news 2020

Extremely energy-efficient artificial intelligence is now closer to reality after a study by UCL researchers found a way to improve the accuracy of a brain-inspired computing system. The system, which uses memristors to create artificial neural networks, is at least 1,000 times more energy efficient than conventional transistor-based AI hardware, but has until now been more prone to error.

By introducing defects to a common material, Berkeley Lab researchers create a highly efficient capacitor with dramatically increased energy density Capacitors that rapidly store and release electric energy are key components in modern electronics and power systems. However, the most commonly used ones have low energy densities compared to other storage systems like batteries or fuel cells, which in turn cannot discharge and recharge rapidly without sustaining damage.

The discovery of an unprecedented physical effect in a new artificial material marks a significant milestone in the lengthy process of developing "made-to-order" materials and more energy-efficient electronics. We are surrounded by electronic devices. Transistors are used to power telephones, computers, televisions, hi-fi systems and game consoles as well as cars, airplanes and the like.

The ocean floor and the ground beneath our feet are riddled with tiny nanowires - 1/100,000 the width of a human hair - created by billions of bacteria that can generate electric currents from organic waste. In new research published Aug. Chemical Biology, Yale researchers describe how this hidden power grid could be activated with a short jolt of electric field.  " We live in an electric world," said  Nikhil Malvankar , assistant professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry at the Microbial Science Institute at Yale's West Campus and senior author of the paper.

Researchers at the University of Basel in collaboration with colleagues from Pisa have developed a new concept that uses the electron spin to switch an electrical current. In addition to fundamental research, such spin valves are also the key elements in spintronics - a type of electronics that exploits the spin instead of the charge of electrons.

Combining integrated photonics and MEMS technology, scientists from EPFL and Purdue University demonstrate monolithic piezoelectric control of integrated optical frequency combs with bulk acoustic waves. The technology opens up integrated ultrafast acousto-optic modulation for demanding applications.

For a long time, something important has been neglected in electronics: If you want to make electronic components smaller and smaller, you also need the right insulator materials. Ever smaller and ever more compact - this is the direction in which computer chips are developing, driven by industry. This is why so-called 2D materials are considered to be the great hope: they are as thin as a material can possibly be, in extreme cases they consist of only one single layer of atoms.

MIT engineers develop a hybrid process that connects photonics with "artificial atoms," to produce the largest quantum chip of its type. MIT researchers have developed a process to manufacture and integrate "artificial atoms," created by atomic-scale defects in microscopically thin slices of diamond, with photonic circuitry, producing the largest quantum chip of its type.

Researchers have built an ultrafast chip that can speed up data transmission in fibre optic networks. The chip combines several innovations at the same time and, given the growing demand for streaming and online services, represents a significant development.

Researchers have succeeded in applying aerogels to microelectronics: Aerogels based on cellulose nanofibers can effectively shield electromagnetic radiation over a wide frequency range - and they are unrivalled in terms of weight. Electric motors and electronic devices generate electromagnetic fields that sometimes have to be shielded in order not to affect neighboring electronic components or the transmission of signals.

UCLA bioengineers have designed a glove-like device that can translate American Sign Language into English speech in real time though a smartphone app. The ir research is published Electronics. "Our hope is that this opens up an easy way for people who use sign language to communicate directly with non-signers without needing someone else to translate for them," said Jun Chen, an assistant professor of bioengineering at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and the principal investigator on the research.

Researchers have provided the first theoretical explanation for how electrical current is conducted in semiconductors made of nanocrystals. In the future, this could lead to the development of new sensors, lasers or LEDs for TV screens. A few years ago, we were introduced to TV screens featuring QLED technology that produces brilliant colours.

A new technique that synchronises the clocks of computers in under a billionth of a second can eliminate one of the hurdles for the deployment of all-optical networks, potentially leading to more efficient data centres, according to a new study led by UCL and Microsoft. Data centres, comprising tens or hundreds of thousands connected servers, are the underlying technology empowering everything we do online, from storing films and photos to serving up webpages and online services.

In the not-too-distant future, flexible electronics will open the door to new products like foldable phones, tablets that can be rolled, paper-thin displays and wearable sensors that monitor health data. Developing these new bendy products, however, means using materials like new plastics and thin films to replace the rigid circuit boards and bulky electronic components that currently occupy the interiors of cell phones and other gadgets.

Organizations like the World Bank imply that equality is an important aspect of their goals for expanding electricity access in developing countries. Yet few studies have actually addressed how to ensure equality in developing areas like sub-Saharan Africa, and many have even used methods that further inequality.

Data-Transmission Rate of 7. Gbps Positions LiFi as Possible Replacement for WiFi with Further R&D and Industrial Standardization to Ensure Interoperability of Systems capability of 5G. GRENOBLE, France - June 11, 2020 CEA-Leti today announced its researchers have broken the throughput world record of 5.

That visible light holds the character of a wave can be demonstrated in simple optics experiments, or directly witnessed when rainbows appear in the sky. Although the subtle laws of quantum mechanics, that is, wave mechanics, ultimately govern all the processes of electron transportelectrons in solids, their wave-like nature of the electrons is not often apparent to the casual observer.

EPFL researchers have developed electronic fibers that, when embedded in textiles, can collect a wealth of information about our bodies by measuring subtle and complex fabrics deformations. Their technology relies on transmission line theory and offers a host of applications, such as in health care and robotics.

A team of researchers has succeeded in using an electric current to directly control gene expression for the first time. Their work provides the basis for medical implants that can be switched on and off using electronic devices outside the body. This is how it works. A device containing insulin-producing cells and an electronic control unit is implanted in the body of a diabetic.

By Birgit Baustädter Electronics-based systems have long since found their way into our everyday lives. Consciously in the form of new technical gadgets and unconsciously in the form of embedded systems. It is therefore impossible to imagine our familiar life without electronics-based systems. But, and here researchers are in agreement, they will continue to shape our environment in the future as the basis for many innovative developments.