there cost $4.75 billion, and now ITER is
800.558.9413
firstest with the mostest. saying that $20 billion won’t be
enough. The ITER consortium in-
Very Hot Plasma
cludes a number of countries: the
The process starts with a plasma United States, the European Union,
that is heated and compressed to lev- China, Japan, Russia, South Korea
els that mimic the interior of the Sun. and India. Its goal: to be online gener-
Creating such pressure physically is ating power continuously by 2027. It’s
not possible; any solid object trying to going to take lots of money, time and
exert such pressure would be vapor- patience, while air pollution levels in
ized instantly by the sun-hot temper- China continue to force industrial
atures. So scientists have been exert- shutdowns to give the air a chance to
ing pressure in other ways — bom- recover and to encourage people to
barding the plasma with a multitude come out of their houses to shop, go to
of high-intensity laser beams, and/or school, and to work. Coal is cheap and
running the plasma through the there’s lots of it in China, so it is very
“doughnut hole” center of a tokamaka tempting to continue to pollute no
HSHLD High Sensitivity Helium high-energy toroid-like electromagnet matter how many health problems
of enormous size and power. In fact, and deaths may result.
Leak Detector
tokamaks large and small have prolif- Who will get there first with the
erated around the world over several total solution? That’s hard to say.
decades as one of the prime ingredi- ITER certainly looks the most ambi-
ents of the fusion solution. The tious and has lots of money pouring in.
The HSHLD-310 Instrument Is Capable Of:
biggest tokamak ever is being built in And ever-mindful of what happened in
Southern France to be a part of ITER, 1989’s Cold Fusion stampede and
(cid:52) Combined Dry Gross and Fine Leak Testing the International Thermonuclear Ex- boondoggle, today’s researchers know
perimental Reactor, currently under that there’s no free lunch. Success will
(cid:52) Fine leak rate detection as low as 10-12 atm cc/sec He
way with total funding of more than cost very big bucks. The raw material
(cid:52) Custom Tracer Gas Configuration (O , Ar, Xe, N , etc.) $20 billion. of hydrogen will pose no problem; it’s
2 2 A crucial threshold is the break- the most plentiful element in the uni-
(cid:52) Meeting Military Standard Test Requirements even point —the point at which ener- verse and is readily available extract-
(Mil-Std 883, Method 1014.14 Class K, S or V Devices) gy output equals energy input. When ed from our seawater. It will definitely
the reactor passes this point, produc- happen, but probably not for another
ing more energy than it consumes, it 30 years. Will it happen in time to
The HSHLD-310 Instrument can be tailored for your is said to be a successful power source. save our planet? r
device types & eliminates Fluorocarbon Testing The race for that break-even point is
being run in earnest by major players, PCB Sales...
with private venture capital the most
important ingredient.
ORS is a DLA Suitable Test Another major player in the race Continued from page 1
Did You Know Laboratory is General Fusion, located in Vancou- search. “Strong order growth in late
ver, BC, Canada. So far this company 2014 and in many months of 2015
Deborah Delluomo has achieved some impressive results. have kept sales growing, although at a
Contact Us By Phone
1 (855) ORS LABS ext. 2202 What is especially impressive is a re- very slow pace,” she added.
cent TED Talk by company founder IPC’s monthly PCB industry
...Or Visit Us Online www.orslabs.com Dr. Michel Laberge in which he ex- statistics are based on data provided
plains the fusion process and how by a representative sample of both
much progress has been made. The rigid PCB and flexible circuit manu-
video of this TED Talk, which was facturers selling in the USA and
presented in March of 2014, is avail- Canada.Info: www.ipg.orgr
O
February, 2016 www.us-tech.com Page 9
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Page 10 www.us-tech.com February, 2016
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Demand for Quantum Dots to
Increase 20-Fold Over Next Decade
By Guillaume Chansin, Senior Technology Analyst, IDTechEx
Quantum dots (QDs), synthe- er its wavelength. Larger crystals new ways to produce and use them. clude high sensitivity in low light,
sized miniature semiconductor emit orange and red light, while In photovoltaic systems, a range and high resolution images. Also, as
crystals, are teetering on the smaller crystals emit blue and green. of quantum dots will harvest more of the QD film detects an entire image
edge of mass adoption. From a shaky QDs are binary compounds of a the visible spectrum, and waste less at once rather than top to bottom as
entrance in bioscience in the early metal such as lead, cadmium or indi- energy as heat. When absorbing light in traditional sensors, images are
1990s to a growing popularity in con- um combined with selenium, phos- rays, QDs are able to release multi- captured quickly and are more
sumer electronics and manufactur- phorous, arsenic or sulfur. They can ple excitons, rather than a single one sharply reproduced.
ing, the time may finally be right for be created in a variety of ways and per photon, which results in a
Possible Computer Applications
the quantum dot. can be used in a colloidal solution, or stronger electrical current flowing
IDTechEx, a market research as a solid. One of the simplest ways through the system. In theory, quantum dots might
firm that specializes in emerging to create quantum dots involves com- In the consumer electronics offer a basis for the field of quantum
technologies, has released a report bining chemicals under high pres- market, companies such as Samsung computing. Researchers are using
which forecasts that the demand for sure at a temperature of around and Sony are developing television quantum dots to practice controlling
quantum dots will increase signifi- 255°C, which forces crystals to form displays using QDs, with the promise spin characteristics at the subatomic
cantly over the next 10 years. With around the metal base. When put un- of brighter colors and a 30 to 40 per- level. The aim is to create a computer
applications for the semiconductors der ultraviolet light, or when an elec- cent energy use reduction. Quantum that is able to perform a massive num-
in photovoltaic cells, image sensors tric current is passed through them, Dot LEDs (QLED) are also being de- ber of calculations simultaneously,
and panel displays, the company pre- quantum dots fluoresce. veloped by such specialized compa- taking advantage of a phenomenon of
dicts that the production of QDs will The applications of quantum nies as QD Vision and NanoPhotoni- quantum dynamics: entanglement.
grow from less than 100kg in 2015 to dots range from health science and bi- ca, in hopes that the technology may Quantum dots offer a variety of
over 2 metric tons in 2026 — a more ology, to electronic imaging systems be commercially viable earlier than new applications for electronics, with
than 20-fold increase. and consumer electronics. Until re- its predicted year of 2020. QD-based some calling the field the next “Wild
Attractive for several reasons, cently, the process of QD creation has displays may become less expensive West” of electronics materials, due to
quantum dots are small in size (2 to been much too expensive and time- to manufacture than OLED and its relatively recent burst of publici-
10nm), emit only a single, pre-deter- consuming to practice large-scale. LCDs, as they require no backlight, ty. Both quantum dot-only and hy-
mined wavelength of light, and can However, many manufacturers see po- color filter, glass, or other optical ad- brid solar cells have been developed,
be created synthetically. The smaller tential in these tiny semiconductors, justment components. The QDs could as the materials offer adjustable
the diameter of the crystal, the short- and are putting effort into discovering be printed on thin and flexible mate- light absorption. Quantum dot tech-
rial and would not be constrained by nology will find applications in mi-
the size of the display. croscopy, spectroscopy, image sens-
InVisage Technologies, a Cali- ing platforms and many others. At
fornia-based semiconductor compa- any rate, the technology is sure to be-
ny, has recently launched an image come more prevalent; IDTechEx ex-
sensor which uses a quantum dot pects the market for quantum dot de-
film, instead of silicon, to gather vices and components to grow to over
light. According to the company, its $11 billion by 2026.
QuantumFilm Technology, which is Contact:IDTechEx, 1 Boston
a coat of quantum dots on an image Place, Suite 2600, Boston, MA
sensor chip, allows it to capture up to 02108 % 617-577-7890 fax: 617-577-
95 percent of incoming light. This im- 7810 E-mail: [email protected]
mediately provides benefits that in- Web: www.idtechex.com r
Plasma
Systems
Improve
Your
Results
Remove contamination and improve adhesion
Pre-treatment for MEMS, die attach,
underfilling, wafer-level packaging,
LED applications, molding and
wire bonding.
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