The Engineer
September 2004 Online
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Oscillator family branches out
30 Sep 2004
Vishay has extended its XOSM family of surface-mount oscillators with the release of three new low-voltage devices in miniature packages.
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Scooping spectroscopy
30 Sep 2004
Palo Alto, CA-based Varian has acquired certain molecular spectroscopy assets of Digilab for $14 million in cash.
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Electronic interconnection
30 Sep 2004
Dow Corning has signed a joint development contract with INVINT Limited, the Scottish-based conductive polymer interconnect specialist.
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Nukes cost a billion to close
30 Sep 2004
The European Commission has proposed granting over 1 billion Euros to Lithuania and Slovakia to assist them with closing four of their nuclear reactors.
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Unocal and Shell terminate Chinese gas contracts
29 Sep 2004
Unocal and Shell said yesterday that they will not proceed with their participation in five contracts to explore for, develop, and market natural gas resources in the East China Sea.
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Bombs 'R US
29 Sep 2004
This week, the UK Union Amicus has called for more money to be spent by the UK Government on the defence industry. Dave Wilson finds an alternative.
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Arbitrary waveforms
29 Sep 2004
Agilent Technologies has introduced the industry's first wideband arbitrary waveform generator (AWG) to deliver 1.25 GSa/sec and 15 bits of vertical resolution simultaneously.
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Air Canada places $1.35 billion Embraer order
29 Sep 2004
Embraer today announced that Air Canada has signed a $1.35 billion purchase agreement for 45 Embraer 190 aircraft, plus options for a further 45 aircraft.
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Air Canada places $1.35 billion Embraer order
29 Sep 2004
Embraer today announced that Air Canada has signed a $1.35 billion purchase agreement for 45 Embraer 190 aircraft, plus options for a further 45 aircraft.
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Mitsubishi joins Trent 1000 program
29 Sep 2004
Rolls-Royce announced today that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is to be a risk and revenue sharing partner on the Trent 1000 engine being developed for the Boeing 7E7 Dreamliner.
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Semiconductors set speed limit on light
29 Sep 2004
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have slowed light down in an effort to speed up network communication.
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Turkish Airlines finalises $982.5 million order
29 Sep 2004
Boeing and Turkish Airlines have today finalised an order for 15 Boeing Next-Generation 737-800 passenger aeroplanes, an agreement worth $982.5 million at list prices.
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Alphatech sold for $88.4 million
28 Sep 2004
BAE Systems North America has entered into an agreement to acquire Alphatech, which develops advanced information technologies for solving security and intelligence problems, for $88.4 million.
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Improving heart defibrillation
28 Sep 2004
Researchers in the US have modelled a system where an implantable heart defibrillator focuses in on rogue electrical waves created during heart arrhythmia and dissipates it, preventing cardiac arrest.
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Plug-in power
28 Sep 2004
Texas Instruments has developed a 20A, wide-input (18 V to 60 V), isolated DC/DC plug-in power module that uses the company's Auto-Track sequencing technology.
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Closing the loop
28 Sep 2004
Two new and three upgraded products are now available from The MathWorks for engineers developing closed-loop control systems.
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Sharper sensors
17 Sep 2004
Kodak and IBM are to collaborate on the development and manufacture of image sensors in a deal that will mate Kodak's image sensor technology with IBM's CMOS processing expertise.
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Scientists create nanoscale oscillator
17 Sep 2004
Using a carbon nanotube, Cornell University researchers have produced a tiny electromechanical oscillator that might be capable of weighing a single atom. The device, perhaps the smallest of its kind ever produced, can be tuned across a wide range of radio frequencies, and one day might replace bulky power-hungry elements in electronic circuits.
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Wood gets microwave treatment
17 Sep 2004
Researchers in Australia have developed a new microwave technology that reduces the amount of time needed to dry timber used to make flooring and furniture.
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Robot roach
17 Sep 2004
A cockroach-like robot named RHex is the starting point for a $5 million project to understand animals' most distinguishing trait - how they move without falling over.
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Hard and soft
20 Sep 2004
Scientists at Ohio State University have found that a special type of glass softens when exposed to very low-level laser light, and hardens back into its original condition when the light is switched off.
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Geothermal power comes to Iceland
20 Sep 2004
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has received an order from the Icelandic firm of Reykjavik Energy to build two 40 MW geothermal power plants at Hellisheidi, approximately 20 km east of Reykjavik. The order marks the eighth geothermal power plant consigned to MHI by the power provider.
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Million dollar multimedia
20 Sep 2004
US-based Broadcom Corporation has acquired privately-held Cambridge, UK-based Alphamosaic, a developer of multimedia processors for the mobile marketplace, in a $120 million deal.
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Green electronics
21 Sep 2004
MIT researchers have incorporated a plant's ability to convert sunlight to energy into a solid-state electronic "spinach sandwich" device that may one day power laptops and cell phones.
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Investing in E-signs
21 Sep 2004
BASF Future Business and Taiwan's SiPix Technology have today entered into a partnership to jointly develop coloured e-paper applications.
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Dresden places tram order
21 Sep 2004
Bombardier announced today that the city of Dresden, Germany has placed an order worth 43 million Euros for 20 Bombardier Flexity Classic trams.
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Big business in nanotech tools
21 Sep 2004
Cleveland-based Freedonia Group says the US market for nanotech tools will increase nearly 30 percent annually through 2008 to $900 million, and then triple again to $2.7 billion in 2013.
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Single-chip Ethernet device
21 Sep 2004
Freescale Semiconductor has introduced the industry's first complete, single-chip 10/100Mbps Ethernet device. The 16-bit MC9S12NE64 microcontroller replaces more complex multi-chip Ethernet offerings.
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Forklifts go green
21 Sep 2004
Forklift trucks will soon be the latest vehicles powered by hydrogen energy, thanks to an agreement between BOC and Cellex Power Products.
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ABB awarded $29 million
22 Sep 2004
ABB has signed a $29 million full-service alliance contract with Carter Holt Harvey Pulp & Paper, an Australasian forest products company producing wood products, pulp and paper, and packaging.
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Flying circus
22 Sep 2004
The GMB union reports that manufacturing in the UK is still in a desperate state. But is Government intervension really the answer? Dave Wilson thinks so.
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Honeywell settles for $62.5 million
22 Sep 2004
W R Grace & Co has settled its litigation with Honeywell regarding contamination of Grace owned property in Jersey City, New Jersey.
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DRS introduces new motor line
22 Sep 2004
DRS Technologies today announced the launch of a new line of high-power, high-torque, permanent magnet motors for the industrial marketplace.
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Singled out
22 Sep 2004
Harvard University scientists have found that ultra-thin silicon wires can be used to electrically detect the presence of single viruses, in real time, with near-perfect selectivity.
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Trip to the icy moons
23 Sep 2004
Northrop Grumman and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory are to develop a preliminary design for the Prometheus Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter, an electric propulsion vehicle powered by a nuclear fission reactor.
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National Express
23 Sep 2004
The company started life making GPIB controllers, and twenty some odd years later they're at it again. This time around, Austin, TX-based NI debuts the industry's first GPIB controller for the PCI Express.
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Gate drivers
23 Sep 2004
National Semiconductor's latest additions to its family of high-voltage power control ICs are targeted at developers of DC-DC power supplies.
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Stuck in low gear
23 Sep 2004
The manufacturing recovery has eased from its August peak as orders fall below normal and firms scale back output expectations, according to the CBI.
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Nanotech fights terror
23 Sep 2004
UK basedy Nanosight is to develop a revolutionary new method of creating artificial antibodies that could offer the best early warning indicator of biological attack.
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Defining molecular scale heat conduction
24 Sep 2004
Using an innovative research technique, scientists in the USA have successfully completed a detailed measurement of how heat energy is created at the molecular level.
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New offerings from Infineon
24 Sep 2004
Infineon has announced the availability of three new 16-bit microcontrollers for automotive and industrial applications as well as a new 32-bit microcontroller for cost-sensitive industrial applications.
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Avoiding roll-off
24 Sep 2004
Vishay Intertechnology has announced the release of the new FC series of high-frequency chip resistors, which avoid roll-off at frequencies over 100 MHz.
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Clearing trapped gas
24 Sep 2004
Researchers in the USA have developed a new class of three-dimensional nanoporous electrodes that could boost the performance of fuel cells, batteries and sensors.
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RMC sold for $4.1 billion
27 Sep 2004
Cemex announced today that it plans to acquire Britain's RMC Group for $4.1 billion. The merger will create one of the world's largest building materials companies.
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Vestas awarded 55 million Euro wind turbine contract
27 Sep 2004
Danish wind turbine developer, Vestas has received a 55 million Euro order for 25 V80-1.8 MW wind turbines that will be deployed on Copper Mountain, Canada.
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Air Canada places $2.45 billion order
27 Sep 2004
Bombardier Aerospace announced today that it has signed a $2.45 billion contract with Air Canada for the sale of up to 90 Bombardier CRJ aircraft.
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Switching off toxins
27 Sep 2004
Researchers at Rice University's Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology (CBEN) have demonstrated a simple way to reduce the toxicity of water-soluble buckyballs.
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Novartis invests $180 million in Singapore facility
28 Sep 2004
Novartis Pharma recently announced that it plans to invest $180 million in a new pharmaceutical production facility in Singapore, providing additional needed capacity within its global manufacturing network.
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World's thinnest tri-axis accelerometer
15 Sep 2004
Oki Electric has developed what it claims is the world's thinnest ultra small tri-axis accelerometer module.
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In the aggregate
16 Sep 2004
Two new types of concrete developed by a South Dakota School of Mines and Technology researcher will pave the way for the construction of better bridges in Rapid City and Sioux Falls. The new concrete is expected to be stronger, more durable and more resistant to cracking than concrete currently used in bridge construction, according to Tech's Dr. Venkataswamy Ramakrishnan, a distinguished professor emeritus in Tech's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
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Not a pretty picture
16 Sep 2004
A new critical security vulnerability has been discovered by Microsoft which could enable JPEG image files to launch malicious code on a user's computer.
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Air cargo is set to soar
17 Sep 2004
Boeing said this week that world air cargo growth should expand at an average annual rate of 6.2 percent during the twenty years, with overall traffic tripling from current levels.
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Selling power
17 Sep 2004
Alcatel has signed an agreement with global private equity firm Ripplewood to divest all of its electrical power system activities.
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The application is the instrument
1 Sep 2004
Remember the A:? That's the way we used to interact with computers back in 1982. Things will be different in 2030, as Dave Wilson explains.
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Airbus lands Cebu order
1 Sep 2004
Cebu Pacific, the Philippines' second largest carrier, has signed a contract for the purchase of 12 Airbus A319s and the lease of two Airbus A320s.
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Boeing joins 'Silent' Aircraft Initiative
1 Sep 2004
Boeing has entered into a collaboration with the Cambridge-MIT Institute's 'Silent' Aircraft Initiative, a three-year project that aims to create a new generation of quiet aircraft.
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War games
1 Sep 2004
The DTI is helping British software companies tap into the expertise of former Russian nuclear weapons designers by bringing them together at a major software show this week.
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Catalyst market to hit $13 billion by 2009
1 Sep 2004
According to a recently updated report from Business Communications Company, the global market for energy and environmental catalysts is projected to grow to almost $13.0 billion by 2009.
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The application is the instrument
1 Sep 2004
Remember the A:? That's the way we used to interact with computers back in 1982. Things will be different in 2030, as Dave Wilson explains.
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Hamilton Sundstrand buys Haskel
2 Sep 2004
UTC's Hamilton Sundstrand has agreed to acquire Haskel International, a manufacturer of pneumatically driven, high-pressure pumps and valves for industrial businesses. Financial terms were not disclosed.
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Scott Aviation sold for $70 Million
2 Sep 2004
Tyco International has finalised the $70 million sale of its Scott Aviation business, which manufactures and distributes oxygen systems for commercial and military aircraft, to the Zodiac Acquisition Corporation.
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Faster photonics
2 Sep 2004
Researchers in the US have demonstrated that semiconductor nanoribbons can serve as "waveguides" for channelling and directing the movement of light through circuitry.
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Photosynthesis in a cup
2 Sep 2004
In a step toward creating energy from sunlight as plants do, MIT researchers have invented a compound that produces hydrogen gas with the help of a catalyst and a ray of light.
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Global chip sales growth moderates
2 Sep 2004
Worldwide sales of semiconductors rose slightly to $18 billion in July, an increase of 1.0 percent from the $17.8 billion reported by the Semiconductor Industry Association in June.
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Sirenza releases new power amplifier ICs
2 Sep 2004
Sirenza Microdevices, a designer and supplier of radio frequency components for communications equipment manufacturers, announced today the product release of the SZA-5044 and STA-6033 power amplifier ICs.
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How green was my power plant
3 Sep 2004
AMEC has entered into a five-year alliance with Bristol-based Compact Power to deliver a series of environmentally-friendly power plants that will generate electricity from waste and biomass.
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Boosting power line capacity
3 Sep 2004
An overhead power conductor that doubles the electrical transmission capacity of conventional conductors of the same diameter will be commercially deployed for the first time next year in the US.
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Cleaning up in Ireland
3 Sep 2004
Lurgi Lentjes has been awarded a 150 million Euro order from the Irish power utility ESB (Electricity Supply Board) to build a flue gas cleaning plant for the Moneypoint power station in Ireland.
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Teaming up on LCD TVs
3 Sep 2004
Hitachi, Toshiba and Matsushita Electric are to establish a joint venture company to manufacture and sell LCD panels for flat-panel TVs.
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Infineon introduces the iLDD chip
6 Sep 2004
Infineon Technologies today announced the first intelligent Laser Diode Driver (iLDD) targeting Small Form Factor (SFF) and Small Form Pluggable (SFP) optical transceiver applications.
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Pfizer pays out
6 Sep 2004
Pfizer plans to pay out over $400 million to resolve the personal injury claims against its wholly owned subsidiary the Quigley Company.
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To infinity and beyond
6 Sep 2004
Boeing NASA Systems has received a $3 million study contract to conduct preliminary concept studies for human lunar exploration and the development of a crew exploration vehicle (CEV).
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Tooth decay in the 3rd dimension
6 Sep 2004
A team of scientists from Glasgow today revealed a new technique that will allow dentists to detect and study the tell-tale signs of tooth decay before too much damage is done.
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The billion dollar hole
8 Sep 2004
Dave Wilson recounts the terror-filled tale of the unsung hero who joined two nations together underneath the sea.
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Plastic fantastic
7 Sep 2004
Siemens researchers have developed a composite made of plastic and metal that can be processed like a plastic, but has the electrical and electromagnetic properties of metal.
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New chemical jobs for Teesside
7 Sep 2004
A £16.5 million grant to create 117 new jobs at a new chemical facility in Teesside was announced today by Trade & Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt.
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All done with (micro) mirrors
7 Sep 2004
Lucent has been awarded a $9.5 million contract to develop a MEMS-based system that will make the fabrication of integrated circuits faster and more economical.
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Expanding in the USA
8 Sep 2004
British technology firm QinetiQ announced today that is has signed a £91.8 million purchase agreement with Foster Miller, a Boston-based engineering and technology development company.
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Solving chemical conundrums
8 Sep 2004
A new research centre is being established at the University of Washington with the aim of finding better ways of manipulating the strong chemical bonds found in many materials.
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Cutting diesel emissions
8 Sep 2004
Switzerland's Paul Scherrer Institute has developed a new type of catalytic conversion system that filters nearly all nitrogen oxides out of diesel exhaust gases using a refined control technology.
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Early detection hope for eye disease
9 Sep 2004
A new way of taking pictures of the retina could give medics a powerful new tool in diagnosing and monitoring the most prevalent diseases of the eye.
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Computer health check
9 Sep 2004
Imagine a day when your computer will be able to let you know if you need a break, alert you to take medication or even go to the doctor.
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Timken to sell Kilian Bearings
9 Sep 2004
Timken is to sell Kilian Manufacturing and its affiliate, Kilian Canada, to an affiliate of Genstar Capital, a private investment firm, and members of Kilian's management team.
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Communicating in Libya
13 Sep 2004
Nokia has won a deal worth $120 million to supply GSM/EDGE and WCDMA 3G network equipment to the Libyan General Post and Telecommunications Company (GPTC) for a new nationwide mobile network.
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In a flash
13 Sep 2004
Sunnyvale, CA-based flash memory developer Silicon Storage Technology has acquired a majority ownership of privately held Emosyn in a $19 million deal.
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Plastic exit
13 Sep 2004
UK-based Betts is to cease manufacturing specialty plastics injection mouldings in the UK and concentrate solely on its core laminate tubes business and on the injection moulding of related tube components.
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No sign of manufacturing recovery
13 Sep 2004
The British Plastics Federation has responded to the figures released by the Office of National Statistics which show that UK manufacturing output was in back-to-back decline in the months of June and July.
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Under the hood
13 Sep 2004
Northville, MI-based Key Plastics has acquired Kendrion's RSL and Systems group of companies, the European suppliers of engineered and automotive plastics parts and assemblies with more than $250 million in sales.
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Patent infringement
14 Sep 2004
Three National Instruments patents have been infringed by MA-based The MathWorks, with the result that the company will be restricted from selling Simulink and related products.
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Better wetter
14 Sep 2004
Researchers at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology have developed a unique method that dramatically improves the quality of underwater photography.
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Faster Wi-Fi
14 Sep 2004
A consortium of companies, including Airgo Networks, Bermai, Broadcom, Conexant Systems, STMicroelectronics and Texas Instruments, are collaborating under the moniker 'WWiSE' to create a fast new Wi-Fi standard.
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Qualcomm takes all of Iridigm
14 Sep 2004
Communications chip house Qualcomm is to acquire Iridigm Display, paying approximately $170 million in cash for the 86% of the company that it does not already own.
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Hello?
15 Sep 2004
Dave Wilson tells how some design engineers reduced the noise inside the carriages of a new high speed train - with some unexpected consequences.
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Simpler design for X-ray detectors
15 Sep 2004
A simplified design for ultra-sensitive X-ray detectors offering more precise materials analysis has been demonstrated at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the US.
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Nanoparticles target tumours
15 Sep 2004
Scientists in the US have shown that gold nanoparticles can help X-rays kill cancerous cells more effectively in mice. The team hopes to refine the technique so that it will eventually work on humans.
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How fat was my flock?
15 Sep 2004
Researchers at CSIRO in Australia are trialling a solar-powered, stand-alone, walk-through sheep weighing system designed to reduce flock management costs.
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Hydro turbines go to China
15 Sep 2004
GE Energy has received a contract worth approximately $37 million to supply three hydro turbines, equipment and services for a new hydropower plant in China.
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Sensitive sensor
15 Sep 2004
Researchers at Ohio State University have developed a sensor that can detect emissions from cars, power plants, and other combustion processes.
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Making measurements
15 Sep 2004
Tektronix' new TPS2000 series of 'scopes sports isolated channels, up to eight hours battery operation and digital real-time technology.
