Disposal batteries are convenient to use, but used batteries become a hazardous waste problem. Rechargeable batteries eventually must be disposed of as well. There’s ample motivation to search tirelessly for the perfect batteries—ones which can be charged instantly (no wires needed), last for a long time (like a week instead of two days for mobile […]
Semiconductors
Nanoparticles Help Realize ‘Spintronic’ Devices
For the first time researchers have demonstrated a new way to perform functions essential to future computation three orders of magnitude faster than current commercial devices. The team lead by Associate Professor Shinobu Ohya, created a nanoscale spintronic semiconductor device that can partially switch between specific magnetic states trillions of times a second (terahertz — […]
GaN Systems Debuts Suite of Low Cost, High Performance GaN Power Transistors
GaN Systems, the global leader in GaN (gallium nitride) power semiconductors, today announced the availability of the GS-065 low current (3.5A to 11A) transistor line. The product suite, developed for sub-1kW power applications, is targeted for consumer level power supply products such as AC adapters for gaming and workstation laptops, TV power, LED lighting, wireless power systems, and […]
Chip Technology Promises to Improve IoT Security
The challenges of user security will increase as more devices get hooked up to the Internet of Things (IoT). At this week’s International Solid State Circuits Conference in San Francisco, Rice University researchers unveiled chip technology that purportedly is far more reliable than current methods of producing unclonable digital fingerprints for IoT devices. The technology […]
A Glimpse into the Future
Ten years into the future. That’s about how far UC Santa Barbara electrical and computer engineering professor John Bowers and his research team are reaching with the recent development of their mode-locked quantum dot lasers on silicon. It’s technology that not only can massively increase the data transmission capacity of data centers, telecommunications companies and […]
NRL, AFRL Develop Direct-Write Quantum Calligraphy in Monolayer Semiconductors
Scientists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) have developed a way to directly write quantum light sources, which emit a single photon of light at a time, into monolayer semiconductors such as tungsten diselenide (WSe2). Single photon emitters (SPEs), or quantum emitters, are key components in a […]
Reliability in Autonomous Driving Systems Starts with Pursuit of Zero Defects
At the core of autonomous vehicles are thousands of semiconductor chips that serve as the vehicle’s eyes, ears, and brain—sensing surroundings, making decisions, and controlling actions. As semiconductors are critical to the function and safety of autonomous vehicles, failure cannot be tolerated. All the chips need to work perfectly together without incident to protect the […]
Quantum Strangeness Gives Rise to New Electronics
Noting the startling advances in semiconductor technology, Intel co-founder Gordon Moore proposed that the number of transistors on a chip will double each year, an observation that has been born out since he made the claim in 1965. Still, it’s unlikely Moore could have foreseen the extent of the electronics revolution currently underway. Today, a […]
Researchers Report Advances in Stretchable Semiconductors, Integrated Electronics
Researchers from the University of Houston have reported significant advances in stretchable electronics, moving the field closer to commercialization. In a paper published Friday, Feb. 1, in Science Advances, they outlined advances in creating stretchable rubbery semiconductors, including rubbery integrated electronics, logic circuits and arrayed sensory skins fully based on rubber materials. Cunjiang Yu, Bill D. […]
Researchers Decipher Electrical Conductivity in Doped Organic Semiconductors
Organic semiconductors enable the fabrication of large-scale printed and mechanically flexible electronics applications, and have already successfully established themselves on the market for displays in the form of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). In order to break into other market segments, improvements in performance are still needed. In semiconductor technology, “doping” refers to the targeted introduction […]