Silicon Photonics Manufacturing Ramps Up


Circuit scaling is starting to hit a wall as the laws of physics clash with exponential increases in the volume of data, forcing chipmakers to take a much closer look at silicon photonics as a way of moving data from where it is collected to where it is processed and stored. The laws of physics are immutable. Put simply, there are limits to how fast an electron can travel through copper. The... » read more

2022 Is the International Year of Glass


Happy New Year! It's 2022, and I like to ease into the year gently and see what this year is the "year of." The United Nations always selects a couple of areas, and there are events all over the world during the year. International Year of Glass First, it is the International Year of Glass, or IYoG2022. Our vision of a United Nations International Year of Glass (IYoG2022) is to cel... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: May 5


Transparent armor The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has developed transparent armor. The technology is actually a hard transparent ceramic, based on a material called spinel. Spinel is a magnesium aluminate compound. Spinel is also a gemstone, which could come in various colors. NRL has devised a fabrication process to create the technology, which is harder and superior to glass, sap... » read more