IBM Developing New Technology for Cooling Chips
As chips get smaller and smaller—cramming more processing power into ever-tinier spaces—the heat created by the miniature circuits becomes harder to manage. As a result, cooling measures currently used may not be enough in future generations of computer chips. One microprocessor design already being researched by IBM—in which chips are stacked vertically to save space and enhance performance, rather than arrayed next to each other—has a heat-to-volume ratio exceeding that of a nuclear reactor. To address this, IBM researchers are developing a way to pipe water in between chips that are sandwiched together. The system uses specially sealed pipes, just 50 microns wide, to prevent leaks and electrical shorts. Read more
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New Research One Step Closer to Replacing X-Ray Technology
Researchers have taken the next step in microwave radiation technology by generating high-power signals at frequencies of 200 GHz and higher on an ordinary silicon chip—making the replacement of X-rays with the nondestructive imaging technology more of a reality. Using a phenomenon known as nonlinear constructive interference, Ehsan Afshari, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA, and Harish Bhat, Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the University of California-Merced, USA, have created a process by which a common complimentary metal-oxide silicon (CMOS) chip can generate signals at frequencies well above ordinary cutoff frequencies, with at least ten times the input power. The research has significant implications for medical imaging, to detect skin cancer; as well as security, to detect objects hidden under clothing. Read more
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Integrated Circuits Institute Develops ‘No Interference Sensor’
A new type of integrated 3-D magnetic field sensor has been developed by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS. The magnetic sensor can detect tiny fluctuations in a small magnetic field—even when there is a strong magnet right beside it. This allows the sensor, held on a tiny chip, to be utilized even in places where power cables generate an interference field, like in a car’s side mirror. “This sensor enables us, for the first time, to identify magnetic interference fields as such and to separate them from the useful field. The sensor works perfectly even when the interference field is considerably larger than the useful field,” says team leader Dr. Hans-Peter Hohe. To facilitate serial production of the sensors, the researchers used low-cost standard CMOS techniques for manufacturing. Read more
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Finding a New Generation of Computer Chips
Two researchers at North Carolina State University, USA, are working on what could be the single most important project for the future of technological progress. Veena Misra and Ki Wook Kim are trying to develop a radically new chip to replace today’s semiconductors, which are expected to reach their limit in about 12 years, according to Moore’s Law. After today’s semiconductors reach their capacity, “our whole standard of living will stop evolving,” says Dinesh Mehta, Vice President of Semiconductor Research Corp, unless new technology can take their place. While semiconductors are really just series of transistors placed on a silicon-based chip, the technology has gotten complicated in recent years as more and more transistors are being placed on tiny square wafers. The ability to shrink the size of transistors, and improve power and functionality, has been a result of Moore's Law—an industry standard that dictates that the number of transistors on a chip should double every two years. Moore’s law also predicts that, eventually, chip designers will run out of room and need to find a different way to move information. Misra and Kim, by experimenting with magnetic fields to change how information is moved and working with graphene to reduce the amount of heat today's chips generate, are hoping to develop a chip that will ensure technology can continue to evolve. Read more
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Solid-State Devices Still in Demand
Three major technology companies introduced brand new solid-state devices at the 2008 Computex Conference in Taipei, Taiwan, earlier this month, putting to rest any speculation that the technology may be on its way out. SanDisk, Intel and TDK all announced the release of updated solid state drives, which are used in small computers instead of hard disk drives because they use less power, are generally more rugged and contain no moving parts. SanDisk introduced a line of solid-state drives designed for ‘netbooks’—a category of compact, low-cost notebook PCs. Intel released its series of new solid-state drives, designed to replace traditional hard disk drives, which are four times smaller and lighter than a standard 1.8-inch hard disk drive. Additionally, TDK launched solid-state drives that provide for the smaller connector in the high-speed SATA interface used widely in today's PCs. Read more
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Cellular Neural Networks Workshop
Learn about the latest developments and explore future directions for research on cellular neural networks and their applications at a special IEEE sponsored workshop. The 2008 International Workshop on Cellular Neural Networks and Their Applications (CNNA 2008) is being held 14-16 July in Santiago de Composteia, Spain. CNNA 2008 will have keynote talks by seven high profile speakers, including Leon O. Chua, University of Berkeley, California, USA; Tamás Roska, Computer and Automation Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary; Ángel Rodríguez Vázquez, University of Seville, Spain; Wolfgang Porod, University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA; Botond Roska, Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland; Chai-Wah Wu, IBM, USA; and Pinaki Mazumder, University of Michigan, USA. Papers will be presented on a variety of cellular neural networks topics, such as:
- Theory of Cellular Nonlinear Spatio-Temporal Phenomena
- Analog-Logic Spatio-Temporal Algorithms
- Learning & Design
- Bio-Inspired/Neuromorphic Arrays
- Physical VLSI Implementations: Integrated Sensor/Processor/Actuator Arrays
- Applications, including computing, communications and multimedia
- Circuits, Architectures and Systems in the nano-scale regime
- Other areas in Cellular Neural Networks and Array Computing
Discounted registration rates are available for IEEE members. For more information, visit the CNNA 2008 web site
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HP Scientists Debut Electrical Engineering’s ‘Fourth Element’
The creation of a “memristor,” a memory resistor that can retain a history of the information it has acquired, has been announced by researchers at Hewlett-Packard, who say the breakthrough could make it possible to develop computer systems with memories that do not forget, do not need to be booted up, consume far less power and associate information in a manner similar to the human brain. The existence of such devices had been theorized as the fourth fundamental circuit element in electrical engineering 37 years ago by researchers at the University of California-Berkeley, USA . Hewlett-Packard announced the creation of both a mathematical model and working device, and speculate that memristor-based computers might replace those using dynamic random access memory (DRAM), since the former would retain its information after losing power and would not require the boot-up process, saving both time and energy. Read more
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Researchers Announce Carbon Nanoribbon Transistors
Field-effect transistors made of graphene carbon nanoribbons that can operate at room temperature have been developed by researchers at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, USA. The devices could be integrated into high-performance computer chips to increase their speed and generate less heat, which can damage today's silicon-based chips when transistors are packed together tightly. Other graphene transistors, made with wider nanoribbons or thin films, require much lower operating temperatures—approximately four degrees Kelvin. According to researchers, the study succeeded in making graphene nanoribbons less than 10 nanometers wide, which allows them to operate at higher temperatures. Field-effect transistors are the key elements of computer chips, acting as data carriers from one place to another, researchers say, predicting that silicon chips will reach their maximum shrinking point within the next decade. This has prompted a search for materials to replace silicon as transistors continue to shrink, with graphene being a promising candidate. Read more
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India Putting Its R&D Money in Nanotech
The Government of India is betting heavily on nanotechnology, according to experts, having already allocated US$237 million over five years for its Nano Mission and authorizing 11 universities and institutions in the country to start nanotechnology courses. Experts predict the international market for nanotech products and applications will grow to over US$600 billion annually in the next decade, and say that career options in nano science and technology in India are directly linked to the recent boom in industrialization there. Three universities will start an M.Sc nano course, and seven others will start an M.Tech nano science and technology course. The government-funded program includes allocations for laboratories and other facilities and student scholarships. Read more
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Shortage of Analog Designers Sends Manufacturing Scrambling
The perception that digital is cutting-edge technology while analog is outdated, and the fact that it takes analog engineers five to seven years longer than their digital counterparts to begin making significant contributions to industry, is making for a dire global shortage of analog engineers. According to analysts, new digital devices have to interface with the real world—which is analog—and analog engineers are necessary to create those interfaces. Experts say the United States leads the world in electrical engineering graduates, but digital engineering has become so popular that new graduates specializing in analog electronics are greatly outnumbered. Digital chip manufacturers are scrambling to recruit and groom analog engineers in the "black art" of mixed-signal processing, analysts say, calling analog circuitry on a digital chip the “secret sauce” that can make a proprietary semiconductor uniquely qualified for high-volume applications. Analysts say analog designers have to be comfortable in both analog and digital design, a demanding task that makes these designers rare, highly regarded and well paid. Read more
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Plastic Electronics May Transform Industry
Printed electronics will transform electronic goods such as mobile phones, display screens, lighting and even paper over the next 15 years as technology companies that want to make the transition from traditional silicon embrace new technology, more standardized approaches and better collaboration. One of the primary advantages of thin film transistor circuits (TFTCs or plastic electronics) is that they offer relatively low cost manufacturing and greater flexibility for both user and manufacturer in size, form factor and application architecture. The printed electronics market will have gone from US$650 million in 2005 to more than US$30 billion by 2015, according to experts, who do not expect plastic electronics to replace silicon electronics, but see printed electronics allowing the release of products that could not exist with current electronic materials and processing. Read more
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