An international team of scientists led by researchers from the Laboratory of Nanomaterials at the Skoltech Center for Photonics and Quantum Materials (CPQM) have rationally designed a novel p-type flexible transparent conductor using single-walled carbon nanotubes. This opens new avenues for its applications in next generation opto-electronics and energy technologies. The results of the study were published in the prestigious international journal Nano Energy. Most of the optical and electronic devices encountered daily are constituted of transparent conductors. However, all the presently available transparent conductors are n-type semiconductors, thus restricting technological advancement. The emergence of carbon nanotubes as p-type transparent conductors has been promising. Its further development will be tremendously instrumental for various opto-electronics and energy technologies.
MEMS
EV Group and Delo Partner to Expand Materials and Process Capability for Wafer-Level Optics and Nanoimprint Lithography
EV Group (EVG), a leading supplier of wafer bonding and lithography equipment for the MEMS, nanotechnology and semiconductor markets, today announced that it is partnering with DELO, a leading manufacturer of industrial high-tech adhesives, in the area of wafer-level optics (WLO). Both companies, well-known for their leading roles in optical sensor manufacturing, are combining efforts to enable novel optical devices and applications, such as biometric authentication and facial recognition, for the industrial, automotive and consumer electronics markets utilizing EVG’s leading lens molding and nanoimprint lithography (NIL) process equipment and DELO’s advanced adhesives and resist materials.
Presto Engineering Achieves EAL6 Certification for Secure Product Provisioning
Presto Engineering, an outsourced operations provider to semiconductor and Internet of Things (IoT) device manufacturers, has achieved EAL6 (Evaluation Assurance Level 6) — an assurance and independent verification of very high levels of security to protect valuable data. Secured applications initiated with the smart card industry and now permeate most industrial applications, as well as automotive and IoT. EAL, which ranges from 1-7 (a higher level means that the evaluation completed a more stringent set of quality assurance requirements), is a critical aspect to consider when selecting an outsourced manufacturing partner for secure applications.
Heilind Electronics Adds American Sensor Technologies (AST) to TE Connectivity Portfolio
Heilind Electronics, a premier distributor of electronic components worldwide, has partnered with TE Connectivity (TE) to bring its customers an extensive range of harsh environment pressure and liquid level sensors. The new products are part of TE’s American Sensor Technologies (AST) brand, which complements the distributor’s existing TE Measurement Specialties solutions. A key part of Heilind’s new AST offering is hazardous location pressure transducers. These items are certified to CSA, UL, ATEX and other standards that qualify them as explosion proof, intrinsically safe or non-incendive. In addition, customers can request customized designs and configure options like process connections, materials, pressure ranges and output.
SEMICON Europa Opens with SMART Mobility, MedTech, Design and Talent in Spotlight
SEMICON Europa, Europe’s largest event connecting the entire electronics design and manufacturing supply chain – from innovation to applications – opens today in strategic co-location with productronica at Messe München, in Munich, Germany. Themed Semiconductors Drive Smart, SEMICON Europa 2019 – Nov. 12-15 – highlights the vital importance of European sectors and ecosystems in propelling the semiconductor manufacturing industry and the broader electronics design and manufacturing supply chain worldwide.
NXP Announces New Automotive Ultra-Wideband Chip Capable of Turning Smartphones into Car Keys
NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI), the world’s largest provider of automotive semiconductors, today announced an addition to its UWB portfolio with a new automotive UWB IC. UWB provides precise, secure, real-time localization capabilities unrivaled by other wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. The technology is designed to give spatial awareness to UWB-equipped cars, mobiles, and other smart devices, to enable cars to know exactly where the users are. For the first time, smartphone-based car access offers the same level of convenience as state-of-the-art key fobs. Users can open and start cars, while leaving their phones in their pockets or bags, and enjoy secure remote parking via smartphone.
On the Way to Intelligent Microrobots
Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI and ETH Zurich have developed a micromachine that can perform different actions. First nanomagnets in the components of the microrobots are magnetically programmed and then the various movements are controlled by magnetic fields. Such machines, which are only a few tens of micrometres across, could be used, for example, in the human body to perform small operations. The researchers have now published their results in the scientific journal Nature.
ON Semiconductor CEO Keith Jackson Elected Chair of Semiconductor Industry Association
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) Board of Directors today elected Keith Jackson, President, CEO, and Director of ON Semiconductor, as its 2020 Chair and Robert Bruggeworth, President, CEO, and Director of Qorvo, as its 2020 Vice Chair. SIA represents U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, design, and research, with members accounting for approximately 95 percent of U.S. semiconductor sales.
Tech to Change the World: Lux Research Releases Annual List of Transformational Technologies
A combination of megatrends, market demand, and new innovations has thrust many technologies into the spotlight. Lux Research – a leading provider of tech-enabled research and advisory services – released its annual report on the tech innovations that are likely to have the greatest impact during the next 10 years. The new report combines the power of insights from technology experts with proprietary data science tools to better guide innovation decision making. Lux’s “20 for 2020” identifies and ranks 20 technologies that will reshape the world, based on innovation interest scores from the Lux Intelligence Engine, along with input from Lux’s leading analysts. It provides data-backed context for the ever-shifting technology landscape and insights into how companies can maximize the investment opportunities these data trends reveal.
Light-Based ‘Tractor Beam’ Assembles Materials at the Nanoscale
Modern construction is a precision endeavor. Builders must use components manufactured to meet specific standards — such as beams of a desired composition or rivets of a specific size. The building industry relies on manufacturers to create these components reliably and reproducibly in order to construct secure bridges and sound skyscrapers. Now imagine construction at a smaller scale — less than 1/100th the thickness of a piece of paper. This is the nanoscale. It is the scale at which scientists are working to develop potentially groundbreaking technologies in fields like quantum computing. It is also a scale where traditional fabrication methods simply will not work. Our standard tools, even miniaturized, are too bulky and too corrosive to reproducibly manufacture components at the nanoscale.
