Technology

Designing a Microchip

Microchips are found in just about every product we use on a daily basis, including our automobiles and television sets. They are made of highly conducive material that allows a device to transfer an electrical current. All circuits are made up of electrical components arranged to direct the flow of tasks and information to the necessary components. The process of making them involves some highly technical science, and a thin film vacuum coating that work on a molecular level.

Vacuum Technology

The chip itself is known as “the substrate” during the manufacturing process. This broad term describes anything that will receive the materials that will be melted down, so it could be a chip or lenses for a pair of eye glasses. The substrate is placed into a vacuum deposition system, in which the chamber is vacuum sealed and heated to high temperatures. Once the temperature is right, materials are inserted into the chamber. The heat allows them to break down into molecules, and when the chamber is cooled, those molecules bounce around and eventually settle on the chip.

Conductive Materials

Silicon crystals are the most prevalent materials found in a microchip or a microprocessor. This material has a 4 valence electron shell, which gives the substance the ability to add or subtract electrons within moments. Selenium and tellurium are also used because they have a high resistance to temperature. Inside of a computer, for instance, these materials would protect the circuitry as the motherboard and other components heat up.

Design and Process

The chip must be laid out according to very specific designs. The first step is known as photolithography, where a machine is used to create the blue print of the chip’s layout on the chip itself. Often, different colored materials are used to mark how the circuits will be laid out. The process occurs at a microscopic level, so engineers often “debug” hardware issues with the help of an electron microscope. The device is then tested and packaged in an anti-static material.

Final Thoughts

A microchip is engineered to resist heat, but the final product is still quite fragile. Chips must be housed away from major heat sources, and special care must be taken when handling them during transport. Chips also bear insignias from the manufacturer, which allows repair people to figure out important data about the chip for repair. Still, the nature of the circuit is changing as we discover more about the enigmatic field of quantum physics.
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Denton Vacuum, LLC manufactures a sputter coater for use in microchip design and the fabrication of medical equipment. Learn more about vacuum deposition when you visit Denton Vacuum, LLC.

Technology that Will Help You Get the Most From Your Employees

By Allied Time

If you want to get the most from your employees (and who doesn’t?), you have a number of options available. One is simply providing them with greater incentives like commissions or other prizes for outperforming the average. Of course, sometimes all it takes is a reminder of the poor economy to add some pep in your employees’ steps. However, one very simple way you can consistently see better results is by instituting time clock routines.

Time clocks ensure that employees are showing up on time and getting their work done as expected and as you pay them. Most people are familiar with this basic hardware, but you can take it a step further and add in software to do even a better job of tracking your people throughout the day.

Best of all, this important step doesn’t have to cost you a lot. Athem time and Pyramid time clocks both bring everything you need to the table, yet without a great investment to your company. In fact, when you look at how much you’ll get back in return, chances are the total investment will be quite negligible in comparison. So before you start spending money on incentives or other schemes, consider this choice first for better results from your employees.

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Allied Time offers some of the best Online timesheet options on the market to meet all your business’ timekeeping needs. Whether you need the physical thing or the digital version, this company has it all.

Explaining Thin Film Evaporation

Article written by Anextek, a technology blog

In ion beam assisted deposition, metal is evaporated. The process that occurs is very different from what occurs when water is evaporated. For one, more extreme temperatures are needed to melt the metal, but the end result is very different. Water boils and evaporates, condensing on the surface of an object in the form of beads of water.

Thin film evaporation dilutes the metal to form a gaseous cloud that evenly distributes the material over the interior of the evaporator. Gravity forces the heated material to fall downward into the thermally heated sections, while rotor blades spread the materials over the surface of the heated object.

The process of drawing material through the rotor blade creates a turbulence, which is an intentional feature, and forces it to come into continuous contact with the object the manufacturer wants to coat. This also prevents manufacturers from overheating a specific part of the object by evenly distributing the particles.

The process also attains vaporization rapidly. Occasionally, low output rates may necessitate an additional ring to act as a kind of dam, which forces the materials to pool in the lower portion of the thermal evaporator.

The vapors that escape travel upward then are separated from the incoming feed through passage of the distribution ring. Any liquids left over from the vapor stream are trapped in the vapor chamber that drains them back into the thermal section. This creates “liquid free” vapors that can be condensed and applied to the substrate. The rest of the particulate matter is discharged through a cone at the bottom of the apparatus.

Bio: Denton Vacuum, LLC manufactures UHV sputter deposition systems for medical and industrial applications.

Tips to Help Employees Stay Productive Off-Site

Changes to how offices use flex time have led to improvements in work-at-home setups. Some employees are dedicated out of office workers, with looser schedules. These employees must be held to the same standards as on-site workers, with employers monitoring remote desktop employees and helping to establish priorities. If you want to establish a work-from-home mentality at your office, it’s important you set up the proper infrastructure before employees leave the building.

Establish Hierarchy

Your employees should know who they are to report to, which is less of an issue for someone who works temporarily out of the home. Full-time home office workers may need to attend a monthly meeting for status reports, or coordinate a group phone call from off-site. Be sure that supervisors are holding employees accountable, with records of deliverables and quality checks.

Status Updates

Project managers thrive on their ability to plan based on the resources at hand. Without accurate estimates of deliverables, there is little a manger can do to rein a project in. Requesting regular status updates via email is not just micro-managing, it’s good practice for all managers. Regular updates help you improve a project incrementally. When you’re working with contractors, you’re charged for every minute that you use them, so you want to avoid edits by establishing project boundaries up front.

Project Management

Software to track the project is also useful. Basecamp and other task management programs allow teams to coordinate tasks and leave status updates in a central location. With the software hosted on the cloud, businesses can let multiple employees access the system from wherever they are. Some of these programs can accept deliverables from employees too. If you want to track time, open a new Notepad document and type the word “LOG” at the top. Save the document and reopen it to make a new timestamp that will record the hours you spent on a project.

Monitor Workloads

Monitoring what employees are doing on your network is a good idea for productivity and security. A terminal services log can provide employers with a list of which employees accessed a system, what they did and where they went after completing their project. This level of knowledge helps track the habits of off-site workers, who may complete their work while most of the management team is asleep. It also provides a layer of protection and accountability, in case things go wrong on your network.

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RDPSoft Company is a terminal server monitoring provider that specializes in business networks. Find out how to monitor intranet traffic and keep networks secure at RDPSoft Company online.

A Typical Marine Exhaust Manifold Problem to Look For

If your speedboat hasn’t been performing like you remember, it’s a good idea to take it in for a checkup or, if you are up to the task, start troubleshooting it yourself. There can be a number of reasons your boat isn’t running right. For engines subjected to salt water, one of the main problems can be the marine exhaust manifolds no longer working correctly.

Unfortunately, most boat owners miss this part. They spend countless hours going through their spark plugs, looking at the carburetor, leads, the rotor, etc. But they never stop to notice the thick deposit left on both the oil filler cap and even in the sump.

The issue is that most marine exhaust manifolds are made from cast iron. Unfortunately, cast iron, though strong, durable and dependable, is also very porous and will soak up the salt water it’s exposed to. After a long enough period of time, the metal begins becoming corroded. When corrosion finally eats through the metal, the water used to cool the engine is introduced to the exhaust system.

This is a job for a professional. No amount of cleaning will fix it. Look for a professional that uses sierra marine parts, to ensure you’re getting the best replacements possible. While they may be able to apply a sealant or solder a  repair, be prepared for needing new exhaust manifolds at the least.

 

Using Predictive Technology to Shape Film Production

By Samuel Phineas Upham

Algorithms are a growing part of daily life. They help determine which coupons are sent to you by your grocery store, or which search results you receive when you type a search term into Google. But most people don’t realize that algorithms are starting to influence the creation of art. Intelligent Life profiled Nick Meany, whose company Epagogix uses advanced algorithms to help film studios determine the direction of their movies.

Meany has developed algorithms that can analyse scripts for elements such as having clear good guys and bad guys and its ability to create empathy for characters. By taking hundreds of such factors, Meany can predict the box office success of a film — usually within $10 million of its final take.

Read more at: http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/features/anonymous/slaves-algorithm?page=full

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Samuel Phineas Uphamis an investor from NYC and SF. You may contact Phin on his Samual Phineas Upham website or Facebook page.

The Nautical Upkeep

A man of the high seas knows that it is important to have all of his nautical gear working properly – because he can’t anticipate whatever challenge may rise when he’s out there. Of utmost importance are fully functional boat parts – since they can’t be fixed as easily once you’re out there. Regular maintenance is key in order to keep your boat in tip-top shape, and most of all, to keep you safe while you’re out there in the water.

Avid boating fans know that there are only a few trusted brands out there for their sea craft, like the MerCruiser stern-drive line of Mercury Marine, which was introduced in 1961 at the Chicago Boat Show, presently accounting for 80% of total global market share. It is only fitting that boating enthusiasts only seek genuine boat motors and boat parts from brands such as these as they have proven to be not only reliable, but to also have a sphere of innovation that is known to be part of thosepioneers in the industry.

As much as choosing the right brand is critical for your main boat engine, it is also very important that these machines be constantly kept in check – as, like with other machines, they are prone to the usual wear and tear due to usage. It would be best that you look up how to properly maintain products specific to its brand and model, and to only utilize genuine parts in extended upkeep.

Get to Know Your Boat

The sea is such a majestic and inviting place. The cool sea breeze on your hair and the salt on your skin while makes you feel truly alive and part of the world. The sheer exhilaration from nautical adventures is like nothing else. If you are interested in having your own nautical adventures then you need to get to know your boat parts.

First off a boat has its hull which is a network of frames to support the structure of your boat. Running through the center of the boat is the keel which serves as a sort of a backbone for any boat. If you look at a boat’s hull you can notice that it has various curvatures. These curvatures have specific functions. The bow of the boat gives it the lift to go with waves rather than cut through them. The curvature from stem to stern is known as the sheer, which dictates the boat’s displacement and buoyancy. Finally, the stern or rear of the boat dictates how the boat reacts to following the sea.

Where to Find Fleet GPS Tracking

Article written by InterTechOverload

Fleet GPS tracking can easily track large fleets of trucks and cars. This is especially useful to companies that have numerous employees using company vehicles. They can simply track each vehicle individually by use of tracking software installed on the company computer. The tracking systems transmit signals back to the computer that receives the information and compiles it into a report. There is also the option of having display screens so the vehicles can be visually monitored as well.

With the age of computers tracking systems now come with various accessories to make tracking fleets of vehicles easier. Companies can now receive accurate information of where their vehicles are and when and use the reports created to accurately pay mileage to employees. There are many types of tracking systems each one having the ability to compile reports and keep the data on the computer as well.

GPS tracking fleet management software is needed to save the data that is received from tracking systems. Fleet tracking systems are available at many outlets that specialize in tracking equipment as well as online. If you need tracking equipment and tracking software, check out gpstrackit.com. They have everything companies need to establish a tracking system for their fleets. You can also search online at a variety of websites that sell tracking equipment for the type you need. Each one of these sites also sells the software that you need to use the tracking equipment. The software is usually easy to install providing your operating system is compatible with the software.

How Vehicle Tracking Systems Can Save Money On Your Car Insurance

For many insurance companies they often base your rates on different factors such as age, type of car, driving history and other related issues. However, they also take in to account the amount of precaution you are taking to keep your car safe by using things such as vehicle tracking systems which can easily allow the police or yourself to track down the location of your vehicle in the event that it’s ever lost or stolen.

 

Due to the extra steps that you are taking to protect your car some insurance companies will reward you for this effort by giving you a discount on your insurance bill. Sometimes the discount will be in the form of a single bill or for every future bill that you will receive.

 

For larger companies you may want to consider using gps tracking fleet management to keep track of new vehicle deliveries and when you have several vehicles away on business. The price that you will pay for the products will vary depending on what type of vehicle tracking gps system that you need and for how many vehicles. However, the price that you will pay for your gpstrackit.com products will be worth it for the peace of mind that the security will give you. In the event that one or more of your vehicles are ever stolen you will have the ability to track the exact location of it thanks to the gps systems that you thought to purchase.

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