Articles
Light absorption in 2D semiconductors
Working with ultrathin membranes of the semiconductor indium arsenide, researchers have discovered a quantum unit of photon absorption that should be general to all 2D semiconductors. This discovery not only provides new insight into the optical properties of 2D semiconductors and quantum wells, it should also open doors to exotic new optoelectronic and photonic technologies. [ + ]
FTU power solutions in the electric power industry
In the electric power industry, equipment such as RTUs (remote terminal units), DTUs (data transfer units), FTUs (feeder terminal units) and TTUs (distribution transformer supervisory terminal units) are switch monitoring devices installed in the substation close to the feed breakers. [ + ]
Giving lighting customers what they need
Over the past decade, LEDs have had an explosive growth in general lighting applications. LEDs offer great advantages over traditional lighting sources that include reliability, long life, reduced power consumption, small size, high efficacy and a high degree of design flexibility. LED manufacturers have been working diligently to increase creative design possibilities for customers, adapting products by incorporating a variety of packaging options. This article examines three major categories that play a key role in meeting customer demands for lighting. [ + ]
New supercomputer has the power of 56,000 computers
Australia’s most powerful computer, Raijin, can perform the same number of calculations in one hour that every one of the 7 billion humans on Earth, armed with calculators, could perform in 20 years. [ + ]
Stop speaking garbage
Is it just me or have you noticed that we are being taken over by American sounds and language? Slowly but surely, Americanese is invading our lives from voices over television advertisements to the prostitution of the written and spoken word. [ + ]
Nanopatterning: a big deal for electronics
The University of Akron researchers have developed new materials that function on a nanoscale, which could lead to the creation of lighter laptops, slimmer televisions and crisper smartphone visual displays. [ + ]
Microchips that mimic the brain
Neuroinformatics researchers from the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich together with colleagues from the EU and US demonstrate how complex cognitive abilities can be incorporated into electronic systems made with so-called neuromorphic chips - they show how to assemble and configure these electronic systems to function in a way similar to an actual brain. [ + ]
MEMS scanning mirror for smartphone applications
A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics (IME) and Taiwan-based OPUS Microsystems Corporation have signed an agreement to refine and develop a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) scanning mirror for smartphone applications. This would enable phones to project photos and videos on any surface, and with no constraints on the viewing screen size on the mobile devices. [ + ]
Mobile phone powered with pee
British scientists have developed a novel way of charging mobile phones using urine as the power source to generate electricity. [ + ]
Build it Fast, Build it Right With LabVIEW 2012
Graphical system design is an integrated hardware and software approach to increase productivity as you develop any measurement or control system. [ + ]
New CNT ink enables see-through GPS devices
Linde Electronics, the global electronics business of The Linde Group, has launched a revolutionary new carbon nanotube ink to drive innovation in the development of next-generation displays, sensors and other electronic devices. [ + ]
Boron arsenide rivals diamond as the best thermal conductor
An unlikely material, cubic boron arsenide, could deliver an extraordinarily high thermal conductivity on par with the industry standard set by costly diamond, according to researchers from Boston College and the Naval Research Laboratory. [ + ]
Put an end to annoying packaging
Ludwig van Beethoven wrote a frenetic piece of piano music that was entitled Rage Over a Lost Penny and the composition reflected his impotence at not being able to find the coin. While not so elegantly executed, I have a similar frustration with trying to extract common objects from fiendish and devious packets that enclose many of today’s products. And many of these packets contain electric items from batteries to memory sticks. [ + ]
Heineken’s LED interactive beer bottle
Dutch brewer Heineken has introduced the world’s first smart beer bottle - Ignite - that can interact with other Ignite bottles, its environment and the people around it. The interactive bottle uses microsensors and wireless networking technology to sense the moment when a bottle is being used to say ‘cheers’. [ + ]
Transistors from nanoscale insulators
It is now possible - even routine - to place millions of transistors on a single silicon chip. But at the rate the technology is progressing, in 10 or 20 years, transistors won’t get any smaller. [ + ]