Marcy’s Musings: Fueling the Workforce Pipeline
The Chemical Connection: Better Fabs Attract a Better Workforce
Dan’s Biz Bookshelf: ‘The New Age of Innovation’
PhiChem Open House a Success!
March 28, 2016 | Pete Starkey, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Delighted to be invited to an exclusive preview of the new PhiChem global headquarters and R&D centre in Shanghai’s Baoshan suburb, I joined the VIP group assembled at the PhiChem booth at the CPCA show, made welcome by PhiChem President Dr. Jin Zhang.
An hour’s private bus ride brought us to an immaculately presented site—four brand-new buildings with a total of 500,000 square feet of floor area: administration, pilot plant manufacturing and packaging, warehousing, fronted by a spectacularly impressive six-story laboratory complex, which had taken five years from green-field site to completion.
Gleaming! Through reception and into a display area with glass showcases holding examples of PhiChem’s products and applications, and an appropriate place for Dr. Zhang to begin his explanation of PhiChem’s evolution since he founded the company in 2002.
A graduate chemist, with an MS degree in optics, and many years’ experience in microelectronics packaging and the development of optical and laser materials and components, Jin Zhang gained his doctorate in polymer chemistry at the University of Michigan in the U.S. Recognising the rapid growth in the demand for optical fibres for data and telecoms transmission, and a fundamental requirement for glass fibres to be coated for mechanical protection and enhancement of their optical properties, Dr. Zhang returned to China and began production of UV-curable coating resins in Shanghai. Since 2002, PhiChem has grown to become China’s largest supplier of UV-curable materials to the optical fibre industry and second largest in the world, producing all of its own raw materials and resin precursors.
Dr. Zhang reached into a display cabinet and took a short length of fibre from a large spool, explaining that the widespread use of high bandwidth optical fibre would not have been feasible without the protection afforded by UV-curable coatings. The sample he demonstrated had a coated diameter of 250 microns, the glass itself being half that diameter, and the combination of glass and coating had a tensile strength of five kilograms. Talking of high speed, he remarked that the fibre was coated and cured on-the-fly at 3000 metres per minute!
Page 1 of 3
Share on:
Suggested Items
AIM Solder Promotes Kelly Cardone to Vice President, Customer Experience
01/21/2025 | AIMAIM Solder, a global leader in solder assembly materials for the electronics industry, is thrilled to announce the promotion of Kelly Cardone to Vice President, Customer Experience. This promotion highlights AIM’s commitment to offering superior support and customer experience.
Indium to Showcase Durafuse Solder Technology at NEPCON Japan
01/21/2025 | Indium CorporationAs one of the leading materials providers in the electronics assembly industry, Indium Corporation® is looking forward to featuring its innovative Durafuse® solder technology at NEPCON Japan, taking place January 22-24, in Tokyo, Japan.
Peters Leverages Inkjet Technology to Optimize PCB Manufacturing
01/17/2025 | PetersPeters has put the second SUSS LP50 ‘Pixdro’ inkjet printer into operation. This machine enables the application of solder resist in digital additive technology by means of the inkjet process, thus providing Peters Research, in this relatively new segment, with more possibilities in research and process technology, in addition to the conventional coating processes (screen printing, curtain coating and spray coating).
TopLine’s Martin Hart to Present at Microelectronics Reliability and Qualification Workshop (MRQW)
01/16/2025 | TopLine CorporationTopLine Corporation’s Founder and CEO Martin Hart has been invited to deliver a presentation on the topic of how “Braided Solder Columns reduce mechanical stress in large heterogeneous 2.5D advanced packages for space and commercial applications” at The Aerospace Corporation’s Microelectronics Reliability and Qualification Workshop (MRQW) in Los Angeles (El Segundo), California on February 12, 2025.
AIM to Highlight NC259FPA Ultrafine No Clean Solder Paste at SMTA Austin Expo & Tech Forum
01/16/2025 | AIMAIM Solder, a leading global manufacturer of solder assembly materials for the electronics industry, is pleased to announce its participation in the upcoming SMTA Austin Expo & Tech Forum taking place on February 6 at the Travis County Exposition Center in Austin, Texas.