Manufacturing Bits: Dec. 28


Measuring microdroplets The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has found a new way for microscopes to measure the volumes of microdroplets. Using this technique, NIST has measured the volume of individual droplets smaller than 100 trillionths of a liter with an uncertainty of less than 1%. That represents a tenfold improvement compared to previous measurements, according ... » read more

System Bits: Oct. 9


Bringing plasmonic color to solid materials Researchers at the University of California, Riverside, used silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) to produce plasmonic color-switchable films for solid materials. This effect was previously achieved only in liquids. Rapid and reversible tuning of plasmonic color in solid films, a challenge until now, holds great promise for a number of applications,” sa... » read more

System Bits: Sept. 24


Quantum states Many companies and academic researchers are working on quantum computing technology, including the University of Buffalo. New research on two-dimensional tungsten disulfide (WS2) could open the door to advances in quantum computing, UB reports. In a paper published Sept. 13 in Nature Communications, scientists report that they can manipulate the electronic properties of th... » read more

System Bits: Dec. 18


AI studies at Stanford Language processing is a leading area in artificial intelligence research, Stanford University reports. “We’re trying to inform the conversation about artificial intelligence with hard data,” says Yoav Shoham, professor of computer science, emeritus, adding, “Language is the ultimate frontier of AI research because you can express any thought or idea in langua... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: May 22


Exotic water The Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) organization, Uppsala University and SLAC have turned a large X-ray laser into the world’s fastest water heater. Using an X-ray free-electron laser from the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, researchers have heated water from room temperature to 100,000 degrees Celsius in less than a tenth of a picosecond or a millionth of a mil... » read more

One-On-One: Jeffrey Schloss


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to talk about genomics, DNA sequencing and semiconductor technologies with Jeffery Schloss, director of the Division of Genome Sciences at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). The NHGRI is one of 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States. SE: The NHGRI is involved in several projects... » read more