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ESF Puts Its Chips on Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology can be used to develop sustainable energy systems while reducing the harmful effects of fossil fuels through new techniques such as biomimetics, dye sensitized solar cells and nanocatalysis, according to presenters at Nanotechnology for Sustainable Energy, a conference organized by the European Science Foundation. The conference focused on solar rather than other sustainable energy sources such as wind because that is where nanotechnology is most applicable and because solar energy conversion holds the greatest promise as a long-term replacement of fossil fuels. Solar energy can be harvested directly to generate electricity or to yield fuels such as hydrogen for use in engines, according to experts, who say such fuels can also in turn be used indirectly to generate electricity in conventional power stations. Read more
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GCT USB Dongle Wins WiMax Live Low Power Chipset Shootout
The single-chip WiMAX solution, GDM7205, won the WiMAX Live Low Power Chipset Shootout at WiMAX World 2008 in the USB dongle category, according to its manufacturer, GCT Semiconductor. GCT says all leading WiMAX chipset suppliers were invited to participate in the Live Shootout Session to demonstrate how their solutions’ power consumption translates into handheld battery powered system on-time, and that GCT's USB dongle dominated because it is a single-chip solution with a complete, on-chip transceiver and does not require an external application processor. Translated into on-time for a typical handheld smartphone, the GDM7205-enabled WiMAX solution provides more than seven hours of internet usage, according to GCT, which said its entry was the only one that demonstrated a complete single-chip WiMAX solution that includes a transceiver, baseband modem and application processor. Read more
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Web Site Highlights IEEE's Anniversary Celebrations
Planning is now in full swing worldwide for IEEE's 125th anniversary celebrations next year. Information about these activities can be found on the new 125th Anniversary Web site, which has message boards, a series of video greetings from members and some well-known technology leaders, and other interactive features. Read more
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IMEC Demonstrated 3-D Stacked Integrated Circuits
IMEC, Europe’s leading independent nanoelectronics research institute, has made significant progress with its 3-D stacked integrated circuits (3-D SIC) technology. IMEC demonstrated the first functional 3-D integrated circuits obtained by die-to-die stacking and they will now further develop 3-D SIC chips on 200 mm and 300 mm wafers, integrating test circuits from partners participating in its 3-D integration research program. “We have demonstrated that our technology allows designing and fabricating fully functional 3-D SIC chips. We are now ready to accept reference test circuits from our industry partners”, said Eric Beyne, IMEC Scientific Director for 3-D Technologies. Read more
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Call for Papers: 2009 Symposium on VLSI Circuits
Organizers of the 2009 Symposium on VLSI Circuits, being held 16-18 June 2009 at the Rihga Royal Hotel Kyoto, Japan, are seeking technical papers from authors on topics of mutual interest related to technology scaling, embedded memories, power reduction and design-for-manufacturing (DFM). Co-sponsored by the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society, papers will be considered on the basis of originality, innovation and advancing the field. Implementation in silicon and measured results will be considered favorably.
Paper submission deadline is 14 January 2009. For complete details, visit the 2009 Symposium on VLSI Circuits Call for Papers
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Firms Partner on RF Microwave for Aerospace, Military
High-tech manufacturers Agilent Technologies Inc. and Aeroflex Microelectronic Solutions announced a partnership to produce RF and microwave components and multi-chip module solutions for aerospace, satellite and military applications using Agilent's monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMIC). Aeroflex packaging and test capabilities will be combined with Agilent's proprietary MMIC solutions to provide RF and microwave engineers solutions for complex high-reliability communication designs, enabling the creation of products for the aerospace and defense market by providing them with the components they need from early development through production. Read more
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Experts: Third Generation Active RFID Will Debut Big
Third generation active RFID, in which a number of new systems have just become available, will make a stunning debut, according to some industry experts, who say the technology known as the Ubiquitous Sensor Network (USN) or Wireless Sensor Network (WSN), will make systems scalable, self-healing, affordable and extraordinarily capable. The new technology, characterized by the tag doubling as a reader and a mesh network being used with a choice of sensors on each tag, is set to become a multibillion dollar market, according to experts who point to the growing needs for these systems. Working systems have recently become available from companies such as Ambient Systems and Dust Networks, and both Holst Research Center of the Netherlands and National Semiconductor describe progress with energy harvesting for wireless sensors. Read more
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TI Scientist: More Progress Possible in CMOS
The electronics industry is “definitely heading for a change,” according to Dennis Buss, chief scientist at Texas Instruments, because the gate insulator is a few atomic layers thick, and cannot be scaled much further; transistor parameter variation from device to device is increasing; and the cost of designing a new product in state-of-the art technology is escalating. Citing Moore's law, Buss says “the end of the roadmap is not hitting a wall, as some people say, but a swamp,” and that manufacturers and researchers need to push CMOS as far as possible and invent new generation electronics. In reviewing 38 years of semiconductor scaling, Buss says that, at every generation, feature size shrinks by 70 percent, transistor density doubles, wafer cost increases by 20 percent, and chip cost comes down by 40 percent. Read more
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IEEE Seeks Program Evaluators
IEEE, the largest member of ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) is responsible for the peer-review evaluation of more than 750 university programs in IEEE fields of interest. To aid in this accreditation role, the IEEE Educational Activities Board (EAB) is seeking engineering professionals to serve as program evaluators. Applications for the 2008-2009 academic year are being accepted through 15 November 2008.
Information packages, including nomination forms and program evaluator qualifications are available for engineering programs and for engineering technology programs.
For further information, contact IEEE EAB Accreditation at eab-accred@ieee.org
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High Definition TV Transmission Chips Successfully Debut
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) and Shanghai High Definition IC Co., LTD (HDIC) recently cooperated on SMIC’s 0.13 um process to manufacture demodulator chips based on China’s terrestrial digital TV standard. Designed for single-carrier and multi-carrier mobile digital reception of high definition, standard definition and other multimedia-based services and support both fixed and high-speed mobile reception under a range of conditions, the HD2812 and HD2910 are fully compatible with China’s digital TV transmission standard. Read more
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Microscope-on-a-Chip is One Step Closer to the Tricorder
Scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, California, USA, have fit a microscope onto a computer chip no larger than the size of a dime, allowing implants to image a person’s blood and monitor it rather than drawing blood. Professor Changhuei Yang put microscopic samples directly onto a photo sensor chip, making mass production cheap and easy. Working units could be in doctor’s hands within two years, with full production in five years. Read more
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