May 2009

Measurement Specialties Introduces Ni1000Si Temperature Sensing Chips for Miniature, Low Cost, High Precision Applications
The Temperature Products Group of Measurement Specialties (MEAS) has released surface mounted devices for varied contact temperature sensing applications. The Ni1000Si is a nickel thin film resistance temperature detector (RTD) that is suitable for use in contact sensing. It complies with the former DIN 43760 standard and is applicable for temperature sensing, control and compensation, general instrumentation and remote sensing.

The devices are manufactured by PVD deposition on a silicon substrate. The thin film structure is covered by a passivation layer for environmental protection and enhanced stability. This allows the production of miniature, low-cost, high-precision temperature sensors. These sensors operate within a wide temperature range of -55°C to 160°C, with low power consumption. A large temperature coefficient of resistance (6178 ppm/K to 0°C, 100°C) and good linearity between resistance and temperature (R V’s T) are inherent in the design.

Measurement Specialties surface mount temperature sensors have been developed as a solution for a wide range of applications demanding highly accurate temperature sensing, control and compensation in a small package. Typically these are found within the transportation, consumer goods, test and measurement and general industrial sectors.

Wavelength Electronics Releases 2.2A Temperature Control
The robust and reliable WTC3243 is designed into electro-optical systems, airborne instrumentation, spectroscopic monitors and medical diagnostic equipment. Now, the compact, powerful WTC3243 has been upgraded for greater temperature stability – even across ambient.

Stability is a measure of how close the actual load temperature stays to setpoint temperature over time. Often there can be a “dead band” when scanning across ambient temperature, during the transition between heating and cooling control. Proprietary circuitry in the new WTC3243 does not exhibit this typical loss of control across ambient. An on-ambient stability of 0.0014 ºC has been achieved with thermistors.

The linear, PI (Proportional, Integral) control loop offers maximum stability while the bipolar current source has been designed for higher efficiency. Optimized for ultrastable thermoelectric temperature control applications, the WTC3243 maintains precision temperature regulation using an adjustable sensor bias current and error amplifier circuit that operates directly with thermistors, RTDs, AD590 and LM335 type temperature sensors. Supply up to 2.2 A for either thermoelectrics (bipolar) or resistive heaters (unipolar).

The Proportional Gain (P) and Integrator Time Constant (I) are set by external resistors and can be modified to optimize temperature overshoot and stability. Other features offer added flexibility. Independent heat and cool current limits are set by single resistors. An onboard reference voltage simplifies potentiometer control of the temperature setpoint. The WTC3243 can be operated remotely with an external setpoint voltage. Thermal management accessories such as form-fitting heatsink, thermal washer and fans maximize power dissipation. An evaluation board is available to quickly integrate the WTC3243 into your system.

COADE Releases New PV Fabricator for Automated Deliverables for Pressure Vessel and Heat Exchanger Design
COADE has released the COADE PV Fabricator, a new software product for the automated production of design and fabrication deliverables for pressure vessels and heat exchangers, including 2D layout and detail drawings, bills of material tables, nozzle schedules, weld details, title block, nameplate, notes and any other annotation that may be needed for deliverables.

The package leverages the existing bi-directional links between COADE PV Elite for pressure vessel and heat exchanger design and analysis and COADE CADWorx Equipment for parametric equipment modeling. PV Fabricator comes with powerful parametric modeling for fast and accurate development of fully editable 3D models of pressure vessels and heat exchangers. From these models, designers can develop complete fabrication deliverables for their pressure vessels and heat exchangers by using the built-in tools that automate the detail production process.

When PV Fabricator is linked to PV Elite, the benefits multiply for engineering and design integration. This combination can reduce the time it takes to produce fabrication deliverables by up to 80 percent. This bi-directional link eliminates the redundant re-work and the resulting mistakes that can occur when compared to conventional methods of creating vessel fabrication deliverables.

Nuventix Releases Compact SynJet Cooler for Philips Fortimo and Lexel LED Downlight Module
Nuventix, Inc., innovator of SynJet active thermal management solutions, has released the SynJet Universal DLM cooler for the Philips Fortimo/Lexel LED Downlight Module. This Nuventix active cooling product is a compact and low profile luminaire. SynJets are reliable, adaptable and quiet thermal management solutions for the solid state lighting industry.

The DLM Cooler is being used by customers such as Philips Omega, NeonFrance, SunLux, Eurdekian and Zumtobel to enable compact, customized cooling solutions that overcome the thermal challenges in luminaire design when using high-lumen output LED modules for general lighting. The Universal DLM Cooler is specially designed to provide active cooling for a downlight module.
 
The SynJet Universal DLM Cooler is lightweight and small size, one-third the size of a passive cooling solution, which allows for an easier design – in turn, creating the ability to address a much larger segment of the market. The new luminaire design offers flexibility for installations that require both height limited areas and spots requiring small rough-in holes, without sacrificing high brightness. The unique circular shape can fit into a 140 mm hole while needing <90 mm of height for the cooler and SynJet combination.
“Philips Omega has utilized the Nuventix SynJet fanless cooler for the higher lumen packages to reduce the size of the aluminum heat sink,” said Brian McMillin, product manager at Philips Omega.

Share Your Knowledge at Thermal Management and Technology Symposium 2009
The conference provides an excellent forum to discuss new developments in technology, market conditions and end-user requirements that are driving innovation, capabilities and features. Thermal Management and Technology Symposium 2009 is a conference highlighting the latest advancements in thermal technology for product design, system development and process management, will be held October 20-21 in Denver, Colorado.

A limited number of speaking slots are still open in the following areas:
• Heating
• Cooling
• Materials
• Temperature Control Applications
• Software

Please e-mail Joanna Larez, program manager, if you are interested in participating so she may arrange to save a spot for you.

Rogers Corp. Reports 2009 First Quarter Results
Rogers Corp. has announced first quarter 2009 revenues of $65.5 million and a net loss of $0.56 per share. The company’s February 18, 2009 guidance was $60-$65 million in sales and a loss of $0.45-$0.55 per share, including approximately $2.5 million or $0.12 per share of estimated severance charges. The 2009 first quarter results include actual severance charges of $2.8 million or $0.14 per share in addition to approximately $2.9 million or $0.14 per share of other one-time charges that were not previously included in the February 18, 2009 guidance. First quarter 2008 revenues were $98.0 million with net earnings of $0.48 per diluted share.

Printed Circuit Materials
Sales of Printed Circuit Materials for the quarter totaled $30.0 million, down 8.9 percent from the $33 million reported in the first quarter of 2008. Sales into the 3G wireless infrastructure market in China were strong. This quarter’s results benefited from orders to refill customers’ work-in-process pipeline, as those inventories were depleted in the fourth quarter. Demand for high frequency circuit materials for low noise block-down converters into the TV satellite market were soft again this quarter, although there was a slight pick up in activity toward the end of the first quarter. High frequency circuit material sales into the defense and high reliability markets remain stable.

High Performance Foams
High Performance Foams had $17.2 million in sales for the first quarter of 2009, down approximately 41.4 percent compared to the first quarter 2008 sales of $29.3 million. Weakened consumer electronics spending and customer supply chain inventory issues impacted the revenues across all end markets in this segment for the first quarter. Particularly hard hit were cell phone applications as manufacturers had excess inventory to work through, which resulted in little to no business from most customers in this market segment during the period. We are now seeing a modest recovery in the cell phone market. Consequently, the company’s factories are increasing production from the significantly shortened schedules that were in place for the quarter. In China, where there was essentially no production in the first quarter, workers are being rehired as production is resuming. The company recently completed the acquisition of certain assets of MTI Global Inc.’s silicone business and believes the acquired silicone product lines and technology will expand opportunities for growth in new and existing silicone products and markets, as well as, enhance the company’s current silicone foam business.

Custom Electrical Components
Custom Electrical Component sales for the first quarter were $13.2 million, compared to sales of $28 million reported in the first quarter of 2008. This quarter-over-quarter decrease in sales is directly related to the previously announced decline in the demand for electroluminescent lamps (EL) for keypad backlighting in the portable communications market. Power Distribution Systems (PDS) continued to have strong demand fueled by the mass transit infrastructure builds around the world. Also, PDS continues to see fairly robust demand in wind power applications as more countries focus on alternative clean energy sources. In addition, during the quarter the company made its first sale into power converters for solar farm applications.

Joint Ventures
Rogers’ 50 percent owned joint ventures had quarterly sales totaling $10.6 million, a decrease of almost 60 percent compared to the $26.2 million sold in the first quarter of 2008. A combination of a decline in consumer electronics, excess inventory throughout the supply chain and a slowdown in the hard disk drive and cell phone markets accounted for the decline in sales at the company’s joint ventures.

Operational Highlights
Rogers’ balance sheet ended the first quarter with a cash and short-term investment balance of $45.5 million and an auction rate securities balance of $41.3 million. Capital expenditures were approximately $2.9 million for the first quarter 2009 and are now expected to total approximately $17 million for the year. During the first quarter there was no material change in the valuation of auction rate securities; however, the company had $0.6 million of such securities redeemed at par in the first quarter of 2009 and will have an additional $1.2 million redeemed at par in the second quarter of 2009.

Rogers’ gross margin for the first quarter of 2009 was 21.3 percent versus 32.2 percent in the first quarter of 2008 which is due primarily to a 33.2 percent decline in quarter-over-quarter sales. Inventories at the end of the first quarter totaled $35.8 million versus $48 million at the end of the first quarter 2008 and $41.6 million at the end of 2008. Although this inventory decline had a favorable impact on our overall balance sheet position, it negatively impacted the margins due to the decreased absorption of overhead expenses as a result of managed production declines.

The company’s first quarter effective tax rate was 23.2 percent, which included the favorable settlement of certain tax contingencies during the quarter. The company believes its tax rate will be in the range of 13 percent to 16 percent for the remainder of 2009.

Tessera to Acquire Certain Assets from Dblur
Tessera Technologies, Inc. has announced the signing of a definitive agreement for its subsidiaries to acquire certain assets of Israel-based Dblur Technologies Ltd., a developer of software lens technology for cell phone cameras and other imaging applications.

Under the terms of the agreement, Tessera will purchase certain of Dblur’s assets including intellectual property and specified customer agreements. In addition, Tessera will hire certain former Dblur employees. The transaction is subject to various standard closing conditions, and is expected to close within the second quarter of 2009.

CoolIT Systems Acquires Delphi Liquid Cooling Assets
CoolIT Systems has acquired Delphi Thermal Liquid Cooling assets including intellectual property, machinery and equipment. The Delphi acquisition will provide CoolIT the additional mass market production resources to better accommodate the rapidly growing global industry demand for liquid cooled computers. As part of the Purchase Agreement, CoolIT Systems will be immediately servicing industry giants including Dell and Apple.

Webinar Title: Introduction to Thermal Management Using Phase Change Materials (PCMs)
Presented by: Maurice J. Marongiu, Owner MJM Engineering Co.
When: June 4 at 10-11 a.m. Mountain Time
Price: $250

Attendees will gain an understanding of the issues involved in the thermal management of consumer/industrial products/applications using phase change materials (PCMs). The webinar covers the principles, design issues, the tools available to the design engineer, etc. The webinar will provide overview of thermal problems/applications using PCMs along with a brief overview of fundamentals and theory: heat transfer, fluid mechanics, and thermal systems. Discover what PCMs are, their costs, PCM types and their classification along with PCM thermal, chemical and mechanical characteristics and PCM thermal design issues.

Read more about this webinar!

Click here to download the spring issue of Thermal News!

Download the THERMAL News spring issue PDF version today!

This issue includes articles on the following topics:

• Thermal Management of LED Systems
• Synthetic Jets: Solution for Active Cooling
• Embedded CFD Helps Reduce Number of Thermal Prototypes from Up to 12 to One
• EBM-Pabst and DSM Engineering Plastics Collaboration Leads to Innovative Fan in LED Headlamps for Hella

May
20 Thermal Interface Materials Technical Symposium, Huntsville, Ala.
24-29 2009 Electrochemical Society Annual Spring Meeting, San Francisco, Calif.
31-6/5 Cleo/IQEC 09, Baltimore, Md.
31-6/5 SID Display Week, San Antonio, Tx.

June
3-4 International Reflective Insulation Manufacturers (I-RIM) Conference, Barcelona, Spain
8-10 Sensors Expo & Conference 2009, Rosemont, Ill.
8-11 MDM East, New York, N.Y.
8-11 NXT Comm, Chicago, Ill.

SEMICON West 2009
July 14-16
San Francisco, CA

SEMICON West 2009 is the must-attend, can't-miss event of the year!  Find real solutions, see the latest products and technologies for high-tech manufacturing, and meet the people moving electronics innovation.  Explore the latest developments in 3D IC design and TSV packaging, semiconductors, renewable energy applications, semiconductor test, advanced packaging, wafer processing, and more from the industry's leading technologists.  Discover new opportunities in MEMS, flexible and printed electronics, solid state lighting, and nanoelectronics at Extreme Electronics, the newest place at SEMICON West. Learn ways to increase productivity, improve performance, and advance product development—from cutting-edge materials to the latest equipment and processes. Check out the Infinite Possibilities, July 14-16, 2009, Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA.  Register at www.semiconwest.org.

AVS 56th International Symposium and Exhibition
November 8-13, 2009
San Jose, CA

The AVS 56th International Symposium and Exhibition, November 8-13, 2009, in San Jose, California will feature technical sessions and an exhibition with scientific instrumentation, components, accessories, tools and services. This program includes applications and products in fields such as surface analysis and engineering; biomaterials; MEMS/NEMS; nanotechnology; plasma science; thin film; vacuum technology; and electronic materials and processing. Exhibit attendance is free. For more information, visit www.avs.org.

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