Build Secured And Cost Effective Next-Generation Actuator And Sensor Applications Based On The Latest E/E Architectures


Automotive E/E architectures have undergone remarkable changes in recent years influencing actuator and sensor applications such as body control (lights, windows, and mirrors, etc.), motor control such as engine pumps and fans, and sensor control. Traditionally, these applications have used small and low-cost 16-bit microcontrollers (MCUs) but now they need more advanced 16-bit MCUs. In this wh... » read more

A New Class Of Actuators Mimicking Human Muscle


Developing robots with human-like muscles that produce autonomous movement is not possible using traditional rigid, high-voltage electronics. However, recent research funded by FlexTech, a SEMI Technology community, shows promise in incorporating microcircuits to do just that by directly controlling and operating HASEL actuators. The innovation could guide intelligent, goal-oriented robots in ... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Sept. 11


Thread transistor Researchers at Tufts University developed a thread-based transistor that can be fashioned into simple, all-thread based logic circuits and integrated circuits which could be woven into fabric or worn on the skin, or even surgically implanted. The thread-based transistor (TBT) is made of a linen thread coated with carbon nanotubes, creating a semiconductor surface. Two thin... » read more

The Week In Review: IoT


Conferences The Internet of Things World conference is on tap next week at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Silicon Valley. There will be more than 250 exhibitors on the show floor, with 11,000 attendees expected. More than 400 speakers will make presentations over three days, May 16-17-18. ON Semiconductor will have a number of IoT-related products to demonstrate at its booth, including i... » read more

The Trouble With MEMS


The advent of the Internet of Things will open up a slew of new opportunities for MEMS-based sensors, but chipmakers are proceeding cautiously. There are a number of reasons for that restraint. Microelectromechanical systems are difficult to design, manufacture and test, which initially fueled optimism in the MEMS ecosystem that this market would command the same kinds of premiums that analo... » read more

Toward Better Acoustic Resonators


After some lively conversations with the top researchers in MEMS acoustic resonators during the 2014 Sensors and Actuators Workshop (familiarly known to the MEMS community as “Hilton Head”), we set to work on a simulation solution to better serve researchers and commercial designers. Acoustic resonators for RF filtering have received a lot of attention in the past few years as the number... » read more