Point to Point

Molex gets vote

Molex won the vote for the iPass+ HD connector system to move forward for inclusion in the Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) 2.1 standard. The SAS 2.1 standard is created by the International Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS), which is accredited by and operates under rules approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The Molex solution provided the same port density for low-profile PCIe cards as the current Molex iPass+ solution does for standard height PCIe cards. The planned release of the SAS 2.1 standard will be at the end of 2009.

For more information about the iPass+ HD connector, visit www.molex.com/link/ipassplushd.html.

Nextreme and Lockheed Martin

Nextreme Thermal Solutions and Lockheed Martin entered into a cooperation agreement to develop new products based on Nextreme’s thin-film thermoelectric materials. The agreement allows Lockheed Martin to use Nextreme’s thin-film thermoelectric products and thermal and power management design services in solutions it is developing for government and civil applications. Nextreme uses its breakthrough thermal bump technology to produce discrete and integrated cooling and power generation devices. Nextreme uses its breakthrough thermal bump technology to produce discrete and integrated cooling and power generation devices. Nextreme currently offers several thermoelectric coolers, such as the OptoCooler HV14 and UPF40, that are capable of cooling and heating in ranges from 0.4 to 4 W. Contact Karl von Gunten of Nextreme Thermal Solutions at 919-597-7348, kvongunten@nextreme.com.

Tellurex contract

Tellurex has secured a research and development project with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory through a development contract by the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program. SERDP is a joint development program with the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency. The goal of the project is to develop a 1.6–kW solid-state thermoelectric generator that harvests heat from the hot exhaust gases of a stationary diesel electric generator. Tellurex recently completed an SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) Phase II development program on the same family of thermoelectric semiconductors that will be used in the SERDP power generation project. The project could demonstrate the feasibility of saving energy from internal combustion engines for both stationary and mobile applications. Tellurex is teamed with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Michigan State University in the three-year program. Visit www.tellurex.com for more information.

Paul O’Shea