New Microscope-on-a-Chip Debuts
Today’s current bulky, expensive microscopes could become a thing of past now that researchers have found a way to combine pinhole optics, microfluidics and a charge-coupled device (CCD) to assemble a working microscope on a single chip. Small enough to fit in a mobile phone or similar handheld device, the optofluidic microscope developed by engineers at California Institute of Technology (Caltech), USA, requires only sunlight for illumination and could be mass-produced for US$10. Possible applications for the device include malaria screening or identifying pathogens on the battlefield. The device is also small enough to be implanted in the body, constantly monitoring blood circulation to help slow the spread of cancer and other diseases. The primary developer, Caltech engineering professor Changhuei Yang, said it could replace focusing optics in a normal microscope with pinhole optics, microfluidic channels, submicron-scale etching and image-processing algorithms. Read more
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Novel Process Enables 3-D Circuits
A semiconductor process that enables transistors switching at frequencies well beyond 200 gigahertz, and allows the fabrication of three-dimensional (3-D) integrated circuits, has been developed by the Ferdinand Braun Institute for Ultra-High Frequencies (FBH). In the process, very thin indium phosphide and indium gallium arsenide layers are applied to a substrate wafer. The layers are then structured by means of normal etching and metalizing processes and the structured front side of the wafer is bonded to a ceramic carrier and the substrate wafer is removed using a standard thinning process. By applying more layers atop the active layers, it should be possible to manufacture 3-D circuits with significantly higher integration levels compared to current two-dimensional (2-D) chips. Read more
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Indian Chip Industry Shows How IT is Done in a Connected World
Looking at the Indian Semiconductor Association's (ISA) 130-plus members provides an accurate snapshot of India’s silicon edge, according to experts in the field. Representing various niches of the semiconductor business, ranging from design development of computer chips to a plethora of electronic design and development hardware and software specialties, Indian technology companies are at the head of the pack in the worldwide circuits industry. Companies local to the region are responding to the global hunger for connected consumer and corporate solutions with new technologies in circuits, semiconductors and wireless connectivity. Read more
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Microsystems and Nanoelectronics Conference
The first Microsystems and Nanoelectronics Research Conference (MNRC 2008) will be held 14-15 October 2008 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The conference will focus on microsystems, microelectronics and nanoelectronics research. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about research achievements and challenges in the areas of manufacturing, design, implementation and test of integrated microsystems and micro/nanoelectronics devices, circuits and systems. The core purpose of this conference is to encourage favorable exposure of ongoing research and create synergy between research groups, the academic world and industry. To register for the conference, or for more information, visit the MNRC 2008 Web site
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Breakthrough in Nanonet Technology Claimed
Researchers at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA, say they have overcome a major obstacle in producing transistors with so-called nanonet technology—circuits made of numerous carbon nanotubes randomly overlapping in fishnet-like structure networks. The technology, which could make it possible to print circuits on plastic sheets for applications including flexible displays, has been plagued by a critical flaw: the networks are contaminated with metallic nanotubes that cause short circuits. Metallic nanotubes form unavoidably during the process of making carbon nanotubes and the metal tubes then link together in meandering threads that eventually stretch across the width of the transistor, causing a short circuit. By cutting the nanonet into strips, researchers say they can prevent short circuits by breaking the path of metallic nanotubes. Read more
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Breakthrough in Graphene Nanoribbons Enable New Devices
A new method by which few layer graphene (FLG) can be etched along flawless, crystallographic axes using thermally activated nanoparticles, has been developed by physicists who say the technique results in atomically precise, macroscopic length ribbons of graphene. The new technology could enable simple construction of integrated circuits from single graphene sheets with a wide range of technological applications. The etching process relies on catalytic metal particles to etch the graphene along precise atomic directions, according to researchers, who say standard etching techniques do not allow such fine fabrication, producing instead rough edges with many atomic scale defects that limit the performance. Read more
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Chemically Grown Nanowires Basis for Different Kind of Sensor
A new kind of light-sensing array that could be grown in meter-scale sheets has been developed by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, USA, who say the mixed lawn of two kinds of nanowires can be used to make cheap, high-quality image sensors. The sensors, built from the bottom up using chemically grown nano-sized components, can be printed onto anything from silicon to plastic or paper, as long as the substrate is prepared with a pattern that guides the nanowires to predetermined locations. Two different crops of nanotubes are printed on the same surface: cadmium selenide nanowires produce electric charge when hit by light, while those made from silicon-coated germanium act as transistors to amplify that charge. Read more
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Call for Papers: VLSI Technology Symposium
The 2009 International Symposium on VLSI Technology, Systems and Applications (VLSI-TSA) is being held 27-29 April 2009 in Hsinchu, Taiwan. The symposium, sponsored by the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society, the IEEE Electron Devices Society and the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society, will include technical sessions, three plenary talks, two special sessions on Green Devices and Next-Generation Lithography and a number of contribution sessions followed by a half-day short course. Original and unpublished papers on all aspects on VLSI technology and manufacturing are solicited. Final papers are due 15 October 2008. For a full list of acceptable paper topics, visit the Call for Papers
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New Graphics Computer Chip Detailed
Intel Corp. has released new details of its next-generation microchip architecture, set to take direct aim at the graphics semiconductor market and pack some 100 electronic brains into a single microprocessor. Code-named Larrabee, the microarchitecture—the basic blueprint of a computer chip—is expected to be in processors as soon as 2009. Intel is hopeful that Larrabee will not only heat up the competition in the graphics chip market, but also kick-start an advance in software development. Chips based on Larrabee are expected to be utilized in oil and gas exploration, medical imaging and the financial services industries. Read more
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Industry Moving Ahead in Inorganic Semiconductors
Manufacturers and scientists are making strides in inorganic semiconductor technology, including Kovio’s liquid silicon ink and printed inorganic semiconductors using zinc oxide (ZnO) to create transparent transistors, industry analysts say. Active matrix LCD displays use transistors to drive each pixel, but current transistors are not transparent, so the portion of the display glass occupied by electronics does not transmit light through the display. Transparent transistors would improve that performance. Researchers at Eastman Kodak recently published a patent for printing metal oxide transistors and engineers at the University of California-San Diego, USA, have synthesized zinc oxide nanoscale cylinders that transport positive charges, so-called p-type ZnO nanowires. Read more
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