[mos-ak] MOS-AK/GSA San Francisco, CA Workshop on-line Publications

MOS-AK/GSA San Francisco, CA workshop on-line publications are
available, visit:
http://mos-ak.org/california/

More that 50 registered participants followed 11 technical compact
modeling talks at the MOS-AK/GSA Compact Modeling Workshop in San
Francisco, CA. I would like to thank all MOS-AK/GSA speakers for
sharing their compact modeling competence, R&D experience and
delivering valuable MOS-AK/GSA presentations. I am sure, that our
modeling event in San Francisco, CA was beneficial to all MOS-AK
Workshop attendees.

Organization of our modeling event would not be possible without our
generous sponsors: Accelicon Technologies and Cascade Microtech as
well as the IEEE EDS, technical co-sponsorship. I also would also like
to personally acknowledge local workshop organizers, in particular,
Tim K. Smith for his dedication and personal assistance to provide
smooth workshop logistics.

I hope, we would have a next chance to meet us with your academic and
industrial partners at future MOS-AK/GSA modeling events (check the
list below).

- with regards - WG (for the MOS-AK/GSA Committee)
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––----------------
MOS-AK/California on-line publications <http://mos-ak.org/california/
>
MOS-AK/Seville on-line publications <http://mos-ak.org/seville>
IWCM at ASP-DAC in Yokohama Jan.2011 (with MOS-AK Support)
MOS-AK/Paris at UPMC/LIP6 <http://www.mos-ak.org/paris/>
MIXDES in Gliwice June 16-18, 2011 (with MOS-AK Session)
MOS-AK/Helsinki Sept.16, 2011 (ESSDERC time frame)
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––----------------

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Electronics industry braces for rare-earth-materials shortages

From EDN:

Electronics industry braces for rare-earth-materials shortages:

"China has started to severely restrict the exports of rare-earth materials, which often find use in “green”-technology designs, including hybrid vehicles and energy-efficient lighting, as well as in the medical, defense, and consumer markets. The country delivers nearly 100% of the world’s rare-earth materials: 17 metals that are somewhat hard to refine and that tend to occur in the same ore deposits (Table 1). The cutbacks have resulted in shock waves through the electronics industry and could force design changes in the near future.

China set out on a moderate restriction path this year and then announced in July that it would cut exports by 72% for the remainder of 2010. It plans an overall export reduction of 30% for next year.

These cutbacks have increased the price of rare-earth materials an average of 700%, prompting legislation, which is currently stalled, to restart US rare-earth-materials production. The Western Hemisphere’s one rare-earth-materials producer, Colorado-based Molycorp Minerals, issued an initial public offering of stock in July, raising $390 million to restart its California mine and ramp up processing to counter world shortages.

Part of China’s motivation for reducing rare-earth-materials exports is its desire to emphasize its industrial status. China’s leaders want to move away from raw-materials exports and evolve toward exporting more finished goods.

Production of rare-earth materials fell off worldwide beginning in the 1980s when low prices in China made production unfeasible elsewhere in the world. Tom Valiere, senior vice president and co-founder of Design Chain Associates, says this cutback is a wake-up call for US industry. “We used to lead the world in the export of rare-earth materials,” he says. “In the last 20 years, we’ve become dependent. The whole thing flew under the radar until green technology placed demand on rare-earth materials and we realized they were sole-sourced to China.”

China’s restrictions this year have been part of a multiyear plan to save most of its supply for its own industry. “Each year, China has brought down its exports by X% and never exceeded its quotas,” says Gareth Hatch, co-founder of Technology Metals Research. “The reduction the country made in July was a huge reduction over the first half of the year.”

Worldwide shortages are now occurring. “The world outside China uses a collective 50,000 tons annually,” says Jim Simms, director of public affairs at Molycorp Minerals. “[China] reduced its exporting in 2010 to about 30,000 tons. Since China supplies about 97% of rare-earth materials, the world has to depend on what China exports.”

Simms believes that the demand for the materials will just increase over the coming years. The company expects to produce 20,000 tons by the end of 2012. “My BlackBerry only has about 3/10g of rare-earth materials,” he says, but “a single wind turbine requires about one ton. A car can use about 25 kg.”

Lynas Corp, a rare-earth-materials supply company in Australia, expects to increase rare earths delivery in 2011 to 11,000 tons per year.

Rare-earth materials facts

Rare-earth materials include terbium, which finds use in flat-panel TVs and high-efficiency fluorescent lamps, and neodymium, key to the permanent magnets in high-efficiency electric motors. Rare-earth materials are not indeed rare. The series of nonferrous metals is common in the environment. According to Design Chain Associates, most rare-earth materials are as common as copper, and even the rarest is more common than gold.

Part of the market pressure on rare-earth materials comes from new demand that green technologies has prompted. The market, including electric- and hybrid-vehicle motors and wind turbines, requires magnets.
,..."

WOCSDICE'2011

The abstract submission for the 35th edition of the European "Workshop on Compound Semiconductor Devices and Integrated Circuits" (WOCSDICE 2011) is open.
The conference will be held in Catania (Italy), from  May 29th to June 1st 2011.

Short abstracts, not exceeding 300 words, must be submitted via e-mail at the following address: abstract@wocsdice2011.org
Detailed guidelines for abstract preparation and submission can be found on the conference website (www.wocsdice2011.org) under the session "Abstract Submission". In the website you will find also other practical information concerning the registration and accommodation.

The dead line for short abstracts submission is February 25th, 2011.

Authors will be notified by March 21st, 2011 regarding the status of their paper by e-mail.
For the accepted contributions, an extended abstract, maximum 2 pages of length (4 pages for invited speakers), including figures, tables and references, will be required within April 11th, 2011.

8.3% Efficiency in a OPV

I copy from their webpage:

Konarka's Power Plastic Achieves World Record 8.3% Efficiency Certification from National Energy Renewable Laboratory (NREL)

Lowell, Mass. - Nov. 29, 2010 - Konarka Technologies, Inc., an innovator in development and commercialization of Konarka Power Plastic®, a material that converts light to energy, today announced that the National Energy Renewable Laboratory (NREL) has certified that Konarka’s organic based photovoltaic (OPV) solar cells have demonstrated a record breaking 8.3% efficiency. This is the highest performance recorded by NREL for an organic photovoltaic solar cell.
"The progress Konarka has achieved this year with regard to solar cell efficiency is unprecedented, representing a significant milestone for the industry," commented Howard Berke, chairman, CEO and co-founder of Konarka. "This unsurpassed NREL certification opens new doors for the commercial production of cost-effective, efficient electricity for numerous large scale applications."
Konarka Power Plastic is a patent-protected thin film solar material that converts light to energy. The unique material is lightweight and flexible, lending itself to a wide range of applications where traditional photovoltaics are not effective.
The latest certification results are for Konarka’s large area single-junction solar cell with a surface area of 1 square centimeter. This efficiency rating far exceeds previous single-junction organic photovoltaic cell measurement on that surface area and represents the world record for OPV efficiency.

24th International Conference on Microelectronic Test Structures (ICMTS)

The IEEE Electron Devices Society sponsors the 24th International Conference on Microelectronic Test Structures (ICMTS).

The conference will be held on April 5-7, 2011, in downtown Amsterdam (The Netherlands) at the Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences, and will be preceded by a one-day Tutorial Short Course on Microelectronic Test Structures on April 4. The program further includes a company exhibit and various social events in and around the Academy. 

Registration to the conference is now open. If you wish more info, please visit their website http://icmts2011.ewi.utwente.nl/ for further information.