TOKYO, JAPAN: Advantest Corp. has successfully commercialized a new 3D imaging analysis system, the TAS7000, which utilizes Advantest’s proprietary terahertz wave technology, to perform nondestructive scans of targeted sample materials and deliver 3D visualization of results.
The TAS7000 revolutionizes spectroscopic analysis with its ability to perform structural, chemical, and quantitative distribution scans. This technology makes possible new methods of analysis and inspection, not only in the industrial arena, but also in pharmaceuticals, a field where analysis is set to grow more and more complex in the future, and also in the food and biotechnology arenas.
The system is initially being marketed to the automotive and heavy equipment industries, where it offers significant advantages for evaluating particulate matter (PM) in emissions from diesel engines. Further details will be made available at the SAE 2010 World Congress, to be held in Detroit, MI on April 13th – 15th, and at the Automotive Engineering Exposition 2010, to be held in Yokohama, Japan, on May 19th – 21st.
Without destroying samples, the TAS7000 delivers 3D visualizations of their interiors and easily analyzes the distribution of their constituents, structural defects, etc. The system was realized by exploiting an original terahertz imaging technology developed by Advantest in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Kodo Kawase of Nagoya University.
In its initial application, the TAS7000 proposes a new method that enables the distribution of particulate matter (PM) accumulated inside ceramic filters for diesel engines to be nondestructively visualized in 3D and quantitatively analyzed.
Advantest is presently exploring multiple applications, and is aggressively moving forward with the development of a second and a third application targeting fields such as industrial processing and chemicals. The company will also offer options to adapt the basic system configuration of the TAS7000 to customers’ diverse analysis and inspection needs.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
870,000 LED streetlights to be installed globally in 2010
TAIWAN: Focusing on the future of LED streetlight development, research institute LEDinside indicated that although streetlight standards have not been established and regulations of the product specifications are set according to different needs in different regions, LED streetlight becomes modulized, and intelligent control system of LED streetlight will be more complete.
It is estimated that a total of 870,000 units of LED streetlights will be installed in 2010, an increase of 42.62 percent compared to 610,000 in 2009.
From the global market perspective, LEDinside noted that LED streetlight standards around the world are still being drafted. Among these countries, the fastest in progress is in Taiwan, which launched the CNS 15233 LED streetlight standards.
China’s street lighting requirements are still applicable to the CJJ45 traditional streetlight standards, while LED streetlight projects of other governments are still being regulated in the form of standards. LED streetlight standards in the United States and Europe are still being drafted. Judging from the current standards of LED streetlight, there are strict requirements on the angle of light source, quality, and luminous decay.
Nevertheless, there are several distinct trends in the development of LED streetlights in 2010. According to LEDinside, the advantages of using LED modulize are that they are easy to replace and can reduce the maintenance costs.
Therefore, more and more LED streetlight vendors have introduced modular LED streetlight products, and some of the vendors have integrated the heat sink, optic, mechanic, and electric into a single module, while others are in the form of light source module separated from the thermal dissipation.
Another important trend is the LED streetlight intelligent control system, noted LEDinside. The current intelligent control system adjusts the brightness of the LED streetlight according to the road conditions, such as whether pedestrians or cars pass by, thereby increasing the service life of LED streetlight and conserving energy.
The intelligent system can be self-sufficiently powered by solar or wind power, without relying on municipal electricity, which is suitable for off-grid applications in remote areas. In future development, the intelligent system will automatically adjust brightness, color, and angle, and even allow real-time monitoring.
As for the policies, currently the most active countries in developing LED streetlights are China and Taiwan. However, both governments’ subsidy policies shifted in 2010. Taiwan government has accomplished the mission of supporting the development of LED streetlight manufacturers through several policies. Hence, the subsidies for the LED industry in 2010 will be shifted from LED streetlights to other LED applications such as road signs, traffic lights, and other related purposes.
China installed around 250,000 streetlights in 2009, and LEDinside estimates that China’s LED streetlight market will grow by 60 percent, reaching over 400,000 lamps. In 2010, the Chinese government's subsidy policies for the LED industry have also shifted from outdoor lighting to indoor lighting.
Unlike the situation in China, the United States government has not initiated a large-scale LED streetlight subsidy program. Each state government or power company promotes its own subsidy program. In terms of progress, the project proposed by Los Angeles in early 2008 was the most remarkable – an installation of 140,000 LED streetlights in five years.
Los Angeles has up to 209,000 streetlights, which is the nation's second largest next to New York City. Since the initiation of the project in 2008, conventional streetlights have been replaced by LED streetlights at the rate of 30,000 units per year.
It is estimated that a total of 870,000 units of LED streetlights will be installed in 2010, an increase of 42.62 percent compared to 610,000 in 2009.
From the global market perspective, LEDinside noted that LED streetlight standards around the world are still being drafted. Among these countries, the fastest in progress is in Taiwan, which launched the CNS 15233 LED streetlight standards.
China’s street lighting requirements are still applicable to the CJJ45 traditional streetlight standards, while LED streetlight projects of other governments are still being regulated in the form of standards. LED streetlight standards in the United States and Europe are still being drafted. Judging from the current standards of LED streetlight, there are strict requirements on the angle of light source, quality, and luminous decay.
Nevertheless, there are several distinct trends in the development of LED streetlights in 2010. According to LEDinside, the advantages of using LED modulize are that they are easy to replace and can reduce the maintenance costs.
Therefore, more and more LED streetlight vendors have introduced modular LED streetlight products, and some of the vendors have integrated the heat sink, optic, mechanic, and electric into a single module, while others are in the form of light source module separated from the thermal dissipation.
Another important trend is the LED streetlight intelligent control system, noted LEDinside. The current intelligent control system adjusts the brightness of the LED streetlight according to the road conditions, such as whether pedestrians or cars pass by, thereby increasing the service life of LED streetlight and conserving energy.
The intelligent system can be self-sufficiently powered by solar or wind power, without relying on municipal electricity, which is suitable for off-grid applications in remote areas. In future development, the intelligent system will automatically adjust brightness, color, and angle, and even allow real-time monitoring.
As for the policies, currently the most active countries in developing LED streetlights are China and Taiwan. However, both governments’ subsidy policies shifted in 2010. Taiwan government has accomplished the mission of supporting the development of LED streetlight manufacturers through several policies. Hence, the subsidies for the LED industry in 2010 will be shifted from LED streetlights to other LED applications such as road signs, traffic lights, and other related purposes.
China installed around 250,000 streetlights in 2009, and LEDinside estimates that China’s LED streetlight market will grow by 60 percent, reaching over 400,000 lamps. In 2010, the Chinese government's subsidy policies for the LED industry have also shifted from outdoor lighting to indoor lighting.
Unlike the situation in China, the United States government has not initiated a large-scale LED streetlight subsidy program. Each state government or power company promotes its own subsidy program. In terms of progress, the project proposed by Los Angeles in early 2008 was the most remarkable – an installation of 140,000 LED streetlights in five years.
Los Angeles has up to 209,000 streetlights, which is the nation's second largest next to New York City. Since the initiation of the project in 2008, conventional streetlights have been replaced by LED streetlights at the rate of 30,000 units per year.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Teradyne intros test expert for Spectrum v9.0
NORTH READING, USA: Teradyne Inc. has announced that the latest version of software (5.1) for the Spectrum in-circuit test system will include Test Expert software, the latest productivity software from Siemens PLM Software.
The integrated software, Test Expert for Spectrum v9.0, interacts directly with Teradyne’s Spectrum test program development environment to expedite the process of importing electronic CAD and BOM data, the selection of appropriate test probe locations, and the automation of the test fixture design files.
Test Expert, a component of Siemens PLM Software’s Tecnomatix software, is a solution that helps the high-tech and electronics industry automate test engineering associated with new product introduction processes for PCB assembly.
Test Expert replaces the FABmaster software that was available on previous versions of Spectrum software. It includes a new easy-to-use Windows’ user interface, BOM Import Wizard, user-defined library, interactive testability reports, flexible software licensing and support for more than 48 different CAD formats. To ease transition to the new software, Test Expert for Spectrum v9.0 was designed to support the import of existing FABmaster test projects.
“Teradyne is pleased to provide our Spectrum customers with the enhanced capabilities of Siemens PLM Software’s Test Expert solution,” said Bobby Griffis, marketing director for Teradyne’s Commercial Board Test Group.
“Our collaborative efforts with Siemens PLM Software have resulted in a solution that will increase the productivity of Spectrum users. Test Expert for Spectrum v9.0 is a highly integrated and interactive implementation which shortens development time by allowing all CAD preparation activities to be performed from within the Spectrum project application.”
“We are glad that Teradyne has selected Siemens PLM Software’s Test Expert solution to optimize the front-end CAD translation, probe placement and fixture design activities for their Spectrum in-circuit testers,” said Tom Hoffman, director of Tecnomatix Product Marketing, Siemens PLM Software.
“Our commitment to satisfying the demanding requirements of high-quality EMS equipment providers like Teradyne has made Test Expert the most widely used solution of its kind in the marketplace.”
The integrated software, Test Expert for Spectrum v9.0, interacts directly with Teradyne’s Spectrum test program development environment to expedite the process of importing electronic CAD and BOM data, the selection of appropriate test probe locations, and the automation of the test fixture design files.
Test Expert, a component of Siemens PLM Software’s Tecnomatix software, is a solution that helps the high-tech and electronics industry automate test engineering associated with new product introduction processes for PCB assembly.
Test Expert replaces the FABmaster software that was available on previous versions of Spectrum software. It includes a new easy-to-use Windows’ user interface, BOM Import Wizard, user-defined library, interactive testability reports, flexible software licensing and support for more than 48 different CAD formats. To ease transition to the new software, Test Expert for Spectrum v9.0 was designed to support the import of existing FABmaster test projects.
“Teradyne is pleased to provide our Spectrum customers with the enhanced capabilities of Siemens PLM Software’s Test Expert solution,” said Bobby Griffis, marketing director for Teradyne’s Commercial Board Test Group.
“Our collaborative efforts with Siemens PLM Software have resulted in a solution that will increase the productivity of Spectrum users. Test Expert for Spectrum v9.0 is a highly integrated and interactive implementation which shortens development time by allowing all CAD preparation activities to be performed from within the Spectrum project application.”
“We are glad that Teradyne has selected Siemens PLM Software’s Test Expert solution to optimize the front-end CAD translation, probe placement and fixture design activities for their Spectrum in-circuit testers,” said Tom Hoffman, director of Tecnomatix Product Marketing, Siemens PLM Software.
“Our commitment to satisfying the demanding requirements of high-quality EMS equipment providers like Teradyne has made Test Expert the most widely used solution of its kind in the marketplace.”
Sakti3 raises $7 million in series B financing
ANN ARBOR, USA: Sakti3, Inc., an Ann Arbor-based developer of next-generation lithium-ion batteries, announces the completion of its $7 million Series B round of financing. The capital, from new investor Beringea and previous investor Khosla Ventures, will fund the company’s expansion of its Michigan-based research, development and manufacturing capabilities.
Sakti3 will release separate announcements related to its technology, expansion plans, and other partners in the coming months.
“These funds will enable us to continue to develop our technology and manufacturing capabilities,” said Dr. Ann Marie Sastry, CEO of Sakti3. “We are scaling and continuing to build our team from our base in Michigan.”
The investment from Beringea was made through the InvestMichigan! Growth Capital fund, a $175 million economic growth initiative that provides expansion-stage capital to promising emerging businesses in Michigan.
“Sakti3 presents a fantastic Michigan story: some of the most innovative technology and talent from the University of Michigan is successfully building a business to speed electrification of vehicles, helping position Michigan to lead the next phase of growth in the automotive market – an industry still critical to Michigan’s future,” said Jeff Bocan, managing director at Beringea.
"We're pleased to see Sakti3's progress and growth," says Vinod Khosla, founder and principal at Khosla Ventures. "It's the kind of play we like - one that uses advanced computational science and manufacturing to produce a potentially disruptive technology. We strongly believe that the solution to clean energy is technical innovation, which is why we supported Sakti3."
Sakti3 was awarded a $3 million grant from The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) in 2009 and has been designated as a State of Michigan Center of Energy Excellence (CoEE) in partnership with the University of Michigan.
“We aggressively worked to keep Sakti3 here because this high-tech innovator is a key player in Michigan’s growing advanced battery industry,” said Governor Jennifer M. Granholm. “As a Michigan Center of Energy Excellence partnered with the University of Michigan, Sakti3 clearly demonstrates the great value that comes when private business, universities and government work together.”
Sakti3 will release separate announcements related to its technology, expansion plans, and other partners in the coming months.
“These funds will enable us to continue to develop our technology and manufacturing capabilities,” said Dr. Ann Marie Sastry, CEO of Sakti3. “We are scaling and continuing to build our team from our base in Michigan.”
The investment from Beringea was made through the InvestMichigan! Growth Capital fund, a $175 million economic growth initiative that provides expansion-stage capital to promising emerging businesses in Michigan.
“Sakti3 presents a fantastic Michigan story: some of the most innovative technology and talent from the University of Michigan is successfully building a business to speed electrification of vehicles, helping position Michigan to lead the next phase of growth in the automotive market – an industry still critical to Michigan’s future,” said Jeff Bocan, managing director at Beringea.
"We're pleased to see Sakti3's progress and growth," says Vinod Khosla, founder and principal at Khosla Ventures. "It's the kind of play we like - one that uses advanced computational science and manufacturing to produce a potentially disruptive technology. We strongly believe that the solution to clean energy is technical innovation, which is why we supported Sakti3."
Sakti3 was awarded a $3 million grant from The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) in 2009 and has been designated as a State of Michigan Center of Energy Excellence (CoEE) in partnership with the University of Michigan.
“We aggressively worked to keep Sakti3 here because this high-tech innovator is a key player in Michigan’s growing advanced battery industry,” said Governor Jennifer M. Granholm. “As a Michigan Center of Energy Excellence partnered with the University of Michigan, Sakti3 clearly demonstrates the great value that comes when private business, universities and government work together.”
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Illumitex unveils Aduro series of high power LEDs
AUSTIN, USA: Illumitex Inc., a developer of revolutionary high-brightness light emitting diodes (LEDs), has revealed its first breakthrough product line, the Aduro series of packaged LEDs.
The Aduro series transforms LED lighting design by emitting uniform, narrow-beam white light without the need for expensive, inefficient secondary optics. Based in Austin, Texas, with strong backing from world-renowned investors such as New Enterprise Associates, Illumitex is changing the way lighting is envisioned by enabling the most efficient and cost-effective LED lighting solutions in the world.
“What Illumitex has achieved is a fundamental breakthrough in delivering the most usable lumens to the task surface, thus providing unrivaled overall lighting system efficiency," said Matt Thomas, CEO of Illumitex. "We have reinvented the basic die and package structure to create the industry’s most optically advanced LED. Our technology allows us to deliver perfectly uniform light exactly where the customer wants it.”
LEDworks, an Illumitex customer headquartered in Singapore, is currently leading a major lighting upgrade using Aduro-enabled lighting fixtures. “Illumitex has developed the most efficient and cost-effective LED lighting solution on the market,” said Philip Mak, CEO of LEDworks. “We are using Illumitex LEDs to create the industry’s highest performing lighting fixtures. The Aduro product line represents a huge leap forward in light quality. We view this installation as the first of many collaborations.”
Until now, traditional LED manufacturers have used a basic dome optic in an attempt to control the light output from the package. However, this has forced fixture manufacturers to utilize costly, inefficient secondary optical lenses and reflectors.
Illumitex solves this problem with a breakthrough approach to light extraction that eliminates the cost and energy efficiency issues associated with secondary optics. The Illumitex solution results in a highly efficient and uniform distribution pattern at the beam angle of the customer’s choice.
Illumitex's Aduro LEDs are available in 4-die and 16-die arrays, and the products are offered in cool, warm and neutral white light with radiation patterns of 10, 20 and 30 degree beam half-angles.
The Aduro series transforms LED lighting design by emitting uniform, narrow-beam white light without the need for expensive, inefficient secondary optics. Based in Austin, Texas, with strong backing from world-renowned investors such as New Enterprise Associates, Illumitex is changing the way lighting is envisioned by enabling the most efficient and cost-effective LED lighting solutions in the world.
“What Illumitex has achieved is a fundamental breakthrough in delivering the most usable lumens to the task surface, thus providing unrivaled overall lighting system efficiency," said Matt Thomas, CEO of Illumitex. "We have reinvented the basic die and package structure to create the industry’s most optically advanced LED. Our technology allows us to deliver perfectly uniform light exactly where the customer wants it.”
LEDworks, an Illumitex customer headquartered in Singapore, is currently leading a major lighting upgrade using Aduro-enabled lighting fixtures. “Illumitex has developed the most efficient and cost-effective LED lighting solution on the market,” said Philip Mak, CEO of LEDworks. “We are using Illumitex LEDs to create the industry’s highest performing lighting fixtures. The Aduro product line represents a huge leap forward in light quality. We view this installation as the first of many collaborations.”
Until now, traditional LED manufacturers have used a basic dome optic in an attempt to control the light output from the package. However, this has forced fixture manufacturers to utilize costly, inefficient secondary optical lenses and reflectors.
Illumitex solves this problem with a breakthrough approach to light extraction that eliminates the cost and energy efficiency issues associated with secondary optics. The Illumitex solution results in a highly efficient and uniform distribution pattern at the beam angle of the customer’s choice.
Illumitex's Aduro LEDs are available in 4-die and 16-die arrays, and the products are offered in cool, warm and neutral white light with radiation patterns of 10, 20 and 30 degree beam half-angles.
Luminus Devices intros ultra-violet PhlatLight LED
BILLERICA, USA: Luminus Devices Inc., developer and manufacturer of big-chip PhlatLight LEDs, has announced the UV CBT-120, the company’s first big-chip UV LED built on PhlatLight technology.
The CBT-120 is ideally suited for a widely diverse number of industrial processes ranging from epoxy, ink, paint, laminate and adhesive curing to semiconductor processing.
The UV CBT-120, based on Luminus’ award-winning large monolithic chip platform, is well-suited for UV applications that demand a high-flux of UV photons. The UV CBT-120 has a power density of 1 W/mm2, offering extremely high optical output of 10W at 390 nm.
“Traditionally, industrial curing applications have been forced to use high-wattage, high-intensity lamps due to the level of optical power density required for these applications,” said Alexei Erchak, CTO, Luminus Devices. “Now, with the release of the UV CBT-120, a solid-state lighting solution is available that can reach the requisite power levels and provide a new level of process control that is safe and reliable.”
The UV CBT-120 features high thermal-conductivity packaging, with a junction to heat sink thermal resistance of only 0.7 °C/W so it can reliably be driven to the demanding power levels necessary for industrial processing. It is an energy saving, environmentally friendly light source lasting over 10,000 hours compared to 1,000 – 2,000 hours in traditional high intensity discharge lamps.
Samples are now available, full production is expected later in 2010.
The CBT-120 is ideally suited for a widely diverse number of industrial processes ranging from epoxy, ink, paint, laminate and adhesive curing to semiconductor processing.
The UV CBT-120, based on Luminus’ award-winning large monolithic chip platform, is well-suited for UV applications that demand a high-flux of UV photons. The UV CBT-120 has a power density of 1 W/mm2, offering extremely high optical output of 10W at 390 nm.
“Traditionally, industrial curing applications have been forced to use high-wattage, high-intensity lamps due to the level of optical power density required for these applications,” said Alexei Erchak, CTO, Luminus Devices. “Now, with the release of the UV CBT-120, a solid-state lighting solution is available that can reach the requisite power levels and provide a new level of process control that is safe and reliable.”
The UV CBT-120 features high thermal-conductivity packaging, with a junction to heat sink thermal resistance of only 0.7 °C/W so it can reliably be driven to the demanding power levels necessary for industrial processing. It is an energy saving, environmentally friendly light source lasting over 10,000 hours compared to 1,000 – 2,000 hours in traditional high intensity discharge lamps.
Samples are now available, full production is expected later in 2010.
Mitsubishi Electric & Electronics USA to sell TFT-LCD modules in Americas
CYPRESS, USA: Mitsubishi Electric & Electronics USA, Inc. is now selling TFT-LCD modules for industrial applications in North, Central and South America.
Business and product support will be handled through its semiconductor division, located in Santa Clara, California.
Mitsubishi Electric’s color TFT-LCD modules work with applications for measuring instruments, automatic teller machines (ATM), point of sale terminals (POS), factory automation equipment (FA) and more.
The modules range in size from 4.3 inches to 17.5 inches, and offer optimal visibility. Proprietary technologies such as Mitsubishi Electric’s Natural Color Matrix and Feed Forward Driving shorten cell response times for faster frame refresh rates and widen viewing angles. White LED backlight modules are also available.
All feature high reliability, forward compatibility and long-term support and are RoHS compliant.
Business and product support will be handled through its semiconductor division, located in Santa Clara, California.
Mitsubishi Electric’s color TFT-LCD modules work with applications for measuring instruments, automatic teller machines (ATM), point of sale terminals (POS), factory automation equipment (FA) and more.
The modules range in size from 4.3 inches to 17.5 inches, and offer optimal visibility. Proprietary technologies such as Mitsubishi Electric’s Natural Color Matrix and Feed Forward Driving shorten cell response times for faster frame refresh rates and widen viewing angles. White LED backlight modules are also available.
All feature high reliability, forward compatibility and long-term support and are RoHS compliant.
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