Process Engineering

To strengthen the position of natural rubber in relation to its synthetic rival, a CIRAD team has just used an innovative technique to identify a new indicator of the quality of this noble material.

Natural rubber has properties that are still unsurpassed, and many specific uses: aircraft and truck tyres, vehicle engine supports, high-speed train suspension parts, industrial glues and adhesive tapes, elastic yarns, gloves, condoms, etc. However, it is a product of biological ori

A team of researchers has achieved a long-sought scientific goal: using laser light to break specific molecular bonds. The process uses laser light, instead of heat, to strip hydrogen atoms from silicon surfaces. This is a key step in the manufacture of computer chips and solar cells, so the achievement could reduce the cost and improve the quality of a wide variety of semiconductor devices.

The technique was developed by Philip I. Cohen at the University of Minnesota, working with Vanderbi

Enables lower-temperature semiconductor processing

A team of researchers have achieved a long-sought scientific goal: using laser light to break specific molecular bonds. The process uses laser light, instead of heat, to strip hydrogen atoms from silicon surfaces, a key step in the manufacture of computer chips and solar cells.

The new technique was developed by Philip Cohen, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Minnesota, working with

A unique 3-dimensional microscope that works in a new way is giving unprecedented insight into microscopic internal structure and chemical composition. It is revealing how materials are affected, over time, by changes in temperature, humidity, weight load and other conditions.

The device could lead to advances in a range of areas, such as healthcare (in furthering, for instance, the understanding of conditions such as osteoporosis), the development of better construction materi

Three-dimensional imaging devices are becoming important measuring tools in the manufacturing, construction and transportation sectors. Numerous models of the imaging devices, capable of digitally capturing the existing conditions of objects from as small as pipe fittings to as large as an entire bridge, are on the market. A lack of standard tests to verify manufacturers’ performance specifications is inhibiting wider market acceptance of these devices.

In response, researchers a

Manufacturing road map

Using a combination of experimental data and simulations, researchers have identified key parameters that predict the outcome of nanoimprint lithography, a fabrication technique that offers an alternative to traditional lithography in patterning integrated circuits and other small-scale structures into polymers.

Results of the three-year study, conducted by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Sandia National Laboratories, provid