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The Center for Industrial Research (SI), the University of Oslo (UiO) and a group of Norwegian companies have collaborated between 1990 and 1992 in the research programme ‘Industrial Microelectronics’ with a total cost of 30 MNOK. The programme was sponsored by the Norwegian Scientific and Industrial Research Council (NTNF) as one of the twin programmes constituting a national research initiative in microelectronics. The motivation for the programme is the recognition of microelectronics as a key technology commanding the performance and market success of many of the electronics systems from the Norwegian electronics industry towards the year 2000. The main objective is to stimulate industrial innovation by developing, transferring and exploiting knowledge and methods based upon advanced microelectronics. Focused activities are silicon sensor technology, combined analogue/digital design of application‐specific integrated circuits, large scale instrumentation, sensor packaging and thermal management of electronic systems. SI is focusing on applied research, UiO on education, and collaborating Norwegian companies are using the results in their own R&D projects. It is anticipated that the research results will be fully industrialised within 3–5 years. The programme is co‐ordinated with other Norwegian government‐sponsored research activities as well as European research programmes based on microelectronics. The programme is organised in projects and monitored with a set of milestones strongly indicating the achievement of successful industrial innovation, research results of international standing and high‐quality education of key personnel for the industry. Several successful examples of the research results are highlighted: Design and process methodology for double‐sided microstrip silicon radiation sensors for detection of high energy elementary particles, silicon‐to‐silicon and silicon‐to‐thin film anodic bonding processes for sensor fabrication, combined analogue/digital application‐specific integrated circuits for front‐end instrumentation applications, packaging of radiation sensors and thermal management of electronic systems by evaporation cooling. It is concluded that the programme has successfully achieved results in harmony with the objective.

In order to identify and quantify the size and shape of the rapidly changing complexion of the market for hybrid microelectronics, in 1987 ISHM launched a survey in Europe of the market for thin‐film, thick‐film and surface‐mount‐on‐PCB hybrids for the periods 1980, 1986 and 1990. The survey aimed to obtain a hierarchical breakdown of the markets also into technology and application sectors. The general findings are reported. The credibility and quantity of the survey are considered in the context of the market for electronic equipment in Europe for 1987 and 1990. In electronics there is a continuing pressure to reduce prices and therefore adjustments should not be made for inflation. A growth in market value is thus a true reflection of a larger growth in market volume and a continuing increase in complexity. Thus, the 11% CAGR for 1986–1990 reflects a growth in equipment volumes of 20% over the 4 year period. Manufacturers will have to design and build increasingly complex circuits at a higher throughput and lower cost, at an increasing pace. It is not a business for faint hearts. Clearly the growth potential for the hybrid microelectronics market should be considered in the context of the equipment market, in order to judge the relative growth. In order to distinguish between the hybrid and PCB industries, the survey has aimed to estimate the growth in the developing market for hybrids using substrates up to 6 in. × 4 in. (Eurocard), not including the larger SMAs on PCBs for which there is a huge market growth potential. The immediate opportunity is from miniaturisation and cost reduction using hybrid microelectronics. The major push in technological emphasis in modern hybrids comes from the need for high‐density interconnection to support increasingly complex VLSI in high‐pin‐count surface‐mount micropackages and high‐performance substrates to support VHSIC and high‐performance circuits. Hence there is a major shift in hybrid microelectronics technology emphasis towards high‐density surface‐mount assemblies on PCB and other organic substrates. The total hybrid market sub‐divided among the basic three technologies reveals this emphasis. The portents are clear, and those who intend to succeed, or even simply survive, need to be aware of the shift in emphasis and prepare to diversify or establish strengths in niche applications.

Despite great developments in silicon technology over the past decade, hybrid microelectronics continue to survive for a number of reasons. One reason is the difficulty of achieving acceptable component tolerances for resistors and capacitors in silicon. Another reason is the ability to trim resistors in thick film, which makes it more attractive for use in analogue circuits. Furthermore, if the volume of production is not high enough to justify a high non‐recurring expense (NRE), a hybrid circuit would be a feasible solution. The rediscovery of the advantages of multi‐chip modules (MCMs) will further boost the growth of the hybrid microcircuits market in the '90s. MCMs offer the advantages of high reliability, performance (high speed) and miniaturisation (size and weight). This paper briefly outlines the activities of certain government bodies and tertiary institutions in the field of microelectronics. Emphasis is given to the areas of activity where hybrid industry professionals may participate. Perceptions of trends in the '90s are explored in a way that should inspire and generate enthusiasm among microelectronics professionals.

ISHM invites papers for the above Conference, to be held on 29–31 May 1991 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Papers should cover areas such as: design, manufacturing, packaging and interconnection, materials and processing, applications, reliability, components, new technologies, marketing and economics, optoelectronics. Summaries should be in English, length 200–300 words. The deadline for receipt of summaries is 30 September 1990. (For full details, see announcement on pp. 54–55.)

Eighty‐five participants attended the 4th ISHM Display meeting at the Jaarbeurs Congress Centre in Utrecht on 16 October, 1986. The programme of the day started with the annual general membership meeting of the Benelux Chapter. The chairman, Mr T. Kwikkers, gave a short review of the state of affairs of ISHM‐Benelux and of the activities of the last year. He mentioned the temporary enlargement of the executive committee to give a new generation a chance to gain experience in the ISHM organisation and to take up some new activities. In order to raise publicity for ISHM and Hybrid Circuits a new brochure has been designed and a set of material for demonstration purposes was collected. With the material every member of the chapter can easily set up a presentation for schools or customers. This year ISHM‐Benelux has grown from 85 to 100 members and enjoys a healthy financial situation. Next year again emphasis will be put on public relations. Professor R. Govaerts signified that he was no longer available for a position in the executive committee. As Prof. Govaerts has been very active and stimulating for the ISHM‐Benelux Chapter from its foundation in 1976 up to now, the general membership meeting decided to appoint him as (the first) honorary member of this chapter. Except for Professor Govaerts, the sitting executive committee, consisting of 15 members, was re‐elected for another year. After the European conferences in Bournemouth and Hamburg the ISHM‐Benelux chapter is asked to organise the 1991 Conference. The executive committee is already looking out for candidates for a function in the organising committee, which must be formed in the coming year.

There have been many technological changes in this century, but the most influential is the recent revolution in electronics and its applications. As a result, so much was said and written last year about microelectronics that some people called it, incorrectly in my view, the year of the microprocessor. Most microelectronic devices look alike so I will start by defining the terms I shall use.

The monograph analyses (a) the potential impact of information technology (IT) on organisational issues that directly concern the personnel function; (b) the nature of personnel’s involvement in the decision making and activities surrounding the choice and implementation of advanced technologies, and (c) their own use of IT in developing and carrying out their own range of specialist activities. The monograph attempts to explain why personnel’s involvement is often late, peripheral and reactive. Finally, an analysis is made of whether personnel specialists – or the Human Resource Management function more generally – will play a more proactive role in relation to such technologies in the future.

Over a number of years—for some of us for over a decade—we got used to finding Hybrid Circuits at regular intervals on our desk. With this January 1995 issue, the new name of the Journal is Microelectronics International.

Olfaction plays a very important role in daily life. The olfactory system has the ability to recognize, discriminate and identify thousands of odorant compounds with extremely high sensitivity and specificity. The research on olfactory system has very important values in exploring the mechanisms of information processing in the other sensory nervous systems and brain. Recently, with the development of molecular biological and microelectronics technology research, the study of olfactory cell-based sensors has made great progress. The purpose of this paper is to provide details of recent developments in olfactory cell-based sensors.

Following an introduction, this paper first discusses some olfactory cell-based biosensors, which focus on the light-addressable potentiometric sensors and the microelectrode arrays. Second, surface modification, microfabrication and microfluidic technology which can improve the efficiency of cell immobilization will be summarized. The research trends of olfactory cell-based sensor in future will be proposed.

This paper shows that the biosensors’ performance is expected to be greatly improved due to the fast development of nanotechnology, optical technology and microelectronics. More and more emerging intelligent olfactory sensors will have a promising prospect in many application fields, including food quality and safety assessment, environmental monitor and human diseases detection.

This paper provides a detailed and timely review of the rapidly growing research in the olfactory cell-based sensors.

A wave of discussion about the consequences of recent technical change has come to sweep industrialised countries. The topic is mainly the development, production, and use of integrated electronic circuits, specifically in the sophisticated form of microelectronics. The technology of information and control has made striking advances, and it effects important changes throughout all manner of products, production processes, and administrative procedures. Conspicuous and often‐quoted examples are watch‐making and newspaper production. These branches are often held up as showing what is to come everywhere: a radical transformation of technology, the death of established trades and vocations, and large‐scale redundancy and unemployment. Furthermore, such prospects are often associated with a change in the international division of labour, whereby recently industrialising countries of the Third World, such as Algeria, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, and many others, have come to produce industrial goods and import them to Europe and North America on an increasing scale. Because of higher labour costs here, there is a constraint to rationalise production and strengthen technical improvement, both of which are facilitated by new semiconductor technologies, particularly microelectronics, and the automation associated with it.