http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (Phys.org)—For the first time, researchers have designed a special material interface that has been shown to add to and to improve the functioning of non-silicon-based electronic devices, such as those used in certain kinds of random access memory (RAM). According to Qi Li, a professor of physics at Penn State University and the leader of the research team, the new method could be used to design improved, more-efficient, multilevel and multifunctional devices, as well as enhanced nanoelectronic components—such as non-volatile information storage and processing; and spintronic components—an emerging technology that uses the natural spin of the electron to power devices. The research has been accepted for publication in the journal Nature Materials. http://phys.org/news280487082.html Physics Tue, 19 Feb 2013 09:04:59 EST news280487082 (Phys.org)—Miniaturized laboratory-on-chip systems promise rapid, sensitive, and multiplexed detection of biological samples for medical diagnostics, drug discovery, and high-throughput screening. Using micro-fabrication techniques and incorporating a unique design of transistor-based heating, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are further advancing the use of silicon transistor and electronics into chemistry and biology for point-of-care diagnostics. http://phys.org/news279900023.html Nanotechnology Tue, 12 Feb 2013 14:00:37 EST news279900023 The Photovoltaics-Laboratory (PV-Lab) of EPFL's Insitute of Microengineering (IMT), founded in 1984 by Prof. Arvind Shah and now headed by Prof. Christophe Ballif, is well known as a pioneer in the development of thin-film silicon solar cells, and as a precursor in the use of microcrystalline silicon as a photoactive material in thin-film silicon photovoltaic (TF-Si PV) devices. A remarkable step was achieved by the team led by Dr. Fanny Meillaud and Dr. Matthieu Despeisse with a new world record efficiency of 10.7% for a single-junction microcrystalline silicon solar cell, independently confirmed at Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE CalLab PV Cells) in Freiburg (Germany). http://phys.org/news279890586.html Technology Tue, 12 Feb 2013 11:23:24 EST news279890586 IBM scientists have demonstrated a new approach to carbon nanotechnology that opens up the path for commercial fabrication of dramatically smaller, faster and more powerful computer chips. For the first time, more than ten thousand working transistors made of nano-sized tubes of carbon have been precisely placed and tested in a single chip using standard semiconductor processes. These carbon devices are poised to replace and outperform silicon technology allowing further miniaturization of computing components and leading the way for future microelectronics. http://phys.org/news270719800.html Nanotechnology Mon, 29 Oct 2012 08:57:10 EST news270719800 Stretching a layer of silicon can build up internal mechanical strain which can considerably improve its electronic properties. With strained silicon, one can, for example, build faster and less power-consuming microprocessors. http://phys.org/news268938965.html Nanotechnology Mon, 08 Oct 2012 18:19:00 EST news268938965 Sharp Corporation has started production of 5-inch full-HD (1,080 x 1,920 pixels, 443 ppi) LCD panels for smartphones with a pixel density among the highest in the world. Production began at the end of September and full-scale production will begin in October. http://phys.org/news268298123.html Electronics Mon, 01 Oct 2012 08:15:32 EST news268298123 Though smartphones and tablets are hailed as the hardware of the future, their present-day incarnations have some flaws. Most notoriously, low RAM memory limits the number of applications that can be run at one time and quickly consumes battery power. Now, a Tel Aviv University researcher has found a creative solution to these well-known problems. http://phys.org/news261654859.html Nanotechnology Mon, 16 Jul 2012 10:54:33 EST news261654859 (Phys.org) -- Graphene is the wonder material that could solve the problem of making ever faster computers and smaller mobile devices when current silicon microchip technology hits an inevitable wall. Graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms in a tight hexagonal arrangement, has been highly researched because of its incredible electronic properties, with theoretical speeds 100 times greater than silicon. But putting the material into a microchip that could outperform current silicon technology has proven difficult. http://phys.org/news257400658.html Nanotechnology Mon, 28 May 2012 05:34:48 EST news257400658 (PhysOrg.com) -- ETH Zurich physicists, in collaboration with colleagues at universities in Switzerland and abroad, have made a breakthrough in the manufacture of monolithic semiconductor structures on silicon. The new structures are nearly perfect, and likely to revolutionise not only X-ray technology. http://phys.org/news252259776.html Technology Thu, 29 Mar 2012 17:09:58 EST news252259776 Solar-powered electricity prices could soon approach those of power from coal or natural gas thanks to collaborative research with solar start-up Ampulse Corporation at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). http://phys.org/news250244346.html Technology Tue, 06 Mar 2012 09:00:01 EST news250244346 Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden) have for the first time demonstrated a novel subharmonic graphene FET mixer at microwave frequencies. The mixer provides new opportunities in future electronics, as it enables compact circuit technology, potential to reach high frequencies and integration with silicon technology. http://phys.org/news244802360.html Nanotechnology Tue, 03 Jan 2012 09:00:01 EST news244802360 Renesas Electronics today announced that it has developed the industry's first 40-nanometer (nm) memory intellectual property (IP) for automotive real-time applications. Renesas will also be the first to launch 40nm embedded flash microcontrollers (MCUs) for automotive applications using this 40nm flash technology with samples available by the beginning of autumn 2012. http://phys.org/news243254556.html Technology Fri, 16 Dec 2011 11:00:01 EST news243254556 For the first time, researchers from CNRS France and ETH Zurich have succeeded in producing high-performance high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) made of gallium nitride (GaN) on a silicon(110) wafer. This makes these transistors compatible with current complementary metal oxide semi-conductor (CMOS) chips based on silicon of the same crystal orientation. CMOS chips are generally produced on silicon wafers with the so-called (100) or (110) crystal orientation. GaN, on the other hand, could previously only be used on (111)-silicon until now. This new development makes it possible to construct hybrid electronic components that combine the computational power of the CMOS chip and the power handling capability of GaN transistors, which means power electronics can be made even more compact. http://phys.org/news235824798.html Technology Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:54:11 EST news235824798 The integration of single-spin magnetoelectronics into standard silicon technology may soon be possible, if experiments confirm a new theoretical prediction by physicists at the Naval Research Laboratory and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. http://phys.org/news202043535.html Physics Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:12:42 EST news202043535 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at Duke University are harvesting ambient radio waves to power small microprocessor devices that consume very little energy. Devices such as sensors that monitor critical environmental changes can be powered from radio waves. http://phys.org/news198855586.html Technology Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:40:39 EST news198855586 (PhysOrg.com) -- European researchers have developed state-of-the-art nanowire 'growing' technology, opening the way for faster, smaller microchips and creating a promising new avenue of research and industrial development in Europe. http://phys.org/news180169791.html Nanotechnology Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:40:01 EST news180169791 (PhysOrg.com) -- Recently, at Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute, N.J. Tao and collaborators have found a way to make a key electrical component on a phenomenally tiny scale. Their single-molecule diode is described in this week’s online edition of Nature Chemistry. http://phys.org/news175415776.html Nanotechnology Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:37:08 EST news175415776 The next time an overnight snow begins to fall, take two bricks and place them side by side a few inches apart in your yard. http://phys.org/news156349503.html Physics Sun, 15 Mar 2009 15:25:42 EST news156349503