Quantum coherence possible in incommensurate electronic systems
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have demonstrated that quantum coherence is possible in electronic systems that are incommensurate, thereby removing one obstacle in the development of quantum devices. view more (2006-11-03)
Stretchable silicon could be next wave in electronics
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a fully stretchable form of single-crystal silicon with micron-sized, wave-like geometries that can be used to build high-performance electronic devices on rubber substrates. view more (2005-12-16)
Delft University of Technology shines light on atomic transistor
Researchers from Delft University of Technology and the FOM Foundation (Fundamental Research on Matter) have successfully measured transport through a single atom in a transistor. view more (2006-11-27)
Carnegie Mellon scientist confirms liquid-liquid phase transition in silicon
Using rigorous computer calculations, researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and the Carnegie Institution of Washington have established evidence that supercooled silicon experiences a liquid-liquid phase transition, where at a certain temperature two different states of liquid silicon exist. view more (2009-03-17)
Vise squad: Putting the squeeze on a crystal leads to novel electronics
A clever materials science technique that uses a silicon crystal as a sort of nanoscale vise to squeeze another crystal into a more useful shape may launch a new class of electronic devices that remember their last state even after power is turned off. view more (2009-05-11)
New laser technique that strips hydrogen from silicon surfaces
A team of researchers have achieved a long-sought scientific goal: using laser light to break specific molecular bonds. The process uses laser light, instead of heat, to strip hydrogen atoms from silicon surfaces, a key step in the manufacture of computer chips and solar cells. view more (2006-05-19)
UCLA Engineering Announces Breakthrough in Silicon Photonics Devices
Building on a series of recent breakthroughs in silicon photonics, researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have developed a novel approach to silicon devices that combines light amplification with a photovoltaic — or solar panel — effect. view more (2006-06-29)
AN ELEMENT OF UNCERTAINTY
Professor Alan Murray and Dr Martin Reekie of the Department of Electronics & Electrical Engineering aim to develop small analogue circuits which will do what conventional computers find difficult - to represent the element of uncertainty which is present in most physical and biological processes and is an intrinsic feature of many natural... view more... (1999-06-22)
Purdue simulation to help merge molecules with silicon electronics
Engineers at Purdue University have created a nanotech simulation tool that shows how current flows between silicon atoms and individual molecules to help researchers design "molecular electronic" devices for future computers and advanced sensors. view more (2005-08-18)
From trees to high-performance ceramics
When a racing driver brakes, the discs and linings become red-hot. These parts are commonly made of carbon-fiber-reinforced carbon and are black at moderate temperatures. Car manufacturers and their suppliers would dearly like to extend the use of these special brake pads and other hard-wearing parts developed for racing vehicles to perfectly... view more... (2002-07-22)
Precision bonding makes tiny high performance actuators possible
Using a new precision bonding process they developed, Penn State researchers have designed and fabricated tiny new piezoelectric microactuators - the largest only a hair's breadth wide - based on coupling commercially available materials with existing micromachining technology. view more (2005-10-04)
Magic solar milestone reached
UNSW's ARC Photovoltaic Centre of Excellence has again asserted its leadership in solar cell technology by reporting the first silicon solar cell to achieve the milestone of 25 per cent effiency. view more (2008-10-23)
Sweet nanotech batteries
Nanotechnology could improve the life of the lithium batteries used in portable devices, including laptop computers, mp3 players, and mobile phones. Research to be published in the Inderscience publication - International Journal of Nanomanufacturing - demonstrates that carbon nanotubes can prevent such batteries from losing their charge capacity... view more... (2008-04-11)
The End of the Line for Silicon Dioxide?
By means of computer simulations, scientists at the Technical Universities in Clausthal and Vienna are investigating new materials for even smaller and more efficient transistor generations. The smaller the transistors, the faster they can operate. As a result, faster and faster processors can also be designed. The function of a transistor... view more... (2003-12-23)
NEW APPROACH TO MASK-MAKING COULD RESULT IN FASTER COMPUTER CHIPS
British scientists have developed a revolutionary way to fabricate photomasks - a crucial component used in the manufacture of silicon chips. The technique could solve one of the most pressing problems in chip design - how to create increasingly narrow lines on the silicon wafer that form the chip's circuitry. Smaller linewidths enable more... view more... (1999-04-08)
Researchers create a broadband light amplifier on a chip
Cornell researchers have created a broadband light amplifier on a silicon chip, a major breakthrough in the quest to create photonic microchips. In such microchips, beams of light traveling through microscopic waveguides will replace electric currents traveling through microscopic wires. view more (2006-07-07)
Testing miniature silicon chips
Many activities in our daily lives use products and devices based on silicon chips - from computers and televisions to medical equipment and defense systems. As these products and applications become increasingly complex and miniature, so must the chips. view more (2005-03-15)
Silicon Thin-Film Solar Cells Gaining In Efficiency
An important goal of modern energy research is to directly convert sunlight into electricity at low cost. Silicon thin-film solar cells promise comparatively lower costs than conventional solar cells. However, to become a mass product of the future, the efficiencies of large-area modules must climb from currently about 6 to 7 percent to 10 percent... view more... (2002-08-08)
Hi-Fi failure helps to brighten beer
BRIGHTER, clearer beer could be on the way thanks to a superfine filter that owes its existence to the failure of a decade-old recording technology. In the early 1990s, Philips of the Netherlands developed the Digital Compact Cassette tape format, which was designed to give CD-quality sound on standard magnetic tapes. DCC used record/playback... view more... (2004-07-07)
Scientists create chip that detects viruses faster, better and cheaper than ever before
A new silicon chip that harnesses emerging technology at the nano scale will allow the detection of viruses faster, and more accurately, than ever before. One of the applications of this new technique will help save thousands of lives in patients undergoing heart transplants; by enabling doctors to detect rapidly whether a donor heart is infected... view more... (2004-01-20)
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