tag: photonics

System Bits: June 9
By Ann Mutschler - 09 Jun, 2015 - Comments: 0

Optical constraints Stanford University researchers have discovered strong constraints to optical data transmission but hope it can guide future research in this area. As a reminder, optics, a form of data transmission that utilizes beams of light, has the promise to outperform the beams of electrons that drive computers or smartphones. And as engineers have long looked for a way to miniatu... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: June 9
By Mark LaPedus - 09 Jun, 2015 - Comments: 0

Making rare earths Rare earths are chemical elements found in the Earth’s crust. They are used in cars, consumer electronics, computers, communications, clean energy and defense systems. The big market for rare earths is magnets. In semiconductor production, rare earths are used in high-k dielectrics, CMP slurries and other applications. China has a monopoly in rare earths, accounting for... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Nov. 25
By Mark LaPedus - 25 Nov, 2014 - Comments: 0

Direct-write diamond patterning Purdue University has devised a new technique that uses a pulsing laser to create synthetic nanodiamond films and patterns on a graphite substrate. The ability to pattern diamond surfaces could one day be used to make chips, biosensors and fuel cells. In the lab, researchers devised a multi-layered film, which includes a layer of graphite topped with a glass ... » read more

System Bits: Nov. 18
By Ann Mutschler - 18 Nov, 2014 - Comments: 0

Phase transitions between liquid, gas Researchers from the University of Tokyo and Tokyo Institute of Technology reminded that materials change their form between three states -- solid, liquid, and gas -- depending on factors such as temperature and pressure. However, a phase transition does not necessarily occur between liquid and gas, and they can continuously transform from the one to the o... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Nov. 4
By Mark LaPedus - 04 Nov, 2014 - Comments: 0

World’s fastest IC amplifier Northrop Grumman has set a record for the world’s fastest integrated circuit amplifier. The record has been recognized by officials from Guinness World Records. The amplifier uses 10 transistor stages to reach an operating speed of one terahertz, or one trillion cycles per second. This surpassed the company's own record of 850 billion cycles per second set i... » read more

Confusion Does Not Equal Paralysis
By Ed Sperling - 10 Jul, 2014 - Comments: 0

After attending the two biggest semiconductor conferences in the world, along with a long list of notable conferences targeted to a wide variety of technologies and engineering disciplines, it’s clear the industry is racing ahead. But “ahead” is now a relative term. While Moore’s Law satisfied both economic and technological requirements, it was easy to figure out what “ahead” me... » read more

Tech Talk: Photonics, Take 2
By Ed Sperling - 23 Jun, 2014 - Comments: 0

Mentor Graphics’ John Ferguson explains why light is getting so much attention for inter-chip communications, where it excels, and why it has limitations. This is the second part in a two-part series. [youtube vid=4-5FbxIpIk4] To view part 1, click here. » read more

SEMICON West Preview
By SEMI - 19 May, 2014 - Comments: 0

By Paula Doe The fast growing demand for bandwidth is driving telecomm and data center user interest in moving high speed optical connections closer and closer to the chips, as recent advances in packaging technology, from microbumping to bonding to wafer-level redistribution now help make it possible. Chip-to-chip and chip-to-board optical connections increasingly look like a viable soluti... » read more

System Bits: May 6
By Ann Mutschler - 06 May, 2014 - Comments: 0

Nonlinear optical resonance The drive to develop ultrasmall and ultrafast electronic devices using a single atomic layer of semiconductors, such as transition metal dichalcogenides, has received a significant boost. Researchers with Berkeley Lab have recorded the first observations of a strong nonlinear optical resonance along the edges of a single layer of molybdenum disulfide. The existence ... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: March 4
By Ann Mutschler - 04 Mar, 2014 - Comments: 0

Photon glue Like a spring connecting two swings, light can act as photon glue that binds together the quantum mechanical properties of two vastly different materials and this effect could harness the most useful characteristics from each material for hybrid solar cells and high efficiency lighting, among other applications. To this end, researchers at the University of Michigan and Queens Coll... » read more

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