ElectronicsOnline Feature Articles

Plasmonic research boosts nano ICs

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:54:42 +0000

IMEC, Europe’s independent nanoelectronics research institute has developed a method of integrating high-speed CMOS electronics and nanophotonic circuitry based on plasmonic effects.

Malicious web activity grows at record pace

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:51:02 +0000

Malicious code activity continued to grow at a record pace throughout 2008, primarily targeting confidential information of computer users, says Symantec.

Canada claims lithium battery breakthrough

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:31:17 +0000

A Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)-funded lab at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, has laid the groundwork for a lithium battery that can store and deliver more than three times the power of conventional lithium-ion batteries.

Spammers become image conscious

Fri, 22 May 2009 03:33:07 +0000

Symantec has published its April 2009 MessageLabs Intelligence Report that highlights a spam increase of almost 10% in one month, reaching heights of 85.3%, levels not experienced since September 2007.

Soft hardware for a flexible chip

Thu, 07 May 2009 00:05:41 +0000

Technology is struggling to meet the demands of high-performance, specialised computing systems according to a European consortium, which has responded by developing a reconfigurable chip that is both efficient and flexible.

Managers pressured to do 'more with less'

Wed, 06 May 2009 03:17:08 +0000

Symantec has released the findings of its 2008 state of the data centre report that finds data centre managers caught between two conflicting goals — more demanding user expectations and higher levels of performance, yet reducing costs.

New chips bring new programming

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 02:00:08 +0000

Moore’s Law, which states that the number of transistors on a chip doubles every 18 to 24 months, still holds as true as it has for the last 40 years, but it no longer translates into a linear increase in performance. Previously, chip manufacturers increased processor clock speed to double chip performance — from 100 to 200 MHz and more recently into the multi-gigahertz (GHz) range.

MEMS market declines 2%

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 00:56:38 +0000

In 2008, the MEMS market saw significant changes in the ranking of the top 30 MEMS companies.

Making memory smaller

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 01:56:23 +0000

The long-term trend that has persisted in the computer industry since the invention of the integrated circuit in 1958 has been for the hardware to become smaller and smaller. But scientists believe that conventional miniaturisation processes could soon reach their fundamental limits.

Solar research powers up

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 02:41:33 +0000

Supplier for the solar power industry, Germany’s Roth & Rau AG will set up a silicon solar cell production line at the University of NSW. It will be the first solar research and development facility of its kind in Australia.

Quest for next-generation search engine

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 01:11:21 +0000

A computer grid designed to analyse data that will be generated by the world’s biggest scientific experiment is being used by two high-tech companies to help build the next generation of an internet search engine.

Unmasking semiconductors

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 21:12:20 +0000

European researchers have developed a solution to ‘mask-less’ semiconductor lithography which claims to reduce the costs and production times associated with low-volume device manufacture and prototyping.

LEDs poised to brighten our lives – Part 2

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 00:58:17 +0000

Almost every day, there is an announcement from somewhere in the world that LEDs have become just that much brighter, longer lasting or require even less power than before. As global warming provides the stimulus for faster research, so manufacturers are hotting up their research to be the first with a breakthrough.

LEDs poised to brighten our lives — Part 1

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 22:30:47 +0000

There is little doubt that the future for light-emitting diodes is bright and getting brighter with every jump in its technology.

'Top trends' in test and measure

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 22:42:44 +0000

National Instruments has identified three trends that will improve the efficiency of test and measurement systems in 2009.

More chip cores can mean slower supercomputing

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 22:37:40 +0000

The attempt to increase the speed of supercomputers by increasing the number of processor cores on individual chips unexpectedly worsens performance for many complex applications, according to simulations by Sandia.

Measuring the toughness of thin insulating films

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:20:04 +0000

Researchers have developed a technique that could improve the reliability and manufacturability of ICs.

Energy-harvesting radios remove the need for batteries

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:14:59 +0000

Engineers and a semiconductor manufacturer are developing an energy-harvesting radio that could transmit data without ever needing a change of batteries.

Taking the strain of silicon

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 01:59:55 +0000

University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers and physicists have developed a method of measuring how strain affects thin films of silicon that could lay the foundation for faster flexible electronics.

Stretching wires produces power

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 02:12:24 +0000

Researchers have developed a type of small-scale electric power generator able to produce alternating current through the cyclical stretching and releasing of zinc oxide wires encapsulated in a flexible plastic substrate with two ends bonded.