Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1000349
10 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JULY 2018 anie Weaver of Zentech Manufacturing wrote about the task order execution essentials in contract manufacturing. East West Manufacturing's Patty Rasmus- sen, meanwhile, tackles demand forecasting— having the insight to know what you need before you need it. On the other hand, Sandy Kolp of Firstronic discusses how cross-func- tional teams can drive strong focus on risk mitigation and quality. I am happy to welcome our new columnist, Eric Camden of Foresite Inc., who will be writ- ing about PCBA reliability issues and prevent- ing suspect conditions in the first place. Dr. Jennie Hw ang continues her column series on the role of bismuth in electronics, while Bob Wettermann explains the ins and out of replating gold contacts on PCBs during rework. I hope you enjoy this month's issue of SMT007 Magazine. In the next issue, we will tackle the megatrends impacting the electron- ics manufacturing industry this year. SMT007 make sure that your processes will result in outstanding job at the end of the day. Which brings me to this month's issue of SMT007 Magazine, where we highlight the many different best practices to consider for the many different aspects of electronics assembly. Of course, they may not be the correct solution for your every manufacturing issue, but at least it will be worth considering these techniques, concepts, and how they may be applied in any situation. For starters, industry experts Bob Willis and Celestica's Jason Keeping discuss the many challenges in PCB assembly, from the educa- tion side all the way to the different processes; what they think the industry should be doing; and the best practices to consider in the many aspects of PCB assembly. Next, Craig Stott, Ed Sermanoukian, and Girish Wable of Nypro, a division of EMS firm Jabil, provides an article about the different assembly methods for medical devices, and how to opti - mize the design for assembly (DFA) process. When it comes to choosing the correct solder paste for successful electronics assem- bly, Jason Fullerton of Alpha Assembly Solu- tions has quite a bit to say about the topic in his feature article. Brian Morrison of Vexos Corp. highlights the best practices in wave soldering, while Steph- Stephen Las Marias is managing editor of SMT007 Magazine. He has been a technology editor for more than 14 years covering electronics, components, and industrial automation systems. Cornell engineers have made a breakthrough in semicon- ductor transistor research that offers the potential for high- power electronic applications along with reduced power consumption. The research has demonstrated metal-insulator-semi - conductor field-effect transistors (MISFETs) with record performance using a new material. Gallium oxide has emerged in recent years as a desirable material for semi - conductors in high-power applications. Its chief character- istics—a wide bandgap, more than four times that of silicon, and availability of large-area perfect crystals—make it an attractive alternative to silicon for high-power electronics. Professors Huili (Grace) Xing and Debdeep Jena from the departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) and Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) presented a series of these findings at the annual Compound Semicon- ductor Week (CSW) held in Boston. Zongyang Hu, a post- doctoral researcher in the Jena-Xing Group, is the lead author. The group used hydride vapor phase epitaxy to deposit a 10-micron layer of silicon-doped gallium oxide onto a gallium oxide single-crystal substrate. Their methods and measurements, detailed in the paper, produced a vertical power, enhancement-mode MISFET that featured break - down voltages of greater than 1 kV, as well as an attractive on/off ratio. According to the paper, gallium oxide's expected critical electric field exceeds that of silicon and gallium nitride. Vertical Gallium Oxide Transistor High in Power, Efficiency