Covid-19 Tech Bits: April 14


Modeling coronavirus spread Four teams of Finnish researchers have modeled the coughing spread of COVID-19 in tight indoor areas, such as grocery stores and public transportation systems, using a supercomputer and 3D visualization. “The aerosol cloud spreads outside the immediate vicinity of the coughing person and dilutes in the process," said Aalto University Assistant Professor Ville V... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Nov. 25


RF carbon nanotubes For years, the industry has been working on logic and memory devices based on carbon nanotubes, although these technologies remain in R&D. Now, there is a new device type using carbon nanotubes--RF. Startup Carbonics has developed an RF-based carbon nanotube technology that operates at frequencies over 100GHz. The technology exceeds the cutoff frequency of today�... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Nov. 5


Conductive yarn Researchers at Drexel University created an electrically conductive coating for yarn that withstands wearing, washing, and industrial textile manufacturing. Rather than using metallic fibers, the coating is made up of different sized flakes of the two-dimensional material MXene, which was applied to standard cellulose-based yarns. Titanium carbide MXene can be produced in f... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Mar. 11


Reading qubits faster Researchers at Aalto University and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland propose a faster way to read information from qubits, the building blocks of quantum computers. Currently, they are extremely sensitive to disruption even in cryogenic environments, holding quantum information for less than a millisecond. In the method now used to read information from a qubit... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Sept. 18


Etching photovoltaics Researchers at Michigan Technological University and Aalto University found a way to reduce production costs of black silicon solar cells by more than 10%. The first prototype modules have been manufactured on an industrial production line. Typically, the silicon used for solar cells is etched to reduce reflected light, although some light is still lost. Nano-texturing... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Aug. 14


All-optical logic Researchers from Aalto University developed multifunction all-optical logic gates using a network of nanowires. To build the nanostructure, the team assembled two different semiconductor nanowires, indium phosphide and aluminum gallium arsenide. The nanowires have a unique one-dimensional structure, which allows them to function like nanosized antennas for light. Using ... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: May 29


Utilizing Heat For Energy One of the big problems in electronics in general, and semiconductors particular, is heat. And it's not just about leakage current anymore. Heat is a problem at every level, from circuit design to the materials being used inside the chips, as well as warpage between die caused by heat after they are packaged together. Heat can prematurely age chips as well as destroy ... » read more

System Bits: Jan. 16


Nitrogen-atom-sized sensors A new quantum sensor developed by Fraunhofer researchers will be able to measure the tiny magnetic fields of the next generation of hard discs, leveraging the new opportunities that quantum technology promises. [caption id="attachment_430671" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The special ellipsoid form of the plasma reactor developed at Fraunhofer IAF allows for l... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Nov. 28


Cryogenic microscopes The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) has developed and commissioned a new cryo-electron microscope. A form of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) is used to study a sample at cryogenic temperatures. A gas is assumed to be cryogenic if it can be liquefied at or below −150 °C. Cyro-EM is often used in structural ... » read more

System Bits: May 16


Refrigerator for quantum computers Quantum physicist Mikko Möttönen at Aalto University in Finland and his team have invented a quantum-circuit refrigerator, meant to reduce errors in quantum computing. The research results suggest how harmful errors in quantum computing can be removed — a new twist towards a functioning quantum computer. The team reminded that quantum computers use... » read more

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