FUJIFILM Electronic Materials, a supplier of chemicals and materials for the semiconductor industry, completed its $88 million expansion of its electronics materials facility in Mesa, Ariz. The added 80,000-sq-ft complex encompasses five new buildings to expand chemical mechanical polishing, high-purity solvents and process chemicals manufacturing capacity, warehousing, R&D and quality control laboratories, office space, and bulk chemical handling and storage. The expansion increases FUJIFILM Electronic Materials USA’s manufacturing capacity by 30%. FUJIFILM's expanded facility in Mesa, Ariz. Courtesy of FUJIFILM. HALIFAX, Nova Scotia — Meta Materials, a developer of high-performance functional materials and nanocomposites, acquired Plasma App in a stock-for-stock transaction valued at 20 million CAD (~$15.57 million). Plasma App is the developer of PLASMAfusion, a proprietary manufacturing platform technology that enables high-speed coating of any solid material on any type of substrate. Meta Materials expects to apply PLASMAfusion to its roll-to-roll production process for NANOWEB films and KolourOptik security films. HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Discovery Life Sciences acquired the Gentest business unit, part of Corning Inc.’s Life Sciences business. The acquisition of Gentest complements Discovery’s acquisition of In Vitro ADMET Laboratories in December 2021 and strengthens Discovery Life Sciences’ position within the in vitro drug experimental system market. ONTARIO, N.Y. — Optimax Systems will expand its operations with a $20 million addition to its existing facility in Wayne County, N.Y. The 36,000-sq-ft addition is expected to be completed in 2023. Optimax's facility in Ontario, N.Y. Courtesy of Optimax. LEUVEN, Germany — Bühler Leybold Optics, a supplier of thin-film vacuum coaters, and imec qualified Bühler’s HELIOS 800 tool to meet the environmental standards of semiconductor manufacturing. The tool enables high-volume manufacturing of thin films using an in situ optical monitoring system for precision batch manufacturing of wafers in a single production step. The single-layer quality and low defect rates enable highly resolved hyperspectral imaging sensors. Currently, imec and Bühler are collaborating to further upgrade the system to process more complex optical filter architectures. BILLERICA, Mass. — Bruker Corp. acquired Optimal Industrial Automation and Technologies, a developer of pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical process analytical technology. The acquisition strengthens Bruker’s position within the pharmaceutical manufacturing software market, the company said. ADELAIDE, Australia — The University of Adelaide was awarded almost 2 million AUD (~$1.5 million) under the Directed Energy Theme of the Next Generation Technology Fund, which is administered by the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG). The University of Adelaide team will work with Alexander Hemming from DSTG on two projects to develop high-power laser diode devices. The university team comprises professors Heike Ebendorff-Heidepriem, Glenn Solomon, and Nelson Tansu. These projects are part of the University of Adelaide’s Quantum Materials initiatives. NORTHAMPTON, England — HORIBA UK has joined the lifETIME Centre for Doctoral Training as an industry partner. The partnership aims to provide a new generation of scientists with skills and approaches to reduce and replace the need for animal testing. As an industry partner, HORIBA will co-create, support, and mentor a four-year research project to explore how spectroscopy can help drive new methods of cell screening and disease diagnosis based on animal-free research. TORINO, Italy — Prima Industrie completed the spinoff operation of its additive manufacturing business unit and the consequent capital increases in the company 3D New Technologies. Simultaneous to the capital increase, the change of the company name of 3D New Technologies to Prima Additive was approved. Prima Additive will maintain close collaborative relationships with Prima Industrie, which will be the reference and majority shareholder of the new company. ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — Snijlab, a developer and producer of laser cutting services, is partnering with laser manufacturer Luxinar to provide an online cutting service for production parts. Per the collaboration, Snijlab incorporated Luxinar’s SR 15i CO2 laser source into its fully automatic cutting and marking system geared toward the manufacture of a variety of plastic and wooden parts. ROYSTON, England — Blacktrace Holdings is launching Particle Works, a spinout of Dolomite Microfluidics. The brand draws on Blacktrace Holdings’ 20-plus years of experience in particle engineering and microfluidic technology to offer novel systems for the consistent and reliable generation of various particle types for use in the medical, biotechnology, and materials science industries. TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel Electric Corp. made a strategic investment in Prisma Photonics, six months after the companies’ announced a first-of-a-kind collaboration in Israel. Through the collaboration, the national power transmission grid will be monitored by Prisma Photonics, using its optical fiber sensing technology.
CO2 Laser Sources