The A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics and Japan’s Shikino High-Tech Co have signed an agreement to create a next-generation application-specific integrated circuit intellectual property (ASIC IP) block for use in motion sensing technologies. [ + ]

Korean researchers have found a new physical organogel electrolyte with two unique characteristics: an irreversible thermal gelation and a high value of the lithium-ion transference number. [ + ]

A mathematical model that predicts the electromagnetic radiation produced by circuit boards could help to improve designs and lower costs. [ + ]

A layer of graphene can reduce the working temperature in hotspots inside a processor by up to 25% - which can significantly extend the working life of computers and other electronics. [ + ]

Researchers at LMU Munich have developed a new method for visualising material defects in thin-film solar cells. [ + ]

element14 is challenging engineers and developers to design and develop their own piece of wearable technology. [ + ]

The CSIRO and the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) have signed a strategic relationship agreement aimed at high-impact research priorities. [ + ]

Researchers at UC Santa Barbara, in collaboration with the University of Notre Dame, have recently demonstrated the highest reported drive current on a transistor made of a monolayer of tungsten diselenide (WSe2), a 2-dimensional atomic crystal categorised as a transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD). [ + ]

The use of open source hardware and software will continue to grow among both professional engineers and the hobbyist community in 2013, according to the results of a new survey from element14. [ + ]

A sliver of wood coated with tin could make a tiny, long-lasting, efficient and environmentally friendly battery, according to researchers at The University of Maryland. [ + ]

A new system, proposed by MIT researchers, uses two-dimensional structures to guide plasmonic waves at ultrashort wavelength, offering a new platform for memory and computer chips. [ + ]

Now, for the first time, a transistor made from just one molecular monolayer has been made to work where it really counts. On a computer chip. [ + ]

The element14 community is celebrating its fourth birthday. To mark the occasion, the company has launched a brain teaser competition, with three winners per week being selected to win a Freescale SabreLite development kit. [ + ]

Printing lithium-ion batteries on a 3D printer could enable the development of miniaturised medical implants, compact electronics, tiny robots and more. [ + ]

Australian researchers have proposed a new way to distinguish between quantum bits that are placed only a few nanometres apart in a silicon chip, taking them a step closer to the construction of a large-scale quantum computer. [ + ]