Manufacturing Bits: March 29


Brain-inspired computing Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has purchased a brain-inspired supercomputing platform for deep learning developed by IBM Research. Based on a neurosynaptic computer chip called IBM TrueNorth, the scalable platform will process the equivalent of 16 million neurons and 4 billion synapses. It will consume the energy equivalent of a tablet computer. ... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Feb. 9


Molybdenum disulfide memristors Researchers at Michigan Technological University constructed an ideal memristor based on molybdenum disulfide nanosheets. "Different from an electrical resistor that has a fixed resistance, a memristor possesses a voltage-dependent resistance," said Yun Hang Hu, professor of materials science and engineering at MTU, adding that a material's electric propert... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Jan. 5


New materials for 3D printing HRL Laboratories has developed a new ceramic technology for 3D printing. The technology overcomes the limits of traditional ceramic processing, thereby enabling high-strength components. Ceramics are much more difficult to process than traditional 3D printing materials, such as polymers or metals, according to HRL, a corporate R&D laboratory owned by The Boeing... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Dec. 23


World’s smallest inkjet image ETH Zurich and Scrona have set the official world’s record for the smallest inkjet-printed color image. The feat, which has been recognized by the Guinness World Records, is based on Scrona’s so-called NanoDrip printing technology and quantum dots. ETH and Scrona printed an image of clown fishes and sea anemones. The printed image measures 0.0092mm² in a... » read more

Inside The SRC


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to talk with Ken Hansen, the new president and chief executive of the Semiconductor Research Corp. (SRC), a U.S.-based technology research consortium. Prior to joining the SRC in May, Hansen was vice president and chief technology officer at Freescale. What follows are excerpts of that conversation. SE: My impression is that the SRC allocates funding for va... » read more

DoD Scratches Its Head Over Foundry Security


When the GlobalFoundries deal with IBM to acquire its foundries closes, as it is slated to sometime during 2015, the U.S. Department of Defense has a small problem on its hands. Military programs no longer will have access to a trusted fab to manufacture semiconductors. How do you ensure that the foundry did not modify or alter your design, add backdoor access or implement a remote control mech... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: May 19


Self-steering bullets DARPA has completed the development of a self-steering bullet that increases the hit rate for long-distance shots. The effort, dubbed the Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance (EXACTO) program, is aimed for military snipers. The technology combines a maneuverable bullet and a real-time guidance system to track and deliver the projectile to the target, according to DARPA. It... » read more

Blog Review: April 22


DARPA thinks machine-brain interfaces are poised to become an industry-changing technology. Rambus' David G. Stork brings us emerging developments in the field from the Neural Engineering Boot Camp. If you live in an area that doesn't get quite enough sun for solar panels, how about a smart window that harvests energy from wind and rain? In this week's top five picks, Ansys' Justin Nescott a... » read more

System Bits: April 21


DARPA's Research DARPA's Semiconductor Technology Advanced Research Network, aka Starnet, unveiled its research plans for 2015 and 2016. Topping the list in 2015 is an investigation into the feasibility of using advanced 2D materials for ultra low-power devices, along with the fab methodology, modeling and simulation tools necessary to make it all work. The fiscal 2015 research will look a... » read more

System Bits: April 14


Antennas on a chip In what is being called the missing piece of the puzzle of electromagnetic theory, a team of researchers at the University of Cambridge have figured out one of the mysteries of electromagnetism, that they believe could allow the design of antennas small enough to be integrated into a chip. These ultra-small antennas – the so-called ‘last frontier’ of semiconductor desi... » read more

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