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PORTLAND, Ore.-Pure carbon interconnects, cast as tiny ribbons of graphene, will outperform copper interconnects below 30 nanometer line widths, according to researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech).

Driven by the need for increased speed, portability and wiring density, the interconnect pitch on semiconductor packages, and the corresponding high density interconnect (HDI) substrates, continue to shrink. The combination of filled blind microvias and build-up technology provides a means to achieve the required wiring densities. With the rapid growth of this technology, the use of electrodeposited copper for filling blind microvias has become a widely adopted process for manufacture of both HDI printed circuit boards (PCBs) and also semiconductor package substrates.

"a series of articles aiming to inform how to safely extend the life of commercial aircraft from the electrical wire interconnection system (EWIS) perspective"

"Copper interconnects have served the electronics industry since its infancy. Wire terminated with separable connectors enables equipment to be efficiently assembled as well as deliver power and signals to/from the host of electronic devices we take for granted today, but change is brewing. The explosion of mobile devices has begun to alter traditional connectivity with demand for interfaces that free the device from the tether of signal and power cables."

Nexans says it has been awarded one of two contracts to lay a high voltage power cable between Italy and Montenegro. The contract, worth approximately EUR300Mn (US$388Mn), will involve laying 415km of cable of which 393km is subsea cable and 22km of underground cable. When releasing the news, Nexans said that the contract reinforces their position as a leader in the global power interconnections sector.

"In the United States, the power system consists of more than 7,300 power plants, nearly 160,000 miles of high-voltage power lines, and millions of low-voltage power lines and distribution transformers, which connect 145 million customers."

"Today's advanced microchips can pack 20 kilometers of copper wiring in a 100 square millimeter area, stacked in 10 layers with up to 10 billion vias or vertical connections between layers."

"The battery energy storage system (BESS) market is poised to enter a period of dynamic growth on a global level. In the markets for utility-scale grid-connected solutions, commercialisation will begin to accelerate after 2017 with the subsequent years bringing huge opportunities for companies that have the technological capabilities to compete. Rapid growth in variable renewable energy generation and new regulatory policies governing performance criteria for their interconnection with the grid are driving the demand for grid-modernisation, with BESS being a key enabler of growth due to its flexibility and versatility. The period of study is 2014 to 2024."

"Conflict mining remains an important issue, and one we are beginning to see governments step in to address in different ways. With the global economy as interconnected as ever, it's important to note that many of the products and technologies we use in our daily lives begin at the same source: mines. With leading companies across industries such as electronics, retail and jewelry, auto manufacturing, lighting aerospace, construction, and other industries relying on these commonly used 3TG metals - tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold - implementing effective regulation is essential in order to further advance support to eliminate or reduce human rights violation."

Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc (K&S) has announced that the company has entered into definitive agreements to acquire substantially all of the assets of Orthodyne Electronics Corporation, a supplier of wedge bonders, and sell the K&S wire business unit to WC Heraeus GmbH, a precious metals and technology group. Under the terms of the Orthodyne agreement, K&S will fund the acquisition of Orthodyne with approximately 7.1 million shares of K&S common stock, plus $80 million in cash. If the transaction is not consummated by October 31, 2008, the purchase price will be approximately 19.6 million shares of K&S common stock and no cash. The deal includes possible earn-out consideration up to an additional $40 million in cash if certain financial objectives are met by Orthodyne over the next three years. The closing of the transaction, which is expected within approximately 60 days, is subject to certain working capital adjustments and closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. "The acquisition of Orthodyne is in line with our stated strategy and positions K&S to capitalize on our strengths in equipment manufacturing and further cement our position as the leading supplier of interconnect solutions," commented Scott Kulicke, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of K&S. "Orthodyne is a fast growing, profitable market leader and provides us with deeper penetration into the discrete side of the semiconductor market, particularly in the attractive power management and hybrid module markets."

for energy projects: a proposal for a Regulation to grant Community support to strategic energy projects. A total of € 3.5 billion is proposed for investment in carbon capture and storage (financial envelope: €1,250 million), offshore wind projects (€500 million), and gas and electricity interconnection projects (€1,750 million).

Recent research into the properties of graphene nanoribbons provides two new reasons for using the material as interconnects in future computer chips. In widths as narrow as 16 nanometers, graphene has a current carrying capacity approximately a thousand times greater than copper - while providing improved thermal conductivity.

A team of Novellus researchers will be located with CNSE staff at Albany NanoTech, where they'll conduct leading-edge research into advanced nanofabrication processes, including copper fill for interconnects, copper through-silicon via fill for three-dimensional packaging applications, tungsten deposition for transistor contacts, and thin dielectric film deposition.

"Power Segment highlights The Power products and solutions business revenues stood at Rs. 461 Crores, up 61% Q-O-Q as conductor volumes at about 27,000 MT have started showing signs of improvement In the Power products and solutions segment, we have added new accounts in the European markets for power conductors and in India for OPGW products. Order book at Rs 2400 crores in Power products segment remains healthy and well diversified with exports nearly accounting for 40% of total order book. Power Transmission Segment East-North Interconnection Company Ltd. (ENICL) became fully operational with completion of the second 400 KV double-circuit quad transmission line connecting Bongaigaon in Assam to Siliguri in West Bengal which makes us the only private transmission utility to successfully commission the first private mega transmission project in the country. In Bhopal Dhule Transmission Company Ltd. (BDTCL) project, few more milestones were achieved with commissioning of two more lines and two substations taking us to nearly 60% completion for the project The current revenue generating elements of the first three projects have an annualized revenue run rate of Rs 287 crore which has shown a major increase from the annualized revenue run rate of Rs. 68 crores at end of previous quarter With Sterlite's investments completed in these projects, we expect the other 2 projects BDTCL and JTCL to be fully operational progressively in next 2 quarters."

"Some of Lectromec's conclusions from the data review: One would typically anticipate a high number of failures at the beginning and end of an aircraft's life cycle (component life cycle article here), but incidents for aircraft with less than 10k hours represent only 7% of all reported incidents. Many of the aircraft individually reviewed in the 30 - 40k cycle range were 8 - 10 years old with about 10k cycles. Date of aircraft entering service is not readily available with the data (to be included in future data reviews). If this assumption holds, then most wire incidents around the time of the first aircraft D-check. The most common system to be reported is the emergency path lighting system. Many of the EWIS errors were found during routine service checks. The hazard of these EWIS failures to the aircraft/crew is not easily ascertained from many of the reports. Of the 725 records reviewed: 25 reports identified shorting. 15 reports including detection of smoke - 8 of these were identified as faulty smoke detectors. 5 reports including mention of electrical arcing There were some incidents that were reported to have included smoke/fire. An example of this is the following: "

"The new Hainan interconnection comprises four HVAC (High Voltage Alternating Current) 500 kV single core SCFF (self-contained fluid filled) cables to be laid under the Qiongzhou Strait in southern China, along a 32-kilometer route."