https://techxplore.com/semiconductors-news/ en-us The latest news on electronics and semiconductor technology developments EU manufacturers are increasingly embracing digital technologies to improve agility. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-07-europe-virtual-factories-industrial-revolution.html Electronics & Semiconductors Fri, 14 Jul 2023 01:55:02 EDT news608518494 Researchers in the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Technion in Israel have demonstrated control over an emerging material, which they consider as a possible future alternative to silicon in microelectronics. This is a timely development, because scientists and engineers face challenges in continuing the transistor shrinking trend, an important driver of computer chip performance. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-07-lays-groundwork-future-high-performance-alternatives.html Engineering Thu, 13 Jul 2023 12:12:05 EDT news608469122 A University of Minnesota Twin Cities team has, for the first time, synthesized a thin film of a unique topological semimetal material that has the potential to generate more computing power and memory storage while using significantly less energy. The researchers were also able to closely study the material, leading to some important findings about the physics behind its unique properties. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-07-material-key-energy-consumption-electronics.html Engineering Thu, 13 Jul 2023 12:00:01 EDT news608468203 Researchers have demonstrated a continuous roller printing process that can pick up and transfer over 75,000 micrometer-scale semiconductor devices in a single roll with very high accuracy. The new method paves the way to creating large-scale arrays of optical components and could be used to rapidly manufacture micro-LED displays. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-07-approach-enable-inexpensive-mass-micro-led.html Electronics & Semiconductors Thu, 13 Jul 2023 10:26:46 EDT news608462802 In the future, climate-neutral hydrogen will play an important role as a fuel and raw material. Hydrogen is produced by electrolysis of water, either using an indirect approach in which an external energy source (solar panel or wind turbine) supplies the electrolysis cell with voltage, or using a direct approach: a photoelectrochemical cell in which the photoelectrode itself supplies the electrical energy for electrolysis (PEC cell). This direct approach would have some advantages, but is not yet competitive. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-07-solar-hydrogen-barriers-metal-oxides.html Electronics & Semiconductors Thu, 13 Jul 2023 09:29:24 EDT news608459361 Scientists at the Department of Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), have developed a super flexible, composite semiconductor material that may have applications in next-generation flexible or curved displays, foldable phones and wearable electronics. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-07-super-flexible-composite-semiconductors-next-gen.html Electronics & Semiconductors Thu, 13 Jul 2023 08:58:27 EDT news608457503 As researchers make major advances in medical care, they are also discovering that the efficacy of these treatments can be enhanced by individualized approaches. Therefore, clinicians increasingly need methods that can both continuously monitor physiological signals and then personalize responsive delivery of therapeutics. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-07-headway-precision-therapeutics-fully-bioelectronic.html Engineering Mon, 10 Jul 2023 17:07:31 EDT news608227641 Imagine a wearable patch that tracks your vital signs through changes in the color display, or shipping labels that light up to indicate changes in temperature or sterility of food items. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-07-stretchy-color-changing-display-future-wearable.html Engineering Mon, 10 Jul 2023 16:56:05 EDT news608226959 From August, China is to restrict exports of gallium and germanium, two critical elements for making semiconductor chips. With China dominating the supply of both elements, exporters will now need special licenses to get them out of the country. The move has the potential to harm a range of western tech manufacturers that use these elements to make their products. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-07-china-gallium-germanium.html Business Mon, 10 Jul 2023 12:38:04 EDT news608211481 Computers, despite all their apparent complexity, are basically just a large number of electronic switches, flicking on and off in the right order to process digital information. Semiconductor technology has made these switches very small and incredibly fast. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-07-2d-metal-contacts-transistor-leakage.html Electronics & Semiconductors Mon, 10 Jul 2023 10:56:03 EDT news608205361 A research team has developed a human lung-inspired graphene-metal organic framework hybrid gas sensor, which can monitor extremely low concentrations of nitrogen dioxide at the level of one billionth in real-time. This study was published online on May 30, 2023 in Nature Communications. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-07-human-lung-inspired-sensor-nitrogen-dioxide.html Engineering Thu, 06 Jul 2023 10:06:19 EDT news607856776 Taiwan's chip giant TSMC said Thursday it did not expect any direct effect on production from China's latest export controls on two rare metals essential for making semiconductors. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-07-taiwan-chip-giant-production-china.html Electronics & Semiconductors Thu, 06 Jul 2023 03:42:02 EDT news607833714 Organic electronics can make a decisive contribution to decarbonization and, at the same time, help to cut the consumption of rare and valuable raw materials. To do so, it is not only necessary to further develop manufacturing processes, but also to devise technical solutions for recycling as early on as the laboratory phase. Materials scientists from FAU are now promoting this circular strategy in conjunction with researchers from the U.K. and U.S. in the journal Nature Materials. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-07-electronics-sustainability-entire-lifecycle.html Electronics & Semiconductors Wed, 05 Jul 2023 10:39:32 EDT news607772368 Physical systems known as "reservoirs" are designed to emulate neural networks and meet the need for improved computational efficiency and speed. Overcoming the previous issues with compatibility, performance, and integration of such reservoir systems, researchers from Japan have recently developed an ion-gating transistor with improved reservoir states and short-term memory capabilities based on redox reactions. This development opens us the possibility of utilizing redox-based ionic devices for high-performance neuromorphic computing. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-07-redox-based-transistor-reservoir-neuromorphic.html Electronics & Semiconductors Mon, 03 Jul 2023 15:25:04 EDT news607616701 Transistors that can change properties are important elements in the development of tomorrow's semiconductors. With standard transistors approaching the limit for how small they can be, having more functions on the same number of units becomes increasingly important in enabling the development of small, energy-efficient circuits for improved memory and more powerful computers. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have shown how to create new configurable transistors and exert control on a new, more precise level. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-07-edge-transistors-semiconductors-future.html Engineering Mon, 03 Jul 2023 09:38:04 EDT news607595881 Dutch companies that produce machines that make advanced semiconductor processor chips will be required to have export licenses before they can sell them overseas starting in September, the government announced Friday. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-06-dutch-semiconductor-machine-export-restrictions.html Electronics & Semiconductors Fri, 30 Jun 2023 11:11:40 EDT news607342295 Are you feeling nostalgic for homogeneous integration of chips—one flat board where you can use your fingers to stuff in all the circuitry you need? It might be best to head to the Lego store. The rest of the world is moving fast to heterogeneous integration—where the boards are 3D, the chips are a mix of electronic and photonic functions, and every specification is in nanometers. It just as challenging as it sounds, but much more fun. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-06-micro-transfer-heterogeneous-si-photonic-circuits.html Engineering Thu, 29 Jun 2023 15:58:17 EDT news607273095 If you've ever wished you had a faster phone, computer or internet connection, you've encountered the personal experience of hitting a limit of technology. But there might be help on the way. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-06-digital-future-ultrafast-optical-electronics.html Electronics & Semiconductors Tue, 27 Jun 2023 11:30:01 EDT news607083609 Engineers have been trying to devise increasingly efficient and low-cost methods to fabricate electronic components and devices on a large-scale. Recently, some studies explored the possibilities of creating electronics using solution processing techniques, which involve the deposition of materials with electrical properties from a solution onto a surface. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-06-wafer-scale-transistor-arrays-slot-die.html Electronics & Semiconductors Tue, 27 Jun 2023 09:30:02 EDT news606990229 Low-cost, flexible displays that use very little energy could be a step closer, thanks to an innovation from the University of Surrey that solves a problem that has plagued source-gated transistors (SGT). The study has been published by IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-06-temperature-problem-source-gated-transistors.html Electronics & Semiconductors Thu, 22 Jun 2023 14:48:02 EDT news606664081 There will soon be a new tool to fight global warming with the development of lightweight flexible light sensors that can simultaneously image across a wide spectral range, from the visible to the infrared, with minimal optical components. This makes it perfect for drones and satellites deployed to monitor greenhouse gas emissions. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-06-advance-flexible-photodetector-greenhouse-gases.html Electronics & Semiconductors Thu, 22 Jun 2023 11:40:03 EDT news606652801 A large-scale (4-inch), highly uniform, and defect-free plasma etching technology, which will likely become the foundation of the industrial supply of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), a next-generation two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor, has been developed. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-06-large-scale-plasma-etching-technology-mass.html Engineering Thu, 22 Jun 2023 09:59:57 EDT news606646793 Lithography, an essential process in the semiconductor industry, lies at the heart of the manufacturing technology for modern-day electronics. In essence, it is a printing technique used to define and pattern all the intricate structures of a circuit using light. The level of nanometric precision achieved using lithography is what makes modern integrated chips, housing billions of transistors, possible. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-06-image-simulation-algorithm-boosts-intensity.html Electronics & Semiconductors Wed, 21 Jun 2023 14:39:56 EDT news606577186 A photocapacitor integrating both energy harvest and storage functions into a single component can serve as a wireless charging source for mobile devices. However, current photocapacitors usually contain more electrodes or fabricated counter electrodes acting as additional capacitive components, resulting in increased fabrication costs. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-06-scientists-dye-sensitized-solar-cell-photocapacitor.html Electronics & Semiconductors Wed, 21 Jun 2023 11:55:03 EDT news606567301 Taiwan's tech giant Foxconn and US-European carmaker Stellantis announced Tuesday that they have set up a joint venture to design and sell high-end automotive chips. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-06-foxconn-stellantis-joint-venture-car.html Electronics & Semiconductors Tue, 20 Jun 2023 09:20:48 EDT news606471643 Berlin agreed Monday to grant US chip giant Intel subsidies totalling almost a third of the cost of a 30-billion-euro ($32.7-billion) German plant in a controversial decision following a months-long row. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-06-berlin-intel-controversial-chip-subsidy.html Business Mon, 19 Jun 2023 11:33:49 EDT news606393224 US chip giant Intel will spend $25 billion on a new plant in Israel, officials said Sunday, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling it the country's single largest foreign investment. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-06-intel-invest-bn-israel.html Electronics & Semiconductors Sun, 18 Jun 2023 13:50:59 EDT news606315052 Printing of micro- and nanometer-scaled quartz glass structures from pure silicon dioxide opens up many new applications in optics, photonics, and semiconductor technologies. So far, processes have been based on conventional sintering. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-06-nanomaterials-3d-glass-sintering.html Electronics & Semiconductors Sun, 18 Jun 2023 07:50:02 EDT news606141718 US chip giant Intel will invest up to $4.6 billion to build a new site in Poland, creating around 2,000 jobs, the company said Friday. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-06-intel-invest-billion-poland-chip.html Business Fri, 16 Jun 2023 10:09:24 EDT news606128955 US chipmaker Micron said Friday it would invest more than $600 million in a packing and testing factory in northern China, less than a month after Beijing banned its chips from critical infrastructure projects. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-06-chip-giant-micron-invest-mn.html Business Fri, 16 Jun 2023 10:08:33 EDT news606128906