Here's a book excerpt from "Advanced MEMS Packaging," written by experts in the field. The book details the latest cutting-edge microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) packaging techniques such as low-temperature bonding and 3-D packaging. It can certainly serve as a valuable reference for those faced with the challenging problems created by MEMS devices and packaging. Part 2 covers advanced IC packaging.
Here's a book excerpt from "Advanced MEMS Packaging," written by experts in the field. The book details the latest cutting-edge MEMS packaging techniques such as low-temperature bonding and 3-D packaging. It can certainly serve as a valuable reference for those faced with the challenging problems created by MEMS devices and packaging. Parts 1 & 2 cover advanced IC packaging, while part 3 addresses advanced MEMS packaging.
The launch of the Apple iPad has resulted in an outpouring of opinions -- good and bad. Find out what key market analysts including DisplaySearch, In-Stat, iSuppli, and Strategy Analytics have to say about Apple's latest creation.
GM to invest $246M in electric motors, hybrid components
Baltimore, Md. — General Motors will invest approximately $246 million in electric motor and electric drive manufacturing including construction of a high-volume electric drive production facility at the Baltimore Transmission plant. The facility, which will begin to manufacture electric motors in 2013 for GM’s Two-mode Hybrid system, is the first electric motor manufacturing plant in the U.S. operated by a major automaker, according to GM. The plant is expected to create about 200 jobs.
Through job retention and creation, Baltimore Transmission, which opened in 2000, will employ close to 400 people, and nationally, including immediate project jobs, manufacturing jobs and the impact on suppliers and local communities, the investment is estimated to retain or create about 1700 jobs, according to GM.
GM also recently announced that it has manufactured the first advanced lithium-ion battery for a mass-marketed electric vehicle at GM’s Brownstown Battery Pack Assembly Plant in Brownstown Township, Michigan.
GM announced in August last year a $43-million investment to prepare the 160,000-square-foot facility for production of lithium-ion battery packs for the Volt and other electric vehicles with extended-range capabilities. The plant is part of a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Motors called GM Subsystems Manufacturing LLC.
In just five months, new machinery and specialized equipment have been installed at the plant and three primary assembly areas have been completed: battery module pre-assembly, final assembly and the battery pack main line.
The Volt’s battery pack is made up of multiple linked battery modules and more than 200 battery cells. Initial battery production at Brownstown will be used to validate the plant’s equipment and processes, and batteries will be sent to GM’s Global Battery Systems lab in Warren, Mich., for testing, says GM. The car maker says it will begin shipping batteries this spring to its Detroit-Hamtramck plant, the assembly location for the Volt, for use in production validation vehicles.
Production at Brownstown and Detroit-Hamtramck is set to begin in the fourth quarter.
GM says it is investing $700 million in eight Michigan facilities for Volt-related production, including $336 million in the Detroit-Hamtramck plant.
In August, the U.S. Dept. of Energy selected 45 companies, universities and organizations, including GM, in 28 states for more than $2 billion in awards for electric drive and battery manufacturing and transportation electrification. Nearly half of that total is designated for cell, battery and materials manufacturing facilities in Michigan, says GM.
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ST intros an ultra-low-power, single-chip controller IC containing all the functions necessary to control an optical finger navigation (OFN) module or optical joystick. 
Renesas unveils its family of RX62T 32-bit flash microcontrollers (MCU) that enable more energy-efficient control system designs for electric motors and inverters.