Architected materials are comprised of micron and nanoscale structures like crossbeams, arches, domes, and spirals, much like the elements of a building’s architecture. Researchers from the California Institute of Technology, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and ETH Zurich have made an architected material that shifts the shapes of these structures. When a slight current is applied, nanoscale beams thicken and bend into arches that increasingly bow as the current is boosted. The material maintains the new shape even when the current is off, and the shape can be changed back by reversing the current. Both are novel characteristics.
North American Semiconductor Equipment Industry Posts September 2019 Billings
North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.95 billion in billings worldwide in September 2019 (three-month average basis), according to the September Equipment Market Data Subscription (EMDS) Billings Report published today by SEMI. The billings figure is 2.4 percent lower than the final August 2019 level of $2.00 billion, and is 6.0 percent lower than the September 2018 billings level of $2.08 billion. “Monthly billings of North American equipment manufacturers declined for the second consecutive month,” said Ajit Manocha, president and CEO of SEMI.
Seoul Semiconductor Obtains Permanent Injunction Against Philips TV Product
Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd., a global innovator of LED products and technology, announced that it has successfully obtained a judgement of permanent injunction in a patent infringement lawsuit against Fry’s Electronics, one of the largest big-box retailer of consumer electronics in the United States. The Texas Eastern District federal court issued a permanent injunction against the sales of several TV and lighting products, including a Philips TV product, as well as light bulbs of Feit Electric, according to a stipulation made between Seoul and Fry’s.
FEFU and FEB RAS Scientists Are Close to Integrating Silicon Electronics and Spintronics
Scientists from Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) and the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (FEB RAS) developed the nanoheterostructure consisted of a nanocrystal magnetite film (Fe3O4) covering a silicon substrate with an additional layer of silicon oxide (SiO2/Si). Its magnetic and magnetotransport properties may help to design highly efficient hybrid semiconductor devices with new spintronic elements. The related article was published in the Journal of Alloys and Compounds.
ESD Alliance Takes SMART Design to SEMICON Europa
The Electronic System Design (ESD) Alliance, a SEMI Strategic Association Partner, today unveiled SMART Design, the first system-centric series showcasing advances in electronic system design to be held at SEMICON Europa. SEMICON Europa will begin Tuesday, November 12, through Friday, November 15, at Messe München in Munich, Germany. SMART Design is scheduled for Wednesday, November 13, from 2:30 p.m. until 5 p.m. in TechARENA 1, Hall B1.
New Operational Technology Cyber Security Alliance Launches to Deliver Comprehensive Cyber Security Guidelines for Operational Technology
Cyber-attacks on critical and industrial infrastructure are on the rise, impacting operational reliability and business risk across all industries, including utilities, manufacturing and oil & gas. Threats to operational technology (OT) – the hardware and software dedicated to monitoring and controlling physical devices such as valves, pumps, etc. – can disrupt operations, negatively impact productivity, cause ecological damage and compromise human safety. To help mitigate this risk, a new global alliance focused on cyber security launched today. The Operational Technology Cyber Security Alliance (OTCSA) was established to help companies address the OT security challenges that continue to put operations, and consequently, business at risk.
MKS Announces Release of Ultra-Fast C-Series Mass Flow Controllers
MKS Instruments, Inc. today announced the release of its next generation C-Series Mass Flow Controllers. The C-Series Mass Flow Controller uses Micro-Electromechanical Systems (MEMS) technology combined with a fast-acting control valve and MKS’ proprietary algorithms resulting in an ultra-fast control time of less than 100 milliseconds. The C-Series product is available in several configurations with multiple I/Os, process connections and flow ranges to address a wide variety of customer applications.
NUS Innovation Paves the Way For Sensor Interfaces That Are 30 Times Smaller
The Green IC research group in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Faculty of Engineering invented a novel class of Digital-to-Analog (DAC) and Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADC) that can be entirely designed with a fully-automated digital design methodology, thanks to its fully-digital architecture. Compared to traditional analog architectures and methodologies, the design turnaround time for these novel sensor interfaces is reduced from months to hours. The drastic reduction in the design effort is highly beneficial in cost-sensitive silicon systems, such as sensors for the Internet of Things (IoT). The novel data converter architecture also has very low complexity, reducing the silicon area and hence the manufacturing cost by at least 30 times, compared to conventional designs.
Kirigami Inspires New Method for Wearable Sensors
As wearable sensors become more prevalent, the need for a material resistant to damage from the stress and strains of the human body’s natural movement becomes ever more crucial. To that end, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a method of adopting kirigami architectures to help materials become more strain tolerant and more adaptable to movement.
Samsung Expands its Commitment to Foundry Customers with the First ‘SAFE Forum 2019’
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today held the first Samsung Advanced Foundry Ecosystem (SAFE™) Forum 2019 in the United States. By sharing the latest technology trends and strengthening cooperation within the foundry ecosystem, Samsung showcased its strong dedication to customers. SAFE Forum is designed to provide an opportunity for SAFE partner companies to directly meet with customers to discuss comprehensive design technology infrastructure, including electronic design automation (EDA), intellectual property (IP), cloud, design service, and packaging, which is critical to efficiently developing and manufacturing semiconductor products.
