System Bits: July 24


Computers that mimic the human brain According to a group of researchers led by the Jülich Research Centre in Germany, a computer built to mimic the brain’s neural networks produces similar results to that of the best brain-simulation supercomputer software currently used for neural-signaling research. The custom-built computer named SpiNNaker, which the team said has been tested for ac... » read more

System Bits: April 24


Some superconductors carry spin currents A few years ago, researchers from the University of Cambridge showed that it was possible to create electron pairs in which the spins are aligned: up-up or down-down. The spin current can be carried by up-up and down-down pairs moving in opposite directions with a net charge current of zero, and the ability to create such a pure spin super-current is an... » read more

Chipmakers Look To New Materials


Graphene, the wonder material rediscovered in 2004, and a host of other two-dimensional materials are gaining ground in manufacturing semiconductors as silicon’s usefulness begins to fade. And while there are a number of compounds in use already, such as gallium arsenide, gallium nitride, and silicon carbide, those materials generally are being confined to specific niche applications. Tran... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: May 31


Superconducting magnets The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (MagLab) has broken another world’s magnet record. This time, MagLab broke a record for a high-temperature superconducting (HTS) coil operating inside a high-field resistive magnet. With the technology, the agency achieved a magnetic field of 40.2 teslas. The previous record was 35.4 teslas. Tesla, or T, is the measuremen... » read more

System Bits: Sept.1


The quantum description of nature In quantum mechanics, the underlying physical rules that govern the fundamental behavior of matter and light at the atomic scale state that nothing can quite be completely at rest, but now for the first time, a team of researchers from Caltech, McGill University, and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light has found a way to observe—and control—t... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: June 2


Printing RF antennas with graphene ink Researchers from the University of Manchester, together with BGT Materials Limited, a graphene manufacturer in the United Kingdom, printed a radio frequency antenna using compressed graphene ink. The antenna performed well enough to make it practical for use in RFID tags and wireless sensors, the researchers said. Even better, the antenna is flexible, e... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: March 31


Reusable gallium arsenide wafers A manufacturing process developed by Stanford researchers could dramatically reduce the cost of gallium arsenide electronics, potentially opening up new applications for the material. In the search for silicon's replacement, gallium arsenide (GaAs) has much to offer on performance. It's faster than silicon, less noise, and features a wide direct band gap�... » read more

System Bits: April 29


Beyond graphene Researchers at The University of Manchester have shown how they can control the properties of stacks of 2D materials, opening up the potential for new, previously-unimagined electronic devices. The isolation of graphene at the University in 2004 led to the discovery of many other 2D crystals and while graphene has an unrivaled set of superlatives, these crystals cover a larg... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Oct. 8


X-Ray Vision Researchers led by the University of Manchester have developed a new type of X-ray vision. The technology can look inside objects and map the properties in 3D and in real time. This technology is called pair distribution function-computed tomography. Applications include materials science, biomaterials, geology, environmental science and palaeontology. The technology enable... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Oct. 8


How light interacts with gold nanostructures With the potential to possibly increase the efficiency of solar cells and photo detectors, University of Manchester researchers have discovered that graphene can be used to investigate how light interacts with nano-antennas. The team, which also included researchers from Freie Universität Berlin and Imperial College London, have shown that graph... » read more

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