Industry News
ElectroneX expo to be held in Melbourne
ElectroneX, the annual electronics design and assembly expo, will be held in Melbourne from 11-12 September 2013. [ + ]
LED droop phenomenon explained
Researchers at University of California, Santa Barbara, in collaboration with colleagues at the École Polytechnique in France, have conclusively identified Auger recombination as the mechanism that causes light emitting diodes (LEDs) to be less efficient at high drive currents. [ + ]
IEC standard for solar LED lanterns released
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has released a new technical specification for solar-powered, light-emitting diode (LED) lighting devices, such as solar lanterns. [ + ]
PV module revenues to rebound to $32bn by 2017
Solar photovoltaic (PV) industry module revenues are forecast to decline 20% in 2013 to $20.5 billion from $25.5 billion in 2012. While revenues will remain below 2012 levels during 2013 and 2014, they are set to increase from 2015 onward. [ + ]
NI LabVIEW Developer Days coming to Australia and NZ
National Instruments has opened registrations for the 2013 LabVIEW Developer Days, providing an opportunity for new or existing LabVIEW users to learn about time-saving tips and expert development techniques. [ + ]
Building a better capacitor with manganese dioxide nanorods
A new process for growing forests of manganese dioxide nanorods may lead to the next generation of high-performance capacitors. [ + ]
Advantest to acquire test automation software company W2BI
Advantest Corporation, a semiconductor test equipment supplier, is set to acquire US firm W2BI, a provider of system level test automation software focusing on wireless communications. [ + ]
ABB to buy solar inverter company Power-One
ABB, a global power and automation technology group, is set to acquire Power-One, a provider of renewable energy and of energy-efficient power conversion and power management solutions. [ + ]
New solar cell coating could boost efficiency
Throughout decades of research on solar cells, one formula has been considered an absolute limit to the efficiency of such devices in converting sunlight into electricity. [ + ]
DARPA develops chip for navigation without GPS
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) researchers have been developing a timing and inertial measurement unit (TIMU) that contains everything needed to aid navigation when GPS is temporarily unavailable. [ + ]
Annual photonics conference to be held in May
The second annual IEEE Photonics Society Optical Interconnects Conference will be held at The Eldorado Hotel & Spa in Santa Fe, New Mexico from 5-8 May 2013, with approximately 120 industry, academia and government attendees. [ + ]
Silicon-based millimetre-wave amplifiers set world record for power
Two teams of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) performers have achieved world record power output levels using silicon-based technologies for millimetre-wave power amplifiers. [ + ]
UC students design electronic triathlon tracking device
University of Canterbury researchers have designed a new miniature electronic triathlon tracking device to be worn by athletes and broadcast live to smartphone apps. [ + ]
Harting celebrates record visitor numbers at the Hannover Messe trade fair
Harting has said it is extremely pleased with the course of this year’s Hannover Messe trade fair and with the results achieved. [ + ]
A step towards optical transistors?
As demand for computing and communication capacity surges, the global communication infrastructure struggles to keep pace, since the light signals transmitted through fibre-optic lines must still be processed electronically, creating a bottleneck in telecommunications networks. [ + ]

