Semiconductors are everywhere: in computers, phones, public transport, TVs, and cars – the list is only growing longer. But to manufacture semiconductors, there must be stringent controls to avoid materials becoming contaminated and losing performance. We take a closer look at the sources of contaminants and the necessary testing requirements and systems. Semiconductors are an …

One of the most critical issues facing mining operators today is also the rarest: we’re talking, of course, about rare earth elements – the global trends affecting mines and the downstream industries that rely on them, and the key analytical techniques underpinning essential work in elemental identification, characterization, and quantification. For the last 20 years, …

In 2021, we launched our NexION® 5000 ICP-MS 2021 US Research Contest. Designated for US-based inorganic research projects, laboratories from across the United States submitted impressive contest proposals that spanned a variety of research disciplines. Amongst this year’s outstanding pool of contestants, two runner-ups and a grand prize winner were selected. Selection was based on a contestant’s scientific application – and how a Multi-Quadrupole ICP-MS …

Lithium ion batteries (LIB) have become ubiquitous in our everyday lives. Today, they are found in mobile phones, laptop computers, electric vehicles… even grid-connected energy systems and the International Space Station. A rapidly growing sector for LIB use is in electric vehicles (EV), the production and use of which are projected to increase enormously over …

Space. The final frontier. This is the voyage of the spacecraft Cassini. Its 13-year mission: to explore the ringed planet Saturn, 746 million miles (1.2 billion kilometers) from earth. That mission came to a fiery, glorious end when the Cassini spacecraft crashed through Saturn’s atmosphere in what NASA called the final chapter of an amazing …