Chinese materials suppliers are moving to take market- share at South Korean chip fabrication (fab) lines. Due to residual animosity from 20th century wars, Japanese politicians decided to use the semiconductor materials supplier-chain as a pawn in a political chess game and un-white-listed South Korea from exports. Any good-will between the two nations was immediately erased, and South Korea announced a US$6B government investment to as a huge driving force to help develop local supplies. Now Chinese chemical suppliers have unprecedented openings to qualifications at Korean-owned fabs, including commercial memory fabs in China.
MEMS
Watching Energy Transport Through Biomimetic Nanotubes
Scientists from the University of Groningen (the Netherlands) and the University of Würzburg (Germany) have investigated a simple biomimetic light-harvesting system using advanced spectroscopy combined with a microfluidic platform. The double-walled nanotubes work very efficiently at low light intensities, while they are able to get rid of excess energy at high intensities. These properties are useful in the design of novel materials for the harvesting and transport of photon energy. The results were published in the journal Nature Communications on 10 October.
Electrochemistry to Benefit Photonics: Nanotubes Can Control Laser Pulses
An international team of scientists led by researchers from the Laboratory of Nanomaterials at the Skoltech Center for Photonics and Quantum Materials (CPQM) has shown that the nonlinear optical response of carbon nanotubes can be controlled by electrochemical gating. This approach enabled designing a device for controlling the laser pulse duration. The results of the study were published in the prestigious international journal Nano Letters. Optical phenomena that we encounter in our everyday life, such as reflection, refraction or absorption of light, do not depend on the intensity of incident light. However, at very high radiation intensities, a new class of phenomena arises, that causes changes in the refraction index, self-focusing of light or emergence of radiation at new wavelengths.
MIPI Alliance Advances Activities for ADAS, ADS and Other Automotive Applications
The MIPI Alliance, an international organization that develops interface specifications for mobile and mobile-influenced industries, today announced key advancements and activities designed to enhance advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), autonomous driving systems (ADS) and other automotive applications. Trends such as the proliferation of camera, display, radar, lidar and other sensors are creating growing demand for high-performance wired interfaces in vehicles. While drawing on its existing specifications for mobile devices, MIPI is developing and enhancing automotive specifications to meet the stringent requirements of automotive OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers, SoC designers and other industry providers in areas such as reliability, functional safety and low electromagnetic interference (EMI).
Patented Concept from Halle: Novel, High-Performance Diodes and Transistors
Physicists from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) have investigated if and how these materials might be developed. They have created, tested and filed a patent for a concept that utilises the latest findings from the field of spintronics. With their new concept, the researchers at MLU want to improve the properties of diodes and transistors. Common processors use thousands of diodes and transistors to process data.
Groundbreaking Method Detects Defective Computer Chips
Guaranteeing that computer chips, that can consist of billions of interconnected transistors, are manufactured without defects is a challenge. But how to determine if a chip is compromised? Now a technique co-developed by researchers at the Paul Scherer Institut in Switzerland and researchers at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering would allow companies and other organizations to non-destructively scan chips to ensure that they haven’t been altered and that they are manufactured to design specifications without error.
Exoplanets to Medical Tests: Tiny Frequency Devices Open Up New Applications
Accurately measuring frequencies of light is required for timekeeping. It’s also a critical component in many science experiments and technologies, from military defense to detecting air pollution, tests of fundamental physics to the detection of exoplanets. “There are few human enterprises that are both more fundamental and more important for technology,” says Curtis Menyuk, professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at UMBC.
Curved Nanochannels Allow Independent Tuning of Charge and Spin Currents
To increase the efficiency of microchips, 3D structures are now being investigated. However, spintronic components, which rely on electron spin rather than charge, are always flat. To investigate how to connect these to 3D electronics, University of Groningen physicist Dr. Kumar Sourav Das created curved spin transport channels. Together with his colleagues, he discovered that this new geometry makes it possible to independently tune charge and spin currents.
New Version of Most Widely Used Camera and Imaging Interface—MIPI CSI-2—Designed to Build Capabilities for Greater Machine Awareness
The MIPI Alliance, an international organization that develops interface specifications for mobile and mobile-influenced industries, today announced major enhancements to MIPI Camera Serial Interface-2 (MIPI CSI-2), the most widely used camera specification in mobile and other markets.
SEMI, Taiwan Government Team to Connect Global Green Energy Supply Chain at Energy Taiwan
Energy Taiwan, the largest renewable energy event in Taiwan connecting the global green energy supply chain, will gather more than 60 experts from industry, government and academia for insights on the latest technologies and business opportunities in solar photovoltaic, offshore wind power, hydrogen energy, smart energy storage, and green finance and insurance.
