EEWebPULSE_2012_i0042.pdf

EE Web

PULSE

EE Web.com

Issue 42

April 17, 2012

David Arthur

SouthWest

NanoTechnologies,

Inc. (SWeNT)

Electrical Engineering Community

TABLE OF CONTENTS

David Arthur

SOUTHWEST NANOTECHNOLOGIES, INC.

Interview with David Arthur - CEO

Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes Enable

Printed Electronics

BY DAVID ARTHUR

How SWeNT is tapping into the unused potential of carbon nanotubes and creating a standard

for thin film production.

Featured Products

Electric Overstress (EOS) and Its

Effects on Today’s Manufacturing

BY VLADIMIR KRAZ WITH ONFILTER

How this device-damaging phenomenon can be prevented by using EMI filters in the production

environment.

The Story of James Clark Maxwell

and Switched Capacitor Filters

BY PHILIP GOLDEN WITH INTERSIL

One-hundred years after their discovery, Maxwell’s switched capacitor filters revolutionized the

modern analog circuit industry.

RTZ - Return to Zero Comic

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INTERVIEW

avid

rthur

SouthWest NanoTechnologies, Inc.

Will you tell us about your

25+ years of experience

commercializing products

utilizing advanced materials?

I graduated with a BS in Chemical

Engineering from Tufts University

in 1980. My first job was in R&D

with a specialty materials company,

Rogers Corporation. During my

14 years there, I worked in R&D,

Manufacturing and Marketing. My

main area of responsibility was

circuit materials for Microwave,

RF and High Speed Digital

electronics packaging. I was

actively involved with developing

copper-clad dielectric materials

based on fluoropolymers filled with

glass microfibers and/or ceramic

particles. Dielectric constant was

controlled over a range of about 2

to 10 or so. These materials enabled

very low loss signal transmission at

high frequencies (10 GHz +), as

well as low cross talk and fast rise

times for digital packaging.

I was also involved with working

with leading companies like IBM

on developing novel fabrication

methods for making high density

multi-layer printed circuit boards

for high performance computing

applications. These circuit boards

were designed to enhance reliability

during thermal cycling of plated

thru holes and also solder joints

of ceramic components surface

mounted to the circuit boards. While

working at Rogers, I attended the

University of Connecticut part-time

and received an MS in Chemical

Engineering in 1990.

David Arthur - CEO

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INTERVIEW

In 1994, I joined A.T. Cross, a high

quality writing instruments company.

I was hired to lead the start-up of

Cross Pen Computing Group. This

was part of a strategy to grow the

company by diversification and also

to address the risk that dramatic

growth in e-communications was

reducing the use of conventional

writing instruments. After a few

years of development, we launched

several products for pen computing.

Our flagship product was the

CrossPad, which was a personal

digital notepad. It enabled the user

to write on conventional paper with

“physical ink” and capture all the

pen strokes in the form of “digital

ink.” This was accomplished by

transmitting an RF signal from the

pen tip and receiving this signal in a

thin antenna grid discreetly mounted

under the pad of paper. The user

could then upload the notes to a PC

for storage, editing or translation to

typed text. Handwriting recognition

software was licensed from IBM.

The first Christmas selling season,

we sold $25 million of CrossPads.

This was a very busy time for me, as

shortly after joining Cross, I became

VP of Engineering for the Writing

Instrument side of the company.

I also attended an executive

MBA program at Northeastern,

graduating with an MBA in 1996.

was also used to make wind blades,

bridge decking and transportation

vehicles of various types (including

large refrigerated rail cars). During

the short time that I was there, we

increased the profitability of the

boat business, completed an M&A

deal with Hardcore Composites

(the merged company was called

In 1999, I became VP of Strategic

Programs at Helix Technologies,

a leading producer of cryogenic

vacuum pumping systems. This

was right around the time when

“dot com’s” were the rage. Helix

wanted to grow its service business

with a disruptive technology

platform called GOLDLink Support

(Global On-line Diagnostic Link

to Customer Support). GOLDLink

allowed Helix provide remote

diagnostic monitoring of sputtering

and ion implantation tools used

in semiconductor fabs around

the world, enabling predictive

maintenance practices (eliminating

unscheduled downtime), improved

vacuum process control and lower

cost of equipment ownership for the

fabs. GOLDLink also enabled Helix

to re-engineer its service deliver

process, significantly improving

the profitability of the service

business. My main responsibility

at Helix was to lead the team to

complete the development of the

GOLDLink platform and launch

goldlinksupport.com, which was a

major success for Helix. After a few

years, however, the semiconductor

industry went into another down

cycle, which put a hold on the next

phase of our expansion plan. At

about this time, “nanotechnology”

was the rage, so I decided to

return to my roots (materials

science) and seek opportunities in

nanotechnology.

I would not say that

I have any “tricks.”

Success comes the

old fashioned way;

developing unique

skills, hard work,

personal integrity,

building relationships,

and not being

afraid to take risks

and innovate.

Composite Solutions) and started

up a new plant to build refrigerated

rail cars. After successfully

producing the first dozen 72 foot

long rail car prototypes, we signed

a very large contract with a leading

company in the rail industry. I left

a short time later, as the previous

CEO and founder really wasn’t

ready for retirement and he came

back to more actively engage in the

business.

In 1998, I took a CEO position at TPI

Composites, a leading producer of

sailboats, including the J-Boat brand.

TPI had a patented manufacturing

technology (SCRIMP) that allowed

large-scale structural composites

of complex shape to be fabricated

at higher quality, lower cost and

lighter weight than alternative

technologies. This process was

great for making sailboat hulls and

In 2001, I became COO of Eikos,

a developer of materials for the

DOD and selected commercial

applications. I was asked to help

analyze Eikos’ IP portfolio and figure

out what opportunities there were

for commercializing “products”

based on differentiated technology.

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