Magnets form the basis of computer technology, so the speed at which magnets can act and react has become extremely important. The Nanomagnetics and Spin Dynamics (NSD) group in the School of Physics recently hosted Dr Tom Silva, from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Colorado, to work with them on a development of a high speed magnetometer which measures magnetisation at very short time scales.

The three-in-one event of Austronics, Automate & Electrix 2003 opens from 2-4 September at the Sydney Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour. It is set to attract in excess of 8000 visitors from the electronic, manufacturing , process and electrical industries. It will highlight the latest innovations in Australian and international technology.

The ability to make atomic-level changes in the functional components of semiconductor switches, demonstrated by a team of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, North Carolina State University and University of Tennessee physicists, could lead to changes in the semiconductor industry.

In 1978, a 'hand held' was a transistor radio, computers were gigantic mainframe, immobile machines, and the Internet was a project by a handful of research scientists. Twenty-five years later, Intel Corporation is marking its 25th year of delivering silicon products based on Intel architecture, and data from industry analyst firm Mercury Research indicates that the company has now shipped more than 1 billion x86 CPUs since that time, sparking a new era of computing and communication solutions.

Sun Microsystems and Intel Corporation have announced a collaboration that will enable Java technology-enabled audio, visual and multimedia applications to users of mobile devices using Intel XScale technology based processors.

A tiny solid-state light emitter produced by Phaedon Avouris and his colleagues at IBM, consists of a single-walled carbon nanotube (NT) strung between two electrodes and controlled by a third.

Texas Instruments has announced that it is working with Cornice Inc on a 1.5 GB storage element (SE). The SE, a 2.54 cm, high-capacity, embedded storage device, is designed to bring low cost storage solutions to portable consumer electronics devices such as MP3 players, PDAs, digital video recorders and players and handheld gaming devices.

Thai Microelectronic Centre (TMEC), in Thailand is set to complete a small-size wafer-fabrication plant by the end of this year that will be able to produce microprocessors for electronic identity cards. The production capacity is claimed to be six million chips a year.

Sharp and Daihen have jointly developed a solar inverter for large-scale photovoltaic power generating systems intended for commercial users and electric utilities. Operational tests in Japan will begin in May, with product availability anticipated from July 2003.

Scientists at Brown University have created a magnetic-sensing microscope that allows them to watch electricity flow through the tiniest components. They are using the device to find defects in integrated circuits and micro-machinery.

The Australian Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers Association (AEEMA) has welcomed the establishment of a new national agency, the National Measurement Institute, to provide measurement standards and services.

The Australian Federal Government has awarded Curtin University of Technology, The University of Western Australia and EMC Technologies a grant to establish the 'Australian Centre for EMC Technology Transfer' (ACETT).

Peidong Yang, a University of California, Berkeley, chemist, has fabricated a new type of nanotube, made of gallium nitride, that, he says, "captures some of the great properties from nanowires and carbon nanotubes, and eliminates the not so good characteristics of both.

Two Australian IT security companies, CTAM and Australian Projects signed a memoranda of understanding with Mitac, a Taiwanese electronics manufacturing company, at a special ceremony convened by the Australian Electrical and Electronic Manufacturer Association (AEEMA) and the Australian IT Security Forum, in association with the Taiwan office of Austrade, at the CeBIT Australia 2003 exhibition held in Sydney.

La Trobe University physicists have reversed the traditional direction of technology flow by designing and building a toroidal electron spectrometer and exporting it to Germany.