Category Archives: Technology

The Integration of Fuel Cells on Chip

Posted on November 27, 2009 | Leave a comment

Recently, a research group of Freiburg University at Germany has been cooperated with one of the well known semiconductor vendors, Micronas AG to integrate a fuel cell array on a chip.

According to Hoffman, the leader of the research group, the device is having the ability to power autonomous Microsystems, which is known as ‘Smart dust’.

Technically, the chip contains 42 microscale fuel cells on a CMOS device, including four cells to power the control circuitry necessary to keep the output voltage of 3.3V constant. Furthermore, the semiconductor structure has been manufactured using a standard CMOS process, the fuel cell elements, which is a palladium layer of H2 storage, cathode and membrane.

Now, the biggest challenge for the research group is to interconnect the fuel cells in a way that allows the control circuitry. They need to figure out the effective way to keep the output stable during the element’s lifetime. Hoffman believed that with several elements in parallel and in series, it’s possible and easier to keep voltage and current maintain in a constant level.

Hoffman described that a fuel cell could be used as a power buffer for periods, especially when energy harvesting methods don’t generate enough power. [eetimes.com]

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New Type of Fast Computers Are Sooner Become a Reality

Posted on November 19, 2009 | Leave a comment

In the last couples of decades, the technology of computer has been undergoing a very huge transformation. Based on the latest statistic, currently there are more than 1 billions of computers across the worldwide.

Recently, the physicists at UC San Diego have developed the high speedy integrated circuits with particles called “excitons”. The researchers described that the new computers can be operated at commercially cold temperatures. In this case, it giving the hope of possibility, by making a new type of extremely fast computer based on excitons.

fast computer

Mr. Leonid Butov, a professor of physics at UCSD, who is the head of the research team, mentioned that the main goal of the research is to create efficient devices that based on excitons. It’s not only can easily operate at room temperature, but can replace electronic devices where a high interconnection speed is important.

During the researches, they’ve performed the demonstration, by assembling the transistors into the building block. It’s capable of working at 1.5 degrees Kelvin above absolute zero, which is equivalent to minus 457 degrees Fahrenheit. For your information, this temperature is a few times less than the average temperature of deep space!

Butov and the team believed that the excitons are the ultimate devices that would be used to create the next fast computer. [sciencedaily]

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Nanopillars – The Next Super Silicon

Posted on November 17, 2009 | Leave a comment

Silicon is one of the most important semiconductor materials. However, it’s always considered as brittle and breakable as window glass. In order to improve the fragility, many scientists have been doing many researches, hoping to find the best solution.

Guess what! Empa researchers have discovered the solution, by creating minute silicon pillars in nano-sized.

Nanopillars

According to the Empa’s founder, Ludwig von Tetmajer, who is investigated the mechanical loading of columns in his time, disovered if the diameter of the columns are made small enough, then under load they don’t simply break off. The new discovery had opened the way for completely new design techniques from a materials point of view for mechanical Microsystems.

Tetmajer described that more than 90 percent of conventional solar cells are made of silicon. The only problem is the materials have its own limitation.

In other hand, John Michler, Head of Empa’s Mechanics of Materials and Nanostructures laboratory in Thun found out that when the silicon’s colums had diameter of less than 400 nanometers, surprisingly there are no any cracks developed and the structure began to suffer plastic deformation!

Tetmajer and Michler both agreed that the nanopillars are going to be the best solution to develop the Super Silicon. [sciencedaily]

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The Cheaper and Powerful Hybrid Motors

Posted on November 12, 2009 | 2 Comments

In the past few decades, many scientists have been predicted that in the future, the hybrid motors are going to be dominated the roads. Well, it seen that the prediction is slowly becoming a reality, as there are more and more hybrid motors exist on the roads in present days.

The only problem is the hybrid cars are not mass-produced, since their production costs are relatively high compare with the ordinary vehicles.

In this case, a researcher from ETH Zurich has developed a brand new concept. It’s a part of her doctoral thesis that integrates power electronic functions and an electric motor.

DC-DC converter

Hanna Plesko, a doctoral student at Power Electronic Systems Laboratory has discovered the effective way to reduce the costs of producing hybrid cars. Plesko described that the inverters and DC/DC converters play a crucial role in the hybrid motors. It’s also being known as the main reason, why the producing costs are so expensive for the hybrid motors.

For overcoming the inverters and DC/DC converter, Plesko has developed a system with more powerful yet cheaper inverter and DC/DC converter. She is very confident that the thesis is going to be worked for real engine power.[sciencedaily]

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How far is printable electronics

Posted on November 11, 2009 | Leave a comment

Xerox has announced their new technology that enables to print electronics circuits on various surfaces like clothes, tapes or other materials. Their technology uses ink that contain silver metal to make printouts conductive.

Nanosilver_printing

Earlier liquid silver tended to be inconvenient for printing on plastic surfaces due to high temperature – now they found better inc compound that works in much lower temperatures. Such technology can change much in electronics marketplace as circuits can be printed directly on clothes – what allows to create cheaper interactivity in games. Other mass usage could be printable RFID tags in supermarkets.

“The technology uses conventional inkjet printing methods, and though Xerox has used it with conventional desktop printers, the company expects that it would use continuous-feed printers that print on rolls rather than sheets of material. It doesn’t require the super-clean environments needed for conventional silicon chip manufacturing.

The Xerox process actually requires printing three layers on a substrate: a semiconductor, a conductor and a dielectric. The silver ink is the layer that conducts electricity.” [news.cnet.com]

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New Groundbreaking in Optical Fiber Communication and CCD Image Sensor

Posted on November 10, 2009 | Leave a comment

Each day, there are many new breakthroughs in the technology field. Recently, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has giving the Nobel Prize Award in Physics for 2009 to three physicists for their outstanding groundbreaking in the optical fiber communication and CCD image sensor.

The two honored physicists are Charles K.Kao, Standard Telecommunication Laboratories, Harlow, UK and Chinese University of Hong Kong in the achievement concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication. Willard S. Boyle and George E.Smith from Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ, USA for the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit, which is known as the CCD sensor.

CCD image and Optical fiber communication

According to Kao, he made a discovery that led to a new breakthrough in fiber optics since 1966. He was amongst the first few physicists who calculated how to transmit light over long distance via optical glass fibers during 1960s. Now, he had discovered a new technique that is enough to encircle the globe more than 25,000 times with fiber optics!

Furthermore, the discovery of CCD image sensor by S.Boyle and E.Smith also brought the photography into a new revolutionary era, which the CCD provided new possibilities to visualize the previously unseen. [sciencedaily]

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3-D Printing in Glass

Posted on November 2, 2009 | Leave a comment

Glass sculpture or studio glass is always referred as the modern use of glass as an artistic medium to produce sculptures. Based on the ancient history, the glassware has been developed in Egypt and Assyria since 5,000 years ago. Murano is best known as the birthplace of modern glass art.

Normally, the main purpose of glass objects created is to make a sculptural or decorative statement. The prices of fine glass sculpture are ranging from a few bucks to tens of thousands of dollars!

A team of engineers and artists working from the University of Washingtons’s Solheim Rapid Manufacturing Laboratory has found the way to create glass objects, by using a conventional 3-D printer.

3D_printing_in_glass

The research team is giving the project name as “The Vitraglyphic Process”, which is a follow-up to the Solheim’s Laboratory success last spring printing with ceramics!

Mr. Mark Ganter, a UW professor of mechanical engineering and co-director of the Solheim Laboratory stated that it’s possible to print on everything, if we could get a material into powder form at about 20 microns (Note: Twenty microns is less than one thousandth of an inch)!

The 3-dimensional printers are used not only as a cheap, but also as a faster way to build prototype parts. In the typical powder-based 3-D printing system, there’s a thin layer of powder is spread over a platform. A Software directs an inkjet printer to deposit droplets of binder solution. As a result, the binder reacts with the powder to bind the particles together and voila, it creates a 3-D object on the glass!

Mr. Ganter mentioned that the Solheim Laboratory is ready to release its new method of printing glass for general use very soon, if everything is working based on the schedule. [sciencedaily]

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Paper Battery – The Alternative Power for Electronics

Posted on October 24, 2009 | 2 Comments

When is the last time you received the birthday presents from your loved ones, friends or relatives? In certain circumstances, you might find that it’s a waste to just tore the birthday gift’s wrapping paper away, as it wrote with the blessing words, such as Happy Birthday on it!

Furthermore, you’ll be even cherished the birthday gift, if it being wrapped by the built in battery paper, which is a new type of battery made out of paper. In this case, the paper is automatically light up with words, which is has been programmed into it.

Mr. Albert Mihranyan and the research team have been discovered that this potential application of a new battery made of cellulose is going to be the next green and environmentally friendly batteries!

Paper battery

During the experiment, the research team undiscovered the secret behind the performance of the paper battery. They described it as the presence of the homogeneous, uninterrupted, yet nano-thin coating, which is about 1/50,000th the thickness of a human hair! The PPy coating on cellulose fibers can be molded into paper sheets. It was special cellulose, which is extracted from a certain species of green algae with 100 times the surface area of cellulose found in plants.

The design of the paper battery is incredibly simple. Furthermore, the battery recharged a few time faster than conventional rechargeable batteries. No doubt, the paper battery is going to be the new trend in the near future…[sciencedaily]

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Carbon Nanostructure Research – The Revolution for Brand New Devices!

Posted on October 20, 2009 | Leave a comment

Carbon nanostructure research is a very amazing experiment, as the scientists from around the world trying to figure out the ways to use the carbon nanostructure technique to create the smaller yet lighter electronics devices!

In this case, Dr. Jiwoong Park, a professor from Cornell University who received funding for basic research for the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) is starting his investigation in the carbon nanostructure.

Carbon Nanostructure

According to Mr. Park, most of the devices that being used in the Air Force missions are highly different from commercial ones. Let’s take an example, the devices in the Air Force are often exposed to harsh environments. Hence, it’s very tough to maintain their maximum performance!

Mr. Park described the Carbon-based nanostructures are much tougher than the ordinary aluminum, as it including carbon nanotubes and graphenes.

Recently, Mr. Park and the research team are examining single molecules, nanocrystals, nanowires, carbon nanotubes and their arrays. They’re hoping to find a “bridging” material, which is having a more stable structure for making molecular-level bonds.

Frankly, Park’s research may contribute to the discovery of new electronic and optical devices. Which means, another carbon nanostructure revolution is about to begin in the near future very soon… [sciencedaily]

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Magical Glove – You Can Write Words in Air

Posted on October 5, 2009 | Leave a comment

Writing has been existed in human civilization since thousands of years ago. Human beings use writing to communicate with each other and we’re still doing the same, even in this 21st century!

However, the only different part for the nowadays writing is the writer not longer need paper to write the words, instead they can easily write words in the thin air.

According to the new research, there is a brand new “Magical Glove”, which is a fingerless bike glove that equipped with electrical sensors. It allows the user to write on thin air!

Magical Glove

Basically, the modified glove doesn’t only allow for one-handed text messaging, but it create an early warning system for people who are having the risk of getting neurodegenerative disease, such as Parkinson’s.

Michael Linderman, a neuroscientist said in the article published in the journal Public Library of Science One (PLos) that handwriting is a magical process, as it consists of memory, knowledge, cognition and dexterity. Believe it or not, all these four processes are actually work simultaneously.

The system is already in experiment stage and it would be going to launch to the market very soon. Mr. Linderman said that the Magical Glove is cost around $100 or more. [discovery]

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