West Florida Components

Yes, it’s true. Proteus Biomedical has announced that they will be launching a innovative product that imbeds microchips in pills so that patients can be monitored by their health care professionals and even their families.

The purpose of the monitoring is to be sure that patients are taking their medications properly and on time and to also monitor a range of additional patient information including respiration rate, heart rate, temperature, sleep patterns and physical activity. It is estimated that up to 50% of all patients take their medication improperly so this will assist health care professionals and family member with the patient’s drug regimen.

The sensors are about the size of a grain of sand. The sensor-enabled tablets are called Helius. The Helius can be taken with pills or incorporated into medications by the drug manufacturers. Once ingested, the sensors are activated by stomach acid. Each sensor contains a very small amount of copper and magnesium which react with stomach acid to create the power necessary to generate a digital signal. Through an adhesive patch on the skin, the digital signal is read and and the data transmitted through the patient’s cell phone.

Don’t look for the microchipped pill just yet. Proteus Biomedical will be introducing their new product in the UK first.

Robert Noyce is being honored by Google for his contributions to the electronic components industry on what would have been his 84th birthday. To commemorate his birthday, Google’s homepage has a doodle which etches the Google logo onto a microchip, a technology that Noyce is credited with co-inventing.

Known as the Mayor of Silicon Valley, Robert Noyce was the co-founder of Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel and is credited along with Jack Kilby with the invention of the integrated circuit. He earned his nickname for the work he did as a mentor to youths aspiring to succeed in Silicon Valley and in fact was a mentor to Apple founder, Steve Jobs. Jobs was one of many Silicon Valley entrepreneurs mentored by Noyce.

The holder of 15 patents related to the electronic components industry, Noyce was a major contributor to the industry and it is fitting that Google chose to honor him and his achievements.

Semiconductor Markings – Available Methods

Traditionally, most components have two or three lines of identifying marks plus a company logo. Over time, the manufacturer codes have become more involved to incorporate a component’s identification plus the complete history of the process. Early on, it was the military applications that required very specific markings and identification processes. Current package markings are a by-product of those military requirements.

When a semiconductor is clearly identified, there is less room for error in the production process. Reducing errors when a component is in use for production saves time. There is also less product waste and the production process becomes more streamlined.

As the size of electronic components has decreased, the available space that manufacturers have to mark each piece has also decreased. The technology required to complete this task has become increasingly more complex.

The chief reason for the more complex codes stems from the demands of the end users. They need to have complete traceability of the product; from the history of the production cycle including the date and location of manufacture to the exact lot code. Possession of this information is critical to the end user in the event of a recall or defective components.

There are four primary methods to marking components in current use. Use of the various methods depend on the size, the type and the environment of the component production.

The methods are:
-Ink marking
-Electrolytic marking
-Pad printing
-Laser marking

In ink marking, inkjet printers are used. The technology is called ‘drop-on-demand’ which means that the flow of ink is controlled to create a pattern of ink droplets to form an image marking.

Electrolytic marking employs low voltage electric current with a stencil. The top layer of the package is etched by electricity flowing from the marking head, assisted by an electrolyte chemical. The process takes approximately 2-3 seconds to complete.

Pad printing is the most traditional of all the processes. A steel plate is etched with the image of the imprint. The ink is transferred to the plate which then is applied with pressure to the surface of the electronic component.

Laser marking is the most recent development in the marking process. It provides the greatest flexibility in the size, timing and complexity of the markings. The laser process is also the fastest method to mark electronic components; it is not uncommon for this process to print up to 300 characters per second. An additional benefit of using laser printing is the ability to produce a clean mark on many irregular surfaces.

No matter which method has been used to mark the semiconductors you use, you can be sure that much thought has been put into the decision.

Op Amps – Then and Now

Op amp is the commonly used name for operational amplifiers, which are widely used electronic components. Op amps are often seen on many surface equipment designs and logging tools.

The name ‘operational amplifier’ comes from the use of such high gain amps in performing mathematical operations for analog computer operations and is said to have been coined in 1947. A lot of study was done in the field and the initial operational amplifiers, based on vacuum tubes, were a result of the research done in Bell labs. By 1960’s, vacuum tube op amps had given way to solid state devices and hybrid operational amplifiers were entering the scene.

The first IC operational amplifier was developed in 1963 by Bob Widlar and was called Fairchild µA702. It was not a success because of a number of bugs. But Widlar’s next design, which was the µA709, was hailed as milestone in design. A number of designs followed including the very popular µA741. A number of precision op amps like OP7, OP27 and OP37 are commonly used in logging electronics.

In the initial days, these electronic components were based on NPN bipolar process and because of the slow PNP transistors of the time; the speed of the amps was limited. The LM118/218/318 model tried to solve the problem but did not meet with much success. The only fast IC op amps were the ones owned by Harris, the HA2500 as well as the HA2600, and were quite popular despite their high cost.

FET input operational amplifiers though highly advantageous in downhole tool applications, did not enter the scene due to engineering problems. However with the introduction of the ion implantation process in 1974, their manufacture became possible and the LF155/156/157 series was introduced by National Semiconductor, and OP15, OP16, and OP17 by PMI. The TL06x, TL07x, and TL08x models introduced by Texas Instruments (TI) in 1978 went on to become industry standards.

The CA3130 employing a P-channel MOS input with a CMOS output, set the stage for CA3140 having a MOSFET input and a bipolar output which caught the eye of many logging tool companies. This model has many advantages including good bandwidth and military temperature range, and continues to be used and manufactured even now.