White Papers
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Surface Analysis … Solving Problems in the PCB Industry
Electronics
The complexity of PCB manufacturing has increased dramatically over the last three decades and, with this increase in complexity, the possibility of manufacturing defects has also consequently increased. Solving these failures quickly, so as to minimise downtime, is obviously critical. This is where surface analysis techniques come into play as they are able to provide high spatial resolution, low detection limits and molecular information that analytical equipment found in-house cannot provide. This white paper will discuss some of the surface analysis techniques available and give case study examples, showing where the techniques have been able to solve failure problems and help manufacturers to improve their processes.
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Surface Analysis Exposes Counterfeit Medicines
Pharmaceutical
Surface Analysis is assisting the pharmaceutical industry in a number of ways, including for example the optimisation and acceleration of new product development, evaluation of product and packaging stability, rapid identification of trace contamination and quality assessment of new manufacturing processes. And it is certain that Surface Analysis can illuminate much more about processes, and even origins, in this sophisticated marketplace – including by helping detect counterfeits. Developments at the forefront of Surface Analysis technology are so powerful that it is enabling an independent UK research centre to materially assist pharmaceutical companies in their battle against counterfeit drugs. Not only does this technology – the latest in X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Time-of- Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToFSIMS) in particular – afford a means of analysing the composition of various pharmaceuticals, recent work has also shown that it can even determine differences in the manufacturing processes involved, enabling the identification of previously undetectable chemical copies. Traditionally, one thinks of Surface Analysis as being concerned principally with the physical properties of surfaces – flatness, roughness, colour, reflectivity and so on. The state-of-theart in this area is ‘3D non-contact profiling’, where white light interferometry techniques allow examination of ‘microfeatures’. Areas from a few square microns up to the centimetre scale can be analysed with nanometre resolution.
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How Surface Characterisation is Helping the Aerospace Industry to Achieve Environmental Targets
Aerospace & Defence, Energy & Environment
The green agenda continues to dominate aerospace developments both from the regulatory perspective and from economic operating imperatives. The REACH directive and other regulatory pressures are targeting chromium removal by 2013 whilst fuel burn reduction is the main driver behind the use of composites as a means of light-weighting aircraft structures and components. In both these areas new material developments continue to hold the key to the successful achievement of the green objectives whilst maintaining, or improving, the other essential product performance requirements. Underpinning many areas of these technological advances is a need to understand surface and interface functionality from both a chemical and physical standpoint. In this paper we give examples of where surface characterisation techniques are continuing to make a major contribution to these endeavours to reduce the environmental impact of the aerospace industry in the future.
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How Surface Characterisation is Helping the Automotive Industry to Meet Environmental Targets
Automotive & Transport
The global automotive industry faces the greatest technological development challenge since its inception over 100 years ago. The Kyoto protocol of 1997 set targets for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, which came into force in 2005. These amount to an average decrease of five per cent against 1990 levels over the five-year period 2008- 2012. Many governments have translated these targets into operational objectives for various industries and the automotive industry, in collaboration with other research institutions, has participated in a major programme of vehicle developments aimed at meeting the requirement for lower carbon emissions. In many cases, these technical advances depend critically on an understanding of surface and interface functionality from both a chemical and physical standpoint. In this paper, we give some examples of where surface characterisation techniques are continuing to make a major contribution to these endeavours to reduce the environmental impact of the automotive industry in both the short and long term.
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The Monitoring and Quality Control of Waste to Energy for Landfill Gas and Biogas
Energy & Environment
This white paper discusses the conversion of waste to energy in the form of landfill gas (LFG) and biogas, along with the necessary testing and monitoring involved with the generation and utilisation of the gases. The transferral of waste to energy addresses the concerns of sustainable energy and waste management. With tighter carbon emissions management and ever increasing fuel costs, waste is quickly becoming a substantial fuel source. Such energy requires testing and monitoring to confirm its suitability for use, dependent upon the fuel’s composition and how it will be utilised. The majority of UK waste is sent to landfill, whether it be business, household or industry waste; these landfill sites contain a higher proportion of biodegradable waste than most other European countries. It is therfore no surprise that several legally binding commitments and regulations have been established to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the amount of waste sent to landfill sites. The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007(1) implemented the European Landfill Directive and Council Decision 2003/33/EC, establishing the criteria and procedure for the acceptance of waste at landfills. The Directive aims to reduce the negative effects of land filling on the environment and human health through waste minimisation and increased levels of recycling and recovery, along with the specification of technical standards for the construction, operation and monitoring of landfills.
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