Quality, Test & Measurement News

When device geometries shrink down to 20 nm, some of the techniques that worked well enough on previous device generations no longer suffice to maintain adequate quality. Such was the logic behind Mentor Graphics' introduction of a Smart Fill approach to replace dummy-fill, reducing time-to-manufacturing and raising yields by avoiding errors that can prove much more expensive if discovered only after tape-out. Here, the head of Mentor's design-for-manufacturing efforts explores some of these issues and responds to questions about the wisdom of pursuing 20 nm geometries even before 28 nm versions have reached full-volume production.

FARO Edge — the world's first measurement arm with on-board computer.

Access more than 40 touch features from basic measurement options to set up and mounting verification. Our new diagnostics screen allows users to monitor real-time temperature, mount check, and create eventlog minimizing external ambient influences, and ensure optimal results to save time and cost.

Surface contact pressure indicating sensor film accurately measures pressure distribution and magnitude between any contacting surfaces.

Request a complimentary sample. More info...

Ofil's DayCor® Luminar is the best available daytime corona camera. It is a combination of precision, functionality, and ergonomics, suitable for inspecting high/medium voltage lines and for NDT predictive maintenance.

DayCor® Luminar provides immediate pinpointed imaging of faulty components on transmission and distribution lines, substations elements, motors, generators, switchgears, etc.

With instrument uncertainty to two-millionths of an inch (50 nm), the Labmaster Universal — Model 175 is suitable for virtually all internal and external measuring applications. This laser-based universal length measuring system has been developed by Pratt & Whitney for gage calibration laboratories that need to make precise measurements.

Taking a page from visual programming languages for more conventional test methods, this tool allows manipulating images to mimic exactly what the inspection system will see during normal operation. This video shows how users can build a program by identifying characteristics such as roundness, flatness, and true position to get the most benefit from the inspection step.

How successfully do carmakers ensure the highest quality in the cars that they sell? This piece contends that despite the spate of recent recalls, cars are more reliable than ever. It explores how the manufacturers reach this goal, beginning before the cars ever get to the assembly line. The strategy includes steps taken both during and after production.

When a part comes off a production line, how can an aerospace, automotive, or medical device manufacturer be sure that it will fit into its intended application? Common wisdom contends that you have to enlist two different measurement methods to ensure accuracy — coordinate measurement and hard gauging. This new compromise measuring gauge addresses both requirements.

What once consisted of a radio and a tape deck or CD player in your car has evolved into a complex cacophony of electronics with a hands-free human interface. This item explores the resulting test challenges and the kinds of test strategies and equipment necessary to ensure that the system functions flawlessly to minimize distractions for the driver.

The MetraSCAN 3D Optical CMM Scanners ensure highly-accurate dimensional surface measurements, regardless of the measurement environment (instability, vibrations, thermal variations, etc.).

The MetraSCAN 3D CMM Scanners are the most accurate scanning solutions for demanding quality control and reverse engineering applications, whether in lab or on the shop floor.

Superior Performance in a complete, compact system. The ITI V5+ Videoscope System is ready whenever and wherever you need it. Its durable design limits downtime and it's simple to operate.

See video demonstration.

Verifying performance for test situations like coherent optical modulation systems requires more high-bandwidth channels than a conventional oscilloscope can offer. Manufacturers have advocated hooking two instruments together, but this approach invites time-based phase and trigger jitter errors. Instead, this article presents a modular alternative. A master acquisition module generates a single high-speed clock with a single trigger and distributes it to two or more slaves.

Printed circuit boards can experience "creep corrosion," where solid corrosion products migrate across the boards' surface and can cause shorts between adjacent pads and traces. After conducting extensive testing to understand the causes of the problem, the International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) has issued standards defining appropriate temperature, humidity, and copper and silver corrosion standards, adherence to which will ensure that the boards work and will continue to work during normal use.

Wi-Fi service providers and mobile device vendors now have an automated suite for testing products' sensitivity, range, and throughput for performance that exceeds the requirements of Wi-Fi certification. The suite includes a channel emulator that users can customize for a wide variety of system configurations. According to the developer, the suite provides easy-to-use and easy-to-implement test plan to meet the challenges of the increasingly complex mobile world.

What will metrology look like a decade from now? What will you be trying to measure? How will you do it? This comprehensive white paper from the UK's National Physical Laboratory takes a look at the continuing need to ensure quality, quantity, and performance for developments and innovations and will protect the well-being and security of the population.

In order to configure a machine to meet a variety of application needs, IKA Works, Inc. offers a wide selection of rotors and stators (generators). Different generator designs provide a combination of varying levels of dispersing energy. In addition, they are designed to accommodate materials of different viscosities and initial particle size.

The Phantom v641 from Vision Research is the second generation v640 camera. It's smaller and lighter than its predecessor, with a number of new convenience features requested by users. More info...

FUTEK's Webinar:
Torque Sensor Spotlight: Best Practices for selecting Rotary Torque Sensors — 7/25/2012

On July 25, FUTEK Advanced Sensor Technology, Inc. will present "Torque Sensor Spotlight: Best Practices for selecting Rotary Torque Sensors". Join your peers for this free, informative, and interactive ONLINE webinar — right from the convenience of your desktop. Learn more about FUTEK's best practices when designing and implementing rotary torque sensors in a test system. Register today!

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