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The article presents a program of activities for the symposium on polymeric materials sponsored by the Division of Polymeric Materials: Science & Engineering to be held on September 10 to 14, 2006 in San Francisco, California. The event will tackle several topics including "Electroactive and Photoresponsive Metal-Containing Polymers," "Block Copolymers as Nanoscale Materials Surface and Thin Films" and "Electroactive and Photoresponsive Metal-Containing Polymers."

The article reports on the high infrared transparency characteristic of conductive-carbon-nanotube (CNT) thin films. Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) have discovered that such attribute of CNT thin films enabled excellent average transmittance for wavelengths up to 22 micrometer. This discovery is essential in developing substitutes for brittle indium tin oxide materials used solar cells, solid-state lighting and displays.

The article reports on Southwall Technologies Inc.'s decision to close its plant in Palo Alto, California. The manufacturing operations has been transferred to the company's European site near Dresden, Germany. Southwall manufacturers thin film coatings for the electronic display, automotive glass and architectural markets.

Reports on the fabrication of submicron thin films of crystalline lithium niobate that have small mode size and bending radius by researchers at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. Methods that cause waveguide inefficiency and large bending radius such as metal diffusion; Transfer of lithium niobate to a substrate with a silicon dioxide cladding layer using crystal ion slicing and wafer bonding; Contact information.

Reports on the development of nanotube-based thin films to build capacitors with a power density of 30 kilowatts per kilogram, by researchers at the University of California-Davis. Scan rate of the supercapacitors; Display of images of tightly packed carbon nanotubes in a thin film; Use of capacitors in delivering a jolt of energy to hybrid electric/fuel-cell automobiles.

The article reports that researchers at the University of California-San Diego are working to create thin-film, single-junction solar cells with 45% sunlight-to-electricity-conversion efficiencies by using nanostructures that scatter and channel light. The university has received a big funding boost from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar American program for this work. A team of electrical engineers are using nanoparticles to scatter incoming light into paths within the quantum-well region.

The article informs that a rotating drum, which is used to recover oil split in water, is undergoing laboratory tests at the University of California, Santa Barbara, California. The drum, with a smooth surface coated with an oil-adhering material, turns and a thin film of oil is lifted from the water. The oil so lifted is scraped from the drum and deposited into a collector.

Reports on a low-power voltage oscillator (VCO) produced by Belgian laboratory IMEC and presented at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference in San Francisco, California in February 2005. Features of the VCO; Information on the thin-film technology behind the VCO; Overview of the application of the VCO.

Provides information on the Applied Reflexion LK Ecmp chemical mechanical planarization system from Santa Clara, California-based Applied Materials Inc. Features of the system; Significance of the system to the development of ultra-low power films; Impact of the system on operating costs.

Reports that miniature fuel cells may replace lithium-ion batteries in consumer electronics, according to researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in Livermore, California. Description of the method for making the thin-film cells; Forecast of LLNL researcher Jeff Morse on the microelectrical-mechanical systems technology-based fuel-cell power source.