Industry News

April 2019
MIDDLEBOROUGH, Mass. – Sager Electronics and Power Sonic announced a distribution partnership. “Sager Electronics’ specialized group, Sager Power Systems, is a perfect fit for the Power Sonic portfolio. Their focus on power and thermal solutions with a highly experienced team of Power Systems Engineers
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Date:
04/29/2019
Graphene Sponge for Lithium Sulphur Batteries

An illustration of the Chalmers design for a lithium sulfur battery. The highly porous quality of the graphene aerogel allows for high enough soaking of sulfur to make the catholyte concept worthwhile.

To meet the demands of an electric future, new battery technologies will be essential. One option is lithium sulphur batteries, which offer a theoretical energy density more than five times that of lithium ion batteries. Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, recently unveiled a promising br
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Date:
04/29/2019
Magnets can get AI Closer to Efficiency of the Human Brain

Purdue University researchers have developed a process to use magnetics with brain-like networks to program and teach devices to better generalize about different objects.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Computers and artificial intelligence continue to usher in major changes in the way people shop. It is relatively easy to train a robot's brain to create a shopping list, but what about ensuring that the robotic shopper can easily tell the difference between the thousands of products in the
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Date:
04/26/2019
Scientists 3D-Print All-Liquid 'Lab on a Chip'

To make the 3D-printable fluidic device, Berkeley Lab researchers designed a specially patterned glass substrate. When two liquids - one containing nanoscale clay particles, another containing polymer particles - are printed onto the substrate, they come together at the interface of the two liquids and within milliseconds form a very thin channel or tube about 1 millimeter in diameter.

Researchers at DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have 3D-printed an all-liquid device that, with the click of a button, can be repeatedly reconfigured on demand to serve a wide range of applications - from making battery materials to screening drug candidates. "What we demonstrat
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Date:
04/26/2019
Connected Car Data Helps Transportation Planners

Graduate students Qinjie Lyu and Shuaidong Zhao work with Kuilin Zhang on connected vehicle technology. Connected vehicle data is full of holes; models developed by Michigan Tech engineers help fill in the missing information.

If you have a new or late model car, most likely it's connected: GPS navigation, that infotainment panel, the wireless network your car creates -- they're all ways for your car to provide information, whether it's to give you directions, ping other vehicles, or to check in with infrastructure like traffic signals, signs
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Date:
04/26/2019
New Breakthroughs in Research on Super-Batteries

Stefan Freunberger, researcher at the Institute for Chemistry and Technology of Materials at Graz University of Technology, is one of the world's leading researchers in his field of battery research.

Since 2012, Stefan Freunberger of the Institute for Chemistry and Technology of Materials at TU Graz has been working on development of a new generation of batteries with enhanced performance and longer useful lives, and which are also cheaper to produce than current models. He believes that lithium-oxygen batteries ha
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Date:
04/26/2019
Improving Bioelectrode Lifetimes for Solar Energy Conversion

Wolfgang Schuhmann, Fangyuan Zhao, Adrian Ruff and Felipe Conzuelo (from the left) work on long-lasting bioelectrodes.

The use of proteins involved in the photosynthetic process enables the development of affordable and efficient devices for energy conversion. However, although proteins such as photosystem I are robust in nature, the use of isolated protein complexes incorporated in semi-artificial electrodes is associated with a
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Date:
04/26/2019
Semiconductor Device Business Transfer: Panasonic to ROHM
Kyoto and Santa Clara, Calif. – April 26, 2019 –  ROHM today announced the acquisition of a part of the diode and transistor business from Panasonic Semiconductor Solutions Company, a Group Company of Panasonic Corp. The transfer is scheduled for October 2019 with ROHM handling sales of these products to Panasonic’s current customers thereafter. 1. Background and aims of this business acquisition Since the 1960s, ROHM has been developing, producing and selling semiconductor devices as a core business of the ROHM Group and has today the largest shares of the global markets for small signal transistors and diode
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Date:
04/26/2019
Iselin, N.J. – TDK Corporation announced that its subsidiary TDK Electronics has signed a co-marketing agreement with Immersion Corporation for the design and marketing of cutting-edge touch response solutions that utilize TDK PowerHap piezo actuators with haptic feedback. Under the agreement Immersion will cert
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Date:
04/25/2019
Using DNA Templates to Harness the Sun's Energy

Double-stranded DNA as a template to guide self-assembly of cyanine dye forming strongly-coupled dye aggregates. These DNA-templated dye aggregates serve as "exciton wires" to facilitate directional, efficient energy transfer over distances up to 32 nm.

As the world struggles to meet the increasing demand for energy, coupled with the rising levels of CO2 in the atmosphere from deforestation and the use of fossil fuels, photosynthesis in nature simply cannot keep up with the carbon cycle. But what if we could help the natural carbon cycle by learning from photosyn
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Date:
04/25/2019
A Breakthrough in the Study of Laser/Plasma Interactions

Large-scale simulations demonstrate that chaos is responsible for stochastic heating of dense plasma by intense laser energy. This image shows a snapshot of electron distribution phase space (position/momentum) from the dense plasma taken from PIC simulations, illustrating the so-called "stretching and folding" mechanism responsible for the emergence of chaos in physical systems.

A new 3D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation tool developed by researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and CEA Saclay is enabling cutting-edge simulations of laser/plasma coupling mechanisms that were previously out of reach of standard PIC codes used in plasma research. More detailed understanding of
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Date:
04/25/2019
Computing Leaders Recognized for Outstanding Impact on Field

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) has recognized four leaders with prestigious service awards.

ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, today recognized four individuals with awards for their exemplary service to the computing field. Working in diverse areas, the 2018 award recipients were selected by their peers for longstanding efforts that have significantly shaped the role of computing in society. Th
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Date:
04/24/2019
Energy-Saving new LED Phosphor

The crystal structure of the SALON phosphor is the reason for its excellent luminescence properties.

Light emitting diodes or LEDs are only able to produce light of a certain colour. However, white light can be created using different colour mixing processes. "In a white LED, red and yellow-green phosphors are excited by the light from a blue diode. The particles emit light in the red and green range, an
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Date:
04/24/2019
A Close Look at Lithium Batteries
Batteries with metallic lithium anodes offer enhanced efficiency compared to conventional lithium-ion batteries because of their higher capacity. However, safety concerns and a short lifespan stand in the way. To better analyze the causes of malfunctions and premature failure of such batteries, researchers have de
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Date:
04/24/2019
Future mmWave Networks with Best of High and Low Frequencies

Angle of arrival (AoA) estimation at low frequency (2.45GHz). The set-up includes an antenna array of 4 elements. We use the algorithm MUSIC in order to estimate the AoA of the signal received.

Future high-speed communication networks based on millimeter-wave (30-300GHz) technology will be more robust and efficient in delivering extremely high speed, high quality video, and multimedia content and services thanks to the results of a ground-breaking research project. The recently-concluded project was a
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Date:
04/23/2019
Modified 'White Graphene' for Eco-Friendly Energy

This is a catalyst with functionalized hexagonal boron nitride and nickel nanoparticles.

Scientists from TPU, Germany, and the United States have found a new way to functionalize a dielectric, otherwise known as 'white graphene', i.e. hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), without destroying it or changing its properties. Thanks to the new method, the researchers synthesized a 'polymer nano carpet' with strong
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Date:
04/22/2019
Semiconductor Scientists Discover Effect Thought Impossible

Pictured here are homo and hetero structures.

A physical effect known as superinjection underlies modern light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and lasers. For decades this effect was believed to occur only in semiconductor heterostructures -- that is, structures composed of two or more semiconductor materials. Researchers from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Te
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Date:
04/22/2019
AI Speeds Efforts to Develop Limitless Fusion Energy

Depiction of fusion research on a doughnut-shaped tokamak enhanced by artificial intelligence.

Artificial intelligence (AI), a branch of computer science that is transforming scientific inquiry and industry, could now speed the development of safe, clean and virtually limitless fusion energy for generating electricity. A major step in this direction is under way at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Pri
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Date:
04/18/2019
Giving Robots a Better Feel for Object Manipulation
A new learning system developed by MIT researchers improves robots' abilities to mold materials into target shapes and make predictions about interacting with solid objects and liquids. The system, known as a learning-based particle simulator, could give industrial robots a more refined touch -- and it may have fun
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Date:
04/18/2019
Army Researchers Identify New Way to Improve Cybersecurity

ARL scientists may have identified a way to improve the cybersecurity of distributed network intrusion detection.

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. - With cybersecurity one of the nation's top security concerns and billions of people affected by breaches last year, government and businesses are spending more time and money defending against it. Researchers at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command's Army Research Labo
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Date:
04/17/2019
Need More Energy Storage? Just Hit 'Print'

Drexel University and Trinity College researchers have developed a conductive ink that can be used to inkjet print energy storage devices.

Researchers from Drexel University and Trinity College in Ireland, have created ink for an inkjet printer from a highly conductive type of two-dimensional material called MXene. Recent findings, published in Nature Communications, suggest that the ink can be used to print flexible energy storage components, such as sup
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Date:
04/17/2019
Graphene Gives Tremendous Boost to Future Terahertz Cameras

Left) Schematic representation of the central part of the graphene-based THz photodetector device, containing the hBN-encapsulated graphene channel, on top of the narrow-gap antenna structure. By applying distinct voltages to the left and right antenna branches, a pn-junction is created in the graphene channel with unequal Seebeck coefficients on the left and right of the junction. Incident light is focused by the antenna above the gap, which is where the photoresponse is generated. (Right) Measurement of a THz focus, obtained by scanning the THz detector in the plane of the focus. The observation of several rings of the Airy pattern indicate the high sensitivity of the detector.

Detecting terahertz (THz) light is extremely useful for two main reasons: Firstly, THz technology is becoming a key element in applications regarding security (such as airport scanners), wireless data communication, and quality control, to mention just a few. However, current THz detectors have shown strong li
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Date:
04/16/2019
Army Scientists Produce Tools for Engineering Biomolecules

This graphic depicts oppositely charged, synthetic proteins combine to form novel hierarchically assembled symmetrical structures toward biotemplated advanced materials.

Army scientists have discovered how to build novel synthetic biomolecule complexes that they believe are a critical step towards biotemplated advanced materials. Their work was recently featured in the March issue of Nature Chemistry. A team of researchers from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Comman
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Date:
04/16/2019
Insect-Inspired Arm Technology Aims to Improve Drones

A Purdue University researcher has come up with a patented design for drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, that works in windy conditions, is more energy efficient and can handle a larger payload.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A drone delivery is great - on a perfect, sunny day. But what about when it's windy? Most drones are not able to withstand wind because of their fixed-arm design. A Purdue University researcher has come up with a patented design for drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, that works in w
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Date:
04/16/2019
Better-Performing Lithium-Ion Batteries are Possible

Materials research -- published in Nature Communications -- makes possible lithium-ion batteries that can charge in a matter of minutes but still operate at a high capacity.

TROY, N.Y. -- Creating a lithium-ion battery that can charge in a matter of minutes but still operate at a high capacity is possible, according to research from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute just published in Nature Communications. This development has the potential to improve battery performance for consume
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Date:
04/16/2019
Could Robots Make a Documentary About a 5K Race?

Researchers involved in the project include Dylan Shell, left, of Texas A&M University, project leader Aaron Becker of the University of Houston, center, and Jason O'Kane of the University of South Carolina

A 5K race can offer both victory and heartbreak, but capturing those moments on video requires both planning ahead and making on-the-spot decisions about where the camera operators should be. A project led by Aaron T. Becker, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Housto
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Date:
04/16/2019
New Scientific Device Creates Electricity from Snowfall

Maher El-Kady and Richard Kaner

UCLA researchers and colleagues have designed a new device that creates electricity from falling snow. The first of its kind, this device is inexpensive, small, thin and flexible like a sheet of plastic. "The device can work in remote areas because it provides its own power and does not need batteries
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Date:
04/16/2019
A Novel Data-Compression Technique for Faster Programs
A novel technique developed by MIT researchers rethinks hardware data compression to free up more memory used by computers and mobile devices, allowing them to run faster and perform more tasks simultaneously. Data compression leverages redundant data to free up storage capacity, boost computing speeds, and provi
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Date:
04/16/2019
Microscopic 'Traffic Cops' for Optical Communications

The photonic switch is manufactured using a technique called photolithography, in which each "light switch" structure is etched into a silicon wafer. Each light gray square on the wafer contains 6,400 of these switches.

Engineers at the University of California, Berkeley have built a new photonic switch that can control the direction of light passing through optical fibers faster and more efficiently than ever. This optical "traffic cop" could one day revolutionize how information travels through data centers and hi
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Date:
04/12/2019
Neutral Zinc-Air Battery with Cathode NiCo/C-N is Promising

NiCo-doped C-N hollow nanotube composites prepared through direct pyrolysis of Ni/Co salt, dicyandiamide and glucose, present excellent performance as the cathode catalysts of neutral Zn-air battery.

In a paper to be published in the forthcoming issue in NANO, a team of researchers from the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Hunan University of Science and Technology have proposed a novel strategy for the synthesis of non-precious metal catalysts in zinc-air batteries that do not compromise its electroac
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Date:
04/12/2019
Scientists Predict Internet of Thoughts 'Within Decades'
Imagine a future technology that would provide instant access to the world's knowledge and artificial intelligence, simply by thinking about a specific topic or question. Communications, education, work, and the world as we know it would be transformed. Writing in Frontiers in Neuroscience, an international collaboration led by researchers at UC Berk
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Date:
04/12/2019
Artificial Intelligence for Future Agile Manufacturing

Agile manufacturing systems with learning robots make industrial production viable. (Photo: Sandra Goettisheim, KIT)

Clients request customized solutions, product lifecycles become shorter, new business models result: Industrial production has to keep pace with these dynamic changes. At Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), an interdisciplinary group of researchers from mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, information te
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Date:
04/11/2019
Linear Systems' New Low-Noise Semiconductor Testing
FREMONT, Calif.-- Linear Integrated Systems, Inc. (Linear Systems) will be unveiling its large-scale sub-nanovolt parts testing capability at the 23rd Annual Conference and Exhibition for Components for Military & Space Electronics (CMSE) in Los Angeles. This testing capability enables individual screening
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Date:
04/11/2019
A Jetsons Future? Assessing the Role of Flying Cars

Artistic rendering of an electric vertical takeoff and landing taxi cruising through an urban center.

ANN ARBOR--In the 1960s animated sitcom The Jetsons, George Jetson commutes to work in his family-size flying car, which miraculously transforms into a briefcase at the end of the trip. A new study of the environmental sustainability impacts of flying cars, formally known as electric vertical takeoff and lan
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Date:
04/11/2019
Paving the Way for Clean Hydrogen Energy

Fast and accurate sensors will be crucial in a sustainable society where hydrogen is an energy carrier. Hydrogen gas is produced by water that is split with the help of electricity from wind power or solar energy. The sensors are needed both when the hydrogen is produced and when it is used, for example in cars powered by a fuel cell. In order to avoid the formation of flammable and explosive gas when hydrogen is mixed with air, the hydrogen sensors need to be able to quickly detect leaks

Hydrogen is a clean and renewable energy carrier that can power vehicles, with water as the only emission. Unfortunately, hydrogen gas is highly flammable when mixed with air, so very efficient and effective sensors are needed. Now, researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, present the first hy
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Date:
04/11/2019
2D Gold Quantum Dots are Atomically Tunable with Nanotubes
Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors are promising for quantum computing and future electronics. Now, researchers can convert metallic gold into semiconductor and customize the material atom-by-atom on boron nitride nanotubes. Gold is a conductive material already widely used as interconnects in electronic devices.
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Date:
04/11/2019
Algorithm Optimizes Quantum Computing Problem-Solving

Embedding on a special graph of the D-Wave 2000Q by solving a problem like a puzzle in our technique.

Tohoku University researchers have developed an algorithm that enhances the ability of a Canadian-designed quantum computer to more efficiently find the best solution for complicated problems, according to a study published in the journal Scientific Reports. Quantum computing takes advantage of the ability of
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Date:
04/10/2019
New Nanowires to Improve High-Speed Communication

The growth mechanism and fast 1550 nm IR detection of the single-crystalline In0.28Ga0.72Sb ternary nanowires

Chinese scientists have synthesized new nanowires with high carrier mobility and fast infrared light (IR) response, which could help in high-speed communication. Their findings were published in Nature Communications on April 10th. Nowadays, effective optical communications use 1550 nm IR, which is received
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Date:
04/10/2019
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Emerson is reminding U.S. engineering students that the deadline for its 2019 ASCO Engineering Scholarship program is rapidly approaching and that the program will continue to accept applications through April 23, 2019. The program rewards students who have the potential for leadership and contributions to the engineering profession. Two $5,000 scholarships will be awarded to two U.S. engineering students, along with $1,000 grants to their colleges’ engineering departments. Also, Emerson will host the student recipients at “The Amazing Packaging Race” at PACK EXPO International in 2019. Details and forms are availa
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Date:
04/09/2019
Amorphous Materials Used in Medical, Industrial Applications

Top panels: snapshots of the system at the temperature and at different times from start of crystallization: (a) glassy system without the crystallization centers; (b) two-phase state of the system containing crystalline nuclei; (c) polycrystalline system consisting of separate crystalline domains. Bottom panels: -projections of the glassy system (d), the two-phase system (e) and the polycrystalline system (f). Inset to panel (f) shows the diffraction pattern obtained by transmission electron microscopy for polycrystalline foil.

Amorphous solids have an internal structure made of interconnected structural blocks. These blocks can be similar to the basic structural units found in the corresponding crystalline phase of the same compound. Almost all known systems, including water or metallic alloys, can become amorphous under certain conditions. In
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Date:
04/09/2019
Carbon-Negative Power Generation for China
If we're going to limit global temperature increases to 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels, as laid out in the Paris Climate Agreement, it's going to take a lot more than a transition to carbon-neutral energy sources such as wind and solar. It's going to require carbon-negative technologies, including energy sourc
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Date:
04/09/2019
First Machine-Generated Book Published
FRANKFURT. Springer Nature published its first machine-generated book, compiled using an algorithm developed by researchers from Goethe University. This collaboration broke new ground with the first machine-generated book to be published by a scholarly publisher. The book offers an overview of new research
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Date:
04/08/2019
On the verge of outcompeting current thin-film solar cells, perovskite solar cells seem to embody an ideal solar cell: highly efficient and low-cost - if there was not the issue of a weak long-term stability, which remains a challenge. Related to this are peculiar phenomena occurring in perovskite materials an
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Date:
04/05/2019
Electricity-Conducting Bacteria is Secret to Tiny Batteries

An atomic model for the microbial nanowires that conduct electricity is in the foreground, while two bacteria are seen in the electron micrograph in the background, surrounded by the nanowires.

Scientists have made a surprising discovery about how strange bacteria that live in soil and sediment can conduct electricity. The bacteria do so, the researchers determined, through a seamless biological structure never before seen in nature - a structure scientists can co-opt to miniaturize electronics, create po
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Date:
04/05/2019
Harnessing the Power of Solar to Enhance the Electric Grid
Arizona State University researchers are set to receive a $3.6 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office to advance solar energy's role in strengthening reliability and resiliency of the nation's electricity grid. The research project, which is funded by the Advanced Sy
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Date:
04/05/2019
Report: 32,000 Nevadans Now Work in Clean Energy
CARSON CITY – As the Nevada Legislature considers legislation to advance clean energy, including a bill for the state to get half of its energy from renewable sources, a new report shows the importance of clean energy to creating jobs and driving economic growth across the state. According to the report fr
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Date:
04/04/2019
D-Subminiature Assembly Program with Positronic Connectors
Positronic is pleased to announce that PEI-Genesis has been certified to provide value-added connector assembly services. PEI-Genesis is the first Authorized Positronic Distributor to be certified as a value-added assembly partner for Positronic. PEI-Genesis will assemble a wide range of Positronic D-s
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Date:
04/01/2019
Renesas Completes Purchase of Integrated Device Technology
TOKYO, Japan | San Jose, California, U.S.A. ― Renesas Electronics Corporation and Integrated Device Technology, Inc. jointly announced the successful completion of Renesas’ acquisition of IDT, as of March 30, 2019 JST, March 29, 2019 PDT, following approvals by IDT shareholders and the relevant regulatory au
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Date:
04/01/2019
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