Computational Software


Electronics technology is evolving rapidly, becoming pervasive in our lives. There are more smart phones in use than there are people on earth, driver assistance is now common in automobiles, commercial airplanes have increasingly sophisticated infotainment, and wearable health monitors exist for a plethora of missions. Every device is generating and communicating massive amounts of data, inclu... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Sept. 22


Drawing sensors on skin Researchers from the University of Houston and University of Chicago created an ink pen that can draw multifunctional sensors and circuits directly on skin. These "drawn-on-skin electronics" aim to provide more precise health data, free of the artifacts that are associated with wearable devices and flexible electronic patches. Caused when the sensor doesn't move prec... » read more

Startup Funding: July 2020


A number of semiconductor and design companies took in funding this month, from a mega round for a data center switch maker to seed grants for two Canadian companies and new funding for an IP marketplace. China continues to be a hot area for electric vehicles, with one company raising half a billion for its two models currently in production. For July, we highlight fifteen startups that raised ... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: June 30


Up-converting lasers Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania developed a filter chip that can convert the output from low-cost lasers to have the same frequency noise as big, expensive lasers, making them suitable for applications such as LiDAR. The noise in a laser's frequency is an important indicator of quality. Low-quality, noisy lasers have more random variations, making them use... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: June 23


Capturing waste heat Researchers at Wuhan University and University of California Los Angeles developed a hydrogel that can both cool down electronics and convert the waste heat into electricity. The thermogalvanic hydrogel consists of a polyacrylamide framework infused with water and specific ions. When they heated the hydrogel, two of the ions (ferricyanide and ferrocyanide) transferred e... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Dec. 9


Solar capture and storage Researchers at the University of Houston developed a device capable of both capturing and storing solar energy. Unlike solar panels and solar cells, which rely on photovoltaic technology for the direct generation of electricity, the hybrid device captures heat from the sun and stores it as thermal energy. The device combines molecular energy storage and latent heat... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Nov. 25


Rigid or flexible in one device Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) in Daejeon, University of Colorado Boulder, Washington University in St. Louis, Cornell University, and Georgia Institute of Technology proposed a system that would allow electronics to transform from stiff devices to flexib... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Nov. 5


Conductive yarn Researchers at Drexel University created an electrically conductive coating for yarn that withstands wearing, washing, and industrial textile manufacturing. Rather than using metallic fibers, the coating is made up of different sized flakes of the two-dimensional material MXene, which was applied to standard cellulose-based yarns. Titanium carbide MXene can be produced in f... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Oct. 9


Topological insulator waveguides Engineers at the University of Pennsylvania and Polytechnic University of Milan applied topological insulators to photonic chips to make reconfigurable waveguides. In topological insulators, charged particles can flow freely on the material's edges but can't pass through the interior. For photonics, topological insulators with edges that could be redefined m... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Oct. 1


Nighttime power Researchers at UCLA and Stanford University created a low-cost device that harnesses radiative cooling to provide a small amount of renewable energy at night. While the device only provides a small amount of power, it could be useful for areas without reliable electricity or access to batteries. Radiative cooling happens when a surface that faces the sky emits heat as therma... » read more

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