Multistep staircase avalanche photodiodes with extremely low noise & deterministic amplification (lidar)


Engineers at University of Texas at Austin and University of Virginia developed a light detector that can amplify weak light signals and reduce noise to improve the accuracy of lidar. Find technical paper here. Abstract "In 1982, Capasso and co-workers proposed the solid-state analogue of the photomultiplier tube, termed the staircase avalanche photodiode. Through a combination of co... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: July 27


Amplifying light for lidar Engineers at University of Texas at Austin and University of Virginia developed a light detector that can amplify weak light signals and reduce noise to improve the accuracy of lidar. "Autonomous vehicles send out laser signals that bounce off objects to tell you how far away you are. Not much light comes back, so if your detector is putting out more noise than th... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: May 10


Probabilistic bit Researchers at Tohoku University are working on building probabilistic computers by developing a spintronics-based probabilistic bit (p-bit). The researchers utilized magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs). Most commonly used in MRAM technology, where thermal fluctuation typically poses a threat to the stable storage of information, in this case it was a benefit. The p-bits f... » read more

System Bits: April 23


AI tool can clean up dirty data Researchers at the University of Waterloo, collaborating with colleagues at the University of Wisconsin and Stanford University, came up with HoloClean, an artificial intelligence tool to comb through dirty data and to detect information errors. “More and more machines are making decisions for us, so all our lives are touched by dirty data daily,” said Ih... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Jan. 30


SRC’s new R&D centers The Semiconductor Research Corp. has launched a network of research centers within its recently-announced Joint University Microelectronics Program (JUMP). SRC officially launched the 5-year, $200 million program on Jan. 1. With various research centers, the mission of JUMP is to lay the groundwork that extends the viability of Moore’s Law through 2040. The idea is... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Oct. 18


Speeding up memory with T-rays Scientists at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), the University of Regensburg in Germany, Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands, and Moscow Technological University proposed a way to improve the performance of memory through using T-waves, or terahertz radiation, as a means of resetting memory cells. This process is several thousand... » read more

Joint R&D Has Its Ups And Downs


As corporate spending on research and development dwindles, enterprises are reaching out to colleges and universities to supplement their R&D. And they often are finding eager partners in those endeavors, as professors and their graduate students look for help, financial and technical, in addressing long-term research projects. “Pure research is just a luxury no one can afford anymore,... » read more

FinFET Scaling Reaches Thermal Limit


In 1974, Robert H. Dennard was working as an IBM researcher. He introduced the idea that MOSFETs would continue to work as voltage-controlled switches in conjunction with shrinking features, providing doping levels, the chip's geometry, and voltages are scaled along with those size reductions. This became known as Dennard's Law even though, just like Moore's Law, it was anything but a law. T... » read more

System Bits: July 14


Missing magnetism of plutonium found In a discovery by two national labs that could hold great promise for materials, energy and computing applications, plutonium’s magnetism has been confirmed, which scientists have long theorized but have never been able to experimentally observe. According to Oak Ridge National Lab and Los Alamos National Lab, plutonium was first produced in 1940. Its ... » read more

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