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Mid-Atlantic Tech Publications, Inc. Contents not be reproduced or reprinted in any form without written permission from the publisher. Opinions expressed on Tech Op-Ed pages and by our colum- nists are the views of the person or per- sons authoring the material.


for soldering quality and for shorts, but also for solder volume and pin length, without flipping the PCBA. The system’s configuration


versatility also makes it suitable for use in the SMT process, where optional double-sided in- spection offers the advantage of fully testing SMT assemblies without flipping the PCBA. Furthermore, Multi Line is


available as an SPI system for the inspection of solder paste de- posits regarding shape, height, area, bridges, volume, X/Y offset, and coplanarity. A closed-loop in- terface to the solder paste print- er is available, and a link to PI- LOT Verify software makes fault


Continued from page 1


ing with neutral atoms and trapped ions and also cold atom quantum sensors such as atomic clocks and gravimeters.” In a paper in the journal Sci-


entific Reports, Blumenthal, Isichenko and team present a de- velopment in this direction with a chip-scale ultra-low-linewidth self- injection locked 780 nm laser. This roughly matchbox-sized device, say the researchers, can perform better than current, narrow- linewidth 780 nm lasers, for a frac- tion of the cost to manufacture, and the space to hold them.


Lassoing the Laser The atom motivating the


laser development is rubidium, so chosen because of well-known properties that make it ideal for a variety of high-precision applica- tions. The stability of its D2 opti- cal transition lends the atom well


www.us-tech.com GÖPEL’s All-Around Inspection...


analysis more efficient by dis- playing associated AOI, AXI, and SPI result data. Multi Line CCI can automat-


ically inspect protective coatings by making fluorescent coatings glow using UV LEDs of different wavelengths. With telecentric op- tics and a color camera, the sys- tem delivers high-contrast images and enables fast programming using CAD data and coating plans. As a special feature, the PCBA can simultaneously inspect both top and bottom without turning, and, if necessary, can al- so be transported back to the be- ginning of the line using a lower- level return conveyor. Due to the modular design of the Multi Line platform, cam-


to atomic clocks; the atom’s sensi- tivity also makes it a popular choice for sensors and cold atom physics. By passing a laser through a vapor of rubidium atoms as the atomic reference, a near infrared laser can take on the characteristic of the stable atomic transition. “You can use the atomic


transition lines to lasso the laser,” notes Blumenthal, the pa- per’s senior author. “In other words, by locking the laser to the atomic transition line, the laser more or less takes on the charac- teristics of that atomic transition in terms of stability.” But a fancy red light does


not a precision laser make. For a light of the desired quality, “noise” must be removed. The team used a combina-


tion of a commercially available Fabry-Perot laser diode, some of the world’s lowest-loss wave-


era modules can be flexibly com- bined and, if necessary, retrofit- ted later for new applications in the manufacturing process. By this, the user will save both time and money on purchasing, train- ing and spare parts inventory. With this comprehensive solu- tion, GÖPEL electronic is utiliz- ing its many years of experience in quality assurance and setting new standards in inspection technology for the electronics manufacturing process. Contact: Goepel Electronics,


4030 W Braker Lane, Suite 310, Austin, TX 78759 % 512-782-2500 E-mail: h.ehrenberg@goe- pelusa.com Web: www.goepelusa.com r


Precision Lasers at the Chip Scale


guides (fabricated in Blumen- thal’s lab); as well as highest quality factor resonators, all fab- ricated in a silicon nitride plat- form. By doing so, they were able to duplicate the performance of bulky, tabletop systems — and their device, according to their tests, can outperform some table- top lasers as well as previously reported integrated lasers by four orders of magnitude in key met- rics such as frequency noise and linewidth. Low linewidths — in terms of


this project a record-low sub-Hz fundamental and a sub-KHz inte- gral — are indicative of the laser technology’s stability and ability to overcome noise from both ex- ternal and internal sources. Further benefits of this tech-


nology include the cost — it uses a $50 diode, and employs a cost- effective and scalable fabrication process that is created using a CMOS compatible wafer scale process that draws from the elec-


Continued on page 8 Contents


Tech-Op-Ed ............................4 Tech Watch ...........................10 People......................................12 Business News......................14 Business Briefs......................15 Management............................16 EMS ........................................18 Electronic Mfg. Prods..............34 Production...............................48 Partnering................................50 Distribution..............................52 New Products.........................78 High-Tech Events...................88 2025 Editorial Calendar..........88 Advertisers Index....................90


Special Focus: Components and Assembly....54


Product Preview: MD&M West...............................66


See at MD&M West, Booth 1807


Jan/Feb 2025


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