Chip Industry Week In Review


By Adam Kovac, Gregory Haley, and Liz Allan. The U.S. government released a 61-page report, titled "National Strategy on Microelectronics Research,” by the Subcommittee On Microelectronics Leadership. It provides a framework for government, industry, academia, and international allies to address four major goals. Synopsys  acquired Intrinsic ID, which develops physical unclonable func... » read more

Week In Review: Design, Low Power


Deals Utilidata and Nvidia are teaming up on a software-defined smart grid chip that can be embedded in smart meters to with the aim of improving grid resiliency and integrating distributed energy resources (DERs) such as solar, storage, and electric vehicles. The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will test the software-defined smart grid chip as a way t... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Oct. 19


Solar mini-reactors The University of Amsterdam has developed a standalone solar-powered mini-reactor. The technology could one day serve as an autonomous off-grid photochemistry system for remote locations. The prototype solar reactor measures 0.25 square meters. The system is equipped with a solar cell, which provides the power for the pumps and control system. This solar cell is placed ... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: June 29


Persistent photoconductivity Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), University of Wisconsin Madison, and the University of Toledo, discovered a unique effect in metal-halide perovskite semiconductors that could be used in neuromorphic computing systems. Perovskites are currently being investigated as highly efficient solar cells. In fact,... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Feb. 8


Transparent sensor Researchers at Osaka University created a thin, flexible, transparent sensor using silver nanowire networks. High-resolution printing was used to fabricate the centimeter-scale cross-aligned silver nanowire arrays, with reproducible feature sizes from 20 to 250 micrometers. As a proof-of-concept for functionality, they used their arrays to detect electrophysiological signals... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Jan. 5


Gallium oxide chips The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Colorado School of Mines, and Saint-Gobain Crystals have teamed up to develop manufacturing technologies and devices based on an emerging material called gallium oxide. This work is part of a three-year program, dubbed the Oxide Electronic Devices for Extreme Operating Environments project, which is funded by the U.S. ... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: March 31


Tellurium transistors Researchers from Purdue University, Washington University in St Louis, University of Texas at Dallas, and Michigan Technological University propose the rare earth element tellurium as a potential material for ultra-small transistors. Encapsulated in a nanotube made of boron nitride, tellurium helps build a field-effect transistor with a diameter of two nanometers. �... » read more

Week in Review – IoT, Security, Autos


Products/Services Synopsys had a lot of announcements this week! Summer is definitely over. The company released BSIMM10 study, the latest version of the Building Security in Maturity Model, helping organizations plan, execute, mature, and measure their software security initiatives. It also released LucidShape version 2019.09, the latest version of that tool for the design, simulation, and an... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Dec. 18


Solar storage Engineers at MIT, Georgia Institute of Technology, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory designed a system to store renewable energy in vast amounts and deliver it back to the grid when power generation is low. The system stores excess electricity from solar or wind installations as heat using tanks of white-hot molten silicon, and then converts the light from the glowi... » read more

Week in Review: IoT, Security, Auto


Cybersecurity Check Point Software Technologies reports that facsimile machines (yes, people still use them!) can be subject to hacking through vulnerabilities in their communication protocols. The HP Officejet Pro All-in-One fax printers and other fax machines can be compromised with a hacker only knowing a fax number, according to the company. Check Point Research says a design flaw in Andro... » read more

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