Graphene has the potential to change the world of electronics in much the same way that transistors and integrated circuits did last century. But use of this wonder material is still very much in the development stage in many laboratories and research centres around the world and, while promises are high, the widespread practical use of graphene is proving elusive. [ + ]

Mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets, have become a disruptive technology that is shaking up the norms of system architecture. Traditional methods of introducing power and managing I/O are undergoing changes that are having major implications for traditional connectors. Read on to find out how. [ + ]

Increasing demand for reliability, continuing miniaturisation and the growing number of faults in electronic components manufactured in no-clean processes have put the focus back on cleaning in electronics manufacturing. This article looks at different solutions that help ensure optimal cleaning of components. [ + ]

Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed a foldable, compact electric vehicle that can be used either as a personal car or as part of the public transit system to connect major transportation routes within a city. [ + ]

Infineon Technologies, together with its 40 research partners, has completed a research project for further miniaturisation of microelectronic systems in automobiles, industrial and communications electronics. [ + ]

The competitive future of practically every Australian industry sector is increasingly dependent on the usage and integration of the latest electronics into all aspects of production, assembly, systems development, maintenance and service. Improvements can be more easily achieved by keeping up to date with the latest technologies, products, development tools and industry knowledge base. [ + ]

University of Washington engineers have created a new wireless communication system that allows devices to interact with each other without relying on batteries or wires for power. The devices exchange information by reflecting or absorbing pre-existing radio signals. The new communication technique, which the researchers call “ambient backscatter”, takes advantage of the TV and cellular transmissions that already surround us around the clock. [ + ]

The Nano3 cleanroom facility at the Qualcomm Institute in the US now houses a new electron beam writer. But what’s unique about this writer is its ability to write patterns on a large scale - with minimum feature size of less than 8 nanometres on wafers with diameters that can be as large as 8 inches. [ + ]

Scientists have developed a new capacitor that can operate close to normal efficiency at over 200°C, significantly higher than any other capacitor on the market. It also offers a high energy density - the measure of how much energy it can store. [ + ]

Researchers have clocked the fastest-possible electrical switching in magnetite, a naturally magnetic mineral. Their results could drive innovations in the tiny transistors that control the flow of electricity across silicon chips, enabling faster, more powerful computing devices. [ + ]

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. [ + ]

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. [ + ]

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. [ + ]

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. [ + ]

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. [ + ]