Component Management

In recent work conducted by engineers at Intertronics’ partners Relyon Plasma, it has been demonstrated that the substantial increases in bond strength achievable with the use of plasma surface treatment, can improve adhesion on many substrates, including those which are seen as difficult to bond. Plasma surface treatment can enable otherwise impractical bonds and improve assembly performance, while saving time and money in the concept...

Master Bond EP3HTSDA-1 is a single part, no mix epoxy adhesive designed primarily for die attach applications. It exhibits a die shear strength of 20-22 kg-f and has a high thermal conductivity. “This 100% solids formulation has an ideal viscosity and flow for die attach, will not ‘tail’ and can be easily dispensed automatically” says Rohit Ramnath, senior product engineer. “Additionally it has an unlimited working l...

Removing contamination from printed circuit boards remains a huge reliability and warranty issue for PCB manufacturers according to Russell Claybrook, regional sales manager for MicroCare. Speaking at the Texas Cleaning and Reliability Workshops in Austin and Dallas he stated that process control remains a major deficiency in the cleaning of PCBs, whether it be on the benchtop or in an automated cleaning system. 

Have no fear the Techspray Vortex 360° is here, which is the answer for companies facing the restriction on technical aerosols using HFCs with a Global Warming Potential (GWP) greater than 15, which comes into effect on 1st January 2018. The EU F-Gas Regulation (517/2014) controls the use and emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gases, and will prevent many of the currently used aerosol dusters from being put on the market after that date...

Glow-in-the-dark paints that have improved flexibility and transparency while also being cheaper and easier to manufacture are on the horizon courtesy of research from Kyushu University. In a demonstration, light emission lasting more than one hour was achieved from organic materials, which are also promising for unlocking new applications such as in bio-imaging.

Electrolube is to introduce its HTSX range of thermal interface materials at Productronica (A4.466) as well as a new ultra-thin liquid gap filling material, called GF300UT. Developed to perform in more extreme conditions than its sister product, the Silicone Heat Transfer Compound (HTS), HTSX is a silicone thermal interface material, which claims higher thermal conductivity, extended operating temperatures and excellent stability with a sign...

To build better solar cells, scientists need to design materials from the bottom up, placing chains of molecules just where they are needed. Scientists devised a new way to grow neatly arranged, densely packed bundles of molecular chains, specifically semiconducting polymer chains. The chains folded on themselves to make bundles that stretched from the growth plate to the film's surface. The bundles were packed side-by-side with neighboring bundl...

RMIT researchers have used liquid metal to create two-dimensional materials no thicker than a few atoms that have never before been seen in nature. The breakthrough will not only revolutionise the way we do chemistry but could be applied to enhance data storage and make faster electronics. The discovery has been published in Science. The researchers dissolve metals in liquid metal to create very thin oxide layers, which previously ...

Researchers at Tohoku University have gained insight into the electronic processes that guide the transformation of liquids into a solid crystalline or glassy state. The ability of some liquids to transition into glass has been exploited since ancient times. But many fundamental aspects of this transition phase are far from understood. Better understanding could spur the development of products such as DVDs or Blu-Ray discs that store data b...

A new ultralight silver nanowire aerogel could be a boost to the energy and electronics industries. Metal foams (or porous metals) represent a new class of materials with unique properties including lightweight, high surface area, high electrical conductivity and low thermal conductivity. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers have created a new ultralight silver nanowire aerogel that could lead to advances in fuel cells, ...