The Dutch High Tech Systems (HTS) industry is a major global contributor to the development in fields of technology such as mechatronics, precision engineering, embedded systems, microsystems and nanotechnology. Technology already in use worldwide today, and innovative solutions for tomorrow. Dutch HTS provides the
latest news, company profiles, jobs, events, who is who in the Dutch high tech
industry, and what is happening worldwide.
05/24/13 Europe in €10 billion bid to boost chip industry
The European Commission has launched a campaign of public investment in micro- and nano-electronics with the aim of doubling chip production on the continent to reach 20 percent of global production. The plan is to channel more than 5 billion euro of public authority money into research, development and innovation over the next seven years to match a similar amount of investment from the companies supported by the plan. However, the spending is likely to be spread across the whole semiconductor supply chain and cannot be used to simply lower the cost of capital or buy production equipment due to anti-subsidy commitments. Read more
05/24/13 Intel's new CEO shakes things up
Newly minted Intel Corp. CEO Brian Krzanich wasted little time putting his stamp on the company he has worked for for more than 30 years. After officially being handed the reins at Intel last week with the retirement of Paul Otellini, Krzanich sent out an internal memo Monday outlining some pretty significant structural changes. The memo -which has not been released externally- was reported Tuesday (May 21) by the Reuters news service and other organizations. Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy confirmed the existence of the memo and walked through the highlights of the structural changes. Read more
05/23/13 Top 5 vendor buys ALSI’s multi-beam laser dicing system [ALSI]
One of the largest IC and discrete device manufacturers (ranked by total revenue) and technology leaders in the world has qualified and purchased ALSI’s multi-beam laser dicing system for their main stream thin and ultra-thin discrete devices and is now ready for mass production. During an extensive test and qualification period at the customer site, the customer and ALSI teams worked together to understand the specific challenges of the application and developed an optimized process, with special attention to fast dicing speed, with narrow dicing width, on low cost and standard dicing tape. More details on the deal and the customer in question were not disclosed. Read more
05/23/13 VDL and Solliance join forces to bring organic photovoltaics to market readiness
VDL becomes a partner in Solliance for the development of a new, completely integrated roll-to-roll (R2R) manufacturing line for the research and pilot production of organic photovoltaic (OPV) modules. The development will take place within a consortium of several companies, among which Smit Ovens, supplying the drying furnaces for the R2R equipment and Bosch Rexroth, responsible for the drive components. The partners will define and improve the specifications based on the experience gained during their cooperation. The pilot line will be built within the coming year. It will become operational at the new Solliance facility located at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven. VDL will assume further business responsibilities in the commercialization of the manufacturing line. Read more
05/23/13 MKB Innovatie Top 100 2013 [Syntens]
23 innovaties uit sector industrie
Welke innovatieve onderneming staat dit jaar bovenaan in de MKB Innovatie Top 100? Op woensdag 12 juni 2013 worden voor de achtste keer de 100 meest innovatieve MKB-bedrijven van Nederland gepresenteerd, ditmaal in het Parktheater in Eindhoven. Nu al bekend is, dat de sector industrie de boventoon voert met 23 vermeldingen. Vorig jaar waren dit er nog 18. Lees meer
05/22/13 Wilting breidt productiecapaciteit uit in vestiging Leerdam [Wilting]
Met de inbedrijf name van een nieuwe, volledig geautomatiseerde productielijn heeft Wilting haar productiecapaciteit voor 5-assig frezen met bijna 20.000 uur uitgebreid. Eén van de kernactiviteiten van Wilting is het manarm en manonafhankelijk produceren van complexe fijnmechanische onderdelen. Deze onderdelen worden veelal gefreesd op volledig geautomatiseerde 5-assige bewerkingscellen. Lees meer
05/22/13 US mediates in EU-China solar trade dispute
The US Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has expressed its support for the US government’s role as mediator in negotiations between the European Union and China to resolve anti-dumping case against Chinese manufacturers. The US is rumoured to have brought to the negotiating table an offer to suspend its own duties on Chinese exports whilst setting a quota on Chinese exports and a minimum price for solar products, according to Bloomberg. Read more
05/22/13 Technologie kan telefoon in 30 seconden opladen
Een 18-jarige scholiere uit de Verenigde Staten heeft een heel klein apparaatje ontwikkeld waarmee telefoons in 30 seconden kunnen worden opgeladen. Eesha Khare ontwikkelde het apparaat voor de Intel International Science and Engineering Fair en ging met de hoofdprijs van 50.000 dollar naar huis. Het kleine apparaatje van Khare omschrijft ze als een 'supercondensator'. Het component kan elektrische lading en energie opslaan. De condensator is slechts 3 centimeter lang en kan verwerkt worden in de accu van bijvoorbeeld een smartphone. Lees meer
05/22/13 TNO opens new cyber security lab [TNO]
On 21 May and in the presence of fifty or so experts on Cyber Security from government, industry and research, TNO has opened the doors of its new Cyber Security Lab, CSL. This Cyber Security Lab has been optimally designed to tackle the challenges of Cyber Security in a comprehensive and multidisciplinary way. TNO’s CSL offers highly promising cyber-innovation projects not only its existing expertise but also the technical facilities and a safe working environment. Read more
05/22/13 Imec and GLOBALFOUNDRIES collaborate to advance high-density memory technology
STT-MRAM offers enhanced performance and scalability for embedded and standalone applications
Imec and GLOBALFOUNDRIES announced today that they have expanded joint development efforts to advance STT-MRAM (spin-transfer torque magnetoresistive random access memory) technology. The first IC manufacturer to join imec’s R&D program on emerging memory technologies, GLOBALFOUNDRIES completes the value chain of imec’s research platform, which fuels industry collaboration from technology up to the system level.
Read more
05/17/13 Nederlandse onderzoekers ontwerpen nieuw soort plasmonlaser
Onderzoekers van de Stichting FOM, de Universiteit Leiden, de Technische Universiteit Eindhoven en Philips Research hebben een nieuw soort plasmonlaser gemaakt. De laser maakt gebruik van lichtbundels die zijn gevangen op een metaaloppervlak. Omdat plasmonen veel compacter zijn dan licht in de vrije ruimte, bieden ze de mogelijkheid ultrakleine lasers te maken die bijvoorbeeld gebruikt kunnen worden in beeldschermen. Uniek aan de nieuwe laser is dat de onderzoekers duidelijk konden aantonen dat het laserlicht daadwerkelijk afkomstig is van plasmonen. Lees meer
05/14/13 Ministers ondertekenen Nationaal Techniekpact
versnelde uitvoering Technologiepact Brainport nu mogelijk
Op maandag 13 mei is het ‘Techniekpact 2020: kiezen, leren, werken’ ondertekend. Het doel van de maatregelen uit dit nationale techniekpact is dat méér jongeren kiezen voor techniek, en dat méér werknemers gaan en blijven werken in de techniek. Deze maatregelen bieden oplossingen voor een groot aantal knelpunten waar Brainport regio Eindhoven tegenaan loopt bij de uitvoering van het Technologiepact Brainport. Rob van Gijzel: “het Nationaal Techniekpact biedt oplossingen voor ZO-NL en specifiek voor Brainport regio Eindhoven als centrum van de hightech. Het Techniekpact is goed voor de Nederlandse economie. De technologische (maak) industrie is immers de manier om onze welvaart ook in de toekomst te behouden.” Lees meer
05/14/13 Teledyne Acquires Axiom IC [Teledyne DALSA]
Teledyne Technologies Incorporated announced today that its subsidiary, Teledyne DALSA B.V., has acquired Axiom IC B.V., a fabless semiconductor company thatdevelops high-performance CMOS mixed-signal integrated circuits. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.Located in Enschede, the Netherlands, Axiom IC was founded in 2007 and is a spin-off from the University of Twente. Axiom IC’s customers include global companies in a number of industries, including space systems, wireless communications, automotive and medical technologies. Read more
05/14/13 Amazon neemt Liquavista over
Amazon heeft het Nederlandse bedrijf Liquavista overgenomen van Samsung. Liquavista ontwikkelt met haar Electrowetting technologie een nieuw type dunne en flexibele schermen. Amazon heeft de overname tegenover The Digital Reader bevestigd. Welk bedrag er met de overname gemoeid is, is niet duidelijk. In maart gingen er al geruchten over een overname, toen zou het om een bedrag van minder dan 100 miljoen dollar gaan. Tegenvallende resultaten zouden voor Samsung reden voor de verkoop zijn. Lees meer
05/11/13 450mm and EUV
Critical challenges facing the semiconductor industry
At the April 25 Silicon Valley Lunch Forum, speakers from Applied Materials, ASML, and Intel discussed the critical challenges of 450mm and EUV facing the semiconductor industry. Both subjects are expected to major topics at SEMICON West 2013, as leading players will present updated schedules and discuss critical barriers and needs. Jim Koonmen, senior VP at ASML and GM at Brion, discussed how the transition from 300mm to 450mm will increase manufacturing efficiencies for very high-volume manufacturing but it’s a challenging proposition. Read more
05/09/13 European Commission to impose 47% tariffs on Chinese module manufacturers
The European Commission will impose between 37.2% and 67.9% tariffs on Chinese solar module manufacturers. A commission source has revealed that over 100 Chinese companies have been involved in this investigation. Those that have cooperated will be given the lower tariffs and those that did not will be in the higher band, with levies averaging 47.6%. The Association for Affordable Solar, which has been lobbying the Commission against imposing tariffs, said the development was “extremely worrying” citing the report by Prognos earlier this year which said levies would cost Europe €27.8 billion. Read more
05/08/13 HEINMADE neemt CVT over
Productietechnologie in huis verbetert de ketenbeheersing
Heinmade in Eindhoven, leverancier van piëzokeramische oplossingen, heeft draadvonkspecialist CVT in Hoogeloon overgenomen. Daarmee kan Heinmade de productiekennis en -technologie van CVT die cruciaal is voor zijn piëzomodules zeker stellen en de leverbetrouwbaarheid verder verbeteren. Met behulp van draadvonktechnologie wil Heinmade-directeur Hein Schellens voldoen aan de vraag naar steeds nauwkeuriger piëzosystemen. Lees meer
05/07/13 Reducing ecological footprint of OPV production
A cross-border research initiative on thin film photovoltaics by ECN, Holst Centre, imec, TNO, TU Eindhoven and FZ Jülich -as achieved a world first with a new inkjet printing process for manufacturing environmentally friendly OPV cells that deliver benchmark efficiency. Completely compatible with existing manufacturing technology, the process replaces toxic chlorinated solvents with more benign alternatives. The result builds on a combined achievement of Solliance and French OPV manufacturer DisaSolar, and was also supported by the EU FP7 project X10D. Read more
05/07/13 Universiteit Twente geeft inkijk in ontwikkeling waterstofauto
Nederland is één van de best vertegenwoordigde landen in de Shell Eco-Marathon: een studentenwedstrijd waar het erom gaat de meest zuinige auto te bouwen. In Twente sleutelt het Green Team van de universiteit aan een verbeterde versie van de auto waarmee het vorig jaar als eerste in zijn klasse eindigde.Het team van de universiteit Twente doet mee in de UrbanConcept-klasse, waarin voertuigen rijden die van alle klassen nog het meest op hedendaagse auto's lijken. Een belangrijk verschil is echter dat de UTmotive waterstof gebruikt als energiebron. Lees meer
05/07/13 Intel introduces Silvermont
Intel yesterday introduced Silvermont, its new 22nm system-on-chip microarchitecture that will underpin its next generation of Intel Atom processors. According to Intel, Silvermont will give you three times the performance and five times less power consumption than current Atom core chips. With those specs, Intel hopes your next smartphone and tablet have Intel Inside — as opposed to a chip based on the ARM architecture, which dominates today’s mobile landscape. Read more
05/06/13 Tiny robotic insects take flight
It took over a decade of work, but robotics researchers at Harvard have achieved a first: they’ve created robotic insects that are capable of flying. A paper describing their work is being published in this week’s Science. Lead researcher Robert J. Wood has been working on this project for 12 years. The robot itself is smaller than a paperclip and weighs about a third of an ounce. Its wings beat 120 times per second, enabling it to fly on its own according to a pre-set flight path. Read more
05/04/13 Intel plays it safe with new CEO choice
Intel Corp. played it safe by naming insider Brian Krzanich as its new chief executive to succeed Paul Otellini, a move that also indicated where it is looking to go in the future. While many had predicted that the world’s largest chip giant could break with tradition and hire its next CEO from outside the company — and perhaps find someone with more background in the mobile market — Intel’s pick of Krzanich shows that the company is likely to focus on its manufacturing strengths in the future. Read more
05/04/13 EU adds 16.5GW of new PV capacity in 2012
The European Union added 16.5GW of new PV capacity in 2012, representing a 25% decline compared with the 22GW figure recorded in 2011, according to figures published by EurObserv’ER. The French energy research and analysis company predicts that the slide is set to continue as the industry shifts towards the Asian and the American markets. Indeed, the firm believes that the Asian and American markets helped boost the global PV market, which added just over 30GW in newly installed capacity in the same year. Read more
05/02/13 Intel rapidly gaining market share in tablets
Intel Corp. is rapidly expanding its presence in the media tablet market, according to analysts who believe Intel's potential to generate sizable profit in the tablet space is underestimated by investors. In a report circulated Monday (April 29), Ross Seymore, a research analyst from Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., said Intel has a market share of more than 90 percent of Windows-based tablets. Windows-based tablets accounted for a surprising 7.5 percent of the tablet market in the first quarter, according to data released last week by market research firm Strategy Analytics Inc. Read more
05/02/13 FEI reports record Q1 bookings, revenue and EPS [FEI]
Bookings of $230.7 Million, Revenue of $221.2 Million and GAAP EPS of $0.65
FEI Company reported record revenue and earnings for any first quarter, along with bookings that were the highest for any quarter in the company's history. Revenue of $221.2 million was up 2% compared to $217.6 million in the first quarter of 2012 and down 4% seasonally from $230.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2012. Diluted earnings per share computed on the basis of accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP") was $0.65, compared with $0.63 in the first quarter of 2012 and $0.72 in the fourth quarter of 2012. Net income for the quarter was $26.8 million, compared with $25.7 million in the first quarter of 2012 and $29.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2012. Read more
05/01/13 NXP buys Code Red to boost microcontroller ecosystem
NXP Semiconductors has bought embedded tool vendor Code Red Technologies in a move to strengthen its own Microcontroller eco-system. The move will be a blow to other Code Red partners such as Freescale, Texas Instruments and STMicroelectronics, and may create an issue with other tool vendors including ARM's Keil division. Code Red has developers in Cambridge, UK and San Francisco already working closely with NXP, and details of the deal were not disclosed. Read more
05/01/13 European Commission launches anti-subsidy solar glass investigation
The European Commission has initiated an anti-subsidy investigation into imports of solar glass from China. The complaint was lodged by EU ProSun Glass, led by GMB Glasmanufaktur Brandenburg, which claims solar glass from China is being subsidised in China and then sold in the EU at prices below market value and causing material injury to the EU solar glass industry. Read more
04/27/13 KMWE doet grootste investering in historie [KMWE]
KMWE, toeleverancier voor de High Tech industrie en Aerospace, gaat in 2013 onverminderd door met investering en uitbreiding, voor zowel de productielocatie Precision Components als Precision Systems. Tegen de algemene marktontwikkeling in is dit de grootste investering in de historie van KMWE. De investering van 5 M Euro is het gevolg van de verdere groei van Titanium en Stalen onderdelen voor de High Tech machinebouw en de Aerospace (A350) en de steeds toenemende complexiteit en afmetingen van de producten. Lees meer
04/26/13 Automotive applications drive demand for DC brushless motor
Automotive systems are becoming increasingly electrically-driven and electric motor manufacturers are benefiting. According to IMS Research, DC brushless motor shipments will outpace shipments of DC brushed and stepper motors used in automotive applications from 2012 to 2017. DC brushless motor shipments are expected to increase by 52 percent over the same timeframe to reach more than 462 million units. Read more
04/26/13 European solar module prices rise for the first time in 4 years
Reflecting a major shift in the global solar market after four years of severe erosion, prices for photovoltaic (PV) modules in the key European market are rising due to number of factors,including the newly restored balance between supply and demand. The average selling price (ASP) for Chinese crystalline silicon (c-Si) PV modules shipped to the European Union increased by 4 percent in March, the first monthly rise since January 2009, according to the IHS iSuppli PV Module Price Tracker from information and analytics provider IHS. Prices are set to rise by another 1 percent in April and by an average of 4 percent during the next three months. Read more
04/26/13 IBM & Swiss universities develop new ultra-high concentration solar design
prototype of the HCPV system is currently being tested by IBM in Zurich
IBM Research has announced that a team of scientists from several companies and Swiss universities has developed a prototype of a novel high concentrating solar photovoltaic (HCPV) system which will concentrate sunlight 2,000 times. IBM says this will allow for greater conversion efficiencies. In addition to generating electricity, the HCPV system will have a thermal component and can be used for water desalination and air conditioning. The design is based on a low-cost, large dish concentrator and micro-channel cooled high-performance solar photovoltaic (PV) cells. Read more
04/26/13 Applied Materials back on top in chip equipment
Applied Materials Inc. reclaimed the leadership among semiconductor equipment vendors in 2012 as the total market for chip gear declined sharply due to oversupply in the memory chip market, according to market research firm Gartner Inc. Global semiconductor capital equipment spending totaled $37.8 billion in 2012, a decline of 16.1 compared to 2011, Gartner (Stamford, Conn.) said. Read more
04/24/13 MEMS market applies full throttle
fueled by automotive and wireless demand
Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) pressure sensors will achieve accelerated growth this year and become the leading type of MEMS device, driven by increasing use in automotive and the fast-growing handset space, according to insights from market researcher IHS. According to the IHS iSuppli MEMS & sensors Service, revenue for MEMS pressure sensors this year will reach a projected $1.71 billion, up 14 percent from $1.50 billion in 2012. This year's growth improves on the already solid 11 percent increase of 2012, but even rosier prospects are in store next year when expansion peaks at 16 percent. Steady, uninterrupted growth will continue until at least 2017, by which time the market will be worth $2.49 billion, the market experts say. Read more
04/24/13 Verum’s Analytical Software Design (ASD) technology receives U.S. Patent [Verum]
Verum announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent for its Analytical Software Design (ASD) system, the foundation of the ASD:Suite. The patent recognizes that ASD is, among other things, unique in its approach to the construction of formal mathematical models to verify the completeness and precision of software designs. Robert Howe, Verum CEO and co-founder, commented on recent market developments, “The ASD approach is so radically different from traditional approaches to software development that it has been difficult for many to accept. However, we are seeing the tide turn as some of the world’s most admired companies have rigorously tested and proved that the ASD:Suite enables them to bring reliable products to market more quickly, predictably and cost-effectively. Read more
04/24/13 Philips and STW introduce research program for better LED lighting
Philips and Dutch research organization STW have jointly launched a partnership aiming at developing innovative, efficient lighting. The research goals include identifying new applications. For the start, the Advanced Sustainable Lighting Solutions partnership embraces eight project proposals. Of the eight projects already approved five are related to the exploration of new materials, the improvement of efficiency and the optimization of sustainable production of LEDs. The three remaining projects will examine how LED lighting can be used for health and energy savings, more efficient algae growth for biomass production and improved fruit quality. Read more
