W. L. Gore and Associates, Inc. Earns #15 Position on FORTUNE'S 2009 "100 Best Companies to Work For" List

W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., has announced it has earned a position on FORTUNE magazine's annual list of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" for the 12th consecutive year. Gore is ranked No. 15. The full list and related stories appear in the February 2 issue of FORTUNE, available on newsstands on Monday, January 26, and now at FORTUNE.com/bestcompanies.

"Gore is honored to once again earn recognition as one of the best workplaces in America," says company president and CEO Terri Kelly. "Thanks largely to the pioneering corporate culture established by our founders more than 50 years ago, Gore is a place where innovation thrives and where every individual has the ability to contribute to the success of the enterprise. I strongly believe that our culture is our biggest competitive advantage. It directly contributes to our business success and drives associate satisfaction."

According to FORTUNE, a driving factor for the companies on this year's list is that they excel at creating jobs. Of the 100 companies on the 2009 list, 73 are currently hiring.     

In his FORTUNE.com blog, managing editor Andy Serwer writes, "No matter what happens with the economy, the demand for talent will remain. Great companies know that super-motivated, happy, world-class employees are an incredible competitive advantage."

Gore is one of only a handful of companies to appear on all of the U.S. "100 Best Companies to Work For" lists since the rankings were introduced in 1984. This includes all 12 FORTUNE magazine lists and all three "100 Best Companies to Work For in America" books. For the past several years, Gore's facilities in the UK, France, Italy and Germany have also been named as one of the Best Companies to Work For in those countries.

LORD Corporation Develops New Epoxy Material that Offers NXP Semiconductor Cost Reduction and Material Standardization

LORD Corporation has announced the availability of a new epoxy adhesive/sealant.

Developed for NXP Semiconductor, formerly Philips, the material, Thermoset® MA-511, is a one component thixotropic epoxy material designed for use as either an adhesive or a sealant in microelectronic applications requiring high-speed dispensing. According to Arnita Podpod, Project Engineer for NXP Semiconductor, they sought a reworkable, low-modulus, non-slumping, high-speed dispensing adhesive for cap sealing (clear and green caps) their CATV module. The previous materials used by NXP were not suitable for all cap types and therefore didn’t provide strong enough adhesion. Key objectives for the new project included cost reduction and material standardization. 

LORD extensively tested MA-511 and it passed all reliability tests for clear caps, an area in which NXP had previously experienced problems. Further, since MA-511 can be applied via an automated dispenser, they no longer experience tailing issues. The material cures rapidly, offers excellent adhesion to a variety of plastics and its thixotropic rheology allows shape to be maintained after dispensing.

ERG Unveils Industry’s Most Comprehensive Line of Full-Function Led Backlight Drivers for OEM LEDs in New Online Cross-Reference Guide at Ergpower.Com

Endicott Research Group (ERG) is offering the widest selection in the industry of full-function drivers matched to OEM LCDs equipped with LED backlights. The company’s new online cross-reference guide for OEM LCDs with LED Backlights contains nearly 100 different driver boards for more than 60 OEM panels from major manufacturers.

Users can look up the make and model number of their LCD panel and find the corresponding ERG driver part number – either 5V or wide input 12V, with external or onboard dimming and suggested interconnect hardware.

“These are full-function, plug-and-play drivers with a wide input voltage range that maintain a constant current so you get the longest possible lifetime from your LED backlight,” said Graham Upton, ERG’s Vice President of Engineering. “The new cross-reference guide makes it easy to find the driver you need for your OEM panel. And if your panel isn’t listed, our Application Engineers can certainly provide a solution.”

Fraunhofer Institute Berlin Selects Asymtek’s Dispensing and Coating Technology to Equip its Research Center

Asymtek, a Nordson company, and the Fraunhofer Institut für Zuverlässigkeit und Mikrointegration (IZM) Berlin announce  their ongoing collaborative effort  to support microelectronics packaging and encapsulation research, using Asymtek’s advanced dispensing and coating technology.  Fraunhofer IZM recently installed Asymtek’s Axiom™ X-1020 high volume dispensing system in its Center for Applied Research, which focuses on interconnection technologies and microelectronics. The Axiom system, equipped with the award- winning DispenseJet® DJ-9000 valve, is being used for underfilling inter-chip gaps, wafer level underfilling for Chip-on-Wafer assemblies, and glob top jetting over wire bonds. “The Axiom system offers highly repeatable results that can be easily transferred from our lab to production,” stated Karl-Friedrich Becker, group manager, assembly and encapsulation for Fraunhofer Berlin.

Fraunhofer also purchased a Century™ C-341 conformal coating system with the SwirlCoat™ SC-300 valve for the coating of polymer electronics and application of thin hydrophobic layers for electro-wetting on dielectrics (EWOD.) “We chose Asymtek for their technical competence—especially jetting-on-the fly—and the fact that their technology is field-proven,” stated Becker. “When we need assistance, they exceed our expectations and help us transition into new products appropriate for our customers’ production requirements.”

“We are pleased to support the work that the Fraunhofer Institute performs, which helps to advance industry knowledge and practices,” commented Michel van de Vijver, Asymtek’s general manager for Europe.

PEI’s Etched Step and Flat Lids With Sputtered Getters to Absorb Moisture

PHOTOFABRICATION ENGINEERING, INC. (PEI), Milford, MA, offers a full line of custom and standard step lids and flat lids for seam-weldable microelectronic packages, now available with sputtered getters for moisture absorption.  Package and hybrid manufacturers may purchase lids to a given print or by specifying the package to which the lid will be welded.  PEI’s standard tooling list has lids to meet almost every common specification; custom lids are also available with a one-time tooling charge (which may be absorbed on large-volume orders).

The standard base material for PEI’s lids is etching-grade iron-nickel-cobalt alloy, but PEI can also etch lids from other materials, including Nickel-200, stainless steel, and cold rolled steel.  Plating and finishing options are also available, including gold plate, electrolytic nickel, and electroless nickel.  Selective plating is also available upon request.  With our large in-stock inventory of materials, PEI offers the fastest turn-around time in the industry.

PEI will design lids to exact customer dimensions and specifications to ensure a precise fit on customer packages, and will guarantee the proper fit.  For 0.010 in. (0.254 mm) to 0.015 in. (0.381 mm) lids, the typical tolerance is ± 0.003 in . (0.076 mm) on features and ± 0.001 in. (0.025 mm) on the flange.  Flatness will be held to 0.002 in. (0.05 mm) per inch (25.4 mm).  On lids 0.020 in. (0.5 mm) or greater, typical tolerances vary due to material thickness.  Whatever your tolerance requirements, PEI can meet them; contact our sales department for details.

PEI also offers sputtered getters on all of our custom lids to absorb moisture, reinforcing our reputation as being the BEST provider of high-quality, competitively-priced lids in the market.  We have an entire department devoted to the daily etching of seam-weldable microelectronic packages. 

RNT Material Shows Capability for Concentrated Photovoltaics

Reactive NanoTechnologies, Inc. (RNT), has announced that it has developed its NanoBond® process for use as a Thermal Interface Material (TIM) in Concentrated Photovoltaic (CPV) solar systems.  As part of this development, RNT has issued an Application Note, available at www.rntfoil.com to assist users in applying this new process.

In this application NanoBond®, a joining process using NanoFoil®, can be used to replace traditional adhesives for improved thermal management at the TIM1 interface in CPV receiver applications.  This is accomplished by joining thick, stress-absorbing solder layers together using NanoFoil®.  The use of solder material as a replacement for  traditional adhesives to bond the dissimilar materials of ceramic substrate to metal heatsinks improves thermal conductivity, providing lower junction temperatures (Tj max) which results in improved efficiency and longer lifetime of products.  
 
"In a typical CPV receiver material stack-up, the interface between the ceramic substrate and the Copper or Aluminum heatspreader creates a large CTE mismatch," explains Carmen Mattei, Product Manager for RNT.  "By replacing traditional adhesives with a thick bond line of solder created using the NanoBond® process, RNT has developed a method for handling that mismatch, improving the thermal conductivity and allowing CPV manufacturers the opportunity to improve system performance."

Ticona Develops 2nd Gen Low Viscosity Fortron® PPS to Help E/E Applications Meet Low Halogen Requirements

Ticona Engineering Polymers has announced the availability of a low viscosity grade of Fortron® PPS that meets today’s market demand for low halogen materials. This next generation Fortron PPS gives designers and manufacturers a “drop-in” option for use in eco-friendly electrical and electronic components.

“The next generation Fortron PPS 1140LC6 is similar to our newly launched low chlorine Fortron PPS 1140A66 but offers a lower viscosity, making it a suitable ‘drop –in’ exchange for use in existing molds, even in small parts,” said Ed Hallahan, marketing manager — Vectra® LCP and Fortron PPS. “Fortron PPS 1140LC6 also meets the proposed industry standard by containing less than 900 parts per million of both bromine and chlorine, which enables it to compete against other PPS ‘in-kind’ low halogen products as well as high-temperature V-0 nylons, which are struggling to meet the new environmental requirements.”

Fortron PPS resins satisfy the UL94 V-0 flammability rating without the addition of flame retardants. Also, Fortron PPS is ideal for use in applications where exacting electrical properties are required, making it a material of choice for making connectors, switches and other applications such as jigs used in semiconductor production and testing.

“Fortron PPS 1140LC6 is inherently flame resistant without additives,” said Hallahan. “Since it is UL94 V-0 rated, it can withstand high temperature soldering assembly — up to 270 Celsius — and it will outperform high temperature nylons that are subject to blistering, moisture uptake and dimensional stability processing issues.”
The new Fortron PPS grade complements the existing high-performance polymer portfolio of V-0 products from Ticona that already meet standards for eco-friendly electrical and electronic products.

New Fortron PPS

Custom Hermetic Feedthroughs from AdTech Ceramics

AdTech Ceramics offers custom hermetic feedthroughs for high reliability applications including microwave, spectrometry, high power and high frequency applications up to 30GHz using multi layer co-fire technology.

Multi layer ceramic feedthroughs combine “split via” and high temperature braze technology for an exceptionally reliable edge metallization without concern for processing damage at the point where the metallization wraps around the ceramic edges. This technology allows for multiple electrical connections per feedthrough with vertical and/or horizontal wirebond and sealing surfaces.

AdTech has several patented processes that maximize metal/ceramic adhesion over a wide range of temperatures. Ceramic materials include white and black High Temp Co-fire Ceramic (HTCC) Almunia (Al2O3) and Aluminum Nitride (AlN) and LTCC low temp co-fired ceramics. AdTech also offers metallized co-fired injection molded Alumina, chemical milling of metal components and mechanical assembly.

Design assistance is available from AdTech’s in-house engineering staff. Capabilities include electromagnetic and thermal modeling and simulation for microwave packages in the X through K band frequency ranges.
For more information, please visit www.adtechceramics.com.