System Bits: Sept. 3


Maintaining an unstable quantum system In an experiment that could have implications for quantum computers and quantum simulators, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have demonstrated a way to maintain an unstable quantum system by applying bursts of microwave radiation – a quantum analog to vibrating the inverted pendulum. While a simple pendulum has two equilibrium point... » read more

System Bits: August 20


RF jammer technology To thwart electronic warfare technology, a research team at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is developing a new generation of advanced radio frequency (RF) jammer technology as part of a project known as Angry Kitten by using commercial electronics, custom hardware development, novel machine-learning software and a unique test bed to evaluate unprecedented level... » read more

System Bits: August 13


Analyzing ad hoc networks Now that the basic protocols of the Internet are more than 30 years old, network scientists are increasingly turning attention to ad hoc networks in which communications networks set up, on the fly, by wireless devices. Here, unsolved problems still abound. Most theoretical analyses of ad hoc networks have assumed that the communications links within the network ar... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Aug. 6


Printing Ears Engineered cartilage is an option for auricular reconstruction. Enabling the development of engineered cartilage, Massachusetts General Hospital has fabricated a bioartificial ear using a 3D printer technology. The ear looks and mechanically behaves like a human one. Researchers used a titanium wire framework within a composite collagen ear-shaped scaffold to maintain the dime... » read more

Betting On Glass TSVs


By Ed Sperling There are two big issues when it comes to through-silicon vias. One involves cost. The second involves heat—in particular, how to get heat out of a stacked die and what the thermal coefficient of the TSV will be to make sure it expands at a rate consistent with the SoCs in a package. To address these issues, System-Level Design caught up with Rao Tummala, professor of elect... » read more

Grappling With Graphene


By Brian Fuller Silicon CMOS is a tough act to follow. The workhorse building block for the world’s electronics has been delivering for system designers for a half century. Despite hand-wringing over its apparent scalability limits, it shows only vague signs of slowing down. For nearly as many years, it seems, the next great material or alternative to silicon CMOS has popped into the indu... » read more

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