Research Bits: Feb. 21


High-quality ‘chirps’ for automotive, industrial mmWave radar Imec demonstrated a low-power phase-locked loop (PLL) that generates high-quality frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) signals for mmWave radar, which can be used in short-range automotive and industrial radar applications. The FMCW radars popular in healthcare, automotive, and industrial send out sinusoidal waves that get... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: May 5


Spiking neural network radar chip Imec has developed what the R&D organization says is the world’s first chip that processes radar signals using a spiking recurrent neural network. Initially, the chip from Imec is designed for low-power, anti-collision radar systems in drones. Neural networks are used in the field of machine learning. A subset of AI, machine learning utilizes a neu... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: May 5


CMOS-compatible laser Researchers at Forschungszentrum Jülich, Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (C2N), STMicroelectronics, and CEA-Leti Grenoble developed a CMOS-compatible laser for optical data transfer. Comprised of germanium and tin, the efficiency is comparable with conventional GaAs semiconductor lasers on Si. Optical communications provide much higher data rates, and are be... » read more

System Bits: Sept. 17


Quantum computing R&D in Germany IBM is teaming with the Fraunhofer Society for research and development of quantum computing technology, backed by the German government, which is providing €650 million (about $715.4 million) in funding over two years for the program. IBM has agreed to install a Q System One system at one of its facilities in Germany for the program. The system has 20... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Nov. 14


Bacteria power wastewater cleanup Researchers at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) are exploring ways to detoxify warm, salty industrial wastewater while simultaneously generating electricity. They are using bacteria with remarkable properties: the ability to transfer electrons outside their cells (exoelectrogenes) and the capacity to withstand extremes of temperat... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: March 22


Tunable windows Harvard University has put a new twist on tunable windows. Researchers have devised a new manufacturing technique that can change the opacity of a window. With the flip of a switch, the window can become cloudy, clear or somewhere in the middle. Tunable windows, which aren’t new, rely on electrochemical reactions. Typically, the glass is coated with materials using vacuum... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Nov. 4


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