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Stacked Chips Punch Through “Memory Wall”
Manufacturers are putting their chips on three-dimensional (3-D) designs to break through the so-called “memory wall,” according to industry analysts, who say stacked chips with vertical interconnects are the way around the long wait to retrieve instructions and data from memory in microprocessors. Communication delays through lengthy wiring runs is the limiting factor in chip speed, rather than the speed at which its transistor can switch on and off, analysts say, and the solution is a comparatively thick vertical interconnects - through-silicon vias (TSVs) - which create a dense, high-speed, high-bandwidth interchip connection. Analysts say TSVs enable substantial power reductions, smaller systems, and faster communication. Toshiba Corp is already marketing a 3-D stacked “vision chip,” the first mass-produced chip using TSV technology, according to analysts, who say the chip is intended for mobile handsets. Read more
Learn more about stacked chips in the IEEE Xplore® digital library
Smallest Nanotechnology Motors Made From Carbon Nanotubes
Experimental work with carbon nanotube (CNT) motor sytems has been reported, but new work coming out of Japan could be the smallest motor so far. “We investigated the linear and rotary motions of a CNT capsule at room temperature when it is sealed by other CNTs in a hollow space of a host CNT,” said Kaori Hirahara, a member of the Frontier Research Base for Global Young Researchers and the Yoshikazu Nakayama lab at Osaka University. “It is the first observation of linear motion of CNT capsules.” The CNT motors have three important features: they are the world’s smallest synthesized motors; the driving force is simply thermal energy; and they can operate with seconds-order frequencies at around room temperature. Read more
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Call for 2009 IEEE Educational Activities Board (EAB) Award Nominations
The IEEE Educational Activities Board (EAB) is once again seeking nominations to recognize and honor individuals, companies and IEEE Sections for their contributions to engineering and technical education. The deadline for the 2009 nominations is 30 April 2009.
There are eight awards open for nominations.
IEEE EAB Meritorious Achievement Award in Accreditation Activities⎯for efforts that foster the maintenance and improvement of education through the accreditation process.
IEEE EAB Meritorious Achievement Award in Continuing Education⎯for contributions to the design, delivery and support of continuing education courses and programs in IEEE fields of interest.
IEEE EAB Meritorious Achievement Award in Informal Education⎯for IEEE members who volunteer their time in public educational settings such as museums, parks, zoos and aquariums and serve as librarians, docents, tour guides, curators, board members or technical advisors. This award recognizes their impact on teachers, students and the public.
IEEE EAB Major Educational Innovation Award⎯for outstanding educational innovations that have had a major impact and have been emulated by others.
IEEE EAB Pre-University Educator Award⎯for current pre-university classroom teachers who have inspired an appreciation of mathematics, science and technology and the engineering process. Pre-university teachers who have encouraged students to pursue technical careers are also recognized through this award.
IEEE EAB Meritorious Service Citation⎯for IEEE volunteers who are past members of EAB or current or past members of EAB Committees (other than currently serving on ARC) for outstanding and sustained service to the aims and objectives of the Educational Activities Board.
IEEE EAB Employer Professional Development Award⎯for organizations employing IEEE members and their contributions to their employees’ continuing education and professional development.
Society/Council Professional Development Award⎯for IEEE Societies or Councils for major contributions to the professional development of its members through the outstanding products, services and support in the areas of life-long learning, continuing education and professional development.
For complete award descriptions, honorarium details, access to nomination packets and to read about the 2008 EAB Award Recipients, visit the EAB Awards Web page
Questions? Please send an e-mail to eab-awards@ieee.org
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High Speed, Very Low Power Chips on the Horizon
A new type of chip that uses 1/30 of the power of conventional chips and is seven times faster is being pioneered by researchers at Rice University (USA) and Nanyang Technological University (Singapore), who say the new chips are faster because of underlying logic that embraces error in calculations. Probabilistic complementary metal-oxide semiconductors (PCMOS), use probabilistic logic that is less sensitive to the increased electrical noise generated within chips as they get smaller, according to the developers, rather than using the Boolean logic of traditional chips. Researchers say the solution with traditional chips was to pump more power through the smaller chips so the signal could be heard over the noise, whereas PCMOS use less power and the probabilistic logic takes into account errors that might be introduced by noise intermixed with signal. This combination of features makes these chips ideal for battery-powered devices and running applications that don't require 100 percent accuracy, according to researchers, who say streaming video to a cell phone using one of these application specific integrated circuits would conserve battery life because of its low power consumption, and would generate a sufficient video image, given the small size and low resolution of cell-phone screens. Read more
Learn more about PCMOS in the IEEE Xplore® digital library
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IEEE Celebrates 125 Years in 2009
IEEE is commemorating its 125th Anniversary this year with a variety of activities surrounding the theme of "Celebrating 125 Years of Engineering the Future." Major anniversary events include the first IEEE Presidents' Change the World Competition for college and university students worldwide; a global media roundtable and web cast addressing emerging, world changing technologies; a series of celebrations in major world cities throughout the year; and IEEE Engineering the Future Day on 13 May 2009. Learn more about these events, and ways you can participate in the celebration, on the IEEE 125th Anniversary Web site
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Shining a Light on Carbon Nanotube Behavior
Researchers are pumping laser light through twisted carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to study the effects of different configurations on light and energy transmission, and their findings may point the way toward new, and smaller technologies. CNTs are made up of large numbers of carbon atoms, each bonded to three other atoms in a hexagonal (six-sided) pattern, resembling a roll of chicken wire, according to researchers, who say the pattern can be aligned with the tube's central axis, or it can be twisted so that one hexagon overlaps another on both a different row and a different column of the pattern. The amount and direction of twist in a CNT can be coded, and using ultra-short laser pulses, researchers say they can study how energy pumped into the material is redistributed. The photons pumped into the CNTs create excitons, researchers say, a type of higher energy state inside a solid body, in which a negatively charged electron is bound to a positively charged particle in much the same way that an electron can be tied to an atom. By measuring these excitons, researchers believe they can tease out the properties (and possible applications) of different types of CNTs. Read more
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Smallest, Highest Capacity Flash Die Debuts
The world's smallest NAND flash die and the world's highest-capacity flash die using 32- and 43-nanometer process technologies have been debuted by SanDisk and Toshiba, who say they will start manufacturing the world's highest-capacity 64 gigabit die using 4-bits-per-cell (X4) multi-level cell technology. By packing more bits into a single flash cell the capacity of the cell and the die (chip) is part of the increases, the firms say, and a multi-chip package combining controller and die will be available from SanDisk, which will have a performance of 7.8 megabytes per second when writing data. Read more
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MRAM for Low Power, Instant On CPUs Developed
A 32 megabit magnetic random access memory (MRAM) that can be embedded in a system on a chip has been successfully tested by NEC, which says each bit contains only one transistor and one magnetic tunneling junction per cell, and achieves a 73 percent efficient use of surface area and a 9 nanosecond cycle time. MRAM is desirable because it is a non-volatile storage medium, and yet its speed is comparable to that of the fastest memory available (SRAM used in CPU caches), analysts say. Such memory technology will allow for always-on or instant-on computers that do not require power to maintain the memory state once data is written, and a CPU could be put into a sleep state with no power required for memory, and only fractional milliwatts required for the CPU, allowing for stand-by battery life lasting for a year or more, according to NEC. Analysts say such technology would greatly improve notebook battery life with MRAM serving not just as a replacement for RAM, but also for hard drives and SSDs. Read more
Learn more about MRAM in the IEEE Xplore® digital library
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Lab on a Chip Detects Pollutants, Disease and Biological Weapons
A group of researchers at Tel Aviv University, led by Professor Yosi Shacham-Diamond, has developed a nano-sized laboratory, complete with a microscopic workbench, to measure water quality in real time. Their lab on a chip breakthrough pairs biology with the cutting-edge capabilities of nanotechnology. “Equipment on the little chip can work to help detect very tiny light levels produced by bacteria,” says Professor Shacham-Diamond. “Our system is based on a plastic chip that is more humane, much faster, more sensitive and much cheaper.” Read more
Learn more about lab on a chip in the IEEE Xplore® digital library
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Engineering a New Career Track
A question being asked by many an out-of-work engineer is how to find a good job in his or her field when there is little demand for their particular set of skills and experience. A partnership between Michigan Technological University, the Engineering Society of Detroit and General Motors is providing the answer (finding a job in another specialty) for a few dozen automotive engineers. They are participating in a free training program that will prepare them to meet the demand for people with expertise in hybrid and electric vehicle development. As everyone knows, hybrids are suddenly in high demand, while gas guzzlers like SUVs and pickups sit on car dealer lots. The students, 60 engineers who had been trained to specialize in a single vehicle subsystem like braking or climate control, are learning the skills critical to the interdisciplinary approach required to build a hybrid. They will spend 14 weeks listening to televised lectures from Michigan Tech faculty, supplemented by three full-day lab sessions at GM facilities where they will get hands-on training. The creators of the class hope that it will be a model for the entire industry. Read more
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