Innovation despite economic woes
Rick Nelson, Editor in Chief -- Test & Measurement World, 8/1/2008
The machine-vision industry in North America is undergoing trying times, as contributing technical editor Ann Thryft reports in "Machine-vision industry experiencing trying times." She quotes Paul Kellett, the Automated Imaging Association’s director of market analysis, as saying, “In the short term, there will be some gnashing of teeth, but in the long term, prospects are bright.”
Undoubtedly, some gnashing of teeth is going on, but so, too, is a wave of innovation. For example, Thryft reports in an interview with David Sigillo, GM of Seica, about an enhancement that adds optical inspection to a flying probe system’s electrical-test capability. In "CT brings clarity, precision to PCB inspection," she explains how computed tomography serves in printed-circuit-board failure analysis.
Innovative inspection products were also on display at last month’s Semicon West show. Viscom, for example, highlighted flexibility, exhibiting its MX100IR desktop automatic wafer inspection system. Focusing on speed, Surface Imaging Systems introduced its NanoStation 300, which augments atomic force microscopy (AFM) with an optical inspection capability to rapidly identify regions of interest. As for emerging markets, KLA-Tencor, exhibiting at the co-located InterSolar North America show, highlighted its surface-metrology capabilities applicable to solar-power applications.
Our October “MV&I Test Report” will highlight additional products from Semicon West, but the snapshot presented here illustrates that innovation need not be stifled by an economic downturn.
