Interconnects: Criteria For Alternative Metal Benchmarking And Selection (Imec, KU Leuven)


A technical paper titled “Selecting Alternative Metals for Advanced Interconnects” was published by researchers at imec and KU Leuven. Abstract “Today, interconnect resistance and reliability are key limiters for the performance of advanced CMOS circuits. As transistor scaling is slowing, interconnect scaling has become the main driver for circuit miniaturization, and interconnect lim... » read more

A freeze-thaw molten salt battery for seasonal storage


New research paper from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Abstract "Grid-level storage of seasonal excess can be an important asset to renewable electricity. By applying the freeze-thaw thermal cycling strategy, here, we report Al-Ni molten salt batteries with effective capacity recovery over 90% after a period of 1–8 weeks as a proof-of-concept. We explore three activation methods... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Nov. 19


World’s lightest foam Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has developed what researchers say is the world’s lightest gold foam. LLNL has devised gold aerogel foam. The foam is light enough where it could be carried on the back of tiny insects. Applications for the technology include electronics, catalysis, sensors and energy conversion and storage. An aerogel is based on a ... » read more

System Bits: March 26


Swear to tell the truth Lots of lies are told on the Internet. Shuyuan Ho of Florida State University wants to unveil those falsehoods with an online polygraph. “The future of my research is an online polygraph that could be used many different ways,” said Ho, an associate professor in the College of Communication and Information. “You could use it for online dating, Facebook, Twitter... » read more