Semiconductors are found in almost every electronic device in your home. The process to build one has many phases, including rigorous testing. The device is able to regulate the flow of energy, like an “on/off” switch. Creating the circuitry is done in steps, and requires advanced fabrication techniques like plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Here is a bit more information on how this process works.

Semiconductor Manufacture

Semiconductors need to have a circuit board mapped out, then circuitry applied. They are made of compacted silicon, which is then shaped and hardened before they are cut to size. The chips are often wafer thin, and the entire process can take up to eight weeks. This is all done at a nearly microscopic level due to the precision required. First, a kind of “map of circuitry” is drawn (or more accurately, printed) onto the surface of the board. Next, ion beam etching is used to apply the materials to the circuit board.

Throughout this process, hazardous materials are used to coat the device, including arsine and phosphorus. After manufacture, chips must be tested with an electronic tester. This devices presses tiny probes against the chip to determine if it transfers power properly.

Applications

Semiconductors are found in just about anything. They are the primary components in computers, but they are found in other electronic appliances as well. They are used to transfer power from one section of a device to another, like powering a computer processor.

Denton Vacuum, LLC manufactures a magnetron sputtering system used in the manufacture of semiconductors and industrial devices.

Modern medical device coatings are designed to eliminate the discomfort involved with tubes inside the body. Items like catheters would cause extreme discomfort without some sort of technology to make the tubing slip-proof. Using special manufacturing processes, we are able to create medical devices that can fit comfortably within the body. The following are just a few uses for this exciting technology.

Beam Technology

Using a super-heating process with ion beams, manufacturers are able to produce medical tubing that is capable of resisting long-term wear and tear. It’s a similar process to the one used in the manufacture of metalized plastic, which can be found in aircraft systems. This space-age technology uses electrons to super heat a substance and melt it down to a molecular level. The particulate matter then bounces around the chamber until it settles on the substrate. The material coats the substrate completely, which allows manufacturers to coat materials that would otherwise melt under the extreme temperatures. apply particular matter to something called the substrate. Manufacturers must first create a 3-D model of the substrate, which they use to make the proper calculations before it’s placed in the chamber.

Medical Applications

This technology is prevelant in many devices in circulation today. Chances are good that anyone wearing a prosthetic implant uses materials created by this technology. This process can be used to metalize plastics and make them more durable, useful for joints in a moving part like an artificial knee or hip. Thanks to plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, we can replace lost limbs and give patients a new lease on life.

Denton Vacuum, LLC makes PECVD systems for use in the coating of medical devices. Find out more about manufacturing with PECVD when you visit Denton Vacuum, LLC.

Ion beam assisted deposition is an important manufacturing process used in many household goods.

Written by: Denton Vacuum, LLC

There are two major components that are important to ion beam assisted deposition: you need a substrate that you can apply a coating to. This could be the lens of a pair of eye glasses, the cell from a solar panel, parts for a car, or medical tubing. The coating material is also required. It can be a special chemical to erase glare in lenses, or it can be aluminum to be applied to plastic sheets.

Process Explained

Once you have both the substrate and coating, both objects are placed into a vacuum sealed chamber. Then the coating can begin.

Optical coating systems start by heating the coating substance and melting it down. This breaks the coating down into particulate matter, which then bounces off the walls of the chamber before settling onto the substrate. While this is happening, the chamber is being cooled. The combination of the hot and cold causes the particles to settle and solidify on the substrate.

Applications

Ebeam technology is used to manufacture the solar absorbent coating on a solar cell. It also adds durability to common parts used in manufacturing and automobiles through metallization, or the application of a thin metallic coating. You can find evidence of deposition on eye glasses as well.

Final Thoughts

Much of the technology that uses sputtering was once out of reach of consumers. Solar panels are still the exception, being too expensive for everyone to afford at the moment, but we are fast approaching a time where technology makes it easy for us to mass produce amazing items.

Several household products would not exist today without the usage of sputtering. Sputtering is used heavily in the medical industry, creating products plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The process is also responsible for many kinds of household products that you probably use every day.

Sputtering Defined

Sputtering is the process of depositing thin layers of film onto an object. You can think of sputtering like tinting the windows on a car, but the process occurs at a microscopic level. In medical technology, for instance, sputtering uses vacuum deposition systems to apply a viscous coating to something that will enter the bloodstream. This keeps the device from gaining too much mass. Household products aren’t as concerned with mass, but there are a variety of reasons why a microscopic layer of film could be useful.

Mirrors

A microscopic layer of film applied to a pane of glass creates a mirror. The early days of mirror manufacturing involved a layer of mercury applied to a sheet of plate glass, usually to the back of the surface. The result is a kind of looking glass, where the mirror seems behind the glass pane.

Safety glass mirrors use a special film that helps the glass break a certain way to avoid injuries. Silkscreen glass windows apply their colors to a specially treated film that allows the dyes to adhere. Silvery glass mirrors are ordinary panes of glass with a thin film of silver to provide reflectivity.

Computers

Silicon can act like a conductor in certain situations, a fact that helped create the “Silicon Valley.” Engineers discovered that by purifying and melting silicon, they could reshape the substance and create circuit boards. Still, anyone with a laptop can appreciate the process of sputtering.

Once the board is made from the silicon, sputtering is used to lay down chemicals that form the basis of the circuits. The actual characteristics of the board are based on the types of chemicals used, and the formation of those chemicals. Without sputtering, laptops and desktops wouldn’t exist along with hundreds of other household appliances.

Cameras

Cameras themselves don’t use sputtering outside of the formation of their circuit boards, but the lenses might. Thin film coatings help protect lenses from UV light and scratches. Special coatings can also add colored filters, which are useful in film. This process occurs in a vacuum, where the lens (called a substrate) is allowed to absorb the chemicals as they are heated and allowed to flow freely within a sealed chamber.
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Denton Vacuum, LLC makes sputtering systems that can help manufacture Diamond like carbon. For more information on sputtering systems, contact Denton Vacuum, LLC.

Allied Time contributed this article

Installing biometric time and attendance systems helps companies to accurately track their employee’s working time while integrating their time clock into a larger system. But it’s also a complex process, especially if you’ve never used biometric time clocks before. Because of this, planning ahead is critical to the successful implementation of a new biometric time clock system.

If you are considering purchasing a new suite of employee time clock software and scanners, you need to be prepared for the installation before you buy anything. Here are a few considerations you’ll need to keep in mind:

Consider the Location of Your Scanners: You need to know where you are going to place your scanners before you purchase them. Ideally, they are in locations near where employees naturally enter and exit. You’ll need to have a solid place to put them and access to power sources and possibly an Internet connection.

Prep Your Employees Ahead of Time: When you make the switch to a biometric time card system, many of your employees will have questions. It’s possible some will have misconceptions about how machines work or privacy concerns. Address these concerns before you install any machines and do plenty of training. You might consider a pilot program with managers and other key employees to work out some kinks and to get “buy in” from people the staff trusts.

Let Your Employees Give Feedback: You want to make sure that your employees have a chance to have their voices be heard before you implement a biometric time card option. Holding a companywide meeting or smaller meetings within individual departments lets employees feel like they are part of the process. You might learn some concerns that are valid. You’ll also get the chance to show your employees how these systems can benefit them.

Be Prepared to Make Adjustments: No matter how much planning you do, chances are there will be some adjustments you need to make after you launch your new biometric time clocks. You might need to move machines or purchase additional scanners. Be sure you are flexible enough to handle changes as needed.

Beyond anything else, you want to make sure that the introduction of a biometric time clock is not a surprise to your employees. Many people have negative associations with biometrics and associate it with an invasion of their privacy. By taking steps ahead of time to address their concerns and show them the benefits of biometrics, you can have a workforce that is eager to try the new technology.

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Allied Time contributed this article. Visit the Allied Time website to see great deals on the latest time punch clock technology.

 

By Samuel Phineas Upham

Hollywood film studios spend billions of dollars each year producing and promoting their films, so it’s important that they develop projects that have the greatest chance of making money. According to Intelligent Life, one way they are doing this is by relying on predictive research to compare potential scripts with past box office results to attempt to determine the likelihood of a film’s success before it’s made.

One company helping Hollywood studios do this work is Epagogix. The London company uses algorithms to analyze hundreds of elements of a script — such as having clear villains or a sidekick — against other films. By finding similarities, Epagogix’s researchers are often able to determine how much money a film will make at the box office to within $10 million.

Read the story at: http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/features/anonymous/slaves-algorithm?page=full

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Samuel Phineas Uphamis an investor from NYC and SF. You may contact Phin on his Samual Phineas Upham website or LinkedIn.

By Samuel Phineas Upham

Anyone looking for easy answers to life’s big mysteries might want to avoid reading Daniel Dennett’s latest work, “Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking.” As profiled in the New York Times, Dennett uses a science-based approach to reach deep philosophical conclusions about some vexing questions. But these conclusions aren’t always what people want to hear.

According to Dennett, consciousness is simply a construct of the workings of the mind and not tied to any other spiritual level. Dennett believes that a computer could theoretically be programmed to mimic all of the workings of the mind, including creating a sense of consciousness. This analytic and blunt approach to philosophy has earned Dennett a reputation as one of the leading philosophers of his era but has also put him at odds with many of his contemporaries who see philosophy as a pursuit less grounded in scientific facts.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com

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About the Author: Samuel Phineas Upham is an investor at a family office/ hedgefund, where he focuses on special situation illiquid investing. Before this position, Phin Upham was working at Morgan Stanley in the Media & Technology group. You may contact Phin on his Samuel Phineas Upham website or Twitter.

Motor boats are just like every high performance vehicle. In getting your car repaired, you wouldn’t want to trust your life to cheap or shoddy automotive parts. And in the essential care and maintenance of outboard motors, the proper marine parts makes the difference between having confidence in the job getting done or the headache of fixing problems which could have been avoided.

From a leisurely cruise across a lake to a commercial enterprise, a well maintained motor makes all the difference. And just as our cars need regularly scheduled services, so do marine engines. And having name brand tried and true accessories, such as Mercury marine parts, can add to our well ease, especially when one is out in the middle of a lake or on sea. Just imagine the scenario.

You’ve grabbed your favorite fishing pole, plus a few friends, hopped in your boat and set course for remote destinations to enjoy the fine, summer’s day. The journey to your coveted fishing spot was uneventful. No hiccups, no problems. And after shutting off your engine, you and your buddies have settled in for a nice, relaxing afternoon with poles in the water and filled good conversations.

However, all good days must come to an end and the eventual trek home is next on the agenda. Yet in attempting to turn over your engine, it refuses to start. And no matter what you try, it simply will not work. So here you find yourself, in the middle of a remote lake with no means of making it back to shore. And it’s starting to get dark.

Obviously this is a worst case scenario. However, this is an attempt to illustrate what can possibly happen without the proper care and maintenance. As they say, an ounce of prevention can go a long way towards having a fully functioning marine engine. When heading out on the water, we want the knowledge that our motor will be completely dependable and will work as expected when we need or want it.

When it comes to boats, especially leisure vehicles that aren’t in constant use, the idea of a simple oil change or tune up may slip our minds. And yet, if we wish to use these vehicles responsibly and get the most out of our investment, the idea of scheduled maintenance must be followed. It’s your boat. Therefore, it’s up to you to take care of it.
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This content had been provided by Performance Product Technologies, retailers of Mercruiser parts and services for both work and leisure.

Article submitted by: Sweepstakes Machines

Want to do something fun and different this summer but don’t have the budget for an island escape or a European vacation? Don’t sweat it. There are plenty of ways to give your mind a break from the daily grind without leaving the city or emptying your bank account.

This summer, you can join thousands of other people and hit up your local internet sweepstakes café. Yup! You read that correctly. A new class of game cafés, called internet sweepstakes cafés, is popping up all over the country offering local residents a safe and air-conditioned place to play sweepstakes games.

Designed to encourage consumers to purchase products, sweepstakes games also offer consumers the chance to win money and prizes. There are even internet café games that mimic slot machines.  

Although most people have computers at home, many visit internet sweepstakes cafés to get out of the house and play games with their friends. In fact, one of the most attractive features of an internet café franchise is the social aspect. These cafés allow people to play games online without being isolated at home. So what are you waiting for? Visit an internet sweepstakes café near you!