Manufacturing Bits: Aug. 16


Safer drinking water Two-dimensional materials are gaining steam in the R&D labs. 2D materials include graphene, boron nitride (BN) and the transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). These materials could one day enable future field-effect transistors (FETs). One TMD, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), is also generating interest in other fields. Molybdenum disulfide consists of two elements--moly... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: May 24


Microbunching EUV Researchers at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have provided a status report on its ongoing efforts to develop a steady-state microbunching (SSMB) technology. SSMB is a technology used within a storage ring, which is a large-scale, circular particle accelerator. An SSMB mechanism produces a high-power radiation source within the ring. This, in turn, could enable a... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: May 17


Isolating diamondoids Stanford and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory are finding new ways to isolate diamondoids. Diamondoids, which are tiny specks of diamond, are found in petroleum fluids. The smallest diamondoid consists of 10 atoms. A diamondoid weighs less than a billionth of a billionth of a carat. A carat is a unit of mass equal to 200 mg. [caption id="attachment_27544" ... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: April 5


Food in 3D Using a technology called ptychographic X-ray computed tomography, the University of Copenhagen and the Paul Scherrer Institute have taken images of food in three dimensions and on a nanometer scale. Ptychography, a lensless coherent imaging technique, could potentially save the food industry money. It could reduce food waste due to faulty production methods. Ptychography could ... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Feb. 9


3D chip consortium The 3D integration consortium of IRT Nanoelec has a new member--EV Group. Based in Grenoble, France, IRT Nanoelec is an R&D center headed by CEA-Leti. Formed in 2012, the 3D integration consortium is one of IRT’s core programs. EV Group joins Leti, Mentor Graphics, SET and STMicroelectronics as members of the 3D consortium. The program is developing a 3D integration ... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Feb. 2


Single electron transistors A group coordinated by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) is setting out on a four year program to develop single electron transistors fully compatible with CMOS technology and capable of room temperature operation. The single electron transistor (SET) switches electricity by means of a single electron. The SET is based on a quantum dot (consisting... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Oct. 13


Exploring plasmas with lasers The Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has upgraded its high-power laser system to 200 terawatts of power, roughly 100 times the world’s total power consumption compressed into tens of femtoseconds. The peak power before the upgrade was 30 terawatts. The upgraded laser will be coupled with SLAC's X-ray laser, dubbed the Linac Cohere... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Sept. 15


Lasersabers and laser swords In 2013, the California Institute of Technology, Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found a way to bind two photons, thereby forming photonic molecules. To accomplish this feat, Caltech, Harvard and MIT pumped rubidium atoms into a vacuum chamber. They used lasers to cool the atoms. Then, they fired photons into a cloud of atoms. This, ... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Sept. 1


Free-electron laser EUV consortium Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography is delayed. Chipmakers hope to insert EUV at the 7nm node, but that’s not a given. As before, the big problem is the EUV light source. So far, the source can’t generate enough power to enable the required throughput for EUV in high-volume production. ASML’s current EUV source is operating at 80 Watts, up from 10 ... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: June 23


Diamond shock waves For years, the industry has been exploring the use of diamonds for electronics applications. Diamonds could be used to reduce heat in electronic systems. In addition, diamond FETs are also intriguing. Diamond has a wide bandgap (5.45 eV), a high breakdown field (10MV/cm), and high thermal conductivity (22W/cmK). But it could take years before diamond FETs reach the mains... » read more

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