Irish test firm Optical Metrology Innovations has raised the spec of its packaging test system to cope with automotive/military temperature ranges and lead-free processing. The firm’s Omistrain product measures deformation and warping of devices after soldering to boards. The extended temperature version can measure at temperatures ranging from -65°C to +350°C. Chris Russell, v-p of marketing at the firm, told ...

Cambridge-based Antenova has produced a five-band antenna for mobile phones. “We already have a quad-band antenna and managed to get some more bandwidth with a little trick,” company chief scientist Professor Simon Kingsley told Electronics Weekly. “In fact, we can do it two ways.” In one incarnation, the antenna covers the US 800MHz (AMPS) and 1,900MHz (PCS) mobile bands, plus ...

Scottish semiconductor manufacturer Semefab is benefiting from pan-European interest in its MEMS (micro electromechanical system) products which now represents its fastest growing business. Two of the firm’s largest customers are in Germany and Switzerland. “We already have a significant presence in Germany especially with our MEMS products,” Alan Forsyth, product manager at Semefab told Electronics Weekly. “That business has been ...

Hot air-levelled tin-lead plating – the mainstay of PCB surface treatment as far back as most engineers can remember – was going out of style even before the RoHS Directive effectively signed its death warrant. Fine pitch quad flat pack (QFP) devices were to blame, because HASL (hot air solder levelled) coatings are too bumpy to guarantee reliable joints with ...

<b>Brooktree simplify HDSL</b><br /> Brooktree is developing a simplified, lower-speed version of the high-bit-rate digital subscriber line (HDSL), hoping to remove some of the barriers preventing the...

Thermal issues are in the news as end users demand faster electronics through greater functions but in smaller packages. Ray...

Lean manufacturing techniques are saving UK companies millions of pounds, according to the South West Manufacturing Advisory Service. The service, funded by the DTI and the local development agency, has saved local firms a total of £9m in just over two years. “We were launched to help small and medium sized manufacturing companies introduce lean manufacturing,” explained Arthur Richardson, director ...

European mixed signal foundry X-Fab aims to sign further outsourcing deals, adding to those it has with Zarlink and Zilog. The firm has a business model that sees part of its revenue coming from deals with fabless chip firms and part from foundry services to IDMs. “We’re looking for further outsourcing deals,” confirmed Thomas Hartung, v-p of sales and marketing ...

Contract manufacturer Solectron is hoping to gain European revenues from the market for networking equipment. Matti Virtanen, recently appointed president of Solectron EMEA, said: “Infrastructure areas of the wireless networking industry are definitely going to be the big growth areas. The portion of firms outsourcing manufacturing in this sector is small.” Virtanen said areas such as WiFi will become more ...

UK manufacturers are hoping to consolidate on business gains in the first half of the year as some firms see customers opting to move orders back from China. “Confidence is a lot higher and I expect the second half of the year to continue on from a much improved first half,” said Steve Lloyd, managing director of GSPK Circuits. “The ...